Cyber Defense Advisors

Month: May 2024

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  • May 7, 2024

U.S. Charges Russian Man as Boss of LockBit Ransomware Group

The United States joined the United Kingdom and Australia today in sanctioning 31-year-old Russian national Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev as the alleged leader of the infamous ransomware group LockBit. The U.S. Department of Justice also indicted Khoroshev and charged him with using Lockbit to attack more than 2,000 victims and extort at least $100 million in […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

Russian Hacker Dmitry Khoroshev Unmasked as LockBit Ransomware Administrator

The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) has unmasked the administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware operation, revealing it to be a 31-year-old Russian national named Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. In addition, Khoroshev has been sanctioned by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCD), the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

New Attack on VPNs

This attack has been feasible for over two decades: Researchers have devised an attack against nearly all virtual private network applications that forces them to send and receive some or all traffic outside of the encrypted tunnel designed to protect it from snooping or tampering. TunnelVision, as the researchers have named their attack, largely negates […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

APT42 Hackers Pose as Journalists to Harvest Credentials and Access Cloud Data

The Iranian state-backed hacking outfit called APT42 is making use of enhanced social engineering schemes to infiltrate target networks and cloud environments. Targets of the attack include Western and Middle Eastern NGOs, media organizations, academia, legal services and activists, Google Cloud subsidiary Mandiant said in a report published last week. “APT42 was observed posing as […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

China-Linked Hackers Used ROOTROT Webshell in MITRE Network Intrusion

The MITRE Corporation has offered more details into the recently disclosed cyber attack, stating that the first evidence of the intrusion now dates back to December 31, 2023. The attack, which came to light last month, singled out MITRE’s Networked Experimentation, Research, and Virtualization Environment (NERVE) through the exploitation of two Ivanti Connect Secure zero-day […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

New Case Study: The Malicious Comment

How safe is your comments section? Discover how a seemingly innocent ‘thank you’ comment on a product page concealed a malicious vulnerability, underscoring the necessity of robust security measures. Read the full real-life case study here. When is a ‘Thank you’ not a ‘Thank you’? When it’s a sneaky bit of code that’s been hidden […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

Google Simplifies 2-Factor Authentication Setup (It’s More Important Than Ever)

Google on Monday announced that it’s simplifying the process of enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for users with personal and Workspace accounts. Also called 2-Step Verification (2SV), it aims to add an extra layer of security to users’ accounts to prevent takeover attacks in case the passwords are stolen. The new change entails adding a second […]

Cyber News
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  • May 7, 2024

Russian Operator of BTC-e Crypto Exchange Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

A Russian operator of a now-dismantled BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges from 2011 to 2017. Alexander Vinnik, 44, was charged in January 2017 and taken into custody in Greece in July 2017. He was subsequently extradited to the U.S. in August 2022. Vinnik and his co-conspirators have been accused of […]

Cyber News

Cyber Swindlers Steal $25 Million In AI Deepfake Scam

Cyber Swindlers Steal $25 Million In AI Deepfake Scam Could You Be Next? Ways To Protect Yourself Having a bad day? Take heart. Things could be MUCH worse! A finance worker in Hong Kong was conned out of more than $25 million through a sophisticated AI scam, according to Hong Kong police. Criminals employed deepfake […]

Cyber Thoughts