Krebs On Security

This Windows PowerShell Phish Has Scary Potential https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/this-windows-powershell-phish-has-scary-potential/ Many GitHub users this week received a novel phishing email warning of critical security holes in their code. Those who clicked the link for details were asked to distinguish themselves from bots by pressing a combination of keyboard keys that causes Microsoft Windows to download password-stealing malware. While it's unlikely that many programmers fell for this scam, it's notable because less targeted versions of it are likely to be far more successful against the average Windows user.

Scam ‘Funeral Streaming’ Groups Thrive on Facebook https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/scam-funeral-streaming-groups-thrive-on-facebook/ Scammers are flooding Facebook with groups that purport to offer video streaming of funeral services for the recently deceased. Friends and family who follow the links for the streaming services are then asked to cough up their credit card information. Recently, these scammers have branched out into offering fake streaming services for nearly any kind of event advertised on Facebook. Here's a closer look at the size of this scheme, and some findings about who may be responsible.

The Dark Nexus Between Harm Groups and ‘The Com’ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/the-dark-nexus-between-harm-groups-and-the-com/ A cyberattack that shut down some of the top casinos in Las Vegas last year quickly became one of the most riveting security stories of 2023: It was the first known case of native English-speaking hackers in the United States and Britain teaming up with ransomware gangs based in Russia. But that made-for-Hollywood narrative has eclipsed a far more hideous trend: Many of these young, Western cybercriminals are also members of fast-growing online groups that exist solely to bully, stalk, harass and extort vulnerable teens into physically harming themselves and others.

Bug Left Some Windows PCs Dangerously Unpatched https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/bug-left-some-windows-pcs-dangerously-unpatched/ Microsoft Corp. today released updates to fix at least 79 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and related software, including multiple flaws that are already showing up in active attacks. Microsoft also corrected a critical bug that has caused some Windows 10 PCs to remain dangerously unpatched against actively exploited vulnerabilities for several months this year.

Sextortion Scams Now Include Photos of Your Home https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/sextortion-scams-now-include-photos-of-your-home/ An old but persistent email scam known as "sextortion" has a new personalized touch: The missives, which claim that malware has captured webcam footage of recipients pleasuring themselves, now include a photo of the target's home in a bid to make threats about publishing the videos more frightening and convincing.

Owners of 1-Time Passcode Theft Service Plead Guilty https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/owners-of-1-time-passcode-theft-service-plead-guilty/ Three men in the United Kingdom have pleaded guilty to operating otp[.]agency, a once popular online service that helped attackers intercept the one-time passcodes (OTPs) that many websites require as a second authentication factor in addition to passwords. Launched in November 2019, OTP Agency was a service for intercepting one-time passwords needed to log in to various websites. Scammers would enter the target’s phone number and name, and the service would initiate an automated phone call to the target that alerts them about unauthorized activity on their account.

When Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts Look Like Phishing https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/when-get-out-the-vote-efforts-look-like-phishing/ Multiple media reports this week warned Americans to be on guard against a new phishing scam that arrives in a text message informing recipients they are not yet registered to vote. A bit of digging reveals the missives were sent by a California political consulting firm as part of a well-meaning but potentially counterproductive get-out-the-vote effort that had all the hallmarks of a phishing campaign.

New 0-Day Attacks Linked to China’s ‘Volt Typhoon’ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/new-0-day-attacks-linked-to-chinas-volt-typhoon/ Malicious hackers are exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Versa Director, a software product used by many Internet and IT service providers. Researchers believe the activity is linked to Volt Typhoon, a Chinese cyber espionage group focused on infiltrating critical U.S. networks and laying the groundwork for the ability to disrupt communications between the United States and Asia during any future armed conflict with China.

Local Networks Go Global When Domain Names Collide https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/local-networks-go-global-when-domain-names-collide/ The proliferation of new top-level domains (TLDs) has exacerbated a well-known security weakness: Many organizations set up their internal Microsoft authentication systems years ago using domain names in TLDs that didn't exist at the time. Meaning, they are continuously sending their Windows usernames and passwords to domain names they do not control and which are freely available for anyone to register. Here's a look at one security researcher's efforts to map and shrink the size of this insidious problem.

National Public Data Published Its Own Passwords https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/08/national-public-data-published-its-own-passwords/ New details are emerging about a breach at National Public Data (NPD), a consumer data broker that recently spilled hundreds of millions of Americans' Social Security Numbers, addresses, and phone numbers online. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that another NPD data broker which shares access to the same consumer records inadvertently published the passwords to its back-end database in a file that was freely available for download from its homepage until today.