Alan Suderman reports: As a member of the secretive Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Angus King has reason to worry about hackers. At a briefing by security staff this year, he said he got some advice on how to help keep his cellphone secure. Step One: Turn off phone. Step Two: Turn it back on. That’s it. Could…
Author: Dissent
Hackers Pose as Flirty Aerobics Instructor to Target Employees
Ryan Gallagher reports: A hacking group aligned with Iran’s government has waged a years-long campaign to steal data from American defense contractors, even posting as a flirtatious aerobics instructor from the U.K. in an attempt to dupe an employee, according to cybersecurity researchers. The group, known as TA456 or Tortoiseshell, has sought out smaller subsidiaries…
Northern Ireland’s COVID certification service suspended after data leak
Ax Sharma reports: Northern Ireland’s Department of Health (DoH) has temporarily halted its COVID-19 vaccine certification online service following a data exposure incident. Some users of COVIDCert NI app were presented with data of other users, under certain circumstances, says the Department. As seen by BleepingComputer, neither the web service nor the mobile app functionality is accessible at the time…
BlackMatter ransomware targets companies with revenue of $100 million and more
Catalin Cimpanu reports: A new ransomware gang launched into operation this week, claiming to combine the best features of the now-defunct Darkside and REvil ransomware groups, Recorded Future analysts have discovered. Named BlackMatter, the group is currently recruiting affiliates (collaborators) through ads posted on two cybercrime forums named Exploit and XSS. Read more on The Record.
Au: Bendigo cyber menace Dean Poot pleads guilty to attacking Victoria Police phone lines
Serena Seyfort and Paul Shapiro report: A Bendigo computer hacker disrupted police phone lines with menacing messages including a ridiculous claim cops are “international scammers”. Dean Poot, 30, pleaded guilty in the county Court on Wednesday to charges including unauthorised impairment of electronic communication. Poot, unemployed, used various aliases, stolen identity information, bogus credit cards…
Student private information breached in Fairfax County Public Schools
Remember last year and earlier this year when we covered a ransomware attack on Fairfax County Public Schools by Maze that impacted more than 170,000 people? Well, there’s no need to hack when it’s leaking due to human error or failure to adhere to federal law protecting students’ education records. Rick Horner reports: Fairfax County…