AUSTRALIA - A South Australian woman narrowly avoided a complete financial disaster after falling victim to a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) scam that led to the loss of over $800,000. Authorities have since managed to recover a significant portion of the stolen funds, shedding light on the growing threat of cyber fraud in real estate transactions. The victim, who had been in the process of purchasing a property, received what appeared to be a legitimate … [Read more...]
FBI Seizes Internet Domains Associated with Major Cybercrime Ring; 17M Victims
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A multi-jurisdictional operation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several other law enforcement agencies has resulted in several well-known internet domains being seized that were a part of a major cybercrime ring responsible for hacking and stealing credentials from digital marketplaces. As of Wednesday, the Cracked.io and Nulled.to internet forums – long known as havens for threat actors who engaged in password theft, software … [Read more...]
Data Leak Impacts Snowflake Customers, Including Advanced Auto Parts, LendingTree
BOZEMAN, MT - In a significant data breach, several major companies have been impacted due to vulnerabilities in their Snowflake cloud storage accounts. The breach, which came to light in early June 2024, has affected companies like Advanced Auto Parts and LendingTree, among others. Details of the Breach: The breach involved unauthorized access to Snowflake's cloud storage, leading to the theft of vast amounts of data. The hacker, known by the alias "Sp1d3r," has … [Read more...]
Ticketmaster Faces Massive Data Breach, Affecting Millions of Users
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - Ticketmaster, the ticketing giant, is reeling from a major data breach that may have exposed the personal information of over half a billion users. The notorious hacking group ShinyHunters is claiming responsibility for the attack and is demanding a ransom of $500,000 to prevent the data from being sold. While Ticketmaster has yet to confirm the breach officially, security experts are taking the claims seriously. According to reports, the stolen data … [Read more...]
Investigation Uncovers 40,000 Phishing Domains Linked To LabHost Scam Operation
UNITED KINGDOM - The LabHost phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform, which had tens of thousands of phishing domains linked to it and thousands of users worldwide, has had its infrastructure completely disrupted and 37 suspects have been arrested – including the original developer – following a year-long global law enforcement operation. Originally launched in 2021, LabHost was a resource for cybercriminals that – for a monthly subscription fee – provided them … [Read more...]
Omni Hotels & Resorts Suffers Breach, Potentially Impacting Millions
DALLAS, TX - Last month, Omni Hotels & Resorts, a prominent hotel chain, experienced a cybersecurity breach that resulted in the theft of customer information. In an update on their website, Omni confirmed that the stolen data includes customer names, email addresses, postal addresses, and guest loyalty program information. However, financial information and Social Security numbers were not compromised. The breach was detected on March 29, prompting Omni to shut down … [Read more...]
Thousands of Domain Names Owned by Legitimate Brands Hijacked to Send Spam
TEL AVIV - As part of a sophisticated scheme involving spam proliferation and click monetization, over 8,000 domains and 13,000 sub-domains once owned by major, legitimate brands and institutions have been hijacked to allow millions of spam emails to bypass standard security blocks for nefarious gain. This coordinated malicious activity – dubbed “SubdoMailing” – has been going on since at least September 2022, according to Guardio Labs, the Israeli security … [Read more...]
World’s Biggest Ransomware Group Shut Down, Domains Seized in Global Operation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The operations of infamous ransomware group LockBit have been shut down, their domains seized, and several high-ranking members placed under arrest as the result of a recent digital takedown carried out by an international law enforcement operation. Operation Cronos, the code name of a joint effort made up by agencies representing 11 countries – Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United … [Read more...]
Experts: 23andMe Hack Is DNA Catastrophe; Leaked Millions of Genetic Profiles
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Earlier this week, in a startling revelation, 23andMe conceded that a hack in October was significantly worse than initially reported. Affecting nearly 6.9 million people, the scale of this data breach was shockingly larger than the initially stated figure of 14,000 users. Regrettably, the stolen data contained not only sensitive information such as full names, but genetic profiles. Yet, the severity of the situation was met with indifference by some … [Read more...]
PII Of Up To 4.6 Million Neiman Marcus Customers Potentially Exposed In Breach
PALM BEACH, FL - On Thursday, September 30, 2021, luxury department store Neiman Marcus announced that about 4.6 million of its customers may have had their personally identifiable information or PII compromised in a data breach that occurred in May 2020. The personal information stolen in the breach varied and may have included names and contact information, payment card numbers and expiration dates including virtual gift card numbers. Worse, the cyber-thieves may have … [Read more...]
Be Prepared for Clever Scams & Tactics
I often write about security, privacy and other important personal safety issues such as being and keeping aware of security vulnerabilities, email threats and phishing scams..... It is often very simple precautions you can take which will save you a lifetime of headaches. With this type of material in mind, I received the following tips by email over the weekend from a family member and they are seem like they are worth sharing (rather than just deleting) as they will keep … [Read more...]
No More Procrastinating on Two Factor Authenticating Protect Your Domains
There is one thing that can come between you and your business regardless of whom you are and how safe you feel your security procedures might be and that’s theft – especially in the domain business. There is a lot that can go wrong in the Internet business as it is, but likely nothing would be as bad as someone stealing your entire Internet address. Poof, all the sudden your entire business is gone. In a brick-and-motor business, it’s not likely that someone will come along … [Read more...]