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Category — Cyber Criminal
19-Year-Old Hacker Arrested Over Making Hoax School and Flight Bomb Threats

19-Year-Old Hacker Arrested Over Making Hoax School and Flight Bomb Threats

Sep 06, 2018
British police have arrested a 19-year-old teen who is an alleged member of Apophis Squad cybercriminal group responsible for making hoax bomb threats to thousands of schools and airlines; and DDoSing ProtonMail and Tutanota secure email services. George Duke-Cohan was arrested in his bedroom at his family home in Watford by British National Crime Agency (NCA) on 31st August and pledged guilty to three counts of making bomb threats to schools and airlines in Luton Magistrates' Court on Monday. Duke-Cohan spammed out more than 24,000 emails to schools across the UK and in the US as well, claiming that pipe bombs had been planted on the premises, which would blow up the building if $5,000 extortion money was not made within 3 hours. He Got Arrested Third-Time For Making Hoax Bomb Threats This is not the first time Duke-Cohan has been arrested for spreading fake bomb threats. He first created panic in March this year when he emailed thousands of schools in the UK warnin...
Cybercriminals Hijack Router DNS to Distribute Android Banking Trojan

Cybercriminals Hijack Router DNS to Distribute Android Banking Trojan

Apr 16, 2018
Security researchers have been warning about an ongoing malware campaign hijacking Internet routers to distribute Android banking malware that steals users' sensitive information, login credentials and the secret code for two-factor authentication. In order to trick victims into installing the Android malware, dubbed Roaming Mantis , hackers have been hijacking DNS settings on vulnerable and poorly secured routers . DNS hijacking attack allows hackers to intercept traffic, inject rogue ads on web-pages and redirect users to phishing pages designed to trick them into sharing their sensitive information like login credentials, bank account details, and more. Hijacking routers' DNS for a malicious purpose is not new. Previously we reported about widespread DNSChanger and Switcher —both the malware worked by changing the DNS settings of the wireless routers to redirect traffic to malicious websites controlled by attackers. Discovered by security researchers at Kaspersk...
Beyond Compliance: The Advantage of Year-Round Network Pen Testing

Beyond Compliance: The Advantage of Year-Round Network Pen Testing

Nov 18, 2024Penetration Testing / Network Security
IT leaders know the drill—regulators and cyber insurers demand regular network penetration testing to keep the bad guys out. But here's the thing: hackers don't wait around for compliance schedules. Most companies approach network penetration testing on a set schedule, with the most common frequency being twice a year (29%), followed by three to four times per year (23%) and once per year (20%), according to the Kaseya Cybersecurity Survey Report 2024 . Compliance-focused testing can catch vulnerabilities that exist at the exact time of testing, but it's not enough to stay ahead of attackers in a meaningful way. Why More Frequent Testing Makes Sense When companies test more often, they're not just checking a box for compliance—they're actually protecting their networks. The Kaseya survey also points out that the top drivers for network penetration testing are: Cybersecurity Control and Validation (34%) – ensuring the security controls work and vulnerabilities are minimized. Re...
'LeakTheAnalyst' Hacker Who Claimed to Have Hacked FireEye Arrested

'LeakTheAnalyst' Hacker Who Claimed to Have Hacked FireEye Arrested

Nov 02, 2017
Remember the hacker who claimed to have breached FireEye late July this year? That alleged hacker has been arrested and taken into custody Thursday by international law enforcement, FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia informed the media. Late July, the hacker, whose name has not yet been disclosed, managed to hack the personal online accounts of a ‎Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst at Mandiant—a Virginia-based cybersecurity firm owned by the FireEye—and leaked nearly 32 megabytes of data belonging to Peretz. At that time, the hacker claimed that he had started #LeakTheAnalyst operation that aimed at doxing the security analysts who hunt hackers. The hacker also claimed to have had complete access to the company's internal networks since 2016. "Let's trash their reputation in the field," the hacker said. "It was fun to be inside a giant company named "Mandiant" we enjoyed watching how they try to protect their clients and how their dumb analysts are trying to reve...
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The AppSec & R&D Playbook: How to Align Security and Innovation

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AppSec vs. R&D? Bridge the gap with clear steps to streamline workflows and foster collaboration.
Hackers Steal $60 Million from Taiwanese Bank; Two Suspects Arrested

Hackers Steal $60 Million from Taiwanese Bank; Two Suspects Arrested

Oct 11, 2017
A Taiwanese bank has become the latest to fall victim to hackers siphoning off millions of dollars by targeting the backbone of the world financial system, SWIFT. SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Telecommunication, is a global financial messaging system that thousands of banks and commercial organizations across the world use to transfer billions of dollars every day. Hackers reportedly last week managed to steal almost $60 Million from Far Eastern International Bank in Taiwan by planting malware on the bank's servers and through the SWIFT interbank banking system. According to Taiwanese state-owned news agency Central News Agency, most of the stolen money has now been recovered, with only $500,000 remaining, and authorities have made two arrests in connection with the bank cyber-heist. Far Eastern on Friday admitted that some unknown hackers managed to install malware on computers and servers within its organization, and most crucially, onto a SWIFT terminal emplo...
APT33: Researchers Expose Iranian Hacking Group Linked to Destructive Malware

APT33: Researchers Expose Iranian Hacking Group Linked to Destructive Malware

Sep 20, 2017
Security researchers have recently uncovered a cyber espionage group targeting aerospace, defence and energy organisations in the United States, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. According to the latest research published Wednesday by US security firm FireEye, an Iranian hacking group that it calls Advanced Persistent Threat 33 (or APT33) has been targeting critical infrastructure, energy and military sectors since at least 2013 as part of a massive cyber-espionage operation to gather intelligence and steal trade secrets. The security firm also says it has evidence that APT33 works on behalf of Iran's government. FireEye researchers have spotted cyber attacks aimed by APT33 since at least May 2016 and found that the group has successfully targeted aviation sector—both military and commercial—as well as organisations in the energy sector with a link to petrochemical. The APT33 victims include a U.S. firm in the aerospace sector, a Saudi Arabian business conglomerate with avi...
Hacker Who Hacked US Spy Chief, FBI & CIA Director Gets 5-Year in Prison

Hacker Who Hacked US Spy Chief, FBI & CIA Director Gets 5-Year in Prison

Sep 09, 2017
Remember " Crackas With Attitude "? The hacking group behind a series of embarrassing hacks that targeted personal email accounts of senior officials at the FBI, the CIA, and the White House, among other United States federal agencies in 2015. A member of Crackas With Attitude , who was arrested last year in September, has now been sentenced to five years in federal prison. Justin Liverman, a 25-year-old man from Morehead City, who was known under the online alias "D3F4ULT," was arrested last year along with another member of the group—Andrew Otto Boggs, 23, of North Wilkesboro, who allegedly used the handle "INCURSIO." The duo hacked into multiple government organizations between October 2015 and February 2016. Boggs was sentenced to two years in prison on June 30, 2017, for his role. Liverman pleaded guilty on January 6 this year to conspiracy to hack U.S. government computers and accounts and was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Friday. ...
Marcus Hutchins (MalwareTech) Gets $30,000 Bail, But Can't Leave United States

Marcus Hutchins (MalwareTech) Gets $30,000 Bail, But Can't Leave United States

Aug 05, 2017
Marcus Hutchins, the malware analyst who helped stop global Wannacry menace , has reportedly pleaded not guilty to charges of creating and distributing the infamous Kronos banking malware and is set to release on $30,000 bail on Monday. Hutchins, the 23-year-old who operates under the alias MalwareTech on Twitter, stormed to fame and hailed as a hero over two months ago when he stopped a global epidemic of the WannaCry ransomware attack by finding a kill switch in the malware code. MalwareTech Arrested After Attending Def Con Event Hutchins was recently arrested at the McCarran International Airport before he could board his flight back to the U.K. after attending Def Con event for his alleged role in creating and distributing the Kronos Banking Trojan between 2014-2015. Kronos is a Banking Trojan designed to steal banking credentials and personal information from victims' computers, which was sold for $7,000 on Russian online forums. MalwareTech to Pay $30,000 for ...
Creator of NanoCore RAT Pleads Guilty to Aiding CyberCriminals

Creator of NanoCore RAT Pleads Guilty to Aiding CyberCriminals

Jul 27, 2017
A programmer who was arrested in March this year—not because he hacked someone, but because he created and distributed a remote access software that helped cyber criminals—has finally pleaded guilty. Taylor Huddleston , 26, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusions for intentionally selling a remote access tool (RAT), called NanoCore, to hackers. NanoCore RAT happens to be popular among hackers and has been linked to instructions in at least 10 countries, among them was a high-profile assault on Middle Eastern energy firms in 2015. NanoCore RAT, a $25 piece of remote access software, allows attackers to steal sensitive information from victim computers, such as passwords, emails, and instant messages. The RAT could even secretly activate the webcam on the victims' computers in order to spy on them. Huddleston began developing NanoCore in late 2012, not with any malicious purpose, but with a motive to o...
Gang Behind Fireball Malware that Infected 250 Million PCs Busted by Police

Gang Behind Fireball Malware that Infected 250 Million PCs Busted by Police

Jul 26, 2017
Chinese authorities have recently initiated a crackdown on the operators of a massive adware campaign that infected around 250 Million computers , including Windows and Mac OS, across the world earlier this year. The adware campaign was uncovered by security researchers at Check Point last month after it already infected over 25 million computers in India, 24 million in Brazil, 16 million in Mexico, 13 million in Indonesia and 5.5 million in the United States. Dubbed Fireball , the infamous adware comes bundled with other free legitimate software that you download off the Internet. Once installed, the malware installs browser plug-ins to manipulate the victim's web browser configurations and replace their default search engines and home pages with fake search engines. Far from legitimate purposes, Fireball has the ability to spy on victim's web traffic, execute malicious code on the infected computers, install plugins, and even perform efficient malware dropping, cr...
AlphaBay Shut Down After Police Raid; Alleged Founder Commits Suicide in Jail

AlphaBay Shut Down After Police Raid; Alleged Founder Commits Suicide in Jail

Jul 14, 2017
AlphaBay Market — one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces for drugs, guns, and other illegal goods — that mysteriously went dark earlier this month without any explanation from its admins has reportedly been shut down by the international authorities. On July 4th, the dark web marketplace suddenly went down without any explanation from its admins, which left its customers who have paid large sums in panic. Some customers even suspected that the site's admins had pulled an exit scam to steal user funds. However, according to the Wall Street Journal , the disappearance of the AlphaBay came after authorities in the United States, Canada, and Thailand collaborated to conduct a series of raids and arrest  Alexandre Cazes , who allegedly was one of the AlphaBay's operators. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the publication claims that Cazes, a resident of Canada, was arrested in Thailand and taken into custody in Bangkok on July 5th, the same day the ...
Russian Financial Cybercriminal Gets Over 9 Years In U.S. Prison

Russian Financial Cybercriminal Gets Over 9 Years In U.S. Prison

Jul 11, 2017
A 29-year-old Russian-born, Los Angeles resident has been sentenced to over nine years in prison for running botnets of half a million computers and stealing and trafficking tens of thousands of credit card numbers on exclusive Russian-speaking cybercriminal forums. Alexander Tverdokhlebov was arrested in February, pleaded guilty on March 31 to wire fraud and on Monday, a federal court sentenced him to 110 months in prison. According to court documents , Tverdokhlebov was an active member of several highly exclusive Russian-speaking cybercriminal forums largely engaged in money laundering services, selling stolen sensitive data, and malware tools since at least 2008. Tverdokhlebov offered several illegal services on these underground forums, including the exchange of tools, services and stolen personal and financial information. The hacker also operated several botnets – a network of compromised ordinary home and office computers that are controlled by hackers and can be us...
LinkedIn Hacker, Wanted by US & Russian, Can be Extradited to Either State

LinkedIn Hacker, Wanted by US & Russian, Can be Extradited to Either State

May 31, 2017
The alleged Russian hacker, who was arrested by the Czech police in Prague last October on suspicion of massive 2012 data breach at LinkedIn, can be extradited to either the United States or Russia, a Czech court ruled on Tuesday. Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin , a 29-years-old Russian national, is accused of allegedly hacking not just LinkedIn , but also the online cloud storage platform Dropbox , and now-defunct social-networking company Formspring. However, he has repeatedly denied all accusations. Nikulin was arrested in Prague on October 5 by the Czech police after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against him. Nikulin appeared at a court hearing held inside a high-security prison in Prague on Tuesday and emaciated after eight months in solitary confinement. The court ruling, pending appeals, left the final decision in the hands of Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, who can approve extradition to one of the countries and block the other. The United ...
US Charges Two Russian Spies & Two Hackers For Hacking 500 Million Yahoo Accounts

US Charges Two Russian Spies & Two Hackers For Hacking 500 Million Yahoo Accounts

Mar 15, 2017
The 2014 Yahoo hack disclosed late last year that compromised over 500 million Yahoo user accounts was believed to be carried out by a state-sponsored hacking group. Now, two Russian intelligence officers and two criminal hackers have been charged by the US government in connection with the 2014 Yahoo hack that compromised about 500 million Yahoo user accounts, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. According to the prosecutors, at least 30 million accounts were accessed as part of a spam campaign to access the email contents of thousands of people, including journalists, government officials, and technology company employees. The four defendants — Two officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and two other hackers — are identified as: Dmitry Aleksandrovich Dokuchaev, 33 — an officer in the FSB Center for Information Security at the time of the hack, and now Russian national and resident. Igor Anatolyevich Sushchin, 43 — an FSB officer, a superior...
Police Arrest 5 Cyber Thieves Who Stole 3.2 Million From ATMs Using Malware

Police Arrest 5 Cyber Thieves Who Stole 3.2 Million From ATMs Using Malware

Jan 28, 2017
Law enforcement authorities from Europe and Russia have arrested five members of an international cyber criminal gang for stealing $3.2 million cash from ATMs using malware. Three of the suspects, Andrejs Peregudovs (41), of Latvia, Niklae Penkov (34) of Moldova, and Mihail Colibaba (30) of Romania, were arrested in Taiwan by the Taiwanese Criminal Investigation Bureau last summer, have already been sentenced to 5 years in prison for their role in a massive ATM heist operation, involving 22 individuals from 6 countries. The European-based cyber criminal gang used a variety of different hacking techniques to infect ATMs with malware and force them to dispense cash. According to Europol that began its investigation in early 2016, the gang used spear-phishing emails containing malicious attachments to target bank employees and penetrate the bank's internal networks. From there, the cyber crooks then located and hacked into the network of ATMs from the inside, and used a m...
FBI Most Wanted Fugitive JPMorgan Hacker Arrested in New York

FBI Most Wanted Fugitive JPMorgan Hacker Arrested in New York

Dec 15, 2016
One of the FBI's most wanted hackers who was behind the largest theft of financial data has finally been arrested at the JFK airport in New York. Joshua Samuel Aaron is accused of being part of a hacking group that attacked several major financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase , and according to the officials, which was "the largest theft of user data from a U.S. financial institution in history." Aaron was believed to have been living as a fugitive in Moscow, Russia after being charged with hacking crimes in 2015, which exposed the personal information of more than 100 Million people. On June 2015, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Aaron by the United States District Court, and the FBI and US secret service agents arrested him upon his arrival at the JFK airport in NY, announced the US Department of Justice. "Aaron allegedly worked to hack into the networks of dozens of American companies, ultimately leading to the largest theft of person...
Hacker who stole Celebrity Emails, Tapes, Movie Scripts Gets 5 Years in Prison

Hacker who stole Celebrity Emails, Tapes, Movie Scripts Gets 5 Years in Prison

Dec 07, 2016
A hacker who was arrested last year for hacking into celebrities' email accounts to steal the unreleased movie and television scripts, their private messages, and tapes to sell them has finally been sentenced five years in prison. Alonzo Knowles , a 24-year-old Bahamian man, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in Manhattan on Tuesday. Knowles, who maintained a list of emails and phone numbers of 130 celebrities, pleaded guilty in May to charges of identity theft and criminal copyright infringement. The sentence is twice longer than the amount of years the federal sentencing guidelines suggested, as the judge felt that Knowles "would be a clear and present danger to commit the very same crime again," the New York Times reports . The hacker expressed remorse in court and had already handed over unreleased scripts, songs, and $1,900 in cash. The authorities arrested Knowles late December and seized his laptop that was later destroyed by inv...
Beware — Someone is dropping Malware-infected USB Sticks into People's Letterbox

Beware — Someone is dropping Malware-infected USB Sticks into People's Letterbox

Sep 22, 2016
Hey! Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't plug in that USB stick into your laptop. It could infect your computer with malware and viruses. Australia's Victoria Police Force has issued a warning regarding unmarked USB flash drives containing harmful malware being dropped inside random people's letterboxes in the Melbourne suburb of Pakenham. It seems to one of the latest tactics of cyber criminals to target people by dropping malware-laden USB sticks into their mailboxes, in the hope unsuspecting users will plug the infected devices into their personal or home computers. The warning, published on the official website of the Victoria Police, one of Australia's state police departments, reads: "Members of the public are allegedly finding unmarked USB drives in their letterboxes. Upon inserting the USB drives into their computers victims have experienced fraudulent media streaming service offers, as well as other serious issues [malware]. The USB drives are belie...
Fraudsters Stole ¥1.4 Billion from 1,400 Japanese ATMs in Just 3 Hours

Fraudsters Stole ¥1.4 Billion from 1,400 Japanese ATMs in Just 3 Hours

May 23, 2016
In an era where major data hacks are on the rise, it is no surprise breaches on individuals are also up. In just three hours, over 100 criminals managed to steal ¥1.4 Billion ( approx. US$12.7 Million ) from around 1,400 ATMs placed in small convenience stores across Japan. The heist took place on May 15, between 5:00 am and 8:00 am, and looked like a coordinated attack by an international crime network. The crooks operated around 1,400 convenience store ATMs from where the cash was withdrawn simultaneously in 16 prefectures around Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kanagawa, Aichi, Nagasaki, Hyogo, Chiba and Nigata, The Mainichi reports . Also Read: Tyupkin Malware Hacking ATM Machines Worldwide Many ATM incidents involve a long-established technique called ' ATM Skimming ' in which criminals install devices to obtain card details via its magnetic stripe, or use ATM malware or from data breaches, and then work with so-called carders and money mules to pilfe...
U.S. developing Technology to Identify and Track Hackers Worldwide

U.S. developing Technology to Identify and Track Hackers Worldwide

May 05, 2016
Without adequate analysis and algorithms, mass surveillance is not the answer to fighting terrorism and tracking suspects. That's what President Obama had learned last year when he signed the USA Freedom Act , which ends the bulk collection of domestic phone data by US Intelligence Agencies. There is no doubt that US Government is collecting a vast quantity of data from your smartphone to every connected device i.e. Internet of the things , but… Do they have enough capabilities to predict and identify terrorists or cyber criminals or state-sponsored hackers before they act? Well, if they had, I would not be getting chance to write about so many brutal cyber attacks , data breaches, and terrorist attacks that not only threatened Americans but also impacted people worldwide. The Ex-NSA technical director William E. Binney, who served the US National Security Agency for over 30-years, said last year in the front of Parliamentary Joint Committee that forcing analysts t...
Russian Hacker Who Stole From Banks Ordered to Pay $7 Million

Russian Hacker Who Stole From Banks Ordered to Pay $7 Million

May 03, 2016
A Russian man who spent about 3 years behind bars in the United States has been spared further prison time but ordered to pay $7 Million to cover damages he caused to banks using a vicious computer virus. Nikita Vladimirovich Kuzmin was arrested in 2010 and imprisoned in August 2011 for developing a sophisticated computer malware called Gozi and infecting more than 1 million computers worldwide, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses. Kuzmin was sentenced Monday to the 37 months he has already served in custody, and ordered to pay $6,934,979 that authorities have identified as the damages experienced by two major Banks, one located in the U.S. and the other in Europe, Department of Justice says . Kuzmin received a lighter sentence due to his "substantial assistance" in the investigation that resulted in the conviction of Latvian national Deniss Calovskis as well as the arrest of Romanian Mihai Ionut Paunescu, who is awaiting extradition to the United States. ...
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