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This Cryptomining Malware Launches Linux VMs On Windows and macOS

This Cryptomining Malware Launches Linux VMs On Windows and macOS
Jun 21, 2019
Cybersecurity researchers from at least two firms today unveiled details of a new strain of malware that targets Windows and macOS systems with a Linux-based cryptocurrency mining malware. It may sound strange, but it's true. Dubbed " LoudMiner " and also " Bird Miner, " the attack leverages command-line based virtualization software on targeted systems to silently boot an image of Tiny Core Linux OS that already contains a hacker-activated cryptocurrency mining software in it. Isn't it interesting to use emulation to run single-platform malware on cross-platforms? Spotted by researchers at ESET and Malwarebytes , attackers are distributing this malware bundled with pirated and cracked copies of VST (Virtual Studio Technology) software on the Internet and via Torrent network since August 2018. VST applications contain sounds, effects, synthesizers, and other advanced editing features that allow tech-centric audio professionals to create music.

Suspected 'Big Bitcoin Heist' Mastermind Fled to Sweden On Icelandic PM's Plane

Suspected 'Big Bitcoin Heist' Mastermind Fled to Sweden On Icelandic PM's Plane
Apr 18, 2018
Remember the " Big bitcoin heist " we reported last month when a group of thieves stole around 600 powerful bitcoin mining devices from Icelandic data centers? Icelandic Police had arrested 11 suspects as part of the investigation, one of which has escaped from prison and fled to Sweden on a passenger plane reportedly also carrying the Icelandic prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir. Sindri Thor Stefansson , who is suspected of masterminding the whole theft of almost $2 million worth of cryptocurrency-mining equipment, traveled under a passport of someone else but identified through surveillance footage. Stefansson had recently been transferred to a low-security Sogn prison, located in rural southern Iceland (just 59 miles away from Iceland's international airport in Keflavik), from where he escaped through a window early Tuesday and boarded the flight to Sweden. Prime minister Jakobsdottir was on her way to Sweden to take part in India-Nordic Summit and meet Indi

Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future

Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future
Mar 21, 2024Operational Technology / SCADA Security
When you read reports about cyber-attacks affecting operational technology (OT), it's easy to get caught up in the hype and assume every single one is sophisticated. But are OT environments all over the world really besieged by a constant barrage of complex cyber-attacks? Answering that would require breaking down the different types of OT cyber-attacks and then looking back on all the historical attacks to see how those types compare.  The Types of OT Cyber-Attacks Over the past few decades, there has been a growing awareness of the need for improved cybersecurity practices in IT's lesser-known counterpart, OT. In fact, the lines of what constitutes a cyber-attack on OT have never been well defined, and if anything, they have further blurred over time. Therefore, we'd like to begin this post with a discussion around the ways in which cyber-attacks can either target or just simply impact OT, and why it might be important for us to make the distinction going forward. Figure 1 The Pu

600 Powerful Bitcoin-Mining Computers Worth $2 Million Stolen In Iceland

600 Powerful Bitcoin-Mining Computers Worth $2 Million Stolen In Iceland
Mar 05, 2018
Around 600 powerful devices specifically designed for mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been stolen from Icelandic data centers in what has been dubbed the "Big Bitcoin Heist." To make a profit, so far criminals have hacked cryptocurrency exchanges , spread mining malware , and ransomware —and even kidnapped cryptocurrency investors for ransom and tried to rob a bitcoin exchange , but now the greed has reached another level. The powerful computers are estimated to be worth around $2 million, Associated Press reports , and are used to generate cryptocurrency that at the time of this writing are worth $11,500 each. The theft, which took place between late December and early January, is one of the biggest series of robberies Iceland has ever experienced, according to law enforcement. "This is grand theft on a scale unseen before," said Police Commissioner Olafur Helgi Kjartansson of the southwestern Reykjanes peninsula. There were four differe

Automated remediation solutions are crucial for security

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websiteWing SecurityShadow IT / SaaS Security
Especially when it comes to securing employees' SaaS usage, don't settle for a longer to-do list. Auto-remediation is key to achieving SaaS security.

CowerSnail — Windows Backdoor from the Creators of SambaCry Linux Malware

CowerSnail — Windows Backdoor from the Creators of SambaCry Linux Malware
Jul 27, 2017
Last month, we reported about a group of hackers exploiting SambaCry —a 7-year-old critical remote code execution vulnerability in Samba networking software—to hack Linux computers and install malware to mine cryptocurrencies. The same group of hackers is now targeting Windows machines with a new backdoor, which is a QT-based re-compiled version of the same malware used to target Linux. Dubbed CowerSnail , detected by security researchers at Kaspersky Labs as Backdoor.Win32.CowerSnail, is a fully-featured windows backdoor that allows its creators to remotely execute any commands on the infected systems. Wondering how these two separate campaigns are connected? Interestingly, the CowerSnail backdoor uses the same command and control (C&C) server as the malware that was used to infect Linux machines to mine cryptocurrency last month by exploiting the then-recently exposed SambaCry vulnerability. Common C&C Server Location — cl.ezreal.space:20480 SambaCry vulnerabi

Creator of Bitcoin Mining Schemes faces $12 Million for Ponzi Scam

Creator of Bitcoin Mining Schemes faces $12 Million for Ponzi Scam
Jun 06, 2017
Every time a new topic trends on the Internet, scammers take advantage of it. You must have heard of Bitcoin and how in recent days it has made some early investors millionaire overnight. Yes, the Bitcoin boom is back, and it's real — a digital currency that has just crossed a new milestone today. The current price of 1 BTC or 1 Bitcoin = US$2,850. An American con man took advantage of this boom in Bitcoin market to run bogus bitcoin mining schemes and earn millions of dollars. But the bogus schemes ended as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has won a legal battle against two bogus, but now defunct, Bitcoin companies operated by Homero Joshua Garza — GAW Miners and ZenMiner. Garza is now facing a $12 Million (£9.2 Million) penalty for running the bogus schemes – what lawmakers have certified was a "Ponzi scheme." According to the SEC, Garza used the "lure of quick riches" in order to get people to invest in the bitcoin mi

DDoSCoin — New Crypto-Currency Pays Users for Participating in DDoS Attacks

DDoSCoin — New Crypto-Currency Pays Users for Participating in DDoS Attacks
Aug 14, 2016
It's 2016, and now, you can earn some dollars by contributing into well-organized DDoS attack scheme. Do you know while mining Bitcoins you are actually contributing a significant computational power to keep the Bitcoin network running? In Bitcoins, the miners actually build and maintain massive public ledger containing a record of every Bitcoin transaction in history. When one user tries to send Bitcoins to another user, the miners validate the transfer by checking the ledger to make sure the sender is not transferring money he/she does not have, adding the transaction to the ledger and then finally sealing it behind layers and layers of computational work to protect that ledger from getting compromised or hacked. So for this, miners are rewarded with Bitcoins. So, basically, you are contributing the massive amount of computing power that keeps the Bitcoin transactions running and makes you earn some cryptocurrency in return as an incentive. However, Bitcoin has long be

Bitcoin Exchange Offers $3.5 Million Reward for Information of Stolen Bitcoins

Bitcoin Exchange Offers $3.5 Million Reward for Information of Stolen Bitcoins
Aug 14, 2016
Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange 'Bitfinex' that lost around $72 Million worth of its customers' Bitcoins last week is now offering a reward of $3.5 Million to anyone who can provide information that leads to the recovery of the stolen Bitcoins. Bitfinex revealed on August 2 that the cryptocurrency exchange had suffered a major security breach, which resulted in the loss of nearly 120,000 BTC. The hack led to a 36 percent loss for each Bitfinex customer, who will be issued tokens to be redeemed as the company is able to reimburse the losses. Now, the exchange is willing to offer 5% of the lost funds ( nearly 6,000 BTC ) as a reward for the recovery of the stolen bitcoins. The news came after a Reddit user, using alias someguy916, inquired about a reward Bitfinex would be willing to offer for the stolen bitcoins. In response to the question, Bitfinex community director Zane Tackett stated that a bounty would be awarded to anyone who has information that would hel

Bitcoin Core Developers Quit Bitcoin Project to Launch a New Digital Currency

Bitcoin Core Developers Quit Bitcoin Project to Launch a New Digital Currency
Dec 28, 2016
Some of Bitcoin's Core developers have left the Bitcoin project and started building their separate cryptocurrency called DECRED . Decred aims to prevent the issues Bitcoin is currently facing regarding project governance and development funding. CEO of ' Company 0 ', Mr. Jacob Yocom-Piatt , who has funded Bitcoin development since early 2013, said the actual development of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency is funded by external entities that forms a conflict of interests between the groups and the project's core developers. According to Bitcoin's developers, these group puts limitations on input in Bitcoin's governance, selecting options that are favorable to their own interests only, and generally ignoring the developers' and project's best interests. "The Bitcoin software is controlled by a small group of people who decide exclusively what can and cannot be changed," Jacob says in a press release . "This is in part due to a la

Police Raid alleged Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright's Home in Sydney

Police Raid alleged Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright's Home in Sydney
Dec 09, 2015
Just hours after the Australian man ' Craig Steven Wright ' outed as the possible real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto , the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Australian Police raided his home in Sydney. Over 10 police officers raided Wright's home in the Sydney suburbs on Wednesday afternoon. They forcefully opened the door, and 'started searching the cupboards and surfaces of the garage.' However, the Sydney police raid at Wright's home is not associated with the claims of his being involved in creating Bitcoins, rather related to the Australian Taxation Office investigation, the Guardian reported . Wright was recently identified as the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, based on leaked transcripts of legal interviews and a number of emails and blog posts. However, neither Dr. Wright nor anyone else has publicly confirmed the real identity of the founder of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto. In a statement, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers said the raids weren

Bitcoin Creator 'Satoshi Nakamoto' Unmasked! An Australian Man 'Craig Wright' identified...

Bitcoin Creator 'Satoshi Nakamoto' Unmasked! An Australian Man 'Craig Wright' identified...
Dec 09, 2015
Breaking Update:   Police Raid alleged Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright's Home in Sydney . Yes, Satoshi Nakamoto , the mysterious creator of the Bitcoin digital cryptocurrency has possibly been identified as an Australian entrepreneur, according to investigations independently done by Wired and Gizmodo . His name is Craig Steven Wright … ...at least based on some convincing evidence shown by both the publications. Bitcoin is a revolutionary virtual currency developed around Blockchain , a complicated cryptographic protocol and a global computers network that oversees and verifies which Bitcoins have been spent by whom. The identity of the ones spending Bitcoins are extremely difficult to trace because of its anonymous nature, therefore, are very popular among criminals. Also Read:   Meet The World's First Person Who Hacked His Body to Implant a Bitcoin Payment CHIP Satoshi Nakamoto is not only the father of an entire economy worth Billions of dollars,

Mt.Gox Bitcoin Exchange CEO Arrested by Japanese Police

Mt.Gox Bitcoin Exchange CEO Arrested by Japanese Police
Aug 03, 2015
Remember  Mt.Gox ? Once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange… ...then in early 2014, Tokyo-based Mt.Gox Bitcoin exchange filed for bankruptcy saying it lost some 8,50,000 Bitcoins (worth $64 Million) to hackers and suddenly went dark with no explanation. Last Friday, Mark Karpeles , the former CEO of the collapsed Mt.Gox, was arrested by Tokyo Metropolitan Police in connection with the disappearance of Bitcoins worth £247 Million. Police believe Mr. Karpeles had accessed the computer system of the Bitcoin exchange and manipulated the outstanding balance to cover up fraudulent transactions. The company said at the time that 750,000 customers' Bitcoins and another 100,000 belonging to the exchange were stolen due to an unknown vulnerability in the company's software. While he is not yet been charged, the authorities are investigating his involvement in the stealing of Millions of dollars of the Bitcoin virtual currency when the exchange collapsed in 2014. Mt

Bitcoin Cloud Mining Service Hacked; Database On Sale for Just 1 Bitcoin

Bitcoin Cloud Mining Service Hacked; Database On Sale for Just 1 Bitcoin
Jul 13, 2015
Bitcoin Cloud Mining service Cloudminr.io has been hacked and its whole users database is on sale for 1 Bitcoin . The unknown hackers have successfully taken full control of the website's server and defaced the homepage of the website. Users visiting the website are greeted with a defaced homepage showing the partial database of around 1000 clients including their usernames and unencrypted passwords in completely plain text format. This clearly indicates that the company is not following the best security practices to secure their users private data as the passwords were not even hashed before storing into the database. Hackers offering around 80,000 users database for 1BTC The database of 1000 users shown on the website homepage is just a sample given by the hackers while they have compromised around 80,000 users database in total from the cloud mining service. The hackers are offering the entire database of thousands of users for the just 1BTC , w

BEWARE! μTorrent Silently Installing Bitcoin Mining Software

BEWARE! μTorrent Silently Installing Bitcoin Mining Software
Mar 06, 2015
If you have recently installed or updated the popular BitTorrent client μTorrent 3.4.2 Build 28913 on your computer, then you read this warning post right now. Users of the μTorrent file-sharing service are complaining that the latest update of software used for torrent downloading is silently installing a piece of unwanted software called EpicScale , which is basically a Bitcoin mining software . Note: Story update has been added below. USER COMPLAINTS ON SILENT  INSTALLATION The Epic Scale , installed without the consent of users, is a cryptocurrency mining software that reportedly uses the combined computing power of users to generate Bitcoin income for BitTorrent company. The unwanted software slows down the host computers and is particularly harder to remove from the system. The Bitcoin mining software was recently highlighted at uTorrent's complaint forum where a member ' Groundrunner ' says: " There was no information about this during installation

Bitstamp Bitcoin Exchange Hacked, $5 Million Stolen in Hack Attack

Bitstamp Bitcoin Exchange Hacked, $5 Million Stolen in Hack Attack
Jan 06, 2015
One of the biggest, reliable and most trusted Bitcoin exchange — Bitstamp — on Monday announced that it has been a target of a hacking attack, which lead to the theft of " less than 19,000 BTC" (worth about $5 million in virtual currency; one BTC is about $270). Bitstamp issued a statement on its official website in which the company warned its users not to deposit any Bitcoin to previously issued addresses, so as to prevent further losses. While the investigation is going on, the company has frozen its user accounts, blocked deposits as well as other transactions and suspended the trading business. After the Slovenian-based Bitcoin exchange suspected the security breach over the weekend that compromised one of Bitstamp's operational and active bitcoin storage wallets, the exchange suspended its service for the time being. The company reassured its users that the security breach only affected its " operational wallet ," i.e. only " a small fr
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