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Facebook CEO Zuckerberg's Twitter, Pinterest accounts Hacked! And the Password was...

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg's Twitter, Pinterest accounts Hacked! And the Password was...

Jun 06, 2016
The man who runs the biggest social network and continuously implements new security measures to boost its billion users security, himself failed to follow basics of Internet security for his own online accounts. Yes, I'm talking about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , who had his Twitter and Pinterest accounts compromised on Sunday. The hacker group from Saudi Arabia, dubbed OurMine , claimed responsibility for the hack and guess how the group did it? Thanks to the LinkedIn data breach ! The hackers tweeted that they found Zuck's account credentials in the recent LinkedIn data breach, from which they took his SHA1-hashed password string and then broke it and tried on several social media accounts. Also Read: Hacker Removed Zuckerberg's Facebook Cover Photo The group, which has more than 40,000 Twitter followers, then successfully broke into Zuck's Twitter ( @finkd ) and Pinterest profile and defaced its banners with its logo as well as tweeted out some offens
Philippines Bank hit by SWIFT Hacking Group allegedly linked to North Korea

Philippines Bank hit by SWIFT Hacking Group allegedly linked to North Korea

May 27, 2016
SWIFT Bank Hackers have attacked another bank in the Philippines using the same modus operandi as that in the $81 Million Bangladesh Bank heist . Security researchers at Symantec have found evidence that malware used by the hacking group shares code similarities with the malware families used in targeted attacks against South Korean and US government, finance, and media organizations in 2009. These historic attacks were attributed to the North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus , who hacked Sony Pictures in 2014. Also Read:   How Hackers Stole $80 Million from Bangladesh Bank . " At first, it was unclear what the motivation behind these attacks were, however, code sharing between Trojan.Banswift (used in the Bangladesh attack used to manipulate SWIFT transactions) and early variants of Backdoor.Contopee provided a connection, " Symantec blog post says. In past few months, some unknown hackers have been targeting banks across the world by gaining access to SWIFT, the worldwi
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
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
cyber security

Automated remediation solutions are crucial for security

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.
15-year-old Teenage Hacker Arrested Over FBI Computer Hack

15-year-old Teenage Hacker Arrested Over FBI Computer Hack

Feb 19, 2016
Another 15-year-old teenager got arrested from the land of cakes, Scotland, by British Police for breaking into the FBI Systems on 16th February. Under the Britain's anti-hacking law, Computer Misuse Act 1990 , the boy has been arrested for his role in hacking and unauthorized access to the digital material. Federal Agents had fled to Glasgow in an attempt to carry out a raid on his home before proceeding with the boy's arrest. "He has since been released and is the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal," a Police Spokesman told a Scottish journal. As with the present scenario, reports say that the boy could be extradited to the United States to face the Intrusion and hacking charges. Second Member of the Hacking Group Arrested The suspect is believed to be an active member of the notorious hacking group called " Crackas with Attitude " aka "CWA", Motherboard confirms . Another member of the same group got arrested f
Hackers have Hacked into US Arrest Records Database

Hackers have Hacked into US Arrest Records Database

Nov 07, 2015
The Group of teenage hackers, which previously hacked into the personal email of the CIA director John Brennan and published a large trove of sensitive data, has now had its hands on even more important and presumably secure target. Hackers Accessed Law Enforcement Private Portal The hacking group, Crackas With Attitude ( CWA ), claims it has gained access to a Law Enforcement Portal through which one can access: Arrest records Tools for sharing information about terrorist events and active shooters The system in question is reportedly known as the Joint Automated Booking System ( JABS ), which is only available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and law enforcement. Hackers Gained Access to FBI's Real-Time Chat System Moreover, the hacking group also says it has gained access to another tool that is something like a real-time chat system for the FBI to communicate with other law enforcement agents around the US. Two days ago, CWA published
Chinese Hackers Target Air-Gapped Networks in Southeast Asia

Chinese Hackers Target Air-Gapped Networks in Southeast Asia

Apr 13, 2015
A State-sponsored Cyber Espionage Group -- most likely linked to the Chinese government becomes the first group to target the so-called " Air-Gapped Networks " that aren't directly connected to the Internet. What are Air-Gapped systems? Air-gapped systems are known to be the most safest and secure systems on the earth. These systems are isolated from the Internet or any other Internet-connected computers or external networks. Air-gapped systems are generally used in the critical situations that demand high security like in payment networks to process debit and credit card transactions, military networks, and in industrial control systems that operate critical infrastructure of the Nation. Why Air-Gapped? It is very difficult to siphon data from Air-Gapped systems because it requires a physical access to the target system or machine in order to do that and gaining physical access is possible only by using removable devices such as a firewire cab
China Finally Admits It Has Army of Hackers

China Finally Admits It Has Army of Hackers

Mar 20, 2015
China finally admits it has special cyber warfare units — and a lot of them. From years China has been suspected by U.S. and many other countries for carrying out several high-profile cyber attacks, but every time the country strongly denied the claims. However, for the first time the country has admitted that it does have cyber warfare divisions – several of them, in fact. In the latest updated edition of a PLA publication called The Science of Military Strategy , China finally broke its silence and openly talked about its digital spying and network attack capabilities and clearly stated that it has specialized units devoted to wage war on computer networks. An expert on Chinese military strategy at the Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis, Joe McReynolds told TDB that this is the first time when China has explicit acknowledged that it has secretive cyber-warfare units, on both the military as well as civilian-government sides. CHINESE CYBER WARFARE UNI
NSA Planted Stuxnet-Type Malware Deep Within Hard Drive Firmware

NSA Planted Stuxnet-Type Malware Deep Within Hard Drive Firmware

Feb 17, 2015
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) may be hiding highly-sophisticated hacking payloads in the firmware of consumer hard drives over the last 15 to 20 years in a campaign, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on thousands of targets' computers, according to an analysis by Kaspersky labs and subsequent reports. 'EQUATION GROUP' BEHIND THE MALWARE The team of malicious actors is dubbed the the " Equation Group " by researchers from Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, and describes them as " probably one of the most sophisticated cyber attack groups in the world," and "the most advanced threat actor we have seen. " The security researchers have documented 500 infections by Equation Group and believes that the actual number of victims likely reaches into the tens of thousands because of a self-destruct mechanism built into the malware. TOP MANUFACTURERS' HARD DRIVES ARE INFECTED Russian security experts reportedly uncovered sta
UK Police Arrested Second Hacker Over PlayStation and Xbox DDoS attacks

UK Police Arrested Second Hacker Over PlayStation and Xbox DDoS attacks

Jan 17, 2015
A UK man linked to the notorious hacking group, Lizard Squad , that claimed responsibility for knocking Sony's PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Xbox Live offline on Christmas Day has been arrested by the United Kingdom police. Lizard Squad launched simultaneous Distributed Denial-of-Service ( DDoS ) attacks against the largest online gaming networks, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, on Dec. 25, 2014. Then offered to sell its own Lizard-branded DDoS-for-hire tool called Lizard Stresser . SECOND ARREST As part of an investigation, the UK Regional Organised Crime Unit, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have arrested an 18 year old teenager in Southport, near Liverpool, UK on Friday morning, and seized his electronic and digital devices as well. So far, this is the second arrest made in connection to the attack after Thames Valley Police arrested a 22-year old , named Vinnie Omari , also believed to have been an alleged member of Liz
Two 'Lizard Squad' Hackers Arrested After Christmas DDoS Attacks

Two 'Lizard Squad' Hackers Arrested After Christmas DDoS Attacks

Jan 02, 2015
A 22-year-old man linked to the notorious hacking group, Lizard Squad, that claimed responsibility for knocking Sony's PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Xbox Live offline on Christmas Day was arrested by the United Kingdom police on Monday. Lizard Squad launched simultaneous Distributed Denial-of-Service ( DDoS ) attacks against the largest online gaming networks, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, on Dec. 25. Then offered to sell its own Lizard-branded DDoS-for-hire tool called Lizard Stresser. Vinnie Omari , an alleged member of Lizard Squad, arrested by the police investigating PayPal thefts and cyber-fraud offences occurred in 2013-14 while raiding his London home. Law enforcement officials reportedly seized phones, laptops and an Xbox from his home. "The arrest is in connection with an ongoing investigation into cyber-fraud offences which took place between 2013 and August 2014 during which victims reported funds being stolen from their PayPal accounts,"
APT28 — State Sponsored Russian Hacker Group

APT28 — State Sponsored Russian Hacker Group

Oct 30, 2014
Nearly a decade-long cyber espionage group that targeted a variety of Eastern European governments and security-related organizations including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been exposed by a security research firm. The US intelligence firm FireEye released its latest Advanced Persistent Threat ( APT ) report on Tuesday which said that the cyber attacks targeting various organisations would be of the interest to Russia, and " may be " sponsored by the Russian government. The Report entitled " APT28: A Window Into Russia's Cyber Espionage Operations " published by FireEye has " evidence of long-standing, focused operations that indicate a government sponsor - specifically, a government based in Moscow. " " Despite rumours of the Russian government's alleged involvement in high-profile government and military cyber attacks, there has been little hard evidence of any link to cyber espionage, " Dan McWhort
Chinese Hackers Stole Blueprints of Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System

Chinese Hackers Stole Blueprints of Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System

Jul 29, 2014
Chinese hackers infiltrated the databases of three Israeli defense contractors and stole plans for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, according to an investigation by a Maryland-based cyber security firm ' Cyber Engineering Services Inc. (CyberESI) '. Not just this, the hackers were also able to nab plans regarding other missile interceptors, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, ballistic rockets and the Arrow III missile interceptor which was designed by Boeing and other U.S.-based companies. The intrusions were thought to be executed by Beijing's infamous " Comment Crew " hacking group – a group of cyber warriors linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) – into the corporate networks of top Israeli defense technology companies, including Elisra Group, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, between 10 October 2011 and 13 August 2012. The three Israeli defense technology companies were responsible for the developmen
Iranian Ajax Security Team targets US Defense Industry

Iranian Ajax Security Team targets US Defense Industry

May 14, 2014
The Iranian hacking group, which calls itself the " Ajax Security Team ", was quite famous from last few years for websites defacement attacks , and then suddenly they went into dark since past few months. But that doesn't mean that the group was inactive, rather defacing the websites, the group was planning something bigger. The Group of hackers at Ajax Security Team last defaced a website in December 2013 and after that it transitioned to sophisticated malware-based espionage campaigns in order to target U.S. defense organizations and Iranian dissidents, according to the report released by FireEye researchers. " The transition from patriotic hacking to cyber espionage is not an uncommon phenomenon. It typically follows an increasing politicization within the hacking community, particularly around geopolitical events ," researchers Nart Villeneuve, Ned Moran, Thoufique Haq and Mike Scott wrote in the report. " This is followed by increasing links between the hacking
US Navy's Nuclear Reactor System Administrator Arrested on Hacking Charges

US Navy's Nuclear Reactor System Administrator Arrested on Hacking Charges

May 07, 2014
The United States charged two men for their involvement in a conspiracy to hack into the computer systems of dozens of government and commercial organizations, including the U.S. Navy and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tulsa. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the 27 year old Virginia man, Nicholas Knight , who served as systems administrator in the nuclear reactor department of an aircraft carrier, was one of two individuals charged with one count of conspiring to hack the computer systems of about 30 public and private organizations, while he was active in his duty as a Navy member. Along with Knight, a 20 year old Illinois man, Daniel Krueger, who was a student at an Illinois community college where he studied network administration, was also charged with the conspiracy count for his participation to hack into the computer servers as part of a plan to steal identities, obstruct justice,
The Keen Team - Chinese Hacker Group Reveals their Identities

The Keen Team - Chinese Hacker Group Reveals their Identities

Apr 17, 2014
The Keen Team – a mysterious group of Chinese hackers who hacked Apple's Safari Mac OS X Mavericks system in just 20 seconds and Windows 8.1. Adobe Flash in only 15 seconds during Pwn2Own Hacking Competition this year, are no more mysterious as the team revealed its members identity. In an interview with a Chinese newspaper on this 13 April, the key member of the Keen team and co-founder as well as chief operating officer of the team's Shanghai-based parent company, Lv Yiping said half of his team members are the top scoring students in the national college entrance examination, half of them are majored in mathematics, and half are from Microsoft. He also added that the team's eight core members are the top hackers in the country. The Kean team is the first Chinese hackers group to have won the prestigious title at the world hacking contest held in Vancouver this year in March. Back in 2013, they also took part in the Mobile Pwn2Own contest held in Tokyo and succe
Syrian Electronic Army hacks U.S Central Command & threatens to leak Secret Documents

Syrian Electronic Army hacks U.S Central Command & threatens to leak Secret Documents

Mar 14, 2014
The Pro-hacker group, very well known as Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) aligned with president Bashar al-Assad, had recently taken down Forbes Website, sending a reminder to the international community that cyber warfare is alive and well, and this time the group has targeted U.S Central Command (CENTCOM) . Just a few minutes ago the SEA group has uploaded a screenshot and claims that they have compromised central repository of CENTCOM. From the screenshot, it appears that the group has hacked into the repository of Army Knowledge Online (AKO) , which   provides web-based enterprise information services to the United States Army, joint, and Department of Defense customers. " This is part of an on-going operation and we have already successfully penetrated many central repositories. #SEA " Hacking Group tweeted. The Group has  threatened to expose hundreds of secret documents that the group has obtained from the recent hack. "In the coming days we will updat
GhostShell leaks 2.5 million Russian government accounts as #ProjectBlackstar

GhostShell leaks 2.5 million Russian government accounts as #ProjectBlackstar

Nov 03, 2012
Team GhostShell hackers group who was responsible for the recent leak of some millions of records from top universities around the world once again strike back. As the part of " Project Blackstar " Hacking group GhostShell Declares War On Russia and leaks 2.5 millions of accounts belong to  governmental, educational, academical, political, law enforcement, telecom, research institutes, medical facilities, large corporations in such fields as energy, petroleum, banks, dealerships and many more. This set of hacks is spread out across 301 links, many of which simply contain raw dump files uploaded to GitHub and mirrored on paste sites like Slexy.org and PasteSite.com. The files include IP addresses, names, logins, email addresses, passwords, phone numbers, and even addresses. " The average citizen is forced to live an isolated life from the rest of the world imposed by it's politicians and leaders. A way of thinking outdated for well over 100 years now, " Team GhostShell mem
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