The Hacker News | #1 Trusted Source for Cybersecurity News — Index Page

Remember SambaCry ? Two weeks ago we reported about a 7-year-old critical remote code execution vulnerability in Samba networking software (re-implementation of SMB networking protocol) that allows a remote hacker to take full control of a vulnerable Linux and Unix machines. To know more about the SambaCry vulnerability (CVE-2017-7494) and how it works, you can read our previous article . At that time, nearly 485,000 Samba-enabled computers were found to be exposed on the Internet, and researchers predicted that the SambaCry-based attacks also have potential to spread just like WannaCry ransomware widely. The prediction came out to be quite accurate, as honeypots set up by the team of researchers from Kaspersky Lab have captured a malware campaign that is exploiting SambaCry vulnerability to infect Linux computers with cryptocurrency mining software. Another security researcher, Omri Ben Bassat‏, independently discovered  the same campaign and named it "EternalMiner...

Social media networks are no doubt a quick and powerful way to share information and ideas, but not everything shared on Facebook or Twitter is true. Misinformation, or "Fake News," has emerged as a primary issue for social media platforms, seeking to influence millions of people with wrong propaganda and falsehoods. In past years, we have seen how political parties and other groups have used spoofed social media profiles of influencers or leaders to spread misinformation, and most of the time such techniques work to successfully convince people into believing that the information is true. Although social media services like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, offers account verification (verified accounts with blue tick) for public figures, we have seen hackers hijacking verified accounts to spread fake news from legitimate account to their millions of followers. Now, researchers have uncovered a new, cunning attack technique currently being used by hackers to take ove...

It's not hard for a well-funded state-sponsored hacking group to break into corporate networks and compromise systems with malware, but what's challenging for them is to keep that backdoor and its communication undetectable from a firewall and other network monitoring applications. However, a cyber-espionage group known as " Platinum ," that is actively targeting governmental organisations, defense institutes, and telecommunication providers since at least 2009, has found a way to hide its malicious activities from host-based protection mechanisms. Microsoft has recently discovered that the cyber-espionage group is now leveraging Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) Serial-over-LAN (SOL) channel as a file-transfer tool to steal data from the targeted computers without detection. Intel-based chip sets come with an embedded technology, called AMT, which is designed to allow IT administrators to remotely manage and repair PCs, workstations, and serve...

SaaS Adoption is Skyrocketing, Resilience Hasn't Kept Pace SaaS platforms have revolutionized how businesses operate. They simplify collaboration, accelerate deployment, and reduce the overhead of managing infrastructure. But with their rise comes a subtle, dangerous assumption: that the convenience of SaaS extends to resilience. It doesn't. These platforms weren't built with full-scale data protection in mind . Most follow a shared responsibility model — wherein the provider ensures uptime and application security, but the data inside is your responsibility. In a world of hybrid architectures, global teams, and relentless cyber threats, that responsibility is harder than ever to manage. Modern organizations are being stretched across: Hybrid and multi-cloud environments with decentralized data sprawl Complex integration layers between IaaS, SaaS, and legacy systems Expanding regulatory pressure with steeper penalties for noncompliance Escalating ransomware threats and inside...

Image Source: South China Morning Post Chinese authorities have announced the arrest of around 22 distributors working as Apple distributors as part of a $7 million operation, who stole customers' personal information from an internal Apple database and illegally sold it to Chinese black market vendors. According to a report from Chinese media , this underground network reportedly consisted of employees working in direct Apple suppliers, and other outsource firms in the Zhejiang, a province in eastern China. These employees had access to Apple databases along with other tools containing sensitive information about its customers. They allegedly used their company's internal computer system to gather data includes usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, and Apple IDs, and then sold it in the underground market for between 10 yuan ($1.47) and 80 yuan ($11.78) per data point. So far, the network has made a total of 50 million yuan (around $7.36 million). However, it is ...

A new Android-rooting malware with an ability to disable device' security settings in an effort to perform malicious tasks in the background has been detected on the official Play Store. What's interesting? The app was smart enough to fool Google security mechanism by first pretending itself to be a clean app and then temporarily replacing it with a malicious version. Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab discovered a new piece of Android rooting malware that was being distributed as gaming apps on the Google Play Store, hiding behind puzzle game " colourblock ," which was being downloaded at least 50,000 times prior to its removal. Dubbed Dvmap , the Android rooting malware disables device's security settings to install another malicious app from a third-party source and also injects malicious code into the device system runtime libraries to gain root access and stay persistent. "To bypass Google Play Store security checks, the malware creators used ...

Security researchers have discovered over a dozen of vulnerabilities in tens of thousands of web-connected cameras that can not be protected just by changing their default credentials. Vulnerabilities found in two models of IP cameras from China-based manufacturer Foscam allow attackers to take over the camera, view video feeds, and, in some cases, even gain access to other devices connected to a local network. Researchers at security firm F-Secure discovered 18 vulnerabilities in two camera models — one sold under the Foscam C2 and other under Opticam i5 HD brand — that are still unpatched despite the company was informed several months ago. In addition to the Foscam and Opticam brands, F-Secure also said the vulnerabilities were likely to exist in 14 other brands that use Foscam internals, including Chacon, 7links, Netis, Turbox, Thomson, Novodio, Nexxt, Ambientcam, Technaxx, Qcam, Ivue, Ebode and Sab. The flaws discovered in the IP cameras includes: Insecure default cr...

" Disable macros and always be extra careful when you manually enable it while opening Microsoft Office Word documents. " You might have heard of above-mentioned security warning multiple times on the Internet as hackers usually leverage this decade old macros-based hacking technique to hack computers through specially crafted Microsoft Office files, particularly Word, attached to spam emails. But a new social engineering attack has been discovered in the wild, which doesn't require users to enable macros ; instead it executes malware on a targeted system using PowerShell commands embedded inside a PowerPoint (PPT) file. Moreover, the malicious PowerShell code hidden inside the document triggers as soon as the victim moves/hovers a mouse over a link (as shown), which downloads an additional payload on the compromised machine -- even without clicking it. Researchers at Security firm SentinelOne have discovered that a group of hackers is using malicious PowerPoi...

Russian antivirus vendor Kaspersky Lab is so upset with US software giant Microsoft that the security firm has filed more antitrust complaints against the company. The antivirus firm initially filed a lawsuit late last year against Microsoft with Russian Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) over alleged abuse of Microsoft's dominant position in the desktop market to push its own antivirus software with Windows 10 and unfair competition in the market. Microsoft ships Windows 10 with its own security software Windows Defender, which comes enabled it by default with the operating system. While Microsoft has made some changes in Windows Defender since the initial complaint, Kaspersky Lab is not satisfied with the changes, filing more antitrust complaints against the software giant, this time with the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office. Kaspersky Accuses Microsoft of Unfair Competitive Practices The antivirus firm told European antitrust regulators that Mi...

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...