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In Brief: Sony is finally bolstering the security of the PlayStation Network by adding Two-Factor Authentication to the servers — almost five years after a massive hack that exposed data of over 77 Million users. Sony confirmed to Polygon today that it is planning to introduce two-factor verification to its PlayStation Network widely soon after a Twitter user saw a reference to it in the latest 4.80 firmware update for the PlayStation 3. Although there is no official announcement from the company revealing when two-step authentication will be implemented in PSN, the representative told sources that "more details will be shared at a later date." Microsoft has been providing two-step verification to its Xbox Live users since 2013. The feature is also used on Battle.net and Steam. Two-Factor authentication, also known as two-step verification, is a process that requires you to submit two different forms of verification when logging into a service: One is your

Hacktivism Breached 174 Million Records in 2011 According to the Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report released on Thursday, Hacktivists stole more data from large corporations than cybercriminals in 2011, according to a study of significant security incidents. The report surveyed 855 data breaches, where a combined 174 million digital records were purloined. Although a large number of records were compromised in 2011, the year was only the second-highest since Verizon began collecting breach information in 2004. " While a few 2011 breach victims estimated their losses to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, most did not get near to that amount ," it said. " In fact, the large majority of them emerged relatively unscathed from their troubles. " In the report, Verizon, pointing to the " Arab Spring " protests, called 2011 " a year of civil and cultural uprising ."Certainly, hacktivists such as LulzSec did hog a good deal of the

Over the past two years, a shocking  51% of organizations surveyed in a leading industry report have been compromised by a cyberattack.  Yes, over half.  And this, in a world where enterprises deploy  an average of 53 different security solutions  to safeguard their digital domain.  Alarming? Absolutely. A recent survey of CISOs and CIOs, commissioned by Pentera and conducted by Global Surveyz Research, offers a quantifiable glimpse into this evolving battlefield, revealing a stark contrast between the growing risks and the tightening budget constraints under which cybersecurity professionals operate. With this report, Pentera has once again taken a magnifying glass to the state of pentesting to release its annual report about today's pentesting practices. Engaging with 450 security executives from North America, LATAM, APAC, and EMEA—all in VP or C-level positions at organizations with over 1,000 employees—the report paints a current picture of modern security validation prac

Internet hacktivist group Anonymous has declared cyberwar on Israel, posting personal data of five thousand Israeli officials online. " It has come to our attention that the Israeli government has ignored repeated warnings about the abuse of human rights, shutting down the internet in Israel and mistreating its own citizens and those of its neighboring countries ," the hackers wrote in a statement. The document contains names, email addresses and ID numbers apparently belonging to Israeli officials. The group also said " Israeli Gov. this is/will turn into a cyberwar. " Earlier, the group hacked over 700 hundred Israeli websites, including the Bank of Jerusalem, the Israeli Defence Ministry, the IDF blog, the President's official website and many others. The Israel's finance minister has acknowledged the recent wave of attacks, saying the government is now waging a war on a "second front."

Cloudflare on Wednesday disclosed that it acted to mitigate a 15.3 million request-per-second (RPS) distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The web infrastructure and website security company called it one of the "largest HTTPS DDoS attacks on record."  "HTTPS DDoS attacks are more expensive in terms of required computational resources because of the higher cost of establishing a secure TLS encrypted connection," Cloudflare's Omer Yoachimik and Julien Desgats  said . "Therefore it costs the attacker more to launch the attack, and for the victim to mitigate it." The volumetric DDoS attack is said to have lasted less than 15 seconds and targeted an unnamed Cloudflare customer operating a crypto launchpad.  Volumetric DDoS attacks are designed to overwhelm a target network/service with significantly high volumes of malicious traffic, which typically originate from a botnet under a threat actor's control. Cloudflare said the latest attack w

Barrett Brown , a journalist formerly served as an unofficial spokesman for the hacktivist collective Anonymous , was sentenced Thursday to over five years in prison, after pleading guilty to federal charges of  " transmitting a threat in interstate commerce ,"   " for interfering with the execution of a search warrant ," and to being " accessory after the fact in the unauthorized access to a protected computer ." After already having served over 2 years ( 31 months ) in detention, Texas court in Dallas has sentenced Barrett Brown to 63 months in federal prison and also ordered him to pay a little more than $890,000 in restitution and fines related to the 2011 hack of Stratfor Global Intelligence . Over a year ago, another federal judge sentenced Anonymous member Jeremy Hammond to 10 years in prison for making millions of emails from the servers of security firm Stratfor public. It's Hammond who said that Brown simply linked to the hacked

The threat actors behind the  DDoSia  attack tool have come up with a new version that incorporates a new mechanism to retrieve the list of targets to be bombarded with junk HTTP requests in an attempt to bring them down. The updated variant, written in Golang, "implements an additional security mechanism to conceal the list of targets, which is transmitted from the [command-and-control] to the users," cybersecurity company Sekoia  said  in a technical write-up. DDoSia is attributed to a pro-Russian hacker group called  NoName(057)16 . Launched in 2022 and a successor of the  Bobik botnet , the attack tool is  designed  for staging distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against targets primarily located in Europe as well as Australia, Canada, and Japan. Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Czechia, Denmark, Latvia, France, the U.K., and Switzerland have emerged as the most targeted countries over a period ranging from May 8 to June 26, 2023. A total of 486 different w

The 2023/2024 Axur Threat Landscape Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the latest cyber threats. The information combines data from the platform's surveillance of the Surface, Deep, and Dark Web with insights derived from the in-depth research and investigations conducted by the Threat Intelligence team. Discover the full scope of digital threats in the Axur Report 2023/2024. Overview In 2023, the cybersecurity landscape witnessed a remarkable rise in cyberattacks.  One notable shift was the cyber risk integration with business risk, a concept gaining traction in boardrooms worldwide. As the magnitude of losses due to cyberattacks became evident, organizations started reevaluating their strategies.  Geopolitical factors played a significant role in shaping information security. The conflicts between nations like Russia and Ukraine had ripple effects, influencing the tactics of cybercriminals. It was a year where external factors intertwined with digital threats. Ran

The online hacktivist group Anonymous has followed through on its promise to disclose the identities of hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members. On Monday, Anonymous vowed to release the full info dump of about  1,000 alleged Ku Klux Klan members with a chosen date of 5th of this November. As promised, Anonymous posted a link to a Pastebin account with the names, aliases, Google Plus profiles, Facebook accounts and other identifying information of roughly 1,000 individuals the group believes are members of the Ku Klux Klan. The hackers behind the leak tweeted a link to a Pastebin on a Twitter account, Operation KKK ( @Operation_KKK ) believed to be controlled by them. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is classified as a White Supremacist Racist group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, allegedly having total 5,000 to 8,000 members. "We hope Operation KKK will, in part, spark a bit of constructive dialogue about race, racism, racial terror and fr

British police issue warning to Anonymous , Lulzsec and other internet hacktivists The Metropolitan Police have taken the unusual step of using Twitter to send a message to anyone considering supporting internet attacks against companies and governments.A message posted on the Met Police's official Twitter account cautioned would-be hacktivists that engaging in denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, defacing websites or breaking into corporate databases is illegal.In the past, hacktivists have compared their activities to legitimate civil disobedience - but such a view is not a defence if suspected hackers are brought to court. Sophos Notice this tweet first. The full warning posted by the Met Police reads as follows: The investigation into the criminal activity of so-called "hacktivist" groups #Anonymous and #LulzSec continues. We want to remind people of the law in this area: The Law Against Computer Misuse Anyone considering accessing a computer without autho

The  recent wave of cyber attacks  targeting Albanian organizations involved the use of a wiper called  No-Justice . The  findings  come from cybersecurity company ClearSky, which said the Windows-based malware "crashes the operating system in a way that it cannot be rebooted." The intrusions have been attributed to an Iranian "psychological operation group" known as Homeland Justice, which has been active since July 2022, specifically orchestrating destructive attacks against Albania. On December 24, 2023, the adversary resurfaced after a hiatus, stating it's "back to destroy supporters of terrorists," describing its latest campaign as #DestroyDurresMilitaryCamp. The Albanian city of Durrës  currently hosts  the dissident group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK). Targets of the attack included ONE Albania, Eagle Mobile Albania, Air Albania, and the Albanian parliament. Two of the primary tools deployed during the campaign include an executa

Anonymous hackers once again hit Egyptian Government Websites and taken down. Hackers react under operation named #OpEgypt and hit 30 websites with DDos attack. Hacktivist using the handle @AnonymousGrupo claimed the responsibility of attack. Attacked websites include, The Egyptian Presidency website, The Egyptian Cabinet, Trade Agreements Sector (TAS), Maritime Transport site, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, parliament website, Income Tax and many more. At the time of writing, many sites has been restored, but a few like https://www.presidency.gov.eg/ is still under maintenance. The Reason of Hack is mentioned in the banner shown above, was posted their facebook page. Readers can find list of sites under attack at Pastebin Note here .

Aaron Swartz has committed suicide on January 11, 2013 in New York City.  I have long been fought if you write something about this extraordinary boy, but not dedicate a tribute would be a shame. Aaron Swartz has decided to leave a huge void in the IT scenario.  For me, as the entire world he is a legend, a guy that has profoundly changed our daily work. Aaron Swartz is an eclectic persona; he is an hacker and active activist, co-founder of social news website Reddit and founder of the group Demand Progress. The EFF in a blog post states: " Aaron did more than almost anyone to make the Internet a thriving ecosystem for open knowledge, and to keep it that way. His contributions were numerous, and some of them were indispensable. When we asked him in late 2010 for help in stopping COICA, the predecessor to the SOPA and PIPA Internet blacklist bills, he founded an organization called Demand Progress, which mobilized over a million online activists and proved to be an inval

Hackers claiming affiliation with the hacktivist group "Anonymous" have allegedly leaked more than 13,000 username and password combinations for some of the worlds most popular websites, including Amazon, Xbox Live and Playstation Network . The stolen personal information was released in a massive text document posted to the Internet file-sharing website Ghostbin  (now deleted) , on Friday. The document contains a huge number of usernames and passwords, along with credit card numbers and expiration dates. The news came just a day after the hacker group Lizard Squad compromised Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming networks on Christmas day, which is estimated to have affected Xbox's 48 million subscribers and PlayStation's 110 million users, making it a total of more than 150 million users worldwide. However, data breach of 13,000 users is not the biggest data breach we've ever seen. When millions of passwords are used for sites ar

Israel's Prime Minister officially opened a new national program to train teenagers in the art of cyberwarfare. The program named "Magshimim Le'umit", is to prepare them for their future role in the military and intelligence community. Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the country's computer systems are facing attacks from Iran and other countries, and such attacks are set to increase in the digital age. The new program will accept outstanding pupils aged between 16 and 18 and train them to intercept malicious attacks through a three-year course. Cyber security has become a national priority in Israel, with significant resources being invested in protecting the military and civilian computing networks. Benjamin Netanyahu revealed plans to create a "digital Iron Dome" to protect vital infrastructure from hackers and viruses like last November, Israeli was under heavy cyber attacks from hacktivist group Anonymous as the latte prot

Anonymous Plans 7 April Attack on British government UK hackers linked to the Anonymous group are encouraging supporters to attack the Home Office website this Saturday (7 April) in protest at the extradition of three UK citizens to the US. Called #OpTrialAtHome , the hacktivist group @AnonOpUK posted a warning on its Twitter page that an attack on the Home Office was planned for Saturday, 7 April. An associated photo/poster shows images of Gary McKinnon, Richard O'Dwyer and Christopher Tappin. McKinnon and O'Dwyer are awaiting extradition from the UK to the US. Tappin's extradition was effected on 24 February when he was flown to El Paso, Texas. Supporters have been encouraged to launch denial-of-service attacks on the Home Office's IP address, which Anonymous has revealed. Those not savvy enough to launch automated attacks on the site could contribute to the effect by simply visiting the site in large numbers. Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks,

17 year old Teenager arrested over TeamPoison hacking attacks A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of being a member of "TeamPoison", a computer hacking group that has claimed responsibility for 1,400 offences including an attack on the phone system of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit last month. These include attacks on the United Nations, the UK Anti-Terrorist Hotline, MI6 and RIM, as well as politicians including Nicolas Sarkozy and Tony Blair. The boy, who police suspect used the hacker nickname 'MLT' and was a spokesman for TeamPoison, was interviewed at a local police station on offences under the Computer Misuse Act on Wednesday. The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation by the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) division of the Metropolitan Police into various hacking gangs who have made headlines in the last year or so. TeamPoison's highest-profile attack was mounted against Scotland Yard's counter-terror hotline last month, has als

FBI track Anonymous hacker using his girlfriend's boobs The FBI swooped on Higinio O Ochoa III after he posted the snap, which included a gloating message to his online victims.He took the picture on his iPhone and posted it on Twitter without realising it contained GPS data pointing directly to his house. Researching the username "w0rmer", investigators also found a reference online which included Ochoa's full name. Ochoa, is an alleged member of CabinCr3w, an offshoot of the hacktivist collective Anonymous. A criminal complaint filed in connection with the case reveals that pictures of a amply proportioned young woman taken in an outer-Melbourne suburb played a key role in the case. The snap posted by 30-year-old Ochoa shows a girl in a bikini top from the neck down, with a printed message pinned to her skirt reading: " PwNd by w0rmer & CabinCr3w " This GPS location allowed local police to easily track down the presumed residence of the woman pictured in the photo, belie

A Philippine Hacker group claiming ties with the hacktivist collective Anonymous defaced early Monday several Chinese Government websites. " Anonymous Philippines " claimed responsibility for defacing more than 200 Chinese websites in retaliation for Beijing's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, according to the messages posted on their Facebook page . " The operation was a success, we might not have brought China to it's knees but we gave hope to our brothers and sisters, because hope is what we need right now. Hope that someday people will stand-up and fight back! " Anonymous Philippines said. At the time of writing, More than 145 Chinese Government ( list 1 ) and 45 Commercial websites ( list 2 ) were displaying the following defacement message: " China's alleged claim on maritime territories and oppressive poaching can no longer be tolerated. Stand against Oppression! It's time to fight back! Say NO to China'

Anonymous Hackers target Nasdaq website Websites of exchange operators Nasdaq and BATS have been attacked by hackers over the last 24 hours, causing ongoing disruptions for those trying to use the sites. Sites was down because of distributed denial-of-service attack from a group of Anonymous hackers. L0NGwave99 ,a online hacktivist, is claiming to be responsible for the attack. In a release issued Tuesday, an operative writes " This DDoS Operation over NASDAQ is done in support of the great and rooted 99% movement, whom the L0NGwave99 Group has decided to give a present ." " The website wasn't hacked, nobody got any information. What they did was try to block access for our users ," NASDAQ spokesman Joseph Christinat adds to the agency. Trading in Nasdaq stocks has not been affected by the attacks. According to reports, the attacks have also affected the NasdaqTrader.com site, although it seems to be fine at the moment. " The website wasn't hacke

The National Crime Agency (NCA) of United Kingdom is forcing the British citizen, and political hacktivist Lauri Love accused of hacking to hand over encryption keys to equipment seized from his home. Love, 31, is currently fighting extradition to the United States where he faces up to 99 years in prison for allegedly hacking into the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI), the US Missile Defence Agency, NASA and Federal Reserve Bank of New York during 2012 and 2013. US Prosecutors claim that Love was allegedly involved in #OpLastResort , an online protest linked with the Anonymous group, following the persecution and untimely death of activist Aaron Swartz , who committed suicide in 2013 while under federal charges for data theft. Love was initially arrested from his home in Stradishall, England in October 2013 by the NCA and had criminal charges filed against him in New York, East Virginia, and New Jersey. During a court hearing at Westminster Magistrates on Tues