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Image: Getty/Marko Geber Critical security vulnerabilities in a popular GPS tracker used to track vehicle fleets by critical infrastructure, governments and emergency services around the world could be used to remotely track, stop and even take control of vehicles, according to security researchers Six flaws in MiCODUS MV720 vehicle GPS trackers – including the use […] More
There are trackers everywhere. Their goal is to glom onto your network behavior and inform businesses of your: browsing habits, visited websites, time spent on websites, purchases, and clicks on advertisements. The result is a full-blown advertising profile for you. Thanks to trackers, I’ve experienced some rather disturbing behavior on mobile devices. I’ve witnessed someone just pause over an ad on Facebook, only to get that product pushed to their email account and even via SMS.
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It’s not just disturbing; it could be dangerous to the wellbeing of your data and privacy. Unfortunately, neither Android nor iOS is very successful when preventing trackers on a global scale. There is hope for you, however, hope that comes in the form of the DuckDuckGo web browser. For those that don’t know, DuckDuckGo started out as an alternative search engine, offering considerably more privacy than Google. The company then released its own web browser for both Android and iOS that focused on user privacy and online trust. By default, this browser collects no data nor shares any data with third parties. On top of that, DuckDuckGo as a straight-up web browser is quite good, with plenty of user customization options.But there’s one particular feature that should prompt you to immediately make the switch from your default: App Tracking Protection.At this time, you have to actually request an invitation to gain access to the feature. This will be the case until the feature is out of beta, so you must join the waitlist for the feature in-app (from Settings – Figure 1).Figure 1 More
Credit: CNET ZDNet Recommends Microsoft is adding yet another cloud bundle to its Microsoft Cloud line-up. The latest is known as the “Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty.” It’s similar to Microsoft’s own Cloud for Government, except that it’s not only for US government customers; instead, it’s for government and public sector customers worldwide. Sovereignty is a […] More
StackCommerce The following content is brought to you by ZDNet partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. Between accessing entertainment and social media accounts, everyone seems to be spending much more time in the cloud and online than ever before. And considering how much more […] More
Brazil was the fourth most breached country in the world second quarter of 2022, according to a global data breach study produced by cybersecurity company Surfshark.With 3.2 million users breached in Q2, the report suggests Brazil has seen a seven-fold increase in leaked accounts quarter-over-quarter, and a 771% spike compared to the previous quarter when the country had seen a slight improvement in its data breach situation. Russia tops the list with 28.8 million breached users, followed by India (4.4 million) and China (3.4 million), while Brazil ranks fourth, surpassing the US (2.3 million) which appeared in the fifth position.According to the report, since data breaches became widespread in 2004, 15.1 billion accounts have been leaked, of which 244.4 million belong to Brazilian users. The study added that, for every ten leaked accounts in Brazil, half are stolen alongside a password.Across South America, an average person has been affected by data breaches at least once. However, in Brazil, these statistics go up even higher, said Agneska Sablovskaja, data researcher at Surfshark. “The difference could be due to user online habits or data collection practices by various services or applications. A high number of affected accounts show that there is more to be done in regards to online data protection,” she added.Breach rates in the second quarter of 2022 have seen a 2% increase globally, with 459 accounts being leaked every minute compared to 450 in the first quarter of 2021, according to the study. In Brazil, the breach rate in Q2 2022 has risen from around 3 to 25 breached accounts per minute compared to the first quarter of the year.According to a separate study released in December 2021 by PwC, the vast majority of Brazilian companies plan to boost their cybersecurity budgets in 2022. The study noted the increase in cyberattacks against local organizations was among the key concerns of senior decision-makers.The study suggests that 45% of Brazilian companies estimate an increase of 10% or more in investments in data security, compared to 26% worldwide. Only 14% of Brazilian leaders expressed the same levels of concern about cybersecurity in 2020, against 8% worldwide. In 2021, 50% of the companies polled by PwC claimed to have allocated up to 10% of their technology budget to security-related actions.
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Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto A hacking and cyber-espionage campaign is abusing legitimate cloud services as part of a covert operation to steal sensitive information from high-profile targets. Organisations around the world use cloud services to conduct day-to-day operations, particularly after the shift towards hybrid working. Cloud applications provide a simple means of working, no matter where […] More
The US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has warned criminals have created fraudulent apps that mimic real financial services brands to dupe investors into parting with $42.7 million over about six months. The FBI documents several fraudulent apps that defrauded 244 victims during the months leading up to the great crypto crash in June. ZDNet […] More
Microsoft has raised an alert over a ransomware gang that is apparently based in North Korea and has successfully compromised small business since September 2021. Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) is tracking the group as an emerging threat under the tag DEV-0530 and says the ‘H0lyGh0st’ payload has affected small businesses in multiple countries over the past year. It’s another double-extortion racket, so there’s a threat to files being both locked up and leaked, but the group’s motivations remain ambiguous. The group’s standard methodology is to encrypt all files on the target device and use the file extension .h0lyenc, send the victim a sample of the files as proof, and then demand payment in Bitcoin in exchange for restoring access to the files Microsoft says in a blogpost.”As part of their extortion tactics, they also threaten to publish victim data on social media or send the data to the victims’ customers if they refuse to pay,” it warns.Microsoft says it has observed DEV-0530 communicating with the North Korean-based state sponsored group it tracks as Plutonium, which is also known as DarkSeoul or Andariel. The group has also used tools created exclusively by Plutonium. Researchers at Symantec in 2019 blamed a series of hacks against South Korea on the DarkSeoul gang. DarkSeoul has operated since around 2013 and deployed destructive malware on targets. The primary goal of DEV-0530 is financial gain, says Microsoft. Microsoft says it’s seen known DEV-0530 email accounts communicating with known Plutonium attacker accounts. The tools shared include custom malware controllers with similar names. Microsoft analyzed the group’s activity time patterns to deduce it is based in North Korea. Despite shared tooling, Microsoft says the two groups are distinct from each other. This confuses the assessment of what type of group it is. Microsoft says North Korean hackers’ use ransomware is likely motivated by its weak economy due to sanctions, natural disasters, drought, and the nation’s COVID-19 lockdown. However, it adds that the narrow list of targets is inconsistent with previous state-sanctioned hacking from North Korea involving cryptocurrency theft. North Korean hacking groups connected to Lazarus last year stole nearly $400 million worth of cryptocurrency. The US government has also warned US and European organizations to avoid inadvertently hiring North Korean tech contractors. In 2019, the United Nations estimated the nation’s hackers had gained $2 billion from attacks on banks and cryptocurrency exchanges to fund weapons purchases. “To offset the losses from these economic setbacks, the North Korean government could have sponsored cyber actors stealing from banks and cryptocurrency wallets for more than five years. If the North Korean government is ordering these ransomware attacks, then the attacks would be yet another tactic the government has enabled to offset financial losses,” Microsoft notes. However, it points out that state-sponsored activity against cryptocurrency organizations has typically targeted a much broader set of victims, and instead these attacks could be coming from hackers moonlighting for personal gain. “This moonlighting theory might explain the often-random selection of victims targeted by DEV-0530,” it notes.Microsoft has found the attackers frequently asked victims for 1.2 to 5 Bitcoins. The attackers have usually been willing to negotiate and, in some cases, lowered the price to less than a third of the initial asking price. But, based on wallet transactions, the attackers appear not have extorted payments since early July 2022. More
