CyberSecurity Updates

20 Apr

Beyond fun and games: Exploring privacy risks in children’s apps

Information

Kids Online Should children’s apps come with ‘warning labels’? Here’s how to make sure your children’s digital playgrounds are safe places to play and learn. Phil Muncaster 11 Apr 2024  •  , 6 min. read Our children spend more time on their phones than ever. Some 80% of European 9-16-year-olds access the internet from their phones every day. In the UK, 91% of children have a mobile phone by the age of 11. And in…

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20 Apr

Bitcoin scams, hacks and heists – and how to avoid them

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Scams Here’s how cybercriminals target cryptocurrencies and how you can keep your bitcoin or other crypto safe Phil Muncaster 15 Apr 2024  •  , 6 min. read Bitcoin is on a tear. The world’s largest digital currency by market cap passed its previous record value of nearly $69,000 in early March. It’s now worth an estimated $1.3 trillion. Yet the fluctuating value of cryptocurrency doesn’t necessarily correspond to the level of cybercrime activity we can…

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19 Apr

eXotic Visit includes XploitSPY malware – Week in security with Tony Anscombe

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Video Almost 400 people in India and Pakistan have fallen victim to an ongoing Android espionage campaign called eXotic Visit 12 Apr 2024 Could your messaging app of choice have been authored by a threat actor known as Virtual Invaders? As described by ESET researchers this week, this is what happened to the victims of an ongoing and targeted Android espionage campaign called eXotic Visit that began in late 2021 and pose as messaging services.…

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19 Apr

The ABCs of how online ads can impact children’s well-being

Information

Kids Online From promoting questionable content to posing security risks, inappropriate ads present multiple dangers for children. Here’s how to help them stay safe. Imogen Byers 16 Apr 2024  •  , 5 min. read In today’s digital world, ads are practically unavoidable. From pop-up ads on your daily Wordle to sneaky affiliate posts on your favorite social media accounts, we are constantly bombarded with targeted marketing messages promoting products and services – and children are…

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19 Apr

The many faces of impersonation fraud: Spot an imposter before it’s too late

Information

Scams What are some of the most common giveaway signs that the person behind the screen or on the other end of the line isn’t who they claim to be? Phil Muncaster 18 Apr 2024  •  , 5 min. read Our world is becoming more impersonal as it becomes more digital-centric. And because we can’t see the person or organization at the other end of an email, social media message or text, it’s easier for…

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19 Apr

Cisco Releases Security Advisories for Cisco Integrated Management Controller

Attacks, Insights, Malware

Cisco has released security advisories for vulnerabilities in the Cisco integrated management controller. A remote cyber threat actor could exploit one of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.  Users and administrators are encouraged to review the following advisories and apply the necessary updates:  Cisco Integrated Management Controller CLI Command Injection Vulnerability Cisco Integrated Management Controller Web-Based Management Interface Command Injection Vulnerability

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18 Apr

CISA and Partners Release Advisory on Akira Ransomware

Attacks, Insights, Malware

Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), and the Netherlands’ National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), #StopRansomware: Akira Ransomware, to disseminate known Akira ransomware tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) identified through FBI investigations as recently as February 2024. Evolving from an initial focus on Windows systems to a Linux variant targeting VMware ESXi virtual machines, Akira threat actors began…

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18 Apr

Oracle Releases Critical Patch Update Advisory for April 2024

Attacks, Insights, Malware

Oracle released its quarterly Critical Patch Update Advisory for April 2024 to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.  Users and administrators are encouraged to review the following Critical Patch Update Advisory and apply the necessary updates:   April 2024 Critical Patch Update Advisory

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16 Apr

Who Stole 3.6M Tax Records from South Carolina?

Data Breaches, Information, Insights

For nearly a dozen years, residents of South Carolina have been kept in the dark by state and federal investigators over who was responsible for hacking into the state’s revenue department in 2012 and stealing tax and bank account information for 3.6 million people. The answer may no longer be a mystery: KrebsOnSecurity found compelling clues suggesting the intrusion was carried out by the same Russian hacking crew that stole of millions of payment card…

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15 Apr

Crickets from Chirp Systems in Smart Lock Key Leak

Information, Insights

The U.S. government is warning that “smart locks” securing entry to an estimated 50,000 dwellings nationwide contain hard-coded credentials that can be used to remotely open any of the locks. The lock’s maker Chirp Systems remains unresponsive, even though it was first notified about the critical weakness in March 2021. Meanwhile, Chirp’s parent company, RealPage, Inc., is being sued by multiple U.S. states for allegedly colluding with landlords to illegally raise rents. On March 7,…

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