All results
At just 22-years-old, this hacker became an accidental digital security hero that saved the world from the worst cyberattack it has ever seen. Marcus Hutchins, a British computer security researcher, discovered the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 and used a “kill switch” to stop the escalating attack, which at the time was spreading around the globe, according to The Verge . The U.K. media revealed him to be the person responsible for halting the ransomware contagion, but soon after his reputation as a hero was tainted by accusations of Hutchins making and selling the Kronos banking malware, Tech Crunch reports . He was later arrested by the FBI, according to Wired , as a result of his teenage work on a code that was later used in banking trojan software. So much time had passed since the news broke of his astronomical effort that when Hutchins was approached by the authorities he assumed that they wanted to know more about his work on WannaCry. During his interrogation, Hutchins...
As the world becomes increasingly digital, it’s important to be aware of how to ensure that you’re safe. A recent case from the Department of Justice may help as a cautionary tale after hackers were found to have stolen $2.4 million in cryptocurrency. The hackers in question are six people across the United States and in Ireland connected to a group known as “The Community.” They caught charges for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the Department of Justice, the hackers took part in something called “SIM Hijacking” or “an identity theft technique that exploits a common cyber-security weakness – mobile phone numbers.” Essentially, the hackers convince, bribe, or otherwise trick mobile phone carriers into transferring a phone number to a new SIM card. With a phone number, hackers can then reset passwords and by-pass security measures like two-factor authentication. “Mobile phones today are not only a means of communication but also...
Emails contain a lot of sensitive information, so it’s one of the last things people want hackers to have access to. Unfortunately, in 2019 between January 1st and March 28th, hackers were able to gain access to email accounts on Microsoft’s Outlook.com, as reported by The Verge . This breach — which includes @msn.com and @hotmail.com email services — happened due to a customer support agent’s credentials being compromised, TechCrunch reported . Microsoft’s Information Protect and Governance team told TechCrunch: Microsoft recently became aware of an issue involving unauthorized access to some customers’ web-based email accounts by cybercriminals. We addressed this scheme by disabling the compromised credentials to the limited set of targeted accounts, while also blocking the perpetrators’ access. A limited number of consumer accounts were impacted, and we have notified all impacted customers. Out of an abundance of caution, we also increased detection and monitoring to further...