The recommendation by the FBI that victims of ransomware pay up to have their files decrypted created a buzz within IT folks of all kind. It’s time to ask: Should paying the ransom really be considered an option?
The post Ransomware: To pay or not to pay? appeared first on We Live Security.
Another Android threat similar to the well-known Koler A from last year is causing panic among Android users. The family is detected by Avira as Android/Locker.A and has tens of thousands of variants, with new ones created every day.
The post Phones Under Attack By New Mobile Ransomware appeared first on Avira Blog.
U.S. businesses are losing millions in fraudulent wire transfers that have their root in email compromises of accounts belonging to top executives.
International law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 60 people suspected of carrying out cybercrime associated with the Darkode forum.
The post Dozens arrested in international Darkode crackdown appeared first on We Live Security.
FBI director James Comey and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates testified before a Senate committee on how encryption is hampering law enforcement and national security efforts.
It’s most likely not a huge surprise that there is such a list, and while it’s probably not as well-known as its “big brother”, the rewards offered for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of 5 of the top most wanted cybercriminals on that list is not too shabby: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is willing to pay a total reward of $4.2 million!
So who is actually on the list? Let’s take a look.
EVGENIY MIKHAILOVICH BOGACHEV
Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, aka “lucky12345” and “slavik”, became famous as being the alleged mastermind behind the Trojan called “Zeus”. The Russian currently fetches a reward of $3 million.
NICOLAE POPESCU
The Romanian Nicolae Popescu apparently was involved in Internet Fraud schemes and made quite a lot of money with it. The FBI is offering a reward of $1 Million for him.
ALEXSEY BELAN
Belan is only worth $100,000 to the authorities. The Russian is wanted for allegedly having broken into three major United States-based e-commerce companies. Afterwards he tried to sell the stolen usernames and passwords on the black market.
PETERIS SAHUROVS
Being accused of selling malware laced ads that distributed ransomware, the reward for the Latvian is currently at $50,000.
CARLOS ENRIQUE PEREZ-MELARA
While the reward for Melara is set at $50,000, my guess is that the FBI actually wants to hire the guy: He allegedly was involved in manufacturing spyware “which was used to intercept the private communications of hundreds, if not thousands, of victims”.
For the rest of the list just go here.
The post Get a total of $4,2 million for the FBI’s most wanted hackers appeared first on Avira Blog.
The chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee is asking some pointed questions of the FBI director about the bureau’s use of zero-day vulnerabilities, phishing attacks, spyware, and other controversial tools. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey asking for “more specific information about the FBI’s current use of […]
In a little more than a year, consumers affected by the Cryptowall ransomware have reported to the FBI more than $18 million in losses related to infections from the malware. Cryptowall is among the group of ransomware families that encrypt the files on victims’ computers and then demands a ransom in order to obtain the […]
According to the official news release, hackers managed to breach the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). With the information of 4 million federal government workers exposed, it is one of the biggest in the federal government’s history. The hack was discovered because “within the last year, the OPM has undertaken an aggressive effort to update its cybersecurity posture, adding numerous tools and capabilities to its networks”.
In order to determine the full impact the OPM is now investigating the issue together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In their statement the agency wrote: “Since the intrusion, OPM has instituted additional network security precautions, including: restricting remote access for network administrators and restricting network administration functions remotely; a review of all connections to ensure that only legitimate business connections have access to the internet; and deploying anti-malware software across the environment to protect and prevent the deployment or execution of tools that could compromise the network.”
Sounds all good, but who is to blame? According to The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal the hackers might have been Chinese, a link that China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman calls “irresponsible”.
The post OPM Data Breach: Data of 4 Million Federal Workers Exposed appeared first on Avira Blog.
Four million federal employees have had their personal data stolen from the Office of Personnel Management, according to a statement on its website.
The post 4 million government employees’ personal data stolen in OPM hack appeared first on We Live Security.
