Ms. Smith
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Busted: Federal Reserve employee mined bitcoin using government server
At least one employee of the U.S. Federal Reserve sees the value of bitcoin and mining for it if you get your computing power for free. Nicholas Berthaume, who is now a former employee, was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined $5,000 for installing unauthorized bitcoin software on a Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System server.According to a news release by the Office of Inspector General, Berthaume pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conversion of government property.Working as a Communications Analyst, Berthaume had access to some Board computer servers. He put the computing power of a federal server to work for him. Mining is costly after all, as nowadays it tends to use more electricity than a miner earns. Unless a person has excess power from a solar farm for mining, then stealing electricity for mining is an option some people choose. You may have heard about the three men and one woman recently arrested in Venezuela for electricity theft and internet fraud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cops use pacemaker data to charge homeowner with arson, insurance fraud
If you are dependent upon an embedded medical device, should the device that helps keep you alive also be allowed to incriminate you in a crime? After all, the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects a person from being forced to incriminate themselves.Nonetheless, that’s what happened after a house fire in Middletown, Ohio.WCPO Cincinnati caught video of the actual fire, as well delivered news that the owner’s cat died in the fire. As a pet owner, it would be hard to believe that a person would set a fire and leave their pet to die in that fire. The fire in question occurred back in September 2016; the fire department was just starting an investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cops use pacemaker data to charge homeowner with arson, insurance fraud
If you are dependent upon an embedded medical device, should the device that helps keep you alive also be allowed to incriminate you in a crime? After all, the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects a person from being forced to incriminate themselves.Nonetheless, that’s what happened after a house fire in Middletown, Ohio.WCPO Cincinnati caught video of the actual fire, as well delivered news that the owner’s cat died in the fire. As a pet owner, it would be hard to believe that a person would set a fire and leave their pet to die in that fire. The fire in question occurred back in September 2016; the fire department was just starting an investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Ransomware locked hotel out of its electronic key lock system
A 4-star hotel in the Austrian Alps, the Romantik Seehotel Jaegerwirt, admitted to bowing to extortion after ransomware locked up the computer running the hotel’s electronic key lock system.This was not the first time that cyber thugs attacked the hotel. During one of the attacks, the hackers reportedly left a backdoor into the system.The third attack occurred during the opening weekend of the winter season. The computer hit with ransomware controlled the electronic key lock system, the reservation system and the cash desk system.Guests, who paid about nearly $300 a night for a room, could not open their rooms with their existing keycards; new keycards could not be programmed. Arriving guests couldn’t have their reservations confirmed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Ransomware locked hotel out of its electronic key lock system
A 4-star hotel in the Austrian Alps, the Romantik Seehotel Jaegerwirt, admitted to bowing to extortion after ransomware locked up the computer running the hotel’s electronic key lock system.This was not the first time that cyber thugs attacked the hotel. During one of the attacks, the hackers reportedly left a backdoor into the system.The third attack occurred during the opening weekend of the winter season. The computer hit with ransomware controlled the electronic key lock system, the reservation system and the cash desk system.Guests, who paid about nearly $300 a night for a room, could not open their rooms with their existing keycards; new keycards could not be programmed. Arriving guests couldn’t have their reservations confirmed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Russia’s FSB arrests Kaspersky’s top cybercrime investigator allegedly for treason
A top-notch cybercrime investigator, who heads up the Kaspersky Lab team that investigates hacks, has been arrested by Russian law enforcement for possible treason.An unnamed source close to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the newspaper Kommersant that Ruslan Stoyanov may be linked to an investigating into Sergei Mikhailov, a deputy chief of the FSB’s Center for Information Security. Both men were arrested in December.Kaspersky Lab confirmed the report of Stoyanov’s arrest in Kommersant, then tweeted the following statement: “The case against this employee does not involve Kaspersky Lab. The employee, who is Head of the Computer Incidents Teams, is under investigation for a period predating his employment at Kaspersky Lab. We do not possess details of the investigation.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Russia’s FSB arrests Kaspersky’s top cybercrime investigator for treason
A top-notch cybercrime investigator, who heads up the Kaspersky Lab team that investigates hacks, has been arrested by Russian law enforcement for possible treason.An unnamed source close to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the newspaper Kommersant that Ruslan Stoyanov may be linked to an investigation into Sergei Mikhailov, a deputy chief of the FSB’s Center for Information Security. Both men were arrested in December.Kaspersky Lab confirmed the report of Stoyanov’s arrest in Kommersant, then tweeted the following statement: “The case against this employee does not involve Kaspersky Lab. The employee, who is Head of the Computer Incidents Teams, is under investigation for a period predating his employment at Kaspersky Lab. We do not possess details of the investigation.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Russia’s FSB arrests Kaspersky’s top cybercrime investigator for treason
A top-notch cybercrime investigator, who heads up the Kaspersky Lab team that investigates hacks, has been arrested by Russian law enforcement for possible treason.An unnamed source close to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the newspaper Kommersant that Ruslan Stoyanov may be linked to an investigation into Sergei Mikhailov, a deputy chief of the FSB’s Center for Information Security. Both men were arrested in December.Kaspersky Lab confirmed the report of Stoyanov’s arrest in Kommersant, then tweeted the following statement: “The case against this employee does not involve Kaspersky Lab. The employee, who is Head of the Computer Incidents Teams, is under investigation for a period predating his employment at Kaspersky Lab. We do not possess details of the investigation.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Saudi Arabia again hit with disk-wiping malware Shamoon 2
The disk-wiping Shamoon malware, which was used in attacks that destroyed data on 35,000 computers at Saudi Aramco in 2012, is back; the Shamoon variant prompted Saudi Arabia to issue a warning on Monday.An alert from the telecoms authority, seen by Reuters, warned all organizations to be on the lookout for the variant Shamoon 2. CrowdStrike VP Adam Meyers told Reuters, “The Shamoon hackers were likely working on behalf of the Iranian government in the 2012 campaign and the more-recent attacks. It's likely they will continue.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Saudi Arabia again hit with disk-wiping malware Shamoon 2
The disk-wiping Shamoon malware, which was used in attacks that destroyed data on 35,000 computers at Saudi Aramco in 2012, is back; the Shamoon variant prompted Saudi Arabia to issue a warning on Monday.An alert from the telecoms authority, seen by Reuters, warned all organizations to be on the lookout for the variant Shamoon 2. CrowdStrike VP Adam Meyers told Reuters, “The Shamoon hackers were likely working on behalf of the Iranian government in the 2012 campaign and the more-recent attacks. It's likely they will continue.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Top 25 worst-of-the-worst, most common passwords used in 2016
For the sixth year in a year, SplashData has released its list of worst passwords.According to SplashData, the list is based on over five million leaked passwords, which are used by users in North America and Western Europe, that were posted for sale online.I thought it might be interesting to compare SplashData’s newest list with the top 25 most common password list released last week by rival firm Keeper Security. According to the two companies, these were the top 25 worst passwords people used in 2016:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Top 25 worst-of-the-worst, most common passwords used in 2016
For the sixth year in a year, SplashData has released its list of worst passwords.According to SplashData, the list is based on over five million leaked passwords, which are used by users in North America and Western Europe, that were posted for sale online.I thought it might be interesting to compare SplashData’s newest list with the top 25 most common password list released last week by rival firm Keeper Security. According to the two companies, these were the top 25 worst passwords people used in 2016:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Admin of anonymous, Tor-friendly email service has electronics seized at US border
If you don’t live in the US and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service – such as one used by 4chan and 8chan – sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet that you would experience some drama when entering the US. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by US Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the US, but currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the US after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany during December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded that he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices that Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Admin of anonymous, Tor-friendly email service has electronics seized at US border
If you don’t live in the US and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service – such as one used by 4chan and 8chan – sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet that you would experience some drama when entering the US. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by US Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the US, but currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the US after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany during December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded that he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices that Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Admin of anonymous, Tor-friendly email service has electronics seized at U.S. border
If you live outside the U.S. and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service—such as one used by 4chan and 8chan—sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet you will experience some drama when entering the U.S. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the U.S., but he currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the U.S. after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany in December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again, he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Admin of anonymous, Tor-friendly email service has electronics seized at U.S. border
If you live outside the U.S. and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service—such as one used by 4chan and 8chan—sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet you will experience some drama when entering the U.S. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the U.S., but he currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the U.S. after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany in December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again, he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cyber scum suckers hit cancer agency with ransomware, threaten to contact families
Some cyber scum suckers sunk to an all-time low, hitting an Indiana Cancer Services agency with ransomware before threatening “to contact family members of living and deceased cancer clients, donors and community partners” if the $43,000 ransom was not paid.Cancer Services of East Central Indiana-Little Red Door, an independent, non-profit agency based in Muncie, Indiana, became a victim of a ransomware attack a week ago. This is an organization whose goals include helping to “reduce the financial and emotional burdens of those dealing with a cancer diagnosis.”The attackers did not leave the traditional ransom demand note, oh no, but chose to personally reach out to the agency’s executive director, president and vice president to make the extortion demands clear. This makes it seem more like a targeted attack and less of one that was a result of opportunity. It is also at least the second time that week that attackers attempted to ransom sensitive patient information.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cyber scum suckers hit cancer agency with ransomware, threaten to contact families
Some cyber scum suckers sunk to an all-time low, hitting an Indiana Cancer Services agency with ransomware before threatening “to contact family members of living and deceased cancer clients, donors and community partners” if the $43,000 ransom was not paid.Cancer Services of East Central Indiana-Little Red Door, an independent, non-profit agency based in Muncie, Indiana, became a victim of a ransomware attack a week ago. This is an organization whose goals include helping to “reduce the financial and emotional burdens of those dealing with a cancer diagnosis.”The attackers did not leave the traditional ransom demand note, oh no, but chose to personally reach out to the agency’s executive director, president and vice president to make the extortion demands clear. This makes it seem more like a targeted attack and less of one that was a result of opportunity. It was also at least the second time that week that attackers attempted to ransom sensitive patient information.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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25 most common passwords in 2016 and how quickly they can be cracked
It’s nearly that time again when SplashData will release its annual list of worst passwords, but this list of passwords comes from Keeper Security. The company analyzed over 10 million passwords available on the public web before publishing a list of 25 most common passwords of 2016.Keeper pointed a finger of blame at websites for not enforcing password best practices. Even if a site won’t help you determine if a password is decent, then people could use common sense. It’s disheartening to know that 17% of people are still trying to safeguard their accounts with “123456.” And “password” is of course still on the list as well as keyboard patterns such as “qwerty” and “123456789”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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25 most common passwords in 2016 and how quickly they can be cracked
It’s nearly that time again when SplashData will release its annual list of worst passwords, but this list of passwords comes from Keeper Security. The company analyzed over 10 million passwords available on the public web before publishing a list of 25 most common passwords of 2016.Keeper pointed a finger of blame at websites for not enforcing password best practices. Even if a site won’t help you determine if a password is decent, then people could use common sense. It’s disheartening to know that 17 percent of people still try to safeguard their accounts with “123456.” And “password” is, of course, still on the list, as well as keyboard patterns such as “qwerty” and “123456789”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here