malware

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'Ransomware' Hits Apple for First Time

KeRanger spread through torrenting software

(Newser) - Apple users are no longer immune to the "ransomware" that has attacked PC users in recent years, locking their files or freezing their computers and demanding payment. Security researchers say a tainted version of a torrenting program called Transmission appears to have spread the "KeRanger" malware to Mac...

Stayed at a Hyatt? Check Your Credit Card Statement

Malicious software found on hotel's payment system

(Newser) - Hyatt Hotels Corp. says it found malicious software on the computer system that processes customer payments, raising the possibility that hackers may have obtained credit card numbers or other sensitive information. The resort chain is advising customers to review their credit card statements, although it has not said if any...

Facebook Will Let You Know If Kim Jong Un Hacks Your Page

Site says users will be warned if it suspects hacking by a nation-state

(Newser) - Chances are slim that North Korea's operatives are trying to hack a peek into your Facebook photos, but if they were, the site would let you know ASAP, Ars Technica reports. "Starting today, we will notify you if we believe your account has been targeted or compromised by...

Hackers Are Peeking at Online Poker Hands

Malware takes screenshots of players' hands

(Newser) - We all know what to do when you catch someone peeping at your poker hand: flip the table, yell "cheat," and then everyone draws their six-shooter. But what if the poker table is virtual and the cheater is a piece of malware? The Register reports malware called Odlanor...

Porn App Snaps User's Photo, Demands Ransom

Welcome to so-called 'ransomware'

(Newser) - If you've used Adult Player, sorry to hear it: It's an Android porn app that takes a photo of you with the phone's front-facing camera, immobilizes the device, and demands a $500 payment via a locked ransom screen to fix the phone and delete the photo. This...

US Offers Record Bounty for a Hacker

Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev accused of leading Zeus gang

(Newser) - The FBI is offering a record-breaking $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a Russian hacker accused of infecting up to a million computers with software that stole passwords and sucked at least $100 million out of bank accounts. Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, whose online aliases include "...

'Almost Peerless' New Malware in Use Since 2008

Source of Regin is unclear, says Symantec

(Newser) - The same Symantec researchers who tracked down the Stuxnet worm four years ago have discovered another potent piece of malware, Re/code reports. The Trojan program is called Regin, and it offers "a powerful framework for mass surveillance," Symantec says in a blog post that calls out "a...

Feds: Hackers Hit ObamaCare Server

Malware installed but no data stolen

(Newser) - Hackers managed to breach the ObamaCare website this summer, federal authorities say, but it doesn't sound like they were very ambitious ones: Officials say no data was stolen and servers containing personal information were not accessed, CNN reports. Instead, what appeared to be fairly standard malware was uploaded but...

Homeland Security: Avoid Internet Explorer

Feds suggest switching browsers until flaw is fixed

(Newser) - A security flaw uncovered in Internet Explorer is so serious that users should consider switching to a different browser for now, the Department of Homeland Security yesterday warned. "We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem," said the department's Computer Readiness Team, which recommends...

Firm Uncovers Advanced Government-Hunting Virus

Kapersky calls it 'Careto'

(Newser) - A stunningly advanced malware threat has been targeting government institutions, diplomatic offices, energy companies, private equity firms, activists, and more for five years now, infecting at least 380 unique victims across 31 countries, Kaspersky security researchers have revealed. They're calling the virus "Careto" (meaning "mask" or "...

FBI: More Target-Style Hacks on Way

20 other cases used similar malware in past year

(Newser) - A warning to shoppers: More cyber attacks like this one and this one are coming, according to a three-page confidential FBI report seen by Reuters , a determination the FBI made after finding some 20 hacking cases in the last year used the same type of malware as in the Target...

17-Year-Old Wrote Target Hack Malware: Report

Boy wasn't involved in attack: intelligence firm

(Newser) - The malware behind the Target breach —and possibly one at Neiman Marcus —was written by a Russian boy about 17 years old, according to an intelligence firm's report. As noted by Gawker , the boy isn't thought to have been directly involved in the hack on the...

FBI Can Use Suspects' Laptop Cameras— With the Light Off

Bureau develops malware for targets' computers

(Newser) - If the FBI wants dirt on a suspect, agents are capable of turning on his laptop's webcam—without him knowing. The light won't go on, Gizmodo reports, based on a Washington Post piece. The technique, available to the bureau for years, is mostly used to fight terror or...

Microsoft Attacks 'Army of Zombie Computers'

Cut connections of botnet netting criminals $2.7M per month

(Newser) - A major hacking operation involving a worldwide "army of zombie computers" hit a snag yesterday when the FBI, Europol, and Microsoft teamed up to shut it down. A months-long investigation by Microsoft found the ZeroAccess botnet infecting some 2 million computers with malware that generated bogus clicks on ads,...

Hackers Post 2M Facebook, Google, Yahoo Passwords

Most common one? '123456'

(Newser) - Some 2 million user credentials for Facebook and other top services have appeared on a Russian-language website, likely thanks to malware installed on users' computers, experts tell the BBC . They believe a crime ring was probably behind the dump, which claimed to include 318,121 Facebook usernames and passwords, along...

'Loverspy' Guy Joins Most-Wanted Cybercrime List

Spyware was designed for jealous lovers

(Newser) - It's not just the federal government intercepting your communications. It could be a nosy relative or jealous partner. Among the five people added this week to the FBI's list of "most wanted" cybercriminals is a former San Diego college student who developed an $89 program called "...

Bug Is Swiping Android Users' Bitcoins

As New York probes virtual-currency firms' practices

(Newser) - Bitcoin users with Android gadgets, beware: A bug is targeting wallets like yours. The problem hinges on Android's random number generator, which, according to Bitcoin, "contains critical weaknesses that render all Android wallets generated to date vulnerable to theft." Bitcoin Wallet, blockchain.info, BitcoinSpinner, and Mycelium are...

Growing Threat to Medical Gadgets: Malware

FDA calls on manufacturers to devise security plans

(Newser) - What happens when malware attacks the very devices keeping us healthy? The threat has the FDA concerned, the Wall Street Journal reports: "We are aware of hundreds of medical devices that have been infected by malware," says a senior official. Thus far, there haven't been any known...

South Korea Cyberattack Traced to China IP Address

But that doesn't mean North Korea is off the hook

(Newser) - No one knows who launched yesterday's cyberattack in South Korea that crippled 32,000 computers at three TV broadcasters and three banks, but the attack has been traced to a Chinese IP address. That doesn't mean North Korea is in the clear, however; on the contrary, the North...

Microsoft: We Got Hacked Too

But software mega-company makes it sound minor

(Newser) - All but inevitable? Microsoft has joined the ranks of US companies that admit to having been hacked, Reuters reports. On the heels of Twitter , Apple , Facebook , the New York Times , and others, Microsoft today announced that a few of its computers were infected with malware after connecting to a software...

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