Tag Archive for: Catches

Toby Walne catches Russian hackers trying to spy on his computer

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The Russians are coming. They might not be knocking down our doors, but cyber hackers are already invading our computers. And I can vouch for the disruption they are causing. My personal computer has been crippled by ‘attacks from Russia,’ as they have tried to hijack my email account. 

It has been a harrowing experience because my computer is like an extra limb – and essential for my work. 

As a victim of the Kremlin’s red army of online fraudsters, I can no longer send or receive emails. Worse still, I am worried the Russians could be watching my every move – with KGB-style online eavesdropping. 

Advice: Expert Colin Tankard helps Toby Walne tighten up the security on his computer system following the attack

Advice: Expert Colin Tankard helps Toby Walne tighten up the security on his computer system following the attack

Quite why I have been targeted I cannot say. Journalist I may be, but my emails are full of tips on bleeding radiators to keep heating bills down – not the codes to Britain’s nuclear arsenal. 

It has left me feeling not only violated, but also paranoid. At any moment, they could plunder my computer files and demand money in a blackmail ‘ransomware’ attack – or by stealing enough data, even empty my bank account. 

The trigger for the attacks on my machine remains unknown, but may have been a result of me downloading ‘Bad Rabbit’ software – malware – when I pressed a button thinking I was updating software. Such malware ransacks your computer of information and appears to originate from Russia. 

Then again, perhaps the Kremlin found my details on the dark web – where it appears my personal information and passwords had been leaked, following hacks into services I have used in the past. 

Or maybe I had been targeted following a warning article written in The Mail on Sunday in March about ‘Putin’s hackers’. 

Frightening though the experience has been, at least I am now aware what is going on and can take action. And according to cyber experts, I am not alone. The Russians are targeting thousands – maybe millions – of people’s computers in order to disrupt Western economies following the invasion of Ukraine. 

This is not just revenge for sanctions – creating disruption and panic for computer users – but to swindle us out of our money.

My encounter…

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U.S. catches Kremlin insider who may have secrets of 2016 hack

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In the days before Christmas, U.S. officials in Boston unveiled insider trading charges against a Russian tech tycoon they had been pursuing for months. They accused Vladislav Klyushin, who’d been extradited from Switzerland on Dec. 18, of illegally making tens of millions of dollars trading on hacked corporate-earnings information.

Yet as authorities laid out their securities fraud case, a striking portrait of the detainee emerged: Klyushin was not only an accused insider trader, but a Kremlin insider. He ran an information technology company that works with the Russian government’s top echelons. Just 18 months earlier, Klyushin received a medal of honor from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. had, in its custody, the highest-level Kremlin insider handed to U.S. law enforcement in recent memory.

Klyushin’s cybersecurity work and Kremlin ties could make him a useful source of information for U.S. officials, according to several people familiar with Russian intelligence matters. Most critically, these people said, if he chooses to cooperate, he could provide Americans with their closest view yet of 2016 election manipulation.

According to people in Moscow who are close to the Kremlin and security services, Russian intelligence has concluded that Klyushin, 41, has access to documents relating to a Russian campaign to hack Democratic Party servers during the 2016 U.S. election. These documents, they say, establish the hacking was led by a team in Russia’s GRU military intelligence that U.S. cybersecurity companies have dubbed “Fancy Bear” or APT28. Such a cache would provide the U.S. for the first time with detailed documentary evidence of the alleged Russian efforts to influence the election, according to these people.

Klyushin’s path to the U.S. — his flight from Moscow via private jet, his arrest in Switzerland, and his wait in jail as Russia and the U.S. competed to win his extradition — is described in U.S., European and Swiss legal filings, as well as in accounts of more than a half-dozen people with knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity to speak about Moscow’s efforts and its causes for concern.

According to these accounts, Klyushin was…

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Microsoft Catches NOBELIUM’s Email Malware Plans, Also Known for its Part in SolarWinds’ Attack

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Microsoft catches NOBELIUM before they can even distribute a wide-scale email URL malware, which was intended for the US technological landscape, preventing another “SolarWinds” attack from happening. NOBELIUM is a known group that was linked with the recent hack of SolarWinds and is considered to be a massive threat by the security industry.

Microsoft

(Photo : GettlyImages/ Stephen Lam)
Microsoft post-pandemic plans revealed

As most people say “Crisis averted,” and that was thanks to Microsoft’s diligent monitoring and research about the threat actors otherwise known as “NOBELIUM,” which have been observed lately. The group had been making its stealthy actions since January this year, carefully planning their attack, and striking when already completing all of its variables. 

Initially, SolarWinds’ malware attack last December was attributed to the Russians but has denied any connections or actions with regards to it. Good thing is that organizations like Microsoft were able to complete and connect the dots, and have discovered new names in the tech industry which are responsible for said malware. 

Read Also: Biggest iPhone Hack Ever: ‘Fortnite’ Trial Exposes Emails Detailing the ‘XCodeGhost’ Malware

Microsoft Catches NOBELIUM in the Act

NOBELIUM Malware Attack Discovered by Microsoft

(Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website)

While SolarWinds is yet to fully recover from the attack, as it was projected it would take up to 18 months at the most, its threat actors are back to enact their reign of terror amongst others. According to Microsoft’s latest report, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has detected a new sophisticated approach in hacking into systems. 

Microsoft said that it has been getting into systems since early January 2021, and has been making its way into systems. Its recent attack had leveraged Constant Contract, a mass-mailing service, to distribute the said email malware URLs. 

The notorious NOBELIUM has been made, and it is good news for the tech industry as it has evaded a big one, especially with the way that the threat actors work. A lot of cases were attributed to them, with NOBELIUM’s hacking portfolio having a significant list of…

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