Tag Archive for: Choose

How Hackers Choose Their Victims

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Hacking News

Enforcing the “double-extortion” technique aka pay-now-or-get-breached emerged as a head-turner last year.

May 6th, 2022 is a recent example.

The State Department said the Conti strain of ransomware was the most costly in terms of payments made by victims as of January.

Conti, a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) program, is one of the most notorious ransomware groups and has been responsible for infecting hundreds of servers with malware to gain corporate data or digital damage systems, essentially spreading misery to individuals and hospitals, businesses, government agencies and more all over the world.

So, how different is a ransomware attack like Conti from the infamous “WannaCry” or “NotPetya”?

While other Ransomware variants can spread fast and encrypt files within short time frames, Conti ransomware has demonstrated unmatched speed by which it can access victims’ systems.

Given the recent spate of data breaches, it is extremely challenging for organizations to be able to protect every organization from every hack.

Whether running a port scan or cracking default passwords, application vulnerability, phishing emails, or ransomware campaigns, every hacker has different reasons for infiltrating our systems. It is evident why certain individuals and companies are targeted because of their software or hardware weaknesses, while others affected do not have this common Achilles’ heel due to planning and barriers put in place.

We can bring in support of security experts like Indusface to defend ourselves and pursue an attack-reduction strategy to reduce both the likelihood and impact of becoming the victim of a cyberattack.

But what characteristics do companies possess that tend to attract cyberattacks, and why do hackers target them?

And if you knew your company was a likely target, would it make sense for you to be wary of the many ways your information could be compromised?

What Motivates a Hacker?

When hackers hack, they do so for several reasons. We’ve listed the 4 most common motivations behind the hacking.

1 — It’s About Money:

One of the most common motivations for breaking into a system is monetary gain. Many hackers may try to steal your passwords or bank accounts to…

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Google’s new Titan security key lineup won’t make you choose between USB-C and NFC

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Google announced updates to its Titan security key lineup on Monday, simplifying it by removing a product and bringing NFC to all its keys. The company will now offer two options: one has a USB-A connector, one has USB-C, and both have NFC for connecting to “most mobile devices.” The USB-A key will cost $30, and the USB-C key will cost $35 when they go on sale on August 10th.

One of the biggest changes in Google’s new lineup is an updated USB-C key, which has added NFC support. Google’s previous USB-C option, made in collaboration with Yubico, didn’t support the wireless standard. Now, the choice between USB-C and A is easy, as there aren’t features that one has that the other doesn’t. It’s simply a matter of what ports your computer has. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Yubico was involved with the new key.

According to Google’s support document, its Titan security keys can be used to protect your Google account as well as with third-party apps and services that support FIDO standards, such as 1Password. They, and other security keys from companies like Yubico, can act as second factors to secure your account even if an attacker obtains your username and password. They also fight back against phishing since they won’t authenticate a login to a fake website that’s trying to steal your credentials. The Titan keys also work with Google’s Advanced Protection Program, which is designed to provide extra security to people whose accounts may be targeted.

Google’s current USB-A security key already includes NFC and sells for $25. The USB-A plus NFC key that Google lists in its blog post will sell for $30, but it comes with a USB-C adapter. The USB-A key currently listed on the store doesn’t include one, unless bought as part of a (sold-out) bundle, according to Google’s spec page.

Google’s NFC / Bluetooth / USB key, which was made available to the public in 2018, will no longer be sold as part of the updated lineup. It’s already listed as sold out on Google’s store page. Google’s blog post says that it’s discontinuing the…

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Netflix Seeks Cancellation Of “Choose Your Own Adventure” Trademark

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This really should happen more frequently than it does. You will hopefully recall the ongoing drama between Chooseco, the company behind the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books we all remember from the 80s and 90s, and Netflix, producer of the hit series Black Mirror and its recent iteration entitled Bandersnatch. To catch you up, Bandersnatch was an interactive streaming show that billed itself as a “choose your own adventure” show, allowing the viewer to influence the progression of the story via choice. Chooseco sued Netflix over this production, claiming trademark infringement. Chiefly at issue is the appearance of a book mockup in the series, trade dress and marketing surrounding the show, and the fact that a character in the show refers to his own video game creation as a “choose your own adventure” game.

Separately, wielding this trademark, Chooseco inked a lucrative deal with Amazon to develop CYOA stories for the Amazon Alexa (keep this in mind for later). Chooseco also separately went after other indie game developers for using the phrase in their own marketing (again, important for later). And while Netflix sought to have the case tossed on grounds that its use of the phrase and trade dress was protected by the First Amendment, and was not protectable for Chooseco, and that there was no chance of customer confusion. The court, somewhat predictably, decided that those were arguments better made at trial.

And so here we are, with Netflix setting forth those same affirmative defenses… but with one notable addition.

Netflix is asking for the cancellation of Chooseco’s ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ trademark, as the dispute between the two companies over a “Black Mirror” episode rumbles on.

Netflix, in a new filing at the US District Court for the District of Vermont on Tuesday, February 25, argued that not only has the term “choose your own adventure” become generic (and available under principles of fair usage), but also that characters and storylines from its 2018 interactive episode “Bandersnatch” differs from other interactive productions.

Yup. In addition to the affirmative defenses laid out in its motion for dismissal, Netflix is now asking that Chooseco’s trademark be cancelled entirely. This is going to have a ripple effect across all of the other actions Chooseco has taken as set forth above. Those indie game threats? Those go away if Chooseco doesn’t have a trademark to wield. Future lucrative deals such as that struck with Amazon? Nope, those are gone, too, potentially. By picking this wholly unnecessary fight, Chooseco has potentially given Netflix the ability to yank away the one poker chip it had left to play.

From the filing:

The alleged “Choose Your Own Adventure” marks that are the subject of Registration Nos. 2,913,403; 4,682,357; 5,651,588; 2,807,473; and 3,234,147 lack distinctiveness, are generic, and therefore are unprotectable. As detailed herein, the phrase “Choose Your Own Adventure” no longer denotes a single source or origin. Instead, it is a common phrase used by the general public to refer (a) to any situation that requires making a series of unguided choices, or that provides an opportunity to go back and re-make a series of choices that turned out badly, or (b) to any interactive fictional work that employs a “branching” narrative style, regardless of the source or origin of the work.

As used in the context of fictional works, the phrase “Choose Your Own Adventure” encompasses the entire genre of interactive-narrative fiction, a genus of media of which Chooseco’s book series is just one species.

Anyone really want to argue that the above isn’t true? It sure seems to be. I have long known what a CYOA book was. I, until covering this story, had zero idea that there was a single company with a registered trademark behind those books. Because, really, there isn’t. CYOA is essentially a genre. And somewhat descriptive. And not particularly identifying as to a source of a product.

There are legions of interactive novels, for instance, that are self-described as CYOA. And, yet, here we are in 2020, the year of our lord, first seeing legal action by Chooseco over it? Come on.

Again, I wish we saw this more often. Trademark bullies looking for a payday should more often have to at least face the risk of losing their trademarks entirely. While there is no guarantee that this will work in Netflix’s favor at trial, at least this threat would deter more bullying in general.

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The ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ People Are Suing Netflix Over ‘Bandersnatch’

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As you may have already heard, the latest iteration of the Black Mirror franchise on Netflix, titled Bandersnatch, is an absolute hit. You likely also have heard that it allows the viewer to influence the plot by making choices within the story’s many inflection points. And, hey, perhaps you even heard that Netflix is facing legal action by Chooseco LLC, the company behind the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series that were popular in the ’80s and ’90s.

But if you haven’t dug into the details, both in terms of why Chooseco states the Netflix series violates its trademark and the damages it is asking for in court, you may not realize just how bonkers all of this is.

Chooseco LLC is suing Netflix for trademark infringement and dilution over the streaming service’s new hit, claiming that Netflix is “willfully and intentionally” using its trademark “to capitalize on viewers’ nostalgia for the original book series from the 1980s and 1990s.”

Bandersnatch is an interactive film that allows viewers to make choices that drive the plot and decide the ending. Early on, the main character informs his father that “Bandersnatch is a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book” and holds up a copy by fictional author Jerome F. Davies.

Now, it should be noted that this entire claim appears to rest on two things. First, there is very brief nod to the book series at one point in the film. Second, Netflix at one point had spoken with Chooseco about officially licensing their trademark for a Choose Your Own Adventure series that doesn’t appear to have anything to do with Bandersnatch. But it’s important to make something clear: at no point has Netflix ever referred to its own Banderstatch as “choose your own adventure,” or anything close to that. It is true that many people may have compared the two because, duh, but that’s not on Netflix (one might argue it’s on Chooseco for picking a name that is so easily genericized). From there, Chooseco claims that there will be public confusion about the origin and/or affiliation of Bandersnatch having something to do with Chooseco, and it claims that the film’s use dilutes the positive warm-and-fuzzies people have for the book series. On that front:

Overall, Bandersnatch is a dark film and the videogame that Butler creates in it based on its fictional inspiration is equally dark. Nearly every narrative fork includes disturbing and violent imagery. The movie has a rating of TV-MA, which means the content is specifically designed to be viewed by adults. Depending on the choices the viewer makes, it can include references to and depictions of a demonic presence, violent fighting, drug use, murder, mutilation of a corpse, decapitation, and other upsetting imagery. These dark and violent themes are too mature for the target audience of Chooseco’s CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BOOKS. Association with this grim content tarnishes Chooseco’ s famous trademark.

This, as should be plainly evident, is absurd on many levels. Fans of Bandersnatch aren’t going to think less of the Choose book series because Bandersnatch is dark. Dark is the whole point of Netflix’s series. Aside from that, a throwaway line in the beginning of the film serving as a simple nod to the book series doesn’t exactly create the lasting impression that there is any affiliation here. Bandersnatch regularly does commentary on popular culture by turning it dark. It’s kind of the point.

And, again, there’s nothing in here that’s going to cause people to somehow think Chooseco is involved in this film at all. The trademark claims ought to fail on the lack of any real concern over public confusion. And yet…

The real legal adventure, though, could come in its request for $ 25 million in damages or Netflix’s profits, whichever is greater, and that the damages be tripled because of the alleged willful nature of Netflix’s conduct.

Supporting the company’s claim that it deserves treble damages is its allegation that the two parties had been in “extensive negotiations” over the use of the trademark in 2016 but that Netflix never obtained a license. Also, Chooseco claims it sent Netflix at least one cease-and-desist letter regarding its unauthorized use of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” trademark in another program.

Every piece of evidence here is weaker than the last, which makes a $ 25 Million price tag seem a bit too much. Perhaps this is a lawsuit fishing for a settlement to make it go away, but I would hope Netflix digs its heels in instead.

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