Tag Archive for: complaints

FBI: Ransomware and other internet crime complaints up in 2023


The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently reported a record 880,418 internet crime complaints in 2023, including an 18% increase in ransomware complaints to 2,825.

“The FBI’s annual internet crime report contains valuable insights and preventive tips regarding the types of cyber-crimes which target organizations and individuals alike,” said John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “Unfortunately, the report also statistically confirms what we are currently experiencing — the health care sector remains the critical infrastructure sector most targeted by ransomware. According to the report, the top five ransomware groups targeting the U.S. are all Russian speaking and include the notorious Lockbit and Blackcat/APLHV ransomware gangs. On a positive note, the report describes the FBI’s 72% success rate for recovery of funds in internet-enabled payment diversion schemes when reported within 48 hour to the victim’s financial institution and the FBI at www.ic3.gov.”

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at [email protected]. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity

Source…

India probing iPhone hacking complaints by opposition politicians


(Corrects first name of minister in first paragraph to Ashwini)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s cyber security agency is investigating complaints of mobile phone hacking by senior opposition politicians who reported receiving warning messages from Apple, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw was quoted in the Indian Express newspaper as saying on Thursday that CERT-In, the computer emergency response team based in New Delhi, had started the probe, adding that “Apple confirmed it has received the notice for investigation”.

A political aide to Vaishnaw and two officials in the federal home ministry told Reuters that all the cyber security concerns raised by the politicians were being scrutinised.

There was no immediate comment from Apple about the investigation.

This week, Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of trying to hack into opposition politicians’ mobile phones after some lawmakers shared screenshots on social media of a notification quoting the iPhone manufacturer as saying: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”.

A senior minister from Modi’s government also said he had received the same notification on his phone.

Apple said it did not attribute the threat notifications to “any specific state-sponsored attacker”, adding that “it’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected”.

In 2021, India was rocked by reports that the government had used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to snoop on scores of journalists, activists and politicians, including Gandhi.

The government has declined to reply to questions about whether India or any of its state agencies had purchased Pegasus spyware for surveillance.

(This story has been corrected to fix the first name of the minister to Ashwini in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Rupam Jain and Munsif Vengattil; editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source…

Ex-Twitter exec files whistleblower complaints, alleging major security problems | Technology


Twitter has major security problems that pose a threat to its own users’ personal information, to company shareholders, to national security, and to democracy, according to an explosive whistleblower disclosure obtained exclusively by CNN and The Washington Post.

The disclosure, sent last month to Congress and federal agencies, paints a picture of a chaotic and reckless environment at a mismanaged company that allows too many of its staff access to the platform’s central controls and most sensitive information without adequate oversight. It also alleges that some of the company’s senior-most executives have been trying to cover up Twitter’s serious vulnerabilities, and that one or more current employees may be working for a foreign intelligence service.

The whistleblower, who has agreed to be publicly identified, is Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who was previously the company’s head of security, reporting directly to the CEO. Zatko further alleges that Twitter’s leadership has misled its own board and government regulators about its security vulnerabilities, including some that could allegedly open the door to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns. The whistleblower also alleges Twitter does not reliably delete users’ data after they cancel their accounts, in some cases because the company has lost track of the information, and that it has misled regulators about whether it deletes the data as it is required to do. The whistleblower also says Twitter executives don’t have the resources to fully understand the true number of bots on the platform, and were not motivated to. Bots have recently become central to Elon Musk’s attempts to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy the company (although Twitter denies Musk’s claims).

People are also reading…



Source…

FBI ransomware and cyber scam report: 131 complaints, with 17 in Montana | ABC Fox Missoula


MISSOULA, Mont. – Some of the biggest public safety threats we’ve seen since the start of the pandemic are cyber scams and ransomware; Costing people their hard earned money to re-secure their information once it’s been lost.

In the last three years between our FBI region of Idaho, Utah and Montana reported 131 complaints that they’re aware of with some victims paying close to $20 million in ransomware in one transaction alone.

Salt Lake City’s FBI Special Agent in Charge, Dennis Rice, shared they’ve been seeing this trend spike as more people are working remotely and conducting transactions virtually.

He says healthcare, education and home-buyers are the top three industries that have been targeted the most.

“They’re telling you okay here is where you need to send the funds electronically because a lot of us do online banking and a lot of transactions and that’s what a lot of these hackers are keying in on,” said Rice.

Of the 131 complaints, 17 of those came last year and came from Montana. As of this week, the FBI has not been able to recover all of those businesses’ assets who’ve paid the ransom in an effort to get their information back, which is something they never recommend to begin with.

“It’s a constant effort to try to keep up, with trying to get in front of this and to help the victims recover some of the money and it will always be possible but education is really key,’ said Rice

The FBI encourages organizations of all groups to partner with their local FBI office before a cyber incident occurs.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center officials can assist you in navigating any cyber security risks you would like to report

Source…