Tag Archive for: dangerous.

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2023

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In 2023, the world has felt like it was balanced on a precipice. A United States presidential election looms, with a resurgent candidate that threatens to bring with him all the chaos of 2016 and 2020. Artificial intelligence developed so quickly that it seemed to have suddenly sprung into being, heralding vast societal promise and disruption just around the bend of its exponential curve. And the world’s richest man continued to use his power to push for a more reckless tech world, from free-for-all social media and oversold assisted-driving features to AI with a “rebellious streak.”

In the midst of that uncertainty, a new war between Israel and Hamas added more atrocities alongside the slow-burning horrors of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These wars have echoed across the internet in propaganda, hate speech, and cyberattacks that triggered widespread real-world effects. Chinese state-sponsored hackers, meanwhile, sowed the seeds for a future cyberwar, and ransomware gangs resurged. It was a banner year for chaos, present and impending, and all reflected in the digital mirror.

Each year, WIRED assembles a list of the most dangerous people, groups, and organizations on the internet—both those who intentionally endanger innocent people and those whose actions, regardless of their intent, destabilize the world as we know it in myriad ways. Here, in no particular order, are our picks for 2023.

Elon Musk

A year ago, it might have still been fair to regard Elon Musk as a brilliant technologist with occasional destructive, trollish tendencies. In 2023, those tendencies seemed to take over his public identity. Twitter, now renamed X thanks to Musk’s branding whims, this year invited back conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and even amplified one account’s antisemitic statements. When advertisers complained, Musk managed in a single conversation to both apologize for that blunder and tell them, “Go fuck yourself.”

Before that, in July, Musk had said that his social media platform’s ad revenue had fallen by half—all of which calls into question whether this once-central platform for online conversation will survive Musk’s reign, and in what form.

In the midst of that meltdown,…

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LockBit remains most dangerous ransomware despite fall in attacks

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Ransomware attacks by LockBit represent a shrinking proportion of global ransomware and digital extortion (R&DE) attacks in 2023, according to new research, but still represent the most significant threat to organizations in the UK.

Analysis shows that the group is still the primary R&DE threat to all industries globally regardless of location, according to ZeroFox. 

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Study: Bridgerton ‘most dangerous’ series to pirate

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According to a study by data destruction and information security experts Secureteam, Bridgerton is the most dangerous series to stream illegally, as fans eagerly await its return. The study curated a list of 2023 and 2024’s most popular series and returning shows and ran torrenting and streaming URLs through a malware detection program.

Some 70 per cent of torrenting and streaming URLs for Bridgerton were flagged as sites with a critical security risk. These sites contained malware and had been blacklisted by security programs like McAfee, or both. Malware-ridden streaming sites included 1337x.

The top five most dangerous 2023 series and immanently returning shows to torrent and illegally stream are: 

Name of Series Percentage of Medium Security Risk and Above Percentage of Critical Security Risk 
Bridgerton 80 70
The Walking Dead: Dead City 75 35
The Mandalorian 70 30
Only Murders in the Building 45 20
The Last of Us 65 15

Methodology 

To determine the most dangerous shows to torrent and stream illegally, Secureteam started by curating a list of popular shows that were released in 2023 and popular series returning later in the year or in 2024. They then put these search terms into Google, alongside the keywords “torrent”, “stream” or “watch for free”. Example: “Torrent Bridgerton”, “Stream Bridgerton”, “Watch Bridgerton for free”. The top 21 URLs were then entered into Sucuri, a website malware and security checker.

Why are these sites so dangerous? 

“Illegal streaming sites that distribute copyrighted content, such as TV series and movies, with authorisation are ethically problematic and also pose significant risks to users. They typically contain hidden malware that, if accidentally accessed, can have serious consequences for users and their devices. When users visit these sites and engage with their content, they unknowingly expose themselves to potential security risks. Malware on these sites may be present in the form of Trojans, viruses, worms, adware and spyware. Downloaded malicious software may compromise sensitive personal information, including login credentials, private messages and…

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NSFW Facebook ads being used to spread dangerous malware — don’t click on these

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Hackers have devised a clever new way to trick unsuspecting Facebook users into downloading malware on their computers.

While having your Facebook hacked is bad enough as it is, a new campaign discovered by Bitdefender uses compromised Facebook Business accounts to deliver the NodeStealer malware. 

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