Tag Archive for: job’

LinkedIn Job Offers May Actually Be Laced With Malware

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Illustration for article titled A New Phishing Campaign Sends Malware-Laced Job Offers Through LinkedIn

Photo: Carl Court (Getty Images)

With unemployment at formidable levels and the economy doing weird, covid-related reversals, I think we can all agree that the job hunt is a pretty hard slog right now. Amidst all that, you know what workers really don’t need? A LinkedIn inbox full of malware. Yeah, they don’t need that at all.

Nevertheless, that is apparently what some may be getting, thanks to one group of cyber-assholes.

Security firm eSentire recently published a report detailing how hackers connected to a group dubbed “Golden Chickens” (I’m not sure who came up with that one) have been waging a malicious campaign that preys on job-seekers’ desire for the perfect position.

These campaigns involve tricking unsuspecting business professionals into clicking on job offers that are titled the same thing as their current position. A message, slid into a victim’s DMs, baits them with an “offer” that is really rigged with a spring-loaded .zip file. Inside that .zip is a fileless malware called “more_eggs” that can help hijack a targeted device. Researchers break down how the attack works:

…If the LinkedIn member’s job is listed as Senior Account Executive—International Freight the malicious zip file would be titled Senior Account Executive—International Freight position (note the “position” added to the end). Upon opening the fake job offer, the victim unwittingly initiates the stealthy installation of the fileless backdoor, more_eggs.

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Whoever they are, the “Chickens” probably aren’t conducting these attacks themselves. Instead, they are pedaling what would be classified Malware-as-a-service (MaaS)—which means that other cybercriminals purchase the malware from them in order to conduct their own hacking campaigns. The report notes that it is unclear who exactly is behind the recent campaign.

A backdoor trojan like “more_eggs” is basically a program that allows other, more destructive kinds of malware to be loaded into the system of a device or computer. Once a criminal has used the trojan to gain a toehold into a victim’s system, they can then deploy other stuff like ransomware, banking malware, or credential…

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Biden’s pick to lead Pentagon faces questions about whether he’s right for the job

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President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to lead the Pentagon is already facing critics, who question his judgment while he served as the top US commander in the Middle East, an issue that could complicate Gen. Lloyd Austin‘s path to confirmation.

Biden has called Austin “the person we need in this moment,” and other retired four-star generals have praised the “superb choice,” but critics are asking if the former battlefield commander has the political chops to fight military budget cuts.

They are debating Austin’s suitability for a role on the world stage and wonder whether his experience equips him to confront an increasingly assertive China, develop new tools in cyber warfare and other realms, and reassure allies skittish about US reliability.

All those questions are expected to make the decorated 40-year Army veteran’s confirmation hearing a challenge. Austin will likely have to contend with these doubts even before then, as he meets with lawmakers next week and the Biden team pushes reluctant members of Congress to grant a waiver for the recently retired general to serve in the civilian leadership post.

‘The theater of war’

Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday, Austin said he understands “the important role of the Department of Defense and the role that it plays in maintaining stability and deterring aggression and defending and supporting critical alliances around the world.”

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell offered a ringing endorsement of the 67-year-old nominee.

Biden “is making a superb choice in selecting General Lloyd Austin to be the next Secretary of Defense,” Powell said in a statement, adding that he had mentored Austin during his…

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U.S. Job Market Slowed Further in November

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The American economic recovery continues to slow, stranding millions who have yet to find a new job after being thrown out of work by the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest evidence came Friday when the Labor Department reported that employers added 245,000 jobs in November, the fifth month in a row that the pace of hiring has tapered off. The figure for October was revised downward to 610,000, from the initially stated 638,000.

The unemployment rate in November was 6.7 percent, down from the previous month’s rate of 6.9 percent. But that figure does not fully capture the extent of the joblessness because it doesn’t include people who have dropped out of the labor force and are not actively searching for work.


Unemployment rate

By Ella Koeze·Unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted.·Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

November’s job totals were dragged down in part by the loss of 93,000 temporary census workers who are no longer needed now that the official counting has wound down.

More than half those knocked out of a job early in the pandemic have been rehired, but there are still roughly 10 million fewer jobs than there were in February. Many people in that group are weeks away from losing their unemployment benefits, as the emergency assistance approved by Congress last spring is set to expire at the end of the year.

“We’re in an unusual position right now in the economy,” said Ernie Tedeschi, an economist at the accounting firm Evercore ISI. “Far off in the distance there is sunlight” because of progress on a vaccine, he said, but until then, “we’re going to have a few of the toughest months of this pandemic, and there will be a lot of scars left to heal.”


The number of people who have been unemployed long-term is still rising

Share of unemployed who have been out of work 27 weeks or longer

By Ella Koeze·Data is seasonally adjusted.·Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Covid-19 caseloads have doubled in the past month, leading to new restrictions and…

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Assistant Principal Officer Information & Communication Technologies Job with Irish Prison Service

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APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED FOR

APPOINTMENT TO THE POSITION

OF ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OFFICER

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGIES (AP ICT) IN THE

IRISH PRISON SERVICE (IPS).


The IPS operates as an executive office within the Department of Justice and Equality and is a key component in our country’s Criminal Justice system. It employs some 3,200 uniformed and civilian staff. Currently, the nationwide estate is made up of 12 prisons and a number of other ancillary offices and facilities. Typically, the IPS manages approximately 4,000 people in custody at any one time, both male and female, aged 18 and over.

The mission of the IPS is to provide safe and secure custody, dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners for safer communities. The role of ICT is to support delivery of this mission by maintaining existing ICT systems and further developing innovative ICT solutions in response to identified business needs. The ICT Section is committed to maintaining a dynamic and responsive service to meet the needs of a challenging and changing work environment.

The AP ICT will be responsible for assisting in the management of the IPS ICT Section, reporting to the Head of ICT. The ICT Section consists of a number of multi-disciplinary teams with a mix of internal staff and external contractors. These teams are responsible for the delivery of all aspects of ICT infrastructure, ICT telephony, ICT security and ICT Systems including (among other things) desktop hardware and software, mobile devices and phone services, networks, internet security, backend servers and virtual machines, Oracle and SQL Databases and Systems, email, helpdesk,

onsite engineers and backups. The IPS has a number of major ICT Business systems which have been developed in-house and continue to be maintained and further developed by the ICT development team including a Prisoner Information Management System and a Prisoner Information Healthcare System.

This role is suitable to a person who possesses exceptional managerial and organisational ability at managerial level and has experience in a public or private sector ICT environment, with a proven record of significant…

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