Tag Archive for: lose

Apple and Google have made phones the key to your digital life. Here’s what to do if you lose it.

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The night before I was supposed to go on a long and well-deserved vacation, something very, very bad happened: I lost my phone. I had a friend over and, I decided, he must have accidentally taken my phone with him when he left. Which was a problem because all methods I had to contact him — including his phone number and address — were in the one thing I now didn’t have.

There’s nothing like spending 30 minutes panicking that you’ve lost your phone to make you realize just how devastating that loss can be … and how poorly you’ve prepared for the possibility. Access to just about everything I wasn’t already logged into on my computer was dependent on access to my phone, with my mobile-device-only password manager and multifactor authentication apps and text messages. Actually, had I even backed my phone up to my iCloud account? Didn’t I delete my backups to free up storage space? Was I logged into iCloud on my laptop? Would it even be possible to log in, since my passwords and authentication tools were only on the phone?

“I don’t think most people prepare for losing their phone,” Sherrod DeGrippo, director of threat intelligence strategy at Microsoft, told Vox. “Which is surprising considering how many people [have] lost their phone, broke their device, or had it stolen. Despite many people having experience here, they aren’t often taking the right precautions.”

Our phones have become our main — in some cases, only — gateway to so many things. If you lock yourself out of your house, you can call a locksmith to get back in, even if it’s the middle of the night on a holiday. But if you lose your phone, you may lose your keys to a whole lot more, and it may take a while, if ever, to get that access back.

Ironically, this is especially true if you’ve proactively taken the kind of basic digital security measures most experts would recommend. My efforts to secure my accounts from bad actors — some of which relied on having my phone — might have made it that much harder for me to get back into them.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t do those things — you absolutely should. You just want to make sure you’re preparing for the…

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At least 2 Android users lose nearly $100k of CPF savings in June in malware-related scams

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SINGAPORE – At least two Android users lost $99,800 of their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings in June to scams involving malware.

The police said on Saturday that the victims came across advertisements marketing groceries like seafood on social media platforms, including Facebook.

The victims contacted the businesses through their social media platforms or WhatsApp.

They were sent a URL to download an Android Package Kit (APK) file, an application created for Android’s operating system, to order groceries and make payment. 

APKs are installation files for Android apps that can be downloaded from the Internet and third-party app stores, instead of the Google Play Store.

Apps or APK files from the Internet or a third party could contain phishing malware.

The victims were unaware that the application contained malware that would allow scammers to access the victims’ devices remotely and steal passwords. These included Singpass passcodes, among other details stored in the victims’ devices.

“The scammer might also call the victims to ask for their Singpass passcode, purportedly to create an account on the application,” said the police.

Victims were directed to fake bank sites to key in their login credentials to make payment within the app.

The malware would capture the credentials entered.

The scammers were then able to access the victims’ CPF accounts remotely using the stolen Singpass passcode and make a request to withdraw funds through PayNow.

The police did not state the victims’ ages. CPF members can withdraw some of their savings when they turn 55 and receive monthly payouts under the CPF Life scheme when they reach the eligible age, which is currently 65.

Once the CPF funds were deposited into the victims’ bank accounts, the scammer accessed the victims’ bank applications and transferred the money out via PayNow.

The victims realised they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions on their bank accounts.

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Billions of Android and iPhone owners urged to check signs a criminal is hiding in your device – don’t lose everything

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SECURITY experts have warned smartphone users about major signs that criminals are hoping to hack their device.

Androids and iPhones are pretty safe gadgets but no device is fully hackproof, according to cybersecurity experts at Trend Micro.

Hackers have several techniques when it comes to infiltrating smartphonesCredit: Getty

They wrote in a recent blog post: “Unfortunately, no device can ever be 100% hackproof, and the iPhone is no exception.”

The blog lists three potential ways that a hacker can infiltrate your phone.

They’re all pretty common and you may have some of the red flags on your device right now.

EVIL APPS

The first hacking route the experts pointed out was “malicious apps.”

It’s normal to download apps onto your smartphone, but cybercriminals rely on you not checking what you’re downloading.

You have to be wary of all apps you download onto your device and make sure you’ve double checked the permissions that they want to access.

Try reading the apps reviews and only downloading from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

DANGEROUS WI-FI

The Trend Micro experts also warned against using insecure Wi-Fi networks, especially public Wi-Fi.

Most read in Phones & Gadgets

Cybercriminals can take advantage of your need to be online and steal data from your device.

Even the FBI has warned to be wary of public Wi-Fi.

“Preventing internet-enabled crimes and cyber intrusions requires each of us to be aware and on guard,” the FBI wrote in a recent announcement.

“Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.”

PHISHING MESSAGES

The third threat on the list could be lurking in your email app or text message inbox.

Phishing emails and texts sit waiting on devices, often containing dangerous links, and attachments.

Delete any suspicious messages without clicking on links or revealing any private information.

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2022 set to break hacking records as DeFI protocols lose $760m in October

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2022 is on course to be a record year for crypto hacking as a record amount of digital assets were stolen via crypto hacks in October.

According to data from blockchain security firm PeckShield released on Monday, about $760 million worth of crypto value was looted by hackers and cybercriminals in 44 incidents that affected 53 protocols in October.

However, some of the exploited protocols recovered $100 million, a fraction of that sum within the same period.

PeckShield reported that $2.98 billion of crypto assets had been stolen in 2022, almost double $1.55 billion, the total value of crypto stolen in 2021,  

The biggest exploit of this ‘Hacktober’ was the BNB Chain hack which resulted in a loss of $586 million alone. Earlier in October, the BNB chain executed a hard fork to restore security after an unknown hacker stole $100 million via a vulnerability in the platform’s cross-chain bridge.

Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) disclosed that hackers accessed a cross-chain bridge where users transfer digital assets from one blockchain to another. The hackers created 2 million BNB tokens out of thin air.

The PeckShield report listed the Mango Markets Defi protocol as the second biggest loser in October. However, the exploiter agreed to return some of the funds.

Related post: $117m stolen in Mango Market hack 

March had recorded the highest loss because oo crypto hacks before October, with around $710 million stolen. Most of this was due to the Ronin Bridge hack, which resulted in $625 million in crypto assets being pilfered.

Causes of the hacks 

There are several causes for the high volume of crypto hacks in October. The leading causes include wallets compromised by profanity hacks, Blockchain bridge vulnerabilities, insecure smart contract codes, the unaccounted-for game theory behind protocol functionality, exploited cross-chain bridges, and oracle price manipulation.

For the crypto lender, Mango Markets, the attacker, Avraham Eisenburg, claimed actions behind the exploit were legal after an oracle price manipulation. Following a community vote, an agreement was struck, and Eisenburg walked away with $47 million…

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