Tag Archive for: profit

Hackers are targeting kindergartens for profit, warns government

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Kindergartens and elementary schools struggling to educate children amid sustained coronavirus-induced remote learning can officially add a new woe to their list: hackers. 



graphical user interface, application: Hackers are targeting kindergartens for profit, warns government

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Hackers are targeting kindergartens for profit, warns government

The U.S. government on Thursday issued a statement warning that criminals are specifically going after schools’ distance-learning programs. And while this fits a well-established pattern, the latest alert from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) makes it clear that it’s no longer just colleges and universities that need to be on their guard. 

“The FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC assess malicious cyber actors are targeting kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) educational institutions, leading to ransomware attacks, the theft of data, and the disruption of distance-learning services,” reads the statement. “Cyber actors likely view schools as targets of opportunity, and these types of attacks are expected to continue through the 2020/2021 academic year.”

Ransomware, which over the course of the past several years has ground businesses and infrastructure to a halt across the globe, works by encrypting a target’s files and demanding some form of payment — often in the form of cryptocurrency — to decrypt those files. That hackers have now moved from corporations to kindergarten, elementary, and high schools likely reflects those organizations’ comparatively lax cybersecurity combined with educators’ increased dependence on digital tools. 

With so many working and learning from home thanks to the coronavirus, it follows that schools might be more willing to pay up should they lose access to the tools making remote learning possible. 

“In these attacks, malicious cyber actors target school computer systems, slowing access, and — in some instances — rendering the systems inaccessible for basic functions, including distance learning,” reads the CISA alert. 

Notably, in a twist reminiscent of the Maze ransomware crew, hackers are doing more than just encrypting target schools’ files. 

“Adopting tactics previously leveraged against business and industry, ransomware actors have also stolen…

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This Chinese Phone Maker Installed 2 Crore Malware To Profit From Users!

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Chinese Phone Maker Installed 2 Crore Malwares To Profit From Users
Chinese Phone Maker Installed 2 Crore Malwares To Profit From Users

Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Gionee, has been reprimanded by a Chinese court for infecting as many as 20 million smartphones with malware.

The company has been found to have infected these phones between the time of December 2018 and October 2019. 

Read on to find out all the details!

Gionee Accused Of Infecting 20 Million Smartphones Through Apps 

As per a report by China Judgment Document Network, Gionee has infected 20 million smartphones with Trojan Horse through an app. As per reports, the app was being used as a tool to profit from users with the help of unsolicited ads, and other illegal means.

The report states that a Trojan horse program was installed on the phones of users through the update of the Story Lock Screen app. A plug-in called “Dark Horse Platform” was installed on the app. 

The court has revealed that in the nine months between December 2018 and October 2019, Shenzhen Zhipu, which is a subsidiary of Gionee, and Beijing Baice have carried out the pull activities for as much as 2.88 billion times.

As of April 2019, more than 21.75 million devices were infected, of which, 26,519,921 Gionee mobile phones were infected in October alone. 

Through this, Shenzhen Zhipu and Beijing Baice have earned RMB 27.85 million.

How Were 20 Million Smartphones Infected By Gionee?

As per the report, the software is automatically updated on the infected Gionee phone without letting the user know by using the Pull method. 

In December 2018, the existing pull method was deemed insufficient. After this, Wang Dengke suggested the implant of the hot update plug-in “Dark Horse Platform” into apps such as “Story Lock Screen”. After this, the application and its SDK version with Trojan plug-ins were upgraded. 

The Dark Horse Platform was used to install and update the “Living Trojan Horse” without the knowledge of the user.

Xu Li, Zhu Ying, Jia Zhengqiang, and Pan Qi have been found guilty by the court. Xu Li, Zhu Ying, and Jia Zhengqiang have been sentenced for three years, Pan Qi has been sent to prison for six months. All the criminals have also been fined for CNY 200,000, which is about Rs…

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