Author Archives: BrianKrebs

Experts: Breach at IT Outsourcing Giant Wipro

April 15, 2019

Indian information technology (IT) outsourcing and consulting giant Wipro [NYSE:WIT] is investigating reports from multiple security experts that Wipro’s systems have been hacked and are being used to launch attacks against the company’s customers, multiple sources tell KrebsOnSecurity. The company has refused to respond to questions about the alleged incident.

‘Land Lordz’ Service Powers Airbnb Scams

April 14, 2019

Scammers who make a living swindling Airbnb.com customers have a powerful new tool at their disposal: A software-as-a-service offering called “Land Lordz,” which helps automate the creation and management of fake Airbnb Web sites and the sending of messages to advertise the fraudulent listings.

Android 7.0+ Phones Can Now Double as Google Security Keys

April 11, 2019

Google this week made it easier for Android users to enable strong 2-factor authentication (2FA) when logging into Google’s various services. The company announced that all phones running Android 7.0 and higher can now be used as Security Keys, an additional authentication layer that helps thwart phishing sites and password theft.

Patch Tuesday Lowdown, April 2019 Edition

April 9, 2019

Microsoft today released fifteen software updates to fix more than 70 unique security vulnerabilities in various flavors of its Windows operating systems and supported software, including at least two zero-day bugs. These patches apply to Windows, Internet Explorer (IE) and Edge browsers, Office, Sharepoint and Exchange. Separately, Adobe has issued security updates for Acrobat/Reader and Flash Player.

A Year Later, Cybercrime Groups Still Rampant on Facebook

April 8, 2019

Almost exactly one year ago, KrebsOnSecurity reported that a mere two hours of searching turned up more than 100 Facebook groups with some 300,000 members openly advertising services to support all types of cybercrime, including spam, credit card fraud and identity theft. Facebook responded by deleting those groups. Last week, a similar analysis found some 74 cybercrime groups operating openly on Facebook with more than 385,000 members.

Alleged Chief of Romanian ATM Skimming Gang Arrested in Mexico

April 4, 2019

An alleged top boss of a Romanian crime syndicate that U.S. authorities say is responsible for deploying card-skimming devices at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) throughout North America was arrested in Mexico last week on firearms charges. The arrest comes months after the accused allegedly ordered the execution of a former bodyguard who was trying to help U.S. authorities bring down the group’s lucrative skimming operations.

Canadian Police Raid ‘Orcus RAT’ Author

April 2, 2019

Canadian police last week raided the residence of a Toronto software developer responsible for authoring and selling “Orcus RAT,” a software product that’s been marketed on underground forums and used in countless malware attacks since its creation in 2015. Its author maintains Orcus is a legitimate Remote Administration Tool that is merely being abused, but security experts say it includes multiple features more typically seen in malware known as a Remote Access Trojan.

Annual Protest Raises $250K to Cure Krebs

March 31, 2019

For the second year in a row, denizens of a large German-language online forum have donated more than USD $250,000 to cancer research organizations in protest of a story KrebsOnSecurity published in 2018 that unmasked the creators of Coinhive, a now-defunct cryptocurrency mining service that was massively abused by cybercriminals. Krebs is translated as “cancer” in German.

A Month After 2 Million Customer Cards Sold Online, Buca di Beppo Parent Admits Breach

March 29, 2019

On Feb. 21, 2019, KrebsOnSecurity contacted Italian restaurant chain Buca di Beppo after discovering strong evidence that two million credit and debit card numbers belonging to the company’s customers were being sold in the cybercrime underground. Today, Buca’s parent firm announced it had remediated a 10-month breach of its payment systems at dozens of restaurants, including some locations of its other brands such as Earl of Sandwich and Planet Hollywood.