Category Archives: A Little Sunshine

Includes investigative blog posts meant to shine a light on the darker corners of the Internet.

Road Warriors: Beware of ‘Video Jacking’

August 11, 2016
41 Comments

A little-known feature of many modern smartphones is their ability to duplicate video on the device’s screen so that it also shows up on a much larger display — like a TV. However, new research shows that this feature may quietly expose users to a simple and cheap new form of digital eavesdropping.
Dubbed “video jacking” by its masterminds, the attack uses custom electronics hidden inside what appears to be a USB charging station. As soon as you connect a vulnerable phone to the appropriate USB charging cord, the spy machine hijacks the phone’s video display and records a video of everything you tap, type or view on it as long as it’s plugged in — including PINs, passwords, account numbers, emails, texts, pictures and videos.

Data Breach At Oracle’s MICROS Point-of-Sale Division

August 8, 2016
112 Comments

A Russian organized cybercrime group known for hacking into banks and retailers appears to have breached more than 700 computer systems at software giant Oracle Corp., KrebsOnSecurity has learned. More alarmingly, the attackers appear to have compromised a customer support portal for companies using Oracle’s MICROS point-of-sale credit card payment systems.

The Reincarnation of a Bulletproof Hoster

August 3, 2016
48 Comments

In April 2016, security firm Trend Micro published a damning report about a Web hosting provider referred to only as a “cyber-attack facilitator in the Netherlands.” If the Trend analysis lacked any real punch that might have been because — shortly after the report was published — names were redacted so that it was no longer immediately clear exactly who the bad hosting provider was. This post aims to shine a bit more light on the individuals apparently behind this mysterious rogue hosting firm — a company called HostSailor[dot]com.

Social Security Administration Now Requires Two-Factor Authentication

August 1, 2016
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The U.S. Social Security Administration announced Friday that it will now require a cell phone number from all Americans who wish to manage their retirement benefits at ssa.gov. Unfortunately, the new security measure does little to prevent identity thieves from fraudulently creating online accounts to siphon benefits from Americans who haven’t yet created accounts for themselves.

Trump, DNC, RNC Flunk Email Security Test

July 25, 2016
86 Comments

Donald J. Trump has repeatedly bashed Sen. Hillary Clinton for handling classified documents on her private email server, even going so far as to suggest that anyone who is so lax with email security isn’t fit to become president. But a closer look at the Web sites for each candidate shows that in contrast to hillaryclinton.com, donaldjtrump.com has failed to take full advantage of a free and open email security technology designed to stymie email spoofing and phishing attacks.

Canadian Man Behind Popular ‘Orcus RAT’

July 21, 2016
98 Comments

Far too many otherwise intelligent and talented software developers these days apparently think they can get away with writing, selling and supporting malicious software and then couching their commerce as a purely legitimate enterprise. Here’s the story of how I learned the real-life identity of Canadian man who’s laboring under that same illusion as proprietor of one of the most popular and affordable tools for hacking into someone else’s computer.

Carbanak Gang Tied to Russian Security Firm?

July 18, 2016
36 Comments

Among the more plunderous cybercrime gangs is a group known as “Carbanak,” Eastern European hackers blamed for stealing more than a billion dollars from banks. Today we’ll examine some compelling clues that point to a connection between the Carbanak gang’s staging grounds and a Russian security firm that claims to work with some of the world’s largest brands in cybersecurity.

Cybercrime Overtakes Traditional Crime in UK

July 15, 2016
28 Comments

In a notable sign of the times, cybercrime has now surpassed all other forms of crime in the United Kingdom, the nation’s National Crime Agency (NCA) warned in a new report. It remains unclear how closely the rest of the world tracks the U.K.’s experience, but the report reminds readers that the problem is likely far worse than the numbers suggest, noting that cybercrime is vastly under-reported by victims.

The Value of a Hacked Company

July 14, 2016
30 Comments

Most organizations only grow in security maturity the hard way — that is, from the intense learning that takes place in the wake of a costly data breach. That may be because so few company leaders really grasp the centrality of computer and network security to the organization’s overall goals and productivity, and fewer still have taken an honest inventory of what may be at stake in the event that these assets are compromised.