Hacks & Hackers Archives

Hacks & Hackers

FBI: Destructive Malware Used Korean Language Packs

December 2, 2014 Paul Roberts

In a first, the F.B.I has issued a warning to U.S. businesses to be on the lookout for destructive malware that was used in an attack last week on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The FBI issued a five-page “FLASH” warning to security professionals at U.S. companies to warn them of the new malware. A copy of the warning viewed by The Security Ledger revealed that the malware deployed a number of malicious modules, including a version of a commercial disk wiping tool on target systems. Samples of the malware obtained by the FBI contained configuration files created on systems using Korean language packs. The use of Korean could suggest a link to North Korea, though it is hardly conclusive. It does appear that the attack was targeted at a specific organization. The malware analyzed by the FBI contained a hard coded list of IP addresses and computer host names. Media reports have linked the malware to the […]

Report: Cyber Ring Stole Data To Game Stock Market | Reuters

December 1, 2014 Paul Roberts

Reuters has the story this morning about a new report out from the folks at FireEye about a cyber espionage ring that targets financial services firms. The campaign, dubbed FIN4 by FireEye, stole corporate secrets for the purpose of gaming the stock market. FireEye believes that the extensive cyber operation compromised sensitive data about dozens of publicly held companies. According to FireEye the victims include financial services firms and those in related sectors, including investment bankers, attorneys and investor relations firms. Rather than attempting to break into networks overtly, the attackers targeted employees within each organization. Phishing e-mail messages led victims to bogus web sites controlled by the hackers, who harvested login credentials to e-mail and social media accounts. Those accounts were then used to expand the hackers reach within the target organization: sending phishing email messages to other employees. The criminals behind FIN4 sought data that could be useful to stock traders, including Securities and […]

Top News Sites Hacked, Syrian Electronic Army Claims Responsibility

November 28, 2014 Paul Roberts

The hacktivist group the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility yesterday for a series of hacks of high-profile news sites including CBC News and The New York Times. The group, which has targeted western news outlets in prior incidents, claimed responsibility for the attack, in which visitors reported seeing a pop-up message informing visitors of the compromise. Through a Twitter account group claimed to have used the domain Gigya.com, which sells identity management services to corporations. The attackers manipulated Gigya’s account at domain registrar GoDaddy. Gigya’s operations team released a statement Thursday morning saying that it identified an issue with its domain registrar at 6:45 a.m. ET. The breach “resulted in the redirect of the Gigya.com domain for a subset of users,” CBC reported. Read more via Syrian Electronic Army claims hack of news sites, including CBC – Technology & Science – CBC News.

Infographic: After A Year of Breaches, Are Retailers More Secure?

November 18, 2014 Paul Roberts

After a year in which some of the U.S.’s top retailers found themselves on the wrong side of sophisticated, cyber criminal hacking groups, you may be tempted to search for a silver lining. Maybe the up side of all the attacks on retail networks and point of sale systems is an improved security posture overall? After all: if your neighbors to the left and right have their house broken into, you may well beef up your locks and alarms, even if your house hasn’t been targeted. Or, at least, that’s how the thinking goes. But Boston-based BitSight took a look at how the retail sector is faring security-wise as 2014 draws to a close. BitSight is an interesting company. They market a kind of reputation monitoring service: assessing security posture for companies by observing how they look from the outside. Think of it as a kind of Experian or TransUnion for security. […]

U.S. Weather Systems Victims of Cyber Attack

November 12, 2014 Paul Roberts

The Washington Post is reporting that hackers from China breached the network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in September, forcing cyber security teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses. The article cites sources within the government and Congress. The intrusion occurred in late September. However, NOAA officials gave no indication that they had a problem until Oct. 20, according to three people familiar with the hack and the subsequent reaction by NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service. According to the report, NOAA officials believe that actors based in China are responsible for the attack. The report also claims that efforts to respond to it resulted in an interruption in some key services, including NOAA’s National Ice Center Web Site, a partnership with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard to monitor conditions for navigation. That two-day outage skewed the accuracy […]