Check Fraud Increases As Criminals Evolve

Check fraud increased 84% between 2021 and 2022, to 680,000 reported cases, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Part of this growth stems from the fact that check fraud has become easier and more accessible. Cybercrime groups are openly hawking fraudulent check schemes on the Telegram messaging app. Check fraud started rising during the COVID-19 pandemic partially due to stimulus programs. Criminals made easy money by stealing...

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Duo Security/Cisco Security Study Highlights 5 Most-Impactful Security Activities

A third-party security study commissioned by Duo Security/Cisco highlights the five most-impactful security activities for an organization. This study builds on one that was previously commissioned in 2020. Broadly speaking, the study focuses on two key security areas: prevention and response. For prevention, the two most impactful areas were having a current tech stack, and having that tech stack integrated with your security systems. They...

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Success of EMV Chip leads to changing fraud landscape.

The enhanced security provided by EMV chips has significantly impacted card fraud at retail locations. The continued presence of the magnetic stripe as a backup leads to continuing fraud losses. However, as always, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and criminals continue to use a variety of ways to obtain and exploit card information. Several of these ways continue to rely on the presence of the magnetic strip in order to either obtain...

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China Exploits Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Chinese Hackers and Others Increasingly Favor Unpatched Vulnerabilities According to security researchers, last year was another bonanza in zero-days for Chinese state hackers. They’re also predicting a permanent uptick in nation-state exploitation of yet-unpatched vulnerabilities. Data taken from original research by cybersecurity firm Mandiant and open-source reporting suggests zero-day exploitation fluctuates from year to year but is...

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2022 Reported US Data Breaches Near-Record Highs

After Surge in 2nd Half, 1,802 Breach Notifications Issued in 2022; Over 440 Million Individuals Affected After a slow start, likely due to geopolitical factors, 2022 was another bumper year for data breaches in the United States. U.S. organizations issued 1,802 data breach notifications in 2022, affecting more than 400 million individuals, the Identity Theft Resource Center reports. That figure is just 60 breaches shy of the 1,862 breaches in...

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Ransomware Profits Dip as Fewer Victims Pay Extortion As Funding From Ransoms Goes Down, Gangs Embrace Re-Extortion, Researchers Warn

Bad news for ransomware groups: Experts find that getting a payday is harder as the world fortifies against the onslaught of criminal malware. The good news is that more would-be victims are getting robust defenses in place, including well-rehearsed incident response plans, which make executing a successful attack harder. Also good news, law enforcement agencies mobilize earlier to assist victims, and by doing so, they’re learning better...

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Android Banking Trojan Steals Through Mimicry

Trojan Impersonates More Than 400 Financial and Crypto Exchange Apps The Godfather banking Trojan is causing serious issues in the financial sector due to its ability to mimic the appearance of more than 400 applications, including leading financial and crypto exchange applications. So far, it has targeted institutions in 16 countries. Research from security intelligence firm Group-IB says the Godfather Trojan reappeared in September with...

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Black Basta Using QBot Banking Trojan Malware to Target US-Based Companies

QBot Backdoor Opens Systems to Loading Cobalt Strike, Ransomware and Other Malware Researchers say the Black Basta group is dropping QBot malware — also called QakBot — in a widespread ransomware campaign targeting mostly U.S.-based companies. QBot malware is a banking Trojan primarily designed to steal banking data, including browser information, keystrokes and credentials. Its previous targets include JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of...

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Hackers Adopt APT-Like Capabilities

Cyberweapon-Grade Hacking Tools Pose Danger for Financial Sector Cyberthieves traditionally on the lower rung of hacking abilities now have access to nation-state-class malicious software, warn close observers of the criminal dark web. The appearance on criminal forums of tools capable of infecting a computer’s boot firmware or malware that evades antivirus detection is a consequence of years of state-sponsored development of cyber...

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Morgan Stanley’s Hard Drive Destruction Investment Failure

$155 Million in fines and settlements. While physical data breaches have declined substantially in the last 10 years, they still can happen without proper diligence. That lack of diligence and vendor oversight has led to a $35M fine for Morgan Stanley from the SEC and a class-action settlement of $60M over the same breach. This is in addition to a $60M fine from the Comptroller of the Currency in 2020. All for improperly decommissioning server...

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