Big Tech’s Mixed Response to U.S. Treasury Sanctions

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:06:05 +0000

In May 2025, the U.S. government sanctioned a Chinese national for operating a cloud provider linked to the majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI. But more than a month later, the accused continues to openly operate accounts at a slew of American tech companies, including Facebook, Github, LinkedIn, PayPal and Twitter/X.

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Senator Chides FBI for Weak Advice on Mobile Security

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2025 17:33:59 +0000

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) briefed Capitol Hill staff recently on hardening the security of their mobile devices, after a contacts list stolen from the personal phone of the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reportedly used to fuel a series of text messages and phone calls impersonating her to U.S. lawmakers. But in a letter this week to the FBI, one of the Senate’s most tech-savvy lawmakers says the feds aren’t doing enough to recommend more appropriate security protections that are already built into most consumer mobile devices.

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Inside a Dark Adtech Empire Fed by Fake CAPTCHAs

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2025 22:14:00 +0000

Late last year, security researchers made a startling discovery: Kremlin-backed disinformation campaigns were bypassing moderation on social media platforms by leveraging the same malicious advertising technology that powers a sprawling ecosystem of online hucksters and website hackers. A new report on the fallout from that investigation finds this dark ad tech industry is far more resilient and incestuous than previously known.

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Feds Link $150M Cyberheist to 2022 LastPass Hacks

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2025 01:20:05 +0000

In September 2023, KrebsOnSecurity published findings from security researchers who concluded that a series of six-figure cyberheists across dozens of victims resulted from thieves cracking master passwords stolen from the password manager service LastPass in 2022. In a court filing this week, U.S. federal agents investigating a spectacular $150 million cryptocurrency heist said they had reached the same conclusion.

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Who is the DOGE and X Technician Branden Spikes?

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:54:40 +0000

At 49, Branden Spikes isn’t just one of the oldest technologists who has been involved in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As the current director of information technology at X/Twitter and an early hire at PayPal, Zip2, Tesla and SpaceX, Spikes is also among Musk’s most loyal employees. Here’s a closer look at this trusted Musk lieutenant, whose Russian ex-wife was once married to Elon’s cousin.

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Notorious Malware, Spam Host “Prospero” Moves to Kaspersky Lab

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2025 20:14:58 +0000

One of the most notorious providers of abuse-friendly “bulletproof” web hosting for cybercriminals has started routing its operations through networks run by the Russian antivirus and security firm Kaspersky Lab, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.

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Trump 2.0 Brings Cuts to Cyber, Consumer Protections

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2025 23:02:14 +0000

One month into his second term, President Trump’s actions to shrink the government through mass layoffs, firings and withholding funds allocated by Congress have thrown federal cybersecurity and consumer protection programs into disarray. At the same time, agencies are battling an ongoing effort by the world’s richest man to wrest control over their networks and data.

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How Phished Data Turns into Apple & Google Wallets

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:37:26 +0000

Carding — the underground business of stealing, selling and swiping stolen payment card data — has long been the dominion of Russia-based hackers. Happily, the broad deployment of more secure chip-based payment cards in the United States has weakened the carding market. But a flurry of innovation from cybercrime groups in China is breathing new life into the carding industry, by turning phished card data into mobile wallets that can be used online and at main street stores.

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Nearly a Year Later, Mozilla is Still Promoting OneRep

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2025 20:14:47 +0000

In mid-March 2024, KrebsOnSecurity revealed that the founder of the personal data removal service Onerep also founded dozens of people-search companies. Shortly after that investigation was published, Mozilla said it would stop bundling Onerep with the Firefox browser and wind down its partnership. But nearly a year later, Mozilla is still promoting it to Firefox users.

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Teen on Musk’s DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:32:53 +0000

Wired reported this week that a 19-year-old working for Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was given access to sensitive US government systems even though his past association with cybercrime communities should have precluded him from gaining the necessary security clearances to do so. As today’s story explores, the DOGE teen is a former denizen of ‘The Com,’ an archipelago of Discord and Telegram chat channels that function as a kind of distributed cybercriminal social network for facilitating instant collaboration.

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