By Deeba Ahmed
The Austin, Texas-based American cybersecurity technology CrowdStrike has discovered a brand-new cryptojacking campaign in which attackers are targeting…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: New Cryptojacking Campaign Kiss-a-dog Targeting Docker and Kubernetes

The Austin, Texas-based American cybersecurity technology CrowdStrike has discovered a brand-new cryptojacking campaign in which attackers are targeting vulnerable **Docker** and Kubernetes infrastructure. The campaign has been dubbed the Kiss-a-dog campaign.

**What is Cryptojacking?**

**Cryptojacking** is a type of online attack where hackers use your computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrency without your permission. This can happen when you visit a malicious website, get infected by malware, or click on a malicious ad.

Cryptojacking can slow down your computer and use up your battery life. It can also lead to higher energy bills. In some cases, cryptojacking can even damage your computer.

**Campaign Analysis**

According to CrowdStrike’s Cloud Threat Research team, the attackers use an obscure domain from the payload, anonymized ‘dog mining’ pools, and container escape attempt to target Docker and **Kubernetes** network.

Researchers detected multiple campaigns targeting Docker from the same Command and Control Server (C2) previously used by **TeamTNT**. Moreover, the tactics, techniques, and procedures used in the attack are similar in all campaigns.

**Vulnerable Docker and Kubernetes Networks Targeted in Kiss-a-Dog**

In September 2022, CrowdStrike’s honeypots detected several campaigns seeking vulnerable container attack surfaces. The company’s monitors revealed Docker APIs and identified the compromised Docker container as an entry point to trigger the initial payload- a Python command responsible for downloading a malicious payload t.sh from a domain named kissa-dogtop.

That’s why the campaign was named Kiss-a-dog. This entry point verifies/installs cURL through a package manager. Furthermore, it adds a malicious payload as a cron job.

The campaign utilizes a host mount for escaping from the container. It is a common technique among cryptominers to break out of containers, and it is often successful because it is relatively easier to target the internet-exposed Docker surface. As per Shodan, there are approximately 10,000 internet-exposed Docker instances.

In Kiss-a-dog, attackers use the **Diamorphine** and **libprocesshide** rootkits to hide the process from users. These rootkits can hide processors from the user. Detection on the network is avoided by choosing to encode the C/C++ code files and embed them as Base64 strings into the script. When it is runtime, attackers decode the Base64 string as .tar document containing code for the Diamorphine rootkit and compile it using GCC to create the file diamorphin.ko. It is loaded as a kernel module via the insmod command.

To hide wallet addresses, attackers used lovea-dogtop and toucha-dogtop as pool servers and disguised XMRig as . They install a service to run the binary as cmake.service.

**Campaign Objectives**

The primary motive is to mine cryptocurrency and use kernel and user mode rootkits for evading detection. For this purpose, attackers rely on **XMRig mining software**. Another objective behind this campaign is to target as many vulnerable Docker and Redis instances as possible.

Attackers download/compile network scanners such as masscan, pnscan, and zgrab on the compromised container. These tools randomly scan the IP range on the internet to detect vulnerable Docker and Redis server instances.

> The campaigns by cryptojacking groups last from days to months depending on the success rate. As cryptocurrency prices have dropped, these campaigns have been muffled in the past couple of months until multiple campaigns were launched in October to take advantage of a low competitive environment.
> 
> CrowdStrike

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New Cryptojacking Campaign Kiss-a-dog Targeting Docker and Kubernetes

By Owais Sultan
No matter how diligently you prepare an online presentation, you can realistically expect it to leave viewers with…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: 7 benefits of including a Q&A session as part of a webinar

No matter how diligently you prepare an online presentation, you can realistically expect it to leave viewers with questions you had insufficient time to address during the running time.

This situation helps to explain the appeal of holding a webinar, which Search Engine Journal succinctly defines as “an online seminar”. Listed below are several advantages you can gain from incorporating a Q&A session into a webinar.

**Increased audience engagement **

One problem with a presentation is that, as it is a one-way flow of information, people who are on the receiving end can too easily become bored with it.

You can, however, spark fresh excitement in these people by giving them an opportunity to speak through their device’s mic and consequently take a break from simply looking at a computer screen.

**The chance to elaborate on points made earlier **

It is possible that, during the Q&A, at least one person will ask you something that was already covered during the presentation.

However, this would give you the chance to not only reiterate the original point but also extend it — since time constraints could have reined you in the first time around.

**A more human touch **

A key part of the enjoyment of holding a webinar is that you can do so live. However, people who actually watch you speaking could forget that it is all happening live.

Through giving allowing people to interact with you in real time, you can help yourself to come across as less robotic, resulting in a more humanized event.

**Being able to demonstrate your expertise **

Anyone can simply memorize and then regurgitate lots of detailed information sourced from the internet, but what really distinguishes an expert is their ability to provide confident, in-depth answers to questions on the fly.

It’s great, then, that the spontaneous nature of a Q&A session would let you do exactly that.

**Opportunities for you to subtly promote yourself **

A LinkedIn article acknowledges: “You want to be careful about promoting during your webinar, but you can easily promote during your answers to questions.”

Nonetheless, you should tread carefully with how you go about this. If you get asked a question that a product or service of yours can answer, you could mention it, but should probably do so somewhat briefly.

**Improved prestige for your brand **

Think about it: if you hold the Q&A session in a way that shows impressive expertise and professionalism on your part, this can help in enhancing perceptions of your brand.

However, be warned that the quality of the session itself can be heavily influenced by the quality of the webinar software used for delivering it. Hence, you might want to source that software from a big-brand provider like ON24.

**Ideas for how to improve future presentations  **

If certain subjects come up unsurprisingly often during the Q&A, you could treat this as your cue to include more information on these subjects in future presentations for which you are responsible. After all, you want to create content that genuinely piques people’s interest.

Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

7 benefits of including a Q&A session as part of a webinar

By Waqas
The group claims they launched this attack to demand the release of political prisoners arrested during the countrywide protests. 
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Black Reward Hackers Steal Trove of Emails from Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency

A group of anti-Iranian government hackers have allegedly targeted **Iran** Atomic Energy Organization’s subsidiary’s network and managed to access its email server.

The hacking group identified as Black Reward has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian nuclear agency’s subsidiary, the Atomic Energy Production and Development Company located in Bushehr.

The group claims they launched this attack to demand the release of political prisoners arrested during the countrywide protests.

On the other hand, the agency has acknowledged that its email server was targeted by hackers and blamed a foreign country for this attack but didn’t name the country.

“These illegal efforts out of desperation are aimed at attracting public attention,” the agency stated.

Furthermore, the agency downplayed the severity of the incident, claiming that the stolen data included emails containing “normal and daily exchanges” and technical content.

However, hackers claim to have obtained 50GB of internal emails, construction plans, and contact details of the Iranian government’s Russian-backed nuclear power plant. The group also leaked some of the data on their Telegram channel. Yet, it is unclear whether the stolen data contained confidential data.

Screenshots leaked by hackers on their Telegram group

Additionally, Black Reward gave a 24-hour deadline to the government on their Twitter handle on Friday for exposing documents on the country’s nuclear program if all “political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and people arrested in the recent protests.” aren’t released.

“Unlike Westerners, we do not flirt with criminal mullahs,” Black Reward wrote.

On Saturday, the group released some data on social media, which included a brief clip from a nuclear site in Iran and documents containing payslips, agreements, and maps.

**Background Information**

According to the agency’s statement on Sunday, as **reported** by Reuters, in this “foreign-backed attack,” the attackers’ agenda seems to be an attempt to escalate tension amidst Mahsa Amini’s death and subsequent protests that have gripped Iran for weeks.

For your information, the Iranian government is dealing with public demonstrations after the suspicious death of a 22-year-old female, Mahsa Amini. The country’s moral police detained her for allegedly violating Iran’s dress code for women.

After her death, Iran has seen an unprecedented increase in large-scale cyber attacks on its critical government infrastructure. For instance, **Anonymous hackers have launched OpIran** in support of protestors, while hackers from different backgrounds are **using Telegram and dark web platforms** to teach Iranians how to evade government censorship, how to use VPN, and even carry out cyberattacks against the country’s sensitive targets.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism

Black Reward Hackers Steal Trove of Emails from Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency

By Waqas
Fact: Medical devices are often designed with convenience and functionality in mind, rather than security. 
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Why IoT Security in Healthcare is Crucial

When it comes to health care, the stakes are high. That’s why IoT security for healthcare is crucial. IoT devices are becoming increasingly prevalent in healthcare. From wearable devices to medical implants, these devices have the potential to revolutionize patient care. However, they also introduce new security risks.

Medical devices are often designed with convenience and functionality in mind, rather than security. This can make them easy targets for attackers. If an attacker gains access to a device, they could potentially exploit it to steal sensitive data or disrupt critical operations.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has also become a powerful tool for individuals and businesses to leverage. By connecting devices to a network, they can be utilized to generate vast volumes of crucial information that aid in business models and effective process management.

In healthcare institutions, IoT devices are just like regular networked devices. It is crucial that these devices are kept safe as part of cyber security practices in the industry. Healthcare institutions have some powerful options available to them to secure their attack surface in this modern age, though. 

Sepio, for example, has developed a solution for healthcare IoT security. Their solution monitors IoT hardware devices, in real-time to give healthcare facilities full asset visibility.

**Healthcare industry Uses of IoT Technology**

Advancements in healthcare IoT devices are being made at a rapid pace with healthcare institutions taking full advantage of the improvements they bring. 

**Handheld Smart Devices**

These devices are typically utilized to give caregivers immediate access to accurate patient history and up-to-date diagnostic and personal information. This is possibly one of the healthcare industry’s most useful and widely utilized IoT devices.

Some institutions even pair these handheld devices with other technologies like smart pens. Apart from the ability to be used for writing, these pens can record pen strokes and transmit information to servers in real-time.

**Monitoring Tools**

A large part of any healthcare institution’s data collection comes from monitoring patient vitals in real-time. For this purpose, monitors can be utilized that are capable of remotely connecting to nurses’ or caregivers’ stations or even their own mobile devices. It provides greatly increased versatility since a patient can now be mobile throughout the ward or even the entire hospital. 

**Remotely Operated Medical Pumps**

These kinds of pumps make up the majority of IoT devices in use. From general-use infusion pumps to insulin pumps for diabetic patients, medical pumps ensure that patients receive closely regulated quantities of fluids such as blood, medicine, and insulin.

However, the bad news is that according to a recent study, 75% of tested smart Infusion Pumps were found vulnerable to remote attacks.

Medical IoT pumps allow caregivers to monitor patients recovering from home, providing quality of life to those who otherwise would have been confined to hospitals. Typically, these devices need to conform to security standards prescribed by the NIST.

These are just some of the many devices in use by the healthcare industry today.

**How has IoT Transformed the Healthcare Industry? **

From the list above it should be clear that not only have IoT devices in healthcare improved the mobility of patients, but it has also had a significant impact on the available medical staff.

IoT devices have improved the care given by healthcare institutions too. By providing timely and accurate diagnostic information to caregivers, medical decisions can be made in time to save lives, improving the quality of care for so many people.

**Healthcare IoT an Unmistakable Target**

Looking back at the devices we covered, we should also mention that these devices are amongst the most attacked by threat actors. Gaining access to personally identifiable patient information along with a good chance of seizing financial information too, can be a massive payload to threat actors.

Ransomware attacks are one of the most common cyber security attacks aimed at Medical IoT devices. Healthcare institutions would typically need to cooperate since the lives of their patients can be endangered by these threat actors. 

In some cases, IoT devices may even be used to launch attacks on other systems. For example, the WannaCry ransomware attack on England’s NHS exploited a flaw in Windows XP that had been previously identified by the NSA. The attack impacted hospitals around the world, causing appointment cancellations and disrupting patient care.

Although the trend is changing, most healthcare institutions don’t necessarily care whether devices are HIPAA compliant, or whether they are sufficiently encrypted. Threat actors easily target these healthcare IoT devices. 

**Why is IoT Security so Crucial in the Healthcare Industry?**

An inadequate cyber security system could mean the difference between life and death for a patient if it is not in place. By neglecting the remediation of vulnerabilities in healthcare IoT devices vast volumes of personal patient information could leak during a breach. Having devastating effects on both patients and the institutions they trusted with their information and care.

**Conclusion**

The unfortunate truth is that the healthcare industry will remain a high-level target for threat actors and that healthcare institutions need to ensure that they do everything in their power to keep IoT devices safe from breaches. Making IoT security crucial to this industry.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism

Why IoT Security in Healthcare is Crucial

By Owais Sultan
Proxy servers aren’t foolproof solutions for hiding your identity and facilitating anonymous connections. As human-made tools, they’re prone…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Tools for Testing Your Proxy Servers

Proxy servers aren’t foolproof solutions for hiding your identity and facilitating anonymous connections. As human-made tools, they’re prone to fail, especially when connected to unstable internet or poorly configured.

Once you lose the link to your proxy server, your device will connect directly to websites with your ISP-generated IP address. That leaves every detail of your connection open, risking IP blocks and malware infection.

**How to Test Your Proxy Connections**

Testing proxy server connections is mandatory when scraping data and surfing the web anonymously. IP leaks during these serious activities have drastic consequences. The frenzied way bots work, whether they be for buying sneakers or gathering market intelligence, can raise suspicion, leading to the closure of one’s accounts.

When harvesting data from the internet, the leaking of IPs will cause the blocking of your scraping bots. Additionally, hackers can access your financial and private data when your connections are open. Use proxy testers to maintain stable proxy connections and keep your online activities secure and confidential. Here are some of the popular ones.

**IP Checkers**

IP checkers are robust tools for checking the connectivity and performance of your proxy servers. These tools provide an easy way to manage digital network connections through IP address filtration, allocation, and management. IP trackers operate differently, but their most basic function is providing a database of all connected IPs. They scan and provide accurate details of configured and active IPs.

Top-tier IP checkers include Advanced IP Scanner, Angry IP Scanner, and BlueCat. These IP checkers reveal your HTTP headers and location. Accurate details of your proxy connection location and IPs protect against connecting to insecure websites or getting blocked by streaming services or geo-censored websites.

**FOGLDN Proxy Tester**

FOGLDN Proxy Tester is the best tool for checking the speed of your rotating proxy connections. The tester generates real-time, direct ping times to all websites you’re connected to. It auto-generates connection speeds, giving accurate details of the time taken to authenticate and confirm a connection. For that reason, you can use FOGLDN to monitor your proxy server latency.

FOGLDN Proxy Tester is user-friendly and affordable. However, it doesn’t give clear reasons when tests fail. In addition, the tool won’t convey anonymity level, proxy location, and usage type.

**Hidemy.name**

Hidemy.name is the most sophisticated and efficient free proxy checker. The tool gives comprehensive details of proxies, including anonymity level, proxy type, connection speed, and precise location. It automatically detects proxies collected from different websites, often filtered per protocol type, including SOCKS5, HTTP, and HTTPS.

Hidemy.name offers robust AES 256-bit encryption and strong leak protection. It can tell exactly how secure and anonymous a proxy connection is while enabling you to know the probability of a proxy server connection leaking. It categorizes connections according to anonymity levels.

**IP Databases**

Other crucial tools to use with your proxy servers are IP databases. These IP revealing tools contain a dataset of IP addresses, enabling you to tell an IP’s location. Rotating proxies generate a collection of alternative IP addresses. If an IP gets blocked by certain websites, you won’t know unless you try to access the website to no avail. The best thing about IP databases is that they provide comprehensive details of all proxies, including the ones blocked from accessing certain websites.

Let’s say you use YourPrivateProxy as your proxy provider. You can check the proxies against IP databases to ensure they’re viable. This way, you can always be sure that your connection is secure.

IP databases also give signals of blocklisted IP addresses, protecting you from connecting to such IPs and risking getting blocked. IP databases provide varied kinds of data, including the location and type of IP address, the domain name, and the usage type.

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**Conclusion**

Proxies aren’t inherently designed to function error-free, delivering 100% uptime, outstanding speeds, and high anonymity levels. High-quality and well-configured paid rotating proxies will provide near-perfect connections, but even that is not 100% guaranteed. Despite accurate configurations and full-time maintenance, you must expect proxy servers to fail in some instances.

Cut the risks of dealing with leaked IP addresses and insecure connections by using proxy testers to maximize the work of proxy servers. Remember to identify and use subscription-based proxies confirmed to match the highest standards of anonymity, security, uptime, and speed.

Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

Tools for Testing Your Proxy Servers

By Deeba Ahmed
This hybrid method can provide improved predictions from one week before the fire using finer scales (4kmx4km resolution). 
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: AI-based Model to Predict Extreme Wildfire Danger

Researchers at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have developed an AI-based, hybrid system to predict wildfire danger. This brand-new, innovative forecast system combines deep learning algorithms with the currently available forecast models for accurately detecting wildfire conditions and enhanced coverage of existing models.

**Wildfire Danger- A Rising Threat to Survival**

No doubt, raging wildfires across the world are causing substantial economic damage. Also concerning is the ever-increasing number of fatalities caused by wildfires. If there’s a system that can predict this catastrophic event, it can substantially decrease damage since the available forecast systems aren’t as accurate or effective. Due to the limitations of these systems, it becomes impossible to predict an upcoming wildfire.  

**Details of the New AI-based Model**

According to researchers, an Artificial intelligence (AI)\-based model can help predict wildfires better than conventional methods because of the involvement of deep learning, which improves prediction accuracy.

Moreover, AI-based mode can determine where and when the fire will happen. This can also help in resource allocation and improving fire prevention. Applying a deep learning algorithm can enhance wildfire danger predictability in the Western US.

> “This study is a big step forward as it demonstrates the potential of such an effort for enhancing fire danger prediction without the need for extra computing power.”
> 
> Dr. Rackhun Son – Lead author

The research results from a joint effort between US and South Korean researchers. This hybrid method can provide improved predictions from one week before the fire using finer scales (4kmx4km resolution). This can significantly improve fire management and suppression.

**What Makes it Different from other AI-based Methods?**

AI methods involving the use of data can infer things considerably well, but it is still difficult to determine how it achieved the inference. Researchers combined AI’s deep learning algorithm with computer models that worked on physical principles. This combination helped them diagnose extreme levels of fire danger.

Hence, benefitting from the AI-based model’s computational edge. These predictions are made after considering geographic features and strong winds. Such as in the Western US, where high canyons and mountains are widespread, this method can help make accurate predictions, which coarser models can find difficult. This model can eliminate the reliance on regional downscaling, which is more expensive, computationally exhausting, and time-consuming.

High-resolution deep learning-assisted wildfire prediction

**An Ongoing Research….**

Co-author of the research, Prof. Kyo-Sun Lim from Kyungpook National University, Korea, stated that the newly developed AI-based model could make accurate high-resolution fire forecasts in much less time and is relatively more cost-effective than traditional systems. He further noted that in this study, they tested AI for fire danger prediction in the Western US but plan to apply it to weather extremities in other parts of the world.

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AI-based Model to Predict Extreme Wildfire Danger

By Owais Sultan
Most developers are wondering which framework should I choose. We are talking about the three most popular, namely…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Should You Choose Angular, React, or Vue?

Most developers are wondering which framework should I choose. We are talking about the three most popular, namely Angular, React, and Vue. We will try to understand this by making a small comparison.

**Angular**

Google is responsible for developing and maintaining Angular along with an international development team.

**React**

In this case, the international group that develops and maintains React is Facebook (Meta).

**Vue**

In the case of Vue, things are somewhat different, since it does not have an international company for development and maintenance, but a team of employees around the world, chief among which is Evan Yu as its creator.

**Framework Philosophy**

Now consider the different philosophies for each framework.

**Angular**

The core philosophy of Angular is to give everything a developer needs, as Angular is a framework with many features already built in, such as form validation, HTTP request submission, routing, state handling, and more.

Because of this, many refer to Angular as a platform rather than a framework due to the large number of features built into it. And not only because of the features or capabilities that can be used at the development level but also because of its ecosystem in which its core (which is managed by Google’s development and maintenance team) has additional tools such as command line, interfaces for managing and creating projects, easily add support for progressive web pages (PWA), etc.

In the functions section of the official website, you can explore the built-in functions in more detail, as well as get the documentation guidelines, which have an extensive catalog of Angular functions.

All this shows us that it’s very unlikely to run into a problem when Angular itself doesn’t have a built-in function to solve it.

**React**

Unlike Angular, React is the opposite, it focuses on being as minimalist as possible with an emphasis on UI design, so it’s considered more of a library than a framework itself. React calls itself a library. While it also has detailed documentation on how to use its functions, React has far fewer built-in functions than Angular.

So when developing a project, you end up using a lot of 3rd party packages or other resources, be it for routing, handling state, sending HTTP requests, etc.

This can lead to different points of view. Many people think about how minimalistic React is, while others think that the framework already has everything at hand to start working. Regardless, the React community is large, so if you run into problems, there’s likely to be a package or other resources available to help solve them.

**Vue**

We can say that Vue is in between Angular and React as it is a framework that offers some built-in features, but not as many as Angular. It mainly focuses on built-in features that are essential for writing code, such as routing and state handling, which are supported by the Vue team, but other features, such as form validation, are not built-in and depend on a third-party package. So it will be more than React but less than Angular in regards to inline functions.

Vue focuses on code, and despite having a good command line interface, it doesn’t have as many tools as Angular, although it’s slightly better than React.

To sum up, Angular has a lot of built-in features, React is minimalistic in this respect, and Vue is somewhere in between. But all these frameworks and libraries are focused on building user interfaces from reusable components and that doesn’t change whether you work with one or the other as they focus on making application development more powerful and easier for developers, so they adopt the concept of building user interfaces from components.

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Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

Should You Choose Angular, React, or Vue?

By Owais Sultan
Credit card scams are on the rise, and according to research, the US and Canadian citizens are more…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Credit Card Scams and How to Avoid Them

Credit card scams are on the rise, and according to research, the US and Canadian citizens are more likely to be a victim of this crime than those of any other country in the world, with billions lost annually to crooks and fraudsters.

Both individuals and businesses can be at risk of credit card scams, which are now recognized as the most common form of identity fraud – there were half a million cases in the US last year alone. Fortunately, you can take several simple steps to avoid getting caught up in a con – here’s what you need to know.

**Only Buy From Trusted Websites**

One of the most common ways that scammers get hold of victims’ credit card details is via cloned or fake websites. These sites may appear totally legit and could even masquerade as a well-known brand’s website but have, in fact, been set up by crooks purely to harvest unsuspecting visitors’ card details.

Avoid this by only buying from trusted sites. To do this, start by looking at the website’s address bar to ensure it’s that of the business you think it is. Scammers deploy tricks such as replacing the odd letter with a special character (such as a $ for an S) so that, at first glance, the website address seems legit.

Also, ensure that the address starts with ‘HTTPS’ rather than just ‘HTTP’ – this indicates that it’s secure and mechanisms are in place to protect your payment and personal details.

**Use Secure Payment Processing Systems**

How you process customers’ card transactions is crucial for businesses to avoid clients’ details falling into the wrong hands.

Ensure your merchant service provider offers the highest levels of security possible – some are specifically designed for what is considered ‘high-risk’ industries. It’s also vital to ensure that any physical copies of receipts your business holds are kept securely. This means keeping them locked away, ideally in a safe, where they can’t be easily accessed.

**Check Your Statements Regularly**

A low-tech but extremely effective way to guard against credit card scams is to check your card statements regularly: ideally, once or twice a fortnight.

Many scammers, having gotten hold of your card details, will siphon off very small amounts of money initially, so you’re unlikely to notice. After a while, they may use your card details to make an expensive purchase, potentially clearing out your available funds.

Go through your statements with a fine tooth comb, looking for anything unusual or a payment to a business or individual you don’t recognize. If you spot something suspicious, get in touch with your bank or card issuers immediately to let them know what’s happened.

**Protecting Your Card**

Scammers don’t just operate in the digital world: it’s important to take steps to ensure the safety of your physical card.

Crooks now have access to devices that can potentially harvest your card details even when it’s safely tucked away in your wallet or a pocket – the scammers simply need to be physically close to you – which can be surreptitiously done while waiting in line to pay, for example, or walking around a busy store.

Now cardholders on the market will block out attempts to read these details – an easy, cost-effective way to guard against fraudsters. Alternatively, although unconfirmed, some suggest wrapping a card in aluminum foil will also have the same protective effect.

**Keep Your Devices Secure**

Another way scammers can access your credit card is via the devices you use. To prevent being hacked, ensure you not only deploy high-quality virus and malware protection but also update it regularly.

Avoid, too, using public Wifi connections, especially to make purchases. These connections are relatively easy for hackers and snoopers to access, allowing them to get hold of your card and personal details.

Consider using a VPN (a virtual private network) to connect to the internet, which provides a much more secure way to be online and makes even connecting via public Wifi safe.

A VPN works by protecting your device’s IP address and encrypting all internet traffic – even in the unlikely event that a hacker gains access to your data, they won’t be able to interpret it.

**Stay Safe from Phishing Attacks**

Phishing attacks are on the rise and are a common way that con artists commit credit card fraud. Typically, an email is sent to an unsuspecting recipient, often appearing to be from a legit business or brand or possibly from the recipient’s bank. However, when the victim clicks on the link and enters the requested details, they’re actually giving their information to a scammer.

Always be on guard for phishing emails: never click on a link unless you are absolutely sure the message is from who it says it is. Poor spelling, grammar, or layout is a major red flag of a phishing scam, as is an incorrect ‘from’ address. To check the latter, simply hover the mouse over the sender’s name, and see if this matches the company that the message purports to be from.

**Staying Safe from Scams**

Around 10% of the adult population in the US falls victim to credit card scams every year – avoid being part of this statistic by taking the relevant steps outlined above to stay safe and secure from fraudsters.

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Credit Card Scams and How to Avoid Them

By Deeba Ahmed
According to Group-IB's report, OldGremlin Ransomware Gang poses as reputed firms to infiltrate networks via phishing emails.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: OldGremlin Ransomware Gang Known for Targeting Russia Launches Linux Malware

OldGremlin is a notorious ransomware group known for targeting Russian organizations and has launched a wide-scale multi-million campaign. Their targets are **Russian entities**, and the group demands large ransoms in return. The gang’s victims include organizations in insurance, logistics, retail, software development, real estate, and banking.

According to a report from Group-IB, OldGremlin ransomware gang is a Russian-speaking ransomware gang that has been fairly active since 2020 and around sixteen malicious campaigns have been attributed to this gang during the past two and a half years. All of these targeted Russian organizations.

Also known as TinyScouts; OldGremlin is among the few financially motivated cybercrime groups (other groups include **Crylock**, **Dharma**, and **Thanos**), focusing primarily on Russian entities.

So far, OldGremlin ransomware gang has conducted ten phishing email campaigns, all launched in 2020, a successful ransomware attack in 2021, and five attacks in 2022. Their ransom demands have been comparatively higher. In some cases, the group even asked for $16.9 million and netted around $30 million in illegal revenues.

Group-IB

In its debut year, 2020, the gang carried out dozens of campaigns targeting micro-finance firms, a tractor manufacturer, a metals and mining firm, and business media holding firm consecutively.

> “The demanded ransom is therefore often proportional to the company’s size and revenue and is obviously higher than the budget necessary for ensuring a suitable level of information security.”
> 
> Group-IB

**Campaign Details**

According to Group-IB’s **press release**, OldGremlin has developed a new malware for Linux systems. The group poses as reputed firms such as media group RBC, Russian Union of Industrialists, 1C-Bitrix, or legal assistance provider Consultant Plus to infiltrate networks **via phishing emails**.

The group manages to achieve initial success via a phishing email and deploys tools like **Cobalt Strike** for lateral movement. It establishes persistence through the creation of scheduled tasks and obtaining escalated privileges.

It also exploits a flaw in Cisco AnyConnect (**CVE-2020-3153** and **CVE-2020-3433**) and gains remote access to the targeted infrastructure using tools like TeamViewer. Once this is done, the group stays inside the victim’s network for around 49 days and then launches the ransomware.

Victims can contain the threat using an effective malware detection solution during this time. Group-IB noted that the most recent phishing wave assigned to OldGremlin ransomware occurred on 23 August 2022 in which phishing emails embedded links to a ZIP archive payload hosted on Dropbox for activating the killchain.

Resultantly, the archive files launch a rogue LNK file (TinyLink) for downloading a backdoor (TinyFluff). Moreover, the group uses other implants besides TinyFluff, including TinyPosh, TinyShell, TinyNode, before deleting data backups. Then it launched the .NET-based TinyCrypt ransomware.

Although the group is focused on Russian organizations, Group-IB noted that it might expand its geographical boundaries after some time.

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OldGremlin Ransomware Gang Known for Targeting Russia Launches Linux Malware

By Waqas
The Chainscanner is available for free on the Ankr website, allowing users to search for transaction data, addresses, smart contracts, and much more.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Ankr Launches Chainscanner Blockchain Explorer Tool

The San Francisco, California-based leading Web3 infrastructure-providing firm Ankr has **announced** the launch of Chainscanner, a blockchain explorer tool. The tool is designed to help users find and analyze data on the Ethereum blockchain.

Chainscanner is available for free on the Ankr website. The tool allows users to search for transaction data, addresses, and smart contracts. It also provides a visual representation of data from the **Ethereum blockchain**.

The new development came just days after **Ankr announced** becoming the first RPC provider to the Aptos Blockchain.

Chainscanner’s interface

Ankr vows that Chainscanner is more user-friendly and accurate than other alternatives. What makes Chainscanner different is its focus on simplicity and usability. The interface is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, while the underlying algorithms are designed to be more accurate and efficient.

In addition, Chainscanner offers a number of unique features that other tools lack. For example, it includes a built-in wallet explorer that allows users to track their transactions and balances in real time. It also offers an advanced search function that makes it easy to find specific transactions and addresses.

Ankr also offers AppChains-as-a-Service, a new way to develop and deploy decentralized applications. It is a turnkey solution that allows developers to focus on building their applications on customized subchains including BNB Chain (BSC), Avalanche (AVAX), and Polygon (MATIC), while Ankr manages the infrastructure and scaling.

With Chainscanner, developers and users will have access to transparent and independent results and data about validators, active users, token info, token holders, and more.

Similarly, they can also stake their tokens to support a personal selection of AppChains and participate in governance for AppChains. Users will find it easier as it pertains to getting involved with governance, staking, or development with Chainscanner.

> “Chainscanner is an essential new building block for AppChains that greatly improves user experience with tools made to let users instantly search for data, stake tokens, vote on governance proposals, get development resources, apply to become a validator, and learn everything about different chains.”
> 
> Kev Silk, Product Manager for Ankr AppChains

In conclusion, Chainscanner will make it easy for users and new investors to explore the complicated **blockchain ecosystem** in a user-friendly manner.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism

Source

HackRead