Location sharing is popular among couples. But is it something you want in your own relationship?

Every relationship has its disagreements. Who takes out the trash and washes the dishes? Who plans the meals and writes out the grocery list? And when is it okay to start tracking one another’s location?  

Location sharing is becoming the norm between romantic partners—50% of people valued location sharing in their relationships, according to recent research from Malwarebytes—and plenty of couples have found ways to track one another’s location, with consent, in a respectful and transparent way.

But, as a cybersecurity, privacy, and identity protection company, Malwarebytes is concerned with risk, and location sharing carries significant risks within many types of relationships.

There are new relationships in which the rules around privacy and sharing are still being agreed upon, old relationships in which power imbalances are deeply entrenched, and, of course, abusive relationships in which non-consensual tracking and surveillance are used as levers of control.

As a company—and not a relationship counselor—Malwarebytes cannot endorse any reasons for location sharing between romantic partners. But Malwarebytes can provide guidance on what safe location sharing looks like, including a requirement for consent.

Importantly, Malwarebytes can also remind readers about one simple, often-forgotten fact in this conversation: You don’t have to engage in location sharing if you do not want to.

It really is as simple as that. Do not agree to location sharing in your relationship if:

*   You are being pressured, coerced, or harassed into sharing your location.
*   You do not trust or feel comfortable sharing your location with your partner.  
*   You do not want to.

As the reasons for location sharing are valid for many couples, the reasons against it are just as valid, too. You have the right to determine the rules in your own relationship, and that includes the digital decisions that impact your feelings of privacy, safety, and trust.

****Safety, security, and convenience****

According to research conducted last year by Malwarebytes, location tracking among partners is popular in North America—and even more popular amongst younger generations.

When polling more than 1,000 people about their attitudes and behaviors around online privacy and cybersecurity, a full 50% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “monitoring my spouse’s/significant other’s online activity and/or location makes me feel they are safer.”

Similarly, 42% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “being able to track my spouse’s/significant other’s location when they are away is extremely important to me.” This sentiment was higher amongst Gen Z—49% felt the same way compared to the general population.

As to why location tracking has become so popular, there is little doubt. It’s about safety (or, at least, the feeling of it).

On Reddit, the question of location tracking between partners is frequently posed and is just as frequently answered: “I think it should be fine for safety reasons,” said one user in a the most popular response to a thread.

In writing for the media platform Her Campus, one Pennsylvania State University student said that, if she already shares her location with her friends for safety, “why would I not share it with someone I am involved with romantically?”

For some of the editorial staff at the healthy living brand Poosh, location sharing also provided convenience.  

“If I want to call my boyfriend for something, sometimes I’ll check his location first (if he’s at the office, for example, I won’t call),” wrote Erika Harwood, managing editor. “Or if he tells me he’s on his way home and it seems to be taking unusually long, it’s easier to just check his location and see if he’s stuck in traffic.”

Harwood continued:

“Basically, it all boils down to me trying to eliminate as many phone calls from my day as possible.”

What these explanations all share is purpose and consent. The people featured here have told their partners about location sharing, and they have identified specific reasons to engage in this practice. Because of this, these situations are hardly cause for alarm.

What Malwarebytes hopes to draw attention to, however, are starkly different situations.

****Coercion, control, and crisis****

Location “sharing” implies two partners who consensually share their locations with one another. But as Malwarebytes discovered last year, location “sharing” isn’t the only activity that some people engage in—it’s also location spying.

According to the same survey last year, 41% of all people admitted to monitoring their partner in some way without their partner’s permission.

That includes 16% of people who non-consensually “tracked my spouse’s/significant other’s location through an app or Bluetooth tracker (like Apple AirTags, Tile, Find My)” and 13% who non-consensually “installed monitoring software/apps on spouse’s/significant other’s devices (e.g., Life360).”

The harms here are obvious.

Non-consensual location tracking in a relationship is a clear invasion of privacy. It puts sensitive information into one partner’s hands without the other partner knowing it, and the nature of the information itself can be used to harass and stalk someone—especially after a breakup.

Non-consensual location tracking is also present in domestic abuse, particularly in instances where one partner is being spied upon with the use of “stalkerware” apps. And while those who deploy these types of invasive apps are not guaranteed to be physically abusive against their partners, several documented cases highlight the risk.

As Danielle Citron, professor of law at UVA, wrote back in 2015 about what she called “cyber stalking apps”:

“A woman fled her abuser who was living in Kansas. Because her abuser had installed a cyber stalking app on her phone, her abuser knew that she had moved to Elgin, Illinois. He tracked her to a shelter and then a friend’s home where he assaulted her and tried to strangle her. In another case, a woman tried to escape her abusive husband, but because he had installed a stalking app on her phone, he was able to track down her and her children. The man murdered his two children. In 2013, a California man, using a spyware app, tracked a woman to her friend’s house and assaulted her.”

These cases may sound extreme, but they should not be ignored. They reveal that it isn’t location sharing itself which is harmful, but rather that harmful relationships will lead to harmful forms of location tracking.

Be sure that, if you do engage in location sharing, it is with someone who you trust, on both of your agreed terms, and in a way that you can turn off the location sharing at any point in the future.

****What’s the answer?****

Your real-time location is extraordinarily sensitive information, and as such, access to it should be understood as a privilege, not a right. No romantic partner has a “right” to your location just because their previous partners practiced location sharing. No romantic partner should coerce or harass you into location sharing. And no, the refusal to share your location, at any stage of the relationship, is not a “red flag.”

If you do decide to share your location with your partner, be sure to follow these guidelines:

*   **Have an open conversation about location sharing with one another**. You must obtain consent from your partner if you’re going to share your locations. Spying on your partner’s location without their consent is a breach of trust.
*   **Have a reason why you’re engaging in location sharing**. Many problems in a relationship will not be solved by location sharing. Have a firm reason why you want to share locations and what value it will provide. If you do not have a good reason, you may not need location sharing at all.
*   **Set up rules about location sharing**. Location sharing can be enabled on a case-by-case basis for, say, music festivals, vacations, or solo hiking trips. It can also be enabled between partners indefinitely.
*   **Check in periodically about whether it is working**. Just because you agreed to location sharing a year ago does not mean you cannot revisit the topic. See how location sharing feels and then see if you still want it later in your relationship.

As every couple has its own rules and behaviors for success, there is no single answer to whether you should share your location with your partner. You know your partner—and yourself—best to answer this question. Be safe, whatever option you choose.

**We don’t just report on threats—we remove them**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

 Should you share your location with your partner? 

A threat actor claims to be in possession of 2.8 million records originating from a hack at Canadian retail chain Giant Tiger

Someone has posted a database of over 2.8 million records to a hacker forum, claiming they originated from a March 2024 hack at Canadian retail chain Giant Tiger.

When asked, they posted a small snippet as proof. The download of the full database is practically free for other active members of that forum.

In March, one of Giant Tiger‘s vendors, a company used to manage customer communications and engagement, suffered a cyberattack, which impacted Giant Tiger, as reported by CBC.

The retailer first learned of the security incident on March 4, 2024, and concluded that customer information was involved by March 15, according to an email the company wrote to customers. Giant Tiger also noted that the security incident only impacted one of its vendors and didn’t affect the chain’s store systems or applications, saying that “there is no indication of any misuse of the information.”

On April 12, 2024, BleepingComputer noticed a post titled “Giant Tiger Database – Leaked, Download!” on the hacker forum. The records contain over 2.8 million unique email addresses, names, phone numbers and physical addresses.

When contacted by BleepingComputer, Giant Tiger said:

> “We determined that contact information belonging to certain Giant Tiger customers was obtained without authorization. We sent notices to all relevant customers informing them of the situation.”

and:

> “No payment information or passwords were involved.”

Depending on customer’s buying behavior, the data leaked in the breach may vary. Loyalty members and those who placed online orders for in-store pickups might have had their names, emails and phone numbers compromised. Some customers, who placed online orders for home delivery, may have had that same information plus their street addresses compromised.

**Protecting yourself from a data breach**

There are some actions you can take if you are, or suspect you may have been, the victim of a data breach.

*   **Check the vendor’s advice.** Every breach is different, so check with the vendor to find out what’s happened, and follow any specific advice they offer.
*   **Change your password.** You can make a stolen password useless to thieves by changing it. Choose a strong password that you don’t use for anything else. Better yet, let a password manager choose one for you.
*   **Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).** If you can, use a FIDO2-compliant hardware key, laptop or phone as your second factor. Some forms of two-factor authentication (2FA) can be phished just as easily as a password. 2FA that relies on a FIDO2 device can’t be phished.
*   **Watch out for fake vendors.** The thieves may contact you posing as the vendor. Check the vendor website to see if they are contacting victims, and verify any contacts using a different communication channel.
*   **Take your time.** Phishing attacks often impersonate people or brands you know, and use themes that require urgent attention, such as missed deliveries, account suspensions, and security alerts.
*   **Set up identity monitoring.** Identity monitoring alerts you if your personal information is found being traded illegally online, and helps you recover after.

**Check your digital footprint**

Malwarebytes has a new free tool for you to check if your personal data has been exposed online. Submit your email address (it’s best to give the one you most frequently use) to our free Digital Footprint scan and we’ll give you a report and recommendations.

**We don’t just report on threats – we help safeguard your entire digital identit**y

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your—and your family’s—personal information by using identity protection

 Giant Tiger breach sees 2.8 million records leaked 

A list of topics we covered in the week of April 8 to April 14 of 2024

April 12, 2024 - Wondering whether changing your SSN is an option. Read here what you need to qualify for a new SSN and what you need to get one.

April 11, 2024 - Apple has sent alerts to people in 92 nations to say it's detected that they may have been a victim of a mercenary attack.

April 10, 2024 - Don't wait for an online harassment campaign to unfairly target you or a loved one. Take these proactive steps today to stay safe.

April 10, 2024 - Find out what sensitive data of yours is exposed online today with our new, free Digital Footprint Portal.

April 9, 2024 - A man has pleaded guilty to assuming someone else's identity for 35 years.

 A week in security (April 8 &#8211; April 14) 

Wondering whether changing your SSN is an option. Read here what you need to qualify for a new SSN and what you need to get one.

After seeing their Social Security Number (SSN) leaked in the AT&T breach, some US citizens are wondering if and how they can change their SSN.

The good news is that even though it’s a challenging process, it is possible. But if you’ve ever had to abandon an email address that you used for years, imagine all of the hassle that came with that, and then imagine it being about 10 times worse. Governments, your employer, and everyone else that identifies who you are by your SSN will have to be notified. And since it doesn’t happen very often, most of them will not have a streamlined process in place. It will take a lot of time and effort to set every record straight.

All that said, this process is not impossible, and in some cases, it is worth the effort.

**When do I qualify?**

The first obstacle will be to qualify for a change of your SSN in the first place. You will have to show that you:

*   Are the victim of identity theft. Importantly, even if this is true, the US government requires that you first have “attempted to fix problems resulting from the misuse,” but that you’re still encountering issues because of your original SSN. If someone is using your Social Security number for work purposes, you report it to the Social Security Administration (SSA) first. If someone is using your number to open lines of credit, you’ll need to go to identitytheft.gov to report it and establish a recovery plan. If those options didn’t help, then you can apply for a new SSN.
*   Were issued a duplicate number or you and a family member have sequential numbers that are causing problems.
*   Are facing a serious threat to your safety, like severe harassment, abuse, or potential life endangerment.
*   Have religious or cultural objections to the particular number you received. You’ll need to provide documentation from the group you belong to that affirms your objection.

**Where do I start?**

The first step is to contact your local Social Security office. Under normal circumstances, you will have to pay them a personal visit after making an appointment. They will perform all the required checks and assist you in drafting a statement explaining why you need a new number, and fill out an application for a new SSN.

You will need to bring:

**Evidence of your age**. This is usually a birth certificate, but in some cases, alternatives are allowed, such as a US hospital record of your birth, a religious record established before age 5 showing your age or date of birth, a passport, or a final adoption decree showing the birth information taken from the original birth certificate.

**Evidence of identity.** A US passport, US driver’s license or state-issued non-driver identity card satisfy this requirement. Alternatives that may be accepted are a US military identity card, a certificate of naturalization, employee identity card, a certified copy of medical record, health insurance card, Medicaid card, or school identity card/record.

**Evidence of US citizenship or immigration status**. A US birth certificate or US passport are standard for this requirement. Accepted alternatives may be Consular Report of Birth, Certificate of Citizenship, or Certificate of Naturalization.

For all these documents, US citizens will need to show original documents (or documents certified by the issuing agency).

US immigrants requesting a new SSN will need to provide **evidence of immigration status** by showing an unexpired document issued by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and additional documents if you are an international student or exchange visitor.

And you will need to provide **evidence for the reason you need a new SSN**.

**Aftermath**

Once you have successfully changed your SSN, here is a non-exhaustive list of entities that need to be informed:

*   The IRS.
*   Your employer.
*   Your bank. 
*   Your school.
*   Your student loan provider.
*   Your Medicare or Medicaid provider.
*   Any primary care doctors or specialists with your medical records.
*   Third-party insurance companies.

What you will not have achieved is also important to know. A Social Security number change doesn’t erase your financial history. So, a new SSN doesn’t absolve you of any debts you have, rectify your credit history, or repair a bad credit score.

**We don’t just report on threats – we help safeguard your entire digital identit**y

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your—and your family’s—personal information by using identity protection.

 How to change your Social Security Number 

Apple has sent alerts to people in 92 nations to say it's detected that they may have been a victim of a mercenary attack.

Apple has reportedly sent alerts to individuals in 92 nations on Wednesday, April 10, to say it’s detected that they may have been a victim of a mercenary attack. The company says it has sent out these types of threat notifications to over 150 countries since the start in 2021.

Mercenary spyware is used by governments to target people like journalists, political activists, and similar targets, and involves the use of sophisticated tools like Pegasus. Pegasus is one of the world’s most advanced and invasive spyware tools, known to utilize zero-day vulnerabilities against mobile devices.

The second number became known when Apple changed the wording of the relevant support page. The change also included the title that went from “About Apple threat notifications and protecting against **state-sponsored attacks**” to “About Apple threat notifications and protecting against **mercenary spyware**.”

If you look at the before and after, you’ll also notice an extra paragraph, again with the emphasis on the change from “state-sponsored attacks” to “mercenary spyware.”

The cause for the difference in wording might be because “state-sponsored” is often used to indicate attacks targeted at entities, like governments or companies, while these mercenary attacks tend to be directed at individual people.

The extra paragraph specifically calls out the NSO Group and the Pegasus spyware it sells. While the NSO Group claims to only sell to “government clients,” we have no reason to take its word for it.

Apple says that when it detects activity consistent with a mercenary spyware attack it uses two different means of notifying the users about the attack:

*   Displays a Threat Notification at the top of the page after the user signs into appleid.apple.com.
*   Sends an email and iMessage notification to the email addresses and phone numbers associated with the user’s Apple ID.

Apple says it doesn’t want to share information about what triggers these notifications, since that might help mercenary spyware attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future.

The NSO Group itself argued in a court case started by Meta for spying on WhatsApp users, that it should be recognized as a foreign government agent and, therefore, be entitled to immunity under US law limiting lawsuits against foreign countries.

NSO Group has also said that its tool is increasingly necessary in an era when end-to-end encryption is widely available to criminals.

**How to stay safe**

Apple advises iPhone users to:

*   Enable Lockdown mode.
*   Keep devices up to date.
*   Protect devices with a passcode.
*   Use Multi-Factor-Authentication (MFA) for your Apple ID.
*   Only install apps from the App Store.
*   Use strong and unique passwords online.
*   Don’t click on links or attachments from unknown senders.

We’d like to add:

*   Use an anti-malware solution on your device.
*   If you’re not sure about something that’s been sent to you, verify it with the person or company via another communcation channel.
*   Use a password manager.

**We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your mobile devices by downloading Malwarebytes for iOS, and Malwarebytes for Android today.

 Apple warns people of mercenary attacks via threat notification system 

We've made it easy for you to check if your data has been exposed in the AT&T breach.

AT&T has notified US state authorities and regulators about its recent (or not) data breach, saying 51,226,382 people were affected.

For those that have missed the story so far:

*   Back in 2021, a hacker named Shiny Hunters claimed to have breached AT&T.
*   On March 20, 2024, we reported how the data of over 70 million people was posted for sale on an online cybercrime forum. The seller claimed the data came from the Shiny Hunters breach. However, AT&T denied (both in 2021 and in March, 2024) that the data came from its systems.
*   On March 30, AT&T reset customer passcodes after a security researcher discovered the encrypted login passcodes found in the leaked data were easy to decipher.
*   Finally, on April 2, 2024, AT&T confirmed that 73 million current and former customers were caught up the data leak.

Weirdly enough, in the data breach notification, AT&T says the date of discovery of the breach was March 26, 2024. AT&T has still not disclosed the source of the leak, but says the data appears to be from June 2019 or earlier.

Malwarebytes VP of Consumer Privacy, Oren Arar, describes the AT&T breach as “especially risky” because of the type of data that’s been exposed.

> “SSN, name, date of birth—this is personal identifiable information (PII) that cannot be changed, and if scammers get their hands on it, it just makes their work in stealing people’s identities a lot easier. In addition, this exposed data was published on the internet – in a way that anyone could access it, and not on the dark web where you need some expertise to find it”.

Malwarebytes has a super easy tool—Malwarebytes Digital Footprint Portal—that allows you to check if your data was part of the AT&T breach. Just click the button below, enter your email address, and we’ll let you know what personal information we find.

We will keep you posted of any new developments in this case. Stay tuned!

**We don’t just report on threats – we help safeguard your entire digital identit**y

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your—and your family’s—personal information by using identity protection.

 How to check if your data was exposed in the AT&#038;T breach 

Microsoft has fixed 149 vulnerabilities, two of which are reportedly being exploited in the wild.

The April 2024 Patch Tuesday update includes patches for 149 Microsoft vulnerabilities and republishes 6 non-Microsoft CVEs. Three of those 149 vulnerabilities are listed as critical, and one is listed as actively exploited by Microsoft. Another vulnerability is claimed to be a zero-day by researchers that have found it to be used in the wild.

Let’s first have a look at the two zero-days. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database lists publicly disclosed computer security flaws. The CVEs for these two vulnerabilities are:

CVE-2024-26234 (CVSS score 6.7 out of 10): a proxy driver spoofing vulnerability that Microsoft listed as “Exploitation detected” hours after it initially listed it as non-exploited.

In fact, the patch is a revocation of a Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher signature that was used to sign a file which contained a backdoor using an embedded proxy server to monitor and intercept network traffic on an infected Windows machine. Apparently, the software, designed to remote-control phones, was used to make them act like online bots, collectively liking posts, following people on social media, and posting comments.

CVE-2024-29988 (CVSS score 8.8 out of 10): a SmartScreen prompt security feature bypass vulnerability. Microsoft still has this listed as “Exploitation More Likely” and acknowledges the fact that functional exploit code is available. Which means that the exploit code works in most situations where the vulnerability exists.

One reason for the contradiction could be that the exploitation requires some form of user interaction. It requires an attacker to get the victim to click on a link or open a file. If the victim falls for that, the bug allows the attacker to bypass the SmartScreen security feature in Windows that’s supposed to alert users to any untrusted websites or other threats.

Researchers said that attackers are using the weakness to send targets exploits in a zipped file which bypasses the Mark of the Web (MotW) warnings, a warning message users should see when trying to open a file downloaded from the internet.

The exploit for the vulnerability was called “trivial” and “embarrassingly easy” by the researchers that wrote about it.

A few applications that deserve some of your attention if you’re using them are SQL Server (38 vulnerabilities), and Windows Remote Access Connection Manager (9).

**Other vendors**

Other vendors have synchronized their periodic updates with Microsoft. Here are few major ones that you may find in your environment.

The **Android** Security Bulletin for April 2024 contains details of security vulnerabilities for patch level 2024-04-05 or later.

Google also updated **Chrome** to patch a zero-day vulnerability.

**SAP** has released its April 2024 Patch Day updates.

**We don’t just report on vulnerabilities—we identify them, and prioritize action.**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep vulnerabilities in tow by using ThreatDown Vulnerability and Patch Management.

 Microsoft’s April 2024 Patch Tuesday includes two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities 

Don't wait for an online harassment campaign to unfairly target you or a loved one. Take these proactive steps today to stay safe.

It takes a little to receive a lot of online hate today, from simply working as a school administrator to playing a role in a popular movie or video game.

But these moments of personal crisis have few, immediate solutions, as the current proposals to curb and stem online harassment zero in on the systemic—such as changes in data privacy laws to limit the personal information that can be weaponized online or calls for major social media platforms to better moderate hateful content and its spread.

Such structural shifts can take years (if they take place at all), which can leave today’s victims feeling helpless.

There are, however, a few steps that everyday people can take, starting now, to better protect themselves against online hate and harassment campaigns. And thankfully, none of them involve “just getting off the internet,” a suggestion that, according to Leigh Honeywell, is both ineffective and unwanted.

“The \[idea that the\] answer to being bullied is that you shouldn’t be able to participate in public life—I don’t think that’s okay,” said Honeywell, CEO and co-founder of the digital safety consultancy Tall Poppy.

Speaking to me on the Lock and Code podcast last month, Honeywell explained that Tall Poppy’s defense strategies to online harassment incorporate best practices from Honeywell’s prior industry—cybersecurity.

Here are a few steps that people can proactively take to limit online harassment before it happens.

****Get good at Googling yourself****

One of the first steps in protecting yourself from online harassment is finding out what information about you is already available online. This is because, as Honeywell said, much of that information can be weaponized for abuse.

Picture an angry diner posting a chef’s address on Yelp alongside a poor review, or a complete stranger sending in a fake bomb threat to a school address, or a real-life bully scraping the internet for embarrassing photos of someone they want to harass.  

All this information could be available online, and the best way to know if it exists is to do the searching yourself.

As for where to start?

“First name, last name, city name, or other characteristics about yourself,” Honeywell said, listing what, specifically, to search online.

It’s important to understand that the online search itself may not bring immediate results, but it will likely reveal active online profiles on platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram. If those profiles are public, an angry individual could scrape relevant information and use it to their advantage. Even a LinkedIn profile could be weaponized by someone who calls in fake complaints to a person’s employer, trying to have them fired from their position.

In combing through the data that you can find about yourself online, Honeywell said people should focus on what someone _else_ could do with that data.

“If an adversary was trying to find out information about me, what would they find?” Honeywell said. “If they had that information, what would they do with it?”

****Take down what you can****

You’ve found what an adversary might use against you online. Now it’s time to take it down.

Admittedly, this can be difficult in the United States, as Americans are not protected by a national data privacy law that gives them the right to request their data be deleted from certain websites, platforms, and data brokers.

Where Americans could find some help, however, is from online resources and services that streamline the data removal process that is enshrined in some state laws. These tools, like the iOS app Permission Slip, released by Consumer Reports in 2022, show users what types of information companies are collecting about them, and give user the opportunity to request that such data be deleted.

Separately, Google released on online tool in 2023 where users can request that certain search results that contain their personal information be removed. You can learn more about the tool, called “Results about you,” here.

When all else fails, Honeywell said that people shouldn’t be afraid to escalate the situation to their state’s regulators. That could include filing an official complaint with a State Attorney General, or with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or the Federal Trade Commission.

“It sounds like the big guns,” Honeywell said, “but I think it’s important that, as individuals, we do what we can to hold the companies that are creating this mess accountable.”

****Lock down your accounts****

If an adversary can’t find your information through an online search, they may try to steal that information by hacking into your accounts, Honeywell said.

“If I’m mad at David, I’m going to hack into David’s email and share personal information,” Honeywell said. “That’s a fairly standard way that we see some of the worst online harassment attacks escalate.”

While hackers may have plenty of novel tools at their disposal, the best defenses you can implement today are the use of unique passwords and multifactor authentication.

Let’s first talk about unique passwords.

Each and every single one of your online accounts—from your email, to your social media profiles, to your online banking—should have a strong, unique password. And because you likely have dozens upon dozens of online accounts to manage, you should keep track of all those passwords with a devoted password manager.

Using unique passwords is one of the best defenses to company data breaches that expose user login credentials. Once those credentials are available on the dark web, hackers will buy those credentials so they can attempt to use them to gain access to _other_ online accounts. You can prevent those efforts going forward by refusing to repeat passwords across any of your online accounts.

Now, start using multifactor authentication, if you’re not already.

Multifactor authentication is offered by most major companies and services today, from your bank, to your email, to your medical provider. By using multifactor authentication, also called MFA or 2FA, you will be required to “authenticate” yourself with _more_ than just your password. This means that when you enter your username and password onto a site or app, you will also be prompted with entering a separate code that is, in many cases, sent to your phone via text or an app.

MFA is one of the strongest protections to password abuse, ensuring that, even if a hacker has your username and password, they still can’t access your account because they will not have the additional authentication that is required to complete a login.

In the world of cybersecurity, these two defense practices are among the gold standard in stopping cyberattacks. In the world of online harassment, they’re much the same—they work to prevent the abuse of your online accounts.

****Here to help****

Online harassment is an isolating experience, but protecting yourself against it can be quite the opposite. Honeywell suggested that, for those who feel overwhelmed or who do not know where to start, they can find a friend to help.

“Buddy up,” Honeywell said. “If you’ve got a friend who’s good at Googling, work on each other’s profile, identify what information is out there about you.”

Honeywell also recommended going through data takedown requests together, as the processes can be “extremely tedious” and some of the services that promise to remove your information from the internet are really only trying to sell you a service.

If you’re still wondering what information about you is online and you aren’t comfortable with your way around Google, Malwarebytes has a new, free tool that reveals what information of yours is available on the dark web and across the internet at large. The Digital Footprint Portal, released in April, provides free, unlimited scans for everyone, and it can serve as a strong first step in understanding what information of yours needs to be locked down.

To learn what information about you has been exposed online, use our free scanner below.

 How to protect yourself from online harassment 

Find out what sensitive data of yours is exposed online today with our new, free Digital Footprint Portal.

Digital security is about so much more than malware. That wasn’t always the case. 

When I started Malwarebytes more than 16 years ago, malware was the primary security concern—the annoying pop-ups, the fast-spreading viruses, the catastrophic worms—and throughout our company’s history, Malwarebytes routinely excelled against this threat. We caught malware that other vendors missed, and we pioneered malware detection methods beyond the signature-based industry standard.  

I’m proud of our success, but it wasn’t just our technology that got us here. It was our attitude.  

At Malwarebytes, we believe that everyone has the right to a secure digital life, no matter their budget, which is why our malware removal tool was free when it launched and remains free today. Our ad blocking tool, Browser Guard is also available to all without a charge. This was very much _not_ the norm in cybersecurity, but I believe it was—and will always be—the right thing to do.  

Today, I am proud to add to our legacy of empowering individuals regardless of their wallet by releasing a new, free tool that better educates and prepares people for modern threats that abuse exposed data to target online identities. I’d like to welcome everyone to try our new Digital Footprint Portal.  

See your exposed data in our new Digital Footprint Portal.

By simply entering an email address, anyone can discover what information of theirs is available on the dark web to hackers, cybercriminals, and scammers. From our safe portal, everyday people can view past password breaches, active social media profiles, potential leaks of government ID info, and more.  

More than a decade ago, Malwarebytes revolutionized the antivirus industry by prioritizing the security of all individuals. Today, Malwarebytes is now also revolutionizing digital life protection by safeguarding the data that serves as the backbone of your identity, your privacy, your reputation, and your well-being online.  

****Why data matters** **

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that “data is the new oil” without reading any explanations as to why people should care.  

Here’s my attempt at clarifying the matter: Too much of our lives are put online without our control.  

Creating a social media account requires handing over your full name and birthdate. Completing any online shopping order requires detailing your address and credit card number. Getting approved for a mortgage requires the exchange of several documents that reveal your salary and your employer. Buying a plane ticket could necessitate your passport info. Messaging your doctor could involve sending a few photos that you’d like to keep private.  

As we know, a lot of this data is valuable to advertisers—this is what pundits focus on when they invoke the value of “oil” in discussing modern data collection—but this data is also valuable to an entirely separate group that has learned to abuse private information in novel and frightening ways: Cybercriminals.  

Long ago, cybercriminals would steal your username and password by fooling you with an urgently worded phishing email. Today, while this tactic is still being used, there’s a much easier path to data theft. Cybercriminals can simply buy your information on the dark web.  

That information can include credit card numbers—where the risk of financial fraud is obvious—and even more regulated forms of identity, like Social Security Numbers and passport info. Equipped with enough forms of “proof,” online thieves can fool a bank into routing your money elsewhere or trick a lender into opening a new line of credit in your name.  

Where the risk truly lies, however, is in fraudulent account access.  

If you’ve ever been involved in a company’s data breach (which is extremely likely), there’s a chance that the username and password that were associated with that data breach can be bought on the dark web for just pennies. Even though each data breach involves just one username and password for each account, cybercriminals know that many people frequently reuse passwords across multiple accounts. After illegally purchasing your login credentials that were exposed in one data breach, thieves will use those same credentials to try to log into more popular, sensitive online accounts, like your online banking, your email, and your social media.  

If any of these attempts at digital safe-cracking works, the potential for harm is enormous.  

With just your email login and password, cybercriminals can ransack photos that are stored in an associated cloud drive and use those for extortion. They can search for attachments that reveal credit card numbers, passport info, and ID cards and then use that information to fool a bank into letting them access your funds. They can pose as you in bogus emails and make fraudulent requests for money from your family and friends. They can even change your password and lock you out forever. 

This is the future of personal cybercrime, and as a company committed to stopping cyberthreats everywhere, we understand that we have a role to play in protecting people.  

We will always stop malware. We will always advise to create and use unique passwords and multifactor authentication. But today, we’re expanding our responsibility and helping you truly see the modern threats that could leverage your data.  

With the Digital Footprint Portal, who you are online is finally visible to you—not just cybercriminals. Use it today to understand where your data has been leaked, what passwords have been exposed, and how you can protect yourself online.  

****Digitally safe** **

Malwarebytes and the cybersecurity industry at large could not have predicted today’s most pressing threats against online identities and reputations, but that doesn’t mean we get to ignore them. The truth is that Malwarebytes was founded with a belief broader than anti-malware protection. Malwarebytes was founded to keep people safe.  

As cybercriminals change their tactics, as scammers needle their way onto online platforms, and as thieves steal and abuse the sensitive data that everyone places online, Malwarebytes will always stay one step ahead. The future isn’t about worms, viruses, Trojans, scams, pig butchering, or any other single scam. It’s about holistic digital life protection. We’re excited to help you get there.

 Introducing the Digital Footprint Portal 

The Change Healthcare ransomware attack as suffered a third cruel twist.

The Change Healthcare ransomware attack has taken a third cruel twist. A new ransomware group, RansomHub, has listed the organisation as a victim on its dark web leak site, saying it has 4 TB of “highly selective data,” which relates to “all Change Health clients that have sensitive data being processed by the company.”

The announcement follows a series of events that require some unpacking.

Change Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare technology companies in the USA, responsible for the flow of payments between payers, providers, and patients. It was attacked on Wednesday February 21, 2024, by a criminal “affiliate” working with the ALPHV ransomware group, which led to huge disruptions in healthcare payments. Patients were left facing enormous pharmacy bills, small medical providers teetered on the edge of insolvency, and the government scrambled to keep the money flowing and the lights on.

American Hospital Association (AHA) President and CEO Rick Pollack described the attack as “the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the US health care system in history.”

The notorious ALPHV ransomware group claimed responsibility, chalking up Change Healthcare as one of a raft of healthcare victims in what looked like a deliberate campaign against the sector at the start of 2024.

ALPHV used the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) business model, selling the software and infrastructure used to carry out ransomware attacks to criminal gangs known as affiliates, in return for a share of the ransoms they extorted.

On March 3, a user on the RAMP dark web forum claimed they were the affiliate behind the attack, and that ALPHV had stolen the entirety of a $22 million ransom paid by Change Healthcare. Shortly after, the ALPHV group disappeared in an unconvincing exit scam designed to make it look as if the group’s website had been seized by the FBI.

ALPHV’s exit left Change Healthcare with nothing to show for its $22 million payment, a disgruntled affiliate looking for a ransom, and very possibly two different criminal gangs—ALPHV and its affiliate—in possession of a huge trove of stolen data.

Now, a month later, a newcomer ransomware group, RansomHub has listed Change Healthcare as a victim on its website.

Change Healthcare is listed as a victim on the RansomHub dark web leak site

While some have speculated that Change Healthcare has suffered a second attack, the RansomHub site itself makes the connection to the events surrounding February 21 quite clear:

> As an introduction we will give everyone a fast update on what happened previously and on the current situation.
> 
> ALPHV stole the ransom payment (22 Million USD) that Change Healthcare and United Health payed in order to restore their systems and prevent the data leak.
> 
> HOWEVER we have the data and not ALPHV.

RansomHub first appeared in late February and its arrival dovetails neatly with ALPHV’s disappearance in very early March, leading some to think they are the same group under two different names.

The statement also pours water on the idea that RansomHub is a rebrand of the ALPHV group with its suggestion that “we have the data and not ALPHV.” However, any public statement like this has to be tempered by the fact that ransomware groups are prolific liars.

It’s not uncommon for affiliates to work with multiple RaaS providers, so the most likely explanation is that having lost its money to ALPHV, the affiliate that ransacked Change Healthcare has paired up with a different ransomware group.

Whatever the reason, there is no comfort in it for Change Healthcare. Having apparently already paid a ransom thirty times greater than the average demand, it now has to decide whether it’s going to pay out again.

For everyone else, it’s a lesson in how devastating ransomware can be, and how badly things can go even when you pay a ransom.

**How to avoid ransomware**

*   **Block common forms of entry.** Create a plan for patching vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems quickly; and disable or harden remote access like RDP and VPNs.
*   **Prevent intrusions.** Stop threats early before they can even infiltrate or infect your endpoints. Use endpoint security software that can prevent exploits and malware used to deliver ransomware.
*   **Detect intrusions.** Make it harder for intruders to operate inside your organization by segmenting networks and assigning access rights prudently. Use EDR or MDR to detect unusual activity before an attack occurs.
*   **Stop malicious encryption.** Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response software like ThreatDown EDR that uses multiple different detection techniques to identify ransomware, and ransomware rollback to restore damaged system files.
*   **Create offsite, offline backups.** Keep backups offsite and offline, beyond the reach of attackers. Test them regularly to make sure you can restore essential business functions swiftly.
*   **Don’t get attacked twice.** Once you’ve isolated the outbreak and stopped the first attack, you must remove every trace of the attackers, their malware, their tools, and their methods of entry, to avoid being attacked again.

Our business solutions remove all remnants of ransomware and prevent you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.

Source

Malwarebytes