MoneyGram, which is used by over 50 million customers across more than 200 countries annually, said the investigation into the breach was still in its early stages. Experts have yet to determine the full extent of the data hack, with MoneyGram spokesperson Sydney Schoolfield so far declining to comment beyond the company’s public statement.

According to MoneyGram, the stolen data includes various personal details, such as names, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, dates of birth, and national identification numbers. A “limited number” of Social Security numbers and government-issued identification documents, including driver’s licenses and other personal documents, were also exposed. The specific types of stolen data will vary depending on the individual customer.

Also Read: UAE Residents Rank Third For Password Forgetfulness

Additionally, the hackers obtained transaction information, including dates and amounts, along with criminal investigation data related to fraud for some customers.

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• X (281 million)
• Tencent QQ (1.5 billion)
• Adobe (153 million)

The repository of sensitive data encompasses usernames and passwords from tools like Canva to government records from the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, and more.

The discovery of the data trove is down to the diligent efforts of Bob Dyachenko, a cybersecurity researcher and the proprietor of SecurityDiscovery.com, along with the collaborative work of the Cybernews team, who have been investigating its origins.

The research community believes that the owner has a vested interest in storing large amounts of data and could be a malicious actor, data broker, or other large-scale service with the capability to mine massive volumes of data.

The sheer magnitude of the records alone is cause for profound concern. The MOAB is probably the largest “compilation of multiple breaches” (COMB). Enough to arm malicious entities with abundant ammunition to carry out “identity theft, sophisticated phishing schemes, and targeted cyberattacks,” according to Dyachenko.

A faint silver lining of the breach is the confirmation that a significant portion of the records are outdated. Primarily, the MOAB is an amalgamation of prior breaches and leaks, albeit with numerous duplications.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

With that being said, experts also warn that many people use the same passwords across services like Netflix and Gmail, allowing attackers to use the information from MOAB to breach more sensitive accounts.

The full extent and implications of the “Mother Of All Breaches” remain undetermined. The immediate priority lies in uncovering the source and motivation behind this colossal data repository. In the interim, it’s vital to ensure you haven’t used the same password across multiple services or, at the very least, to periodically change those in use.

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The volume of scam emails increased by 77% compared to previous quarters, according to cyber threat experts Kaspersky, who also noted that illicit tactics were becoming more sophisticated.

The most prevalent phishing scams in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa included emails involving undelivered parcels, know-your-customer messages, unusual email login activity warnings, and free money offers.

Known as social engineering scams, these tactics trick users into taking action by pretending to come from a trusted source. Once someone clicks a link in a phishing email, they will often be vulnerable to threats from malware or ransomware, which can cause significant harm to individuals and enterprises.

In January, the UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority warned consumers to be on alert for scam text messages appearing to come from well-known courier companies, including DHL Express, Emirates Post, and Aramex, as they could be phishing scams.

“Once a cybercriminal understands what motivates an individual’s actions, they try to exploit their lack of knowledge and manipulate their behavior to meet the end goal,” said Kaspersky in its recent report.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

In 2022, many scams involved emails containing fake links to free streaming of things like Netflix’s Stranger Things, The Batman movie, and the FIFA World Cup.

“There is no aspect of our life that cybercriminals cannot exploit. Human behavior and emotion is no exception,” explained Maher Yamout, lead security researcher at Kaspersky.

“These scams are a result of manipulation based on fear, curiosity, and greed. The key takeaway is to pay attention to basic details in emails before responding, even if they are from trusted sources because one wrong click can lead to harsh consequences,” the report also said.

The post UAE Phishing Emails Up 77% Last Quarter, Kaspersky Says appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Fedor Chunizhekov, Information Security Analyst at Positive Technologies, who compiled the list, explained, “The threat to the Middle East is very much real. Rapid advancement in technology and the growing independence on the internet means that attackers have novel and innovative ways to exploit vulnerabilities”.

Let’s check out some of the region’s worst attacks in the last 18 months:

Adalat Ali

In early 2022, Iranian hacktivists Adalat Ali successfully broadcast a 50-second message on streaming service Telewebion calling for further protests against the ruling Khamenei regime.

Bezeq And Cellcom DDoS Attack

In March 2022, a state of emergency was declared after a prolonged DDoS attack leading to Israeli government agencies, including the Ministry of Health, Internal Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office, and several major media outlets losing access to various services.

Public Address Systems In Palestine

In June 2022, public address systems in Jerusalem and Eilat were compromised by unnamed hackers, leading to false air raid sirens being broadcast for an hour.

Iranian Steel Plants Attack

Again in June 2022, an attack on three Iranian steel plants by hacktivist group Goneshke Darande disrupted processes leading to a liquid pig spillage resulting in a fire that halted production.

GamkenBot Scalper Bots

Attackers created bots that found and booked all available appointments using the Israeli booking service GamkenBot, before monetizing them and generally disrupting the service.

Cellebrite Data Breach

Israeli digital data firm Cellebrite was hacked to the tune of 1.7 TB of files in a massive data breach. The files contained all manner of proprietary backup software and other important information. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iranian News Agency Attack

A group of hacktivists known as Black Reward Team stole around 250 TB of confidential information from Iran’s state-run Fars News in November 2022. The group also gained access to CCTV footage.

Vice Society Attack On IKEA

Ransomware group Vice Society targeted IKEA in Morocco and Kuwait in November 2022. The outlets experienced a data breach that was thought to have been facilitated through phishing emails.

Pro-Palestine Attacks On Israeli Companies

In January, the hacktivist group Electronic Quds Force launched a campaign targeting Israeli chemical production companies. Messages sent to employees told them to “Leave employment and look for a new one”. The hackers also uploaded screenshots of automated control system interfaces on their Telegram channel, proving the plant was compromised.

Irrigation System Disruption

Farm irrigation systems and wastewater treatment in the Jordan Valley were targeted by what appears to have been OpIsrael, an anti-Israel hacktivist team. The attack was successful due to weak authentication and vulnerabilities in programmable controllers, allowing the attackers to gain remote access.

In light of such a severe spate of attacks, Positive Technologies urges companies to adopt the latest technologies and security techniques to safeguard data and networks against increasingly sophisticated hacking.

The post The Top 10 Worst Cyberattacks In The Middle East Revealed appeared first on Tech Magazine.

“Much of his life reads like a fiction story,” the obituary reads, and it’s probably the perfect way to describe this enigmatic man’s journey. Mitnick first infiltrated a computer system way back in 1979, and was sentenced to a year in prison in 1988 for copying a company’s software.

In the 90s, Mitnick hacked into Pacific Bell’s voicemail computers while under supervised release and continued to hack into phone networks, corporate and government websites. The hacker eventually became a fugitive and wasn’t caught until 1995, when he was charged with computer fraud. Authorities believed that Mitnick had access to corporate trade secrets worth millions of dollars, though his fans claim he never stole from the general public.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

After spending five years in prison, Kevin Mitnick became a White Hat hacker and cybersecurity consultant for KnowBe4. He is survived by his wife, Kimberley, who is expecting his child.

The post Famous Former Hacker Kevin Mitnick Has Died Aged 59 appeared first on Tech Magazine.

According to an IBM report, which studied 500 breached organizations from across the world, the cost of cybersecurity incidents in the Middle East reached a new high of $6.93 million per data breach in 2021, significantly exceeding the global average cost of $4.24 million per incident.

To help you see behind cybersecurity statistics and understand the reality of data breaches in the Middle East, we’ve put together this list of some of the largest data breaches that have occurred in the region. These breaches have affected various industries and have together resulted in the compromise of millions of sensitive personal and business records.

2021 – Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai Attacked By A Ransomware Group

What Happened: The ransomware group AvosLocker attacked Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai in 2021 and successfully downloaded over 60 GB of data that was stored on its servers, including copies of ID cards, accounting documents, call logs, and internal memos. The attackers then encrypted the original information and demanded a ransom, threatening the hospital to leak it if not paid.

How It Happened: After conducting a detailed investigation of the incident, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai determined that the ransomware that encrypted its data was either sent in an email or distributed via a malicious ad.

Implications: As unfortunate as it is, ransomware attacks on hospitals and other healthcare providers are fairly common. Luckily, this particular attack didn’t paralyze any critical systems whose unavailability would endanger patient’s lives. Still, attacks like this one are a significant concern for healthcare organizations, and keeping them at bay must be a top priority.

2020 – UAE Police Data Listed For Sale On A Web Database Marketplace

What Happened: When researching the darkest corners of the internet in 2020, security firm CloudSek discovered that a data set containing the personal information of 25,000 UAE police officers was up for sale on a darknet market for $500, with multiple samples made available for free to attract buyers.

How It Happened: To this day, it’s not known how the data breach happened. It’s possible that someone with legitimate access to the data was contacted by cybercriminals with an offer they failed to resist. Of course, a cybersecurity vulnerability or phishing are another potential causes.

Implications: Any sale of personal information of police officers and other public servants has serious implications for national security, and it can also undermine public trust in law enforcement agencies and their ability to protect personal data against cybercriminals.

2019 – Dubai-Based Exhibition Firm Hacked And Its Clients Targeted

What Happened: In 2019, the email server of Cheers Exhibition, a Dubai-based exhibition firm, was hacked. The attacker then used their privileged access to target Cheers Exhibition’s customers, scamming one of them out of $53,000.

How It Happened: We don’t know which exploit or vulnerability the attacker used to infiltrate the email server, but we know that the attacker created highly convincing spoofed emails with wire transfer instructions and fake invoices. The biggest sign of fraud was the use of the “md@cheersexhlbitions.com” email address instead of “md@cheersexhibitions.com.”

Implications: Phishing attacks like the one that targeted Cheers Exhibition clients are among the most widespread cyber threats in the world, and they continue to be surprisingly effective because people still don’t pay enough attention to signs of phishing. Additionally, phishing scams are becoming more and more sophisticated, increasingly often taking the form of highly targeted spear-phishing scams.

2018 – Personal Data Of Lebanese Citizens Living Abroad Leaked

What Happened: During the months leading up to Lebanon’s general elections in May 2018, the personal data of Lebanese citizens living abroad was leaked by Lebanese embassies. The leaked information included the full name of each voter, their dates of birth, addresses, religion, marital status, and more.

How It Happened: This unfortunate data breach happened because embassy officials sent an email message to Lebanese citizens living abroad with a spreadsheet containing the personal information of more than 5,000 people. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the email addresses of those who received the spreadsheet were entered in the Cc field instead of the Bcc field, making them clearly visible.

Implications: It’s estimated that approximately 19 percent of data breaches are caused by human error, and this data breach serves as a great example of how far-reaching consequences can the neglect of fundamental cybersecurity best practices have.

2018 – Ride-Hailing Service Careem Breached And 15 Million Users Exposed

What Happened: Careem is a Dubai-based ride-hailing service that currently operates in around 100 cities across 12 countries. In 2018, the service revealed that the account information of 14 million of its drivers and riders had been exposed.

How It Happened: White-hat hackers and bounty hunters had been finding serious security weaknesses in the Careem app since at least 2016. Apparently, the ride-hailing service kept ignoring them until its drivers and riders paid the price. It then kept quiet about the breach for three months before it finally issued a public announcement.

Implications: The exposure of the personal information of 14 million Careem users, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and trip data, raises concerns about the security practices of the apps we rely on every day, and it also highlights the importance of prompt and transparent communication in the event of a data breach.

2016 – Database With The Personal Data Of 50 Million Turkish Citizens Posted Online

What Happened: An anonymous hacker posted a government database containing the personal data of 50 million Turkish citizens on a torrent site, allowing anyone to download the roughly 1.4 GB compressed file. Included with the database was a message taunting the Turkish government and its approach to cybersecurity.

How It Happened: The anonymous hacker who uploaded the database revealed that poor data protections — namely a hardcoded password — were the main reason why they were able to obtain it in the first place. Hardcoded passwords are sometimes used as a means of authentication by applications and databases, but their use is generally considered to be a bad practice because they can lead to data breaches.

Implications: Governments store more information about their citizens than ever before, so it’s their responsibility to adequately protect it. Any failure to do so could potentially have far-reaching consequences for those in power as well as those who elected them.

2016 – Qatar National Bank (QNB) Breach Exposed Troves Of Customer Data

What Happened: In April 2016, the whistleblower site Cryptome became home to a large collection of documents from Qatar National Bank. The leak comprised more than 15,000 files, including internal corporate documents and sensitive financial data of the bank’s thousands of customers, such as passwords, PINs, and payment card data.

How It Happened: The cause of the Qatar National Bank breach remains unknown. It’s certain, however, that the attacker must have had obtained privileged access to the bank’s internal network otherwise they wouldn’t be able to steal nearly 1 million payment card numbers together with expiration dates, credit limits, cardholder details, and other account information.

Implications: The breach highlighted the need for stronger cybersecurity measures in the financial sector and underscored the importance of maintaining robust security practices to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive financial data. Fortunately, the bank enforced multi-factor authentication, preventing attackers from using the stolen customer data to make unauthorized transactions.

2012 – Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) Compromised By Iran

What Happened: In retaliation against the Al-Saud regime, Iran-backed hacking group called the “Cutting Sword of Justice” wiped data from approximately 35,000 computers belonging to Aramco, a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran.

How It Happened: The hacking group used malware called Shamoon, which is designed to spread to as many computers on the same network as possible and, ultimately, make them unusable by overwriting the master boot record.

Implications: The attack on Aramco in 2012 demonstrated the potential of nation-states and state-sponsored groups to use cyber warfare to target critical infrastructure and disrupt a nation’s economy. Since then, multiple other attacks on critical infrastructure have occurred, perhaps the most notable of which is the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack of 2021.

The post The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East appeared first on Tech Magazine.

However, ChatGPT’s powers — like many emerging technologies — can be put to work for more nefarious activities, and we’re now beginning to see hackers jump on the AI bandwagon to help them steal personal information more effectively.

Check Point Research, a leading cyber threat intelligence agency, has discovered that Russian fraudsters are experimenting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT for malicious purposes. Hackers have been seen on underground forums discussing how to get around IP address restrictions, credit cards, and phone numbers in order to use the AI tool.

“Right now, Russian hackers are actively discussing and researching how to bypass the geofencing to utilize ChatGPT for their harmful intentions. We think these hackers are most likely attempting to incorporate and test ChatGPT into their daily illegal activities,” says Check Point’s Threat Intelligence Group Manager, Sergey Shykevich.

Unfortunately, ChatGPT is such a potent and flexible tool that it can significantly reduce hacking expenses, as well as writing convincing human conversations and false information. More worryingly, the AI can even suggest usable programming scripts, enabling scammers with zero coding experience to create harmful malware.

Also Read: Starlink Teams Up With Elcome To Offer Maritime Internet

Cybercrime experts haven’t yet decided whether or not ChatGPT will become a new favorite tool for dark web criminals, but it’s clear that the technology is gaining momentum. Across the MENA region, there have been multiple instances of scammers using WhatsApp and other messengers to steal user’s money, but ChatGPT could help criminals go one stage further by creating convincing conversations complete with accurate grammar.

As more free-to-use AI tools appear on the internet, hackers will find increasing opportunities to create sophisticated and legitimate-appearing phishing campaigns, making it more important than ever for the public to carefully audit their online security.

The post Hackers Are Using ChatGPT As A Learning Tool For Malware appeared first on Tech Magazine.

As we head into the New Year holiday weekend, the UAE Cybersecurity Council has given its citizens a stark warning of increased hacking and scamming activity from cybercriminals.

The council has emphasized the need for all institutions and authorities to ramp up their cyber defense systems, staying vigilant to threats and sharing information with the public to help them bolster their online safety, and working closely with authorities to pass on details of imminent threats.

Increased hacking activity isn’t just down to a growing reliance on digital services. The UAE Cybersecurity Council has also pointed out that hacking tools are now extremely simple for criminals to deploy. The council has stressed that both companies and individuals alike should adopt stronger protection mechanisms to safeguard themselves and their businesses.

The post UAE Warns Of Cyber Attack Threat Over New Year Holidays appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Dormant Account Takeovers Will Increase

Callsign’s first prediction is that dormant bank accounts — where consumers have not used a service for an extended period — will increasingly be utilized by fraudsters to launder illegal money.

Once a dormant account has been taken over, scammers will likely use deceptive social media adverts and phishing to trick unsuspecting members of the public into sending money.

Buy Now, Pay Later Fraud Will Rise

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is already very popular in the Middle East, and will only continue to grow over the coming years. Unfortunately, the BNPL market isn’t yet as well regulated as other financial sectors, which can often mean neglected security protocols.

Callsign predicts that there will be a sharp rise in BNPL fraud in 2023, with businesses being exposed to various types of refund scams and more accounts will be opened using stolen or fake credentials.

Deep Fake Technology Will Become More Sophisticated

Although deep fake videos of celebrities make for interesting viewing, the technology does have a much darker side. Callsign reports that scammers are already using the technology to convince consumers to part with their cash, utilizing a mixture of visual identification and impersonation.

Fraud Will Enter The Metaverse

Web 3.0 is being heralded as a way to enable seamless connectivity across platforms and networks, with the potential to allow deeper collaborations and new opportunities for business and learning. As great as all of that sounds, the metaverse will undoubtedly suffer from many of the same issues currently plaguing the regular internet, including fake avatars, scams, and fraud.

Callsign thinks that 2023 will be the first year where widespread criminality makes its way onto Web 3.0, and depressingly, believes that “everything wrong from a security perspective with social platforms today will be considerably worse in the metaverse of tomorrow.”

A New Cycle Of Victims Will Emerge

According to Callsign’s Digital Trust report, Middle Eastern consumers tend to have higher levels of digital trust than those in other regions. That means that despite digital fraud being widespread for decades, 2023 will see a whole new segment of the global population falling victim to scams as greater numbers of people take their work, finance, and social lives online.

The post Callsign Predicts Widespread Fraud As We Approach 2023 appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Security firm Mandiant was hired to investigate the suspicious incident, and together, they uncovered that the unauthorized person(s) gained access to LastPass cloud services using information obtained from a previous security breach in August of this year. The latest incident is thought to be rather serious, giving the criminal party access to “certain elements” of customer information.

When the password manager’s systems were breached back in August, Toubba says that after an investigation, the unauthorized party was found to have had internal access to LastPass systems for four days. The hacker was able to steal source code and some technical information, but security engineers said customer data and password vaults remained safe.

Also Read: WhatsApp Hacker Is Selling Over 150 Million MENA Numbers

In a separate but related announcement, parent company GoTo has admitted that hackers gained entry into its own development environment of remote work tools. Echoing the statement from LastPass, GoTo has assured customers that its services are functioning fine despite the data breach. Both LastPass and its parent company are still investigating the scope of the incidents, and we’ll likely hear more details over the coming months.

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