Legal
Italy disrupts CINEMAGOAL piracy app that stole streaming auth codes
Italian authorities have dismantled a piracy ecosystem centered around the CINEMAGOAL app that provided access to various streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify. Unlike typical IPTV service providers that openly market themselves online and expose their operations, CINEMAGOAL’s approach was stealthier, as it used an app that customers installed on their devices. During the […]
Netherlands seizes 800 servers of hosting firm enabling cyberattacks
Financial crime investigators in the Netherlands (FIOD) arrested two men and seized 800 servers linked to a web hosting company that enabled cyberattacks, interference operations, and disinformation campaigns. FIOD arrested a 57-year-old suspect, who was the company director, and a 39-year-old who headed a separate firm that provided internet connectivity. According to the authorities, the […]
Police seize “First VPN” service used in ransomware, data theft attacks
A virtual private network service called ‘First VPN,’ used in ransomware and data theft attacks, has been taken offline in a joint international law enforcement operation. Authorities have seized dozens of First VPN servers located in 27 countries, arrested the administrator, and conducted a house search in Ukraine. The VPN service was advertised on various […]
INTERPOL ‘Operation Ramz’ seizes 53 malware, phishing servers
More than 200 individuals were arrested for cybercrime activities during INTERPOL’s Operation Ramz, which focused on the Middle East and North Africa. Law enforcement also identified another 382 suspects across 13 countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia, and the UAE). In addition to the arrests, authorities seized 53 […]
UK fines water supplier $1.3M for exposing data of 664k customers
The Information Commissioner’s Office has fined South Staffordshire Water Plc and parent company South Staffordshire Plc £963,900 ($1.3 million) over a cyberattack that exposed the personal data of 663,887 customers and employees. The company supplies 330 million liters of drinking water to 1.6 million consumers daily and, in 2022, disclosed that it was the target […]
GM agrees to $12.75M California settlement over sale of drivers’ data
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $12.75 million settlement agreement with General Motors (GM) over allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The violations arise from allegations that the car maker illegally collected and sold Californians’ driving and location data to data brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, between 2020 and […]
Student hacked Taiwan high-speed rail to trigger emergency brakes
A 23-year-old university student in Taiwan was arrested for interfering with the TETRA communication system used by the country’s high-speed railway network (THSR). According to local media reports, the student halted four trains for 48 minutes on April 5 by using software-defined radio (SDR) communications and handheld radios to transmit a high-priority “General Alarm” signal, triggering […]
Operation PowerOFF identifies 75k DDoS users, takes down 53 domains
More than 75,000 individuals using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) platforms for disruptive attacks have been warned through emails and letters during the latest phase of the Operation PowerOFF international law enforcement action. The ongoing operation is supported by Europol and involves authorities in 21 countries. Coordinated efforts led to the arrest of four people, taking offline […]
German authorities identify REvil and GandCrab ransomware bosses
The Federal Police in Germany (BKA) has identified two Russian nationals as the leaders of GandCrab and REvil ransomware operations between 2019 and 2021. According to BKA’s disclosure, 31-year-old Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin and 43-year-old Anatoly Sergeevitsch Kravchuk acted as the heads of the two ransomware groups “from at least the beginning of 2019 until at least July 2021.” Shchukin hid behind the […]
FCC bans new routers made outside the USA over security risks
The Federal Communications Commission has updated its Covered List to include all consumer routers made in foreign countries, banning the sale of new models in the U.S. The Covered List, created under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, is an FCC-maintained list of communications equipment and services that the U.S. government has […]