In late 2017, information appeared on specialized resources about a Telegram ICO to finance the launch of its own blockchain platform. The lack of information provided fertile ground for scammers: the rumors prompted mailshots seemingly from official representatives of the platform, inviting people to take part in the ICO and purchase tokens. Read Full Article
Financial Cyberthreats in 2017
This report summarizes a series of Kaspersky Lab reports that between them provide an overview of how the financial threat landscape has evolved over the years. It covers the common phishing threats, along with Windows-based and Android-based financial malware. Read Full Article
Tax refund, or How to lose your remaining cash
Every year, vast numbers of people around the globe relish the delightful prospect of filling out tax returns, applying for tax refunds, etc. Given that tax authorities and their taxpayers are moving online, it’s no surprise to find cybercriminals hard on their heels. Read Full Article
Spam and phishing in 2017
The share of spam in email traffic in 2017 fell by 1.68% to 56.63%. The lowest share (52.67%) was recorded in December 2017. The highest (59.56%) belonged to September. In 2017, the Anti-Phishing system was triggered 246,231,645 times on computers of Kaspersky Lab users as a result of phishing redirection attempts. Read Full Article
Every little bitcoin helps
It often happens that inventions and technologies that start out good end up turning into dangerous tools in the hands of criminals. Blockchain is no exception to this rule, especially in its most common cryptocurrency incarnation. The attacks targeted employees of small companies, but such emails could be sent to any user’s personal mail. Read Full Article
Cybercriminals target early IRS 2018 refunds now
On Monday, Jan 29th, IRS officially opened its 2018 season. Right after two days of the opening, we got phishing messages with a fake refund status websites. Read Full Article
Kaspersky Lab – Beyond Black Friday Threat Report, November 2017
This time of year is an ideal hunting ground for hackers, phishers and malware spreaders; disguising their attacks as offers too good to refuse, a concerned security message from your bank requiring urgent attention, a special rate discount from your credit card service, and more. Read Full Article
Spam and phishing in Q3 2017
In terms of the average share of spam in global email traffic (58.02%), the third quarter of 2017 was almost identical to the previous reporting period: once again growth was slightly more than one percentage point – 1.05 (and 1.07 p.p. in Q2 2017). As in previous quarters, spammers were quick to react to high-profile events and adapted their fraudulent emails to the news agenda. Read Full Article
Spam and phishing in Q2 2017
In Q2 2017, the average share of spam in global email traffic amounted to 56.97%, which was only 1.07 p.p. more than in the previous quarter. One of the most notable events of this quarter – the WannaCry epidemic – did not go unnoticed by spammers: numerous mass mailings contained offers of assistance in combating the ransomware. Read Full Article
Nigerian phishing: Industrial companies under attack
In late 2016, the Kaspersky Lab Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team reported on phishing attacks that were primarily targeting industrial companies from the metallurgy, electric power, construction, engineering and other sectors. As further research demonstrated, this was just part of a bigger story that began much earlier and is unlikely to end any time soon. Read Full Article