Avast Blog_The Dark Overlord, Twitter hijackers, and other bad guys..

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The Dark Overlord, Twitter hijackers, and other bad guys

The Avast Security News Team shares us relevant information that happened this new year in connection with "The Dark Overlord, Twitter hijackers and other bad guys". Below are excerpts from the Avast Blog courtesy of the Avast Security News Team and pertinent links to more information. Read on below. 

The year’s news kicks off with cyberattacks, terrorism, and phishing. Stay strong.

Crowdfunding for evil
The hacker or cybergang calling itself The Dark Overlord has started the new year on a dark note, announcing Wednesday that it is crowdfunding the release of sensitive legal documents linked to the 9/11 attack, which it claims to have stolen from international insurance companies Hiscox and Lloyd’s of London. As the crowdfunding endeavor hits each bitcoin milestone, The Dark Overlord promises to release increasingly juicier documents, declaring that it has poached over 18,000 relevant files. Both insurance companies report that their systems have not, in fact, been breached and that the data was stolen from associated law firms. The Dark Overlord made news last year when it released Orange is the New Black episodes ahead of their official premiere because Netflix refused to pay an extortion sum.

Newspapers under cyberattack
Tribune Publishing, one of the largest US media groups, suffered a cyberattack over the weekend causing delays and omitted sections in dozens of city newspapers across the country, including The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and The New York Daily News. While The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union Tribune were sold by Tribune Publishing earlier in 2018, both papers were also hit by the same cyberattack. The media group has not provided details about the cyberattack except to say that malware was involved, and that (ironically) only print editions of the paper were affected. Websites and apps suffered no problems. Inside sources at Tribune are said to have indicated the disruption was due to a Ryuk ransomware infection. Back in October, we reported about Ryuk ransomware taking down some North Carolina water utilities.

“At this time it is still unclear who was behind the attack and what the attacker’s goal was,” comments Luis Corrons, Avast security evangelist. “However the ability to stop newspapers from getting printed, or even scarier, being able to change what gets printed without being noticed could point to some really advanced attack – maybe state sponsored.”

Twitter terrorists
An old trend is new again. While Twitter has had problems in the past with hijacked accounts, there has been a resurgence of the trend recently. Terrorists seem to have caught on to the longrunning Twitter security protocol, which never required email verification until June 2018. Hackers can assume control of abandoned accounts fairly easily, and many of the accounts are still linked to followers, some with tens of thousands. In recent weeks, a number of dormant accounts came back to life, all posting extreme terrorist propaganda. Cybersecurity experts have been working with Twitter to identify the hijacked accounts, and Twitter has taken down a number of them already.

MORE INFO HERE
https://blog.avast.com/the-tribune-hack-...urity-news

Dark OverLord Announcement excerpt,

A hacker going by the name of The Dark Overlord claims to have stolen files related to insurance claims from the September 11 terror attacks. They told Forbes they’re simply out for Bitcoin in return for the data.

The stolen information includes files stolen from an unnamed insurance provider that worked alongside major providers, including Hiscox and Lloyd's of London. Initially, the hacker said they planned to use the files to stoke fears around 9/11 conspiracy theories. But the Dark Overlord told Forbes, “We’re doing this to fuel our Bitcoin wallets.”

The Dark Overlord has long perpetrated extortion attempts, following hacks of a studio working for Netflix in 2017 and many other private businesses in the months following. In this case, a selection of free documents were released as a teaser, shortly after a New Year’s Eve announcement about the attacks....

More on The Dark OverLord Announcement from Forbes below
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrews...6a17f11cf9

Avast Blog
https://blog.avast.com/