Robert Lemos

Code analysis has established a link between a number of malicious Android programs, suggesting that they are likely the work of a single developer or the product of code sharing—whether intentional or inadvertent, according to a report published by security company FireEye on March 11. The analysis focused on a malicious Android program known as […]

In April 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy responded to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from USA Today by releasing information on more than 1,100 cyber-security incidents that occurred over four years. While the data was not detailed—only consisting of seven variables, two of which had been redacted—there was enough information for researchers from […]

A ransomware group targeted Mac users with the first fully functional malware program capable of encrypting data and demanding a ransom of 1 Bitcoin, about $412, for providing the key to unlock the data, Palo Alto Networks said on March 7. Users of the open-source Transmission Bittorrent client, who downloaded the latest version of that […]

Pirates teaming up with online spies, hackers “joyriding” in a water company’s network and a man working for multiple companies using outsourced labor to make hundreds of thousands of dollars—these are some of the story lines released in a briefing published by Verizon at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on March 1. Verizon tracked […]

Security researchers have long predicted that malware will arrive on mobile platforms, threatening the owner’s sensitive information and using the devices to carry out a variety of scams, from stealing bank funds to racking up premium texting charges. In some regions, where third-party application stores are numerous and not well secured, malware rates have soared. […]

Online fraudsters managed to fool an employee of photo-chat service Snapchat, convincing the unnamed worker to send information on several current and former employees to the attackers, the company said in a statement on Feb. 29. On Feb. 26, an employee received a single phishing email to Snapchat’s payroll department, requesting financial information on an […]

The court battle between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has reignited the debate over privacy and surveillance, going far beyond a one-time request by law enforcement to unlock the iPhone used by the perpetrator the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., according to security and legal experts. On Feb. 25, Apple […]

The communications between hundreds of millions of wireless mice and keyboards and the systems to which they are connected could be exploited to allow an attacker to take control of a targeted laptop or desktop PC, researchers from communications security firm Bastille said on Feb. 23. The attack, dubbed “MouseJacking,” exploits the weak security of […]

Every snowflake may be unique, but now, so is nearly every piece of malware, according to the latest report by security firm Webroot. Last year, 97 percent of malware encountered by potential victims was a unique variant, the culmination of a trend that started more than a half decade ago, the company stated in its […]

Cyber-criminals increasingly used customized malware, software development expertise and knowledge of the financial system to make 2015 an extremely profitable year—a trend that will continue in 2016, according to IBM’s annual threat report, published on Feb. 22. Using three families of malware—Dyre, Dridex and Carbanak—cyber-criminals have stolen hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. Over two […]