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Cybersecurity

NY Post Fires Employee For False, Racist, Violent Content Targeting Politicians NY Post Fires Employee For False, Racist, Violent Content Targeting Politicians
NY Post Fires Employee For False, Racist, Violent Content Targeting Politicians A series of racist, violent headlines that were posted on the website and Twitter account of the New York Post on Thursday, Oct. 27, were carried out by an employee, Variety reports.  In a statement to the outlet, a spokesperson for the Post said an investigation had revealed that the “unauthorized conduct” was an inside job and the employee responsible has been fired. “This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts,” the spokesperson said. The news organization did not reveal the employee’s name. The New York Post ha…
Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says
Scam Alert: Phishing Text Messages On Rise, New Report Says Cybersecurity experts have reported an increase in phishing scam text messages, according to a new report from CNET. Josh Yavor, the chief information security officer at cybersecurity company Tessian, told the news outlet he has seen a recent increase in scammers using text messages for phishing, where they attempt to steal peoples' personal information by pretending to be reputable organizations. CNET also said a report from enterprise security company Proofpoint found that incidents SMS phishing increased by 24 percent in the United States last year. The Federal Trade Commission reporte…
Data Of Nearly One Million NY Students Compromised In Hack Of Online Grading System Data Of Nearly One Million NY Students Compromised In Hack Of Online Grading System
Data Of Nearly One Million NY Students Compromised In Hack Of Online Grading System The personal data of nearly a million New York students has been compromised by hackers attempting to alter grades, investigators announced. In January, Illuminate Education, a taxpayer-funded software company that tracks grades and attendance for the New York City Department of Education, was targeted, resulting in the data of approximately 820,000 students being made available. Specifically, officials said that the hackers gained access to students’ names, birthdays, ethnicities, English-speaking, special-education, teacher schedules, and free-lunch statuses, though information including …
NY Strengthens Cyber Defenses After Russia Attacks Ukraine, Hochul Says NY Strengthens Cyber Defenses After Russia Attacks Ukraine, Hochul Says
NY Strengthens Cyber Defenses After Russia Attacks Ukraine, Hochul Says With tensions boiling over in Europe as Russian forces invade Ukraine, New York is beefing up its cyber defenses with the creation of a brand-new Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC). New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the JSOC, which will be stationed in Brooklyn and involve data sharing and cyber coordination across New York City, the five major upstate cities, local, and regional governments. Hochul said that the JSOC is “nation's first-of-its-kind cyber command center that will provide a statewide view of the cyber-threat landscape and improve coordination on threat intelligence a…
1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds 1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds
1.1M Accounts Compromised In Cyberattacks Of 17 Companies, NY AG Investigation Finds An investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office found that more than 1.1 million accounts were compromised in cyberattacks of 17 companies. Attorney General Letitia James said in an announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 5, that the "Credential Stuffing Attacks" involve repeated, automated attempts to access accounts by using information stolen from other websites. James said often people reuse the same passwords on different sites, which allows cybercriminals to use stolen passwords on other websites.  “Right now, there are more than 15 billion stolen credentials being circu…
US Reveals New Software Vulnerability, Warns Hundreds Of Millions Of Devices At Risk US Reveals New Software Vulnerability, Warns Hundreds Of Millions Of Devices At Risk
US Reveals New Software Vulnerability, Warns Hundreds Of Millions Of Devices At Risk A top cybersecurity agency in the US is cautioning that a new software vulnerability has been uncovered that could lead to hundreds of millions of device hacks. Jen Easterly, the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an alert advising that they’ve discovered a flaw that will require some of the nation’s largest industries to “take action” or risk being the victim of hackers. According to reports, hackers have been using the flaw in an effort to break into some organizations’ computer networks. It is unclear if they were successful in infiltrating …
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Online Shopping Scams Involving Fake Websites Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Online Shopping Scams Involving Fake Websites
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Online Shopping Scams Involving Fake Websites Shoppers looking for holiday deals online are being warned that thousands of fake websites are popping up every week and stealing money from victims, according to cybersecurity experts. The surge in these malicious sites has been sparked by the surge in online shopping as well as criminals taking advantage of the demand for products in short supply, the experts say. Victims often enter the name of the product they want in search engines and then are directed to one or more fake sites. Other malicious sites use phishing emails promoting discounts on various products. The number of phony sh…
Long Island School District Victim Of Ransomware Attack Long Island School District Victim Of Ransomware Attack
Long Island School District Victim Of Ransomware Attack Files stolen from a New York school district have reportedly been posted on the dark web following a ransomware attack after hackers did not receive ransom payments. On Long Island, acting Manhasset Schools Superintendent Gaurav Passi issued an alert to the community that said that the district was notified that some files stolen from school servers had been posted online. “We were notified that yesterday, the criminals posted certain files to the dark web that they stole from our servers,” he advised. “We are currently reviewing these files, and we will provide direct notification, in ac…
COVID-19: Alert Issued For Child Tax Credit Payment Scams COVID-19: Alert Issued For Child Tax Credit Payment Scams
Covid-19: Alert Issued For Child Tax Credit Payment Scams Opportunistic fraudsters have taken advantage of some consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time targeting child tax credit payments that have been sent out to assist families. The IRS recently issued an alert after it began sending tens of millions of dollars to families, though scammers have been attempting to pull a fast one over on some to steal thousands of dollars in federal benefits. According to the IRS, scammers have been reaching out to families using emails, text messages, and through social media, asking to verify personal information to receive the child tax credit payme…
Ransomware Group That Collected Millions From Meat Supplier Threatens Hundreds Of New Targets Ransomware Group That Collected Millions From Meat Supplier Threatens Hundreds Of New Targets
Ransomware Group That Collected Millions From Meat Supplier Threatens Hundreds Of New Targets A new ransomware attack linked to a Russian group that collected $11 million from a major meat supplier has reportedly paralyzed the networks of dozens of companies in the United States. The attack by the group known as REvil was focused on Kaseya VSA, a United States software company used by hundreds of tech-service providers and large companies. Kaseya said on Friday, July 2 that it's investigating what a cybersecurity expert said is a ransomware attack similar to the previous one attributed to the Russian hackers. The company said it shut down some of its servers and urged cus…
Wegmans Announces Breach Of Customers' Personal Information Wegmans Announces Breach Of Customers' Personal Information
Wegmans Announces Breach Of Customers' Personal Information Wegmans is warning customers that some personal information may have been exposed to hackers due to a recent data breach. The grocery giant issued an alert this week to notify customers that two databases used for Wegmans internal business purposes were inadvertently left open to potential outside access due to a configuration issue. Officials said that customer names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, Shoppers Club numbers, e-mail addresses and passwords for access to Wegmans.com accounts were included in the databases. "However, all impacted Wegmans.com account passwords were, in t…
Largest East Coast Fuel Pipeline Shuts Down Operations After Cyberattack Largest East Coast Fuel Pipeline Shuts Down Operations After Cyberattack
Largest East Coast Fuel Pipeline Shuts Down Operations After Cyberattack The main pipeline carrying millions of gasoline and diesel fuel to the East Coast said it has halted all operations after being hit with a cyberattack. The Colonial Pipeline Company said in a statement that it learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack on Friday, May 7. Colonial Pipeline is the largest refined products pipeline system in the United States. It carries about one million barrels each day of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel between the Gulf Coast and the New York Harbor area, with the ability to move about three million barrels daily. "In response, we proactively took c…
Alert Issued For Scam USPS Package Delivery Postponed Texts Alert Issued For Scam USPS Package Delivery Postponed Texts
Alert Issued For Scam USPS Package Delivery Postponed Texts Law enforcement officials are cautioning of a new text message "smishing" scam that involves phony messages being sent from fraudsters posing as members of the US Postal Service (USPS). Alerts have been issued by state and federal officials following recent reports from consumers who have received messages claiming to be from USPS about a change in delivery shipment. The messages typically include a link that could potentially expose one to scammers looking to steal personal identifying information. Many who click the phony link have wound up being hacked or prompted to provide new informat…
New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers
New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers Local law enforcement agencies are cautioning area residents to be wary following recent reports of opportunistic fraudsters posing as Amazon employees over the phone to gain access to personal information. Officials said that con artists have been posing as Amazon employees claiming to need verification about their account or that something is wrong with an order, allowing them to attempt stealing their victims’ identities. According to police, once a call is answered, a recorded message will claim to be from Amazon stating there is a problem with their account. Messages included claims …
Police Issue Warning For 'Virus Alert' Scam For Those Online Police Issue Warning For 'Virus Alert' Scam For Those Online
Police Issue Warning For 'Virus Alert' Scam For Those Online While all eyes are on COVID-19, a different type of “virus scam” has been making the rounds. Law enforcement officials issued a warning of a new scam involving hackers who attempt to dupe people on the Internet who are browsing the web. According to police, those who have been victimized unexpectedly got a “virus alert” on their desktop designed to look as if it came from Microsoft that took over the entire browser page. The victim then called “Microsoft” at the 800-641-7676 number provided on the browser window, at which point the scammer said that the user probably had a virus and would …
COVID-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic COVID-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic
Covid-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has provided cybercriminals the opportunity to get creative with their “sextortion” tactics as they exploit the pandemic, according to reports. In the past, criminals have targeted their victims by claiming they have embarrassing, salacious video proof, typically from a webcam, of a person watching sexual content. The scammers then seek to extort immediate payment in bitcoin or gift cards, threatening that otherwise, the alleged content will be disseminated on the Internet. However, according to new information released by the cybersecurity analysi…
COVID-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video COVID-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video
Covid-19: Alert Issued For Scam Involving Blackmail Threat Over Release Of Private Video With more and more people working from home during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, law enforcement agencies are warning of a new online blackmailing scheme. There have been reports of a new scam that involves an email from a scammer to a victim claiming that they are in possession of recorded webcam footage of the victim watching pornography. According to police, the scammer implies that he has malware/remote access to a victim’s computer to record video. The suspect then threatens to share the alleged footage with the victim’s Facebook friends and family unless the victim pays the…
COVID-19: YouTube Limits Video Quality To Ease Internet Traffic COVID-19: YouTube Limits Video Quality To Ease Internet Traffic
Covid-19: YouTube Limits Video Quality To Ease Internet Traffic With millions of people around the world confined to their homes due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, YouTube announced it will be adjusting its default video quality to ensure that there is sufficient bandwidth for all users. YouTube videos will automatically stream in standard definition for at least a month, as health officials work to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which has infected nearly 60,000 people in America alone. Other streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ have taken similar steps overseas, though it is unclear if they will take effect stateside. “We continue to w…
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Text Message Package Delivery Scam Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Text Message Package Delivery Scam
Don't Fall For It: Alert Issued For Text Message Package Delivery Scam Police departments throughout the nation are warning the public about a new text message phishing scam that looks to be from FedEx or another delivery company about a package. The text message shows you a "tracking code" and asks you to click it to set delivery preferences for "your package." (See image above.) Police are warning anyone who gets such a text not to click on the link. The link would take you to a fraudulent site that tries to steal your personal information and money. If you are in doubt about a tracking number, go to the main website of the shipping company and search for …
Alert Issued For Scam Callers Impersonating Police Alert Issued For Scam Callers Impersonating Police
Alert Issued For Scam Callers Impersonating Police Be wary of any calls you receive from parties claiming to represent Nassau County Police - it could be a scam. "It has recently come to the attention of the Nassau County Police department that scammers have been able to spoof actual NCPD phone numbers in an attempt to scam our citizens," Nassau County Police said in a statement. "County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder are urging citizens to be vigilant when receiving telephone solicitations or emails from persons identifying themselves as officers or employees of the Department." The Nassau County Poli…
Don't Fall For It: Costco Confirms Coupon On Facebook Is Scam Don't Fall For It: Costco Confirms Coupon On Facebook Is Scam
Don't Fall For It: Costco Confirms Coupon On Facebook Is Scam It’s a trap! A free $75 Costco coupon that has been making the rounds on social media turned out to be too good to be true, the wholesale giant announced. “Despite several posts out there, Costco is NOT giving away $75 coupons. While we love our fans and our members, this offer is a SCAM, and in no way affiliated with Costco,” the company said. “Thanks to our fans for letting us know about this recurring hoax!” The phony coupon first cropped up on Facebook earlier this year, causing some users to unwittingly click on a link unaffiliated with Costco to collect their coupon. To gain access,…
Double-Check Before You Double Click, Police Warn LIers Double-Check Before You Double Click, Police Warn LIers
Double-Check Before You Double Click, Police Warn LIers Police are warning Long Islanders to “double-check before you double click,” following a recent rash of reported email scams. The Nassau County Police Department issued an alert this week warning of email scams, noting that “legitimate agencies never ask for money via wire transfer or gift cards.” Police noted that scammers can easily create an unauthorized email simply by using the same logo and design as a legitimate company to make it appear official. Residents have been warned not to send anything to companies that do not respond back to attempts to receive more information. According…
PSEG Long Island Customers Targets Of New Phone Scam PSEG Long Island Customers Targets Of New Phone Scam
Pseg Long Island Customers Targets Of New Phone Scam Suffolk County lawmakers are warning customers of PSEG Long Island to be aware of a scam that has been making the rounds in the area. Police said that customers who are up to date on their las have been receiving phone calls from scammers that are spoofed to appear with “PSEG Long Island” on the Called ID, threatening to shut down power unless they pay a sizable fine. Nearly 4,000 scam calls have been reported to PSEG Long Island so far this year, compared with 4,088 scam calls reported in all of 2018, the company said. Recent weeks have seen an increase in the number of people tricked by …
Don't Fall For It: Police Issue Alert For Unclaimed Funds Email Scam Don't Fall For It: Police Issue Alert For Unclaimed Funds Email Scam
Don't Fall For It: Police Issue Alert For Unclaimed Funds Email Scam Police in the area are cautioning local residents of a recent email scam that has been making the rounds throughout the region. One police department, located in Rockland County, reports it just received a scam email from “Rupnarain Kamal” stating that the recipient of the email was due a payment of $22,583,112.00 as a beneficiary for an unclaimed fund at a South African bank. “Back in January, we posted about a scam email we received in the (police department’s) General Email Account Mailbox,” the Ramapo Police Department posted online. “Well, on (Monday), July 22, we received the same ema…
These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report
These Are Most Hacked Passwords According To Brand-New Report Despite the prevalence of online hackers and the concerns of cybersecurity breaches, many continue to use simple and easy to guess passwords that have led to data breaches, according to a new report. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) first “cyber survey” determined the most commonly used passwords that were received in data breaches. According to the report, the most commonly used passwords that have been hacked are: 123456 (23.2 million); 123456789 (7.7 million); qwerty (3.8 million); password (3.6 million); 111111 (3.1 million); 12345678; abc123; 1234567;  password1, a…