Cyber incidents are fast moving and increasing in number and severity. When a cyber incident occurs, the attacked enterprise responds with a set of predetermined actions. Get trending information on exploits, and vulnerabilities every week to help your organisation to be better equipped to avoid being victim of cybercrimes. Anglo African brings you the weekly cyber-attack news wrap-up and remedy tips to support your business to defend against hackers.
While it holds your files hostage, the newly discovered ransomware FireCrypt also directs your computer to perform a poor man’s distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack by continuously connecting to a specifically targeted URL and repeatedly downloading junk content into a temporary folder. The presently targeted URL, which is hardcoded into FireCrypt’s source code, belongs to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
New Android Malware Attacks Your Wireless Router Through Your Phone. There’s a new kind of Android malware that uses Android devices to attack wireless routers and control victims’ networks. The malware, which has been dubbed “Switcher Trojan,” can leave victims vulnerable to a wide range of cyber attacks, phishing, data theft, and fraud. According to researchers at Kaspersky Lab, Switcher Trojan can redirect all traffic from devices connected to the WiFi network into the hands of cybercriminals.
A variant of the Petya ransomware dubbed GoldenEye is targeting human resources (HR) with fake job applications infected with malware. GoldenEye has been around for some time, but security firm Check Point notes that it has recently turned its attention to HR staffers that frequently open emails from unknown sources.
Savers who use social media to complain to their banks about technical glitches are having their details snatched by crooks. Criminals are lurking online waiting for banks to suffer technical problems so they can dupe unwitting customers into handing over information. The crooks set up fake Twitter accounts that mimic genuine ones belonging to the bank. Customers are told to click a link, which sends them to a website that looks similar to the banks.
Mobile Banking Security Tips
Stay protected with mobile banking: safety suggestions for accessing your checking account
Mobile banking is safe and convenient with a mobile banking app protected by mobile banking security measures including state-of-the-art encryption, firewalls and secure logins. However, there are always general precautions you can take when accessing any of your online accounts, from email to banking. Follow these general guidelines for the highest level of mobile banking safety.
- Avoid making your personal information readily accessible. Don’t share your PIN, password or security question with anyone or save it on your phone.
- Password-protect your phone so others cannot access your information if it is lost or stolen.
- Monitor your records and accounts on a regular basis.
- Report a stolen Smartphone with your wireless provider so all the major wireless service providers will allow for remote “bricking” of the phone, which deactivates your phone on any wireless network without your permission.
Mobile banking safety when using a mobile web browser
With Smartphones becoming more popular, many people are using mobile web browsers to handle their banking. These web browsers do have some built in features, like standard site encryption, to protect your mobile banking security. For added mobile banking security follow the tips below:
- Log out and close your browser when you are not using the internet on your phone
- Set up daily alerts to track account activity. This is a great way to detect fraudulent activity on your account.
- Use secure, encrypted websites for transactions on your mobile phone
- Don’t click through to websites from emails, even if they look like they are from your bank. Always visit your bank’s website by typing in the domain, or bookmark it.
- Never give your password or account number on a site you are unsure about
- Avoid public Wi-Fi, if possible