We seem to be in the grip of a data breach epidemic. Whether it’s big businesses falling victim to cyber-espionage campaigns, workers foolishly handing over their credentials in reply to phishing emails from fraudsters, or just consumers getting their PCs infected with malware, there are security threats everywhere. Read more

As demand for bitcoin reaches record heights, many people would jump at the chance to earn a little digital gold in their spare time and line their wallets with cryptocurrency. But most amateur bitcoin enthusiasts don’t expect their own PCs to be hijacked to harvest coins for cybercriminals. Read more

After hackers leaked naked photos of Jennifer Lawrence, the actress said it was a “sexual violation.” At least two people outed in the infamous hack of adultery dating site Ashley Madison committed suicide. Read more

  Scientists have developed a new anti-hacker tool, called High-fidelity Adaptive Deception & Emulation System (HADES), which rather than blocking an intruder, deploys an alternative reality — feeding hacker with false data. Read more

Security researchers from Malwarebytes have discovered a new technique that enables website owners or attackers that have hacked websites to keep mining for Cryptocurrency even if you close the browser window. Read more

Hackers are testing a new variation of the Ursnif Trojan aimed at Australian bank customers that utilizes novel code injection techniques.Since the summer of 2017, IBM X-Force researchers report that Ursnif (or Gozi) samples have been tested in wild by a new malware developer. The samples are a noteworthy upgrade from previous versions. Read more

The French data protection agency has issued a formal notice to a biz peddling allegedly insecure toys, just in time for Christmas. The mass-marketed toys in question Genesis Toys’ My Friend Cayla doll and i-Que robot are Bluetooth-enabled so they can capture and analyse children’s speech through an app on ideally their parents’ mobile phones.

Samsung has filed a patent for a smartphone palm scanner that would help users remember a forgotten password. Many smartphones already use fingerprints as a faster method of unlocking the device than a password, but Samsung’s invention explores palm biometrics in a slightly different application. Read more

The U.S. Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) has offered some advice on how antivirus software should be updated in industrial environments, but the recommended method is not very practical and experts warn that organizations should not rely only on antiviruses to protect critical systems. Read more

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and law enforcement agencies in Europe managed to dismantle the Andromeda botnet last week. Also called Gamarue, Andromeda malware has been around since 2011 and used to ensnare the infected computers into a botnet. Read more