In recent months, financial cybercrime has risen drastically in the US and attacks on major companies such as Colonial Pipeline Co has brought attention to the risk of unwanted online intruders. The U.S. Secret Service released an official Most Wanted Fugitives list which features 10 of the most sought after people who are being accused of financial cyber crimes.
The list prominently features rewards of up to $1 million USD for information leading to the arrest of Artem Viacheslavich Radchenko and Oleksandr Vitalyevich Leremenko, both of which are accused of targeting the EDGAR system server 5 years ago.
The agency has been actively investigating cybercrimes for the better part of 20 years including the fraud of millions of dollars from unemployment benefits that are meant for those unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secret Service has stated that the list's purpose is to help bring attention to the financial online sector and crimes that can affect the US citizens.
With the pending release of Microsoft Windows 11, security searchers are offering feedback on the features that will improve user security and enhance the experience.
Windows 11 is scheduled to release in December and for those who haven’t heard anything about it, it is essentially an upgrade to the current Windows 10. The OS will include a new security system which will make it easier to find, trace, and prevent malware infection. Experts are slating the system to become more a household name once the support for Windows 10 slows down as the requirements for the new OS does require more modern technology.
Microsoft has made it so that most security options are offloaded into the hardware that is dedicated to encryption and it attempts to bridge the gap between password and passwordless authentication. Microsoft also promises users that all key features are available from the moment the device is used and they'll be enabled by default.
Western Digital’s My Book Live storage device is a popular item which is used to store any kind of data externally. In the last week, users have reported finding that their storage devices have been wiped clean and they have no idea how it could’ve happened. WD has come out and stated that it is more than likely that these wipes have come from a remote command-execution as the specific model attacked has networking capabilities. Multiple searchers have found evidence of this occurrence as non verified edit histories have appeared on devices affected thus providing more confirmation of this attack. The Device last received any sort of security support almost 6 years ago in 2015 thus making it outdated as ransomware has evolved.
Western Digital also claims that the most likely reason is that the devices were factory reset thus erasing any sort of firmware update and are recommending users disconnect the device until further notice to protect themselves. There is no update to whether this was an attempted extortion against the major company or whether just a random ransomware attack but the investigation is ongoing.