Search This Blog
Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Labels

Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Showing posts with label rewards. Show all posts
rewards
cryptocurrency Cyber Attacks FBI Hackers LockBit LockBit ransomware group ransomware attacks rewards

LockBit Ransomware Group Challenges FBI: Opens Contest to Find Dmitry Yuryevich

 

LockBitSupp, the alleged administrator of the notorious LockBit ransomware group, has responded publicly to recent efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and international law enforcement to identify and apprehend him. 

Following the restoration of previously seized domains, law enforcement authorities identified Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev as the mastermind behind LockBit operations in a recent announcement. This revelation was accompanied by official sanctions from the U.S., U.K., and Australia, along with 26 criminal charges that collectively carry a maximum sentence of 185 years imprisonment. 

Furthermore, the U.S. Justice Department has offered a substantial $10 million reward for information leading to Khoroshev's capture. Despite these developments, LockBitSupp has vehemently denied the allegations, framing the situation as a peculiar contest on the group's remaining leak site. LockBitSupp has initiated a contest on their leak site, encouraging individuals to attempt contact with Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. They assert that the FBI has misidentified the individual and that Khoroshev is not associated with LockBitSupp. 

The ransomware admin suggests that the alleged identification mistake may have arisen from cryptocurrency mixing with their own funds, attracting the attention of law enforcement. The contest invites participants to reach out to Khoroshev and report back on his well-being, with a reward of $1000 offered for evidence such as videos, photos, or screenshots confirming contact. Submissions are to be made through the encrypted messaging platform Tox, using a specific Tox ID provided by LockBitSupp.  

Additionally, LockBitSupp has shared multiple links to LockBit-associated file-sharing services on the dark web, presumably for individuals to archive details and submit as contest entries. They have also listed extensive personal details alleged to belong to Dmitry Khoroshev, including email addresses, a Bitcoin wallet address, passport, and tax identification numbers. Amidst the contest announcement, LockBitSupp expressed concern for the individual mistakenly identified as them, urging Khoroshev, if alive and aware, to make contact. 

This unusual move by LockBitSupp challenges the assertions made by law enforcement agencies and highlights the complex dynamics of the cyber underworld, where hackers openly taunt their pursuers. LockBitSupp emphasized that the contest will remain active as long as the announcement is visible on the blog. They hinted at the possibility of future contests with larger rewards, urging followers to stay updated for further developments. 

The announcement was uploaded and last updated on May 9, 2024, UTC, leaving the public and cybersecurity community anticipating further developments. Recent indictments have identified Khoroshev as the mastermind behind LockBit operations since September 2019. The LockBit group is alleged to have extorted over $500 million from victims in 120 countries, with Khoroshev reportedly receiving around $100 million from his involvement in the activities.
Read more »
Theft
Cyber Crime Cyber Hacking loyality points rewards Theft

Are your rewards and loyalty points getting less? You might want to take a look!


The universe is lazy, everything that occurs follows the principle of least action. It should be no surprise that living things have evolved to obtain the most benefit for the least work; consider the intersection of intelligence and energy. And the same is true for humans, we are inherently lazy - choosing the path of least resistance. No matter the work, we will choose the shortest, most easy and least time-consuming way to do it. No matter the path, we will take the most direct and simplest route.

The same could be said for the cyber world wizards, the hackers who would take the easiest path to hack and earn and hence have chosen a new way to earn and steal - "Loyalty Points".


Loyalty Points 

Digital Banking systems nowadays is as safe and impenetrable as their physical counterparts and require planning, knowledge and a load of luck to hack. And when there are easily accessible, far less secure targets like Loyalty Points, then why do so much work?

 Loyalty Points and schemes are rewards given to customers that they can swap for goods and offers much like currency. Since these are less secure, easy to steal our lazy hackers are now attacking these points instead of the highly secure bank accounts and vaults.

Need to be taken seriously

Andy Still, CTO Netacea writes for Infosecurity Group Website, "People don’t treat loyalty points in the same way as they treat other financial products. When our wallet or purse is stolen or lost, we immediately cancel our credit and debit cards. Our loyalty cards can wait. Retailers tend to treat loyalty points in the same way—logging into an account doesn’t have the same level of security, and two-factor authentication is rare."

People are often careless with their reward accounts, they leave it for months before they check it and the theft goes unnoticed. There's also a benefit that the stolen points will be refunded. In this scam, both the businesses and the customers are affected. The customer doesn't get the benefit of loyalty points nor does the business get what they want- repeat business, customer loyalty and branding. Business needs to take their loyalty points scheme like bank accounts and ask their customers to do the same.
Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)