cybercriminals

Visitors to more than 5,000 websites had their computers hijacked to earn money for scammers. But the attack would have earned them less than $25 - and they aren't getting paid anyway. The attack involved compromising screen reader software called ... BrowseAloud. Websites can add the software to their site to make it easier for visitors with vision problems to browse the pages. Because the software is so widely used, compromising it was an effective way to reach a large number of computers - regardless of whether the owners needed to use a screen reader. The software is particularly popular ... (view more)

A security research firm says more than a thousand people accessed a dummy database of personal details that it released as an experiment, though that number is much likely higher. It says the would-be criminals acted far faster than most security ... breaches take to fix. The experiment was the work of BitGlass, a company that offers security services for cloud computing firms. The firm wanted to test how quickly a 'leaked' set of personal data would spread around the world; to do so, BitGlass made an Excel file that contained 1,568 sets of names, phone numbers, addresses, credit card ... (view more)

Security firm Symantec says it has found a sinister and highly sophisticated piece of malware, which has somehow managed to evade security experts for more than six years. Dubbed 'Regin', the malware showcases high levels of technical competence, ... suggesting that it was likely developed by cyber espionage experts. "The development and operation of this malware would have required a significant investment of time and resources, indicating that a nation state is responsible," Symantec said in a recent white paper on the subject. "Its design makes it highly suited for persistent, ... (view more)

The Home Depot recently revealed that its systems had been hacked, leaving approximately 56 million customer credit cards and 53 million email addresses vulnerable to cybercriminals. Now, the retailer is apparently blaming Microsoft's Windows ... operating system (OS) for its security vulnerabilities, and has reportedly switched many top-ranking employees to Macintosh computers and iPhones. The Home Depot announced additional findings of its security breach on November 6, 2014. In the days that followed, customers whose data was affected received an email from the company, which read: " ... (view more)