Following an investigation, German law enforcement seized the servers of one of the largest dark web marketplaces in the world that earned an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue 2020. In other cybersecurity news, Cash App suffered a data breach and are contacting 8.2 million customers.
Cash App reveals major data breach
Block, Inc., the parent company for Cash App, has begun contacting nearly 8.2 million customers following a data breach that perpetuated by a disgruntled former employee. The former employee accessed internal systems and downloaded a financial reports containing customer information during the December 10 breach. Along with contacting affected customers, the officials for Cash App are working with law enforcement to improve security measures and determine the extent of unauthorized intrusion.
Explicit content displayed on electric charging stations
Several electric vehicle charging stations around the Isle of Wight, UK were hacked to display pornographic content. Officials are working to restore the systems and implement further measures to stop this type of attack from occurring again. As with any initial attack on a system, it reveals system flaws while also providing paths for both adding security and for other attackers to exploit.
Malaysian banks under siege by info-stealing apps
Over the past year, researchers have been monitoring the increase of info stealing apps that are disguised as legitimate shopping apps in third-party Android app stores. Most of the malicious apps harvest stored banking information on the unsuspecting device, and seem to be targeting customers of eight different Malaysian banks. Initially, the malicious apps were disguising themselves as maid services that would not accept payment directly. Instead, the apps redirect the victim to a legitimate-looking Google Play store payment page that would only take bank transfers as payment for the listed services.
Spanish energy producer suffers data breach
Spanish energy provider Iberdrola is working to recuperate after a mid-March cyber-attack that may have compromised sensitive information of more than one million customers. While the company was able to quickly identify and halt the attack, some identifying information was accessed by the attackers. Luckily, no financial information was obtained. The attack seems connected with other attacks on Spain’s parliament and train infrastructure that occurred on the same day.
Russian dark web market seized by German authorities
Following a major law enforcement investigation into the illicit activities taking place on Hydra Market, a highly-trafficked dark web marketplace, German police have successfully seized multiple servers and cryptocurrency wallets related to the illegal activities. The Hydra Market has been active for several years. And with estimated revenues in 2020 at $1.35 billion and a customer-base of 17 million global users, it was one of the largest dark web markets in operation.
