RESTON, VA - According to the latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report from DNIB.com, the fourth quarter of 2024 concluded with 364.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs). This represents an increase of 2.0 million registrations, or 0.5%, compared to the third quarter of 2024, and a year-over-year growth of 4.4 million registrations, or 1.2%. The combined total of .com and .net TLDs reached 169.0 million domain name … [Read more...]
Bots, Ad Networks & Fake Lead Form Fills; Phones Don’t Work, Emails Bounce
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Have you recently noticed your lead forms being filled out with fake information, phone numbers that don't work and/or email addresses that bounce back? Google's Display Network (GDN) and Microsoft's Audience Network (MSAN) both serve ads across a vast number of websites, apps, and video content. While both companies have robust fraud detection systems in place, bot traffic and fraudulent interactions can occur within these networks. Here’s … [Read more...]
FBI Seizes Internet Domains Associated with Major Cybercrime Ring; 17M Victims
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A multi-jurisdictional operation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several other law enforcement agencies has resulted in several well-known internet domains being seized that were a part of a major cybercrime ring responsible for hacking and stealing credentials from digital marketplaces. As of Wednesday, the Cracked.io and Nulled.to internet forums – long known as havens for threat actors who engaged in password theft, software … [Read more...]
50 Million Potentially Compromised In PowerSchool Data Breach
SACRAMENTO, CA - On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool, a prominent provider of educational technology services to over 60 million K-12 students worldwide, identified a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to its Student Information System (SIS) through the PowerSource customer support portal. The breach, which occurred between December 19 and December 24, 2024, allowed threat actors to exfiltrate sensitive data, including names, addresses, dates of birth, … [Read more...]
Expired Domains Used by Security Experts to Neutralize Abandoned Web Backdoors
BATH, UK - More than 4,000 web backdoors that had been abandoned but were still active with live malware were hijacked and their communication infrastructure sinkholed – a term used to describe the process of redirecting malicious traffic to a DNS sinkhole – after web security researchers registered numerous expired domains, preventing them from being used by hackers and cybercriminals. A backdoor is a covert method of bypassing normal authentication or encryption in a … [Read more...]
Hackers Utilizing Russian Domains for Rising Number of Complex Phishing Attacks
REDMOND, WA - Cybersecurity experts have noted a large increase in the number of phishing attacks recently as hackers have been altering their attack avenues in order to work their way around increasingly complex email security systems designed to circumvent their efforts. Both the volume and complexity of malicious emails have been on the rise and are proving to be increasingly able to bypass Secure Email Gateways (SEGs) such as Microsoft and Proofpoint, according … [Read more...]
Scammers & Cybercriminals Using Cheap New Domains To Host Fake Websites
BOSTON, MA - A new report is pointing to new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) launched within the past few years, such as .Top, and .Shop as contributing to an increase in use by scammers and cybercriminals due to the fact that – given their relatively new status on the market – they are cheaper to register compared to more established domains. According to Interisle Consulting Group’s newly-published Cybercrime Supply Chain 2024 report, 16 million cybercrime events … [Read more...]
56% Increase In Disaster Recovery Events Related To Microsoft 365 Domains
REDMOND, WA - According to new data released by IT services data protection and security company N-able, 2024 so far has seen a huge uptick in hacking and cyberattacks targeting Microsoft 365 domains, with a 56 percent increase in the number of disaster recovery events among the service’s clients and a large uptick in the number of backups among its partners. Critical Start’s Cyber Research Unit (CRU) issued a report that states the number of cyber alerts in the first … [Read more...]
FBI Shutdown Prolific Ransomware Group “Radar/Dispossessor,” Domains Seized
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The FBI has announced they have shut down a prolific ransomware group known as “Radar/Dispossessor” and seized multiple internet domains and servers utilized by the cyber threat actors, reportedly headed up by an individual known by the code-name “Brain.” As part of the FBI’s enforcement actions, they have dismantled a plethora of servers utilized by Radar/Dispossessor to carry out their ransomware attacks, including three in the United States, … [Read more...]
Thousands of “Sitting Duck” Domain Names Highjacked by Russian Cybercriminals
PALM BEACH, FL - A critical vulnerability within the Domain Name System (DNS) has been unearthed and exploited by dozens of cybercriminals and hackers originating from Russia to take over thousands of domain names, according to cybersecurity researchers from Infoblox and Eclypsium. An estimated 30,000 legitimate domains have been hijacked by the digital thieves since 2019, experts say, utilizing a technique known as “Sitting Ducks” that exploits weak DNS services. The … [Read more...]
Experts: Hackers Registered Over 500,000 Domains for Massive Cyber-Attack
SANTA CLARA, CA - Hackers have been around since the debut of the Internet, and over the years they’ve learned a number of underhanded tricks to use on unsuspecting victims; one of the most prolific is registering new domains to use to disseminate malware and conduct fishing attacks – while posing as innocent and trustworthy websites – in order to get the unwary to share sensitive information or download malicious software. That being said, according to cybersecurity … [Read more...]
Google to Phase Out Call & Chat Reporting on Google My Business Profiles
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In a recent announcement Google revealed that it will discontinue the call and chat history features in Google Business Profiles by July 31, 2024. This move appears to be part of a broader effort to streamline Google's services and shift its focus elsewhere. While these changes will affect how businesses interact with their leads, it also presents an opportunity to enhance marketing efforts with proper planning and the right tools. What’s Changing in … [Read more...]
AT&T Discloses Major Data Breach Affecting Approximately 70+ Million Accounts
DALLAS, TX - AT&T recently revealed a cybersecurity incident that exposed call and text message records for a significant portion of its customer base. The breach impacted nearly all of AT&T's cellular customers, along with customers of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that utilize AT&T's network. Even some landline customers who interacted with AT&T cellular users during the timeframe are included. While the compromised data doesn't contain the … [Read more...]
Unstoppable Domains Introduces AI to Create Secure Digital IDs for Crypto Users
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Unstoppable Domains, a company that offers blockchain-based domain names – such as .zil or .crypto – announced this week they have adopted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to help “enhance the user experience” by allowing customers to utilize the growing technology to help craft “digital identities” for their “personal brand.” Unstoppable Domains COO Sandy Carter noted that all users have to do is provide some very basic material, either … [Read more...]
Data Leak Impacts Snowflake Customers, Including Advanced Auto Parts, LendingTree
BOZEMAN, MT - In a significant data breach, several major companies have been impacted due to vulnerabilities in their Snowflake cloud storage accounts. The breach, which came to light in early June 2024, has affected companies like Advanced Auto Parts and LendingTree, among others. Details of the Breach: The breach involved unauthorized access to Snowflake's cloud storage, leading to the theft of vast amounts of data. The hacker, known by the alias "Sp1d3r," has … [Read more...]