Author: HackWatchit

Look both ways for a new form of scam that’s on the rise, especially if you live in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Orlando — fake toll road scams. They’re the top five cities getting targeted by scammers.  We’ve uncovered plenty of these scams, and our research team at McAfee Labs has revealed a major uptick in them over the past few weeks. Fake toll road scams have nearly quadrupled at the end of February compared to where they were in January.   Figure 1. A chart showing the increasing frequency and volume of toll road scam messages What is…

The dynamic nature of cloud infrastructure can present unique challenges in managing network security. Fortunately, Check Point and AWS have a solution. Check Point integration with AWS Gateway Load Balancers (GWLBs) offers organizations the ability to enhance network security while maintaining the flexibility and scalability of their cloud infrastructure. In this blog, we’ll explore how Check Point CloudGuard integrates with AWS to provide auto-deploying firewalls that scale based on real-time traffic demands, ensuring both performance and robust security. The Challenge of Securing Dynamic Cloud Environments On-premises networks can rely on fixed IP addressing with static firewalls and configurations. This practice…

Data breaches have become increasingly common in recent years, yet the level of concern surrounding these information leaks has grown significantly. One such breach that has recently come to light involves DISA Global Solutions, a company that provides vital services related to background checks, alcohol testing, and drug diagnostic services. DISA issued a statement revealing that a data breach occurred on one of its servers in April 2024. The breach exposed sensitive data of more than 3.3 million individuals across the United States. This information, which included background checks, drug and alcohol testing results, and other personal details, belonged to…

The post Talkin’ About Infosec News – 11/10/2023 appeared first on Black Hills Information Security.

New Ghostwriter campaign targets Ukrainian Government and opposition activists in Belarus Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2025 A Ghostwriter campaign using a new variant of PicassoLoader targets opposition activists in Belarus, and Ukrainian military and government organizations. SentinelLABS observed a new Ghostwriter campaign targeting Belarusian opposition activists and Ukrainian military and government entities with a new variant of PicassoLoader. The campaign has been active since late 2024, threat actors used weaponized Microsoft Excel documents as lures. The researchers believe the campaign is still ongoing, SentinelLABS states that the attacks are an extension of the long-running Ghostwriter campaign. The threat actor Ghostwriter (aka…

In episode 406 of the “Smashing Security” podcast, we explore how the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has been hacked to the jaw-dropping tune of $1.5 billion, and we look at what is being done to better defend women and girls’ safety online. All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the “Smashing Security” podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault. Warning: This podcast may contain nuts, adult themes, and rude language. Hosts: Graham Cluley:  @grahamcluley.com  @[email protected] Carole Theriault:  @caroletheriault Episode links: Sponsored by: 1Password – Secure every app, device, and identity – even the unmanaged ones…

Members of the U.S. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have urged President Donald Trump to cease all Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) activities that create serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities, expose government networks to cyberattacks, and risk disclosure of sensitive information. The demand comes following cyber exposures and top House Oversight Committee members demanding a briefing from the DOGE on their efforts to protect sensitive government systems against cyber threats. “We write with increasing alarm about how individuals associated with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appear to have introduced negligent cybersecurity practices into information technology systems at…

Introduction What if we could make language models think more like humans? Instead of writing one word at a time, what if they could sketch out their thoughts first, and gradually refine them? This is exactly what Large Language Diffusion Models (LLaDA) introduces: a different approach to current text generation used in Large Language Models (LLMs). Unlike traditional autoregressive models (ARMs), which predict text sequentially, left to right, LLaDA leverages a diffusion-like process to generate text. Instead of generating tokens sequentially, it progressively refines masked text until it forms a coherent response. In this article, we will dive into how LLaDA works, why it…

The State Department is fulfilling one of President Trump’s first promises since he took office announcing the Department’s designation of eight organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). As President Trump said in Executive Order 14157, cartels and other transnational organizations “threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.” The State Department announces the designation of Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel…