Tag: hackers

Suspected Israeli hackers claim to destroy data at Iran’s Bank Sepah

An anti-Iranian government hacking group with potential ties to Israel and a track record of destructive cyberattacks on Iran claimed in social media posts on Tuesday that it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah.

The group — known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “Predatory Sparrow” — hacked the bank because they accused it of helping fund Iran’s military, according to one of the messages posted online.

The hack comes amid increasing hostilities between Israel and Iran, after Israel attacked multiple military and nuclear targets in Iran last week. Both sides have launched multiple missile attacks against each other in the days since.

Reuters could not immediately verify the attack on Bank Sepah. The bank’s website was offline on Tuesday and its London-based subsidiary, Bank Sepah International plc, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Customers were having problems accessing their accounts, according to Israeli media.

Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to multiple messages sent via social media.

“Disrupting the availability of this bank’s funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there,” Rob Joyce, the former top cybersecurity official at the NSA, said in a post on X.

In 2022, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against an Iranian steel production facility. The sophisticated attack caused a large fire at the facility, resulting in tangible, offline damage. Such attacks are usually beyond the capabilities of activist hackers, security experts say, and would be more in line with the capabilities of a nation state.

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FBI investigating impersonator who hacked phone of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles

A federal investigation is underway after elected officials and other prominent figures were contacted by an imposter pretending to be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

“They breached the phone; they tried to impersonate her,” President Trump told reporters. “Nobody can impersonate her. There’s only one Susie.”

The president added that Wiles, one of Trump’s closest advisers, is an “amazing woman” and “can handle” the situation.

A White House official confirmed the probe on Friday, a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that business leaders and politicians — including governors, senators and members of congress — started receiving text messages and calls from a person who apparently hacked into Wiles’ phone, giving them access to her personal contact list.

The official further noted it was Wiles’ personal phone, not her government phone that was affected.

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Trump’s chief of staff is caught in sinister impersonation plot exposing America’s most powerful players… until fatal slip reveals truth

Donald Trump‘s top advisor has fallen victim to a sinister scheme by hackers who infiltrated her phone and used artificial intelligence to impersonate her voice.

The nefarious plot involved stolen data from the personal cellphone of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles that was then used to call some of American’s most powerful people. 

Over the course of several weeks, high profile senators, governors and American business executives have received voicemails or messages from an unknown number claiming to be Wiles, Wall Street Journal reported. 

The hackers came undone when they made the fatal mistake of asking questions that the president’s closest aide would already know the answer to. 

Wiles – who has been nicknamed ‘Ice Maiden’ – has been contacting associates urging them to disregard any unusual messages or calls from unknown numbers purporting to be her.

In a terrifying twist, some of the phone calls used a voice that mimicked Wiles. Authorities suspect the impersonator used artificial intelligence to replicate it.

The FBI is now investigating the unusual situation, but do not believe that a foreign nation is behind it, sources told the publication.

‘The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,’ FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. 

‘Safeguarding our administration officials’ ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president’s mission is a top priority.’ 

Authorities are reportedly scrambling to figure out what the goal of the plot is.

In at least one case the impersonator asked for a cash transfer, while in another they asked a lawmaker for a list of people who the president could consider pardoning.

But many of the texts which came through appeared to be legitimate and fooled some of Wiles’ contacts. There are allegedly no suggestions that any sensitive information was handed over.

Some of her associates became suspicious when the impersonator began asking questions – sometimes about Trump – that Wiles as his closest advisor would have known the answers to.

Others said some messages were sent with poor grammar, and in a more formal manner than Wiles generally communicates. 

These messages were not sent from Wiles’ phone number.

Her personal cellphone contacts list was reportedly hacked, giving the impersonator access to a long list of numbers she has amassed over the years as one of Washington’s most formidable political players.

The breach comes after a series of embarrassing data leaks during Trump’s second term.

In one instance, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a Signal group chat where Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth discussed planned military strikes in Yemen. 

Trump’s former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, took responsibility for the error and was reassigned to a different role. 

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Coinbase Customers’ Personal Data Stolen in Hack, Stock Drops

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was recently targeted in a hacking incident that led to the personal data of thousands of customers being stolen, the company said in a May 15 statement.

According to a March 31 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Coinbase had 9.7 million monthly transaction users (MTU) by the end of that month.

Since the company claims that less than 1 percent of MTUs have been impacted by the hack, the number of affected individuals could be around 97,000.

Hackers got access to names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, last four digits of Social Security numbers, masked bank account numbers and identifiers, government ID images such as driver’s licenses and passports, and account data such as balance snapshots and transaction history.

Hackers did not get access to login credentials or 2FA codes, private keys, customer funds and the ability to move these funds, Coinbase Prime accounts, Coinbase or Coinbase customer hot or cold wallets.

Following the revelation, Coinbase shares crashed by 7.2 percent on Thursday.

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Data of thousands of Israel soldiers leaked

A security breach on an external Israeli ticketing website led to sensitive data belonging to soldiers in the Israeli occupation army, including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and high-ranking officers, being made available online, Haaretz reported yesterday.

According to the report, the breach allowed access to personal information, including their full names, ID numbers and phone numbers, through the TickChak website, which is used by army units to offer recreational benefits to their employees.

The breach, coupled with the weak security of the website, allows anyone to access soldiers’ data simply by entering their ID number, without going through any additional verification. This allowed for the extraction and collection of personal information belonging to tens of thousands of soldiers.

The breach occurred using simple software tools created by an anonymous user identifying themselves as the “Persian Prince”. The user was able to run a programme that tested potential ID numbers and extracted the details of their owners.

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Elon Musk says X was knocked offline by ‘massive cyberattack’ that originated in ‘Ukraine area’

Billionaire entrepreneur and DOGE chief Elon Musk claimed Monday that X went dark as the result of a “massive cyberattack” that originated in the “Ukraine area.”

“We’re not sure exactly what happened,” Musk told Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow about the apparent operation targeting his social media platform.

“But there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system, with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area,” the world’s richest man added.

Musk, 53, did not immediately provide additional evidence of who may have been responsible.

Cybercriminals have been known to create false IP addresses to impersonate computer systems from different parts of the world, a practice known as “spoofing.”

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U.S. Indicts 12 Chinese Nationals in ‘Hackers-for-Hire’ Conspiracy

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced 12 Chinese nationals have been indicted in a global “hackers-for-hire” scheme to “inflict digital harm on Americans who criticize the Chinese Communist Party.”

Court documents unsealed on Wednesday accused China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and Ministry of State Security (MSS) of directing and financing the hackers to “conduct computer intrusions against high-value targets in the United States and elsewhere.”

“Victims include U.S.-based critics and dissidents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a large religious organization in the United States, the foreign ministries of multiple governments in Asia, and U.S. federal and state government agencies, including most recently in 2024,” DOJ said.

“By employing these hackers-for-hire, the PRC government further allowed these same hackers to profit by committing additional computer intrusions around the world with impunity, and then to sell stolen data through Chinese data brokers,” DOJ added.

The first two Chinese nationals indicted in the case, Yin “YKC” Kecheng and Zhou “Coldface” Shuai, were allegedly linked to a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group known as APT27, “LuckyMouse,” or “Emissary Panda.” 

The group has been active since 2010, with an early emphasis on cyber-espionage attacks against corporate and government systems in the Western world, the Middle East, and Taiwan. APT27’s later exploits included profitable cyber-crimes.

DOJ charged Yin and Zhou with “sophisticated computer hacking conspiracies that successfully targeted a wide variety of US.-based victims from 2011 to the present day,” inflicting “millions of dollars worth of damages.” Both Yin and Zhou have previously been named in multiple-count indictments for fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.

A second announcement from DOJ on Wednesday added indictments for two MPS officers and eight employees of an “ostensibly private” company called Anxun Information Technology Col. Ltd., also known as i-Soon.

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Feds ID hacker who played AI video of Trump kissing Musk’s feet – and warn that ‘legal ramifications are being explored’

The feds have ID’d the cyberpunk who broadcast an AI-powered video of President Trump kissing the feet of Elon Musk on public TVs at HUD on Monday and are threatening to take legal action against them.

Officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the individual has been identified, although they didn’t name them or reveal how the hacker managed to infiltrate the government television system in the cafeteria at the agency’s headquarters.

“Yesterday, an individual was escorted off the property,” a HUD rep told The Post on Tuesday. “Legal ramifications are being explored. Additionally, termination or suspension of certain services are being explored as it relates to the department.”

Workers at HUD were caught off guard when the disturbing rogue video was broadcast at department headquarters with the message: “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING.”

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U.S. Sanctions Chinese Cybersecurity Firm Over Cyberattacks

US sanctions Beijing-based Integrity Technology Group for aiding “Flax Typhoon” hackers in cyberattacks on American infrastructure, freezing assets and banning US dealings.

The US Treasury Department has sanctioned Integrity Technology Group, a Beijing-based company, accusing it of involvement in cyberattacks against American infrastructure. The decision, announced on January 3, 2025, has escalated tensions between the US and China over cybersecurity issues.

What’s Behind the Sanctions?

Integrity Technology Group, also known as Yongxin Zhicheng Technology Group, is alleged to have worked closely with the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group “Flax Typhoon.” US officials claim the company played a key role in cyber activities targeting government systems, businesses, and critical infrastructure. Over 250,000 devices worldwide were reportedly compromised in these incidents.

The sanctions freeze the company’s assets in the US and prohibit American entities from doing business with it. By cutting off financial ties, the US aims to limit the group’s resources for continuing cyber operations.

Official Statements and Responses

The US government has stated that these actions are part of ongoing efforts to protect national security and hold cyber offenders accountable. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commented, “This sends a clear message to entities enabling malicious cyber activity: we will not tolerate these actions.”

China, however, has rejected the accusations. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “baseless” and accused the US of deflecting blame for its own cybersecurity issues. Integrity Technology Group has denied the allegations, claiming it operates within legal bounds and condemning the sanctions as damaging to its reputation.

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Massive healthcare breaches prompt US cybersecurity rules overhaul

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed updates to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to secure patients’ health data following a surge in massive healthcare data leaks.

These stricter cybersecurity rules, proposed by the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and expected to be published as a final rule within 60 days, would require healthcare organizations to encrypt protected health information (PHI), implement multifactor authentication, and segment their networks to make it harder for attackers to move laterally through them.

“In recent years, there has been an alarming growth in the number of breaches affecting 500 or more individuals reported to the Department, the overall number of individuals affected by such breaches, and the rampant escalation of cyberattacks using hacking and ransomware,” the HHS’ proposal says.

“The Department is concerned by the increasing numbers of breaches and other cybersecurity incidents experienced by regulated entities. We are also increasingly concerned by the upward trend in the numbers of individuals affected by such incidents and the magnitude of the potential harms from such incidents.”

Reuters reports that Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, also told reporters that the HIPAA cybersecurity rule updates were prompted by the ransomware attacks and massive breaches that have affected hospitals and Americans in recent years.

Neuberger added that implementing these rules would cost roughly $9 billion in the first year and over $6 billion during the following four years.

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