Trolling the trolls: Cyber Command, the U.S. Department of Defense’s offensive cyber arm, started working with a graphics company to illustrate foreign government hackers. The military realized it could punch up the reports it releases on foreign hacking operations by adding illustrations, and try to embarrass or infuriate the foreign hacking shops along the way. “We don’t want something they can put on T-shirts,” the U.S. official said. “We want something that’s in a PowerPoint their boss sees and he loses his shit on them.” Read more here.
Can I get the hacked sandwich and a side of stolen cards to go?: ModPipe, a previously unknown backdoor, has been purpose-built to attack restaurant point-of-sale (PoS) solutions from Oracle. It’s notable for its unusual sophistication, according to researchers, evidenced by its multiple modules. The code is specifically taking aim at the Oracle MICROS Restaurant Enterprise Series (RES) 3700 POS – a management software suite used by hundreds of thousands of bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality establishments worldwide, according to ESET. The attacks have mainly been in the U.S., researchers said – though the initial infection vector is unknown. Read more here.
Iran, its like the Switzerland of data theft: The DarkSide Ransomware operation claims they are creating a distributed storage system in Iran to store and leak data stolen from victims. To show they mean business, the ransomware gang has deposited $320 thousand on a hacker forum. DarkSide is run as a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) where developers are in charge of programming the ransomware software and payment site, and affiliates are recruited to hack businesses and encrypt their devices. Read more here.
