Latest Cybercrime Stories

Also Takes on Botnet Mitigation, Mobile Spam, Public Policy Teamwork SAN FRANCISCO, April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Your good email habits have become an important tool to help inbox providers and ISPs protect you and other customers from online fraud and spam. A new white paper for IT professionals and volume email senders from the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) demystifies the messaging reputation technology now used by most large service providers to identify abusive and errant...

Complaints of Internet crime rose 33 percent last year over the previous year, the first increase in three years, according to a report released Monday by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), run by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.There were 275,284 reports of Internet crime in 2008, up from 206,884 in 2007, the annual IC3 report said.  Total year-over-year dollar losses increased 10.8 percent in 2008, reaching a record high of $264.6 million, with an average...

Malware exploits moved at unprecedented speed and volume this past year but 2009 may bring increasing cooperation among security vendors and law enforcement agencies to bring down criminal enterprises, according to the annual Trend Micro Threat Roundup & 2009 Forecast. CUPERTINO, Calif., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- While malware authors have always moved quickly - releasing code as soon as an exploit is discovered - Trend Micro threat researchers witnessed faster-than-ever malware...

British computer hacker Gary McKinnon's request against extradition to the US has been refused after British prosecutors failed to bring charges against him on Thursday.Arrested by British police in 2002, McKinnon is accused of accessing computers from the Pentagon, US Army, Navy and NASA systems after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. McKinnon's activities resulted in $800,000 worth of damage and left 300 computers at a US Navy weapons station unusable.McKinnon, 42, insists he was...

A former China World Trade executive has pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to multiple counts of fraud stemming from an e-mail stock manipulation scheme. How Wai John Hui pleaded guilty in Detroit to charges related to sending tens of millions of e-mails that promoted obscure stocks for Chinese companies in an effort to inflate the value of stocks he owned, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. Hui is a resident of Hong Kong and Canada. Prosecutors said Hui, West Bloomfield, Mich.,...

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Intrepidus Group, a leading provider of information security services, today announced that it has experienced record sales and customer adoption for its PhishMe(TM) product, a software solution that enables user awareness training to proactively thwart spear phishing and whaling attacks. Further demonstrating Intrepidus Group's tremendous success, the company also announced the addition of ex-eBay security guru, Robert Hansen (aka RSnake), to the...

The Top 10 2008 Holiday Web Threats ranked by Trend Micro CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The season of giving may come at a price as cybercriminals take advantage of one of the busiest online retail seasons of the year and rely upon various social engineering schemes and scams to lure unknowing users. Trend Micro threat researchers say that consumers who conduct their holiday shopping online either at work or at home may be putting both home and corporate networks at risk for...

Marshal8e6 Trace Team security experts say botnet is again spamming in large volumes ORANGE, Calif. and BASINGSTOKE, England, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- One of three major botnets shut down as a result of the closure of major spam hosting provider, McColo, has been re-established and is back spamming in large volumes, say experts from the Marshal8e6 TRACElabs. McColo was shut down by its ISP on November 11 following a journalist's inquiries about illicit spam activities. Subsequently, the...

The National Cyber Security Alliance Reinforces its Top 10 Holiday Online Shopping Tips WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- As cost conscious shoppers focus on the lowest prices this economically difficult holiday season, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) warns all consumers to always be mindful of their online security. "A bargain is only a good deal if it saves you money," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA. "If a five percent discount, costs you your...

When authorities shut down the Web hosting company McColo two weeks ago, the amount of worldwide spam plummeted by roughly two-thirds.  However, experts report that spam is now on the rise, and most believe it will soon reach its prior levels.According to messaging security firm IronPort Systems, spam remains at a level less than half that prior to the McColo shutdown. MessageLabs, however, says the level is at roughly two-thirds.  McColo hosted a number of "command and...