Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Senior Reporter, Cybersecurity
The Latest from Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Scammers publish ads for hacking services on government websites
Scammers have published various advertisements for hacking services on the official websites of multiple U.S. state, county and local governments, a federal agency, as well as numerous universities. T
Kaspersky says attackers hacked staff iPhones with unknown malware
The Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky said that hackers working for a government targeted several dozen employees’ iPhones with unknown malware. On Thursday, Kaspersky announced the alleged cy
Researchers say they found spyware used in war for the first time
Security researchers and digital rights organizations believe the government of Azerbaijan used spyware produced by NSO Group to target a government worker, journalists, activists and the human rights
Consulting firm Krebs Stamos Group lays off six employees
A consulting firm founded and run by two well-known cybersecurity veterans laid off six people last week, TechCrunch has learned. Krebs Stamos Group was founded in 2021 by former Facebook chief securi
Cybercriminals who targeted Ukraine are actually Russian government hackers, researchers say
For years, Russian government hackers have used several made-up personas to hide their tracks and try to trick security researchers and government agencies into pointing the blame in the wrong directi
Western Digital tells customers that hackers stole their data
On Friday, a month after the company revealed it had been the victim of a data breach, Western Digital published an update on the incident and notified customers that their data was stolen. In a press
Bishop Fox lays off employees days after throwing conference party
Cybersecurity firm Bishop Fox laid off around 50 employees — or 13% of its workforce — on Tuesday, the company told TechCrunch. The layoffs come just a few days after the company threw a party at
Hackers steal emails, private messages from hookup websites
Hackers have stolen email addresses, direct messages, and other personal data from users of two dating websites, according to a data breach expert. Earlier this week, someone alerted Troy Hunt, the fo
Hackers are breaking into AT&T email accounts to steal cryptocurrency
Unknown hackers are breaking into the accounts of people who have AT&T email addresses, and using that access to then hack into the victim’s cryptocurrency exchange’s accounts and steal th
The IRS is sending four investigators across the world to fight cybercrime
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to send four agents who specialize in investigating cybercrime to Australia, Singapore, Colombia, and Germany starting this summer. These four new positions re
Jailbreak tricks Discord’s new chatbot into sharing napalm and meth instructions
In March, Discord announced that it had integrated OpenAI’s technology into its bot named Clyde, turning it into an AI-powered chatbot. Just like with any other chatbot launched in the last few mont
Apple’s high security mode blocked NSO spyware, researchers say
Last year, Apple launched a new feature for iPhone users who are worried about getting targeted with sophisticated spyware, such as journalists or human rights defenders. Now, researchers say they hav
Hackers claim vast access to Western Digital systems
The hackers who breached data storage giant Western Digital claim to have stolen around 10 terabytes of data from the company, including reams of customer information. The extortionists are pushing th
Mercenary spyware hacked iPhone victims with rogue calendar invites, researchers say
Hackers using spyware made by a little known cyber mercenary company used malicious calendar invites to hack the iPhones of journalists, political opposition figures and an NGO worker, according to tw
Hackers used spyware made in Spain to target users in the UAE, Google says
In November 2022, Google revealed the existence of a then-unknown spyware vendor called Variston. Now, Google researchers say they have seen hackers use Variston’s tools in the United Arab Emirates.
Hackers could remotely turn off lights, honk, mess with Tesla’s infotainment system
Thanks to three vulnerabilities chained together, malicious hackers could remotely hack into a Tesla, turn off the lights, honk the horn, open the trunk, activate the windshield wipers and mess with t
How the FBI caught the BreachForums admin
On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the now-arrested alleged administrator of the infamous hacking forum BreachForums facilitated the sale and purchase of private information that be
Beloved hacking veteran Kelly ‘Aloria’ Lum passes away at 41
Kelly Lum, better known in hacking circles as Aloria, passed away on Sunday. Aloria was a veteran of the cybersecurity community, especially the one in New York, her home for many years. The Twitter a
Notorious hacking forum shuts down after administrator gets arrested
Last week, the FBI arrested a man alleged to be “Pompompurin,” the administrator of the infamous and popular BreachForums. Days after the arrest, the cybercrime website’s new administrator annou
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware
Several apps made by Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo were flagged as malicious and dangerous by Google.