Welcome to Issue 33 and thank you for opening the email! I trust that everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend.
And for those that fully celebrated and didn’t turn on the news - there was a massive ransomware attack launched through the network of managed service provider Kaseya. The attack has affected hundreds of businesses and the ransomware group is now demanding a 70 Million dollar payment to release the decryption key.
The Lawfare Blog has a decent explanation of the event and Kaseya is publishing updates on its website.
Travel scams are back
The pandemic had forced travel scammers into an involuntary layoff, but they are being called back into the office as the pandemic subsides. Bolster Research has observed a 4X increase in travel scam activity in the first six months of 2021. Most prevalent is the increase in fraudulent travel websites which include some very convincing knockoffs of the major airlines. https://bolster.ai/blog/travel-scams-up-4x-as-pandemic-recedes-and-travelers-take-flight/
Counterfeit check ring exposed
Brian Krebs published an insiders view of a counterfeit check ring. His sources have infiltrated the group and have been sharing information with law enforcement. The article is interesting but nothing new to those of us who investigate financial crime - we read the reports everyday. This check group was involved in the “car wrap” scams which always make me chuckle. You actually thought Dunkin Donuts was going to pay you a thousand dollars to wrap your vehicle with their logo? https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/06/we-infiltrated-a-counterfeit-check-ring-now-what/
Stop with the crypto-cancelling
Crowdstrike co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch pointed out the ridiculousness of calling for the banning of crypto-currency in response the scourge of ransomware: “I agree that crypto is a huge part of the problem because of the ability to receive payments anonymously, but I don’t think we should ban it, I mean, if we banned computers we would also solve the problem, but no one is suggesting that.”. Of course. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/crowdstrike-co-founder-ransomware-attacks-can-be-addressed-without-crypto-ban.html
Get your priorities straight
FINCEN has issued its list of government wide priorities for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. The organization noted the document served only to introduce the priorities and they would later issue guidance as to how financial institutions should incorporate the priorities into their AML programs. Of note, is the focus on cybercrime and virtual currencies. https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/AML_CFT%20Priorities%20(June%2030%2C%202021).pdf And the Wall Street Journal’s take on the priorities: https://www.wsj.com/articles/corruption-cybercrime-top-list-of-u-s-anti-money-laundering-concerns-11625069031
The Rest…
What happens when cybercriminals use legit security tools to commit crime? Proofpoint examines the criminal use of the Cobalt Strike tool. https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/cobalt-strike-favorite-tool-apt-crimeware
This author asserts that crime thrives in a cashless society. I’m pretty sure it thrives in a society with cash currency also! https://dailyhodl.com/2021/07/02/cybercrime-thrives-in-a-cashless-economy/
FINRA orders financial penalties against Robinhood Financial. The Robinhood trading app company. Yes, the company from the Gamestop stock trading drama. https://www.finra.org/media-center/newsreleases/2021/finra-orders-record-financial-penalties-against-robinhood-financial
Don’t park you vehicle in San Francisco; “The most recent data for the Central District, through June 6, shows that 2,048 cars were looted so far this year, compared with 858 through the same period of 2020 — an increase of nearly 139%”. I guess thats what happens when you legalize drugs, promote homelessness, and vilify the police. https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-car-break-ins-tourism-16275241.php
Tools
How much beer does someone drink? Scrape the Untappd app and find out: https://brandone.github.io/untappd-scraper-web/
Instagram profile viewer and analyzer: https://gramho.com/
Cool Job
Threat Intelligence Analyst - Major League Baseball
“TIME IS WHAT WE WANT MOST, BUT WHAT WE USE WORST” - someone smarter than me.
Thank you for your time.
Matt.