Don’t let creepy scammers trick you into giving them access to your computer

by Fox News | Apr 15, 2023 | Cybersecurity

We recently received an alarming email from Dan. Here’s what he had to say about a suspected scam:

“I had an attempt by hackers to use Teamviewer.com to gain access to my computer. They showed me a screenshot of someone trying to transfer money out of my bank account and send it to South Carolina. When they asked me for my information, I realized what was going on. I uninstalled TeamViewer. I contacted Microsoft support. Have you heard/seen this before?” – Dan.

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Thanks for the great question, Dan.  This type of incident is typically tied to a common scam where hackers may trick you into giving them access to your computer, and the last thing you want to do is fall for it.  But these scoundrels are convincing even to the smartest people.

Is this kind of scam common with TeamViewer?

TeamViewer released a statement stating that their software was being used by scammers for the same kind of scam that Dan describes above.  Basically, scammers will reach out to TeamViewer members and claim that their devices have been infected by malware and that they have to get personal information in order to take over the device and fix the issue. One thing to note if you are a TeamViewer user is that the software company does not offer remote services of any kind, so if you get a message from someone claiming to be from TeamViewer, it is likely a scam.

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Unfortunately, this type of scam does often happen where the scammers will claim to be from legit companies and state that they need to take over your device. However, there is a way for you to avoid this from happening to you.

How do I avoid a scammer from getting into my device to get to my personal information?

First, always be cautious about giving permission to allow a third party to “take control” of your device.  

Scammers are also known to send you malicious emails and texts to trick you into clicking what seems to be legitimate links. 

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Install antivirus software

Installing antivirus software will protect you from accidentally clicking malicious links that would install malware, as well as remove any existing malware from your devices. 

See my expert review of the best antivirus protection for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices by visiting CyberGuy.com/LockUpYourTech .

Related: Free antivirus: should you use it?

What to do if you shared your information with a scammer?

If you think you’ve become the victim of a scam, contact the Better Business Bureau. You can file a complaint with them 24/7. Besides the BBB, you can also use IdentityTheft.org or call 877-438-4338 if you feel that your identity has been stolen or misused.

Double-check all your financial accounts

DON’T FALL FOR THIS NEW BANKING SCAM

If you notice any suspicious activity on your bank accounts or credit card statements, contact your bank and credit card company immediately.

Use Identity theft protection

Identity Theft companies can monitor personal information like your Social Security Number (SSN), phone number, and email address and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account.  They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals.  The great part of an identity theft company like my #1 pick is that you’re provided with your own personal case manager that will help you recover any losses.

See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft by visiting CyberGuy.com/IdentityTheft .  

Have you seen this type of scam before? Let us know how you’re protecting yourself.

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Copyright 2023 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved.  

AI-created malware sends shockwaves through cybersecurity world

by Fox News | Apr 13, 2023 | Cybersecurity

ChatGPT has caused a lot of buzz in the tech world these last few months, and not all the buzz has been great. Now, someone has claimed to have made powerful data-mining malware by using ChatGPT-based prompts in just a few hours. Here’s what we know.

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Who is responsible for this malware?

Forcepoint security researcher Aaron Mulgrew shared how he was able to create this malware by using OpenAI’s generative chatbot. Even though ChatGPT has some protections that prevent people from asking it to create malware codes, Aaron was able to find a loophole. 

He prompted ChatGPT to create the code function by function with separate lines. Once all the individual functions were compiled, he realized that he had an undetectable data-stealing executable on his hands that was as sophisticated as any nation-state malware.

This is incredibly alarming because Mulgrew was able to create this very dangerous malware without the need for a team of hackers, and he didn’t even have to create the code himself.

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What does the malware do?

The malware starts by disguising itself as a screensaver app that then auto-launches itself onto Windows devices. Once it’s on a device, it will scrub through all kinds of files including Word docs, images and PDFs, and look for any data it can find to steal from the device.

Once the malware gets hold of the data, it can break the data down into smaller pieces and hide those pieces within other images on the device. The images then avoid detection by being uploaded to a Google Drive folder. The code was made to be super strong because Mulgrew was able to refine and strengthen his code against detection using simple prompts on ChatGPT.

What does this mean for ChatGPT?

Although this was all done in a private test by Mulgrew and the malware is not attacking anyone in the public, it’s truly alarming to know the dangerous acts that can be committed using ChatGPT. Mulgrew claimed to not have any advanced coding experience, and yet the ChatGPT protections were still not strong enough to block his test. Hopefully, the protections are strengthened before a real hacker gets the chance to do something as Mulgrew did.

FREE ANTIVIRUS: SHOULD YOU USE IT?

Always stay protected

This story is yet another reminder to always have good antivirus software running on your devices as it will protect you from malware infecting your devices.  See my expert review of the best antivirus protection for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices by visiting CyberGuy.com/LockUpYourTech . 

How do you feel about ChatGPT’s protections? We want to know your thoughts.

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For more of my tips, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by clicking the “Free newsletter” link at the top of my website.

Copyright 2023 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.  

From phishing scams to propaganda: How Russia, rogue nations utilize cyber capabilities against the US

by Fox News | Jan 14, 2023 | Cybersecurity

Rogue nations including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea continue to close the cyber capabilities gap on the U.S., utilizing a range of operations that have created an increasingly complex and difficult security landscape to navigate. 

“Cyber warfare isn’t just about access to sensitive or classified information,” Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director at the National Security Institute at the George Mason University Law School, told Fox News Digital. “It can have real physical effects.” 

The cybersecurity landscape has shifted over the past 10 years, due in part to disclosures from various nations, including the U.S., into how their national cyber toolkits work, allowing other countries to quickly develop capabilities they had lacked. 

Jaffer labeled China “the largest threat” in cyberspace due to the long-term hacking campaign the country has maintained with deep inroads to U.S. systems, along with the Russians. But he highlighted the significant threat of developing cyber nations like Iran and North Korea. 

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Those nations have utilized their cyber capabilities in a range of ways, from suppression of the general population through limiting internet access to outright monetary theft and the attack of foreign assets and terrorism. 

“The really scary thing about the Iranians, the North Koreans — in part because we so successfully cut them off from the world economic system — is that they have both now the growing capability, desire, and potentially the freedom to act,” Jaffer, who previously served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush and senior counsel to the House Intelligence Committee, explained.

“The Russians and Chinese have better capabilities, they have more access, but they’re going to step more carefully, whereas the North Koreans, the Iranians are really gaining ground and are maybe more willing to take actions that the Russians and Chinese wouldn’t because they’re willing to bear that price,” he added. “And so they, to me, represent a significant threat.”

North Korea has focused on its financial gain, using phishing scams and crypto theft as means of gaining money and bypassing international sanctions. Through their cyber capabilities, the hermit kingdom has “extracted a tremendous amount of money from the global economy,” according to Jaffer. 

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“They’ve engaged in significant theft of money, including from major payment systems and banking institutions, so they’re very capable in that realm as well,” he added. “That’s a key element of their cyber efforts.”

Iran has used cyberwarfare to achieve a variety of goals, including the suppression of access to the internet to prevent opponents of the regime from organizing, including periodic blackouts at the start of the months-long protests that started in September 2022, and attacks on foreign infrastructure. 

“Iran’s regime has dedicated its resources to improving its cyber capabilities for years now, realizing that this is an area of vulnerability for the U.S. and Europe,” Lisa Daftari, a Middle East expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital. “Their capabilities are steadily improving as a significant arm of their military apparatus.

“This is Tehran’s way of saying, ‘Look at us, we are here, and we see you,” she added. “It’s a threat to silence its opponents and a flex of their own might. They use everything from malware to ransomware to get their point across.”

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As dangerous as Iran and North Korea have grown with their capabilities, Russia remains at the forefront of cyberwarfare, which has played a significant role in its Ukraine invasion. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made use of a group called Cyber Front Z to help spread his propaganda online, a more organized and public-facing “troll factory” than the kind Russia normally utilizes. “Troll farms,” as they are more commonly called, aim to disrupt naturally trending topics and online discourse to spread misinformation. 

While Russia regularly uses such farms, it has gone to great lengths to make Cyber Front Z appear as a grassroots organization, reflecting the likes of cyber collective Anonymous, in an effort to hide its goals and create deniability, according to Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Russia’s information warfare. 

“Russia’s never openly talking about its offensive information operations activities. They only talk about their defensive information operations activities,” Stradner told Fox News Digital. “If you read the latest national security strategy for 2021, they for the first time devoted a special chapter on information security. They talked about information operations.” 

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Stradner said that Russia wants to void ties to the group because it creates “plausible deniability” and allows Russia to avoid “any responsibility” even though you have “all those hackers … that clearly operation behalf of the Russian state.”

A Newsweek report on Cyber Front Z at the start of the Ukraine invasion referred to them as “pro-Russia activists” who organized on social media platform Telegram to recruit “cyber troops,” citing Russian media outlets. Vice in April 2022 referred to the group as “the People’s Movement” that was “spreading Russian propaganda.” 

But Vice also pointed to a report from independent St. Petersburg-based media outlet Fontanka that revealed the group to be “just another Kremlin-linked troll farm, where people are paid to post disinformation in a targeted and coordinated manner.” 

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Moscow’s cybernetic reach extends even to countries like Serbia and areas in Africa, where it seeks to establish information superiority and control cyberspace, according to Stradner.

“They do not need to be rolling tanks in any of those countries as long as they can win the popularity and win what’s been once called hearts and minds of those people,” she explained, adding that this is “precisely also the role of Cyber Front Z.” 

Cyber attack on major hospital system could affect 20 million Americans

by Fox News | Nov 18, 2022 | Cybersecurity

A recent ransomware attack on a major health system that operates over 1,000 hospitals and care facilities across 21 states could impact millions of Americans.

CommonSpirit Health was hit with a cyber attack on Oct. 3, which forced the health company to take certain computer systems offline “as a precautionary step,” the company said shortly after it learned of the incident.

While it remains unclear whether patient health information was compromised, patients have reported the impacts of the cyber attack on their health care and treatments.

Here’s what to know about the cyber attack.

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What is CommonSpirit Health?

CommonSpirit, a nonprofit health system based in Chicago, operates 140 hospitals and more than 1,000 care sites across 21 states, the health system says on its website.

In 2019, CommonSpirit treated 20 million patients, according to the website for Dignity Health International, which is part of the CommonSpirit Health family.

What happened?

CommonSpirit’s computer systems were targeted in a ransomware attack in October, interrupting access to electronic health records and delaying patient care in multiple regions.

It’s unclear whether sensitive information about patients was stolen in the cyber attack.

Cybersecurity experts are continuing to investigate.

Who has been affected?

The ransomware attack has had significant consequences on patients after electronic medical records were no longer accessible due to the systems going offline.

Kelley Parsi told WHO-TV that she took her son, Jay, to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center to be treated for dehydration the same day the facility’s technical issues began. She said a doctor told her that her son was mistakenly given five times what was prescribed for pain medicine after their systems went offline. 

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Some patients across the country had to delay important surgeries.

Kathy Kellogg was scheduled to have a cancerous tumor on her tongue removed at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle but was forced to reschedule due to the CommonSpirit’s system going offline, KING-TV reported.

What is being done?

CommonSpirit released an update on Nov. 9, over a month after the ransomware attack, and said it is still working to bring its systems online and restore full functionality as quickly and safely as possible.

Electronic health records are now available across its system, including at hospitals and clinics, and most patients can again review their medical histories through the patient portal, the health system said, adding that it is working to restore appointment scheduling capabilities to the portal.

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“At CommonSpirit Health, we are dedicated to meeting the needs of the communities we serve and are guided by our core set of values, which include integrity, excellence, and collaboration,” CommonSpirit said. “We are grateful to our committed staff and physicians, who are doing everything possible to mitigate the impact to our patients and maintain continuity of care.”

Missing Kaylee Jones: No sign of Georgia teen 2 months after disappearance

by Fox News | Aug 17, 2022 | Cybersecurity

More than two months have passed since 16-year-old Kaylee Jones disappeared from her hometown in Georgia. 

Jones, born Jillian Paige Temple, was last seen on June 14 in the area of Whooping Creek Church Road in New Carrollton, when her parents say she left out of her second-story window without her computer or phone, which had recently been confiscated after her parents found out she had been in communication with strangers online. 

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating her disappearance, said in a Sunday Facebook post that its office has received “numerous tips” related to Jones’ whereabouts — none of which have led them to find the 16-year-old. 

“The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has since day one been committed to locating Kaylee and have a team of dedicated Investigators working this case and tirelessly following every lead and working in conjunction with many law enforcement agencies throughout the state and the country,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that anyone who has a tip about Jones, “no matter how small,” should reach out to Carroll County authorities.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, FBI, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshal Service and local law enforcement are now assisting in the search for the missing 16-year-old, who has special needs and has now gone two months without her prescribed medication.

MISSING KAYLEE JONES: 16-YEAR-OLD’S PARENTS FACE ONLINE HARASSMENT 1 MONTH INTO DAUGHTER’S DISAPPEARANCE

Jones’ parents previously explained to Fox News Digital that two days prior to their daughter’s disappearance, they confiscated her phone in an effort to discipline her, at which point the 16-year-old turned to her laptop and began communicating with strangers on chatrooms like Omegle — a website that allows users to anonymously send direct messages or video-chat with one another.

Jones shared personal information, including her family’s address, with some “guys” she was speaking to online, her parents said.

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Jones is described as 5 ft. 8 in. tall, weighing 135 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Her mother believes she may have a blue book bag “with a horse on the front.” She may be wearing black tennis shoes or converse sneakers, according to authorities. Her family recently moved to Georgia from Brooksville, Florida, where they still have family and friends. She also may be going by her birth name, Jillian.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about Jones’ whereabouts to contact 770-830-5916 or email [email protected].