Cryptolocker Ransomware Being Described As ‘The Perfect Crime’

BOSTON (CBS) — It is being called the perfect crime and it has law enforcement around the globe baffled.
It all starts with a simple email.
“They are scared and they are angry. It is a real terrible experience for them.”
Joe Ruthaford is talking about computer users who mistakenly launched a potent internet phishing scheme.
He recently saw one of those ravaged computers in his Beacon Hill repair shop.
“It is extremely damaging. It is one of the worst ones.”
It’s called cryptolocker ransomware.
Kevin Swindon is with the FBI in Boston.
“I would think about this particular type of malware as what would happen if your computer was destroyed,” Swindon said.
In the past 90 days, thousands of people worldwide have opened a seemingly innocuous link to track a holiday package. Suddenly, all the files on their computer are encrypted.
Joan Goodchild is the editor of “CSO,” Chief Security Officer magazine based in Framingham.
“This is a criminal operation. They are holding your folders and files ransom. We call this ransomware because that is exactly what it is. You need to pay in order to have access to them once again.”
And that is exactly what happened last month at the Swansea Police Department.
Cryptolocker ransomware took over the department’s entire computer system and the police were forced to pay a $750 ransom to get back control.
As the ransomware takes over your computer, a countdown clock appears and shows victims how long they have to pay up. That means purchasing a key, or software, to reverse the process. And victims must do that using the online virtual currency known as bitcoins.
“Once you have purchased a bitcoin, then the transaction that you use that bitcoin in is encrypted, and therefore you cannot trace it,” explained Goodchild.
Swindon says it appears to be the perfect crime.
The FBI tells WBZ-TV they are very worried about this spreading in 2014.
The scheme could be the work of organized gangs overseas. So far, no one has been caught

3 Questions: Randolph Kirchain on the spread of electronic waste - MIT News Office

3 Questions: Randolph Kirchain on the spread of electronic waste - MIT News Office

AT&T to disclose government requests for customer data

Following Verizon's decision to tell the public how many government requests for customer data it gets, AT&T now says that it, too, is planning a transparency report.


AT&T has joined Verizon Communications in publishing a report that details how many surveillance requests it gets from law enforcement.
The company announced Friday that it will begin publishing a semiannual report offering details of requests it has received from law enforcement. This comes one day after Verizon announced a similar plan. AT&T and Verizon have each come under pressure from shareholders to disclose to their customers how many requests they get a year.

These reports will include information about the total number of law-enforcement data requests they receive from governments in criminal cases including the number of subpoenas, court orders, and warrants. And they will also disclose the total number of customers affected by these requests. The first report will include information for 2013.
What the reports will not do is disclose information that the government prohibits it from disclosing. For example, the company is legally prohibited from detailing requests from National Security Letters or FISA warrants.
These announcements from AT&T and Verizon come days after a federal judge ruled that a US National Security Agency surveillance program that collects phone record metadata on all US citizens is likely unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed after it became public in June that the NSA had been collecting records of millions of phone calls made in the US under a top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order. The information came to light in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Google releases Android Device Manager app

With the Android Device Manager app, you can erase a stolen phone remotely.

(Credit: Google)


Google today released a mobile app for its Android Device Manager service. Available for free in the Google Play store, the app lets users manage and secure an Android tablet or phone associated with their Google account from another Android device (running Gingerbread and up).

The app gives access to all Android Device Manager features, including locating a tablet or phone on a map, resetting its lock code, and erasing it completely. Just note that your missing device must be connected to the cellular network or to Wi-Fi for it to perform the commands.
Though Google released Android Device Manager in August, the initial lack of a corresponding mobile app meant that anyone with a missing handset could lock it down only through the Android Device Manager site. With this release, however, Google now has a solution comparable to Apple's Find My iPhone app.

Alleged 'revenge porn' Web site operator arrested in California

The man allegedly created a site where sexually explicit photographs of individuals were posted without their approval and then allegedly extorted money from victims for removal of images.

A San Diego man accused of running a "revenge porn" Web site that illegally posted more than 10,000 sexually explicit photographs of individuals without their permission has been arrested, the California attorney general's office said.
Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft, and extortion, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said Tuesday in a statement.
"This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives," Harris said.
In December 2012, Bollaert created the Web site ugotposted.com, which allowed users to anonymously post private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission, prosecutors allege in court documents. However, the site required uploaded images be accompanied by the subject's full name, address, age, and social media profiles, according to the criminal complaint (PDF).
Victims wanting their images and information removed from the site were directed to a second Web site Bollaert created called changemyreputation.com, where they could pay $250 to $350 to have their information removed, according to court documents. Between December 2012 and September 2013, Bollaert collected more than $10,000 from victims wishing to have their images and information removed from ugotposted.com, prosecutors allege.
According to the arrest warrant (PDF), one alleged victim said she was afraid to return to work because of harassment resulting from her name and Facebook information being posted on ugotposted.com. In one of several testimonials included in the warrant, a woman identified as Jane Doe No. 6 wrote in an e-mail to the site:

"PLEASE HELP! I am scared for my life! People are calling my work place and they obtained that information through this site! I did not give permission for anyone to put up those pictures or my personal information. I have contacted the police but these pictures need to come down! Please!

Others told of being harassed by strangers after their images appeared on the site, forcing them to close their social network accounts and change phone numbers.

Bollaert allegedly told investigators that he routinely received about 100 e-mails per day from people requesting that content be removed from his site. And he allegedly received about $900 a month from the site's victims via a PayPal account. But after PayPal limited his access to the account in May, he allegedly instructed the victims to pay with Amazon gift cards.
"Yeah, I realize like this is not a good situation," Bollaert told authorities, according to the arrest warrant. "I feel bad about the whole thing and like I just don't want to do it anymore. I mean I know a lot of people are getting screwed over like on the site. Like their lives are getting ruined."
"At the beginning, it was fun and entertaining, but now it's just like ruining my life," he told investigators.
Bollaert, who is being held on $50,000 bail, faces unspecified prison time and fines if convicted. California Gov. Jerry Brown in October signed a bill that promises up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for people "convicted of illegally distributing private images with the intent to harass or annoy." However, Bollaert is charged with felonies related to obtaining personal identifying information for unlawful purposes, including the intent to annoy or harass.

Fake Antivirus: What Are They And How Do You Avoid Them?

October 11, 2013 Cassie Bodnar Featured Post, Security No comments

Cybercriminals are constantly looking for new ways to manipulate victims online.  One of your strongest lines of defense against having your personal data and your money fall into the hands of a cybercriminal is to remain aware and vigilant. With that being said, a current method of attack you need to know about is fake antivirus. They pose as real products on websites and can often times appear to look completely authentic, but you need to think twice before you even consider clicking on one.

Have you ever been browsing the Internet when a pop-up message or banner appeared, advertising antivirus software to you? It’s often designed to look like the result of  “antivirus scanning”, which typically reveals about a dozen viruses on your system. The message was probably flashy and encouraged you to act, but you should never take any action on any of these messages! Fake or rogue antivirus can cause a lot of harm to your computer. They are designed to look legitimate and often times encourage victims to remove viruses from their system, perform updates, or install new software. They can be advertised to you as banner ads, pop-ups or email links, and can even appear in results streams for people who have searched for an antivirus product.  When acted on, they’re meant to encourage you to pay up to $80 for “protection”, infect your computer with malicious software, steal personal information, including credit card numbers or corrupt files on your computer. Android users have to be cautious too, because fake antiviruses exist on Android platform for three years.

They can be advertised to you as banner ads, pop-ups or email links, and can even appear in results streams for people who have searched for an antivirus product.

If they’re so misleading and authentic looking, how can you protect yourself against them?
Do Your Research
Never install any program or software without researching the reputability of the company selling it first. Just because a company appears trustworthy in their advertisements doesn’t mean they are. Blindly clicking on a link or banner ad could lead you to a malicious site or allow malware to be downloaded onto your computer via a botnet you might not even know about. The more you know the safer you are, so never hesitate to perform a quick search before taking any action.
Use Your Security Settings
After you’ve researched and installed a trusted antivirus on your OS, take advantage of the security settings that are offered to you on it.

• Enable firewall to ensure you are secure on local networks and the Internet. Our newest product, Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, offers a two-way firewall, monitoring both incoming and outgoing traffic, providing you with an extra blanket of security.
• Configure your settings to allow your AV to automatically perform system updates. Updates are released to improve upon past errors or to provide users with enhanced features. Configuring this setting will allow the AV to perform searches for new application versions in the background, keeping your system up to date while giving you peace of mind.
• Take advantage of controls like anti-phishing, anti-spam and anti-banner to keep fake AVs from getting to you in the first place. Also remember you have the option to set up exclusion rules to allow easy navigating for pre-determined trusted sites and sources.
• Remember, you don’t need two antiviruses. If you have one, don’t install another, especially when it comes from unknown brand.

Look Out For Signs
Even if you’re using a reliable antivirus, you should make sure you’re doing your part to keep yourself safe as well. The easiest and most obvious step to take is to make yourself familiar with your chosen AV software. You should know what alerts and messages look like so that you can recognize any unfamiliar, fake ones that may appear while online.  Two common warning signs of a fake message would be the lack of a company logo or a request for credit card information. If you’re already using a notable AV, you will never be asked to enter credit card information to perform updates or take basic actions. Reading up on the software before installation could save you some trouble down the line.

Be Mindful
As mentioned earlier, it’s important for you to keep yourself aware of the latest scams that are out there. We’re always doing our best to keep you up to date with the latest attacks and offer tips to shield yourself from them. Your security is our priority, but it should be yours too!
If you think your system has been infected by a fake AV, and you don’t already have the proper software installed to protect yourself, you can use our free virus scan and removal tool to combat the issue. With the right systems in place and a general awareness of the threats that exist online, you can feel more guarded against an attack.

Hundreds join New York City march to 'Restore the Fourth'

Hundreds marched through New York City on Independence Day to protest the National Security Agency's mass surveillance program.

Protesters march from Union Square through the streets of New York City to demonstrate against mass domestic and foreign surveillance by the National Security Agency.

(Credit: Zack Whittaker/CNET)

NEW YORK -- Despite sweltering heat and barely tolerable humidity, hundreds marched through New York City on Thursday to protest against mass spying by the U.S. National Security Agency.
About 500 people met in Union Square to listen to a number of privacy advocates and civil liberties groups discuss Fourth Amendment rights as they stand today, in light of recent revelations about the U.S. government's spying capability.

The government has been embroiled in an international diplomatic crisis over its intelligence agencies' spying on foreign nationals. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on a number of programs the U.S. employs to acquire masses of data on citizens around the world, including those in the European Union.
According to the organizers, Independence Day is a poignant day to protest in support of citizens' constitutional rights for protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, which they claim have been eroded under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
The U.K. government was also embroiled in the NSA spying saga after its Cheltenham-based listening station GCHQ was found to have tapped undersea fiber optic cables, in an operation code-named Tempora.
And the European Parliament on Thursday voted to give the European Commission authority, should it wish to use it, to suspend data-sharing agreements between Europe and the U.S., including SWIFT banking data and passenger name records (PNR) data. The U.S. government believes PNR data is vital for preventing terrorists from landing in the U.S. Should the agreement be put on ice, it could ground planes between the two continents.

People of all ages, from children to elderly folk, joined in the march, which snaked through the midtown area of Manhattan. The police presence was heavy -- more so to control the traffic than the crowds. Many marchers were chanting slogans, but the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. More than 100 protests are being held around the U.S. and Europe, as far as San Francisco; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; London; and Munich, according to the Restore the Fourth group.
The protesters are calling for an end to dragnet surveillance conducted by U.S. intelligence agencies, an investigation into domestic spying, and accountability on the part of public officials for what the protestors call this "unconstitutional surveillance."
Also, in a move reminiscent of the anti-SOPA actions of 2012, dozens of popular and high-profile Web sites, such as Mozilla, Reddit, WordPress, and Imgur, joined in publicly protesting the scope and reach of the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which paved the way for NSA programs like PRISM

Pirate Bay founder creating surveillance-free messaging app

Looking to develop a way to block the government and private companies from monitoring people's messages, Peter Sunde is working on an app called Hemlis "where no one can spy on you, not even us."

by Dara Kerr

July 9, 2013 7:08 PM PDT

• Follow @darakerr

Hemlis will be a spy-proof messaging app.

(Credit: Hemlis)

In the wake of people learning about the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program, it's become clear that phone records and text messages are not entirely private.
The Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde and a couple of app developers have decided to do something about it. They are working on creating a messaging app that is spy-proof, according to GigaOM.

Related stories

• Judge: Lawsuit alleging illegal NSA spying may continue
• Snowden: I wanted to 'correct the excesses of government'
• Russian spy proposes to Edward Snowden on Twitter
• Eye on surveillance: France's PRISM, EU's concerns
• San Francisco protests the NSA spying program in July 4th march

"All communication on today's networks is being monitored by government agencies and private companies. The politicians are not going to stop it, they're actually asking for more," Sunde said in a video about the app. "That's why we decided to build a messaging platform where no one can spy on you, not even us." Naming it Hemlis, which is Swedish for secret, the iPhone and Android app is based on end-to-end encryption that allows only users and whoever they're messaging to read the conversation. Also, Sunde doesn't plan to use ads on the app or sell user data to advertisers.
Sunde is one of the three founders of the BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay, although he stepped down from his role as the site's spokesman in 2009. When he announced his departure from The Pirate Bay, he said he was interested in moving on to new projects.
It's unclear when Hemlis will launch. Currently, Sunde and his colleagues are still working to raise funds to build out the app.

Originally posted at Mobile

New Internet Scam ‘Ransomware’ Locks Computers, Demands Payment

The following is a re-post from the FBI Web Site:
 
There is a new “drive-by” virus on the Internet, and it often carries a fake message—and fine—purportedly from the FBI.
“We’re getting inundated with complaints,” said Donna Gregory of the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), referring to the virus known as Reveton ransomware, which is designed to extort money from its victims.
Reveton is described as drive-by malware because unlike many viruses—which activate when users open a file or attachment—this one can install itself when users simply click on a compromised website. Once infected, the victim’s computer immediately locks, and the monitor displays a screen stating there has been a violation of federal law.
The bogus message goes on to say that the user’s Internet address was identified by the FBI or the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as having been associated with child pornography sites or other illegal online activity. To unlock their machines, users are required to pay a fine using a prepaid money card service.
“Some people have actually paid the so-called fine,” said the IC3’s Gregory, who oversees a team of cyber crime subject matter experts. (The IC3 was established in 2000 as a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. It gives victims an easy way to report cyber crimes and provides law enforcement and regulatory agencies with a central referral system for complaints.)

	Podcast: Reveton Ransomware

“While browsing the Internet, a window popped up with no way to close it,” one Reveton victim recently wrote to the IC3. “The window was labeled ‘FBI’ and said I was in violation of one of the following: illegal use of downloaded media, under-age porn viewing, or computer-use negligence. It listed fines and penalties for each and directed me to pay $200 via a MoneyPak order. Instructions were given on how to load the card and make the payment. The page said if the demands were not met, criminal charges would be filed and my computer would remain locked on that screen.”
The Reveton virus, used by hackers in conjunction with Citadel malware—a software delivery platform that can disseminate various kinds of computer viruses—first came to the attention of the FBI in 2011. The IC3 issued a warning on its website in May 2012. Since that time, the virus has become more widespread in the United States and internationally. Some variants of Reveton can even turn on computer webcams and display the victim’s picture on the frozen screen.
“We are getting dozens of complaints every day,” Gregory said, noting that there is no easy fix if your computer becomes infected. “Unlike other viruses,” she explained, “Reveton freezes your computer and stops it in its tracks. And the average user will not be able to easily remove the malware.”
The IC3 suggests the following if you become a victim of the Reveton virus:

• Do not pay any money or provide any personal information.
• Contact a computer professional to remove Reveton and Citadel from your computer.
• Be aware that even if you are able to unfreeze your computer on your own, the malware may still operate in the background. Certain types of malware have been known to capture personal information such as user names, passwords, and credit card numbers through embedded keystroke logging programs.
• File a complaint and look for updates about the Reveton virus on the IC3 website.

Resources
- New e-scams and warnings
- Computer scams and safety webpage
- The IC3 website
- FBI Cyber Division

We now offer V.O.I.P installations.

How would you like to cut your home telephone bill to little or nothing?. Then VOIP is for you.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and uses the internet to make and receive voice and  video calls.

The great thing about VOIP is that you can use your old standard home telephone through the use of a device called an Analog Telephone Adapter or you may purchase a special stand alone VOIP telephone or videophone.

The are many different companies offering VOIP service
 such as Magic Jack and Vonage.

The best setup i have found at the moment is to purchase your own ATA(I use the OBI100) and setup an account with Google Voice.

At the time of this writing ,Google Voice is free.

DelVal I.T. Services can setup this and other types of VOIP services at your home or business.

Please call 267-702-0167 for more information.