EU Comission bans TikTok by employees / Americans lost $8.8B from scams in 2022 / NLB Brute malware's alleged developer extradited

Plus: Dutch Police arrest three hackers accused of stealing $2.6M

Inside.com Part of   Network February 24, 2023

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The European Commission has banned the use of TikTok by its employees. The organization cited security concerns as the main reason behind the decision. More: The European Commission's employees have also been told to uninstall the app from their personal devices by March 15, even if it is used for business purposes. The decision has been communicated to the employees today and is effective immediately. Overall, this decision affects around 32,000 employees in the organization. Officials from the EU Commission stated that the decision came after a detailed analysis. Zoom Out: The U.S. government is also banning the use of TikTok on all government devices by the end of February 2023, citing security concerns. In January 2020, the U.S. Army banned the use of TikTok for all enlisted. In November 2022, TikTok updated its privacy policy to adapt to EEA, U.K., and Switzerland privacy rules. The change was an attempt to improve its public image regarding privacy in Europe.

Americans lost $8.8B from scams in 2022, according to a new report. The number of investment fraud cases alone grew 100% YoY. More: According to the report, the two most common scam types are investment scams and impersonation scams. Businesses in the U.S. lost $660M in 2022, up from $453M in 2021. A total of 2.4 million fraud reports were filed with the FTC in 2022. The $8.8B figure means the average loss per victim was $650. Interestingly, younger people were the most breached victims, as 43% of 20- to 29-year-olds were hacked, compared to 23% of 70- to 79-year-olds.

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The alleged developer of NLBrute malware has been extradited to the United States. If found guilty, he faces 47 years in federal prison. More: The suspect developed a malicious software program named NLBrute. The powerful malware could compromise protected computers by decrypting login credentials, such as passwords.  He marketed and sold the NLBrute malware to cybercriminals for a fee while also hiring a team to sell the malware for him. This practice has been utilized by numerous hacker groups in years past. The hacker also sold stolen login credentials on the dark web. He managed to hack 35,000 compromised computers for sale on the website and earned more than $350,000. The individual is a citizen of Russia and was extradited from the country of Georgia.

The Dutch Police have arrested three hackers accused of stealing $2.6M. The three suspects may have hacked thousands of companies. More: The three hackers managed to breach different targets, such as: e-commerce companies, software development companies, social media companies, and public utility companies. The threat actors managed to steal data belonging to tens of millions of individuals, including: names, email addresses, telephone numbers, bank account numbers, credit card details, account passwords, license plates, and passport details. The hackers would typically demand between $105,000 and $737,000 in ransom payments. The three suspects are 18- to 21-year-old males.

Galaxy Digital has acquired crypto custody company GK8 for $44M. Galaxy Digital won the auction to buy the company from Celsius Network. More: GK8 has a patented cold cryptocurrency storage technology that aims to make cryptocurrency ownership safer by enabling accounts to sign blockchain contracts without an internet connection. The product will be integrated with GalaxyOne, a crypto trading, lending, and margining platform. GK8 was previously owned by Celsius Network, a crypto lender that went bankrupt in 2022. The company has 40 employees. GK8 is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Galaxy Digital is also going to open an office in the city.

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Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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