FBI seizes $46.5M / Ring denies being hacked / Lockbit claims SpaceX contractor breach

Plus: British bank limits daily and monthly transfer limits toward crypto accounts

Inside.com Part of   Network March 15, 2023

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The FBI has seized $46.5M in an operation that shut down cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer. The mixer was used by hackers to launder stolen money. More: ChipMixer has been one of the largest cryptocurrency mixing platforms operating on the dark web since 2017. The website has been used to convert money into untraceable chips, which are then cashed out as cash via clean cryptocurrency addresses. In addition to the cryptocurrency, police authorities seized 7TB of data. This operation was conducted in collaboration with Europol and the German BKA. Some of the threat actors that have used ChipMixer to launder their ransoms are: LockBit, Zeppelin, SunCrypt, Mamba, and Dharma.

Ring has denied being hacked by the BlackCat ransomware group. The threat actor recently claimed to have stolen data from the company. More: The group has threatened to leak data, although it has not specified the amount of data it has stolen. Also known as Alphv and Noberus, the group uses a Ransomware as a Service model to harvest and exfiltrate data from the infected systems so that it can pressure victims into paying a ransom. Blackcat ransomware group has breached over 100 victims so far. Zoom Out: In July 2022, the group created a searchable database so that employees and customers of victim organizations could search for their potentially compromised data. In some cases, the group was also seen launching DDoS attacks against victims and harassing their customers, employees, and partners to further pressure them into paying up.

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The Lockbit hacker group claims that it has hacked Maximum Industries, a SpaceX contractor. The threat actor stole around 3,000 drawings from SpaceX engineers, it said. More: Maximum Industries is a manufacturing company that specializes in creating devices for the aerospace industry. The Lockbit hacker group has threatened to leak the stolen data by March 20 if the company does not pay a ransom. Maximum Industries has not stated whether it intends to pay the ransom or the next steps that it plans to take regarding this breach. SpaceX has yet to comment on the data theft, but it is unlikely that the breach would affect its day-to-day operations significantly.

British lender NatWest has limited daily and monthly transfers from regular bank accounts to crypto accounts in an attempt to curb fraud. Users will not be able to send more than $1,207 (£1,000) per day. More: The financial organization stated that even legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges are used as a stepping stone to make investments in cryptocurrency, an industry that has been known to be volatile and in which many inexperienced investors have lost a lot of money. According to the bank's statement, men over 35 are most likely to make risky investments and be victims of hacking campaigns that are advertised as low-risk-high-reward investments. NatWest has limited monthly transfers to $6,037.  Zoom Out: Over $300M was lost by British citizens from online scams in 2022.

An Android malware named FakeCalls is targeting financial organizations in South Korea with a vishing campaign. The campaign is using the identity of the 20 biggest companies in the country. More: Over 2,500 cases of this vishing campaign have been tracked so far. The techniques used in this hacking campaign could be reused in other similar applications. Security researchers have recommended Android users in South Korea avoid sharing information over phone calls with unknown individuals. Some of the things that users should be on the lookout for are: Unusual pauses or delays before a person speaks, Asking to verify or relay critical facts such as website URLs or job titles, Asking for payments on prepaid gift cards, etc.

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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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