New Wiper Malware Responsible for Attack on Iranian Railways

On July 9, 2021, the railway service used by Iranians for their daily transport needs suffered a cyber attack. New research published by Sentinel One reveals that the chaos caused during the attack was a result of a previously undiscovered form of wiper malware, called Meteor. The attack resulted in both the Transport Ministry’s online services offered been shut down and to the frustration of passenger’s cancellations and delays of scheduled trains. Further, the electronic tracking system used to determine the locations of trains in service also failed. The government's response to the attack was at odds with what the Iranian media was saying. The Guardian reported, “The Fars news agency reported ‘unprecedented chaos’ at stations with hundreds of trains delayed or canceled. In the now-deleted report, it said the incident followed ‘a widespread disruption in … computer systems that is probably due to a cybe...

IP Address & Personal Information Might Be Exposed POP-UP Scam

"IP address & personal information might be exposed" is a scam promoted on various untrustworthy websites. This scheme aims to promote a piece of (likely dubious) software by claiming that users' IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and personal data may be exposed and vulnerable. In seldom cases, such scams endorse legitimate products and generate revenue through deceptive and questionable tactics. However, they more commonly distribute adware, browser hijackers, fake anti-viruses, and other PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications). It is noteworthy that online schemes may even proliferate malware. Scam-promoting sites are usually accessed inadvertently; most users enter them via mistyped URLs, or redirects caused by rogue webpages, intrusive advertisements, or installed PUAs. This software can infiltrate systems without explicit user permission, and it often has harmful abilities. As its name suggests, t...