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Cybersecurity Roundup: Bitcoin-Stealing AI Translator, Post-Quantum Encryption, and More

ForkLog
Cybersecurity Roundup: Bitcoin-Stealing AI Translator, Post-Quantum Encryption, and More

Here are the week’s most significant cybersecurity news stories.

  • A new infostealer targets popular crypto wallets.
  • Scientists have introduced encryption standards to counter quantum computers.
  • OpenAI has halted the use of ChatGPT for influencing US elections.
  • Bitcoin thieves disguised themselves as online games and AI translators.

New Infostealer Targets Popular Crypto Wallets

Researchers at Elastic Security Labs discovered new malware, Banshee Stealer, targeting macOS systems, focusing on crypto wallets and over a hundred extensions across nine browsers.

The infostealer is available on the dark web for $3000 per month.

Data: Elastic Security Labs.

The wallets vulnerable to its attack include:

Additionally, the stealer collects system information, passwords, and data from notes and text files, sending them to a remote server. Through a fake request, it can elevate its privileges on the infected system.

Scientists Introduce Encryption Standards to Counter Quantum Computers

Researchers at the US NIST published the first three encryption standards designed to withstand future cyberattacks based on quantum computing technology. The work took about eight years.

The tools protect a wide range of information, from confidential emails to e-commerce transactions.

The standards are based on three key algorithms:

NIST urged system administrators to immediately begin integrating the new encryption methods, as the transition will take time.

However, confidence in current options cannot be absolute due to the lack of fully developed quantum computing systems.

OpenAI Halts Use of ChatGPT to Influence US Elections

OpenAI developers banned a group of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that created content about the US presidential elections.

The Storm-2035 network mimicked news agencies and spread provocative materials on contentious topics to “sow dissent and conflict.” One such resource claimed that the social network X was allegedly censoring Donald Trump’s tweets.

Fake news resource using ChatGPT-generated content. Data: OpenAI.

OpenAI identified five websites for which materials were created using ChatGPT. The AI assistant also wrote comments under news articles and false claims in X and Instagram accounts controlled by the group.

Bitcoin Thieves Disguised as Online Games and AI Translators

Experts at Kaspersky Lab discovered a fraudulent campaign, Tusk, aimed at stealing cryptocurrencies and personal data from Windows and macOS users worldwide.

Criminals lure victims to phishing sites that mimic the design and interface of various legitimate services. They use themes like Web3, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and online games to attract attention.

Fake sites extract confidential data, such as private keys for crypto wallets, and also download additional malware onto victims’ devices: infostealers and clippers.

FBI Seizes Domains and Servers of Hacker Group Dispossessor

The FBI and US Treasury shut down the Dispossessor (Radar) ransomware program—confiscating nine domains and 24 servers, including in Germany and the UK.

Data: FBI.

One of the organizers, known as Brain, has been declared wanted. He is believed to be in Poland. Previously, Brain and his accomplice worked for larger gangs, including LockBit and Cl0p.

The Dispossessor group began operations in August 2023 and has attacked over 40 victims from the corporate and government sectors. Hackers breached networks through vulnerabilities and weak passwords, then stole data and encrypted devices.

Bitcoin Account Seller Sentenced to 40 Months

A US court sentenced Russian citizen Georgy Kavzharadze for selling financial and other personal information through the online platform Slilpp.

From July 2016 to May 2021, the defendant offered over 626,000 account credentials for sale, accepting only bitcoins as payment.

Some of the purchased information was later used by other criminals to steal money from victims’ bank accounts, causing a total loss of at least $1.2 million.

Analysts linked Kavzharadze to the withdrawal of more than $200,000 from a bitcoin wallet. He was arrested in the summer of 2021 and later extradited to the US. In February 2024, the Russian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

On August 14, he was sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Additionally, the US extradited Belarusian and Ukrainian citizen Maksim Silnikov. He is accused of developing and distributing the Ransom Cartel ransomware, the Reveton worm, and the Angler Exploit Kit.

Silnikov was arrested on July 18, 2023, in Spain. He is known by aliases such as J.P. Morgan, xxx, and lansky and has been involved in cybercriminal activities since 2011.

Two of his accomplices, Belarusian and Russian citizens, are wanted and have been charged in absentia.

Also on ForkLog:

Weekend Reading Suggestions

We present an excerpt from the translated book by American author Meghan O’Giblin, “God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning.” It discusses how a once-strange religious observation by cybernetics pioneer Norbert Wiener became understandable with the advent of modern AI.

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