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Cybersecurity Roundup: Fake WalletConnect App, MoneyGram Data Breach, and More

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Cybersecurity Roundup: Fake WalletConnect App, MoneyGram Data Breach, and More

We have compiled the most significant cybersecurity news of the week.

  • A fake WalletConnect app stole over $70,000 in cryptocurrencies.
  • The UK regulator confirmed a data breach at MoneyGram.
  • OpenAI’s X account was hacked again by crypto scammers.
  • A GPS signal attack allowed for remote mapping of a building’s layout.

Fake WalletConnect App Stole Over $70,000 in Cryptocurrencies

For five months, a malicious WalletConnect app mimicking the legitimate cryptocurrency project was distributed via Google Play. This was highlighted by Check Point experts.

The fake app marketed itself as a lightweight version of a Web3 wallet and had a high rating due to fake reviews. Users who installed it were directed to a malicious website where they were prompted to authorize several transactions, leading to the theft of private keys and digital assets.

The malicious WalletConnect app reached 10,000 downloads, although this figure may be artificially inflated. At least 150 victims lost cryptocurrencies worth over $70,000.

At the time of writing, the malicious app has been removed from the store.

UK Regulator Confirms MoneyGram Data Breach

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office received a report from the American money transfer service MoneyGram about a cybersecurity incident and is conducting an investigation. The supervisory authority reported this in a comment to TechCrunch.

The payment giant first confirmed the issue on Monday, September 23, after three days of operational downtime. 

The company decided to take some systems offline, leading to a major disruption.

As of September 26, MoneyGram restored its website and app, as well as services through partner agents. Some pending transactions were still being processed at that time. 

The scale of the potential data breach remains unknown. MoneyGram serves over 50 million people annually in more than 200 countries and is the world’s second-largest money transfer service provider. 

OpenAI’s X Account Hacked Again by Crypto Scammers

On the evening of September 23, cryptocurrency scammers hacked OpenAI’s press account on the X social network to promote the scam token $OPENAI. This was reported by TechCrunch.

The tweet described the coin as “bridging the gap between AI technology and blockchain” and invited participation in its initial claim. 

Post by the perpetrators. Data: X.

The attached link led to a phishing site that required connecting crypto wallets and subsequently stole assets and user credentials.

At the time of writing, the tweet has been deleted.

GPS Signal Attack Allowed Remote Mapping of Building Layout 

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi described the AndroCon technology, which tracks the environment of an Android device using partially processed GPS metadata. 

Information is collected through apps installed on the device. Starting from Android version seven, the method accesses GPS data within 39 functions, such as signal level, Doppler shifts, and SNR.

Based on their analysis, AndroCon can determine:

The method’s accuracy is 99.6% in determining the environmental context and 87% in classifying human activity. This allows for creating building plans with a four-meter margin of error without using other sensors and cameras.

Potentially, up to 90% of Android users worldwide are vulnerable to the attack. OS developers have acknowledged the issue and are working on a fix.

EU Fines Meta €91 Million for Unencrypted Password Storage 

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Meta €91 million ($101.5 million) for inadvertently storing some users’ passwords without protection or encryption. This was reported by Reuters. 

The investigation began in 2019 after Meta notified the DPC that it had stored some passwords in plain text format.

Upon discovering the error, the company immediately took steps to correct it. 

According to a Meta representative, “there is no evidence that the passwords were misused or accessed without authorization.”

98 VPN Services Disappear from Russian App Store

From early July to September 18, 2024, Apple removed about 60 VPN services from the Russian App Store, although official Roskomnadzor requests concerned only 25 apps. This was noted by AppleCensorship analysts.

The total number of unavailable VPN services reached 98. Thus, more than 20% of apps disappeared from the store without a public announcement, experts noted.

According to them, the removals occurred on specific dates, indicating “coordinated actions by Apple, potentially exceeding Roskomnadzor’s requests, rather than voluntary withdrawal by VPN developers.”

Digital rights advocates expressed concern over the trend of corporate complicity in state censorship.

Discord Receives Five Notices from Roskomnadzor

Since September 20, the messenger Discord has received five new decisions from Roskomnadzor regarding violations of legislation. This was reported by Kommersant.

Sources of the publication suggested that “in the coming days,” Discord could be officially blocked in Russia based on accusations. In the gaming industry, there is discussion about the risk of slowing down the messenger similar to YouTube. 

The service’s audience in Russia is 40 million people. In mid-September, messenger users already complained about widespread disruptions in the mobile and desktop versions.

Discord and Roskomnadzor did not comment on the disruptions and the inclusion of platform links in the registry of banned sites.

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