DDoS attack on Ukrainian banks; Lurk organiser jailed for 14 years, and other cybersecurity developments

We have gathered the week’s most important cybersecurity news.

Court in Russia sentences Lurk organiser Konstantin Kozlovsky to 14 years in a high-security penal colony

A Russian court sentenced Lurk organiser Konstantin Kozlovsky to 14 years in a high-security penal colony, reports «Интерфакс».

During the investigation, information that Kozlovsky stole data from U.S. government servers using malware, or his links to the FSB’s Information Security Center, was not confirmed.

Read more about the Lurk hackers in ForkLog exclusive:

Ukrainian banks and state resources were subjected to the largest DDoS attack in the country’s history

On February 15 this week, several Ukrainian banks and government websites began to experience disruptions. Later it emerged that a mass DDoS attack had taken place.

They called it the largest in the country’s history.

According to officials, financial losses from the incident were not recorded. There is also no evidence of data leaks. The affected services were fully restored the following day.

The National Police of Ukraine opened a criminal case in connection with the incident.

Clearview AI will collect a database of 100 billion photos

The company Clearview AI intends to create a database storing 100 billion photographs of people. To this end, the firm is seeking $50 million in funding, The Washington Post reports.

Clearview AI says it has already collected about 10 billion images and will add 1.5 billion per month. It is reported the company obtains photos from social networks and other sources without notifying either the people whose images it collects or the sites where the images are posted.

“Kaspersky Lab” identified 49 new ransomware families in 2021

Specialists at Kaspersky Lab discovered in the past year 49 new ransomware families and more than 14,000 new variants of similar malware.

The company also noted that ransomware operators attacked thousands of corporate computers in Russia.

Zoom “listened to” Mac users

Mac users noted that the Zoom platform does not disable the microphone, even when running in the background. The Register reports.

Zoom developers had previously been alerted to the issue and claimed to have fixed it. Now the company has issued another update to address microphone activation.

In 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission accused Zoom of “unfair acts that undermined user security.”

Telegram began blocking channels at the request of German authorities

The messaging app Telegram blocked at least 64 channels at the request of German law enforcement, local media reported.

According to sources, in early February German authorities finally managed to contact Telegram representatives and agreed to “stay in close contact.”

Earlier, German authorities complained about a lack of cooperation from the messenger team and threatened to block it.

“Telegram must no longer be a breeding ground for right-wing extremists, conspiracy theorists and other inciters,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

Also on ForkLog:

• Hackers used NFTs for covert mining and wallet theft.
• DeFi project Titano Finance on BSC lost $1.9 million in the hack.
• Chainalysis says that in 2021 cryptocurrency from cyber extortion totaling over $400 million passed through Russia-linked addresses.
• Alleged Infraud hackers pleaded guilty and struck a deal with investigators.
• Experts found that almost 4% of “whale balances” are controlled by criminals.
• Unknown moved $36 million from IRA Financial Trust’s pension crypto accounts.

What to read this weekend?

Rights advocates regularly file complaints about Clearview AI and urge banning the use of the technology. It is described as the company that could end privacy as we know it.

We explore the features of Clearview AI technologies and the risks they pose to human rights and freedoms.

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