Cybersafety Sentinel April 2022 Week 1
Claudiu’s Top Post
When a politician ethically shines a light on a system that compromises the personal #information of individuals, do we cancel that whistleblower and call for #criminal action against him, or do we recognize his contribution and apologize to the constituents who were misinformed into having a false sense of #security and #privacy?
Couple trying to move to Toronto warn of elaborate online rental scam in red-hot market
Jake Eakley and Alejandra Gil thought they had found the perfect apartment in Toronto until the red flags started piling up. They narrowly avoided losing $4,400 in first and last months’ rent to an alleged scammer and are sharing their experience to warn other prospective renters. Read More.
Do not click the link: Verizon investigating spoof texts customers receive from own phone numbers
According to a Sunday thread on the wireless network operator’s community forum, numerous Verizon customers have lodged complaints about a recent spike in spoof texts informing recipients that clicking the provided link will allow them to claim a free gift as a thank-you for having paid their March bills, CBS News reported. Read More.
100,000 Android users downloaded a malware app that steals Facebook accounts
Even when you download a mobile app from an official source, you should be careful before you give them any personal information. Google is always working to ensure that malicious apps don’t make their way on to the Google Play store, but some still sneak through. These apps often look legitimate, and one managed to fool thousands of Android users in recent weeks. The app contains an Android trojan known as Facestealer. Read More.
Elderly couple from Uxbridge lose $1.2 million in scam
Police are warning the public after two seniors from Uxbridge were defrauded of their life savings. An elderly couple was lead to believe they won the jackpot in a United States lottery have lost $1.2 million through the scam. “After losing their life savings they turned to a family friend requesting a loan of $130,000. It was that friend that contacted police,” reads a media release from police. Read More.
What Illuminate, NYC DOE & the NY State Education Department did wrong to enable one of the largest student data breaches in US history
that the personal data of about 820,000 students, past and present, had been breached from the program known as Skedula and Pupil Path, who attended NYC public schools going back to the year 2016. These programs were developed by NYC teachers, but are now owned by a company called Illuminate. Read More.
Toronto police make another arrest in widespread ‘grandparent scam,’ fraud totals over $1.1M
Another arrest has been made in a far-reaching scam that often targets grandparents in the Greater Toronto Area and has generated over $1.1 million for fraudsters, police said in a news release issued Thursday. Read More.
Hackers’ Path Eased as 600,000 U.S. Cybersecurity Jobs Sit Empty
The war for talent has been well-telegraphed throughout the country, but it’s particularly acute in cybersecurity. And it’s only worsened as competition in the broader labor market has heated up, heightening both companies’ potential vulnerability to hackers and the urgency to boost the workforce. Read More.
China accused of hacking Ukraine days before Russian invasion
China staged a huge cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities in the build-up to Russia’s invasion, according to intelligence memos obtained by The Times. More than 600 websites belonging to the defence ministry in Kyiv and other institutions suffered thousands of hacking attempts which were co-ordinated by the Chinese government, according to Ukraine’s security service, the SBU. Read More.
