Watch out for this iPhone call scam, prominent Germans hacked, Android spyware found and an Acrobat update.
Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Monday January 7th. To hear the podcast click on the arrow below:
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Apple iPhone users should be on the lookout for a phone phishing scam. According to security writer Brian Krebs, it works like this: You get a call and when you look at the phone’s screen to see who it is, the Apple logo, real phone number and real address is displayed. The target in this case didn’t answer the call so a message was left asking her to call a 1-866 number. It probably led to a scammer who would have asked for personal information. So iPhone users, ignore calls purporting to be from Apple. Apple won’t phone you. And for those who use other phones, hang up on anyone who tries to get personal information or passwords.
Hackers somehow have gotten access to private emails, memos and financial information of hundreds of German politicians, reporters, comedians and artists. The information was then published through a Twitter account. At this point no one knows if this was the work of a mischievous activist or a foreign country, or exactly how it was done. But British security writer Graham Cluley suspects victims fell for a phishing lure and gave away a password to one of their email or social media accounts. The hacker then went from there. Victims may have also used the same password for different accounts, which also makes a hacker’s job easier. If so, it’s another example of why you shouldn’t use the same password on more than one site, and, where possible enable two-factor authentication to make sure someone else can’t log into your account. Two factor authentication usually sends a six-digit number to your smart phone that you have to enter in addition to your password. Check your applications’ settings to see if you have it.
UPDATE: According to the Associated Press, a popular German YouTube contributor who was victimized said the perpetrator somehow first gained access to his email account and then convinced Twitter to disable a second security check — presumably two-factor authentication — required to take control of his account on the social networking site.
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment and it wasn’t clear how many of those affected by the leak had such “two-factor authentication” enabled for their email or social media accounts, and whether the hacker similarly managed to bypass it.
As hard as Google tries to keep malware out of the Google Play store, criminals manage to find ways to evade detection. Trend Micro reports it discovered spyware hidden in six seemingly legitimate Android applications including a game called Flappy Bird, a presumably copycat called Flappy Birr Dog, FlashLight, Win7Launcher and others. All have been removed from the app store. The spyware would have stolen information like user location, text messages, contact lists and device information as well as try to phish for passwords. Owners of any computing device have to be cautious when deciding what to download, advises Trend Micro.
Finally, Adobe usually issues security updates on the second Tuesday of the month, which is tomorrow. However, it has already issued an emergency patch for Acrobat and Acrobat Reader. So if you use either of these applications check you have the latest versions.
That’s it for Cyber Security Today. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or add us to your Flash Briefing on your smart speaker. Thanks for listening. I’m Howard Solomon