Saturday, May 15, 2021

Papa spank? Imagine a nation state sponsor expressing displeasure over an unauthorized ransom.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/05/darkside-ransomware-gang-quits-after-servers-bitcoin-stash-seized/

DarkSide Ransomware Gang Quits After Servers, Bitcoin Stash Seized

The DarkSide ransomware affiliate program responsible for the six-day outage at Colonial Pipeline this week that led to fuel shortages and price spikes across the country is running for the hills. The crime gang announced it was closing up shop after its servers were seized and someone drained the cryptocurrency from an account the group uses to pay affiliates.

Servers were seized (country not named), money of advertisers and founders was transferred to an unknown account,” reads a message from a cybercrime forum reposted to the Russian OSINT Telegram channel.

In a blog post on the DarkSide closure, cyber intelligence firm Intel 471 said it believes all of these actions can be tied directly to the reaction related to the high-profile ransomware attacks covered by the media this week.

However, a strong caveat should be applied to these developments: it’s likely that these ransomware operators are trying to retreat from the spotlight more than suddenly discovering the error of their ways,” Intel 471 wrote. “A number of the operators will most likely operate in their own closed-knit groups, resurfacing under new names and updated ransomware variants. Additionally, the operators will have to find a new way to ‘wash’ the cryptocurrency they earn from ransoms. Intel 471 has observed that BitMix, a popular cryptocurrency mixing service used by Avaddon, DarkSide and REvil has allegedly ceased operations. Several apparent customers of the service reported they were unable to access BitMix in the last week.”





Everything you do on the Internet is available to anyone who wants to look. Deal with it.

https://www.pogowasright.org/we-found-joe-bidens-secret-venmo-heres-why-thats-a-privacy-nightmare-for-everyone/

We Found Joe Biden’s Secret Venmo. Here’s Why That’s A Privacy Nightmare For Everyone.

Ryan Mac, Katie Notopoulos, Ryan Brooks, and Logan McDonald report:

BuzzFeed News found President Joe Biden’s Venmo account after less than 10 minutes of looking for it, revealing a network of his private social connections, a national security issue for the United States, and a major privacy concern for everyone who uses the popular peer-to-peer payments app.
On Friday, following a passing mention in the New York Times that the president had sent his grandchildren money on Venmo, BuzzFeed News searched for the president’s account using only a combination of the app’s built-in search tool and public friends feature. In the process, BuzzFeed News found nearly a dozen Biden family members and mapped out a social web that encompasses not only the first family, but a wide network of people around them, including the president’s children, grandchildren, senior White House officials, and all of their contacts on Venmo.

Read more on BuzzFeed.





Politics as the road to riches?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-considers-contenders-to-be-his-new-social-media-outlet-after-big-tech-crackdown-11621013567?mod=djemalertNEWS

Trump Considers Contenders to Be His New Social-Media Outlet After Big Tech Crackdown

Donald Trump, sidelined by Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc., has been talking with numerous platforms as he seeks a new online megaphone. Jeff Brain, the chief executive of CloutHub, a fledgling social media network that has become popular with conservatives, thinks his company fits the bill.

The former president is interested in being paid in exchange for the followers he would presumably bring to the new social networks, people familiar with the situation said. Mr. Trump had nearly 89 million Twitter followers.

He’s not that interested in equity. He wants cash money up front, like a license fee,” said one person familiar with the process.





Webinar

https://securityboulevard.com/2021/05/cpdp-2021-moderator-eleni-kosta-the-use-of-ai-in-state-surveillance-challenges-for-privacy/

CPDP 2021 – Moderator: Eleni Kosta ‘The Use Of Ai In State Surveillance: Challenges For Privacy’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHhaO8XLYRs





Tools.

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-use-measure-app-iphone/

A Step-by-step Guide on How to Use the Measure App

The Measure app is pre-installed on Apple devices. If you deleted it, simply download it for free from the App Store. Also, make sure that your device is up to date to benefit from the latest features.

You can tap the measurement to see it in centimeters or inches. Copy the measurement by choosing Copy.

You can also take a screenshot of the object with the measurements using the shutter button in the bottom-right corner.





Tool for faking literacy?

https://www.makeuseof.com/blinkist-alternatives-for-free-book-summaries/

5 Blinkist Alternatives for Free Book Summaries You May Not Have Known

Haven't read a book but still want to look like you read it? Get a free book summary through these apps, podcasts, and YouTube channels.



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