News of the Cyber World

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Cybercriminals are posing as Ukraine fundraisers to steal cryptocurrency

Ukraine and charities supporting the nation have turned to soliciting cryptocurrency donations during Russia’s invasion of the country. The gamble on virtual currencies worked: Within a week of launching wallets to receive donations directly, the Ukrainian government raised more than $50 million worth of cryptocurrency.

Ukraine announced last week it would send free tokens of a new government-sponsored cryptocurrency as an incentive to donors. It ultimately scrapped the plans, but not before a group pretending to represent the country took advantage of the confusion to set up a token called “Peaceful World.” The con had some success, said Tom Robinson co-founder and chief scientist at Elliptic, a cryptocurrency compliance company. The value of the coin skyrocketed to $180 million within a week.

Researchers at InfoBlox observed purchases of another token, “SAVE UKRAINE,” through suspicious Ukraine-themed domains set up around the invasion, including one website meant to look like a decentralized anonymous organization (DAO) set up by Russian activists.

Donations scams have also run rampant on Twitter and Telegram, experts tell CyberScoop.
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Allen says the scams fall into three buckets: Users pretending to be in need of donations, users pretending to be companies collecting donations and offers to help others create fake donation websites.
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Cybercriminals aren’t limited to social media. Multiple firms have noticed an uptick in email scams where hackers pose as legit charities to solicit cash or bitcoin. Organizations scammers have impersonated include Act for Peace, UNICEF and Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, according to BitDefender. Security firm Cofense found one cryptocurrency donation scam targeting users with a spoofed email from the Ukraine Red Cross Society.

Personal Data from T-Mobile breach Still Spreading
on dark web, State Governments warn

The top law enforcement officials from multiple states are alerting people affected by an August 2021 breach at T-Mobile that their personal data might be circulating in cybercrime forums online.

“Information stolen in a massive data breach has fallen into the wrong hands and is circulating on the dark web,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday in a news release. Officials from California, Florida and several other states issued similar warnings.

The T-Mobile breach involved the data of tens of millions of current, former or prospective customers of the wireless company. The stolen data is attractive for identity theft and other financial crimes. The hacker who claimed responsibility for the breach told The Wall Street Journal in August that T-Mobile’s security was “awful.” Law enforcement agencies from multiple states are investigating the breach.

In some cases, the hacker accessed people’s names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license or ID numbers. The company also said technical data — including international mobile equipment identities (IMEIs) and international mobile subscriber identities — were also compromised. IMEIs, which are often used for advertising purposes, are a unique fingerprint for a device that cannot be reset.

Biden signs executive order on digital assets
including security measures

Citing the need for the U.S. government to address security issues with cryptocurrencies, as well as their role in the overall financial system, President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday on “responsible innovation” for digital assets.

A fact sheet released Wednesday morning by the White House called it “the first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.”

The signed order lists seven areas of concern, including mitigating “illicit finance” and the related national security risks. The order also called out the lack of adequate of cybersecurity protections in the industry, leaving sensitive financial information at risk and already leading to billions in losses for consumers.
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The executive also direct agencies “to work with our allies and partners to ensure international frameworks, capabilities, and partnerships are aligned and responsive to risks.”
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This week the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance on how Russian entities might use digital assets to evade U.S. sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.
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The White House will also through the executive order examine equitable and safe access to financial services, support the “responsible development and use” of digital asset tech and explore whether the U.S. should have a central bank digital currency.