News
Monthly selection of cyber news
November 2020, issue 8
Kazakhstan News
10 November
Almost 37% of all fraud in Kazakhstan is committed online
In 2020, the internal affairs bodies disclosed 1,700 cases of Internet fraud and other network crimes, detaining about 400 people. Criminal Police Department Deputy Head Yerlan Omarbekov noted that Internet crime had doubled in the last three years, from 4 thousand to 8 thousand cases.
11 November
155 cybercrimes detected in Kazakhstan
155 cybercrimes were detected in Kazakhstan during a "Hi-Tech" event that was held to prevent and disclose cybercrime, including Internet fraud. 161 crimes were solved, mostly Internet-related, within a few days of the event.
13 November
Fraudulent Internet resources flood Kaznet
GTS Computer Incident Response Service’s “Kazakhstan Information Security” in Telegram Messenger has been receiving far more requests to check Internet resources for phishing forms. The majority were later classified as "Internet Phishing" focusing on stealing funds from users.
17 November
The number of cyber-attacks in Kazakhstan banks has increased
With the increase in the number of non-cash payments and card users, there has been a significant rise in the number of cyberattacks and cases of Internet fraud. According to Ranking analysts, 8.3 thousand cases of Internet fraud were recorded in the first nine months of this year.
Caspian news
2 November
The number of phishing attacks on the e-mail system has increased in Azerbaijan
According to the Center for Combating Computer Incidents, hackers were active in cyber-attacks against Azerbaijan during the pandemic, especially in June, and carried out numerous phishing attacks containing COVID-19 topics. These cyber attacks were regularly monitored by the Center, and the indicators used in the cyber attack were blocked on the AzStateNet network, the new signatures were added to the local sandbox system, and sent to global security laboratories for blocking by various firewalls and antivirus companies.
The World Bank has allocated US$ 50 million to Uzbekistan for innovation
The World Bank has approved financing of US$ 50 million to implement a project to “Upgrade the Uzbekistan National Innovation System”. The project will aid international-level research in state research institutions and universities, and also help commercialise their findings.
4 November
Mongolian commercial Bank TDB Bank will start offering crypto services
The Mongolian Trade and Development Bank is planning to launch cryptocurrency-related services, which will include cryptocurrency storage, deposit, loan, transfer and asset management support.
10 November
The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies has registered another “phishing” campaign against our social network users. The report says that fake ads are posted on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks under the heading “An announcement that will forever change the citizens of Azerbaijan”. The goal is to "trap" users by attracting their attention and encouraging them to access malicious links.
Data Processing Center of Azerbaijan will undergo an international audit
The Data Processing Center (DPC) of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan will once again undergo an international audit to provide SSL security certification services. It should be noted that DPC is audited under the “WebTrust Program for Certification Authorities”. The project is commercial in nature and the issuance of SSL certificates will be paid, except in some cases.
12 November
Sources of Internet fraud revealed in Azerbaijan
Between January and October 2020, Kaspersky experts discovered 2,845 sources created by scammers in the Azerbaijani segment of the Internet to seize users' money. Kaspersky solutions have blocked about 84,346 attempts by Azerbaijani users to access such sites.
16 November
Agreement signed to promote CIS-country digital development
The agreement covers several areas, such as digital ecosystem and information security, ICT and human resources development, and the exchange of regulatory and legal regulation experience.
Teachers and students are under "phishing" attacks via WhatsApp in Azerbaijan
The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies has registered another "phishing" campaign via WhatsApp. The next target of the "phishing" campaign carried out by cybercriminals is teachers and students. Thus, the "spam" messages sent via WhatsApp under the heading "Free laptop support 2020" allegedly provided free laptops to teachers and students by computer companies.
18 November
Kyrgyzstan to introduce electronic driving licenses and technical passports
Electronic driving licenses and vehicle registration certificates are due to be introduced as part of the digitalisation of public services in Bishkek, the press service of the State Registration Service reports.
Another phishing scam was registered in Azerbaijan
According to the Center for Combating Computer Incidents, the fraudsters targeted the website cert.az in order to organize a phishing attack. The phishing attack was organized through a fake website - onlinebanking.somee.com. Currently, the site is included in the "Black List" by the Center.
26 November
Drivers will be able to register online to cross EAEU vehicle checkpoints
The EEC Council has approved a list of services and digital infrastructure to be implemented so as to form and launch a digital transport corridor ecosystem in the five Eurasian member countries. The document approved by the EEC Council includes priority services, in which EAEU member countries have expressed an interest. The ecosystem is due to be created by 2025.
Russian news
11 November
Experts warn of a new cyber-fraud scheme
Group-IB experts are warning that cybercriminals have started using a Twitch streaming platform to copy popular gamer streams and add banners with the promise of easy earnings to hack into credit card data. The average number of accounts in use at any one time on the platform is 1.5 million.
16 November
A bill of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, due to be discussed next week, proposes that telecom operators be forced to install technology to combat phone-based fraud and establish the source of traffic. Subscribers will be able to lodge a complaint about a specific number with the operator, who will forward it to a special verification system. If a case of spam or fraud is confirmed, the operator will be obliged to block the number.
17 November
Experts name the main types of malware used in cyber-attacks against Russians
According to a Check Point research, banking Trojans, crypto miners and viruses are the most often used tools to infect browsers in attacks on computers in Russia and elsewhere. The modular Emotet Trojan is the most common malware, attacking 13% of organisations in Russia and worldwide. The most active malware in Russia is the Trickbot banking Trojan and the XMRig crypto miner, according to the agency’s May-October 2020 report.
23 November
Experts name complex cyber threat trends for 2021
According to a Kaspersky Lab statement, experts have predicted how the complex cyber threat landscape will change in 2021. One of the key and most dangerous trends is the acquisition of resources by fraudsters for the primary penetration of a victim's network from other cybercriminals. These penetration patterns are used in complex targeted campaigns.
25 November
The Ministry of Internal Affairs recommends stopping conversations asking for card details
The Ministry of Internal Affairs recommends you hang up on anyone asking for your credit card details over the phone and contact your bank immediately clarification.
Research: phishing resources increase by 118% in a year
According to a Group-IB statement, experts have identified and blocked 118% phishing resources during the year. Phishing attacks are on the rise, say analysts, because many people are out of work due to the pandemic and the mechanics of phishing are very simple.
Group-IB: sales of corporate network access quadruple
According to the Group-IB, the volume of access to corporate networks sold on darknet forums has quadrupled over the year to US$ 6.18 million.
Damage from encryption programmes amounts to over Roubles 1 billion per year
According to a Group-IB statement, the lower estimate of the total damage caused by ransomware worldwide exceeded US$ 1 billion over the past year. The actual figure is much higher as companies affected often prefer to cover up the incident by paying ransomware, or the attack is not accompanied by the publication of data from the victim's network. More than 500 public attacks by cryptographers on companies in over 45 countries are publicly known.
27 November
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reports an increase crimes using mobile communications
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of crimes involving mobile communications in Russia has increased by almost 100% since the beginning of the year, and over the Internet — by more than 90%.
Experts recorded a surge in online real estate fraud
Online scammers are increasingly turning their attention to the housing sector. In the past month, the @In4security telegram channel discovered about 10 fake sites mimicking the CIAN real estate database, writes Kommersant. Fraudsters acting as landlords attack "Avito" and "Yula" bulletin board users, redirect them to fake apartment rental sites similar to CIAN, where they are persuaded to transfer an advance payment for rent, and then disappear. The surge in this type of fraud was also confirmed by CIAN itself, which has already hired organisations specialising in fraud protection, and is working to warn customers and block hackers from accessing user contact details.
30 November
Experts name the most popular cyber fraud methods during the pandemic
According to the Russian Agricultural Bank, the pandemic has contributed to a surge in cyber fraud, with the most popular being phishing, where the fraudster tries to gain access to user confidential data and bank accounts.
Previous issues
Previous issues | August 2020, issue 5
Previous issues | July 2020, issue 4
Previous issues | June 2020, issue 3
Previous issues | May 2020, issue 2
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