North Korean Hackers Successfully Phished Cyber Researchers Using a Fake Blog

A recent phishing campaign by North Korean nation-state hackers successfully duped a number of security professionals who were involved in vulnerability research and development, according to a new report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group.

The unnamed threat group used various social engineering tactics to pose as fellow “white hat” security specialists, ensnaring the unsuspecting experts by convincing them that they were looking to collaborate on research, the TAG report shows.

The biggest part of this ruse involved the creation of a fake research blog, replete with write-ups and analysis. The hackers even lured in unsuspecting “guest” security writers to contribute, in an apparent “attempt to build additional credibility.” They also posted YouTube videos via social media in which they deconstructed “fake exploits” that they had executed—another scheme to build trust.

A number of threat researchers spoke out on Twitter Monday night, claiming they had been targeted by the campaign.

The hackers loaded their blog with malware, in an attempt to compromise researchers who visited it. Clicking on a write-up hosted on the site delivered malware and created a backdoor that would “begin beaconing” (i.e., communicating) with the hacker group’s command and control server. Zero-day vulnerabilities were likely used in this campaign, as a majority of targeted individuals were running fully patched Chrome browser and Windows 10 versions, the report notes.

Other methods of malware deployment occurred through “collaboration” on research. The report states:

“After establishing initial communications, the actors would ask the targeted researcher if they wanted to collaborate on vulnerability research together, and then provide the researcher with a Visual Studio Project. Within the Visual Studio Project would be source code for exploiting the vulnerability, as well as an additional DLL that would be executed through Visual Studio Build Events. The DLL is custom malware that would immediately begin communicating with actor-controlled C2 domains.”

A variety of tools were used to aid in the threat group’s deception —including emails, fake Twitter and Telegram accounts, LinkedIn, Keybase, and others. In their report, TAG researchers listed the URLs for a number of now-defunct social media and Linkedin accounts that they say were used in the hack.

“We hope this post will remind those in the security research community that they are targets to government-backed attackers and should remain vigilant when engaging with individuals they have not previously interacted with,” TAG researchers wrote.

https://gizmodo.com

Keep Your iPhone 12 and Its Accessories Away From Pacemakers

If you or someone you know has an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), you may want to avoid using an iPhone 12. According to a recent study in the Heart Rhythm Journal, the iPhone 12 and its accessories can interfere with an ICD’s behavior, and even stop it from working.

The study found several components within the iPhone 12 can “potentially inhibit lifesaving therapy in a patient particularly while carrying the phone in upper pockets.” This warning applies to all iPhone 12 devices, including the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Max, and iPhone 12 Max Plus. The iPhone 12’s MagSafe accessories are also a risk, specifically the MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger, due to their magnets and NFC radios.

According to the study, the magnetic charging coils and RF-emitting components in these products are strong enough to interfere with an ICD’s internal mechanisms, which respond to magnetic fields. Researchers observed immediate suspension of the ICD’s heart-regulating operations if an iPhone “was brought close to the ICD over the left chest area.” The interference “persisted for the duration of the test.”

This poses serious health risks, including the possibility of heart failure or cardiac arrest. To help inform users of the potential risks, Apple updated its iPhone 12 health and safety documentation with new guidelines based on the report’s suggestions. Apple now recommends users keep their iPhone 12 and MagSafe accessories more than six inches away from their chest at all times, and more than 12 inches away if your phone is wirelessly charging. Definitely don’t put your iPhone in your shirt or jacket’s breast pocket.

While these warnings are for the iPhone 12 line and its magnetic accessories specifically, they’re not the only products that can affect medical devices. A similar case study shows smartwatches and fitness trackers can interfere with ICDs if they come within 2.4 centimeters of the ICD’s location in a patient’s chest. The iPhone 12 interference is more severe—especially while charging wirelessly—but you should take caution using any smart devices near someone with an ICD.

https://lifehacker.com

LockTrips.com Begins 2021 With a Massive UX Platform Upgrade

Locktrips.com is happy to announce that the deployment of a new marketplace version has just been completed! The deployment is a result of an intense development sprint and comes with plenty of new features such as a simplified user experience via an omnipotent, single click sign-in flow.

This particular feature is a very big deal for LockTrip, because it reduces friction to the search product which is not accessible to unsigned members.

To achieve all of this, we had to re-work the entire sign-up and login flow, which involved more than 300 front-end code changes in the code, with an additional 500+ code changes made in the back-end.

More than a dozen new pages were designed, with various new Email types being introduced for a smooth experience.

All of this work paid off. We are proud to present a radically simplified sign-up and login experience, with powerful functionality.

An Omnipotent Multifunctional Sign-in

With the new deployment, we have fundamentally re-worked the entire sign-up and login flow. As you can see from the screenshots below, signing-up for LockTrips.com is now as easy as clicking one of the instant-login options, or entering your email.

We have removed the requirements to enter your name, phone number, country and even password! Yes, you don’t even need a password!

In the right side screenshot above, you will see that we even save you one more click by pre-fetching your Google accounts. If you are logged into your Google account in your browser, it will show up as a direct option to select, without any input from your side.

Login Floating Bar

We have also added a quick-access floating bar to the bottom of the marketplace, which allows you to choose among the four login options with a single click. This way users can quickly register whenever they decide to (for example after doing a search).

The banner also allows you to enter the site with a single click (no additional confirmation needed). In fact it has now become so easy, that sometimes we enter the marketplace by mistake while doing tests!

Combining Sign-Up and Login

The new account generation flow combines the two processes of sign-up and login into a single one. Previously you had to select whether you want to login or sign-up. From now on we will save you the click!

All you need to do is to select your option (Google, Facebook, Twitter or Email) and our marketplace will automatically check whether an account exists for that user.

If you have an existing account already, it automatically logs you in. If the account is missing, it automatically creates one for you and you can start browsing the marketplace immediately!

Consolidating Sign-Up Methods

Another major feature we are introducing is that all sign-up methods are consolidated into a single account. This means that from now on it will be possible to create an account with your Facebook, but then login with Twitter (if both share the same Email address).

This way you don’t need to remember which method you chose when you first entered the site. All will be valid! And you get to choose the one which is most convenient for you.

Your First Login

Once you enter the site for the first time, the marketplace automatically creates an account on your behalf. As a next step it shows you the two options below.

Your account is created and ready to use even before setting a password (see red arrow)

Choosing the first option will open the discount code field, where you can enter your secret code or a gift card. This will apply the discount to your very first booking, whenever you choose to make it.

In the second option you can enter your validation code, which was delivered to you by email. Entering it will activate your account and give you access to the full range of its features.

User-Friendly Verification codes system

We have applied a customized logic to always generate 4 letter user-friendly codes that are easy to remember and are a combination of:

[syllable]+[vowel]+[syllable]+[vowel]

Such example codes are “SIGA”, “BAPA”, “DADA” or other fun combinations. This format makes manual entering an easy and fun experience.

Alternatively you can simply click the verification link in your Email to complete the process.

Browse Without Activation

As mentioned above, activating your account is an option at first. Once you do it, you will be asked to set your password, which will finalize the account setup.

However, if you choose to skip this step, you can still browse the marketplace and use many of its features.

Users can now unlock pricing without verifying their accounts!

Searching for a destination, choosing hotels and viewing available rooms with their pricing is all possible without setting a password. Only when arriving at the payment page it becomes necessary to verify your email and complete the account setup.

Improved Search Visuals

Another newly introduced feature is the improved search visuals, which will help users to better distinguish between destinations, hotels and apartments.

Other Improvements

In addition to these new features, we have added multiple redundancy mechanisms, which ensure that the marketplace remains fully functional, even if certain elements fail; be it internal or external. This is the continuation of our efforts to be ready for the masses.

We have also greatly improved the user experience for crypto payments, based on the feedback we received from users.

The next development sprint will be devoted towards optimization, scalability, redundancy and failsafe improvement as the core areas. In the meantime we are working on the final tasks before we can launch the completely re-written mobile apps.

We hope that you will like the new features and are looking forward to your feedback!

Special offer: Use our special discount code OPMBZ and save additional 6%

www.locktrips.com

WRITTEN BY

Alexander Jekov