Tag Archive for: Amazon

Former Amazon Security Engineer Sentenced to Three Years in Crypto Hacking Case


U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York on Friday sentenced former Amazon security engineer Shakeeb Ahmed to three years in prison in connection with a cryptocurrency hacking scheme.

Ahmed, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of computer fraud in December, acknowledging that he hacked two crypto exchanges and stole more than $12 million in cryptocurrency in the summer of 2022. He was ordered to forfeit about $12.3 million and pay more than $5 million in restitution.

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Amazon GuardDuty Enhances Security Across Industries with Advanced Malware Protection


Amazon’s GuardDuty, a comprehensive threat detection service, has significantly expanded its capabilities to offer advanced malware protection to its tens of thousands of users across various sectors worldwide. This addition is designed to strengthen defenses against a growing range of cybersecurity threats by integrating sophisticated file scanning for workloads on Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes to identify malware presence. GuardDuty’s continuous evolution in its security approach highlights Amazon’s commitment to protecting its customers’ resources and data from unauthorized access and other cyber risks.

Robust Defense Mechanisms Against Cyber Threats

Amazon GuardDuty leverages machine learning (ML), anomaly detection, and integrated threat intelligence to identify and prioritize potential threats. This innovative approach enables GuardDuty to detect unusual or unauthorized activities, such as cryptocurrency mining, accessing Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) data from suspicious locations, and unauthorized access to Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) clusters. By constantly updating its ML models and adding new anomaly detections, GuardDuty stays ahead of cybercriminals, ensuring robust security for its users.

GuardDuty Malware Protection: A Game-Changer for Cybersecurity

The introduction of GuardDuty Malware Protection marks a significant advancement in Amazon’s cybersecurity efforts. This feature extends GuardDuty’s capabilities to scan files on Amazon EBS volumes for malware, adding an extra layer of security for cloud workloads. It represents a proactive approach to cybersecurity, enabling real-time detection and response to potential threats. This development not only enhances the security posture of Amazon’s cloud environment but also offers peace of mind to the thousands of businesses relying on Amazon’s cloud services for their operations.

Implications for Businesses and Future Outlook

The continuous enhancement of Amazon GuardDuty, including the latest malware protection capabilities, underscores the importance of advanced cybersecurity measures in today’s digital…

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Did The Grand Theft Auto Hacker Do It With An Amazon Fire Stick While Under Police Custody?


An 18-year-old hacker, Arion Kurtaj, a key member of the international cyber-criminal gang Lapsus$, has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after leaking clips of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6). The sentencing, delivered at Southwark Crown Court, sheds light on the extent of the gang’s audacious attacks on tech giants, including Uber, Nvidia, and Rockstar Games, which collectively cost the affected companies nearly $10 million.

Kurtaj, who hails from Oxford and is diagnosed with autism, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to the severity of his condition. The court heard that despite being under police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he managed to breach Rockstar Games, the developers behind GTA, using unconventional methods.

While on bail for hacking Nvidia and BT/EE, Kurtaj reportedly continued his cyber activities. Using an Amazon Fire TV Stick, he allegedly mirrored his smartphone’s display to the hotel TV, transforming it into a makeshift monitor. Connecting a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to his smartphone, he exploited the device’s “desktop mode” (DeX) capabilities, essentially turning it into a Linux computer. The Fire TV Stick, in this context, acted as a wireless HDMI cable via Miracast.

Kurtaj’s actions resulted in the theft of 90 clips of the unreleased GTA 6, which he later posted, along with the source code, on a forum under the username “TeaPotUberHacker.” The hack reportedly cost Rockstar Games $5 million to recover from, in addition to thousands of hours of staff time.

In sentencing hearings, Kurtaj’s defense argued that the success of the GTA 6 trailer, released earlier this month and amassing 128 million views on YouTube in just four days, indicated minimal harm caused by the hack. However, the judge emphasized the real victims and harm caused by Kurtaj’s multiple cyberattacks, not only on corporations, but also on individuals.

The trial also saw…

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The Best Amazon Cyber Monday Deals (Of The Thousands We’ve Scanned So Far)


What we like: Our top pick for the best local-video baby monitor. Offers clear video, audio, and talk-back, as well as intuitive controls, a solid battery life, and the ability to add cameras. Can remotely pan the camera from side to side and tilt it up and down. We like that the included white noise, lullabies, and night-lights can remain useful into the toddler years and beyond.

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