Tag Archive for: farms

Ukrainian Forces Shutter Bot Farms and Illicit VPN Provider

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Cybercrime
,
Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Arrests Made and Computer Equipment Seized

Mihir Bagwe (MihirBagwe) •
May 5, 2023    

Ukrainian Forces Shutter Bot Farms and Illicit VPN Provider
[7:17 PM] David Perera Security Service of Ukraine officials conduct a raid on botnet operators. (Image: Security Service of Ukraine) like 1

Ukrainian law enforcement dismantled more than half a dozen bot farms and a virtual private network infrastructure spreading disinformation and fake Russian propaganda.

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The cyber specialists of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police seized thousands of SIM cards, bank cards, GSM gateways and other specialized equipment used to support a network of 5,000 anonymous social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The accounts had almost 200,000 users. Police did not disclose the exact number of arrests, which took place in nine separate regions of Ukraine.

This takedown is the latest in a string of raids on botnet operators, including the December 2022 dismantling of more than a dozen bot farms, the September 2022 takedown of two bot farms and the August 2022 dismantling of a group that operated more than 1 million bots.

The SBU on Monday also seized operations of an illicit VPN the agency said had been used by Russians to conduct disinformation operations.

The police arrested two persons from Poltava and one from the Kharkiv region of Ukraine in association with the illegal activity.

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Internet services company Cloudflare blocks Kiwi Farms citing ‘targeted threats’

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Internet hosting and security services provider Cloudflare said Saturday that it would block Kiwi Farms, a website associated with harassment campaigns against transgender people.

The announcement puts the future of the fringe internet forum in doubt, though some of its members had already anticipated that Cloudflare could act and began to explore other options.

When attempting to visit Kiwi Farms’ website Saturday evening, an error message appeared that said: “Due to an imminent and emergency threat to human life, the content of this site is blocked from being accessed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure.”

The move comes after Cloudflare became the subject of a pressure campaign by a trans Twitch streamer who has been a target of abuse by Kiwi Farms users.

The streamer, Clara Sorrenti, known to fans as Keffals, responded Saturday in a tweet. “Cloudflare has dropped Kiwi Farms. Our campaign will put out a statement soon,” she said.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince’s announced the move in a blog post and did not mention Sorrenti by name, but said that abuse from Kiwi Farms had intensified in response to her campaign.

“This is an extraordinary decision for us to make and, given Cloudflare’s role as an Internet infrastructure provider, a dangerous one that we are not comfortable with,” Cloudflare’s statement said.

“However, the rhetoric on the Kiwifarms site and specific, targeted threats have escalated over the last 48 hours to the point that we believe there is an unprecedented emergency and immediate threat to human life unlike we have previously seen from Kiwifarms or any other customer before.”

On Friday, NBC News reported that Sorrenti is one of Kiwi Farms’ growing list of targets, and that their harassment techniques could become a playbook against political enemies as the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears.

Kiwi Farms owner Josh Moon did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday from NBC News. A post on the Kiwi Farms Telegram account said Cloudflare’s decision was “done without any discussion.”

“The message I’ve received is a vague suspension notice. The message from Matthew Prince is unclear,” the post stated. “If there is any threat to…

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Italian spyware farm’s hacking tools target Apple, Android phones

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An Italy-based firm’s hacking tools were used to spy on Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan, Google said Thursday, casting a light on a ‘flourishing’ spyware industry.

Google’s threat analysis team said spyware made by RCS Lab targeted the phones using a combination of tactics including unusual ‘drive-by downloads’ that happen without victims being aware.

Concerns over spyware were fueled by media outlets reporting last year that Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus tools were used by governments to surveil opponents, activists and journalists.

‘They claim to only sell to customers with legitimate use for surveillance ware, such as intelligence and law enforcement agencies,’ mobile cybersecurity specialist Lookout said of companies like NSO and RCS.

‘In reality, such tools have often been abused under the guise of national security to spy on business executives, human rights activists, journalists, academics and government officials,’ Lookout added.

Google’s report said the RCS spyware it uncovered, and which was dubbed ‘Hermit’, is the same one that Lookout reported on previously.

Lookout researchers said that in April they found Hermit being used by the government of Kazakhstan inside its borders to spy on smartphones, just months after anti-government protests in that country were suppressed.

‘Like many spyware vendors, not much is known about RCS Lab and its clientele,’ Lookout said. ‘But based on the information we do have, it has a considerable international presence.’

Evidence suggests Hermit was used in a predominantly Kurdish region of Syria, the mobile security company said.

Analysis of Hermit showed that it can be employed to gain control of smartphones, recording audio, redirecting calls, and collecting data such as contacts, messages, photos and location, Lookout researchers said.

Google and Lookout noted the spyware spreads by getting people to click on links in messages sent to targets.

‘In some cases, we believe the actors worked with the target’s ISP (internet service provider) to disable the…

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Computer security experts join fight to shut down cannabis farms – bcs.org

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Newcastle University’s Centre for Cybercrime and Computer Security (CCCS) has joined the fight to shut down the UK’s cannabis farms. With an estimated £200 million of electricity stolen every year in order to power illegal cannabis farms across the UK …
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