Do you have remote login software TeamViewer installed on your desktop? If Yes, then it could be possible that your system can be accessed by attackers to steal your personal details, including your bank and PayPal accounts, as several reports on Reddit and Twitter suggests.
According to recent reports, the popular TeamViewer software that is used to remotely control PCs appears to have been HACKED! Over the past few days, a number of users headed on to the Internet forums to report that unknown attackers are taking control of their computers through their TeamViewer accounts and, in some cases, trying to steal money through services like eBay or PayPal. This same behavior has also been reported by the IBM security researcher Nick Bradley, who said:
"In the middle of my gaming session, I lose control of my mouse, and the TeamViewer window pops up in the bottom right corner of my screen. As soon as I realize what is happening, I kill the application. Then it dawns on me: I have other machines running TeamViewer!"
But, the question still remains: What really happened to TeamViewer? Actually, no one knows, at least, for now. Because no evidence indicates a system-wide security breach at TeamViewer that could have given the attackers some sort of backdoor into users' PCs. TeamViewer has also reacted by strongly denying the claims that the intrusions are the result of a hack on TeamViewer's network. Instead, the account takeovers are the result of end users' carelessness. Moreover, the company referred to the recent widespread "mega breaches" that have dumped over 642 Million passwords over the past month.
"As you have probably heard, there have been unprecedented large-scale data thefts on popular social media platforms and other web service providers," the company wrote.
"Unfortunately, credentials stolen in these external breaches have been used to access TeamViewer accounts, as well as other services."
However, TeamViewer stands strong by its statement that a Denial of Service (DoS) attack knocked some of its servers offline on Wednesday, but the company managed to bring them back online after a few hours. The company advised its users to avoid careless use of its service and always:
Use a different password for each account.
Use two-factor authentication.
Use a password manager.
Don't tell other people your passwords.
Moreover, TeamViewer also announced two new features on Friday aimed at boosting its users' security after numerous users flocked online to complain about getting hacked through its service. The two new features are:
Trusted Devices
Data Integrity
The Trusted Devices feature is specifically designed to prevent hackers from taking over your TeamViewer account. The feature allows you to approve the new device as trusted before it can access an existing TeamViewer account for the first time. The device approval process is conducted by clicking a validation link sent to the account owner's email address. The second feature, dubbed Data Integrity, works by automatically monitoring a user's account activity. If it detects any unusual behavior that might suggest account has been hacked, the service forces users to reset their password.
Here's What you should do:
TeamViewer users are strongly recommended to change their account passwords and use a strong one, and of course, NOT to use the same credentials across multiple sites. I know, remembering different passwords for different accounts is a real pain, but you can use a good password manager to solve this issue. Meanwhile, users should also ensure their TeamViewer accounts are protected with a randomly generated password that is at least 10 characters long, contains numbers, symbols, and uppercase and lowercase letters, and is unique. It is always a good idea to run the TeamViewer software only when it's truly needed, instead of allowing it to auto-start each time your PC is turned on. If you have also experienced something fishy with your TeamViewer account, let us know in the comments below. Thanks and stay blessed!
LinkedIn's 2012 data breach was much worse than anybody first thought. In 2012, LinkedIn suffered a massive data breach in which more than 6 Million users accounts login details, including encrypted passwords, were posted online by a Russian hacker. Now, it turns out that it was not just 6 Million users who got their login details stolen. Latest reports emerged that the 2012's LinkedIn data breach may have resulted in the online sale of sensitive account information, including emails and passwords, of about 117 Million LinkedIn users. Almost after 4 years, a hacker under the nickname "Peace" is offering for sale what he/she claims to be the database of 167 Million emails and hashed passwords, which included 117 Million already cracked passwords, belonging to LinkedIn users. Also Read: Popular Social Site Vk.com Hacked ! 100 Million Passwords Leaked Online The hacker, who is selling the stolen data on the illegal Dark Web marketplace "The Real Deal" for 5 Bitcoins (roughly $2,200), has spoken to Motherboard, confirming these logins come from the 2012 data breach. Since the passwords have been initially encrypted with the SHA1 algorithm, with "no salt," it just took 'LeakedSource', the paid search engine for hacked data, 72 hours to crack roughly 90% of the passwords. Troy Hunt, an independent researcher who operates "Have I Been Pwned?" site, reached out to a number of the victims who confirmed to Hunt that the leaked credentials were legitimate. The whole incident proved that LinkedIn stored your passwords in an insecure way and that the company did not make it known exactly how widespread the data breach was at the time. In response to this incident, a LinkedIn spokesperson informs that the company is investigating the matter. Also Read: Facebook Founder Zuckerberg's Twitter, Pinterest accounts gets Hacked! And the Password was... In 2015, Linkedin also agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over 2012's security breach by paying a total of $1.25 million to victims in the U.S, means $50 to each of them. According to the lawsuit, the company violated its privacy policy and an agreement with premium subscribers that promised it would keep their personal information safe. However, now new reports suggest that a total 167 Million LinkedIn accounts were breached, instead of just 6 million. Assuming, if at least 30% of hacked LinkedIn Accounts belongs to Americans, then the company has to pay more than $15 Million. Meanwhile, I recommend you to change your passwords (and keep a longer and stronger one this time) and enable two-factor authentication for your LinkedIn accounts as soon as possible. Also, do the same for other online accounts if you are using same passwords on multiple sites. Thanks and stay blessed!
The man who runs the biggest social network and continuously implements new security measures to boost its billion users security, himself failed to follow basics of Internet security for his own online accounts. Yes, I’m talking about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had his Twitter and Pinterest accounts compromised on Sunday. The hacker group from Saudi Arabia, dubbed OurMine, claimed responsibility for the hack and guess how the group did it?
The hackers tweeted that they found Zuck's account credentials in the recent LinkedIn data breach, from which they took his SHA1-hashed password string and then broke it and tried on several social media accounts. The group, which has more than 40,000 Twitter followers, then successfully broke into Zuck's Twitter (@finkd) and Pinterest profile and defaced its banners with its logo as well as tweeted out some offensive posts. Mr. Zuckerberg has not sent a tweet from the account since 2012. Now, what’s more surprising? Zuckerberg's LinkedIn password was "dadada", which he also used for his other online accounts, the group tweeted. So, this might be another alarm for those who haven’t yet changed passwords for their LinkedIn as well as other online accounts that used the same credentials. Also Read: Popular Social Site Vk.com Hacked ! 100 Million Passwords Leaked Online In tweets now deleted, the group also claimed to have gained accessed to Zuck’s Instagram account, but Facebook confirmed that the group did not access his Instagram account.
"No Facebook systems or accounts were accessed," a Facebook spokesperson said. "The affected accounts have been re-secured."
More than 167 Million members' email and password combinations were hacked during a 2012 LinkedIn data breach and had just been posted online. The passwords were encrypted with the SHA1 algorithm with "no salt" that made it easier for hackers to crack them. Like other data breaches, I suggest you change your password immediately, especially if you use the same password for other websites. Thanks and stay blessed!
