We set out to craft the perfect phishing scam. Major AI chatbots were happy to help.
Silver Hearts Foundation, a new charity dedicated to providing the elderly with care and companionship. “We believe every senior deserves dignity and joy in their golden years,” it read. “By clicking here, you’ll discover heartwarming stories of seniors we’ve helped and learn how you can join our mission.” But the charity was fake, and the email’s purpose was to defraud seniors out of large sums of money. Its author: Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence chatbot, Grok.
The countdown is on – Chinese firms now have just an hour to report cybersecurity incidents
New regulations in China mean that firms now have just an hour to report cybersecurity incidents which would fall into ‘particularly serious’ or ‘serious’ categories. The Cyberspace Administration of China has rolled out these strict new rules, set to start November 1 to tighten up their security response. To fall under the highest degree of severity, the incident could disrupt over 50% of the province’s population, or involve the needs of over 10 million people in daily life, like utilities, healthcare, transport, or groceries. It could also involve portals of provincial or higher officials or government agencies, or involve key national news sites.
Jaguar Land Rover extends shutdown after cyberattack by another week
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced today that it will extend the production shutdown for another week, following a devastating cyberattack that impacted its systems at the end of August. JRL is a standalone entity under Tata Motors India, following its acquisition from Ford in 2008. JLR employs approximately 39,000 people, makes more than 400,000 vehicles each year, and has reported an annual revenue of over $38 billion (£29 billion). The British automaker has been working to resume operations since it disclosed the attack on September 2, stating that its production had been significantly disrupted. Last week, JLR also confirmed that the attackers stole “some data” during the breach and instructed staff not to report to work.
Microsoft seizes 338 websites to disrupt rapidly growing ‘RaccoonO365’ phishing service
Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has disrupted RaccoonO365, the fastest-growing tool used by cybercriminals to steal Microsoft 365 usernames and passwords (“credentials”). Using a court order granted by the Southern District of New York, the DCU seized 338 websites associated with the popular service, disrupting the operation’s technical infrastructure and cutting off criminals’ access to victims. This case shows that cybercriminals don’t need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm—simple tools like RaccoonO365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk. RaccoonO365, tracked by Microsoft as Storm-2246, offers subscription-based phishing kits. These let anyone—even those with little technical skill—steal Microsoft credentials by mimicking official Microsoft communications. To deceive users, RaccoonO365’s kits use Microsoft branding to make fraudulent emails, attachments, and websites appear legitimate, enticing recipients to open, click, and enter their information.
BreachForums Owner Sent to Prison in Resentencing
The owner of the infamous cybercrime website BreachForums was resentenced to prison, after his initial sentence of supervised release was vacated. The man, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, 22, of Peekskill, New York, was arrested and charged in March 2023, and BreachForums was taken down only days after. According to court documents, Fitzpatrick admitted to being the owner and administrator of BreachForums, under the moniker of Pompompurin. He also agreed to forfeit over 100 domain names linked to the cybercrime marketplace. In January 2024, he was sentenced to time served and 20 years of supervised release. However, between his arrest and sentencing, he stayed in jail for only 17 days, as he was granted pretrial release on bond, and arrested again before sentencing for violating the conditions of the bond.
