Friday, July 29, 2022

Deepfakes are coming, New Phishing attacks come with Countdown clocks. Beware.

The next big security threat is staring us in the face. Tackling it is going to be tough

Deepfakes are getting better at mimicking real people. Soon that's going to be a problem for everyone.

The development of AI and facial recognition has led to many advancements in the tech arena.  However as always the hackers are exploiting this new tech to their advantage.

While ransomware gets the headlines and attention, BEC costs businesses more losses that any other cyber crime.  Some of you may have experienced a BEC attack.  A BEC (business email compromise) attack usually comes in the form of an email purportedly from the boss asking staff to send or authorize financial transactions immediately and discretion is key.

By the time anyone might be suspicious, the cyber criminals have taken the money, likely closed the bank account they used for the transfer – and run. 

My small to medium size business clients have all experienced these emails.  Fortunately the receiver was smart enough to spot or question the validity and the email was a spoof, not a compromised user.  A spoof is when someone uses the email address/identity of someone but the source of the email indicates otherwise.

But if cyber criminals could use a deepfake to make the request, it could be much more difficult for victims to deny the request, because they believe they're actually speaking to their boss on camera. 

Scammers have already used artificial intelligence to convince employees they're speaking to their boss on the phone. Adding the video element will make it even harder to detect that they're actually talking to fraudsters. 

Many companies and organization feature pictures of their staff on their websites or social media pages.  With new programs and techniques, deepfakes are coming.  The FBI has warned that cyber criminals are using deepfakes to apply for remote IT positions.

To read more please click the following link;

The next big security threat is staring us in the face. Tackling it is going to be tough | ZDNet


This phishing attack uses a countdown clock to panic you into handing over passwords

A phishing attack is borrowing a technique from ransomware groups by looking to scare the victim into doing what they want.

There is a new phishing attack with a twist.  If you don't supply them with your credentials within a time limit, POOF!... your account is deleted.

Everyone has been subjected to these emails in the past, some are good in appearance and some down right amateurish.  For the most part Microsoft, Google and others will not email you directly about your credentials.  However, some banks, credit cards and online services do send emails notifying you that your password is expiring.

Always be certain to verify.  If possible do not use links within the emails but verify through a trusted link, perhaps in your favorites.  I always wait until they will not let me login and then use a password reset link.

Be careful and don't panic.

Read more at this link;

This phishing attack uses a countdown clock to panic you into handing over passwords | ZDNet


Chip shortages.

The ongoing chip shortage is continuing to have an impact on availability and cost of new computers.  Intel's 11th generation processors have experienced large price increase in the past 2 months.

An Intel Core i7 11700K processor initially increased $20 last month.  Today the same processor will set you back $70 more than a couple of months ago.

If you are interested in a new Intel DForce workstation please contact us on the www.drivingforce.net website.

Thanks!










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