Weekly Roundup: 700M LinkedIn Users Data Leak, 5G Security Vulnerabilities, Ransomware Gang Laundered $500M

Today’s Top Security Roundup includes:

•         Data for 700M LinkedIn Users Posted for Sale
•         5G Security Vulnerabilities Worry Mobile Operators
•         Cl0p Ransomware Gang Laundered Over $500 Million

 

Data for 700M LinkedIn Users Posted for Sale on a Hacker Forum

LinkedIn is not new to data breaches. Just recently, a hacker named ‘GOD User TomLiner” put up the data of 700 million LinkedIn users on RaidForums. The selling post includes a sample of 1 million LinkedIn records as proof.

The sample data was examined, and it was discovered that the leaked records included full names, gender, email addresses, phone numbers, and industry information of LinkedIn users.

LinkedIn claims that no breach has occurred and gave the following statement:

“While we’re still investigating this issue, our initial analysis indicates that the dataset includes information scraped from LinkedIn as well as information obtained from other sources,” according to the company’s press statement. “This was not a LinkedIn data breach, and our investigation has determined that no private LinkedIn member data was exposed. Scraping data from LinkedIn is a violation of our Terms of Service, and we are constantly working to ensure our members’ privacy is protected.”

The company further stated:

“We employ a strict policy of not supporting sellers of stolen data and, therefore, have not purchased the leaked list to verify all of the records.”

LinkedIn said that the company will not go through the sample of the leaked records nor buy the data as it violates its policy and only promotes the data buy/sell culture. LinkedIn further stated that “this time around, we cannot be sure whether or not the records are a cumulation of data from previous breaches and public profiles, or whether the information is from private accounts,” 

Although LinkedIn denies any data breach, the data of 700 million users still exists on the forum and poses a significant threat to LinkedIn users. With confidential details such as user’s email addresses and phone numbers readily available on the site, anyone can buy the data. The buyer would most likely be a hacker who could target individuals via spam emails, or worse, identity theft.

While the leaked records don’t contain detailed sensitive information such as credit card details or private messages, a hacker only needs an email address to map all the digital identities associated with that email address.

Mobile Operators are concerned about 5G Vulnerabilities

Currently, 5G has a limited rollout, but as it becomes mainstream in the coming years, security may be a vital issue for several large-scale organizations, small to medium-sized enterprises, and everyday internet users. A recent study reveals that significant gaps exist in security capabilities among mobile operators.

Presently, several mobile operators sell private wireless networks to enterprise customers, and it’s expected that by the year 2025, with the widespread availability and adaptability, nearly all mobile operators will sell 5G services to customers.

However, from a security perspective, 5G poses a risk for mobile operators as they cannot patch vulnerabilities related to 5G’s network virtualization. With 5G in its initial stages, mobile operators don’t have enough internal knowledge or tools to discover and solve security vulnerabilities at all.

Although smartphone manufacturers have rushed to introduce 5G support on their smartphone lineup, the underlying 5G vulnerabilities pose a serious threat to current 5G users. If you’re using 5G, it’s probably best to switch to 4G until 5G vulnerabilities are rectified.

Cl0p Ransomware Gang Laundered Over $500 Million

Ransomware attacks are at an all-time high, and ransomware gangs are sprawling with new ways to infiltrate your devices, lock you out of your files/system, and demand a ransom.

In the last few months, the cybercrime ring Clop, also known as Cl0p, carried out ransomware attacks against multiple companies, managing to launder $500 million.

Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, closely worked with law enforcement agencies and helped trace the cryptocurrency used in the operations of the Cl0p ransomware gang. As a result, six arrests were made in Kyiv.

According to Binance, TRM Labs, and Crystal, the Cl0p gang laundered at least half a billion dollars, and although the amount isn’t recovered, arrests made is a promising step. To steer clear from ransomware attacks, avoid clicking on suspicious links/email attachments and do not share your private information with others.