Ransomware attacks have never been this popular, a new report from cybersecurity researchers Securin, Ivanti, and Cyware has stated.
New ransomware groups are emerging constantly, and new vulnerabilities being exploited are being discovered almost daily, the alert says, but out of all the different hardware and software, Microsoft’s products are being targeted the most.
In general, attackers are now targeting more than 7,000 products built by 121 vendors, all used by businesses in their day-to-day operations. Most products belong to Microsoft, which has 135 vulnerabilities associated with ransomware, the researchers claim. For 59 vulnerabilities there is a complete MITRE ATT&CK kill chain, which includes two brand-new flaws. Eighteen flaws aren’t being flagged by antivirus programs, it was said in the report.
In just March 2023, there had been more breaches reported, than in all three previous years combined. It’s also important to mention here that most cybersecurity incidents never get reported, too. In the first quarter of the year, the researchers discovered 12 new vulnerabilities used in ransomware attacks, three-quarters of which (73%) were trending in the dark web.
The number of vulnerabilities discovered in open source software (OSS) is also growing, and now counts 119 flaws associated with ransomware attacks. Since OSS is used by a growing number of companies, this is an “extremely pressing concern”, the researchers concluded.
Now, 52 groups are engaged in ransomware attacks, since DEV-0569 and Karakurt entered the fray.
If you think things are worse than they ever were - wait a few months, as the researchers believe they’re about to get a lot worse.
According to Srinivas Mukkamala, Chief Product Officer at Ivanti, once artificial intelligence (AI) starts getting (ab)used at scale, cyberattacks are going to get even more devastating.
"We are only now starting to see the beginning of threat actors using AI to mount their attacks,” he says. “With polymorphic malware attacks and copilots for offensive computing becoming a reality, the situation will only become more complex. While not seen in the wild yet, it is only a matter of time before ransomware authors use AI to expand the list of vulnerabilities and exploits being used. This global challenge needs a global response to truly combat threat actors and keep them at bay."
We've got more leaks of the upcoming Motorola Razr 2023 foldable to bring you – and it looks as though the smaller screen on the outside of the device is going to be capable of running full apps and even supporting a keyboard.
This comes from well-known tipster Evan Blass (via 9to5Google), who has posted a pile of images and videos of the flip phone ahead of its official unveiling. We can see apps and games running full screen on the cover display, and a keyboard popping up.
There's what looks like a mapping app on show here, as well as an app that appears to be TikTok. One of the videos shows a user tapping away on the cover screen keyboard to respond to a contact in an instant message conversation.
These photos and videos look very much like official promotional materials designed by Motorola, so we'll probably see something like them when the phone is unveiled. That's rumored to be happening around August time, a year after the Razr 2022.
This sort of full app support for the cover display is a welcome feature: it matches what we've seen on previous Razr flip foldables, and it's something that you don't get on similar phones from other manufacturers (like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4).
From what we've heard so far, it sounds as though the 2023 version of the Motorola Razr is going to be a significant upgrade over its predecessor, and we've already seen pictures of the handset showing off the larger cover screen this time around.
Evan Blass is a leaker with a strong track record and we don't have any reason to doubt the information and the media that he shares. In the same tweet thread as the images and video, Blass has also outlined how the branding of the Razr 2023 is going to work.
As has been hinted at previously, we're apparently going to get two Razr models in 2023, differing in terms of specs and price, if not design. Blass says that the more premium phone will be the Razr Plus in the US and the Razr 40 Ultra everywhere else.
That Razr 40 Ultra name has come up before. Presumably the standard models will be the Razr in the US and the Razr 40 in other regions – we'll have to wait and see which of the rumored specs apply to which of the handsets.
It's a somewhat confusing approach, and we're not entirely sure the reason for it – but it's something Motorola has been doing for years. The recent Motorola Edge 40 Pro, for example, is known as the Edge Plus in the United States.
Unscrupulous developers are taking advantage of the AI chatbot craze to trick people out of their hard-earned money, and it’s working.
Cybersecurity researchers from Sophos have analyzed Google’s and Apple’s mobile app stores and found multiple fake ChatGPT apps which, through dubious practices, forced users into subscribing to a service.
One such developer “earned” more than a million dollars in one month, alone.
While the apps aren't particularly damaging or malware in the sense that they'll destroy the device or steal information, they will try and get the victims to pay. The apps claim to offer the functionality of ChatGPT (which is basically an AI-powered chatbot) and offer a free trial (or a free model with ads), and a paid subscription model. The free/ads model is either heavily limited (available for three days, for example) or comes with so many ad popups and distractions that it’s simply unusable.
The paid model ranges from $10 a month to $300+ a year. So far, some developers earned $10,000 in March. Others raked in more than a million in the same timeframe.
The worst part is that ChatGPT is free to use and can be accessed via this link. The apps, on the other hand, are often poorly written and implemented even worse, which means the apps sometimes don’t even function as intended, regardless of if the user paid for the premium version or not.
According to Sophos’ researchers, the trick is to get people to subscribe to the service, and then forget they subscribed, or think they can unsubscribe by simply uninstalling the app. Faking app reviews and comments, as well as inflating download numbers, is also part of the deception.
So far, Sophos found five such apps, both on the Play Store and the App Store, and reported them to their respective owners. Users who already downloaded such apps should follow their vendors’ guidelines on how to subscribe, as simply deleting the app will not cancel the subscription.
“Scammers have and always will use the latest trends or technology to line their pockets. ChatGPT is no exception," said Sean Gallagher, principal threat researcher, Sophos.
"With interest in AI and chatbots arguably at an all-time high, users are turning to the Apple App and Google Play Stores to download anything that resembles ChatGPT. These types of scam apps—what Sophos has dubbed ‘fleeceware’—often bombard users with ads until they sign up for a subscription. They’re banking on the fact that users won’t pay attention to the cost or simply forget that they have this subscription. They’re specifically designed so that they may not get much use after the free trial ends, so users delete the app without realizing they’re still on the hook for a monthly or weekly payment."
CEO of Sega, Haruki Satomi, and CFO Koichi Fukuzawa have alluded to raising the price of specific titles to bring them in line with other AAA titles published by the likes of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo.
"In the global marketplace, AAA game titles for console have been sold at $59.99 for many years, but titles sold at $69.99 have appeared in the last year," Satomi and Fukuzawa said in a financial earnings call. "We would like to review the prices of titles that we believe are commensurate with price increases”.
Sega is slightly late to the price-raising party as multiple publishers have already shifted top AAA games to the heights of $70. PlayStation first advertised God of War Ragnarok for $70 on the PS5, and Xbox will also price Starfield at this amount for the Xbox Series X|S. It seems as if this is the new norm for the gaming industry.
"We are currently considering increasing the prices of some titles, but no concrete decisions have been made at this stage," they said. The Digital Deluxe Edition for Sonic Frontiers already costs $70, with the Standard Edition going for $60. So while nothing is certain yet, it’s no surprise that this may be standard practice the next time Sega rolls out a Sonic title to follow Sonic Frontiers.
While it’s true that development costs have increased over the last decade and many publishers need to reflect this in the new games prices, it doesn’t make the news any easier to swallow.
Many of us remember having to save up for months to split the cost of games with a sibling or friend even when the standard price was $40 for AAA titles. Having to readjust this, in a cost-of-living crunch, for $70 games is going to be even harder for some.
Economies change, and standards shift, but that doesn’t mean people should get priced out of gaming, especially younger generations who’ll now have less access to top titles. It’s admirable that Sega held out for as long as it did, and while any changes aren’t certain, it was only a matter of time before the tides swept Sega away with the rest of the big publishers.
