Archive for October 21, 2024

Omni Family Health Pwned In Cyberattack

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 21, 2024 by itnerd

Omni Family Health, a California-based nonprofit healthcare services organization, is notifying 468,344 individuals that their personal information was compromised in a data breach resulting from a cyberattack that occurred earlier this year.

The organization discovered the security breach on August 7, 2024, following claims that information was taken from its systems and leaked on the dark web. Their investigation revealed that the data posted was that of Omni’s current and former patients and employees.

Data exposed may have included:

  • Names
  • Addresses
  • SSNs
  • DOBs 
  • Health insurance details
  • Medical information

The Hunters International ransomware gang claimed to have stolen 2.7 terabytes of data and listed the organization on its Tor leak site, releasing the stolen information on August 23.

Steve Hahn, EVP Sales US, BullWall has this to say

“As we start to wind down 2024 it has become abundantly clear that Healthcare is the primary (successful) target of these Ransomware gangs. This has been far and away their most profitable year targeting these organizations. Causing 10’s of billions of dollars in impact.

“Healthcare has an enormous attack surface, including personal devices and IoT, that give the threat actors nearly unlimited initial compromise points. They also have the most valuable data. The data that Omni Health is claiming was compromised could be used for 100s of nefarious purposes, such as blackmailing patients of high net worth directly, threatening to release damaging health records such as STI or mental health medication that could be ruinous to the careers of family lives of those patients. In other breaches they even released pictures of female breast cancer patients in a state of undress at what had to have been that patients most fragile state. These threat actors are largely Russia based and have shown there is no low they won’t sink to. These Ransomware Gangs are also likely to sell of the information of patients and the medications they take to buyers on the dark web. This would allow people to impersonate patients and refill their medications, particularly ones with high black market worth. The go-to play book here is to offer customers and patients of Ransomed companies “free credit monitoring”. In this case, an utterly worthless olive branch. In nearly every healthcare breach the lawsuits that ensue far eclipse the ransom payment.”

Once again I am writing a story on healthcare getting pwned. It should be abundantly clear by now that steps need to be taken by this sector to stop the madness. Because as it stands right now, threat actors are having a field day at our expense.

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Here’s A Refund Scam With An Interesting Twist

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 21, 2024 by itnerd

A few minutes ago, I got a scam email that didn’t get filtered out by the junk mail filter on my email server. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first here’s the email:

Now this looks very convincing. There are some giveaways that this is a scam. If you look at the top of the email you will see this text: “Hello, noreply5@ToddHolmesCo. onmicrosoft. com”. That suggests that it is being mass emailed. On top of that, it appears that it was sent by PayPal Mexico as evidenced by this.

What further confirms this is looking at the headers, this was actually sent by PayPal Mexico. But there’s more. There’s a link that says “Pay now” which to my surprise actually goes to PayPal:

So what this looks like to me is that the threat actors behind this scam are trying to get you in one of two ways. If you aren’t paying attention and you actually pay this, the threat actors win. But if you call them to dispute this, you fall into the “refund scam” trap where the threat actors will weave a story that will prompt you to give access to your computer to the scammers so that they can steal your money. Thus again they win. I have to admit that this is crafty.

To confirm this, I have forwarded the email along with the headers to PayPal for investigation. If they confirm that my observations are accurate, then this is a pretty scary development as it illustrates that scammers are evolving. The other thing that I have done is posted this on a number of scambait forums so that the scambait community can go after these people and disrupt their activities.

More info as it comes.

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ASUS Announces the ExpertBook P5

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 21, 2024 by itnerd

 ASUS today announces that the ExpertBook P5 (P5405), a groundbreaking Copilot+ PC designed to empower modern professionals is now available in Canada, starting October 21st. Available through the ASUS Store, Costco, and select retailers, it comes in four configurations starting at CA$1,299.99.

Powered by up to the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor (Series 2) with 47 NPU TOPS, the laptop delivers up to 3X the AI performance boost compared to the previous generation. Featuring ASUS AI ExpertMeet, this AI-driven powerhouse streamlines workflows and enhances collaboration. Its sleek, durable aluminum chassis houses a stunning 2.5K 144 Hz display, delivering exceptional visuals. With a 1.29 kg feather-light design, robust security features, and a focus on sustainability, ExpertBook P5 is the perfect companion for on-the-go professionals seeking peak performance and efficiency.

The future of work

Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, ExpertBook P5 boasts a premium aluminum design that seamlessly blends aesthetics and ergonomics. Despite its lightweight construction, at just 1.29 kg, P5 offers exceptional durability — meeting the exacting US MIL-STD 810H military standard. Its thoughtfully designed workspace, featuring conveniently placed function keys and a spacious mouse area, optimizes productivity and comfort during video conferences and multitasking. Engineered with the ASUS ExpertCool thermal structure, a newly-enhanced cooling design, the ExpertBook P5 ensures consistent, optimal cooling whether the lid is open or closed, guaranteeing peak performance even during extended usage. It is a productivity powerhouse designed to elevate professional performance, empowering users to achieve their full potential.

Forwarding the ASUS commitment to sustainability, ExpertBook P5 also represents a significant advancement in sustainable technology. This intelligent product has significantly enhanced its circularity by 10% to reach 50%, utilizing Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) for performance measurement. By incorporating recycled materials and a modular design, ExpertBook P5 directly addresses the pressing issue of e-waste.

Experience the power of AI in meetings

ASUS ExpertBook P5 benefits from the all-new ASUS AI ExpertMeet, an on-device AI assistant that transforms meetings into productive and engaging experiences, leverages advanced AI capabilities to enhance audio, video, and collaboration features, ensuring seamless communication and capturing every important detail.

AI ExpertMeet offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered features to elevate every meeting experience. AI Meeting Minutes accurately captures and transcribe meetings, generating detailed summaries and identifying key points from multiple speakers. The AI Translated Subtitles feature provides translations, ensuring seamless communication across languages. Additionally, the Watermark function allows video calls to be personalized with customizable business card information and screen watermarks for added security and professionalism. All powered by on-device intelligence, personal data remains secure, allowing users to focus on ideas without privacy concerns – empower teams with the latest AI technology and unlocking the full potential of virtual collaborations.

ASUS ExpertGuardian: the ultimate guardian for confidential data

ASUS ExpertBook P5‘s robust security arsenal safeguards critical data. Engineered with a commercial-grade and NIST SP 800-155-compliant BIOS, it provides a foundational layer of protection against firmware attacks. Coupled with Windows 11 Secured-core PC technologies, the ExpertBook P5 creates a fortified defense against software vulnerabilities. To ensure long-term security, ASUS offers a comprehensive five-year support for BIOS and driver updates, safeguarding the system against emerging threats.

Complementing this robust hardware-based security, ExpertBook P5 includes a complimentary one-year McAfee+ Premium membership. This comprehensive security suite leverages McAfee Smart AI™ for advanced threat detection, including AI-powered deepfake detection to protect against sophisticated social engineering attacks. Additionally, email scam protection provides an extra layer of defense against phishing attempts.

ASUS Business Support

Understanding the critical needs of modern professionals, ASUS Business Support is not merely a warranty — it’s a comprehensive service package that includes on-site repairs, dedicated technical assistance and 24/7 customer support. This robust support framework ensures that every ExpertBook user experiences minimal downtime and receives personalized solutions to their technical issues.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is available in 4 different configurations starting from October 21st, 2024.

The 4 specifications are available on the ASUS Store, ranging from CA$1,299 to CA$1,799 both for B2B and B2C customers.

The ExpertBook P5 (P5404) with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor 226V, 512 GB M.2 PCIe® 4.0 2280 SSD, an upgradeable M.2 2230 SSD slot, 16 GB LPDDR5X-8533 RAM and Windows 11 Home is now available starting from CA$1,299 on the ASUS Store and Costco.

An additional version with Windows 11 Pro is available on the ASUS Store and selected retailers for CA$1,399.

The ExpertBook P5 (P5404) with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V, 1 TB M.2 PCIe® 4.0 2280 SSD, an upgradeable M.2 2230 SSD slot, 32 GB LPDDR5X-8533 RAM and Windows 11 Pro is now available starting from CA$1,799 on the ASUS Store and selected retailers.

An additional version with Windows 11 Home will be available later starting from October 28th on the ASUS Store and selected retailers, starting from CA$1,699.

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How Scammers Are Using Google Ads To Get You To Fall For Their Scams

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 21, 2024 by itnerd

One thing that I always cover when I speak to community groups about avoiding scams is to not trust the results that search engines provide. Simply put, scammers can use a variety of techniques to put themselves ahead of legitimate phones numbers and websites on Google. That in turn makes it far more likely that someone will engage with that ad and fall for a scam because they are leveraging the fact that humans tend to click on the first or second search result when they look for something.

Here’s an example of that that I found on Reddit yesterday:

Now I wasn’t able to replicate this search result with implies that the ad might have been taken down. You’ll note that I said ad in the previous sentence as this is an advertisement that is designed to pop up when certain keywords are used. In this case, “Bell Internet Customer Service”. This isn’t a new technique that scammers use to prey on the unsuspecting. But it is the first time I have seen it in association with a Canadian telco like Bell. Now you’re likely wondering how I know that this is an ad. For starters it says “sponsored” right above the words “5G mobile”. And if you see that word, that isn’t a search result that you can rely upon. Ever.

So what happens when you go to 5gmobilebell.ca? You go to this website:

In terms of look and feel, this isn’t even in the same star system as Bell’s website. So while it is possible that someone might get fooled and fall for this, I would imagine that their success rate would be pretty low. That’s further reinforced by this:

Clearly these losers used a template to build this website and couldn’t even fill out even the most basic details of the template. But again, that likely won’t stop someone from falling for it and calling the number.

As for calling the number to find out what the scam is, I tried calling but didn’t get an answer. But a few minutes later I got a call back from a US number which was clearly spoofed as Bell which is a Canadian telco would never call you from a US number. I couldn’t be bothered to answer the call as the effort level that was put in by these scammers is pathetically low. So I turned this information over to the scambait community to see if they can have some fun with these losers. Having said that, this could easily have been far more dangerous because they started this scam with the technique of buying ads to ensure that their scam pops up at the top of Google’s search results which is known for being successful at separating people from their money. That means that you need to be aware of this so that you don’t end up being one of those people who are separated from their money by a scammer.

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