28/12/2020

Check out the main articles from The Hack during the year

The uniqueness of the year 2020 is unquestionable. 2020 represents a major chapter in human history. The isolation caused by the new coronavirus pandemic has profoundly affected the lives of most people in the world. Humanity faced harsh disasters and political and economic crises during these 12 months. Some directly related to the virus, others not.

Covid-19 also affected the corporate universe, with the home office becoming the new normal. Information security and cyber crime also had to adapt to new global requirements, not only with respect to covid-19, but also taking into account data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), in Brazil and the General Regulation on Data Protection, in Europe.

The main objective of security professionals was to keep the data of the population, companies and governments safe, even in this uncertain scenario. Cybercriminals, on the other hand, celebrated the migration from corporate networks with a certain level of security to home and insecure home office networks.

People crossing the street at Shinjuku station in Tokyo. Photo: Vu-Minh Nguyen. — People crossing the street at Shinjuku station in Tokyo. Photograph: Vu-Minh Nguyen.

Our editor, Ramon de Souza, comments that compared to last year, this year was marked by the dizzying increase in the number of phishing campaigns due to covid-19. “Criminals took advantage of the motto to spread fake emails from hospitals and healthcare organizations, malicious apps from Emergency Aid and so on, ”he recalls.

“I would say that 2020 was also the year of ransomwares 2.0; that is, that in addition to hijacking data, they also steal sensitive information and extort victims to avoid disclosing it on the web. We had the birth and growth of several criminal unions specialized in this type of attack, and the tendency is for it to become even stronger in 2021 ”, says Ramon.

Much damage has been done to humanity this year and although it has come to an end, we still suffer the consequences. Fortunately, the traditional press tells us about vaccine updates every day. But what about data security? Who informs you?

The Hack, which has always worked with great commitment and attachment to information, delivered specialized journalism as it should be: responsible, in-depth and educational. It was not easy. In addition to the challenges of isolation and the economic crisis, during that year, the newsroom covered very delicate issues, that go beyond technology, information security and data leaks. The commitment to the reader, in offering valuable information, but in an objective and accessible way, was the main motivator of the team.

The Hack’s coverage of the coronavirus started early. The first article on the topic entered the portal in February: “Coronavirus causes Apple to lose $ 45 billion in market value”. The strong influence of the virus in the information security sector brought covid-19 into the newsroom routine. The theme is so expressive that “covid-19” even won a separate editorial on the portal.

Editorials of The Hack portal. See them all here!

The most read story of the year is: “Has begun! Cyrela is the first company to be penalized by LGPD“, with more than 92 thousand accesses. However, The Hack, which values investigative journalism – society’s watchdog, stood out with its special reports. This year alone, more than 50 special reports were published, with 11 of the 14 most read publications on the site being special articles.

Retrospective

Check out the main news that were highlighted during the year!

January

The year started with the end of support and security updates for Windows 7 by Microsoft; Russian cybercriminals attack Ukrainian company linked to impeachment of former US President Donald Trump; Prince of Saudi Arabia may have hacked Jeff Bezos’s cell phone [?] and Indian aviation company leaks data from more than 1.2 million passengers.

February

February was marked by the leakage of data from thousands of fans of the Palm Trees; But there was also a bug in Whatsapp Web that facilitated theft of files from the victim’s computer; System failure McDonalds who offered free snacks and the insecurity of “secret” WhatsApp groups that were indexed by Google, is it soft?

March

In March 2020 attacks targeting Covid-19 they started to get serious; Cybercriminal group leaks data from USP, Navy and Air Force the Brazilian army at the same time; Like almost the entire population of Costa Rica it also has your personal data leaked.

Example of fake email about the virus. More information here!

April

We who already live the rest of 2020 know that the attacks on covid-19 only grew as the months passed, but in April, in Brazil, the attacks (phishing, malware and fake applications) started with a theme of Emergency Aid; At the beginning, but in the midst of a global pandemic, data from more than 6,000 World Health Organization.

May

May of mourning: dies Florian Schneider, one of the founders of the legendary German electronic music group Kraftwerk and Andre Luiz, a pioneer in the study of phishing campaigns; May was also when the Energisa, the main electricity distribution group in Brazil, suffered a cybercriminal attack, but chose not to reveal much; THE Natura he was also a victim of cybercrime in May, with data from more than 250,000 exposed clients.

June

A few months ago the LGPD started to fine in Brazil, preparatory courses for OAB leaks student data; MEC system also leaks information from his database, even Lula and Bolsonaro were found in this leak. June was also when the Honda suffered a cyber attack that disrupted much of the company’s operations; No news … Brazil becomes stage of fake lives that still make victims today. June ends with the boycott that Facebook lose over $ 7 billion.

July

Accounts of celebrities and celebrities were hacked on Twitter to promote scam campaigns; Account holders data Nubank were found available on Google [?]; THE The Hack accompanied the ransomware that paralyzed Light and reveals everything you need to know!

Message left by the Sodinokibi ransomware, which infected Light. More information here!

August

The Intel leak is undoubtedly the biggest highlight of August: the company used “intel123” as a password to protect files“; Microsoft has expressed an interest in buy the Tik Tok app; Mozilla laid off 150 employees and shifted its focus to privacy products. In August it was reported that the Uber’s former CSO would respond in court for covering up data leak 2016.

September

O Pix is launched by the Central Bank, but it raises many questions about your security. The Hack published a special that answers the main security questions about the technology.

Detran-PR leaves exposed a copy of your database with administrator credentials; Remember the Tik Tok? Chinese app refuses sale to Microsoft; “Desolate”, Microsoft lets data leak of users using Bing on their smartphones.

In September, a woman died after failing to get care in hospital infected with ransomware. The month ends with first fine for non-compliance with LGPD in Brazil.

October

Cybercriminals try extort patients after stealing psychiatric clinic data; Universidade Positivo falls victim to ransomware and Fotor has data from more than 13 million leaked users after attack.

Message left on the student portal after a cybercriminal attack. More information here!

November

November was an especially difficult month for the organs of the Brazilian State, which suffered a wave of attacks in order to damage the credibility of the institutions attacked. The Hack has prepared a special retrospective on these cases. Check out!

But it was not just the Brazilian state that suffered in November. The Hack also investigated the case of cybercriminals who create fake profiles of famous brands to hijack WhatsApp accounts. In November, more than 350 thousand verified accounts of Spotify users in an unprotected database.