Data breaches in the financial sector are the second most expensive after those in healthcare, according to the 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report. Protect customers and the enterprise from banking fraud with the latest articles about security in the finance sector, including mobile app safety, banking trojans and incident response.
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Cost of a data breach 2023: Financial industry impacts

3 min read - According to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, 15% more than in 2020. In response, 51% of organizations plan to increase cybersecurity spending this year. For the financial industry, however, global statistics don’t tell the whole story. Finance firms lose approximately $5.9 million per data breach, 28% higher than the global average. In addition, evolving regulatory concerns play a role in how financial companies…

Gozi strikes again, targeting banks, cryptocurrency and more

3 min read - In the world of cybercrime, malware plays a prominent role. One such malware, Gozi, emerged in 2006 as Gozi CRM, also known as CRM or Papras. Initially offered as a crime-as-a-service (CaaS) platform called 76Service, Gozi quickly gained notoriety for its advanced capabilities. Over time, Gozi underwent a significant transformation and became associated with other malware strains, such as Ursnif (Snifula) and Vawtrak/Neverquest. Now, in a recent campaign, Gozi has set its sights on banks, financial services and cryptocurrency platforms,…

The rise of malicious Chrome extensions targeting Latin America

9 min read - This post was made possible through the research contributions provided by Amir Gendler and Michael  Gal. In its latest research, IBM Security Lab has observed a noticeable increase in campaigns related to malicious Chrome extensions, targeting  Latin America with a focus on financial institutions, booking sites, and instant messaging. This trend is particularly concerning considering Chrome is one of the most widely used web browsers globally, with a market share of over 80% using the Chromium engine. As such, malicious…

BlotchyQuasar: X-Force Hive0129 targeting financial institutions in LATAM with a custom banking trojan

16 min read - In late April through May 2023, IBM Security X-Force found several phishing emails leading to packed executable files delivering malware we have named BlotchyQuasar, likely developed by a group X-Force tracks as Hive0129. BlotchyQuasar is hardcoded to collect credentials from multiple Latin American-based banking applications and websites used within public and private environments. Similar operations conducted in late 2022 have also been noted delivering an earlier variant of this modified QuasarRAT by likely Spanish-speaking actors. BlotchyQuasar, which X-Force describes as…

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