On October 16 and 17, the ScatteredLAPSUS$Hunters Telegram channel repeatedly violated Telegram's TOS by leaking personal information on people - and in this case, information on employees of the Department of Justice (DOJ/FBI), U.S. Attorneys Office (DOJ/USAO), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). DataBreaches did not report on it at the time precisely because the files were still exposed. Instead, DataBreaches contacted Telegram to inquire why the channel hadn't been banned again for leaking sensitive information about government employees.
A rapidly evolving Android spyware campaign called ClayRat has targeted users in Russia using a mix of Telegram channels and lookalike phishing websites by impersonating popular apps like WhatsApp, Google Photos, TikTok, and YouTube as lures to install them. "Once active, the spyware can exfiltrate SMS messages, call logs, notifications, and device information; taking photos with the front camera; and even send SMS messages or place calls directly from the victim's device," Zimperium researcher Vishnu Pratapagiri said in a report shared with The Hacker News.
Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters has launched an unusual crowdsourced extortion scheme, offering $10 in Bitcoin to anyone willing to help pressure their alleged victims into paying ransoms.. The cybercrime collective is encouraging followers to email senior executives at organizations it claims to have breached, urging them to pay up and avoid publicity about the group's new data leak site. Those who contact executives through personal email accounts will receive higher rewards,