The attack on Macs | This week in cybersecurity

Verified social media accounts being hacked to spread fake news

A clever new attack is being used against influential social media users as a means to spread fake news according to a report from security research group Access Now. Activists and journalists in Venezuela, Bahrain, Myanmar and more have been targeted using this method. Read more.

Ransomware-as-a-service targeting Macs too

The first instance of ransomware-as-a-service targeting Mac OS has been discovered for sale on the Dark Web reports ZDNet. This information is part of a new report from researchers at Fortinet who have dubbed it MacRansom. Read more.

Russian cyber attack on U.S. electoral system more widespread than previously thought

Russia’s hacking campaign on the U.S. electoral system prior to the presidential included attacks in almost twice as many states’ voter databases and software systems than previously reported, according to Bloomberg. Read more.

U.S. blames North Korea for hacking spree and warns more attacks likely

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a joint warning blaming the North Korean government for a string of cyber attacks stretching back to 2009. The U.S. government’s analysis referred to the state-sponsored hackers as “Hidden Cobra” and claimed this group has targeted the media, aerospace and financial sectors along with critical infrastructure. Read more.

U.S. internet company refused to participate in NSA surveillance

According to newly unclassified documents, an unnamed U.S. company refused to comply with an NSA top-secret order to facilitate government surveillance reports ZDNet. This is only the second known instance of an American company refusing to comply with a government surveillance order. Read more.

Millions left vulnerable because Samsung forgot to renew a domain

Samsung left millions of customers vulnerable to hackers after it let a domain expire that was used to control a stock app installed on older devices, reports Motherboard. Read more.