The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) denies its systems were breached by the Hunters International ransomware gang after being listed as a new victim on the cybercrime group’s leak site on Monday. […] Read More
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“We will hold them accountable”: General Motors sued for selling customer driving data to third parties
“We will hold them accountable”: General Motors sued for selling customer driving data to third parties
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued General Motors (GM) for the unlawful collection and sale of over 1.5 million Texans’ private driving data to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent.
In June, the Attorney General (AG) announced he had opened an investigation into several car manufacturers over allegations that the companies had improperly collected mass amounts of data about drivers directly from the vehicles and then sold the information to third parties.
Following that investigation, the AG explained in a press release, he decided to sue General Motors:
“Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable.”
The court filing provides some more detail. It reasons that when consumers buy a vehicle, they want a mode of transportation to get them from one point to another, but with GM (and its subsidiary OnStar) they unwittingly opt-in to an all-seeing surveillance system.
GM collected scores of data points from consumers about their driving habits and monetized that data by selling it on to other commercial parties. The AG accuses GM of installing technology that allegedly improves the safety, functionality, and operability of its vehicles, but at the same time this technology gathers driving data about the vehicle’s usage.
The driving data collected and sold by GM included trip details like speed, seatbelt status, and driven distance. On top of that, GM gathered data through other products like its mobile apps.
GM had agreements with various companies which allowed them to the driving data to calculate a driving score based on risk analysis. After buying a license from GM, an insurer could access the driving scores of over 16 million customers. Based on those scores the insurer could and did increase monthly premiums, drop coverage, or deny coverage.
GM claimed to have consent, but according to the AG it “engaged in a series of misleading and deceptive acts” to obtain that consent.
Among others, the onboarding process was treated as a mandatory pre-requisite to take ownership of the car. But it was nothing short of a deceptive flow to ensure customers would agree to sign up for GM’s products and get enrolled in the driving data collection scheme. Customers were presented electronically with some fifty pages of disclosures about its OnStar products, which consisted of product descriptions and a confusing series of applicable user terms and privacy notices.
At no point did GM disclose that it would sell any of their data, much less their driving data, nor did it disclose that it had contracts in place to make driving scores available to other companies or permit companies to re-sell driving scores to insurance companies.
Last year on the Malwarebytes Lock and Code podcast, David Ruiz spoke to a team of researchers at Mozilla who had reviewed the privacy and data collection policies of various product categories over several years. They reported that classified cars were the worst product category they ever reviewed for privacy.
A modern car hasn’t solely been a transportation vehicle for a long time. With multiple digital systems, they are increasingly plugged into web applications and digital processes—both of which are vulnerable to security flaws.
But at least those flaws are not intentional; some of the privacy issues apparently are. So it’s good to see a raised awareness among consumers about these issues, and investigations conducted.
As we noted, an ongoing US Senate investigation indicated that connected car makers violate consumer privacy by sharing and selling drivers’ data, including their location, on a vast scale, and that the same car makers often obtain consumer consent through deception.
Based on this investigation, senators have urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate automakers’ disclosure of millions of Americans’ driving data to data brokers, and to share new-found details about the practice.
As always, we will keep an eye on the developments in this field.
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MGM Resorts shuts down IT systems after cyberattack
MGM Resorts shuts down IT systems after cyberattack
MGM Resorts International disclosed today that it is dealing with a cybersecurity issue that impacted some of its systems, including its main website and online reservations. […] Read More
BleepingComputer
Hackers Hijacking YouTube Channels to Steal Your Data
Hackers Hijacking YouTube Channels to Steal Your Data
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Cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting YouTube, a platform beloved by millions, to produce sophisticated malware attacks.
These threat actors, leveraging the impression of free software and video game enhancements, target unsuspecting users, particularly the younger demographic, to steal sensitive personal information.
At the heart of this cyber threat are seemingly innocuous YouTube videos offering pirated software and video game cracks.
These videos, often presented as helpful guides for downloading free software or upgrading games, contain links in their descriptions that lead directly to malware.
Proofpoint Emerging Threats, a leading cybersecurity firm, has identified several instances where popular games aimed at children were used as bait, exploiting their inability to determine malicious content.
An example of a verified YouTube account with a large following is suspected to be compromised.
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Compromised Accounts: A Cloaked Threat
Many YouTube accounts distributing these malicious videos appear to have been compromised or acquired from legitimate users.
Proofpoint’s investigation revealed accounts with significant subscriber counts and verified status being used to spread malware.
These accounts exhibited unusual activity patterns, such as long gaps between video uploads and a sudden shift in the language and content of the videos, signaling potential compromise.
Screenshot of a suspected compromised YouTube account distributing malware comparing upload dates.
The Mechanics of Malware Distribution
Videos often include links to password-protected files on platforms like MediaFire. These files contain executables that, once run, unleash malware onto the victim’s device.
One such malware identified is Vidar Stealer, which is known for extracting sensitive data like credit card information and cryptocurrency wallets.
The video description contains a MediaFire URL leading to Vidar Stealer.
Adding to the complexity, some videos impersonate well-known figures in the software piracy community, such as Empress.
These videos promise legitimate cracked content, further luring users into the trap. Distributing these links on social media platforms like Telegram adds another layer of authenticity to the scam.
Telegram link from Empress video.
Evading Detection
The malware files are designed to evade antivirus detection by incorporating large amounts of padding, making them too large for many scanning tools.
Additionally, the malware’s use of social media and community forums for command and control (C2) instructions allows it to blend in with regular network traffic, making detection challenging.
Repeating bytes identified in a hex editor.
Discord: A New Frontier for Malware Distribution
A novel approach observed by Proofpoint involves the use of Discord servers to distribute malware.
These servers host files associated with different video games, complete with instructions on disabling antivirus software to facilitate the download, further endangering users.
This surge in cybercriminal activity on YouTube underscores the need for heightened awareness and caution among users.
While YouTube has been proactive in removing reported accounts, the sophistication and variety of these attacks pose a significant challenge.
Users are advised to remain skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true and to exercise caution when downloading files from the Internet.
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