Security News Malwarebytes Labs: A week in security

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (June 30 – July 6)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Drug cartel hacked cameras and phones to spy on FBI and identify witnesses
• Catwatchful “child monitoring” app exposes victims’ data
• Microsoft, PayPal, DocuSign, and Geek Squad faked in callback phishing scams
• Qantas: Breach affects 6 million people, “significant” amount of data likely taken
• Update your Chrome to fix new actively exploited zero-day vulnerability
• Bluetooth vulnerability in audio devices can be exploited to spy on users
• Facebook wants to look at your entire camera roll for “AI restyling” suggestions, and more
• AT&T to pay compensation to data breach victims. Here’s how to check if you were affected
• Android threats rise sharply, with mobile malware jumping by 151% since start of year

Last week on ThreatDown:

• ThreatDown shines bright with multiple G2 awards and top-tier AV Lab performance

A week in security (June 30 - July 6)

A list of topics we covered in the week of June 30 to July 6 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (July 7 – July 13)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Deepfake criminals impersonate Marco Rubio to uncover government secrets
• McDonald’s AI bot spills data on job applicants
• Millions of people spied on by malicious browser extensions in Chrome and Edge
• No thanks: Google lets its Gemini AI access your apps, including messages
• Ransomware negotiator investigated over criminal gang kickbacks
• Free certificates for IP addresses: security problem or solution?
• Gamers hacked playing Call of Duty: WWII—PC version temporarily taken offline

A week in security (July 7 - July 13)

A list of topics we covered in the week of July 7 to July 13 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (July 14 – July 20)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Meta execs pay the pain away with $8 billion privacy settlement
• Adoption agency leaks over a million records
• Meta AI chatbot bug could have allowed anyone to see private conversations
• WeTransfer walks back clause that said it would train AI on your files
• Chrome fixes 6 security vulnerabilities. Get the update now!
• Dating app scammer cons former US army colonel into leaking national secrets
• Amazon warns 200 million Prime customers that scammers are after their login info
• Is AI “healthy” to use? (Lock and Code S06E14)
• CNN, BBC, and CNBC websites impersonated to scam people

A week in security (July 14 - July 20)

A list of topics we covered in the week of July 14 to July 20 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[annaegorov]

first post, I think... MWBAMW Product of the year !!! How legit can that possibly be.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (July 21 – July 27)

A list of topics we covered in the week of July 21 to July 27 of 2025

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Steam games abused to deliver malware once again
• Watch out: Instagram users targeted in novel phishing campaign
• Age verification: Child protection or privacy risk?
• iPhone vs. Android: iPhone users more reckless, less protected online
• Introducing the smarter, more sophisticated Malwarebytes Trusted Advisor, your cybersecurity personal assistant
• AI-generated image watermarks can be easily removed, say researchers
• Proton launches Lumo, a privacy-focused AI chatbot
• Startup takes personal data stolen by malware and sells it on to other companies
• ‘Car crash victim’ calls mother for help and $15K bail money. But it’s an AI voice scam
• “Ring cameras hacked”? Amazon says no, users not so sure

ThreatDown blog

• ThreatDown Email × EDR—a force multiplier in protection

A week in security (July 21 - July 27)

A list of topics we covered in the week of July 21 to July 27 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

first post, I think... MWBAMW Product of the year !!! How legit can that possibly be.

See this post for more details:

AVLab.pl - Product Of The Year 2025 – Summary of Advanced In-The-Wild Malware Test

Dear Community! I wanted to invite you to read a summary of the year 2024. By the way, this is probably a good explanation of our tests, methodology, how we proceed, how we calculate results, etc. And, of course, I hope for your feedback, comments, so that we can improve in 2025 :) So without...

malwaretips.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (July 28 – August 3)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Apple ID scam leads to $27,000 in-person theft of Ohio man
• OpenAI kills “short-lived experiment” where ChatGPT chats could be found on Google
• Trump Administration and Big Tech want you to share your health data
• Prison visitor details shared with all inmates at correctional facility
• That seemingly innocent text is probably a scam
• VPN use rises following Online Safety Act’s age verification controls
• Apple patches multiple vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS. Update now!
• Tea Dating Advice app has users’ private messages disclosed
• Allianz Life says majority of 1.4 million US customers’ info breached
• How the FBI got everything it wanted (re-air) (Lock and Code S06E15)

A week in security (July 28 - August 3)

A list of topics we covered in the week of July 28 to August 3 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (August 4 – August 10)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Adult sites trick users into Liking Facebook posts using a clickjack Trojan
• Facebook users targeted in ‘login’ phish
• TeaOnHer, the male version of Tea, is leaking personal information on its users too
• How Google, Adidas, and more were breached in a Salesforce scam
• Meta accessed women’s health data from Flo app without consent, says court
• Malwarebytes earns MRG Effitas Android 360° Certificate for mobile threat detection
• Weight loss scams, or why ‘Jodie Foster’ wants me to lose weight
• Perplexity AI ignores no-crawling rules on websites, crawls them anyway
• Critical Android vulnerabilities patched—update as soon as you can
• Alleged ‘tap-in’ scammer advertised services on social media
• Unexpected snail mail packages are being sent with scammy QR codes, warns FBI

A week in security (August 4 - August 10)

A list of topics we covered in the week of August 4 to August 10 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (August 11 – August 17)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Italian hotels breached for tens of thousands of scanned IDs
• National Public Data returns after massive Social Security Number leak
• Romance scammers in Ghana charged with more than $100 million in theft
• Netflix scammers target jobseekers to trick them into handing over their Facebook logins
• Russians hacked US courts, say investigators
• Microsoft patches some very important vulnerabilities in August’s patch Tuesday
• WinRAR vulnerability exploited by two different groups
• Scam hunter scammed by tax office impersonators
• That “Amazon Safety Recall” message may well be a scam
• “The worst thing” for online rights: An age-restricted grey web (Lock and Code S06E16)
• Online portal exposed car and personal data, allowed anyone to remotely unlock carslock-cars

Last week on ThreatDown:

• AI has “fully defeated” most of the ways people authenticate

A week in security (August 11 - August 17)

A list of topics we covered in the week of August 11 to August 17 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (August 18 – August 24)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Clickjack attack steals password managers’ secrets
• Grok chats show up in Google searches
• All Apple users should update after company patches zero-day vulnerability in all platforms
• Google settles YouTube lawsuit over kids’ privacy invasion and data collection
• AI-powered stuffed animals: A good alternative for screen time?
• How to spot the latest fake Gmail security alerts
• Instagram Map: What is it and how do I control it?

A week in security (August 18 - August 24)

A list of topics we covered in the week of August 18 to August 24 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (August 25 – August 31)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Microsoft wants to automatically save your Word docs to the cloud
• “No place in our networks”: FCC hangs up on thousands of voice operators in robocall war
• Claude AI chatbot abused to launch “cybercrime spree”
• Developer verification: a promised lift for Android security
• More vulnerable stalkerware victims’ data exposed in new TheTruthSpy flaw
• 77 malicious apps removed from Google Play Store
• AI browsers could leave users penniless: A prompt injection warning
• How a scam hunter got scammed (Lock and Code S06E17)

On the ThreatDown blog:

• AI has “fully defeated” most of the ways people authenticate

A week in security (August 25 - August 31)

A list of topics we covered in the week of August 25 to August 31 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (September 1 – September 7)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Nexar dashcam video database hacked
• Roblox introduces age checks to use communication features
• Give your PC a fresh start: New free tools to boost your PC’s speed, security, and peace of mind
• TP-Link warns of botnet infecting routers and targeting Microsoft 365 accounts
• Popular Android VPN apps found to have security flaws and China links
• No we didn’t warn all Gmail users about imminent digital doom, says Google
• Update your Android! Google patches 111 vulnerabilities, 2 are critical
• Why you should upgrade to Windows 11 now, and how to do it
• PayPal users targeted in account profile scam
• Tax refund scam targets Californians
• WhatsApp fixes vulnerability used in zero-click attacks
• How to set up two-step verification on your WhatsApp account
• Travelers to the UK targeted in ETA scams

On the ThreatDown blog

• How NIST is going to secure AI

A week in security (September 1 - September 7)

A list of topics we covered in the week of September 1 to September 7 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (September 8 – September 14)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• AI browsers or agentic browsers: a look at the future of web surfing
• From Fitbit to financial despair: How one woman lost her life savings and more to a scammer
• Meta ignored child sex abuse in VR, say whistleblowers
• When AI chatbots leak and how it happens
• Fake Bureau of Motor Vehicles texts are after your personal and banking details
• ‘Astronaut-in-distress’ romance scammer steals money from elderly woman
• Ransomware attack at blood center: Org tells users their data’s been stolen
• Pre-approved GLP-1 prescription scam could be bad for your health
• Plex users: Reset your password!
• Popeyes, Tim Hortons, Burger King platforms have “catastrophic” vulnerabilities, say hackers
• Google misled users about their privacy and now owes them $425m, says court
• This “insidious” police tech claims to predict crime (Lock and Code S06E18)
• iCloud Calendar infrastructure abused in PayPal phishing campaign

A week in security (September 8 - September 14)

A list of topics we covered in the week of September 8 to September 14 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (September 15 – September 21)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• ChatGPT Deep Research zero-click vulnerability fixed by OpenAI
• Disrupted phishing service was after Microsoft 365 credentials
• Update your Chrome today: Google patches 4 vulnerabilities including one zero-day
• Age verification and parental controls coming to ChatGPT to protect teens
• 224 malicious apps removed from the Google Play Store after ad fraud campaign discovered
• Airline data broker selling 5 billion passenger records to US government
• Update your Apple devices to fix dozens of vulnerabilities
• Grok, ChatGPT, other AIs happy to help phish senior citizens
• “A dare, a challenge, a bit of fun:” Children are hacking their own schools’ systems, says study
• Watch out for the “We are hiring” remote online evaluator message scam

A week in security (September 15 - September 21)

A list of topics we covered in the week of September 15 to September 21 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (September 22 – September 28)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Hackers threaten parents: Get nursery to pay ransom or we leak your child’s data
• Google and Flo to pay $56 million after misusing users’ health data
• Neon App pays users to record their phone calls, sells data for AI training [updated]
• New SVG-based phishing campaign is a recipe for disaster
• LinkedIn will use your data to train its AI unless you opt out now
• TikTok is misusing kids’ data, says privacy watchdog
• Police using drones to read your license plates, warns EFF
• Malwarebytes for Teams now includes VPN
• Fake Malwarebytes, LastPass, and others on GitHub serve malware
• Can you disappear online? (Lock and Code S06E19)
• American Archive of Public Broadcasting allowed access to restricted media for years
• Scammers are impersonating the FBI to steal your personal data
• Beware of Zelle transfer scams
• ChatGPT solves CAPTCHAs if you tell it they’re fake

A week in security (September 22 - September 28)

A list of topics we covered in the week of September 22 to September 28 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (September 29 – October 5)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• From threats to apology, hackers pull child data offline after public backlash
• Your Meta AI conversations may come back as ads in your feed
• Scam Facebook groups send malicious Android malware to seniors
• Sendit tricked kids, harvested their data, and faked messages, FTC claims
• Gemini AI flaws could have exposed your data
• Tile trackers plagued by weak security, researchers warn
• Apple fixes critical font processing bug. Update now!
• 260 romance scammers and sextortionists caught in huge Interpol sting
• Amazon pays $2.5B settlement over deceptive Prime subscriptions
• Sex offenders, terrorists, drug dealers, exposed in spyware breach

A week in security (September 29 - October 5)

A list of topics we covered in the week of September 29 to October 5 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (October 6 – October 12)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Apple voices concerns over age-check law that could put user privacy at risk
• Your passwords don’t need so many fiddly characters, NIST says
• Millions of (very) private chats exposed by two AI companion apps
• Fake VPN and streaming app drops malware that drains your bank account
• California just put people back in control of their data
• One stolen iPhone uncovered a network smuggling thousands of devices to China
• Modeling scams see mature models as attractive new prospects
• Is your computer mouse eavesdropping on you?
• “Can you test my game?” Fake itch.io pages spread hidden malware to gamers
• Don’t connect your wallet: Best Wallet cryptocurrency scam is making the rounds
• Troops and veterans’ personal information leaked in CPAP Medical data breach
• Discord warns users after data stolen in third-party breach
• What’s there to save about social media? (Lock and Code S06E20)
• How to set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on your Facebook account

A week in security (October 6 - October 12)

A list of topics we covered in the week of October 6 to October 12 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (October 13 – October 19)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Prosper data breach puts 17 million people at risk of identity theft
• Under the engineering hood: Why Malwarebytes chose WordPress as its CMS
• Video call app Huddle01 exposed 600K+ user logs
• Mango discloses data breach at third-party provider
• Roku accused of selling children’s data to advertisers and brokers
• TikTok scam sells you access to your own fake money
• Scammers are still sending us their fake Robinhood security alerts
• Satellites leak voice calls, text messages and more
• AI-driven scams are preying on Gen Z’s digital lives
• Pixel-stealing “Pixnapping” attack targets Android devices
• Researchers break OpenAI guardrails
• Phishing scams exploit New York’s inflation refund program

A week in security (October 13 - October 19)

A list of topics we covered in the week of October 13 to October 19 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (October 20 – October 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Is AI moving faster than its safety net?
• Thousands of online stores at risk as SessionReaper attacks spread
• Apple may have to open its walled garden to outside app stores
• Meta boosts scam protection on WhatsApp and Messenger
• Home Depot Halloween phish gives users a fright, not a freebie
• Zero-click Dolby audio bug lets attackers run code on Android and Windows devices
• Windows update breaks USB support in recovery mode
• You can poison AI with just 250 dodgy documents
• What does Google know about me? (Lock and Code S06E21)
• Chinese gangs made over $1 billion targeting Americans with scam texts

A week in security (October 20 - October 26)

A list of topics we covered in the week of October 20 to October 26 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

A week in security (October 27 – November 2)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• Update Chrome now: 20 security fixes just landed
• How scammers use your data to create personalized tricks that work
• Ransomware gang claims Conduent breach: what you should watch for next
• Fake PayPal invoice from Geek Squad is a tech support scam
• Atlas browser’s Omnibox opens up new privacy and security risks
• Gmail breach panic? It’s a misunderstanding, not a hack
• School’s AI system mistakes a bag of chips for a gun
• Around 70 countries sign new UN Cybercrime Convention—but not everyone’s on board
• NSFW ChatGPT? OpenAI plans “grown-up mode” for verified adults
• How to set up two factor authentication (2FA) on your Instagram account
• Phishing scam uses fake death notices to trick LastPass users

A week in security (October 27 - November 2)

A list of topics we covered in the week of October 27 to November 2 of 2025

www.malwarebytes.com