Massive Classroom Breach, Cybercrime Treaty Approved, Scammer Targets Journalist

Digitization is not our enemy. It has made our personal and professional lives easy. But every coin has two sides and we must not ignore the other one. The downside of digitization is that our hard-earned money and identity are not safe anymore. Threat actors have been leveraging digitization to make quick money. To combat them, we need to educate ourselves about the latest technology and cybersecurity. 

With this aim in mind, we have brought to you the latest edition of cybernews, where we will be covering three sensational cybercrime issues today. First, a hacker wiped out data from around 13,000 devices after attacking a classroom management system. Secondly, the UN-approved cybercrime treaty is raising some privacy concerns. Also, a BBC journalist was recently targeted by a group of scammers.

Keep reading to know more!

Hacker wipes data across 13,000 devices after breaching classroom management platform

Mobile Guardian, a digital classroom management platform, was recently attacked by a threat actor. The hacker then gained access to the Chromebooks and iPads of around 13,000 students and wiped away all the data. 

Mobile Guardian is a Google-For-Education partner and is compatible with Android, macOS, Windows, ChromeOS, and iOS. The platform offers a 1-on-1 management solution for K-12 schools. 

The platform was hacked on 4th August 2024 and impacted Singaporean, North American and European users. The affected devices not only lost all their data but also got unenrolled from the platform.  

At present, Mobile Guardian has suspended the service and users are not able to log into the platform. 

The Singaporean Ministry of Education (MOE) is extremely concerned about this attack on Mobile Guardian. The Singaporean government has taken immediate steps and removed the app from student devices. Also, the government is trying its best to restore the wiped data.

As of now, Mobile Guardian has not yet revealed the exact number of students who have been impacted in Europe and North America.

UN approves cybercrime treaty despite major tech, privacy concerns

A cybercrime treaty has been finalized with the sole purpose of tackling cross-border cybercrime activities. The United Nations has already approved the treaty. But a certain group of experts are on the other side of the fence. They believe that regressive governments can leverage the treaty to oppress protesters, journalists and cybersecurity researchers. 

In case the UN General Assembly adopts the treaty, any country that signed the treaty would have to announce unauthorized “access…an information or communications technology (ICT) system without right” as a criminal offense. Intercepting any form of communication or data will also be totally illegitimate. The signatories will also have to maintain a system whereby they can preserve stored data as well as some parts of the traffic data. 

From financial service providers and telecommunication firms to technology and travel companies, everyone will have to support domestic law. Also, they will have to cooperate with the treaty signatories. 

Russia and Vietnam are staunch supporters of the UN Cybercrime Treaty. On the other hand, tech companies and the US are against it. FOC, or the Freedom Online Coalition, is a 40-nation group for human rights that also opposes the draft. Countries like Mexico, Australia, the United States, Tunisia, etc., are members of FOC.

Pig-butchering scammer targets BBC journalist

BBC cybersecurity journalist, Joe Tidy was recently targeted by “Jessica”- a threat actor. Jessica posed as a 36-year old, Chicago-based woman. The scammer got in touch with Tidy on Instagram. She would connect with Tidy on a daily basis at around 4 pm. Their ultimate purpose was to flatter Tidy by using excellent flirting skills. 

Tidy is a cybersecurity correspondent at BBC News and has years of experience in researching threat actors and scammers. He immediately identified the scam and decided to play on with “Jessica” with the ultimate motive to study and understand their scamming process and scammer’s psychology.

Tidy used the reverse-image technology and found out that the photograph of a German-based social media influencer was being misused by “pig-butchering” threat actors. Basically, “pig-butchering” scams are full-fledged, illegitimate businesses whereby threat actors treat the naive victims as pigs and “fatten” them before final “slaughter.” They try to tempt the victims by faking romantic relationships. 

Tidy informed the social media influencer about the scam and told her that her image was being misused by threat actors. He also revealed to “Jessica” that he is, in fact, a cybersecurity correspondent. To achieve robust email security, it is crucial to implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication protocols.

The threat actor first tried to get some money from Tidy on the pretext of cryptocurrency investment for a get-rich-quick cryptocurrency scam. Then they made a final attempt by saying that “Jessica” is facing some kind of sexual threat and badly needs $500 to get out of the situation. 

When nothing went in their favor, The scammer blocked Tidy on Instagram.