Amazon User Receives Thousands of Alexa-Recorded Messages

Upon requesting all his user data from Amazon, one user promptly received over 1,700 recorded messages from an Alexa device. Unfortunately, the individual didn’t own such a device. The messages were from a device belonging to complete stranger, and some of them could have easily been used to find the identity of the recorded person. While Amazon did offer the victim a free Prime membership, it’s cold comfort, as these devices are constantly recording and uploading everyday details about millions of users. 

San Diego School District Hacked

In a recent phishing scheme, hackers successfully gained the trust of a San Diego Unified School Districtemployee and obtained credentials to a system that contained student, parent, and staff data from the past decade. The database mostly consisted of personal data for over half a million individuals, but also included student course schedules and even payroll information for the District’s staff. 

Data Breach Affects Hundreds of Coffee Shops

Attackers were able to access payment data for 265 Caribou Coffee shopsacross the United States. The breach could affect any customers who made purchases between the end of August 2018 and the first week of December. The company recommends that any customers who may have visited any of their locations across 11 states engage a credit monitoring service to help avoid possible fraud.

FBI Shuts Down DDoS-for-Hire Sites

At least 15 DDoS-for-Hire siteshave been taken down in a recent sweep by the U.S. Justice Department, and three site operators are currently awaiting charges. Some of the sites had been operating for more than 4 years and were responsible for over 200,000 DDoS attacks across the globe. This is the second in a series of government-led cyberattack shutdowns over the last year. 

Email Scam Offers Brand New BMW for Personal Info

A new email scam is informing victims that they’ve just won a 2018 BMW M240iand over $1 million dollars, which they can easily claim if they provide their name and contact information. Victims who provide their contact details are then contacted directly and asked to give additional information, such as their social security number and credit or bank card details. If you receive this email or one like it, we recommend you delete it immediately, without opening it. 

Connor Madsen

About the Author

Connor Madsen

Threat Research Analyst

As a Threat Research Analyst, Connor is tasked with discovering and identifying new malware variants, as well as testing current samples to ensure efficacy. Don’t miss the latest security news from around the world in his weekly Cyber News Rundown blog.

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