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Ransomware: The profitable business of cybercrime industry

cbrown — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 03:33:44 GMT

Recently, it was reported that a Victorian hospital fell victim to a cybercrime syndicate that held 15,000 medical files to ransom. This attack, a probable result of a phishing scam, inadvertently opened by a staff member, resulted in criminals hacking into the hospital’s server to plant ransomware that scrambled and encrypted data, locking access to files from medical staff.

Ransomware can happen in different forms. For hospitals, holding their data at ransom not only creates reputational damage but could have a serious impact on their patients. Another method of ransomware is to attack a company's IT infrastructure by disabling employee access to laptops or servers. The company is then held to ransom and the payment method is typically demanded in bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrency. The use of cryptocurrency is prevalent in the cyber fraud community because of its ability to be transferred anonymously.

In 2017, two companies had their Amazon Web Services accounts compromised by hackers using the victims’ bandwidth and computing power to mine bitcoins, an energy intensive, but potentially lucrative exercise.[1]

Data ransom and bitcoin mining may seem simple and straightforward when compared to more sophisticated hacks such as one which occurred in 2017. The attack, called WannaCry, infected up to 200,000 computers, locking up users’ data in 150 countries, and demanded a ransom to release them. WannaCry was so damaging because the cyber criminals managed to exploit the vulnerabilities of older of Windows software when newer, more secure versions were available.

In Australia, conservative estimates show that cybercrime costs the economy in excess of AUD 1B each year. More than 500,000 small Australian businesses fell victim to cybercrime in 2017 and it is estimated that the majority paid an average of AUD 4,677 in ransom to unencrypt their data. Often small business fall victim as in some cases, maintaining the latest version of IT software is not their highest priority.

Source: Smart Company, From millions to malware: Cyber attacks in Australia by the numbers, July 2018

The cybercrime landscape is ever evolving, and it is therefore imperative for our industry to continually develop and advance a robust security framework. As an industry, we must uphold the highest standards when it comes to cyber security and maintaining the latest in secure software versions. This is non-negotiable when dealing with someone’s most important and emotionally significant investment – their home.

At PEXA, we are determined to ensure that the cyber security practices we have in place continue to protect our members and their customers. Our IT systems are annually audited by external professionals and we continually explore new ways to bolster the security posture of our network. This is achieved by investing, maintaining and constantly improving security controls as well as running a Security Operations Centre to monitor, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks.

For more information on the measures PEXA takes to bolster security, visit PEXA’s online Community forum.

[1] Bitcoin miners pool together different computers to solve complex algorithms, success of which generates a set number of valuable new bitcoins.

un-hackable network.

DMc — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 05:30:35 GMT

Is this a unicorn?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4727572/China-launching-unhackable-computer-network.html

Security alert | phishing e-mail - RESOLVED

Aoife — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 04:00:30 GMT

Hi Community,

PEXA is aware of a phishing e-mail received by various members of your network.

Details of phishing e-mail

From: Pexa Admin

E-mail: dfsffgsgg@telus.net

Subject: Monro-Sale: New conversation message received - Financial Settlement - Payout figure

The e-mail implies that the reader has received a message from ANZ RETAIL AND SMALL BUSINESS. It includes a Workspace number and requests the recipient to click on a link to read a message.

This is an example of a cyber-criminal creating an e-mail to resemble PEXA communications. It is likely member e-mail addresses were sourced from publicly available information online.

See below for a screenshot of the e-mail.

What to do

If you received this e-mail, clicked on the link and entered your PEXA username and password, we advise you to reset your PEXA password now. Please note, multi-factor authentication on entering your PEXA account protects you against unauthorised persons accessing your account.

If not the above, and you receive a similar phishing e-mail or another you believe to be suspicious, please:

Do not respond
Do not click links or download attachments
Delete the e-mail
Report it to your relevant security administrator or e-mail PEXA’s security team at security@pexa.com.au

Please note, all PEXA Workspace e-mails are system-generated from PEXA and will be received from pexa.admin@pexa.com.au.

PEXA will never send you an e-mail advising you to click a link to access the PEXA Exchange, and will always direct you to login to access your account via pexa.com.au.

Learn more about phishing e-mails here.

Kind regards

Aoife

Security alert | Phishing e-mail - RESOLVED

Aoife — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:30:22 GMT

Hi Community,

PEXA is aware of an instance where a member’s e-mail account has been hacked. The hacker proceeded to send e-mails from the conveyancer’s account to other PEXA members.

Details

The e-mail sent by the hacker informed the recipient of a shared document from PEXA.

Screenshot of e-mail

screenshot of phishing e-mail

What to do

If you receive a similar phishing e-mail or another you believe to be suspicious, please:

Do not respond
Do not click links or download attachments
Delete the email
Report it to your relevant security administrator or e-mail PEXA’s security team at security@pexa.com.au

Please note, all PEXA workspace e-mails are system-generated from PEXA. To receive a task related e-mail from a fellow PEXA member is unusual and unnecessary.

For outstanding tasks, please check your workspace(s) via your PEXA account.

Learn more about phishing e-mails here.

Kind regards

Aoife

A Hacker's Tale - A look behind the curtain #2

cbrown — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 22:04:58 GMT

It’s more than just an Internet romance...

The lover’s tale

Abigail thinks she’s in love. It must be love. She’s been looking for love for a while and Elliot seems like the perfect guy. Many of her friends have warned her about internet romances but Elliot’s different. He has never asked her for money. Never asked her for anything. She thinks he might be quite wealthy in fact. He is always moving money around. He’s been struggling lately though. So, she’s been helping him transfer money to his accounts. For some reason, he’s having issues sending money to his overseas account. Abigail doesn’t really know the reasons why, nor does she question it. It all seems too complicated, and as long as it’s not her money she’s transferring over, it must be okay… besides he’s committed to the relationship. He said they will be together soon.

Over the past couple of weeks Abigail’s been transferring money for Elliot’s family and friends. They are all preparing for a big holiday and need the money ready to meet them. It’s not much – a couple of hundred here and there. Now he’s asked for her help to transfer funds from the sale of his property in Australia.

Just a few days ago, Abigail received $250,000 to her account. She’s not meant to transfer everything over to him though. Elliot told her that while he was excited to have sold his house, he needs to move the money in parts to avoid government taxes. He’s asked her to transfer just under $10,000 at a time, over several days, because that way it doesn’t trigger any alerts. Abigail doesn’t completely understand the reasoning, but Elliot is good to her. He said they will meet face-to-face now that he has sold his house, and she is excited to finally put a face to her love.

For the third day in a row she has made the transfer. Something strange has happened though, all her accounts have now been frozen, and her bank keeps leaving messages to call them back.

The practitioner’s tale

Meanwhile your client, Grace, is frantic. She hasn’t received her house’s sale proceeds yet. It’s been a couple of days; how has this happened? You arranged the transfer of the money according to her instructions which you received just before finalising the payment. You look back at the details and see the account name Abigail King and a different BSB – not your client’s.

Wait. What’s happening?

Going back through the email trail you realise that there’s something funny about the email address. The instruction did not come from Grace. Blood drains from your face… you call the bank immediately to try and stop the funds from disappearing. Hopefully it’s not too late.

The Hacker’s tale

Meanwhile, Elliot is busy moving money around several of his accounts across the world and connecting with different people online. While he’s looking for a way to gain access to steal the funds, he has also been cultivating internet romances with men and women to transfer the funds outside of Australia. He loves living in the internet era where crimes can be performed anonymously, and no-one ever has to see his face. On the internet you can pretend to be whoever you want, and a lot of people believe you.

Money Mules

Unfortunately, the above scenario is all too common. Cyber criminals often use middlemen to transfer stolen money to their accounts. These middlemen are real people, with real accounts and they don’t have unusual bank account activity. Known as money mules, they are sometimes recruited or deceived into helping cyber criminals carry out these crimes. Offenders like our fictitious character Elliot.

These criminals have been known to recruit money mules via romance scams or employment scams. In a romance scam, the ‘money mule’ is emotionally invested and could also be considered a victim. Employment scams often offer potential money mules a job that requires minimal effort with lucrative returns – for instance, a small commission for receiving and transferring money.

According to the Australian Federal Police, it is a crime to transact in the movement of stolen funds, even if you are unaware that you are acting as a money mule. Money mules are caught because they are not trying to hide their activities, and when caught, they can have their entire bank accounts, including their own funds, suspended and potentially face criminal prosecution.

How can I protect myself?

Be wary of advertisements for a guaranteed income or job with lucrative returns and very little effort
Don’t transfer money on behalf of someone else, especially when you have never met them
Never give your bank details to anyone
Protect your personal information and be suspicious if anyone asks you for those details
Be cautious of people seeking financial assistance or asking you for financial details – money sent via wire transfer is rarely recoverable
As a business operator, when receiving instructions to transfer money, confirm that the instructions you’ve received have come from your client - verbally confirm details or changes with your client
Be cautious of situations where the name on the account differs from that of your customer

I think I am a victim, what can I do?

Anyone who has disclosed their bank account details, received funds into their account or suspect that they are a victim of a mule scam should contact their bank or financial institution immediately.

For more information on this and more, please refer to Scam Watch

A Hacker's tale - A look behind the curtain #1

cbrown — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 05:14:13 GMT

Shhh! Someone's listening...

An uninvited guest, Elliot, has inserted himself into your conversation. You are sitting at a coffee shop having a chat with your client Grace, and unbeknownst to you, Elliot, at the next table is virtually listening to your entire conversation. This unwanted guest eavesdrops the conversation with your client and gathers all their critical information. When you leave the table, he continues the conversation with your client pretending to be you.

I know what you’re thinking - this would not be possible face-to-face. Your client, Grace, knows what you look like, what you sound like. But what if I told you that this is not improbable at all… this is happening online today.

This seemingly far-fetched scenario is a very real cyber-attack method, aptly called man-in-the-middle (MITM). The hacker, in this instance, Elliot, effectively intercepts your conversation, places himself in the middle and conveys the information he wants to pass on to both sides.

How could this happen?

Hackers like Elliot use various methods to gain access to your computer systems. Elliot may have used a phishing scam, or capitalised on poorly secured Wi-Fi routers, often found in public areas with free hotspots. His goal is to obtain your password and access your email account. The current statistics show an increase of 80% in hacks performed through an email compromise.

Changing your password may not be enough

Once Elliot has got into your system, he can create a rule that automatically forwards your emails to a secondary account. This means that any email you receive is also sent to his email account. Using further filtering with key words, he only needs to monitor what he deems as relevant emails. So, even if you regularly change your email password, in this scenario, the hacker still has access to your emails.

How does it work?

With access to your emails, Elliot then uses the information he has obtained, and, mimicking your email style, he can begin a new conversation as you, with your client, Grace. With valuable context acquired, the hacker then impersonates Grace, responding to your emails.

Once he has obtained the information required, he then exits the conversation. You and your client, Grace, are none the wiser, until that is, you realise you are a victim of a scam. By then, money has exchanged hands and you may or may not be able to recover missing funds.

What can you do to protect against a MITM attack?

Be aware of potential phishing emails. They could appear to be from a trusted source, masked as from your family, friends or even your bank. Instead of clicking on the link, type the website address into your browser.
Moving your mouse over the link will show the website name. If the name doesn’t look like the site, don’t click on it.
Use secure Wi-Fi networks, or if using public networks, connect with a virtual private network (VPN)
Ensure you have a comprehensive internet security solution. An interesting article on this topic can be found here.

I think I am a victim, what can I do?

If you suspect that you’re a victim of a scam:

Change your passwords to be unique on all of your systems.
Check if there are any forwarding rules in your email account, and if found:
1. Record the email address being forwarded to
2. Confirm no-one in your organisation created this rule
3. Have your team check their email accounts for forwarding emails and reset their passwords too
4. Inform your clients by telephone and verbally reconfirm all details, especially bank account details
5. Delete the rule
6. If this has impacted your PEXA business, inform PEXA Security alias – security@pexa.com.au. PEXA is working with Law Enforcement to identify these types of behaviours and any information you provide could help in the tracking and potential capture of those involved in cyber-crime.

At PEXA…

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides an additional level of security to access your PEXA Workspace. The levels include your PEXA account name, password, your MFA token, and your digital signing token and pin. However, you still need to be vigilant when it comes to communicating with your client. Soon, PEXA will introduce a new app that will allow your clients to input financial data directly into the Workspace and enable you to request and receive information from your clients securely. [Stay tuned]

As our world becomes more and more connected online, it’s important to be aware of the cyber threats that could compromise the security of your personal information and business operations. Cyber criminals have a low cost of entry into criminal activities and they often have the anonymity to avoid detection. With many targets they will usually go for the easiest person to scam so stay informed and be aware. Collectively, we are better together, as we work as one to reduce the threat of cyber-crime and stay smart online.

By Craig Brown, Head of PEXA Security

PEXA Security Initiatives

cbrown — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 03:17:01 GMT

Hi Community,

The team at PEXA continues to explore techniques and technologies to align with the ever-changing security landscape. Below is an update on current security initiatives happening on the PEXA platform including our insights into a topical security concern – phone porting.

Multi-Factor Authentication

In September, multi-factor authentication (MFA) was rolled out to PEXA members. MFA requires the user to provide two or more types of evidence to verify their identity when logging in to an account or completing a transaction. This includes a password and unique authentication code which regularly changes. Members choose to receive an authentication code by SMS, the PingID mobile app, or the PingID desktop app.

MFA was added as another layer of authentication on top of digitally signing. Members with the relevant authority must digitally sign-off transactions with their unique [bespoke] digital signing token and PIN, confirming that all details are correct prior to the transfer of funds.

More than verification

Additionally, we initiated the following measures to boost the protection of members while transacting online:

Increased monitoring of unusual activity surrounding password resets, new user creations and changes to BSB and account numbers. If such activity is detected by PEXA, a member of PEXA’s team will contact members to confirm that the activity is legitimate.
Machine learning algorithms to detect behavioural anomalies on a per user basis. If the behavioural pattern of a user changes, PEXA’s risk profiling mechanism is activated to trigger an alert. The member will then be promptly contacted by PEXA’s Security team.
Workspace time stamps and summary screen so that members can see when the Financial Settlement Schedule was last updated and by which user.

Phone porting

A current concern from industry is the possibility of phone porting – a situation where a scammer uses your personal details to port your mobile number from one provider to another, therefore accessing further personal details.

With a suite of security measures in place to protect PEXA members and your clients, and lawyers and conveyancers continuing to practice their due diligence, the small percentage of members who have chosen to receive their authentication code via SMS should not be alarmed.

It is important to note that for phone porting to occur, the scammer would require several pieces of a user’s ID, as well as the ability to convince a service provider to transfer the SIM details from one telco to another. Therefore, not only would the scammer need to know the targeted user’s personal information, they would also need to know if that user has chosen SMS as the preferred method.

To assist in preventing this from happening, I advise members to remain vigilant of people calling, emailing and requesting personal details.

If you have any questions about this information, please don’t hesitate to reply below.

Regards,

Craig Brown
Head of PEXA Security

Stay Smart Online Week

IndikaWimalasiri — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 02:55:39 GMT

This week is #StaySmartOnline Week.
The campaign aims to reverse the threat of cyber-crime by empowering people to discuss and own their cyber-security.
Over the next few days we’ll be sharing a number of best-practice resources to assist you, here on Community and on PEXA's social channels.

Security alert | Phishing e-mail

Aoife — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 01:11:34 GMT

Hi Community,

PEXA is aware of a phishing e-mail received by a member of your network.

Details of phishing e-mail

From: Jessica Wong

E-mail: cains8x@nsas.avinetmail.net

The e-mail implies to have a contract of sale attached and requests to settle via PEXA. See below for a screenshot of the e-mail.

What to do

If you receive a similar phishing e-mail or another you believe to be suspicious, please:

Do not respond
Do not click links or download attachments
Delete the email
Report it to your relevant security administrator or e-mail PEXA’s security team at security@pexa.com.au

Learn more about phishing e-mails here.

Kind regards

Aoife

Phishing e-mail

PEXA Digital Certificate Software not correctly digitally signed

Andrew_GC — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 12:10:15 GMT

PEXA's digitial certificate software download is signed with a certificate issued to 'pexa.net.au'. Why should anyone trust software signed by a website? Especially one that is not in use? It is trivial to register website names, and numerous 'pexa.' domains are available for registration now by anyone. How are we to discern whether pexa.net.au is actually owned by the Property Exchange Australia Limited? How then, are we to determine whether to trust the signer and install this software?

The software should be signed with a certificate issued to PROPERTY EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA LIMITED.

Surely PEXA does not think that users should ignore incorrect security certification of its software? Or that we should trust anything with 'PEXA' in it somewhere? This is EXACTLY how fake (malicious) software is promulgated.

Here is a snip of what the digital signatures look like on correctly signed software by two other well known software companies (left hand side) and on the right-hand side, a snip of the PEXA software signature. (Red markup added by me for emphasis)

I posted about this in the general forum section, but received no response.

Member security alert | phone scam

Aoife — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 01:44:56 GMT

Hi Community,

PEXA is aware of a current phone scam purporting to come from PEXA.

So far, two cases have been identified.

Details

Phone call one: Scammers contacted an AIC member telling them that they have been randomly selected by PEXA to trial PEXA 5.6.

Phone call two: Scammers contacted an AIC member referring to an email sent two months ago from PEXA regarding security enhancements and asking for email addresses.

Please note, a PEXA employee will never call you and ask for your e-mail address.

What to do

If you receive a call similar to the above or that you believe to be suspicious, please:

Ask for the caller’s full name
Ask for the caller’s e-mail address
Record the caller’s preferred phone number

Then, contact your Account Manager, PEXA Direct Specialist or PEXA’s security team at security@pexa.com.au to alert them.

It’s important that we continue to work together to defend against scammers, phishing attempts and/or cyber-fraud. Please reach out if you encounter any suspicious behaviour.

Kind regards

Aoife

Using your PEXA login credentials and Digital Certificates

cbrown — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 01:45:18 GMT

This checklist will help you protect your identity and the integrity of the network when using your PEXA login credentials and Digital Certificate to electronically sign in PEXA.

Following the steps below will help you remain compliant with your professional obligations, and those set out in the Model Participation Rules which govern your use of PEXA. Non-compliance with these obligations may result in the Registrar of Titles in your jurisdiction instructing PEXA to suspend or terminate your access to the network.

Ensure you are the only person who knows your PEXA password
Upon registering with PEXA, unique credentials are provided to an organisation’s nominated Subscriber Manager. If required, the Subscriber Manager can then create individual user profiles with unique login details for additional employees within their organisation. Employees should never share User IDs or password login details for PEXA.

Select different passwords for your email, desktop access and PEXA
Using the same password across multiple log in channels is risky - if one was compromised, then all could be compromised. Strong passwords have a minimum of 10 characters and use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters like !, &, and *. # (Using a special character in your password will increase the difficulty of breaking it significantly).

Ensure each employee required to sign documents and authorise funds in PEXA has their own Digital Certificate
Every Subscriber is required to obtain and maintain at least one Digital Certificate. The number required will depend on how many people will be signing on behalf of the organisation. Digital Certificates are assigned to an individual – when used to digitally sign, both the signer and organisation are clearly identifiable. If your Digital Certificate is shared within your firm and misused in a PEXA transaction, you will be identifiable as the signer.

Ensure no one else has access to your Digital Certificate and PIN
Your Digital Certificate is your unique, binding electronic signature. If a digitally signed document in a PEXA transaction is called into question, and it is suggested that the owner of the Digital Certificate was not the person who applied it, your professional reputation and ability to claim on your professional indemnity insurance could be impacted. Whenever your digital signature is applied in PEXA, it is taken to be signed by you and is binding, similar to a ‘wet’ signature. It is important to check documents and the Financial Settlement Schedule prior to signing. Should someone other than the owner of a Digital Certificate use it to sign in PEXA, it may be considered the equivalent of forging a ‘wet’ signature. We suggest you do not leave it inserted in your computer, and instead consider locking it away and ensure secure storage provisions are available for all employees with a Digital Certificate.

Plan ahead to ensure your business has sufficient coverage to sign in PEXA
Consider how many people in your organisation may be required to digitally sign in PEXA and arrange Digital Certificates for each unique user. When managing operations, you may need to account for staff leave, those who are frequently out of the office, and ensuring there are enough people present who are trained and authorised to sign in PEXA.

Know what to do if you or a staff member move on to a new job
A Digital Certificate identifies both you and the firm, therefore cannot be taken by the owner to a new job. A new Digital Certificate will need to be ordered by their new employer. In these circumstances, Digital Certificates must be cancelled by calling the PEXA Support Centre on 1300 084 515.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
MFA is utilised to confirm that the person logging in to PEXA is the person who owns the profile being used, and not someone else. MFA requires the user to provide two or more types of evidence to verify their identity when logging in to an account or completing a transaction. As MFA requires the owner of the profile to pair their mobile phone, logging in requires the user to have their device on them, enabling them to receive their authentication code by SMS or the PingID app directly. It’s important to note that each Subscriber will be required to authenticate with their own device every 12 hours.

Talking to consumers about the security of e-Conveyancing

TJ — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 23:29:43 GMT

Hi Community,

We've had a few questions on how to talk to consumers about the security of e-Conveyancing. Here's some talking points that might assist when having these conversations with your customers.

You can discuss your personal experience transacting through PEXA and point out that over a million transactions have taken place on the platform safely without issue or interference.

Over 1.2 million transactions have been successfully processed through the platform, and over $150 billion in property value settled.

Provide your customers the assurance that your business has good cyber security measures in place and that the PEXA platform itself is incredibly secure.

As your representative, I must physically sign off on the account details using my own digital signing certificate and password before a payment can be processed. If the details of any such payment change prior to a settlement proceeding in PEXA, I am required to re-sign before settlement can take place. I always check to make sure that the details are accurate immediately prior to digitally signing the settlement schedule.
PEXA’s Information Security Management System (ISMS) aligns with the international security standard ISO27001 – protecting PEXA’s platform against online cyber security threats. Importantly, this is an e-Conveyancing regulator (ARNECC) requirement as well as a PEXA cyber security measure.
In addition, the ISMS is independently audited – currently by Ernst & Young (EY) – each year. Independent reviews ensure PEXA’s cyber security is fit for purpose and up to date. All review outcomes and recommendations are shared with PEXA’s regulator, ARNECC. The results of the audit demonstrate that PEXA has consistently complied with the international security standard.

You can tell your customers that as a result of the most recent events there have been extra security measures put in place by PEXA to reduce the risk of this type of fraud happening in the future.

And, of course, letting them know if it does occur, PEXA is implementing a residential sellers guarantee to cover the lost funds.

To further protect us (lawyers and conveyancers), PEXA has also introduced extra security measures to protect against a recurrence of this incident. This includes:

Increased monitoring of PEXA Workspaces
Creation of new users in an ‘inactive’ state, pending PEXA activation after verification
Providing Workspace time stamps
Introduction of multi-factor verification

PEXA has also recently announced a residential seller guarantee, safeguarding all transactions that occur on their platform.

Email impersonation fraud – reassurance for Lawcover insured lawyers

TJ — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 01:24:08 GMT

Lawcover have provided reassurance to their customers regarding email impersonation fraud, please find below their full pdf.

"The recent email fraud incident identified by PEXA has caused a number of lawyers to contact Lawcover to understand their insurance coverage.

The email fraud referred to has been a risk for some time and is one about which Lawcover has repeatedly warned law practices to be aware. Our message remains the same irrespective of the method of funds transfer – be aware and prepared for the risks of email impersonation fraud and follow steps to protect yourself from becoming a victim or an unwitting participant in a fraudulent activity.

While individual matters will of course depend on the facts of the case and the terms and conditions of the relevant policy, the following should provide some reassurance about the extent of your insurance coverage as a Lawcover insured. "

Security Advisory - New Malware could be Infecting your Home Modem/Router Devices

IndikaWimalasiri — Wed, 30 May 2018 23:09:27 GMT

Security Advisory

Every now and again we come across security issues that can impact you at home. There is one that is making some noise in the security world. The new virus/malware discovered can infect your home or small business router (the box that connects to the Internet). It’s called “VPNFilter” and the estimated number of infected devices is around 500,000; in at least 54 countries.

Read on to see if this affects your internet box (router/modem) and what to do to protect yourself.

1. How does this affect you?

If you have a router/modem from the following companies, it’s suggested you review your vendor’s update steps.

Vendor	Action to take
Telstra	No action – Telstra reports that your modem is updated automatically
Linksys	Follow the vendor directions
Netgear	Follow the vendor directions
MikroTik	Follow the vendor directions
TP-Link (TP-R600VPN model only)	Follow the vendor directions
QNAP Systems	Follow the vendor directions

2. Can I learn more about the VPNFilter issue?

If you would like to get into the details, follow this link (https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/05/VPNFilter.html)

3. Is there anything we can do to be secure?

A few helpful tips to keep your home devices secure are:

Always change the default password.
Put a password on your home wireless network.
Use a strong password with at least 8 characters, a combination of upper and lower case, include numbers and special characters such as @, #,and !.
Use a different password on your PC, to your email, to your work, and so on.
Make sure you update your software regularly so that security patching occurs.

If you still have questions, email security@pexa.com.au

Five steps to protect yourself by LPLC

AnnaHardie — Mon, 21 May 2018 01:01:26 GMT

Hi community,

Scams Awareness Week runs this week from 21 – 25 May 2018 and the Australian Government is urging Australians to be on the lookout for threat-based impersonation scams by taking a moment to ask ‘is this for real?’

I thought you might be interested in the following article Australians Lost $340 million to scammers in 2017.

I also found a helpful resource on LPLC's website about cyber fraud. There's also a downloadable poster which I've attached to this post (link below). It covers 'Five steps to protect yourself'. It would be worthwhile printing for your offices as a reminder.

Security Reminder - Confirming client bank details

JoW — Fri, 18 May 2018 00:47:23 GMT

PEXA is aware of phishing attempts outside the PEXA platform where unknown parties are intercepting emails between practitioners and their clients and fraudulently changing customer bank details which may result in the unwitting misdirection of funds.

While not specific to e-Conveyancing, PEXA urges all practitioners to take steps to reduce the risk of fraud. This includes verbally confirming bank account details with your clients before entering them into the settlement schedule (if completing the transaction electronically).

It may not be sufficient to simply confirm with the client that they have sent you an email with their bank account details. It would be appropriate to read the bank account details out to your client, confirming that the information you have received is the same as what the client intended to send.

The Law Institute of Victoria offers a practical guide covering cyber security which we would encourage you to read. In addition, The Queensland Law Society has also published a warning in relation to email scams.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding an existing transaction, or guidance on how to stay safe online, please contact the PEXA Support Centre on 1300 084 515 or visit the security page on our website.

Kind regards,

Phishing Emails... How to stay away from it...

IndikaWimalasiri — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 00:30:28 GMT

Dear Members,

Below is an example of an actual phishing email for awareness purposes. Please take a moment to look at the pointers to understand how you can be misguided by a hacker. Being on top of this can help you to stay safe online. Remember, one click is all that matters to open the door to whole new level of issues.

Here are few helpful steps and questions to try/ask yourselves before clicking on any suspicious/unknown email.

Reputable & legitimate organizations:

Don't request your sensitive information via email - Legitimate organisations do not send you emails asking you to download certain content e.g. utility bills, gift card link etc. or request you to verify your account details by clicking on a link.

Don't call or address you by a common greeting - Most of the time it will not include generic greetings e.g. "PayPal User", unless it’s advisory and openly available information.

Have their own email domains - Don't just look at the person's name sending the email. Check the full email address including the domain to make sure it is actually from the organisation represented, as most of the time they'll have their own domain. Hover your mouse over the email to verify this and make sure there's no additional numbers or special characters attached to the address. If there are, it is most likely a phishing e-mail.

Don't make grammatical errors - Spelling mistakes and bad grammar are key giveaways that it's phishing.

Don’t force you to their website - Most of the phishing emails contain multiple hyperlinks to maximize their chances of you clicking on one of them.

Don't send unsolicited attachments in the emails - Attractive attachment headings are another giveaway that it is a phishing scam. Another common case is utility bills or any other public event happening around the same time. Scammers use these events or news items to grab your attention and potentially to get you click on the links.

Send legitimate URLs - It may look like it is but it may send you somewhere else. Hover your mouse on the link (do not click) to check the link is actually legitimate and does not represent a different suspicious name. Always type the URL into your browser rather than using links on emails if you want to access the website. Don’t trust the email, instead call the sender to validate the request.

I clicked on it... Now what happens?

If you click on a phishing link accidentally, it does certain actions behind the scenes which you cannot see. These actions could be anything from a simple add popup on your screen to a stealing of your personal/customer data. So, if you fall into this category, speak up and seek help by contacting your internal security professionals or IT partners. Sending phishing emails and inviting people to click on these links are by far the most successful way for organisations to experience data breaches.

if you find any phishing/spam material referring to PEXA, please forward it to security@pexa.com.au

Overseas login to PEXA

SRJ — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:57:07 GMT

I am going on leave for 2 weeks and have 2 PEXA settlements due while I am away. Is there any limitation on logging in to PEXA from an overseas location? I ask because some sites, such as ASIC, will not allow login from outside Australia.

Obviously I need to take my Licence key with me, but is there any other issue you can think of?

Phishing Emails referring to PEXA

IndikaWimalasiri — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 21:34:22 GMT

Dear Members,

Forwarding suspicious emails to security@pexa.com.au

We have made changes to our security configurations when you forward a phishing/suspicious email to PEXA via security@pexa.com.au

Previously when you forward an email to security@pexa.com.au with potential malicious content it denied successful delivery and often you would have received a delivery fail/bounce back message. But not any more.... Now you can click the forward button on the actual malicious/phishing email and send directly to us via security@pexa.com.au without the email being blocked.

It is important members forward us the actual email to PEXA instead of trying to send it as PDF or a Screenshot of the email.

Thank You.

PEXA Cyber Security Team

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