--- title: "Cyber Security News Update, Week 18 of 2020 | DuoCircle" description: "Invest your money with Schwab? Keep a look out for the latest phishing scam." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/" --- Quick Answer Cybersecurity stories from the week of April 30, 2020: Charles Schwab investors were targeted with overdue-balance phishing emails directing them to credential-harvesting sites. Phishing campaigns continued to ride pandemic news cycles. Researchers documented vulnerabilities in popular smart-home devices that exposed Wi-Fi credentials and cloud-account tokens. Nintendo confirmed a breach affecting roughly 160,000 Nintendo Network ID accounts via credential stuffing, with attackers reusing leaked passwords to make purchases via stored payment methods. And the Clearview AI facial-recognition company suffered a breach that exposed its client list, including law-enforcement agencies. The week's pattern: account reuse and weak MFA continued to drive most consumer breaches. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2018%20of%202020&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F&title=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2018%20of%202020 "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2018%20of%202020&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F "Share via Email") ![DuoCircle blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6331.jpg) Invest your money with Schwab? _Keep a look out for the latest phishing scam_. According to [Scamicide](https://scamicide.com/2020/04/25/scam-of-the-day-april-26-2020-schwab-phishing-email/), “a new phishing email presently being sent to unsuspecting people that appears to come from Schwab. This particular one came with a Schwab logo. _A telltale sign that this is a phishing email is that the email address of the sender was one that has nothing to do with Schwab and was most likely part of a botnet of computers infected by scammers_ and then used to send out the **phishing email** in a way that is not readily traceable back to the scammer.” Be careful out there. ## Overdue Balance Phishing Scams _Sometimes a phishing scam is predicated on you owing somebody money_. Such is the case of the [Overdue Balance](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/money/tv-licence-scam-warning-24489721) **phishing email** circulating this week. “In the version discussed here, the scam email claims that you have an overdue balance that must be paid immediately. It claims that your account has been suspended and your details may be passed on to a debt collection agency if you don’t pay up.” At other times, a phishing scam can be predicated on you receiving money. Such is the case of the [HBSC Payment Advice](https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/threat-encyclopedia/spam/3562/hsbc-customers-beware-malware-in-fake-hsbc-payment-advisory-spreading-via-spam) phishing scam. “_The email claims that the payment advice was issued at the request of a customer and is for your reference only._ However, the email is not from HSBC and does not contain a legitimate payment document. It is a **phishing scam** designed to steal your email account login credentials.” _Don’t pay attention to the money, pay attention to the sender._ [![Phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6332.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6332.jpg) ## Phishing Phrontier _We’re always on the lookout for hacking techniques so impressive that it brings a smile to our face_. A smile of appreciation. And today, we have a smile on our face. Today’s smile was brought to you courtesy of [Security Week](https://www.securityweek.com/hackers-can-exfiltrate-data-air-gapped-computers-fan-vibrations). What’s so impressive? How about “_Hackers Can \[now\] Exfiltrate Data from Air-Gapped Computers Via Fan Vibrations_.” Computer fan vibrations! “The newly proposed technique relies on the fact that the entire structure on which a computer is placed is affected by the vibrations produced by the device’s internal fans, and _uses sensors in modern smartphones to sense these vibrations_.” Like we said, impressive. ## Smart Home Device Vulnerability You know those smart home devices people are using in their more and more these days? Turns out, they’re not that smart. From [Help Net Security](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/04/22/vulnerabilities-smart-home/), “researchers found serious **security vulnerabilities** in three different home hubs: Fibaro Home Center Lite, HomeMatic Central Control Unit and eLAN-RF-003.” “_Some of the flaws could be misused by an attacker to perform MitM attacks, eavesdrop on the victim, create backdoors, or gain root access to some of the devices and their contents._ In worst case scenarios, these issues could even allow attackers to take control over the central units and all peripheral devices connected to them.” That doesn’t sound too good. ## Body Count _When you think about data breaches, you mostly think about data breaches of adults_. Afterall, they’re the ones with credit cards and bank accounts that can be harvested. You rarely think about data breaches of children, especially the really young, which makes the **data breach** of the popular children’s website Webkinz so unusual. According to [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/data-breach/23-million-webkinz-login-credentials-found-on-the-dark-web/), “Webkinz suffered a massive data breach earlier this month that saw about **23 million user login** credentials exposed on a dark web forum.” It makes you wonder what the hackers intend to do with all that information. ## Nintendo Data Breach In keeping with the young person entertainment [theme](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/gaming/nintendo-confirms-160000-user-accounts-hacked/), “_Nintendo has confirmed 160,000 user accounts have been accessed exposing a limited amount of PII and possibly access to Nintendo store accounts_. The gaming company reported that starting in early April accounts were accessed through the Nintendo Network ID (NNID), which is primarily used for Switch gaming.” In this case, the **breach is more serious** than the Webkinz beach as users may have credit cards or PayPal linked to their account which can be used in the Nintendo store. If you find yourself suddenly being charged for a bunch of games you don’t remember purchasing, now you know why. [![Data Breach](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6333.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6333.jpg) ## Facial Recognition Software Breach Do you know what’s scarier than a company whose database can be used with facial recognition software to identify almost anyone in public? _When the data in that database gets exposed to the outside world_. Such was the [case](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/database-security/clearview-ai-source-code-facial-recognition-apps-data-exposed/) this week when “_a misconfigured server exposed the source code, copies of its facial recognition apps as well as private data_ at controversial startup Clearview AI, which gained unwanted notoriety earlier this year for obtaining **billions of photos** by scraping the internet for use by law enforcement agencies. _It’s the second breach for Clearview AI in just a couple of months_. In February, the facial recognition company informed customers that a hacker stole its entire client list.” Don’t you get the feeling that some companies just shouldn’t exis And that’s the week that was. ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) Share this article [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2018%20of%202020&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020%2F) Copy Related Articles - [ ![spam](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/07/sender-policy-framework-7535.jpg) Alert: Fix SPF & DKIM Settings For Your Email Forwarding Set Up Through Microsoft o365 SMTP Server Or Your Emails May End Up In Spam News ](/blog/announcements/alert-fix-spf-dkim-settings-for-your-email-forwarding-set-up-through-microsoft-o365-smtp-server-or-your-emails-may-end-up-in-spam/) - [ ![Spam](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2016/05/spf-permerror-3256.jpg) April Spam Filtering Uptime Report News ](/blog/announcements/april-spam-filtering-uptime-report/) - [ ![Spam Filtering](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2023/02/spf-record-tester-7226.jpg) Changes to Spam Filtering Technology News ](/blog/announcements/changes-to-spam-filtering-technology/) - [ ![Cyber Security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/01/spf-permerror-7312.jpg) Cyber Security News Update, Week 1 of 2020 News ](/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-1-of-2020/) ## Related Articles [ News 3m Alert: Fix SPF & DKIM Settings For Your Email Forwarding Set Up Through Microsoft o365 SMTP Server Or Your Emails May End Up In Spam Jul 20, 2021 ](/blog/announcements/alert-fix-spf-dkim-settings-for-your-email-forwarding-set-up-through-microsoft-o365-smtp-server-or-your-emails-may-end-up-in-spam/)[ News 1m April Spam Filtering Uptime Report May 4, 2016 ](/blog/announcements/april-spam-filtering-uptime-report/)[ News 2m Changes to Spam Filtering Technology Feb 8, 2023 ](/blog/announcements/changes-to-spam-filtering-technology/)[ News 4m Cyber Security News Update, Week 1 of 2020 Jan 3, 2020 ](/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-1-of-2020/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. Trusted by 50,000+ organizations since 2014.","subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}],"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://www.g2.com/products/phish-protection-by-duocircle/reviews","https://github.com/duocircle","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://support.duocircle.com"},"knowsAbout":["Email Security","Email Authentication","SPF","DKIM","DMARC","Phishing Protection","Spam Filtering","SMTP Relay","Email Deliverability","Email Forwarding"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. Trusted by 50,000+ organizations since 2014.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. Trusted by 50,000+ organizations since 2014.","subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}} ``` ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"Cyber Security News Update, Week 18 of 2020","description":"Invest your money with Schwab? Keep a look out for the latest phishing scam.","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/","datePublished":"2020-04-30T13:04:25.000Z","dateModified":"2025-05-21T14:06:33.000Z","dateCreated":"2020-04-30T13:04:25.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.duocircle.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin runs DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. His focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. Trusted by 50,000+ organizations since 2014.","subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/"},"articleSection":"announcements","keywords":"","wordCount":820,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6331.jpg","caption":"DuoCircle blog post image","width":900,"height":600},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Cyber Security News Update, Week 18 of 2020","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/"}]}] ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"News","item":"https://www.duocircle.comundefined"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Cyber Security News Update, Week 18 of 2020","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"Cyber Security News Update, Week 18 of 2020","description":"Invest your money with Schwab? Keep a look out for the latest phishing scam.","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/","datePublished":"2020-04-30T13:04:25.000Z","dateModified":"2025-05-21T14:06:33.000Z","dateCreated":"2020-04-30T13:04:25.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.duocircle.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin runs DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. His focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. We deliver about 90% of category-leader capability at roughly half the price, backed by experts who own the outcome. Trusted by 50,000+ organizations since 2014.","subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-18-of-2020/"},"articleSection":"announcements","keywords":"","wordCount":820,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/04/Office-365-migration-6331.jpg","caption":"DuoCircle blog post image","width":900,"height":600},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}} ```