---
title: "Cyber Security News Update, Week 36 of 2019 | DuoCircle"
description: "It’s one thing to be taken in by a hacker. It’s another thing to be taken in by a bot."
image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png"
canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019/"
---

Quick Answer

Cybersecurity headlines for the week of September 5, 2019\. SecurityWeek reported a Trickbot variant targeting Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint customers to grab mobile PIN codes, suggesting upcoming SIM-swap and port-out fraud. An 'unsubscribe' scam used legitimate-looking opt-out links to validate live email addresses for follow-on attacks. The Social Engineering Toolkit (SET) returned to news as researchers showed how cheaply attackers can spin up phishing infrastructure. Phishing roundup items covered the week's notable lures. Lumber Liquidators disclosed a cyberattack that disrupted operations and customer service across stores. Multiple US healthcare providers reported phishing-driven email compromises exposing patient data.

Share 

[ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2036%20of%202019&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F&title=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2036%20of%202019 "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2036%20of%202019&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F "Share via Email") 

![DuoCircle blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3334.jpg) 

It’s one thing to be taken in by a hacker. It’s another thing to be taken in by a bot. _Called trickbots, they are a network of bots, or Internet robots, that trick the recipient into divulging some personal information._

Now [word](https://www.securityweek.com/trickbot-tricks-us-users-sharing-their-pin-codes) comes that the latest trickbot, which is an updated version of an existing trickbot, is being used “to target three of the largest mobile carriers in the United States, namely Verizon Wireless (August 5), T-Mobile (August 12), and Sprint (August 19).” The trickbot in this instance is being used to **grab user’s PIN code**.

“The targeting of mobile PIN codes by this threat actor or other groups associated with Trickbot suggests that cybercriminals might be interested in engaging in port-out or SIM swap fraud,”

## Unsubscribe Scam

If you’re like me you subscribe to a lot of things online, which means eventually you get overwhelmed and unsubscribe to a lot of things. I was wondering how long it would take for some hacker to replace that unsubscribe link in a subscription email with a **malicious phishing link** if you do not have [email security service](/) in place. I don’t have to wonder anymore.

Now comes word of an “unsubscribe’ scam. According to [The Defence Works](https://thedefenceworks.com/blog/i-dont-subscribe-to-phishing-the-unsubscribe-scam/), one of the employees there received a bogus email. “The body of the email was straight forward. It told me I had requested an unsubscribe from a dating mailing list. Below this were two boxes with links to let me either confirm the unsubscribe or continue my subscription.” Of course, _neither box what it promised to do. What did it do?_ Harvested the recipients email address. This is what’s called playing the long game in hacker terms.

According to the article, “This type of scam email is particularly dangerous because they can go under the radar. _Email harvest scams do not follow the typical phishing profile_. Instead, they are like scouts, checking out the lay of the land to increase the chance of a subsequent **phishing campaign** being successful.”

[![phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3335.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3335.jpg)

## Phishing Phrontier

When is a video not a video? When it’s a deepfake video. **What’s a deepfake video?** According to [Security Week](https://www.securityweek.com/growing-threat-deepfake-videos), “_Deepfake videos are videos that use artificial intelligence to map an almost flawless video image of one person (the target, say, a company CFO) to another (the fake, say, an actor)_. The video image of the target can be constructed from still photos, and is then mapped to the moving image of the fake. Deepfaked audio, similarly constructed via **artificial intelligence** from existing target recordings is then added. As a result, it is possible to manufacture a video of almost anyone saying almost anything.”

If you thought **business email compromise** (BEC) emails are an effective phishing tool, just imagine what a deepfake video can do. Don’t think it’s possible? “In June 2019, a fake video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was [posted to Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BypkGIvFfGZ/) that showed him giving a speech about the power of Facebook and saying things that he never actually said.” Yeah, it’s possible.

## Social Engineering Toolkit

At the heart of every effective **phishing attack** is great social engineering. Now, according to [Security Week](https://www.securityweek.com/meet-domen-new-and-sophisticated-social-engineering-toolkit), “A new social engineering toolkit has been discovered. The basic premise is to compromise a website and use that to display an overlay. _The overlay entices visitors to install an update that really downloads the NetSupport RAT_.” The researcher as security firm Malwarebytes have called this new campaign _Domen_. Sounds a lot like damien, doesn’t it?

## Body Count

It was not a good week to be a dentist. “Dental practices across the country found themselves locked out of their patient files after a hacker group infected a pair of software providers with REvil, or Sodinokibi, ransomware,” according to an [article](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/dentist-offices-nationwide-hit-with-revil-ransomware-attacks/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=SCUS%5FNewswire%5F20190902&hmSubId=01xQvtS0ero1&email%5Fhash=0da939dab246e8101d6090def505f6f5&mpweb=1325-9948-1896988) on SC Magazine website. The good news, if there was any, is that “The two companies, The Digital Dental Record and PerCSoft, _which created DDS safe to provide medical records retention and backup services to dental offices_, ponied up the **ransom for a decryptor** that they have passed on to the practices affected.” That’s standing by your product.

## Lumber Liquidators Attack

In the market for a new hardwood floor? You may want to stay clear of Lumber Liquidators, one of the largest retailers of hard-surfacing in America. According to an [article](https://web.archive.org/web/20220820075822/https://www.securityweek.com/malware-takes-down-lumber-liquidators%E2%80%99-network) on Security Week, “Lumber Liquidators this week revealed that it managed to restore most of its network after a **malware attack** disabled parts of it for nearly a week. The incident ultimately disabled certain corporate and store systems nationwide.” The good news, if there is any, is that “_investigation hasn’t revealed any possible compromise of sensitive and confidential consumer or employee data._”

[![malware attack](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3336.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3336.jpg)

## Healthcare Provider Phishing

Another week, another healthcare provider got phished as they did not have any [email security solution](/). According to [Health IT & CIO Report](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cybersecurity/navicent-health-alerts-1-400-patients-of-phishing-attack.html), “Macon, _Ga.-based Navicent Health began notifying 1,400 patients that their information may have been **exposed in a data breach**_. Patient data that may have been affected included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers, medical records, insurance information, bank accounts and other personal information.”

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-36-of-2019%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cyber%20Security%20News%20Update%2C%20Week%2036%20of%202019&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fannouncements%2Fcyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019%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 36 of 2019","description":"It’s one thing to be taken in by a hacker. It’s another thing to be taken in by a bot.","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019/","datePublished":"2019-09-05T14:35:56.000Z","dateModified":"2025-05-16T15:26:44.000Z","dateCreated":"2019-09-05T14:35:56.000Z","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-36-of-2019/"},"articleSection":"announcements","keywords":"","wordCount":852,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3334.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 36 of 2019","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019/"}]}]
```

```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 36 of 2019","item":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019/"}]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"Cyber Security News Update, Week 36 of 2019","description":"It’s one thing to be taken in by a hacker. It’s another thing to be taken in by a bot.","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-36-of-2019/","datePublished":"2019-09-05T14:35:56.000Z","dateModified":"2025-05-16T15:26:44.000Z","dateCreated":"2019-09-05T14:35:56.000Z","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-36-of-2019/"},"articleSection":"announcements","keywords":"","wordCount":852,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/09/dkim-validation-3334.jpg","caption":"DuoCircle blog post image","width":900,"height":600},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}}
```