By Raphael Satter, AJ Vicens and Anirban Sen
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Ransom-seeking hackers who use phone calls to compromise their victims targeted dozens of prominent U.S. financial institutions and other businesses over the past month, according to Google and internet ‌intelligence data reviewed by Reuters.
The data shows the hackers devised websites aimed at stealing passwords from employees of private equity firms ‌and companies including Blackstone, Bridgewater **** ociates, Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, KKR, TPG, CME Group and Moody's, as well as a host of financial companies and other businesses. Internet company Google said in a blog post about the hacking campaign published on Thursday that the hackers operate under a range of names, including Redact, Pink, Falcon, and Helix.
Google declined to comment on Reuters findings. It said in some cases companies, which it did not name, paid ransoms to the hackers. Reuters could not establish which companies the hackers successfully compromised.
Experts say the hackers' use of low-tech tactics such as phone calls to target the ‌financial industry illustrates how, despite sophisticated security programs and ⁠AI-driven threats, the oldest tactics still rank among the most effective. If successful, the hacks could compromise data of some of the biggest U.S. private equity firms that provide capital to companies.

#data #capital

A molded grip — aka a grip trainer — is a training aid that is typically used by beginner golfers. But it's also a tool used by the No. 1 golfer in the world.
Yes, that's right, Scottie Scheffler uses a training aid marketed for weekend hackers.
While it may be surprising that a four-time major winner leans on such a rudimentary training aid, when you understand that every good swing is predicated upon elite fundamentals, it starts to make sense.
"The reason I monitor my grip so closely is because, as my body starts to feel different over the ball, my grip is usually the first thing to change to adjust to what my body's doing that day," Scheffler said a couple years ago. "That's why I use the reminder club as often as I do."
As soon as I saw Scheffler using a reminder club on the range every day, I decided I should do the same. And ever since I bought a grip trainer — which is available at PGA TOUR Superstore for just $12 — I haven't had to worry about my grip getting out of whack.

#scheffler #used #club #scottie

Ariana Grande is stepping out of the spotlight for an extended break after she wraps her Eternal Sunshine Tour, a rep for the actress and pop star told People. The rep's statement cited "ongoing public scrutiny" as one of the reasons for the pause.
"Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour," Grande's rep said. "She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny. This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much."
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Ariana Grande Sues Hackers for Leaking Unreleased Music and Footage

#grande

The FBI is investigating a cyberattack launched on more than 30 municipal water systems across Minnesota, with a senior law enforcement official telling NBC News it bears all the hallmarks of Iranian-backed hackers. It comes as the war between the United States and Iran dramatically escalated following the collapse of a brief ceasefire. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports for TODAY.

#minnesota #states #today #investigating

The FBI issued a warning about cyberattacks on municipal water systems in seven states. In Minnesota alone, more than 30 water systems have been attacked and a senior law enforcement official told NBC News that the attack bears all the hallmarks of Iranian- backed hackers. Today President Trump dismissed the idea that Iran is responsible.

#systems #minnesota #warning

Burma's government approved the death penalty as punishment for internet scammers just months after the Fbi announced a sweeping $8 billion crackdown on scam networks coming from the country, according to the country's state-backed media.
The Anti-Online Scam Law passed the country's parliament on Tuesday, green lighting the death penalty for anyone who participates in a scam in which they "commit violence, torture, unlawfully arrest or detain, or treat any person in a cruel manner," according to The Global New Light of Myanmar, a media outlet jointly operated by a private company and the country's Ministry of the Interior.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has become ground zero for digital scams, with criminals often recruiting migrants from other Asian countries with promises of legitimate work only to imprison them and force them to conduct the scams.
In May, the FBI announced a massive crackdown on a criminal network in Burma known as the "Democratic Karen Benevolent Army." The operation resulted in the seizure of 127,000 Bitcoin, worth over $8 billion as of July.
Fbi Brings Alleged China-linked Hacker To Us In Rare Extradition As Patel Defends Italy Trip

#myanmar #death #Media

(NewsNation) — Wealthy biohacker Bryan Johnson, who's spending a fortune in hopes of significantly prolonging his lifespan, offers three simple tips that he uses to optimize his sleep.
The so-called longevity guru said he considers his resting heart rate before bed the most important biomarker that can help him achieve his long-term goal of living well past 100 years.
"I'll look at my heart rate and see how many times it's beating per minute. It is the best indicator of how I'm going to sleep and of my overall health," Johnson told Chris Cuomo during a televised town hall Tuesday about AI that included the topic of wellness.
Bryan Johnson says he cloned himself as a newborn to grow organs
The 48-year-old Johnson offered three examples of things he does to control the key metric: He stops eating four hours before bedtime; turns off his electronic screens 30 minutes to 60 minutes before turning in; and refrains from caffeine after noon.

#heart

Balance Coin (CRYPTO: $BLC), a low circulation stablecoin meant to hold a U.S. dollar peg, has crashed more than 99% after a hacker drained its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) vault.
The token, which had traded near its $1 U.S. peg, has fallen to $0.0014 U.S., erasing nearly all of its $3.5 million U.S. in nominal value.
The collapse comes after a hacker drained Balance Coin's Bitcoin-backed collateral that it had used to mint the stablecoin.
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MEXC Reports 7.1 Billion USDT in ******* eX Futures Volume as Q2 Closes the Gap to Wall Street

#balance #hacker #coin #reports

July 17 (Reuters) - Clover Health Investments said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it ‌detected unusual login activity on some of its ‌information systems on July 4 and later found a hacker had gained access to three employee accounts through social engineering.
• The health insurer said the affected accounts belonged to non-managerial health plan employees who handled member visit ‌scheduling and broker-facing sales ⁠work.
• These accounts could access some personal and protected health information, according to the ⁠company, but not corporate financial or claims systems.
• Clover began an investigation with external cybersecurity experts, took steps to contain the activity and notified law enforcement, it ‌said.
• The investigation is ongoing and the company is still reviewing what information may have been accessed or taken. Clover believes its response curbed and ended the unauthorized access.

Argentina's football ***** ociation has indicated it may have been the target of a cyber attack after emails from its official accounts reportedly criticised refereeing in the national team's 3-2 win against Egypt at the World Cup.
The reigning world champions looked set for a shock last-16 exit when they trailed Egypt 2-0 but produced a remarkable late comeback to reach the quarter-finals.
Following the defeat, the Egyptian Football ***** ociation asked Fifa to banish from the tournament the French referee Francois Letexier and the team of officials who were in charge, alleging bias in favour of Argentina.
Argentine news outlet La Calle reported emails sent from the Argentine Football ***** ociation's (AFA) account to journalists after the match stated "Argentina did not win" and the result was a result of "corrupt refereeing decisions".
The publication said that AFA sources indicated a group of Egyptian-origin hackers were behind the emails, which also praised Egypt's performance.

Bryan Johnson, a biohacker and longevity guru who has claimed "we may be the first generation who won't die," revealed he has an autoimmune condition causing his stomach to "eat itself."
The Los Angeles-based tech entrepreneur, 48, has previously shared publicly that he is hoping to live until the year 2140, when he would in theory be 160 years old.
Now, Johnson says he has been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis (AIG), a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the stomach's acid-producing parietal cells, reducing stomach acid and impairing vitamin B12 absorption, according to Nature Reviews Disease Primers.
How A 93-Year-old Soccer Referee Credits Wartime Rations And Discipline For His Longevity
"My stomach is eating itself," he wrote in an Instagram post. Johnson also shared that anywhere from 2% to 5% of people likely have this disease.

Millionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson has hit a major obstacle in his yearslong quest to "defeat death."
The 48-year-old tech entrepreneur, who rose to fame for chronicling his extreme health routine curated to reduce his biological age, announced on social media last week that he has been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease.
"My stomach is eating itself," Johnson wrote in a June 30 post on X. He explained that he has autoimmune gastritis, in which his immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy cells in his stomach lining.
He wrote that for years, he had been unaware he was dealing with the disease, but said that it was likely caused by his diet of fast food and sugary beverages in the years before he started biohacking his health routine, which included changes to his diet and sleep habits.
"As a kid, I ate sugar cereal, drank sugary soda, and gobbled down fast food," Johnson said. "I had a few healthy years in my early 20s but then became a young father of three and began building a business. Juggling that stress and grind, I let my health slip and gained 40 lbs. Within a few years I'd fallen into a deep, chronic depression. Somewhere in that timeline, my body began developing an autoimmune process affecting my thyroid and then my stomach lining."

A skydiving instructor who had made over 6,800 jumps. A drummer who was meticulous about safety since falling in love with the sport that helped him sober up. A software engineer on the cusp of becoming a certified skydiving coach. A grandfather honoring his sister lost to cancer.
Family and friends of the 11 jumpers and pilot killed when their plane crashed shortly after taking off in Missouri said they loved their hobby — whether it was to find personal peace or to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with others. They remembered the experienced skydivers as people who may have had regular jobs to pay their bills but free falling brought both the thrill and the serenity they craved.
Blake Thacker, 25, jumped for seven years since first skydiving on his 18th birthday. He was set to get his skydiving coach certification over the weekend, his mother Sherry said.
"Skydiving had given him the confidence to do other things in his life, to be successful and reach for things maybe he thought he wasn't good enough to do," she said.
Thacker was an aviation software engineer and his mother saw that same methodical safety-oriented focus in his hobby.

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
North Korea's state-backed hackers have an “aggressive, relentless” knack for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities, making them more dangerous than other groups, a former FBI agent told Benzinga.
North Korean hackers pose an existential threat to cryptocurrency ecosystems, having stolen over $2 billion worth of ***** ets in 2025 alone. Things have worsened in 2026, with April recording the highest number of cryptocurrency hacking incidents on record.
The U.S. government claims that the illegal proceeds from the thefts are used to fund North Korea’s weapons and missile program.
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What’s good today? Well, nothing besides it’s Christmas. Trust Wallet users drained following a big Chrome browser hack as Bitcoin struggles in price despite Gold and Silver hitting all-time highs.
This Christmas Day, Trust Wallet users have faced a big hit as their wallets have been drained in a phishing hack. The hacker targeted the Chrome extension version 2.68, and they used a supply-chain exploit to steal private keys from wallets. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and some EVM chains like BNB are affected, and in total, the hack drained around $7 million from over 600 Trust Wallet users.
Zach

Hackers stole a trove of data from a company used by major Wall Street banks for real-estate loans and mortgages, setting off a scramble to determine what was taken and which banks were affected, according to people familiar with the investigation and a statement from the firm.
New York-based SitusAMC, which boasts 1,500 clients, said Saturday night that account records and legal agreements related to some of its clients had been impacted in the hack.
“The incident is now contained and our services are fully operational,” SitusAMC said. “No encrypting malware was involved.”
The firm discove

Warning: Is your password an open door to hackers?