NEW YORK / LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – A massive hacking attack compromised an SMS service on Monday, sending hundreds of thousands of scam texts to subscribers of New York State, a Catholic charity and a political group. This rare takeover of a legitimate bulk SMS service highlights the increasing threat from cybercriminals abusing existing communications platforms.
Today’s daily deals at Amazon! ˗ˋˏ$ˎˊ˗
On Monday, hackers managed to hijack a bulk text messaging service and send hundreds of thousands of scam texts to subscribers of New York State, a Catholic charity and a political group. Such attacks are rare because they require the takeover of a legitimate service, which is usually subject to strict security protocols.
The affected company, Mobile Commons, works with local and state governments and progressive organizations to send public service announcements and fundraising texts. A company statement said the unauthorized access occurred through a spear phishing attack or a similar method. The access lasted four hours before it was discovered and stopped.
During this time, several attempts were made to send spam messages through the system. Some of these messages reached subscribers before security protocols identified and stopped the malicious activity. The affected organizations use so-called short codes, which are five or six digit numbers and are strictly regulated to avoid being marked as spam.
The incident highlights the increasing threat from hackers attempting to abuse existing communications platforms. In an email to messaging platforms seen by NBC News, the US Short Code Registry warned of a rise in attempts to take over accounts and send unsolicited or illegal text messages. The organization urged companies to take basic steps to protect their cybersecurity.
Although the attack on Mobile Commons provided an opportunity to send messages that could cause mass panic, the hackers opted for a routine scam. The scam texts reviewed by NBC News referred to nonexistent transactions and asked users to call an 888 number associated with the scam. This number has now been switched off.
Order an Amazon credit card without an annual fee with a credit limit of 2,000 euros!
Bestseller No. 1 ᵃ⤻ᶻ “KI Gadgets”
Bestseller No. 2 ᵃ⤻ᶻ “KI Gadgets”
Bestseller No. 3 ᵃ⤻ᶻ “KI Gadgets”
Bestseller No. 4 ᵃ⤻ᶻ “KI Gadgets”
Bestseller No. 5 ᵃ⤻ᶻ “KI Gadgets”
Please send any additions and information to the editorial team by email to de-info[at]it-boltwise.de. Since we cannot rule out AI hallucinations, which rarely occur with AI-generated news and content, we ask you to contact us via email and inform us in the event of false statements or misinformation. Please don’t forget to include the article headline in the email: “Hacker attack on SMS services: thousands of fraud texts sent”.