IT NEWS

A group of cybercriminals called DarkSpectre is believed to be behind three campaigns spread by malicious browser extensions: ShadyPanda, GhostPoster, and Zoom Stealer.

We wrote about the ShadyPanda campaign in December 2025, warning users that extensions which had behaved normally for years suddenly went rogue. After a malicious update, these extensions were able to track browsing behavior and run malicious code inside the browser.

Also in December, researchers uncovered a new campaign, GhostPoster, and identified 17 compromised Firefox extensions. The campaign was found to hide JavaScript code inside the image logo of malicious Firefox extensions with more than 50,000 downloads, allowing attackers to to monitor browser activity and plant a backdoor.

The use of malicious code in images is a technique called steganography. Earlier GhostPoster extensions hid JavaScript loader code inside PNG icons such as logo.png for Firefox extensions like “Free VPN Forever,” using a marker (for example, three equals signs) in the raw bytes to separate image data from payload.

Newer variants moved to embedding payloads in arbitrary images inside the extension bundle, then decoding and decrypting them at runtime. This makes the malicious code much harder for researchers to detect.

Based on that research, other researchers found an additional 17 extensions associated with the same group, beyond the original Firefox set. These were downloaded more than 840,000 times in total, with some remaining active in the wild for up to five years.

GhostPoster first targeted Microsoft Edge users and later expanded to Chrome and Firefox as the attackers built out their infrastructure. The attackers published the extensions in each browser’s web store as seemingly useful tools with names like “Google Translate in Right Click,” “Ads Block Ultimate,” “Translate Selected Text with Google,” “Instagram Downloader,” and “Youtube Download.”

The extensions can see visited sites, search queries, and shopping behavior, allowing attackers to create detailed profiles of users’ habits and interests.

Combined with other malicious code, this visibility could be extended to credential theft, session hijacking, or attacks targeting online banking workflows, even if those are not the primary goal today.

How to stay safe

Although we always advise people to install extensions only from official web stores, this case proves once again that not all extensions available there are safe. That said, the risk involved in installing an extension from outside the web store is even greater.

Extensions listed in the web store undergo a review process before being approved. This process, which combines automated and manual checks, assesses the extension’s safety, policy compliance, and overall user experience. The goal is to protect users from scams, malware, and other malicious activity.

Mozilla and Microsoft have removed the identified add-ons from their stores, and Google has confirmed their removal from the Chrome Web Store. However, already installed extensions remain active until users manually uninstall them.

If you’re worried that you may have installed one of these extensions, run a Malwarebytes Deep Scan with your browsers closed.

• On the Malwarebytes Dashboard click on the three stacked dots to select the Advanced Scan option.
  
• On the Advanced Scan tab, select Deep Scan. Note that this scan uses more system resources than usual.
• After the scan, remove any found items, and then reopen your browser(s).

Manual check:

These are the names of the 17 additional extensions that were discovered:

• AdBlocker
• Ads Block Ultimate
• Amazon Price History
• Color Enhancer
• Convert Everything
• Cool Cursor
• Floating Player – PiP Mode
• Full Page Screenshot
• Google Translate in Right Click
• Instagram Downloader
• One Key Translate
• Page Screenshot Clipper
• RSS Feed
• Save Image to Pinterest on Right Click
• Translate Selected Text with Google
• Translate Selected Text with Right Click
• Youtube Download

Note: There may be extensions with the same names that are not malicious.

We don’t just report on threats—we help safeguard your entire digital identity

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your, and your family’s, personal information by using identity protection.

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs:

• WhisperPair exposes Bluetooth earbuds and headphones to tracking and eavesdropping
• Dutch police sell fake tickets to show how easily scams work
• “Reprompt” attack lets attackers steal data from Microsoft Copilot
• Phishing scammers are posting fake “account restricted” comments on LinkedIn
• Online shoppers at risk as Magecart skimming hits major payment networks
• How real software downloads can hide remote backdoors
• Data broker fined after selling Alzheimer’s patient info and millions of sensitive profiles
• Why iPhone users should update and restart their devices now
• Received an Instagram password reset email? Here’s what you need to know
• Regulators around the world are scrutinizing Grok over sexual deepfakes
• Celebrating reviews and recognitions for Malwarebytes in 2025

Stay safe!

We don’t just report on scams—we help detect them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we’ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!

WhisperPair is a set of attacks that lets an attacker hijack many popular Bluetooth audio accessories that use Google Fast Pair and, in some cases, even track their location via Google’s Find Hub network—all without requiring any user interaction.

Researchers at the Belgian University of Leuven revealed a collection of vulnerabilities they found in audio accessories that use Google’s Fast Pair protocol. The affected accessories are sold by 10 different companies: Sony, Jabra, JBL, Marshall, Xiaomi, Nothing, OnePlus, Soundcore, Logitech, and Google itself.

Google Fast Pair is a feature that makes pairing Bluetooth earbuds, headphones and similar accessories with Android devices quick and seamless, and syncs them across a user’s Google account.

The Google Fast Pair Service (GFPS) utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to discover nearby Bluetooth devices. Many big-name audio brands use Fast Pair in their flagship products, so the potential attack surface consists of hundreds of millions of devices.

The weakness lies in the fact that Fast Pair skips checking whether a device is in pairing mode. As a result, a device controlled by an attacker, such as a laptop, can trigger Fast Pair even when the earbuds are sitting in a user’s ear or pocket, then quickly complete a normal Bluetooth pairing and take full control.

What that control enables depends on the capabilities of the hijacked device. This can range from playing disturbing noises to recording audio via built-in microphones.

It gets worse if the attacker is the first to pair the accessory with an Android device. In that case, the attacker’s Owner Account Key–designating their Google account as the legitimate owner’s—to the accessory. If the Fast Pair accessory also supports Google’s Find Hub network, which many people use to locate lost items, the attacker may then be able to track the accessory’s location.

Google classified this vulnerability, tracked under CVE‑2025‑36911, as critical. However, the only real fix is a firmware or software update from the accessory manufacturer, so users need to check with their specific brand and install accessory updates, as updating the phone alone does not fix the issue.

How to stay safe

To find out whether your device is vulnerable, the researchers published a list and recommend keeping all accessories updated. The research team tested 25 commercial devices from 16 manufacturers using 17 different Bluetooth chipsets. They were able to take over the connection and eavesdrop on the microphone on 68% of the tested devices.​

These are the devices the researchers found to be vulnerable, but it’s possible that others are affected as well:

• Anker soundcore Liberty 4 NC
• Google Pixel Buds Pro 2​
• JBL TUNE BEAM​
• Jabra Elite 8 Active​
• Marshall MOTIF II A.N.C.​
• Nothing Ear (a)​
• OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro​
• Sony WF-1000XM5​
• Sony WH-1000XM4​
• Sony WH-1000XM5​
• Sony WH-1000XM6​
• Sony WH-CH720N​
• Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5 Pro​

We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your mobile devices by downloading Malwarebytes for iOS, and Malwarebytes for Android today.

If you can’t beat them, copy them. That seems to be the thinking behind an unusual campaign by the Dutch police, who set up a fake ticket website selling tickets that don’t exist.

The website, TicketBewust.nl, invites people to order tickets for events like football matches and concerns. But the offers were never real. The entire site was a deliberate sting, designed to show people how easily ticket fraud works.

The Netherlands’ National Police created the site to warn people about ticket fraud. They worked with the Fraud Helpdesk and online marketplace Marktplaats to run ads promoting “exclusive tickets” for sold-out concerts. If anyone got far enough to try and buy a ticket, the fake site took them to a police webpage explaining that they’d just interacted with a fake online shop.

People fell for these too-good-to-be-true deals—and that’s the most interesting part of this story. Many of us assume we’re far too savvy to fall prey to such online shenanigans, but a surprisingly large number of people do.

More than 300,000 people saw the police ads on Marktplaats between October 30, 2025, and January 11, 2026. Over 30,000 people opened opened it to take a look. 7,402 of them clicked the link to the fake site that was in the ad, and 3,432 people tried to order tickets.

That’s a reminder that online crime works a lot like regular ecommerce. Whether you’re selling real tickets or fake ones, it’s just a numbers game. Only a small percentage of people who see an ad will ever convert—but even a tiny fraction can be lucrative.

In this case, around 1% of people that saw the ad took the bait, but that represents a big profit for scammers. Fake ticket sellers raked in an average of $672 per victim in the US between 2020 and 2024, according to data from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Why ticket fraud is so common

Dutch police get around 50,000 online fraud complaints annually, with 10% involving fake tickets. It’s a problem in other countries too, with UK losses to gig ticket scams doubling in 2024 to £1.6 million (around $2.1 million).

Part of the reason fake ticket scams are so effective is that many cases never get reported. Some victims don’t think the loss is significant enough, while others simply don’t want to admit they were tricked. But there’s another, more fundamental reason these scams work so well: the audience is already primed to buy.

People searching for tickets are usually doing so because they don’t want to miss out. Scammers lean hard into that fear of missing out (FOMO), pairing it with scarcity cues like “sold out,” “limited availability,” or time-limited offers. People under emotional pressure from urgency and scarcity tend to do irrational things and take risks they shouldn’t. It’s why people invest erratically or take gambles on dodgy online sales.

How to protect yourself from fake ticket sites

The advice for avoiding shady ticket sellers looks a lot like advice for avoiding scams in general:

• Watch what you click on social media. Social media accounts for 52% of concert ticket fraud cases, according to the BBB data. Stick to official channels like Ticketmaster, AXS, or the venue’s box office—and double check the URL you’re accessing.
• Don’t let emotions get the better of you. Ticket sellers target high-demand events because they know people are desperate to attend and might let their guard down. That’s why fake ticket scams spiked after Oasis announced their reunion tour.
• Don’t be fooled by support lines. Just because they’re on the phone doesn’t mean they’re legit.
• Never pay via Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, gift cards or crypto. Use credit cards or other payment methods that offer purchase protection.

A little skepticism can go a long way when looking for sought-after tickets. So if you see an online ad offering you the seats of a lifetime, take a minute to research the seller. It could save you hundreds of dollars and a heap of disappointment.

We don’t just report on scams—we help detect them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we’ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!

Researchers found a method to steal data which bypasses Microsoft Copilot’s built-in safety mechanisms.  

The attack flow, called Reprompt, abuses how Microsoft Copilot handled URL parameters in order to hijack a user’s existing Copilot Personal session.

Copilot is an AI assistant which connects to a personal account and is integrated into Windows, the Edge browser, and various consumer applications.

The issue was fixed in Microsoft’s January Patch Tuesday update, and there is no evidence of in‑the‑wild exploitation so far. Still, it once again shows how risky it can be to trust AI assistants at this point in time.

Reprompt hides a malicious prompt in the q parameter of an otherwise legitimate Copilot URL. When the page loads, Copilot auto‑executes that prompt, allowing an attacker to run actions in the victim’s authenticated session after just a single click on a phishing link.

In other words, attackers can hide secret instructions inside the web address of a Copilot link, in a place most users never look. Copilot then runs those hidden instructions as if the users had typed them themselves.

Because Copilot accepts prompts via a q URL parameter and executes them automatically, a phishing email can lure a user into clicking a legitimate-looking Copilot link while silently injecting attacker-controlled instructions into a live Copilot session.

What makes Reprompt stand out from other, similar prompt injection attacks is that it requires no user-entered prompts, no installed plugins, and no enabled connectors.

The basis of the Reprompt attack is amazingly simple. Although Copilot enforces safeguards to prevent direct data leaks, these protections only apply to the initial request. The attackers were able to bypass these guardrails by simply instructing Copilot to repeat each action twice.

Working from there, the researchers noted:

“Once the first prompt is executed, the attacker’s server issues follow‑up instructions based on prior responses and forms an ongoing chain of requests. This approach hides the real intent from both the user and client-side monitoring tools, making detection extremely difficult.”

How to stay safe

You can stay safe from the Reprompt attack specifically by installing the January 2026 Patch Tuesday updates.

If available, use Microsoft 365 Copilot for work data, as it benefits from Purview auditing, tenant‑level data loss prevention (DLP), and admin restrictions that were not available to Copilot Personal in the research case. DLP rules look for sensitive data such as credit card numbers, ID numbers, health data, and can block, warn, or log when someone tries to send or store it in risky ways (email, OneDrive, Teams, Power Platform connectors, and more).

Don’t click on unsolicited links before verifying with the (trusted) source whether they are safe.

Reportedly, Microsoft is testing a new policy that allows IT administrators to uninstall the AI-powered Copilot digital assistant on managed devices.

Malwarebytes users can disable Copilot for their personal machines under Tools > Privacy, where you can toggle Disable Windows Copilot to on (blue).

In general, be aware that using AI assistants still pose privacy risks. As long as there are ways for assistants to automatically ingest untrusted input—such as URL parameters, page text, metadata, and comments—and merge it into hidden system prompts or instructions without strong separation or filtering, users remain at risk of leaking private information.

So when using any AI assistant that can be driven via links, browser automation, or external content, it is reasonable to assume “Reprompt‑style” issues are at least possible and should be taken into consideration.

We don’t just report on threats—we remove them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

Recently, fake LinkedIn profiles have started posting comment replies claiming that a user has “engaged in activities that are not in compliance” with LinkedIn’s policies and that their account has been “temporarily restricted” until they submit an appeal through a specified link in the comment.

The comments come in different shapes and sizes, but here’s one example we found.

The accounts posting the comments all try to look like official LinkedIn bots and use various names. It’s likely they create new accounts when LinkedIn removes them. Either way, multiple accounts similar to the “Linked Very” one above were reported in a short period, suggesting automated creation and posting at scale.

The same pattern is true for the links. The shortened link used in the example above has already been disabled, while others point directly to phishing sites. Scammers often use shortened LinkedIn links to build trust, making targets believe the messages are legitimate. Because LinkedIn can quickly disable these links, attackers likely test different approaches to see which last the longest.

Here’s another example:

Malwarebytes blocks this last link based on the IP address:

If users follow these links, they are taken to a phishing page designed to steal their LinkedIn login details:

A LinkedIn spokesperson confirmed to BleepingComputer they are aware of the situation:

“I can confirm that we are aware of this activity and our teams are working to take action.”

Stay safe

In situations like this awareness is key—and now you know what to watch for. Some additional tips:

• Don’t click on unsolicited links in private messages and comments without verifying with the trusted sender that they’re legitimate.
• Always log in directly on the platform that you are trying to access, rather than through a link.
• Use a password manager, which won’t auto-fill in credentials on fake websites.
• Use a real-time, up-to-date anti-malware solution with a web protection module to block malicious sites.

Pro tip: The free Malwarebytes Browser Guard extension blocks known malicious websites and scripts.

We don’t just report on scams—we help detect them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we’ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!

Researchers have been tracking a Magecart campaign that targets several major payment providers, including American Express, Diners Club, Discover, and Mastercard.

Magecart is an umbrella term for criminal groups that specialize in stealing payment data from online checkout pages using malicious JavaScript, a technique known as web skimming.

In the early days, Magecart started as a loose coalition of threat actors targeting Magento‑based web stores. Today, the name is used more broadly to describe web-skimming operations against many e‑commerce platforms. In these attacks, criminals inject JavaScript into legitimate checkout pages to capture card data and personal details as shoppers enter them.

The campaign described by the researchers has been active since early 2022. They found a vast network of domains related to a long-running credit card skimming operation with a wide reach.

“This campaign utilizes scripts targeting at least six major payment network providers: American Express, Diners Club, Discover (a subsidiary of Capital One), JCB Co., Ltd., Mastercard, and UnionPay. Enterprise organizations that are clients of these payment providers are the most likely to be impacted.”

Attackers typically plant web skimmers on e-commerce sites by exploiting vulnerabilities in supply chains, third-party scripts, or the sites themselves. This is why web shop owners need to stay vigilant by keeping systems up to date and monitoring their content management system (CMS).

Web skimmers usually hook into the checkout flow using JavaScript. They are designed to read form fields containing card numbers, expiry dates, card verification codes (CVC), and billing or shipping details, then send that data to the attackers.

To avoid detection, the JavaScript is heavily obfuscated to and may even trigger a self‑destruct routine to remove the skimmer from the page. This can cause investigations performed through an admin session to appear unsuspicious.

Besides other methods to stay hidden, the campaign uses bulletproof hosting for a stable environment. Bulletproof hosting refers to web hosting services designed to shield cybercriminals by deliberately ignoring abuse complaints, takedown requests, and law enforcement actions.

How to stay safe

Magecart campaigns affect three groups: customers, merchants, and payment providers. Because web skimmers operate inside the browser, they can bypass many traditional server‑side fraud controls.

While shoppers cannot fix compromised checkout pages themselves, they can reduce their exposure and improve their chances of spotting fraud early.

A few things you can protect against the risk of web skimmers:

• Use virtual or single‑use cards for online purchases so any skimmed card number has a limited lifetime and spending scope.
• Where possible, turn on transaction alerts (SMS, email, or app push) for card activity and review statements regularly to spot unsolicited charges quickly.
• Use strong, unique passwords on bank and card portals so attackers cannot easily pivot from stolen card data to full account takeover.
• Use a web protection solution to avoid connecting to malicious domains.

Pro tip: Malwarebytes Browser Guard is free and blocks known malicious sites and scripts.

We don’t just report on threats—we remove them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

It starts with a simple search.

You need to set up remote access to a colleague’s computer. You do a Google search for “RustDesk download,” click one of the top results, and land on a polished website with documentation, downloads, and familiar branding.

You install the software, launch it, and everything works exactly as expected.

What you don’t see is the second program that installs alongside it—one that quietly gives attackers persistent access to your computer.

That’s exactly what we observed in a campaign using the fake domain rustdesk[.]work.

The bait: a near-perfect impersonation

We identified a malicious website at rustdesk[.]work impersonating the legitimate RustDesk project, which is hosted at rustdesk.com. The fake site closely mirrors the real one, complete with multilingual content and prominent warnings claiming (ironically) that rustdesk[.]work is the only official domain.

This campaign doesn’t exploit software vulnerabilities or rely on advanced hacking techniques. It succeeds entirely through deception. When a website looks legitimate and the software behaves normally, most users never suspect anything is wrong.

What happens when you run the installer

The installer performs a deliberate bait-and-switch:

1. It installs real RustDesk, fully functional and unmodified
2. It quietly installs a hidden backdoor, a malware framework known as Winos4.0

The user sees RustDesk launch normally. Everything appears to work. Meanwhile, the backdoor quietly establishes a connection to the attacker’s server.

By bundling malware with working software, attackers remove the most obvious red flag: broken or missing functionality. From the user’s point of view, nothing feels wrong.

Inside the infection chain

The malware executes through a staged process, with each step designed to evade detection and establish persistence:

Stage 1: The trojanized installer

The downloaded file (rustdesk-1.4.4-x86_64.exe) acts as both dropper and decoy. It writes two files to disk:

• The legitimate RustDesk installer, which is executed to maintain cover
• logger.exe, the Winos4.0 payload

The malware hides in plain sight. While the user watches RustDesk install normally, the malicious payload is quietly staged in the background.

Stage 2: Loader execution

The logger.exe file is a loader — its job is to set up the environment for the main implant. During execution, it:

• Creates a new process
• Allocates executable memory
• Transitions execution to a new runtime identity: Libserver.exe

This loader-to-implant handoff is a common technique in sophisticated malware to separate the initial dropper from the persistent backdoor.

By changing its process name, the malware makes forensic analysis harder. Defenders looking for “logger.exe” won’t find a running process with that name.

Stage 3: In-memory module deployment

The Libserver.exe process unpacks the actual Winos4.0 framework entirely in memory. Several WinosStager DLL modules—and a large ~128 MB payload—are loaded without being written to disk as standalone files.

Traditional antivirus tools focus on scanning files on disk (file-based detection). By keeping its functional components in memory only, the malware significantly reduces the effectiveness of file-based detection. This is why behavioral analysis and memory scanning are critical for detecting threats like Winos4.0.

The hidden payload: Winos4.0

The secondary payload is identified as Winos4.0 (WinosStager): a sophisticated remote access framework that has been observed in multiple campaigns, particularly targeting users in Asia.

Once active, it allows attackers to:

• Monitor victim activity and capture screenshots
• Log keystrokes and steal credentials
• Download and execute additional malware
• Maintain persistent access even after system reboots

This isn’t simple malware—it’s a full-featured attack framework. Once installed, attackers have a foothold they can use to conduct espionage, steal data, or deploy ransomware at a time of their choosing.

Technical detail: How the malware hides

The malware employs several techniques to avoid detection:

Command-and-control activity

Shortly after installation, the malware connects to an attacker-controlled server:

• IP: 207.56.13[.]76
• Port: 5666/TCP

This connection allows attackers to send commands to the infected machine and receive stolen data in return. Network analysis confirmed sustained two-way communication consistent with an established command-and-control session.

How the malware blends into normal traffic

The malware is particularly clever in how it disguises its network activity:

Because the victim installed real RustDesk, the malware’s network traffic is mixed with legitimate remote desktop traffic. This makes it much harder for network security tools to identify the malicious connections: the infected computer looks like it’s just running RustDesk.

What this campaign reveals

This attack demonstrates a troubling trend: legitimate software used as camouflage for malware.

The attackers didn’t need to find a zero-day vulnerability or craft a sophisticated exploit. They simply:

1. Registered a convincing domain name
2. Cloned a legitimate website
3. Bundled real software with their malware
4. Let the victim do the rest

This approach works because it exploits human trust rather than technical weaknesses. When software behaves exactly as expected, users have no reason to suspect compromise.

Indicators of compromise

File hashes (SHA256)

Network indicators

Malicious domain: rustdesk[.]work

C2 server: 207.56.13[.]76:5666/TCP

In-memory payloads

During execution, the malware unpacks several additional components directly into memory:

How to protect yourself

The rustdesk[.]work campaign shows how attackers can gain access without exploits, warnings, or broken software. By hiding behind trusted open-source tools, this attack achieved persistence and cover while giving victims no reason to suspect compromise.

The takeaway is simple: software behaving normally does not mean it’s safe. Modern threats are designed to blend in, making layered defenses and behavioral detection essential.

For individuals:

• Always verify download sources. Before downloading software, check that the domain matches the official project. For RustDesk, the legitimate site is rustdesk.com—not rustdesk.work or similar variants.
• Be suspicious of search results. Attackers use SEO poisoning to push malicious sites to the top of search results. When possible, navigate directly to official websites rather than clicking search links.
• Use security software. Malwarebytes Premium Security detects malware families like Winos4.0, even when bundled with legitimate software.

For businesses:

• Monitor for unusual network connections. Outbound traffic on port 5666/TCP, or connections to unfamiliar IP addresses from systems running remote desktop software, should be investigated.
• Implement application allowlisting. Restrict which applications can run in your environment to prevent unauthorized software execution.
• Educate users about typosquatting. Training programs should include examples of fake websites and how to verify legitimate download sources.
• Block known malicious infrastructure. Add the IOCs listed above to your security tools.

We don’t just report on threats—we remove them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

California’s privacy regulator has fined a Texas data broker $45,000 and banned it from selling Californians’ personal information after it sold Alzheimer patients’ data. Texan company Rickenbacher Data LLC, which does business as Datamasters, bought and resold the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of people that suffered from serious health conditions, according to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA).

The CPPA’s final order against Datamasters says that the company maintained a database containing 435,245 postal addresses for Alzheimer’s patients. But it didn’t stop there. Also up for grabs were records for 2,317,141 blind or visually impaired people, and 133,142 addiction sufferers. It also sold records for 857,449 people with bladder control issues.

Health-related data wasn’t the only category Datamasters trafficked in. The company also sold information tied to ethnicity, including so-called “Hispanic lists” containing more than 20 million names, as well as age-based “senior lists” and indicators of financial vulnerability. For example, it sold records of people holding high-interest mortgages.

And if buyers wanted data on other likely customer characteristics and actions, such as who was likely a liberal vs a right-winger, it could give you that, too, thanks to 3,370 “Consumer Predictor Models” spanning automotive preferences, financial activity, media use, political affiliation, and nonprofit activity.

Datamasters offers outright purchase of records from its national consumer database, which it claims covers 114 million households and 231 million individuals. Customers can also buy subscription-based updates too.

California regulators began investigating Datamasters after discovering the company had failed to register as a data broker in the state, as required under California’s Delete Act. The law has required data brokers to register since January 31, 2025.

The company originally denied that it did business in California or had data on Californians. However, that claim collapsed when regulators found an Excel spreadsheet on the website listing 204,218 California student records.

Datamasters first said it had not screened its national database to remove Californians’ data. After getting a lawyer, it changed its story, asserting that it did in fact filter Californians out of the data set. That didn’t convince the CPPA though.

The regulator acknowledged that Datamasters did try to comply with Californian privacy laws, but that it

“lacked sufficient written policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Delete Act.”

The fine imposed on Datamasters also takes into account that it hadn’t registered on the state’s data broker registry. Data brokers that don’t register are liable for $200 per day in fines, and failing to delete consumer data will incur $200 per consumer per day in fines.

Starting January 1, 2028, data brokers registered in California will also be required to undergo independent third-party compliance audits every three years.

Why selling extra-sensitive customer data is so dangerous

“History teaches us that certain types of lists can be dangerous,”

Michael Macko, the CPPA’s head of enforcement, pointed out.

Research has told us that Alzheimer’s patients are especially vulnerable to financial exploitation. If you think that scammers don’t seek out such lists, think again; criminals were found to have accessed data from at least three data brokers in the past. While there’s no suggestion that Datamasters knowingly sold data to scammers, it seems easy for people to buy data broker lists.

It also doesn’t take a PhD to see why many of these records (which, remember, the company holds about people nationwide) could be especially sensitive in the current US political climate.

There’s a broader privacy issue here, too. While many Americans might assume that the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects their health data, it only applies to healthcare providers. Amazingly, data brokers sit outside its purview.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Your first port of call should be your state’s data protection law. California introduced the Data Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) system this year under the Delete Act. It’s an opt-out system for California residents to make all data brokers on the registry delete data held about them.

If you don’t live in a state that takes sensitive data seriously, your options are more limited. You could move—maybe to Europe, where privacy protections are considerably stronger.

We don’t just report on data privacy—we help you remove your personal information

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. With Malwarebytes Personal Data Remover, you can scan to find out which sites are exposing your personal information, and then delete that sensitive data from the internet.

If you were still questioning whether iOS 26+ is for you, now is the time to make that call.

Why?

On December 12, 2025, Apple patched two WebKit zero‑day vulnerabilities linked to mercenary spyware and is now effectively pushing iPhone 11 and newer users toward iOS 26+, because that’s where the fixes and new memory protections live. These vulnerabilities were primarily used in highly targeted attacks, but such campaigns are likely to expand over time.

WebKit powers the Safari browser and many other iOS applications, so it’s a big attack surface to leave exposed and isn’t limited to “risky” behavior. These vulnerabilities allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a device after exploitation via malicious web content.

Apple has confirmed that attackers are already exploiting these vulnerabilities in the wild, making installation of the update a high‑priority security task for every user. Campaigns that start with diplomats, journalists, or executives often lead to tooling and exploits leaking or being repurposed, so “I’m not a target” is not a viable safety strategy.​

Due to public resistance to new features like Liquid Glass, many iPhone users have not yet upgraded to iOS 26.2. Reports suggest adoption of iOS 26 has been unusually slow. As of January 2026, only about 4.6% of active iPhones are on iOS 26.2, and roughly 16% are on any version of iOS 26, leaving the vast majority on older releases such as iOS 18.

However, Apple only ships these fixes and newer protections, such as Memory Integrity Enforcement, on iOS 26+ for supported devices. Users on older, unsupported devices won’t be able to access these protections at all.

Another important factor in the upgrade cycle is restarting the device. What many people don’t realize is that when you restart your device, any memory-resident malware is flushed—unless it has somehow gained persistence, in which case it will return. High-end spyware tools tend to avoid leaving traces needed for persistence and often rely on users not restarting their devices.

Upgrading requires a restart, which makes this a win-win: you get the latest protections, and any memory-resident malware is flushed at the same time.

For iOS and iPadOS users, you can check if you’re using the latest software version, go to Settings > General > Software Update. It’s also worth turning on Automatic Updates if you haven’t already. You can do that on the same screen.

How to stay safe

The most important fix—however painful you may find it—is to upgrade to iOS 26.2. Not doing means missing an accumulating list of security fixes, leaving your device vulnerable to more and more newly found vulnerabilities.

 But here are some other useful tips:

• Make it a habit to restart your device on a regular basis. The NSA recommends doing this weekly.
• Do not open unsolicited links and attachments without verifying with the trusted sender.
• Remember, Apple threat notifications will never ask users to click links, open files, install apps or ask for account passwords or verification code.
• For Apple Mail users specifically, these vulnerabilities create risk when viewing HTML-formatted emails containing malicious web content.
• Malwarebytes for iOS can help keep your device secure, with Trusted Advisor alerting you when important updates are available.
• If you are a high-value target, or you want the extra level of security, consider using Apple’s Lockdown Mode.

We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your mobile devices by downloading Malwarebytes for iOS, and Malwarebytes for Android today.