Barcelona Hack and Other Hacks Make People Wonder: Are We Ever Really Safe?

Barcelona Hack and Other Hacks Make People Wonder: Are We Ever Really Safe?

Cyber attacks continue to rise, and the recent Barcelona hack has kept people wondering, if anyone is ever really safe.

Furthermore, peculiar things about this recent attack isn’t only that it is causing anxiety among people, another peculiar thing about it, is that this hack is an handiwork of a popular group known as OurMine.

If you recall, only about two weeks ago, we published an article as regards OurMine’s hack against Facebook. And towards the end of the article, we claim to wonder if the Facebook hack would be the only one this year, or the group would be going for another hacking spree.

But with the recent attack against Barcelona, the group has kinda hinted that this year would be another busy year for them, and we wonder who is next on their list.

Giving details as regards the recent Barcelona hack: after the team won their last match against Getafe, the club’s official website was taken over, by the group. And not only was the website taken over, the group also went ahead to post some misinformation on the club’s website.

Among misinformation posted by this group, is a news that the Barcelona Football Club has re-signed one of its former players, Neymar.

Not only did OurMine make Barcelona an hack victim, the hacking group also passed a comment as regards the club’s cyber security. According to the group, Barcelona’s cyber security has improved, but it is still far from being excellent.

It is worthwhile keeping in mind that this wouldn’t be the first time Barca would be an hack victim to the group. The club happens to be among those hacked during OurMine’s 2017 hacking spree.

Furthermore, while the Barcelona hack is what we have been seeing around, the group also happens to have successfully pulled off a cyber attack against the International Olympic Committee. And once again, we do not see this group stopping anytime soon.

It’s not just about Barca and the International Olympic Committee, we are all concerned

While the recent hacks have left Barcelona and other entities wondering how they would never be future victims to such attacks, these recent cyber attacks have made individuals start to wonder if anyone is ever safe online. While such an anxiety may be considered by some people as uncalled for, we genuinely think those who are anxious, have genuine reasons to be.

On the same Saturday the Barcelona hack took place, a post concerning a very serious Android malware was released by Digital Tends. According to the article, there has been this particular malware called “xHelper”, and it has been disturbing a good number of Android smartphone users.

According to the report, this Android malware is not only a very serious malware, it has also proven to be impossible to permanently remove the app from a phone — when uninstalled, it’s only a matter of time, before a victim finds it on their phone again.

Amelia who happens to be suffering from the hands of this malware, stated that even a factory reset has proven to be incapable of removing the app permanently. And after further investigation conducted, it wouldn’t be unfair to claim the malware is a thing that can be traced to the manufactures of very cheap Android phone.

Malwarebytes found out that this malware is common to cheap Android smartphones manufactured by Chinese companies. And not only that, the fact that a factory reset proves to be unable to bring an end to it, shows that the app has some very serious privileges.

Malwarebytes also found out that when Google Play gets disabled on the phone, the malware isn’t seen again, until Google Play gets re-enabled. In other words, it might be safe to say that certain actions taken by Google Play are used as trigger mechanisms for the installation of the app.

Funny enough, Amelia and other people known to Malwarebytes are not the only ones who have been suffering from the hands of this malware, the writer of this content also happens to have suffered from the hands of this malware.

This problem started sometimes in 2019, when using an Android 6.0 Fero A5002 smartphone. This phone is no doubt a very cheap one, and the malware problem started in 2019. Very often, I would see the app display annoying ads, then would proceed to uninstall it. And it’s only a matter of hours before I see it reappear. Ever since this problem started, I continued to suffer from the hands of this malware, although a different malware app seems to have, of recent, taken the position of xHelper. In the end, I had to dump the device, and get a better Android phone.