An unprecedented incident has left the cybersecurity community without words. Various user reports and vendors from Usenet, the world’s largest discussion network, report a potential massive security breach that has created multiple connection issues.
Usenet (the short way of saying Users Network) is a network of services and clients in which participants meet virtually in so-called “newsgroups”; because these networks are decentralized, users consider them secure and private, so illegal content, such as pirated software, leaks, and more, proliferates.
The use of this discussion network is getting smaller and smaller, although not enough to stop considering its security risks. The latest figures say the number of daily publications on Usenet is 107 million, while more than 60 TB of data is loaded daily.
UseNext, one of the largest service providers, revealed that a security breach could have revealed the names and information of its clients’ bank accounts. Apparently, many specialists on the subject have linked this incident to a Usenet client known as “Momentum”. Some of those affected claim that Momentum managers have been collecting users’ credentials to upload to a platform known as NewZBee.
Usenet1, which is another online platform for enthusiasts of any Usenet-related topic, has reported ongoing and large-scale issues, adding that UseNext, Usenet.nl, Gigaflat, Momentum Plus and HolmeZ.com have also experienced widespread and sudden failures. According to cybersecurity specialists, these are some of Usenet’s most important platforms, so it’s not common for them to present such serious problems.
Cybersecurity experts believe that this incident should not go unnoticed, as it is a considerably serious matter that could bring disastrous consequences for affected users. While the landscape is clearing up, UseNext has advised its customers to reset their credentials as a security measure, as well as verifying their account settings to disable the automatic message forwarding feature, not to mention monitoring their bank statements and payment card transactions.
In addition to these measures, other service providers recommended that you do not use the Momentum client, at least until the incident is resolved.
Usenet has been active since 1979 and, although serious doubts persist, there is nothing that can be considered illegal in its use. While this is a resource used to share illegal content, many subscribers to these services also use Usenet to access shared material in a completely legal way, similar to torrents, experts claim.
He is a cyber security and malware researcher. He studied Computer Science and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2006. He is actively working as an cyber security investigator. He also worked for different security companies. His everyday job includes researching about new cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in enterprise security implementation.