15/11 – APT Group Pilfers $11 Million From Africa, Asia, Latin America Using Spear Phishing Emails. … But there are signs that major organized groups are actively probing and staking out lucrative niches in other areas, entering territory that was previously hunted by smaller and less skilled attackers. A detailed report on one such example has recently been published by security outfit Group-IB, outlining the activities of the “OPERA1ER” APT group over the past few years. This group is known for targeted spear phishing emails, but is unique in targeting less economically developed nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
16/11 – Report: Social Media Used for Selling Wild Animals in Mexico. A significant amount of Mexican wildlife trade happens on social media and “has a direct and irreversible impact on ecosystems,” says a report published by the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization protecting endangered species.
17/11 – Food fraud: about 27 000 tonnes off the shelves. Operation OPSON XI targeting food fraud has led to an increased number of seizures of fake food and beverages across Europe. The operation, coordinated by Europol for EU-wide actions, took place between December 2021 and May 2022. Europol received reports from 26* countries that almost 27 000 tonnes of fake food had been seized.
18/11- Financial Action Task Force Blacklists Myanmar Over Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Myanmar on its blacklist of jurisdictions for failing to implement its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies in combatting money laundering and terrorist financing.
18/11 – US Fleet Seizes Explosive Material in the Gulf of Oman. The United States’ 5th Fleet seized a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was smuggling a considerable amount of explosive material from Iran to war-torn Yemen, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs said Tuesday in a statement.
18/11 – Illegal timber trade targeted in the EU and Brazil. Europol supported one of a kind international operation targeting illegal timber trade both in source and destination countries. The actions involved law enforcement authorities from Brazil, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain as well as the Latin American Project EL PAcCTO. The actions targeted networks involved in environmental crime, illegal logging, smuggling, tax evasion, money laundering and document fraud.
