A DDoS mitigation service provider in Europe was targeted in a massive distributed denial-of-service attack that reached 1.5 billion packets per second.

The attack originated from thousands of IoTs and MikroTik routers, and it was mitigated by FastNetMon, a company that offers protection against service disruptions.

“The attack reached 1.5 billion packets per second (1.5 Gpps) — one of the largest packet-rate floods publicly disclosed,” FastNetMon says in a press release.

“The malicious traffic was primarily a UDP flood launched from compromised customer-premises equipment (CPE), including IoT devices and routers, across more than 11,000 unique networks worldwide,” the company explains.

FastNetMon did not name the targeted customer, but describes it as a DDoS scrubbing provider. These services specialize in filtering out malicious traffic during DDoS attacks through packet inspection, rate limiting, CAPTCHA, and anomaly detection.

The attack was detected in real-time, and mitigation action was taken using the customer’s DDoS scrubbing facility. The measures included deploying access control lists (ACLs) on edge routers known for amplification capabilities.

News of the attack comes just days after internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare announced that it blocked the largest recorded volumetric DDoS attack in history, which peaked at 11.5 terabits per second (Tbps) and 5.1 billion packets per second (Bpps).

In both attacks, the goal was to exhaust processing abilities on the receiving end and cause service outages.

FastNetMon’s founder, Pavel Odintsov, commented that the trend of these massive attacks has become very dangerous, and intervention at the internet service provider (ISP) level is required to stop this mass-scale weaponization of compromised consumer hardware.

“What makes this case remarkable is the sheer number of distributed sources and the abuse of everyday networking devices. Without proactive ISP-level filtering, compromised consumer hardware can be weaponised at a massive scale” – FastNetMon

“The industry must act to implement detection logic at the ISP level to stop outgoing attacks before they scale,” says Odintsov.

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According to reports, Ripple has sounded the alarm over a wave of new scams targeting XRP holders on YouTube.

XRP recently climbed past its 2018 high of $3.61, driving its market cap above $200 billion. That success has brought out a swarm of fraudsters.

They’re hijacking active channels, rebranding them with official logos, and posting fake “double your XRP” giveaways. Victims send coins — and they never see them again.

Between 2021 And 2023, Social‑Media Scams Drained Billions

Between 2021 and 2023, social‑media scams drained nearly $3 billion from users. Close to $2.5 billion of that figure came from “deep fakes”, or video impersonation schemes alone.

Those numbers show just how far fraud can reach when scammers copy official branding. It’s easy to feel safe clicking on a familiar logo, especially when XRP is surging and emotions are high.

Like clockwork, with success and market rallies, scammers ramp up their attacks on the crypto community — PLEASE BEWARE of the latest scam targeting the XRP family on @YouTube and impersonating @Ripple’s official account! We will keep reporting these – please do the same.

As… https://t.co/WodO4ZUyW9

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 23, 2025

Scammers Ride XRP’s Upswing

Fraudsters are quick to follow every price jump. When XRP passed $3.50 last week, cloned YouTube accounts started popping up everywhere.

They promise to match or double any deposit sent to a wallet address. Most channels even splice in real clips from Ripple events to look legit.

Then they swap in fake names and profile pictures in Ripple’s style. The losers? People who think they’re dealing with the real company.

Deepfakes And Paid Ads Fuel Scam Growth

Based on reports, scammers aren’t stopping at simple editing tricks. They’re using social engineering and other kinds of tools to drop in interviews with actual Ripple team members.

Then they overlay voice‑overs and fake on‑screen text that invites people to send XRP for a giveaway. Some even buy paid ads on Facebook and Instagram to spread their posts faster.

If one channel is flagged and removed, another three or four crop up within hours. It’s a game of whack‑a‑mole that favors the scammers and the speed at which they operate.

This year, deepfakes have been ensnaring a growing number of unsuspecting victims. Source: Metamoworks/Adobe Stock

Community Response And Executive Warnings

Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has publicly urged people to stay alert every time the crypto market gains steam.

He’s pointed out that fake giveaways and phishing setups pop up whenever XRP makes headlines. His message is clear: scams evolve as fast as the market itself. And they won’t stop unless users learn to spot the red flags.

User Warnings And Safety Tips

To stay safe, never send XRP or any other coin first in hopes of a reward. Always compare the channel name and URL against those listed on Ripple’s official site.

Enable two‑factor authentication on YouTube, email, and any exchange accounts you use. If you see a suspicious post or ad, report it immediately — and warn others in community forums so they don’t fall for the same trick.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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A 42-year-old man who is accused of running a $30 million scam targeting elderly Americans has reportedly just been arrested in Canada.

Gareth West was arrested in Quebec on behalf of American authorities and is now facing extradition to the United States to face fraud charges, reports CBC/Radio-Canada.

West is alleged to have posed as a wealthy real estate developer while running a complex “grandparent scam network” that employed more than 20 people and included multiple call centers in the Montreal area.

He faces charges in the US of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

West is alleged to have been the mastermind behind grandparent scammers since at least 2021. The scammers would allegedly phone older Americans, pretend they were their grandchildren who had been arrested or hurt, and say they needed cash right away. Scammers would connect the elderly victims to fake lawyers or bail agents and arrange for cash pickups.

Some 23 of West’s alleged scammer employees were arrested in March.

Police allege that documents they’ve recovered from the suspected scammers show they scammed $30 million during a span of about 67 weeks.

West faces up to 40 years in prison if extradited to the US and convicted of the crimes.

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The Spanish police have arrested two individuals in the province of Las Palmas for their alleged involvement in cybercriminal activity, including data theft from the country’s government.

The duo has been described as a “serious threat to national security” and focused their attacks on high-ranking state officials as well as journalists. They leaked samples of the stolen data online to build notoriety and inflate the selling price.

“The investigation began when agents detected the leakage of personal data affecting high-level institutions of the State across various mass communication channels and social networks,” reads the police announcement.

“These sensitive data were directly linked to politicians, members of the central and regional governments, and media professionals.”

The first suspect is believed to have specialized in data exfiltration, while the second managed the financial part by selling access to databases and credentials, and holding the cryptocurrency wallet that received the funds.

The two were arrested yesterday at their homes. During the raids, the police confiscated a large number of electronic devices that may lead to more incriminating evidence, buyers, or co-conspirators.

In recent years, Spanish police has been successful in tracking and arresting several high-profile cybercriminals. This February, they arrested a hacker believed to have breached Guardia Civil, the Ministry of Defense, NATO, the U.S. Army, and various universities worldwide.

Last June, a young British linked to the notorious Scattered Spider hacking group and believed to have been involved in attacks on 45 U.S. companies, was arrested in Palma de Mallorca.

Earlier, in December 2023, the Spanish police arrested the alleged leaders of the ‘Kelvin Security’ hacking group, believed to be responsible for 300 cyberattacks against organizations in 90 countries over a period of three years.

Cybercriminals are reportedly engineering fraudulent search results to trick unsuspecting victims seeking tech support assistance.

Jérôme Segura, the senior director of research at the antivirus firm Malwarebytes, says the criminals use sponsored search results on Google to trick people looking for 24/7 support for Apple, Bank of America, Facebook, HP, Microsoft, Netflix and PayPal.

The fake advertisements take people to copycat websites that imitate the sites of those big brands mentioned above. Instead of posting a real tech support phone number, the sites direct people to call scam numbers, Segura explains.

“The browser address bar will show that of the legitimate site, and so there’s no reason for suspicion. However, the information the visitor sees will be misleading, because the search results have been poisoned to display the scammer’s number prominently in what looks like an official search result.

Once the number is called, the scammers will pose as the brand with the aim of getting their victim to hand over personal data or card details, or even allow remote access to their computer. In the case of Bank of America or PayPal, the scammers want access to their victim’s financial account so they can empty it of money.”

Segura warns that people seeking tech support online should be aware of various scam warning signs, like a phone number in the URL and encoded characters like the %20 (space) and %2B (+ sign), along with phone numbers.

The malware researcher also says people should look out for websites that display urgent language like “Call Now,” “Account suspended,” and “Emergency support,” as well as similarly urgent language in the address bar of the browser.

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A new Android malware has been discovered hidden inside trojanized versions of the Alpine Quest mapping app, which is reportedly used by Russian soldiers as part of war zone operational planning.

Attackers promote the trojanized app as a free, cracked version of the premium Alpine Quest Pro, using Telegram channels and Russian app catalogs for distribution.

AlpineQuest is a legitimate GPS and topographic mapping app for Android used by adventurers, athletes, search-and-rescue teams, and military personnel, valued for its offline capabilities and precision.

The app has two versions: a free Lite version with limited features and a paid Pro version that is free of tracking libraries, analytics, and advertisements.

The spyware, which was discovered by researchers at Russian mobile antivirus company Doctor Web, hides inside a fully working Alpine Quest app, reducing suspicion and creating valuable data theft opportunities.

Once launched, it attempts to steal communication data and sensitive documents from the device, potentially revealing details about army operations. Specifically, the spyware performs the following actions:

• Sends the user’s phone number, contacts, geolocation, file info, and app version to attackers.
• Monitors location changes in real-time and sends updates to a Telegram bot.
• Downloads additional modules to steal confidential files, especially those sent via Telegram and WhatsApp.
• Seeks the ‘locLog’ file from Alpine Quest, which contains location history logs.

Doctor Web tracks the previously undocumented spyware as ‘Android.Spy. 1292.origin’ but did not make any attributions about its origin in its report. Indicators of compromise are available here.

Turning the tables

The tactic of targeting soldiers was previously associated with Russian hacking operations, often linked to state-sponsored threat groups collecting intelligence for the Russian army.

In December 2022, hackers using a compromised Ukrainian Ministry of Defense email account attempted subsequent infections by using DELTA, a Ukrainian intelligence collection and management system as bait.

In October 2024, the Russian threat group ‘UNC5812’ targeted Ukrainian conscripts with Windows and Android malware via a fake agency named ‘Civil Defense.’

More recently, in February 2025, Google researchers revealed that Russian threat actors of the APT44 group used malicious QR codes to trick targets into syncing their Signal accounts with unauthorized devices.

The discovery of the trojanized AlpineQuest app shows that these sneaky attacks are orchestrated from both ends of the conflict, as intelligence collection remains crucial in gaining battlefield advantage.

US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs against every country with a trade relationship with the US.

Trump said the US would enact varying tariff percentages against each country based on the tariffs they impose on American goods.

The news led to a significant spike in volatility across major markets, including crypto, which saw the announcement wipe out the gains recorded from a significant rally earlier in the day.

Bitcoin (BTC) initially climbed to $88,500 as Trump took the stage but quickly crashed back to the daily opening price of around $85,100 before sliding again after the speech.

Based on CryptoSlate data, BTC remains in a downtrend and was trading at $84,382 as of press time, down 0.99% over the past 24 hours.

Legacy risk markets, including equities, saw similar volatility, while gold, considered a safe-haven asset, climbed back to its all-time high near $3,100.

The wider crypto market saw similar movements, with the vast majority of digital assets wiping the day’s gains to trade in the red.

Ethereum (ETH) was down 1.66% for the day and trading at $1,880 as of press time after climbing to $1,957 earlier in the day.

Solana (SOL) was down 1.59% for the day and trading at $128.3 as of press time, while BNB was down 2.16% and trading at $597 over the same period.

XRP was trading at $2.09, down 2.55%, while Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 2.45% to $0.1688.

Investors have been cautious about exposure to risk assets for several weeks due to the lack of clarity around Trump’s tariff plans.

While the initial reaction to the news has been negative for Bitcoin and equities, the resulting clarity around the tariffs could alleviate the market uncertainty that has held investors at bay.

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