Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 September 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

66 Percent of Businesses Don't Understand Their Cyber Risks

A survey has found that 67% of organisations have experienced a breach requiring attention within the last two years, despite having traditional security measures in place. Worryingly, 66% self-reported having limited visibility and insight into their cyber risk profiles.

83% of organisations agreed that a comprehensive cyber risk reduction strategy would yield a reduction in the likelihood of a significant cyber incident occurring, yet a number of organisations are finding it difficult to implement this and as a result are looking for outside assistance too. The report found that 93 percent of organisations plan to offload specific segments of cyber risk reduction workstreams or projects to security service providers within the next two years.

Source: [Beta News]

Massive Supplier Cyber Breach Puts London’s Metropolitan Police on Red Alert After Officer and Staff Details Hacked

All 47,000 personnel working for the Met Police were warned of the risk their photos, names and ranks having been stolen when cyber crooks penetrated the IT systems of a contractor printing warrant cards and staff passes. The supplier had access to names, ranks, photos, vetting levels and pay numbers of officers and staff, but did not hold information such as addresses, phone numbers or financial details.

The attack shows the importance of understanding the supply chain, and what access your supplier has access to. Without knowing who has your data, and what data, you will be left clueless if a breach on a supplier occurs.

Sources [Data Breaches] [UKAuthority]

Pay our Ransom Instead of a GDPR Fine, Cyber Crime Gang Tells Targets, as Attacks Against Small Businesses Ramp Up

Ransomware actors are always evolving their tactics, with gangs now telling victims if they don’t pay, then they will face fines under data protection laws. Additionally, small businesses are on the radar, partially due to them being easier targets for actors; some gangs have shifted from asking for millions from a large organisation, to requesting small ransoms from multiple small businesses.

As a result in both the number and sophistication of ransomware attacks, 80% of organisations expect their spending to increase. Not every organisation has an unlimited budget and so it is important that organisations are able to prioritise and allocate their budget effectively, to give them the most protection that their budget allows, especially small to medium-sized businesses.

Sources [Dark Reading] [The Record] [Security Magazine]

Survey Finds In-house Counsel Cyber Anxiety Skyrocketing

In a recent report, only 25% of legal professionals said they felt fully prepared to deal with a cyber attack, with 78% ranking the task of shielding their organisation from cyber attacks as the greatest regulatory concern over the next 12 months; previously, this figure was only 30% in 2021.

There has been a growing number of attacks, due to the sensitive data that is held and the number of attacks will continue to rise. With regulatory concerns adding to this, in-house counsel should be looking to have their concerns heard and drive the organisation to bolster their defences, and this may include outsourcing expert advice to make sure it is done correctly.

Source: [Law.com]

58% of Malicious Emails Contained Spoofed Content

According to a recent report, 58% of malicious emails contained spoof content and spam emails had increased by 30% from Q1 to Q2 2023. The report identified a surge in the number of uses of QR codes as a primary attack method, showing that attack methods are evolving, and in some cases, choosing not to use traditional methods.

The report reinforces the need for constant user education training, to reduce the risk of an employee falling for a phishing email. With this training, new evolving techniques such as that with QR codes, should also be addressed.

Source: [Security Magazine]

Cyber Attacks Remain a Top Concern for Organisations Across All Industries

Cyber attacks remain a top threat to organisations’ ability to do business across all industries. When asked in a recent report, 18% of respondents reported that cyber attacks threatened or disrupted their business.

With cyber attacks being a huge concern, many organisations have an incident response plan in place; yet despite this, nearly one quarter (23%) of companies surveyed have either never conducted tests or are unsure if their teams have tested. Cyber incidents are a matter of when, not if, and a strong incident response plan is always needed and can prevent a bad situation from being made worse by doing the wrong things in the immediate aftermath of an attack.

Source: [Business Wire]

BYOD Security Gap: Survey Finds 49% of European Firms Unprotected

A recent survey found that a concerning 49% of European businesses are operating without having a formal bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, highlighting a lack of visibility and control over such devices. The report found that organisations are concerned about compliance-based issues, with 43% noting increased worries.

The benefits of BYOD are clear, allowing organisations to save money and eliminate the need for multiple devices. But without a formal BYOD policy, organisations are risking having employees bring in devices that are effectively invisible to IT. This means that the vulnerabilities that come with it, and the risks it can bring, also go unnoticed. To mitigate the risk, a formalised BYOD policy is required.

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]

13% of Employees Admit to Falling for Phishing Attacks Working at Home, 9% Would Wait to Report After the Weekend

In a recent report, it was found that 13% of employees admitted they had fallen for a phishing attack whilst working from home. Rather worryingly, 21% said they would continue working business as usual in the event of falling victim to a phishing attack whilst working remotely on a Friday, with 9% indicating they’d wait until after the weekend to report it, effectively, giving the attacker a 48 hour period in which they go unnoticed, if the employee even remembers to report it on the Monday.

It is important that users are educated, both on spotting phishing attacks and the reporting process, so that organisations can be best protected. By providing regular and effective user training, employees will be at less risk of falling victim to a phishing attack, even from home. Additionally, by understanding the reporting process and why there is a need to report as soon as possible, organisations will shorten their detection time.

Source: [Security Magazine]

Numbers Don't Lie: Exposing the Harsh Truths of Cyber Attacks in New Report

In their most recent quarterly report, BlackBerry focused on a 90-day window, identifying over 1.5 million malware-based attacks, over 200,000 unique attacks, 17,000 attacks per day and 12 per minute to name a few. The report found that financial institutions were amongst the most targeted.

Source: [The Hacker News]

Kroll’s Breach Highlights SIM-Swapping Risk

A recent supply chain breach at Kroll, the risk and financial advisory firm, affected downstream customers and exposed personal information on hundreds of claimants in bankruptcy proceedings. The breach occurred when a threat actor had transferred an employee’s phone number to a device in the attackers possession, which was then subsequently used to access sensitive information.

In this attack, the actor had convinced T-Mobile to port the employee’s number over, allowing the actor to access files containing bankruptcy details. A mitigation recommended for this is to ask your network provider if they offer port freeze or number lock, to protect it from unauthorised transfer.

Source [Dark Reading]

Reducing The Risk of AI, What Can You Do?

Threat actors' use of generative AI has fuelled a significant rise in attacks worldwide during the last 12 months according to a recent report. Yet despite this, AI is still seen as a positive thing for organisations, with the power of generative AI quickly realised.

Certainly, AI can be used in the organisation to increase efficiency and automate tasks, but it must be used with vigilance. Organisations implementing AI should have governance over the usage of AI to eliminate the chance of data leaking. This governance may include policies, procedures and approved AI software.

Sources: [CSO Online] [UKTech News]

Debunking Popular Cyber Security Myths

At a time when cyber security is a constant feature in the news and our daily lives, it is important to debunk a few myths surrounding it. One of the biggest, is the assumption that cyber defence is all about the technical controls; in fact, 89% of cyber attacks involved social engineering. The prevalence of social engineering further shows that strong passwords, firewalls and antivirus are not enough; what’s the use in having a password that takes years to crack if you hand it over to someone?

When we think cyber security, we often think of external threat actors, but insider risk is a real threat: whether by malicious actions, negligence or misunderstanding, those inside your organisation can be a real risk to your organisation.

So what’s the take home? Cyber is more than just technology, and it is not just an outside attacker. Organisations’ cyber efforts should focus on more than just the technical requirements; by having things such as user education training, organisations can mitigate their cyber risk.

Sources: [Forbes] [Trend Micro]

3 Malware Loaders Responsible for 80% of Intrusions

Three malware loaders, QBot, SocGholish, and Raspberry Robin, are responsible for 80 percent of observed attacks on computers and networks so far this year. The malware are all distributed differently; Qbot is typically deployed through a phishing email, SocGholish is downloaded without user interaction, and Raspberry Robin is through USB devices.

Sources: [The Register] [Infosecurity Magazine]

MOVEit Hack Shows Attackers Still Use Old Tricks

SQL injection has been around for a quarter of a century, yet it still features amongst the top 10 list of security vulnerabilities. In fact, SQL injection was the method of attack for the infamous MOVEit hacks, which has impacted over 700 organisations, with the number still growing.

The MOVEit attack highlights just how easily old, over-looked vulnerabilities can be used to target an organisation. Consider your organisation now: are there any legacy systems or software in place?

Source: [Dark Reading]

Barracuda Thought it Drove 0-day Hackers out of Customers’ Networks. It was Wrong.

In late May, security vendor Barracuda had released a patch for their email security gateway (ESG), which was being actively exploited. Having already accounted for this, the threat actors utilised a new attack, which meant infected devices would reinfect themselves, effectively negating Barracuda’s patch. Unfortunately, this meant that for a while, Barracuda thought it was in the clear, when it was still under attack.

Upon realising this, Barracuda’s security advisory changed from recommending a patch to requiring an immediate replacement of compromised ESG appliances, regardless of the patch level. This shows the need for organisations to keep up to date with the latest threat intelligence, as missing the second update could mean infected devices are still in the wild, with organisations under the false perception that they were safe.

Source: [Ars Technica]

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Cyber Attacks and Other Threats Remain a Top Concern for Organisations Across All Industries, Finds InformationWeek’s State of Cyber Risk and Resiliency Report | Business Wire

• 66 percent of businesses don't understand their cyber risks (betanews.com)

• Survey of In-House Counsel Finds Cyber Anxiety Skyrocketing | Law.com

• Numbers Don't Lie: Exposing the Harsh Truths of Cyber Attacks in New Report (thehackernews.com)

• SEC Probe Targets SolarWinds Executives - DevX

• Cyber Security Enters Conversation About Executive Pay - WSJ

• Cyber defence makes up majority of cyber security budgets | Security Magazine

• How international cyber security frameworks can help CISOs | CSO Online

• Balancing risk and compliance: implications of the SEC’s new cyber security regulations | CSO Online

• SEC cyber attack regulations prompt 10 questions for CISOs | TechTarget

• Should Senior IT Professionals Be Accountable for Professional Decisions? (darkreading.com)

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• 80% of organisations expect ransomware spending to increase | Security Magazine

• Akira Ransomware gang targets Cisco ASA without Multi-Factor Auth (securityaffairs.com)

• Citrix NetScaler Alert: Ransomware Hackers Exploiting Critical Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• MOVEit Was a SQL Injection Accident Waiting to Happen (darkreading.com)

• Nearly 1,000 Organisations, 60 Million Individuals Impacted by MOVEit Hack - SecurityWeek

• Ransomware With an Identity Crisis Targets Small Businesses, Individuals (darkreading.com)

• Pay our ransom instead of a GDPR fine, cyber crime gang tells its targets (therecord.media)

• Ransomware Attack Cleanup Costs: $11M So Far for Rackspace (govinfosecurity.com)

• LogicMonitor customers who didn’t change default passwords were hit by hackers (databreaches.net)

• LockBit 3.0 Ransomware Builder Leak Gives Rise to Hundreds of New Variants (thehackernews.com)

• Deconstructing ransomware, cyber criminals and their modus operandi | TechRadar

• Ransomware Evolution: Smaller Actors, Bigger Impact (govinfosecurity.com)

• Ransomware hackers dwell time drops to 5 days, RDP still widely used (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Making Sense of Ransomware Attack Statistics in 2023 | ITPro Today: IT News, How-Tos, Trends, Case Studies, Career Tips, More

• Financial Firms Breached in MOVEit Cyber Attacks Now Face Lawsuits (darkreading.com)

• Should Companies Pay After Ransomware Attacks? Is It Illegal? (techtarget.com)

• How Ransomware Groups Respond to External Pressure (inforisktoday.com)

• Decoding the DNA of Ransomware Attacks: Unveiling the Anatomy Behind the Threat (trellix.com)

• Rackspace Faces Massive Cleanup Costs After Ransomware Attack (darkreading.com)

• EDITORIAL | Time to Cut Off North Korea from Funding Sources for its Missiles | JAPAN Forward (japan-forward.com)

• International ransomware gangs are evolving their techniques. The next generation of hackers will target weaknesses in cryptocurrencies (theconversation.com)

• 8 Types of Ransomware: Examples of Past and Current Attacks (techtarget.com)

• Black Basta Besting Your Network? (securityintelligence.com)

Ransomware Victims

• Financial Firms Breached in MOVEit Cyber Attacks Now Face Lawsuits (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware Attack Cleanup Costs: $11M So Far for Rackspace (govinfosecurity.com)

• St Helens Council still dealing with suspected cyber-attack - BBC News

• Rhysida claims ransomware attack on Prospect Medical, threatens to sell data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• University of Michigan shuts down network after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Social Security Numbers leaked in ransomware attack on Ohio History Connection (malwarebytes.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing as a service continues to plague business users - SiliconANGLE

• 58% of malicious emails contained spoof content | Security Magazine

• 13% of employees admit to falling for phishing attacks working at home | Security Magazine

• Top 5 most abused brands by hackers

• New phishing attacks target FTX users following Kroll data breach – Cryptopolitan

• Phishing-as-a-Service Gets Smarter: Microsoft Sounds Alarm on AiTM Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Spain warns of LockBit Locker ransomware phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US govt email servers hacked in Barracuda zero-day attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• QR Code' Surge in Popularity Brings Along a Rise in QR-Linked Phishing Scams | Metaverse Post (mpost.io)

• Rising Phishing Scams Impact Small Businesses Relying on Social Media (smallbiztrends.com)

• Can You Spot Phishing Emails? Test Your Awareness With These Quizzes (makeuseof.com)

• How to Spot Phishing Emails & Tips to Avoid Them | Proofpoint US

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Kroll Suffers Data Breach: Employee Falls Victim to SIM Swapping Attack (thehackernews.com)

• New phishing attacks target FTX users following Kroll data breach – Cryptopolitan

• 3 Cryptocurrency Firms Suffer Data Breach After Kroll SIM Swapping Attack - SecurityWeek

Artificial Intelligence

• Cyber security agency gives AI chatbot warning (uktech.news)

• Why generative AI is a double-edged sword for the cyber security sector | VentureBeat

• IT leaders alarmed by generative AI's SaaS security implications - Help Net Security

• Is Bias in AI Algorithms a Threat to Cloud Security? (darkreading.com)

• Shifting Cyber Security: The Impact and Implications of LLMs (inforisktoday.com)

• Vendors Training AI With Customer Data is an Enterprise Risk (darkreading.com)

• Advanced Malware: Why AI Can't Help All Hackers (inforisktoday.com)

• Hacking the future: Notes from DEF CON’s Generative Red Team Challenge | CSO Online

• Building cyber resilience in an age of AI (betanews.com)

• How to minimize data risk for generative AI and LLMs in the enterprise | VentureBeat

• Google launches tool to identify AI-generated images - Help Net Security

2FA/MFA

• Akira Ransomware gang targets Cisco ASA without Multi-Factor Auth (securityaffairs.com)

AITM/MITM

• Microsoft Warns of Adversary-in-the-Middle Uptick on Phishing Platform - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• These 3 loaders were behind 80% of intrusions this year • The Register

• 20+ Malware Statistics You Need to Know in 2023 (techreport.com)

• Cisco Talos Research: New Lazarus Group Attack Malware Campaign Hits UK & US Businesses (techrepublic.com)

• 'Whiffy Recon' Malware Transmits Device Location Every 60 Seconds (darkreading.com)

• Infamous Raccoon Stealer Malware Returns - DevX

• Top 3 Malware Threatening Businesses in Q2 2023 (cybersecuritynews.com)

• Malware Unleashed: Public Sector Hit in Sudden Surge, Reveals New Research (darkreading.com)

• KmsdBot Malware Gets an Upgrade: Now Targets IoT Devices with Enhanced Capabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Japan's JPCERT warns of new 'MalDoc in PDF' attack technique (securityaffairs.com)

• Advanced Malware: Why AI Can't Help All Hackers (inforisktoday.com)

• DarkGate Malware Activity Spikes as Developer Rents Out Malware to Affiliates (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers are now hiding malicious Word documents in PDFs — how to stay safe | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• DreamBus malware exploits RocketMQ flaw to infect servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Kaspersky malware report for Q2 2023 | Securelist

• Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google - The Verge

• APT Attacks From 'Earth Estries' Hit Gov't, Tech With Custom Malware (darkreading.com)

• CISA and International Partners Release Malware Analysis Report on Infamous Chisel Mobile Malware | CISA

• SapphireStealer Malware: A Gateway to Espionage and Ransomware Operations (thehackernews.com)

• Battling malware in the industrial supply chain

Mobile

• Kroll's Crypto Breach Highlights SIM-Swapping Risk (darkreading.com)

• This new Android malware can unlock your phone and drain your bank accounts | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• Privacy Regulator Warns of Surging Number of “Text Pest” Cases - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Is Mobile Hacking Still a Big Threat in 2023? (makeuseof.com)

• New Android MMRat malware uses Protobuf protocol to steal your data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• What Are Overlay Attacks? How Do You Protect Against Them? (makeuseof.com)

• New Android Banking Trojan Targets Southeast Asia Region (inforisktoday.com)

• China-Linked BadBazaar Android Spyware Targeting Signal and Telegram Users (thehackernews.com)

• Five Eyes Report: New Russian Malware Targeting Ukrainian Military Android Devices - Security Week

• Chinese APT Uses Fake Messenger Apps to Spy on Android Users (inforisktoday.com)

• 8 Ways To Boost Your Android Phone's Security (slashgear.com)

Botnets

• Online exclusive: Rise of the botnets (securitymiddleeastmag.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• DDoS attacks rise 40% in Q2 2023, affecting banks, gaming & e-commerce | Security Magazine

BYOD

• BYOD Security Gap: Survey Finds 49% of European Firms Unprotected - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• KmsdBot Malware Gets an Upgrade: Now Targets IoT Devices with Enhanced Capabilities (thehackernews.com)

• The power of passive OS fingerprinting for accurate IoT device identification - Help Net Security

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Metropolitan Police reports supplier cyber breach | UKAuthority

• UK: Metropolitan Police on red alert after details of officers and staff hacked in massive security breach (databreaches.net)

• Kroll Suffers Data Breach: Employee Falls Victim to SIM Swapping Attack (thehackernews.com)

• American Express admits APAC employees' data leak, blames a third-party payroll service

• National Safety Council data leak: Credentials of NASA, Tesla, DoJ, Verizon, and 2K others leaked by workplace safety organisation (securityaffairs.com)

• Leaseweb is restoring ‘critical’ systems after security breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• French employment agency Pôle emploi data breach impacted 10M peopleSecurity Affairs

• Mom’s Meals discloses data breach impacting 1.2 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 3 Cryptocurrency Firms Suffer Data Breach After Kroll SIM Swapping Attack - Security Week

• Paramount discloses data breach following security incident (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Another data breach at Forever 21 leaks details of 500,000 current and former employees (bitdefender.com)

• Cost of a data breach 2023: Financial industry impacts (securityintelligence.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Moscow helping cyber criminals operate with 'near impunity': report | The Province

• Hacking gangs launch cyber crime syndicate the Five Families (techmonitor.ai)

• Microsoft weighs in on Russian-led UN cyber crime treaty • The Register

• ‘Billion Dollar Heist’: The Wild Story That Should Have Us All Petrified (thedailybeast.com)

• New Research Exposes Airbnb as Breeding Ground For Cyber Crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft: UN treaty creates 'ideal conditions' for cyber crime (telecomstechnews.com)

• Cyber Criminals use research contests to create new attack methods - Help Net Security

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Kroll data breach exposes info of FTX, BlockFi, Genesis creditors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• International ransomware gangs are evolving their techniques. The next generation of hackers will target weaknesses in cryptocurrencies (theconversation.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• New Research Exposes Airbnb as Breeding Ground For Cyber Crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Classiscam Spreads: $64.5M Scheme Targets 79 Countries - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Impersonation Attacks

• Top 5 most abused brands by hackers

• New York Times Spoofed to Hide Russian Disinformation Campaign (darkreading.com)

Deepfakes

• 4 Strategies to Safeguard the Finance Industry Against Deepfake Onslaught (darkreading.com)

Insurance

• Insurers End Tussle Over Ransomware Attack Coverage - Law360 UK

• Delinea Research Reveals a Cyber Insurance Gap (darkreading.com)

• Understand the fine print of your cyber insurance policies - Help Net Security

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• American Express admits APAC employees' data leak, blames a third-party payroll service

• Met should thoroughly investigate cyber security practices, say experts | Evening Standard

Cloud/SaaS

• CrowdStrike CTO: 'Rookie mistakes' are hurting cloud security | TechTarget

• Better SaaS Security Goes Beyond Procurement (darkreading.com)

• How to secure your cloud-based business without cloud-security expertise - Partner Content - Security - iTnews

• Experts Uncover How Cyber Criminals Could Exploit Microsoft Entra ID for Elevated Privilege (thehackernews.com)

• Considerations for Reducing Risk When Migrating to the Cloud (darkreading.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• 13% of employees admit to falling for phishing attacks working at home | Security Magazine

Identity and Access Management

• The Rising Tide of Identity-Based Attacks - GovInfoSecurity

Encryption

• Quantum threats loom in Gartner's 2023 Hype Cycle for data security | VentureBeat

• How Quantum Computing Will Impact Cyber Security - Security Week

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• National Safety Council data leak: Credentials of NASA, Tesla, DoJ, Verizon, and 2K others leaked by workplace safety organisation (securityaffairs.com)

• Four common password mistakes hackers love to exploit (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Launch Brute-Force Attack Cisco ASA SSL VPNs (cybersecuritynews.com)

• 3 out of 4 cyber attacks in the education sector are associated with a compromised on premises user or admin account - IT Security Guru

• LogicMonitor customers who didn’t change default passwords were hit by hackers (databreaches.net)

Biometrics

• Police Scotland digital strategy seeks real-time biometrics within 5 years | Biometric Update

• Elon Musk's X to collect biometric data, work and school history - The Japan Times

• Home Office and MoD seeking new facial-recognition tech | Computer Weekly

Social Media

• ICO calls social media firms to protect people's data from scraping (bleepingcomputer.com)

• EU safety laws start to bite for TikTok, Instagram and others - BBC News

• How the EU Digital Services Act affects Facebook, Google and others | Technology sector | The Guardian

• Rising Phishing Scams Impact Small Businesses Relying on Social Media (smallbiztrends.com)

• X Plans to Collect Biometric Data, Job and School History (1) (bloomberglaw.com)

• Anonymous Sudan hacks X to put pressure on Elon Musk over Starlink - BBC News

• Hackers Are Selling Hacked Police Emails to Try to Grab Personal Data From TikTok, Facebook (404media.co)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Can You Spot Phishing Emails? Test Your Awareness With These Quizzes (makeuseof.com)

• Cyber awareness education is a change-management initiative | CSO Online

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

• Privacy Regulator Warns of Surging Number of “Text Pest” Cases - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Pay our ransom instead of a GDPR fine, cyber crime gang tells its targets (therecord.media)

• SEC Probe Targets SolarWinds Executives - DevX

• New law could turn UK into a hacker's playground | Computerworld

• Changes to UK Surveillance Regime May Violate International Law (justsecurity.org)

• EU safety laws start to bite for TikTok, Instagram and others - BBC News

• Draft Cyber Security Audit and Risk Assessment Regulations Issued by CPPA | Mintz - JDSupra

• SEC’s New Cyber Security Rule—Including Key Disclosure Requirements | Smith Gambrell Russell - JDSupra

• Balancing risk and compliance: implications of the SEC’s new cyber security regulations | CSO Online

• Legal Liability for Insecure Software Might Work, but It's Dangerous (darkreading.com)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• What are the Cyber Security Standards of Basel III? | UpGuard

• Best practices for MITRE ATT&CK(R) mapping. (thecyberwire.com)

• Is the new OWASP API Top 10 helpful to defenders? - Help Net Security

• How international cyber security frameworks can help CISOs | CSO Online

Data Protection

• ICO calls social media firms to protect people's data from scraping (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Are you properly protecting your employees' personal information? | Burr & Forman - JDSupra

• Data Protection: One of These Incidents Is Not Like the Other | Troutman Pepper - JDSupra

• Draft Cyber Security Audit and Risk Assessment Regulations Issued by CPPA | Mintz - JDSupra

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Addressing Cyber Security's Talent Shortage & Its Impact on CISOs (darkreading.com)

• Unfilled Cyber Security Positions Threaten the Future of Businesses Everywhere | Inc.com

• How the Talent Shortage Impacts Cyber Security Leadership (securityintelligence.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Two Men Arrested Following Poland Railway Hacking - Security Week

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Police Scotland digital strategy seeks real-time biometrics within 5 years | Biometric Update

• Privacy Regulator Warns of Surging Number of “Text Pest” Cases - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Expert shares stark safety warning over Twitter updates | Tech News | Metro News

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• New York Times Spoofed to Hide Russian Disinformation Campaign (darkreading.com)

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Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Russia

• 'Five Eyes' nations release technical details of Sandworm malware 'Infamous Chisel' | CyberScoop

• New York Times Spoofed to Hide Russian Disinformation Campaign (darkreading.com)

• NCSC, SBU reveal overt Russian cyber campaign as cyber war continues to evolve | ITPro

• Czech banks hit by Russian cyber attacks – EURACTIV.com

• Cyber security experts lament west’s failure to learn lessons from Ukraine | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Russian 'hybrid' war threatens NATO's eastern flank, Poles warn - Washington Times

• Microsoft weighs in on Russian-led UN cyber crime treaty • The Register

• Five Eyes Report: New Russian Malware Targeting Ukrainian Military Android Devices - Security Week

• Anonymous Sudan hacks X to put pressure on Elon Musk over Starlink - BBC News

• Russian APT Intensifies Cyber Espionage Activities - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CISA and International Partners Release Malware Analysis Report on Infamous Chisel Mobile Malware | CISA

China

• Microsoft signing keys keep getting hijacked, to the delight of Chinese threat actors | Ars Technica

• China-Based APT Flies Under Radar in Espionage Attacks | Decipher (duo.com)

• China-Linked Flax Typhoon Cyber Espionage Targets Taiwan's Key Sectors (thehackernews.com)

• Barracuda flaw: FBI warns customers over ineffective patch | ITPro

• Almost a third of compromised Barracuda ESGs were govt owned • The Register

• James Cleverly's China cyber security talks unlikely to spur change (techmonitor.ai)

• Japan’s cyber security agency suffers months-long breach | Financial Times (ft.com)

• China-Linked BadBazaar Android Spyware Targeting Signal and Telegram Users (thehackernews.com)

• APT Attacks From 'Earth Estries' Hit Gov't, Tech With Custom Malware (darkreading.com)

• Chinese APT Uses Fake Messenger Apps to Spy on Android Users (inforisktoday.com)

North Korea

• Cisco Talos Research: New Lazarus Group Attack Malware Campaign Hits UK & US Businesses (techrepublic.com)

• North Korea’s Lazarus Group hits organisations with two new RATs | CSO Online

• Lazarus Group Debuts Tiny Trojan for Espionage Attacks (databreachtoday.co.uk)

• Cyber Scams Keep North Korean Missiles Flying – Analysis – Eurasia Review

• North Korea’s Lazarus hackers behind recent crypto heists: FBI (therecord.media)

• North Korean hackers behind malicious VMConnect PyPI campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• New law could turn UK into a hacker's playground | Computerworld

• 40% of Log4j Downloads Still Vulnerable (securityintelligence.com)

• How did Clop get its hands on the MOVEit zero day? (therecord.media)

Vulnerabilities

• Cisco fixes 3 high-severity DoS flaws in NX-OS and FXOS software (securityaffairs.com)

• Citrix NetScaler Alert: Ransomware Hackers Exploiting Critical Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Critical Vulnerability Alert: VMware Aria Operations Networks at Risk from Remote Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Teams attack exposes collab platform security gaps | TechTarget

• Barracuda flaw: FBI warns customers over ineffective patch | ITPro

• Barracuda thought it drove 0-day hackers out of customers’ networks. It was wrong. | Ars Technica

• CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog | CISA

• Exploit released for Juniper firewall bugs allowing RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Chrome 116's second point update addresses a security issue - gHacks Tech News

• Forminator WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To 400,000+ Websites (searchenginejournal.com)

• Threat actors started exploiting Juniper flaws shortly after PoC release (securityaffairs.com)

• Hackers Launch Brute-Force Attack Cisco ASA SSL VPNs (cybersecuritynews.com)

• Splunk Patches High-Severity Flaws in Enterprise, IT Service Intelligence - Security Week

• This WordPress plugin with 5 million users could have a serious security flaw | TechRadar

• Cyber Attackers Swarm OpenFire Cloud Servers With Takeover Barrage (darkreading.com)

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Tools and Controls

• BYOD Security Gap: Survey Finds 49% of European Firms Unprotected - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Why generative AI is a double-edged sword for the cyber security sector | VentureBeat

• Cyber defence makes up majority of cyber security budgets | Security Magazine

• Ransomware hackers dwell time drops to 5 days, RDP still widely used (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Think twice before accepting notifications on Chrome: threats on the rise | Cybernews

• Considerations for Reducing Risk When Migrating to the Cloud (darkreading.com)

• Enterprise dark web monitoring: Why it's worth the investment | TechTarget

• Phishing Simulations Boost Cyber Awareness and Defences | Mimecast

• Is the new OWASP API Top 10 helpful to defenders? - Help Net Security

• Here's What Your Breach Response Plan Might Be Missing (darkreading.com)

• The Middleware Threats to Microsoft's Monopoly | HackerNoon

• Why Traditional Firewalls Are Not Adequate for Your Network Security (makeuseof.com)

• Combining EPP and EDR tools can boost your endpoint security (securityintelligence.com)

• Automated Threat Hunting: AI Helps Spot Shady Network Activity (readwrite.com)

• Detecting the Undetected: The Risk to Your Info (securityintelligence.com)

• National Grid plots ‘honeypots’ to catch hackers as cyber attacks ramp up (telegraph.co.uk)

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Other News

• Cyber attacks reveal threat to democracy (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)

• Hackers Use $30 Gear To Bring Poland's Railways To A Grinding Halt

• When lives rely on equipment, cyber security is essential | Healthcare IT News

• Think twice before accepting notifications on Chrome: threats on the rise | Cybernews

• Rising cyber incidents challenge healthcare organisations - Help Net Security

• Updated Best Practice Playbook for Healthcare Cyber Threats (inforisktoday.com)

• Navigating Legacy Infrastructure: A CISO's Actionable Strategy for Success (thehackernews.com)

• Legal Liability for Insecure Software Might Work, but It's Dangerous (darkreading.com)

• 3 out of 4 cyber attacks in the education sector are associated with a compromised on premises user or admin account - IT Security Guru

• 69% of educational organisations suffered cyber attack in the past year - Netwrix survey

• Claroty's 2023 Global Healthcare Cyber Security Study Exposes Widespread Vulnerabilities And Impact (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Out-Of-Office: How To Ensure Cyber Security During Vulnerable Periods (forbes.com)

• Debunking The Top Five Cyber Security Myths (forbes.com)

• Manufacturing firms hit by the worst encryption rate in three years (manufacturing-today.com)

• Cyber Attacks Targeting E-commerce Applications (thehackernews.com)

• Industrial networks need better security as attacks gain scale | ZDNET

• National Grid plots ‘honeypots’ to catch hackers as cyber attacks ramp up (telegraph.co.uk)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·         Automotive

·         Construction

·         Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·         Defence & Space

·         Education & Academia

·         Energy & Utilities

·         Estate Agencies

·         Financial Services

·         FinTech

·         Food & Agriculture

·         Gaming & Gambling

·         Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·         Health/Medical/Pharma

·         Hotels & Hospitality

·         Insurance

·         Legal

·         Manufacturing

·         Maritime

·         Oil, Gas & Mining

·         OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·         Retail & eCommerce

·         Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·         Startups

·         Telecoms

·         Third Sector & Charities

·         Transport & Aviation

·         Web3

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As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28th July 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Half of UK Businesses Struggle to Fill Cyber Security Skills Gap

Half of UK businesses have a cyber security skills gap that they are struggling to fill amid a challenging labour market, according to data published by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which found that there were more than 160,000 cyber security job postings in the last year – a 30% increase on the previous period. In all, the UK requires an additional 11,200 people with suitable cyber skills to meet the demands of the market, the report estimates.

In a separate report, it was found that a lack of executive understanding and an ever-widening talent gap is placing an unsustainable burden on security teams to prevent business-ending breaches. When asked how long it takes to fill a cyber security role, 82% of organisations report it takes three months or longer, with 34% reporting it takes seven months or more. These challenges have led one-third (33%) of organisations to believe they will never have a fully-staffed security team with the proper skills.

With such a gap, some organisations have turned to outsourcing cyber security roles, such as chief information security officers (CISOs), leading to a rise in virtual CISOs (vCISO). With outsourcing, organisations can ensure that they are easily able to pick up and use cyber security experts, greatly reducing the delay were they to hire. Black Arrow supports clients as their vCISO with specialist experience in cyber security risk management in a business context.

https://www.uktech.news/cybersecurity/uk-cybersecurity-skills-gap-20230725

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/26/security-teams-executive-burden/

• Deloitte Joins Fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY as Victims Exceed 500

The global auditing and accounting firm Deloitte appeared alongside a further 55 MOVEit victims that were recently named by the Cl0p ransomware gang, making them the third Big Four accounting firm to be affected and amongst over 500 organisations in total with that number expected to continue to increase.

Research by Kroll has also uncovered a new exfiltration method used by Cl0p in their the MOVEit attacks, highlighting constant efforts by the ransomware gang. Worryingly, it has been reported that Cl0p have made between $75-100 million from ransom payments and it is expected this, along with the victim count, will rise.

https://cybernews.com/security/deloitte-big-four-moveit-pwc-ey-clop/

https://www.kroll.com/en/insights/publications/cyber/moveit-vulnerability-investigations-uncover-additional-exfiltration-method

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/clop-could-make-100m-moveit/

• Why Cyber Security Should Be Part of Your ESG Strategy

Organisations need to consider cyber security risks in their overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy amid growing cyber threats and regulatory scrutiny. The ESG programme is, in many ways, a form of risk management to mitigate the risks to businesses, societies and the environment, all of which can be impacted by cyber security. The investment community has been singling out cyber security as one of the major risks that ESG programmes will need to address due to the potential financial losses, reputational damage and business continuity risks posed by a growing number of cyber attacks and data breaches.

Various ESG reporting frameworks have emerged in recent years to provide organisations with guidelines on how they can operate ethically and sustainably, along with metrics that they can use to measure their progress. There are also specific IT security standards and frameworks, including ISO 27001 and government guidelines. Some regulators have gone as far as mandating the adoption of baseline security standards by critical infrastructure operators and firms in industries like financial services, but that does not mean organisations outside of regulated sectors are less pressured to shore up their cyber security posture.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366545432/Why-cyber-security-should-be-part-of-your-ESG-strategy

• Lawyers Take Frontline Role in Business Response to Cyber Attacks

Cyber security risk has shot to the top of general counsels’ agendas as the sophistication and frequency of attacks has grown. According to security company Sophos’s State of Ransomware 2023 report, 44% of UK businesses surveyed said they had been hit with ransomware in the past year. Of those affected, 33% said their data was encrypted and stolen and a further 6% said that their data was not encrypted but they experienced extortion.

In-house lawyers have a key role around the boardroom table when dealing with a breach including war-gaming and discussing cases in which a company will pay a ransom. The advent of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation in Europe, and equivalents elsewhere, demands that businesses hit by a data breach notify a regulator, and the individuals whose data was stolen, or both, depending on certain factors. This has led to far greater exposure of cyber incidents which companies previously could have tried to deal with privately.

https://www.ft.com/content/2af44ae8-78fc-4393-88c3-0d784a850331

• Organisations Face Record $4.5M Per Data Breach Incident

In a recent report conducted by IBM, the average cost per data breach for US business in 2023 jumped to $4.45 million, a 15% increase over three years. In the UK, the average cost was found to be £3.4 million, rising to £5.3 million for financial services. It is likely that the cost per breach will maintain a continual rise, with organisations struggling to crack down on cyber crime, something threat groups like Cl0p are taking advantage of.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/orgs-record-4.5m-data-breach-incident

https://uk.newsroom.ibm.com/24-07-2023-IBM-Security-Report-Cost-of-a-Data-Breach-for-UK-Businesses-Averages-3-4m

• Cryptojacking Soars as Cyber Attacks Diversify

According to a recent report, a variety of attacks have increased globally, including cryptojacking (399%), IoT malware (37%) and encrypted threats (22%). This reflects the increase in actors who are changing their methods of attacks. The report found that we can expect more state-sponsored activity targeting a broader set of victims in 2023, including SMBs, government entities and enterprises.

Cryptojacking, sometimes referred to as malicious cryptomining, is where an attacker will use a victim’s device to mine cryptocurrency, giving the attacker free money at the expense of your device, network health and electricity.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/27/cryptojacking-attacks-rise/

• Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket in 2023

Ransomware attacks surged by 74% in Q2 2023 compared to the first three months of the year, a new report has found. The significant increase in ransomware over April, May and June 2023 suggests that attackers are regrouping. In July 2023, the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis found that in the first half of 2023, ransomware attackers extorted $176m more than the same period in 2022, reversing a brief downward trend in 2022.

The report also observed an uptick in “pure extortion attacks,” with cyber criminals increasingly relying on the threat of data leaks rather than encrypting data to extort victims. Such schemes may not trigger any ransomware detection capability but could potentially be picked up by a robust Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-attacks-skyrocket-q2/

• Blocking Access to ChatGPT is a Short-Term Solution to Mitigate AI Risk

Despite the mass adoption of generative AI, most companies don’t know how to assess its security, exposing them to risks and disadvantages if they don’t change their approach. A report found that for every 10,000 enterprise users, an enterprise organisation is experiencing approximately 183 incidents of sensitive data being posted to ChatGPT per month. Worryingly, despite the security issues, only 45% have an enterprise-wide strategy to ensure a secure, aligned deployment of AI across the entire organisation.

Blocking access to AI related content and AI applications is a short term solution to mitigate risk, but comes at the expense of the potential benefits that AI apps offer to supplement corporate innovation and employee productivity. The data shows that in financial services and healthcare nearly 1 in 5 organisations have implemented a blanket ban on employee use of ChatGPT, while in the technology sector, only 1 in 20 organisations have done likewise.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/28/chatgpt-exposure/

https://www.techradar.com/pro/lots-of-sensitive-data-is-still-being-posted-to-chatgpt

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/25/generative-ai-strategy/

• Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends on It (Because it Does)

Data breaches can be incredibly costly. Be it lawsuits, regulatory fines, or a fall in stock price, the financial consequences of a breach can bring even the largest organisation to its knees. However, in the face of economic damage, it’s too easy to overlook the vast reputational impacts that often do more harm to a business. After all, it’s relatively easy to recoup monetary losses, less so to regain customer trust.

It’s important to remember that reputational damage isn’t limited to consumer perceptions. Stakeholder, shareholder, and potential buyer perception is also something that needs to be considered. By having effective defence in depth controls including robust data loss prevention (DLP) solutions in place, organisations can reduce the risk of a breach from happening.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/protect-your-data-like-your-reputation-depends-on-it-because-it-does/

• Why CISOs Should Get Involved with Cyber Insurance Negotiation

Generally negotiating cyber insurance policies falls to the general counsel, chief financial officer, or chief operations officer. Having the chief information security officer (CISO) at the table when negotiating with insurance brokers or carriers is a best practice for ensuring the insurers understand not only which security controls are in place, but why the controls are configured the way they are and the organisation's strategy. That said, often best practices are ignored for reasons of expediency and lack of acceptance by other C-suite executives.

Sometimes being the CISO can be a no-win position. According to a recent survey more than half of all CISOs report to a technical corporate officer rather than the business side of the organisation. This lack of recognition by the board can diminish the CISO's ability to deliver business-imperative insights and recommendations, leaving operations to have a more commanding influence on the board than cyber security. Too often the CISO gets the responsibility to protect the company without the authority and budget to accomplish their task.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/why-cisos-should-get-involved-with-cyber-insurance-negotiation

• Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber Security Experts, SEC Says

A recent report has found that only five Fortune 100 companies currently list a security professional in the executive leadership pages of their websites. This is largely unchanged from five of the Fortune 100 in 2018. One likely reason why a great many companies still don’t include their security leaders within their highest echelons is that these employees do not report directly to the company’s CEO, board of directors, or chief risk officer.

The chief security officer (CSO) or chief information security officer (CISO) position traditionally has reported to an executive in a technical role, such as the chief technology officer (CTO) or chief information officer (CIO). But workforce experts say placing the CISO/CSO on unequal footing with the organisation’s top leaders makes it more likely that cyber security and risk concerns will take a backseat to initiatives designed to increase productivity and generally grow the business.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently implemented new regulations necessitating publicly traded companies to report cyber attacks within four business days, once they're deemed material incidents. While the SEC is not presently advocating for the need to validate a board cyber security expert's credentials, it continues to insist that cyber security expertise within management be duly reported to them. The increased disclosure should help companies compare practices and may spur improvements in cyber defences, but meeting the new disclosure standards could be a bigger challenge for smaller companies with limited resources.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/companies-must-have-corporate-cybersecurity-experts-sec-says

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/sec-now-requires-companies-to-disclose-cyberattacks-in-4-days/

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/07/few-fortune-100-firms-list-security-pros-in-their-executive-ranks/

• Over 400,000 Corporate Credentials Stolen by Info-stealing Malware

Information stealers are malware that steal data stored in applications such as web browsers, email clients, instant messengers, cryptocurrency wallets, file transfer protocol (FTP) clients, and gaming services. The stolen information is packaged into archives called 'logs,' which are then uploaded back to the threat actor for use in attacks or sold on cyber crime marketplaces. Worryingly, employees use personal devices for work or access personal stuff from work computers, and this may result in many info-stealer infections stealing business credentials and authentication cookies. A report has found there are over 400,000 corporate credentials stolen, from applications such as Salesforce, Google Cloud and AWS. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number containing OpenAI credentials; this is alarming as where AI is used without governance, the credentials may leak things such as internal business strategies and source code.

With such an array of valuable information for an attacker, it is no wonder incidents involving info stealers doubled in Q1 2023. Organisations can best protect themselves by utilising password managers, enforcing multi-factor authentication and having strict usage controls. Additionally, user awareness training can help avoid common infection channels such as malicious websites and adverts.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/over-400-000-corporate-credentials-stolen-by-info-stealing-malware/

https://www.scmagazine.com/news/infostealer-incidents-more-than-doubled-in-q1-2023

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Data Breaches Cost Businesses $4.5M on Average (darkreading.com)

• Deciphering The IBM Cost Of A Data Breach Report: A Statistical Perspective For Business Leaders (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why CISOs Should Get Involved With Cyber Insurance Negotiation (darkreading.com)

• SEC now requires companies to disclose cyber attacks in 4 days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber security Experts, SEC Says (darkreading.com)

• Companies encounter months-long delays in filling critical security positions - Help Net Security

• Why Today's CISOs Must Embrace Change (darkreading.com)

• Enterprises should layer-up security to avoid legal repercussions - Help Net Security

• Aligning Risk Appetite, Tolerance, And Thresholds With Business Planning: A Comprehensive Guide To Enterprise Risk Management (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Explaining risk maturity models and how they work | TechTarget

• Why cyber security should be part of your ESG strategy | Computer Weekly

• The old “trust but verify” adage should be the motto for every CISO | CSO Online

• Companies are rushing into generative AI without a cohesive, secure strategy - Help Net Security

• Few Fortune 100 Firms List Security Pros in Their Executive Ranks – Krebs on Security

• The critical cyber security backup plan too many companies are ignoring (cnbc.com)

• Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends On It (Because It Does) (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why Computer Security Advice Is More Confusing Than It Should Be (darkreading.com)

• Why whistleblowers in cyber security are important and need support | CSO Online

• The challenge of managing unlimited threats in a limited budget: cyber security experts comment | CSO Online

• 4 Cyber security Budget Management Tips (trendmicro.com)

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Clop now leaks data stolen in MOVEit attacks on clearweb sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MOVEit Vulnerability Investigations Uncover Additional Exfiltration Method (kroll.com)

• Clop Could Make $100m from MOVEit Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The tail of the MOVEit hack may be longer than we realize | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Millions of people's healthcare files accessed by Clop gang • The Register

• Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket in Q2 2023 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Local Governments Targeted for Ransomware – How to Prevent Falling Victim (thehackernews.com)

• New Nitrogen malware pushed via Google Ads for ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dozens of Organisations Targeted by Akira Ransomware - SecurityWeek

• Ransomware Spotlight: Play - Security News (trendmicro.com)

• The FBI's Cynthia Kaiser on how the bureau fights ransomware | CyberScoop

• Risk & Repeat: Are data extortion attacks ransomware? | TechTarget

• ALPHV ransomware adds data leak API in new extortion strategy (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Education Sector Has Highest Ransomware Victim Count - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware: Sophos says most universities pay | Times Higher Education (THE)

Ransomware Victims

• PwC has data leaked on the clear web - Cyber Security Connect

• Deloitte joins fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY | Cybernews

• DHL investigating MOVEit breach as number of victims surpasses 20 million (therecord.media)

• Up to 11 Million People Hit by MOVEit Hack at Government Services Firm Maximus - SecurityWeek

• Millions of people's healthcare files accessed by Clop gang • The Register

• Tampa General Hospital Says Patient Information Stolen in Ransomware Attack - SecurityWeek

• Another Cl0p victim goes public | Cybernews

• Yamaha confirms cyber attack after multiple ransomware gangs claim attacks (therecord.media)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Chinese Hackers Breached Ambassador’s Email - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED

• Stolen Microsoft key may have opened up more than inboxes • The Register

• KnowBe4 Phishing Test Results Reveal Half of Top Malicious Email Subjects Are HR Related (darkreading.com)

• The Email Threat Landscape, Q1 2023: Key Takeaways (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How to avoid LinkedIn phishing attacks in the enterprise | TechTarget

• Windows 11 just got a big upgrade to protect you from phishing attacks — here’s how it works | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• Critical Infrastructure Workers More Likely to Detect and Report Phishing and Malicious Emails, Study Finds - MSSP Alert

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Repeatable VEC Attacks Target Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• The Dark Side of AI (darkreading.com)

• Blocking access to ChatGPT is a short term solution to mitigate risk - Help Net Security

• UN Security Council to hold first talks on AI risks | Reuters

• Companies are rushing into generative AI without a cohesive, secure strategy - Help Net Security

• ChatGPT, Other Generative AI Apps Prone to Compromise, Manipulation (darkreading.com)

• Lots of sensitive data is still being posted to ChatGPT | TechRadar

• Dark Web Markets Offer New FraudGPT AI Tool - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Top FBI officials warn of 'unparalleled' threat from China and AI | CyberScoop

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Generative AI - SecurityWeek

• OpenAI, Meta and other tech firms sign onto White House AI commitments | FedScoop

• Intel's deepfake detector tested on real and fake videos - BBC News

• Are AI-Engineered Threats FUD or Reality? (darkreading.com)

• How is the Dark Web Reacting to the AI Revolution? (bleepingcomputer.com)

Malware

• Over 400,000 corporate credentials stolen by info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Infostealer incidents more than doubled in Q1 2023 | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• The Alarming Rise of Infostealers: How to Detect this Silent Threat (thehackernews.com)

• Decoy Dog: New Breed of Malware Posing Serious Threats to Enterprise Networks (thehackernews.com)

• Rust-based malware used to hack both Windows and Linux servers - Neowin

• Rust-based Realst Infostealer Targeting Apple macOS Users' Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus hackers hijack Microsoft IIS servers to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FIN8 is rewriting its backdoor malware to avoid detection | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• New Nitrogen malware pushed via Google Ads for ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New P2PInfect worm malware targets Linux and Windows Redis servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• HotRat: New Variant of AsyncRAT Malware Spreading Through Pirated Software (thehackernews.com)

• Who and What is Behind the Malware Proxy Service SocksEscort? – Krebs on Security

Mobile

• Chinese-backed Hacking Group Launches Two Bugs Targeting Android Devices - MSSP Alert

• Spyhide stalkerware is spying on tens of thousands of phones | TechCrunch

• 5 steps to approach BYOD compliance policies | TechTarget

Botnets

• Hackers Target Apache Tomcat Servers for Mirai Botnet and Crypto Mining (thehackernews.com)

• Multiple DDoS Botnets Exploiting Recent Zyxel Vulnerability - SecurityWeek

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Critical UK Infrastructures in the crosshairs of DDoS attacks (link11.com)

• Zyxel users still getting hacked by DDoS botnet emerge as public nuisance No. 1 | Ars Technica

• Anonymous Sudan DDoS strikes dominate attacks by KillNet collective | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

BYOD

• 5 steps to approach BYOD compliance policies | TechTarget

Internet of Things – IoT

• Peloton Bugs Expose Enterprise Networks to IoT Attacks (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft previews  Defender for IoT firmware analysis service (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Axis Door Controller Vulnerability Exposes Facilities to Physical, Cyber Threats - SecurityWeek

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Deciphering The IBM Cost Of A Data Breach Report: A Statistical Perspective For Business Leaders (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Capita breach class action nears 1,000 sign-ups • The Register

• VirusTotal: We're sorry for mistake that exposed 5,000 users • The Register

• Deloitte joins fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY | Cybernews

• NATO investigating apparent breach of unclassified information sharing platform | CyberScoop

• Tampa General Hospital Data Breach Impacts 1.2 Million Patients - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Australian Home Affairs cyber survey exposed personal data of participating firms | Data and computer security | The Guardian

• Data Breach Costs Hit Record High but Fall For Some - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hacker Claims to Have Stolen Sensitive Medical Records from Egypt's Ministry of Health - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Nice Suzuki, sport: shame dealer left your data up for grabs - Security Affairs

• Johns Hopkins hit with class action lawsuit connected to data breach - CBS Baltimore (cbsnews.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• The New Summer Vacation Necessity: Cyber Hygiene (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Cryptojacking soars as cyber attacks increase, diversify - Help Net Security

• Hackers Target Apache Tomcat Servers for Mirai Botnet and Crypto Mining (thehackernews.com)

• Cryptojacking: Understanding and defending against cloud compute resource abuse | Microsoft Security Blog

• Lazarus hackers linked to $60 million Alphapo cryptocurrency heist (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Realst macOS malware steals your cryptocurrency wallets (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Dark Web Markets Offer New FraudGPT AI Tool - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Consumers demand more from businesses when it comes to security - Help Net Security

• CISOs gear up to combat the rising threat of B2B fraud - Help Net Security

• Booz Allen Pays $377m to Settle Government Fraud Case - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MPs launch inquiry into prosecution of Norton Motorcycles pension fraud | Crime | The Guardian

Insurance

• Why CISOs Should Get Involved With Cyber Insurance Negotiation (darkreading.com)

• Brave New World of Cyber Insurance Meets Old-World Contract Principles | New Jersey Law Journal

Dark Web

• BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How is the Dark Web Reacting to the AI Revolution? (bleepingcomputer.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Capita breach class action nears 1,000 sign-ups • The Register

• DHL investigating MOVEit breach as number of victims surpasses 20 million (therecord.media)

• The tail of the MOVEit hack may be longer than we realize | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Up to 11 Million People Hit by MOVEit Hack at Government Services Firm Maximus - SecurityWeek

• Banking Sector Targeted in Open-Source Software Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Strengthening the weakest links in the digital supply chain - Help Net Security

• JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Supply Chain Attack Hits NHS Ambulance Trusts - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Software Supply Chain

• Two ambulance services in UK lost access to patient records after a cyber attack on software provider - Security Affairs

Cloud/SaaS

• China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED

• Microsoft 365 Breach Risk Widens to Millions of Azure AD Apps (darkreading.com)

• JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Wiz Says 62% of AWS Environments Exposed to Zenbleed Exploitation - SecurityWeek

• The 4 Keys to Building Cloud Security Programs That Can Actually Shift Left (thehackernews.com)

• Ubuntu Linux Cloud Workloads Face Rampant Root Take Takeovers (darkreading.com)

Shadow IT

• NCSC Publishes New Guidance on Shadow IT - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Encryption

• The UK Government Is Very Close To Eroding Encryption Worldwide  | Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org)

• Apple could opt to stop iMessage and FaceTime services due to the government's surveillance demands - Security Affairs

• Hacking police radios: 30-year-old crypto flaws in the spotlight – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Researchers Find ‘Backdoor’ in Encrypted Police and Military Radios (vice.com)

API

• Reining in API sprawl | TechCrunch

• ALPHV ransomware adds data leak API in new extortion strategy (bleepingcomputer.com)

Open Source

• New OpenSSH Vulnerability Exposes Linux Systems to Remote Command Injection (thehackernews.com)

• Rust-based malware used to hack both Windows and Linux servers - Neowin

• Banking Sector Targeted in Open-Source Software Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• New P2PInfect worm malware targets Linux and Windows Redis servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ubuntu Linux Cloud Workloads Face Rampant Root Take Takeovers (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• CISA: Most cyber attacks on gov’ts, critical infrastructure involve valid credentials (therecord.media)

Social Media

• How to avoid LinkedIn phishing attacks in the enterprise | TechTarget

• Stanford researchers find Mastodon has a massive child abuse material problem - The Verge

Training, Education and Awareness

• Why are computer security guidelines so confusing? - Help Net Security

Travel

• The New Summer Vacation Necessity: Cyber Hygiene (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Stanford researchers find Mastodon has a massive child abuse material problem - The Verge

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• SEC now requires companies to disclose cyber attacks in 4 days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber security Experts, SEC Says (darkreading.com)

• Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Apple could opt to stop iMessage and FaceTime services due to the government's surveillance demands - Security Affairs

• OpenAI, Meta and other tech firms sign onto White House AI commitments | FedScoop

• EU Agrees On Common Position For Cyber Resilience Act To Enhance Security Of Digital Products (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Data Protection

• More US States are ramping up data privacy laws in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends On It (Because It Does) (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Companies encounter months-long delays in filling critical security positions - Help Net Security

• UK Government Report Finds Cyber security Skills Gap Stagnant - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Bridging the cyber security skills gap through cyber range training - Help Net Security

• Overcoming the cyber security talent shortage with upskilling initiatives - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• The FBI's Cynthia Kaiser on how the bureau fights ransomware | CyberScoop

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• More US States are ramping up data privacy laws in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Companies Need to Prove They Can Be Trusted with Technology (hbr.org)

• Ryanair Hit With Lawsuit Over Use of Facial Recognition Technology (darkreading.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• China Propaganda Spreads via US News Sites, Freelancers, Times Square (darkreading.com)

• Russia ‘using disinformation’ to imply Sweden supported Qur’an burnings | Sweden | The Guardian

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Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Russia

• Anonymous Sudan DDoS strikes dominate attacks by KillNet collective | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Russian court jails cyber security executive for 14 years in treason case | Reuters

• Russia ‘using disinformation’ to imply Sweden supported Qur’an burnings | Sweden | The Guardian

• 69% of Russian gamers are pirating after Ukraine invasion pushback | Ars Technica

China

• Top FBI officials warn of 'unparalleled' threat from China and AI | CyberScoop

• China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED

• Stolen Microsoft key may have opened up more than inboxes • The Register

• Chinese Hackers Breached Ambassador’s Email - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The Chinese groups accused of hacking the US and others | Reuters

• Industrial Organisations in Eastern Europe Targeted by Chinese Cyber spies - SecurityWeek

• Chinese-backed Hacking Group Launches Two Bugs Targeting Android Devices - MSSP Alert

• China Propaganda Spreads via US News Sites, Freelancers, Times Square (darkreading.com)

• China-backed hackers suspected in NetScaler RCE attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• US Senator Wyden Accuses Microsoft of ‘Cyber security Negligence’ - SecurityWeek

• China’s Wuhan Earthquake Center Suffers Cyber Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

North Korea

• North Korean Cyber spies Target GitHub Developers (darkreading.com)

• JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)

• GitHub warns of Lazarus hackers targeting devs with malicious projects (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lazarus hackers hijack Microsoft IIS servers to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lazarus hackers linked to $60 million Alphapo cryptocurrency heist (bleepingcomputer.com)

• APT “Mysterious Elephant” Emerges in Q2 2023, Kaspersky Reports - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Misc/Other/Unknown

• Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): Detection and Mitigation (blueteamresources.in)

• Part 1: Historic To 2022 – The APT And Logical Threats (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Google: 41 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in 2022 | TechTarget

• CVSS 4.0 Is Here, But Prioritizing Patches Still a Hard Problem (darkreading.com)

• Want to live dangerously? Try running Windows XP in 2023 • The Register

• A step-by-step guide for patching software vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

Vulnerabilities

• Over 20,000 Citrix Appliances Vulnerable to New Exploit - SecurityWeek

• A flaw in OpenSSH forwarded ssh-agent allows remote code execution-Security Affairs

• Apple fixes new zero-day used in attacks against iPhones, Macs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Shadowserver reported that +15K Citrix servers are likely vulnerable to attacks exploiting the flaw CVE-2023-3519 - Security Affairs

• NetScaler RCE bug abused to pilfer critical infrastructure Active Directory data | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Ivanti patches MobileIron zero-day bug exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Zyxel users still getting hacked by DDoS botnet emerge as public nuisance No. 1 | Ars Technica

• Apache OpenMeetings Wide Open to Account Takeover, Code Execution (darkreading.com)

• Super Admin elevation bug puts 900,000 MikroTik devices at risk (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Norwegian government IT systems hacked using zero-day flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• VMware fixes bug exposing CF API admin credentials in audit logs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Major Security Flaw Discovered in Metabase BI Software – Urgent Update Required (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber security Agencies Warn Against IDOR Bugs Exploited for Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)

• Critical Zero-Days in Atera Windows Installers Expose Users to Privilege Escalation Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Atlassian RCE Bugs Plague Confluence, Bamboo (darkreading.com)

• Zenbleed attack leaks sensitive data from AMD Zen2 processors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft shares fix for some Outlook hyperlinks not opening (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical Flaws Found in Microsoft Message Queuing Service - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• China-backed hackers suspected in NetScaler RCE attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Study reveals silent Python package security fixes • The Register

• Windows 10 KB5028244 update released with 19 fixes, improved security (bleepingcomputer.com)

• VMware Patches Vulnerability Exposing Admin Credentials - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Wiz Says 62% of AWS Environments Exposed to Zenbleed Exploitation - SecurityWeek

• Multiple DDoS Botnets Exploiting Recent Zyxel Vulnerability - SecurityWeek

• Zimbra patches zero-day vulnerability exploited in XSS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• WordPress Ninja Forms plugin flaw lets hackers steal submitted data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Two flaws in Linux Ubuntu affect 40% of Ubuntu users - Security Affairs

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Tools and Controls

• Aligning Risk Appetite, Tolerance, And Thresholds With Business Planning: A Comprehensive Guide To Enterprise Risk Management (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why cyber security should be part of your ESG strategy | Computer Weekly

• Lawyers take frontline role in business response to cyber attacks | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Explaining risk maturity models and how they work | TechTarget

• Microsoft enhances Windows 11 Phishing Protection with new features (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Shadow Coding Is An Intoxicating Shortcut—And A Security Landmine (forbes.com)

• Zero trust rated as highly effective by businesses worldwide - Help Net Security

• 50% of Zero Trust Programs Risk Failure According to PlainID Survey (darkreading.com)

• Google Chrome to offer 'Link Previews' when hovering over links (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Why are computer security guidelines so confusing? - Help Net Security

• Threat Intelligence Is Growing — Here's How SOCs Can Keep Up (darkreading.com)

• The challenge of managing unlimited threats in a limited budget: cyber security experts comment | CSO Online

• Shaping the future of digital identity - Help Net Security

• How to Put the Sec in DevSecOps (darkreading.com)

• Designing a Security Strategy for Defending Multicloud Architectures (darkreading.com)

• How Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR helps triage, investigate, and respond to cyberthreats | Microsoft Security Blog

• Converging networking and security with SASE - Help Net Security

• 5 steps to approach BYOD compliance policies | TechTarget

• KnowBe4 Phishing Test Results Reveal Half of Top Malicious Email Subjects Are HR Related (darkreading.com)

• Windows 11 just got a big upgrade to protect you from phishing attacks — here’s how it works | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• Artificial Intelligence Continues To Revolutionize Cyber security (forbes.com)

• Key factors for effective security automation - Help Net Security

• Microsoft previews Defender for IoT firmware analysis service (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The 4 Keys to Building Cloud Security Programs That Can Actually Shift Left (thehackernews.com)

• CISOs consider zero trust a hot security ticket - Help Net Security

• How a Cyber Security Platform Addresses the 3 “S” (trendmicro.com)

• 4 Cyber security Budget Management Tips (trendmicro.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• The Email Threat Landscape, Q1 2023: Key Takeaways (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cost of a data breach 2023 | IBM

• Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) | Europol (europa.eu)

• Q1 Report: Email Threat Trends Discover Q1 trends and stay ahead of email based threats. - VIPRE

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Other News

• Maritime Cyber attack Database Launched by Dutch University - SecurityWeek

• Google’s new security pilot program will ban employee Internet access | Ars Technica

• Inspiring secure coding: Strategies to encourage developers' continuous improvement - Help Net Security

• macOS Under Attack: Examining the Growing Threat and User Perspectives (thehackernews.com)

• Why whistleblowers in cyber security are important and need support | CSO Online

• Cyber crime as a Public Health Crisis (darkreading.com)

• 7 in 10 MSPs Name Data Security and Network Security As Their Top IT Priorities for 2023 (darkreading.com)

• TETRA Radio Code Encryption Has a Flaw: A Backdoor | WIRED

• World's most internetty firm tries life off the net • The Register

• Exam board cyber attack investigation: Teenager arrested (schoolsweek.co.uk)

• Companies Need to Prove They Can Be Trusted with Technology (hbr.org)

• Heart monitor manufacturer hit by cyber attack, takes systems offline (bitdefender.com)

• How do companies protect customer data? | TechTarget

• Cyber security Agencies Warn Against IDOR Bugs Exploited for Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

·       OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 July 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Cyber Attacks Reach Two-Year High Amid Ransomware Resurgence as Financial Service Firms Lose $32 Billion in 5 Years

The average weekly volume of cyber attacks reached a two-year high in the second quarter of 2023 amid a spike in activity among ransomware groups according to Check Point Research, with healthcare in particular facing a significant year-on-year increase. The impact of ransomware hits every organisation, with separate research finding global financial services organisations having lost over $32bn in downtime since 2018 due to ransomware breaches.

A recent report found that the ransomware gangs LockBit and Cl0p alone accounted for nearly 40% of all recorded ransomware attacks across June 2023. The impact from Cl0p’s MOVEit attack alone has been felt by over 400 organisations since May 2023. One of the key takeaways from the MOVEit attack is that no matter the sector, any organisation can be a victim and as such it is essential to have effective controls in place, incorporating defence-in-depth. It’s worth considering how many organisations are still running vulnerable instances of MOVEit, or have someone in their supply chain who is.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-costs-financial-32bn/

https://www.itpro.com/security/ransomware/weekly-cyber-attacks-reach-two-year-high-amid-ransomware-resurgence

• MOVEit Body Count Closes in on 400 Organisations, 20M+ Individuals

The number of victims and the costs tied to the MOVEit file transfer hack continues to climb as the fallout from the massive supply chain attack enters week seven. In late May 2023, Russian ransomware gang Cl0p exploited a security hole in Progress Software's MOVEit product suite to steal documents from vulnerable networks. As of last week, the number of affected organisations was closing in on 400 and individual victims exceed 20 million.

The attack highlights the need for organisations to have policies and procedures in place for third parties, and to be aware of the data which a third party supplier has on them. It will be the organisation who will need to let their customers know in the event of a breach.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/20/moveit_victim_count/

• IT Worker Jailed for Impersonating Ransomware Gang to Extort Employer

28-year-old Ashley Liles, a former IT employee, has been sentenced to over three years in prison for attempting to blackmail his employer during a ransomware attack. Liles, an IT security analyst at an Oxford-based company in the UK, exploited his position to intercept a ransomware payment following an attack suffered by his employer. To deceive the company, he impersonated the ransomware gang extorting them. He tried to redirect the ransomware payments by switching the cyber criminals' cryptocurrency wallet to one under his control. He also accessed a board member's private emails over 300 times.

Insider threat is a risk that organisations need to be aware of and, although it was malicious in this case, it can also come from employee negligence. Organisations looking to achieve a strong level of cyber resilience should incorporate insider risk into their training and controls.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/it-worker-jailed-for-impersonating-ransomware-gang-to-extort-employer/

• Stabilising the Cyber Security Landscape: The CISO Exodus and the Rise of vCISOs

In today's evolving digital landscape, the role of a chief information security officer (CISO) is critical. These professionals defend against the rising tide of daily cyber threats. Yet many CISOs are leaving or considering leaving their jobs; this trend seems to reflect the intense pressure CISOs endure. They face a constant stream of complex cyber threats, manage compliance issues and struggle with a talent deficit in cyber security. Paired with high expectations, many reconsider their roles which can lead to a leadership gap.

A virtual CISO (vCISO) is an outsourced security practitioner who offers their expertise to businesses on a part-time or contractual basis. These professionals provide many of the same services as a traditional CISO, such as developing and implementing security strategies, ensuring compliance with regulations, training staff and managing a company's cyber security posture. vCISOs, such as from Black Arrow, are often part of a larger team and can bring a wide range of experiences and skills. They are exposed to diverse security landscapes across industries, and can provide a fresh perspective and innovative solutions to your security challenges. The vCISO model may not replace the need for a full-time CISO in all cases, but it can certainly add a flexible and cost-effective tool to the arsenal of businesses looking to bolster their cyber security posture.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/07/14/stabilizing-the-cybersecurity-landscape-the-ciso-exodus-and-the-rise-of-vcisos/

• Risk is Driving Medium-Sized Business Decisions

Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) have long lacked the tools, expertise, staff and budget to make major cyber security investments. However, as threats become more mainstream and more advanced, the focus is shifting, so SMBs need to take the threats seriously and evaluate their cyber security controls.

In a survey of 140 SMBs, it was found that 40% of respondents believe they are very likely or extremely likely to experience a cyber security attack target in the next 12 months. That fear is founded, as 34% of organisations stated they experienced a malware attack in the past year, and 29% experienced a phishing or spear phishing incident. SMBs are putting their time, energy, and budget toward risk management. When it came to budgeting, 67% list their primary budgeting method as “risk-based”, and only 32% as “ad hoc/following an attack or breach”. It was found that over two-thirds of businesses would rather spend money now than pay a ransom later.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-guests/risk-is-driving-small-and-medium-sized-businesses-smb-decisions/

• Talent and Governance, Not Technology, are Key to Drive Change Around Cyber Security

For the last 20 years, large organisations have been spending significant amounts of money on cyber security products and solutions, on managed services, or with consultancies large and small. Yet maturity levels remain elusive: a report found that 70% of firms surveyed had yet to fully advance to a mature-based approach. Cyber security good practices have been well established for the best part of the last 20 years and continue to provide, in most industries, an acceptable level of protection against most threats and an acceptable level of compliance against most regulations.

However cyber security is often viewed as something external to the business. This perspective leads to talent alienation and execution failures because the employees who should be invested in maintaining and improving cyber security may feel disconnected from these efforts. To make genuine progress, cyber security needs to be intrinsically linked to business values as a visible priority, owned and directed from the highest levels of an organisation.

This approach underlines the importance of governance in setting effective cyber security policies and procedures. It also highlights the crucial role of nurturing talent within the organisation to ensure active involvement in maintaining and improving cyber security measures. While technology is undoubtedly an essential element of cyber security, prioritising talent and governance can lead to lasting progress.

https://technative.io/talent-and-governance-not-technology-are-key-to-drive-change-around-cyber-security/

• Hybrid Work, Digital Transformation can Exploit Security Gaps

A new study showed that larger organisations generally recognise malware threats but they lack protection against malicious actors and ways to properly remediate infections. The report revealed security leaders are concerned about attacks that leverage malware-exfiltrated authentication data. 53% say they are extremely concerned about attacks, with 1% of security leaders saying they weren’t concerned at all. 98% said that better visibility into at-risk applications would significantly improve their security posture.

The most overlooked entry points for malware include 57% of organisations allowing employees to sync browser data between personal and corporate devices. 54% of organisations struggle with shadow IT, due to employees’ unsanctioned adoption of applications and systems, creating gaps not only in visibility but also in basic security controls and corporate policies.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/digital-transformation-hybrid-work-models-create-perfect-setting-for-cybercriminals-to-exploit-security-gaps-study-finds/

• Human Cyber Risk Can Be Demonstrably Mitigated by Behaviour Changing Training

The process of encouraging secure cyber habits in end users is evolving from traditional awareness training toward changing end user behaviour. It reflects a growing acceptance that traditional methods haven’t worked. While traditional security awareness teaches users how to recognise social engineering, new behaviour changing trains the brain – almost pre-programs it – on the correct recognition and response to phishing.

What is considered a standard phishing email today may not be tomorrow, and changes in user behaviour will help to combat this. It is simply not enough to be shown one phishing email and be told to follow procedures. Training should instead be focused on going beyond; this should look to change how the user approaches things such as phishing, and gamifying the recognition and reporting of it.

https://www.securityweek.com/human-cyber-risk-can-be-demonstrably-mitigated-by-behavior-changing-training-analysis/

• AI Tool WormGPT Enables Convincing Fake Emails For BEC Attacks

A generative AI tool, WormGPT, has emerged as a powerful weapon in the hands of cyber criminals, specifically for launching business email compromise (BEC) attacks, according to new findings. The tool is designed for malicious purposes and has no restrictions on what a user can request. Such a tool allows for impeccable grammar in emails to reduce suspicion and allows sophistication with no restrictions on prompts. The lowered entry threshold enables cyber criminals with limited skills to execute sophisticated attacks, democratising the use of this technology.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/wormgpt-fake-emails-bec-attacks/

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/chatgpt-dark-web-wormgpt-hack-b2376627.html

• Pro-Russian Hacktivists Increase Focus on Western Targets

‘Anonymous Sudan’, apparent pro-Russian hacktivists, claimed a one-hour distributed denial of service attack on the social platform OnlyFans last week. This was the latest in a string of operations aimed at targets in the US and Europe. The group’s digital assaults coincide with attacks coming from a broader network of hackers aligned with Moscow that seek attention by taking down high-profile victims and strategic targets; many of the targets support Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.

The pro-Russian group appears to be affiliated with Killnet, a pro-Russian hacktivist group that emerged in late 2021 or early 2022 and has claimed distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, data theft and leaks on perceived adversaries of the Russian government, according to an analysis from Google’s Mandiant released earlier this week. The collective’s apparent significant growth in capabilities, demonstrated by Microsoft’s confirmation that Anonymous Sudan was responsible for the outages they experienced, potentially indicates a significant increase in outside investment in the collective, further suggesting a potential tie to the Russian state.

https://cyberscoop.com/anonymous-sudan-killnet-russia-onlyfans/

• Infosec Doesn't Know What AI Tools Organisations Are Using

With the marketplace awash in new artificial intelligence (AI) tools and new AI features being added to existing tools, organisations are finding themselves lacking visibility into what AI tools are in use, how they are used, who has access, and what data is being shared. As businesses try, adopt, and abandon new generative AI tools, it falls on enterprise IT, risk, and security leaders to govern and secure their use without hindering innovation. While developing security policies to govern AI use is important, it is not possible without knowing what tools are being used in the first place.

Enterprise security teams have to consider how to handle discovery, learning which generative AI tools have been introduced into the environment and by whom, as well as risk assessment.

https://www.darkreading.com/tech-trends/infosec-doesnt-know-what-ai-tools-orgs-are-using

• Google Restricting Internet Access to Some Employees to Reduce Cyber Attack Risk

In a bid to shrink the attack surface of its employees, and thus boost security, Google is taking an experimental, and some might say extreme, approach: cutting some of their workstations off from the internet. The company originally selected more than 2,500 employees to participate and will disable internet access on the selected desktops, except for internal web-based tools and Google owned websites like Google Drive and Gmail. Some workers who need the internet to do their job will get exceptions, the company stated in materials.

Google is running the programme to reduce the risk of cyber attacks, according to internal materials. If a Google employee’s device is compromised, the attackers may have access to user data and infrastructure code, which could result in a major incident and undermine user trust. The program comes as companies face increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. Just last week, Microsoft said Chinese intelligence hacked into company email accounts belonging to two dozen government agencies in the US and Western Europe, including the US State Department, in a “significant” breach.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/18/google-restricting-internet-access-to-some-employees-for-security.html

https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/19/google_cuts_internet/

• Unlocking Business Potential: How CISOs are Transforming Cyber Security into a Strategic Asset

Enterprises are responding to growing cyber security threats by working to make the best use of tools and services to ensure business resilience, according to a recent report. Chief information security officers (CISOs) and virtual CISOs (vCISOS) in particular, want more solutions and services that help them align security measures with enterprise objectives and C-level executives have become more aware of the need for cyber resilience. As a result, security investments have expanded beyond detection and response to include rapid recovery and business continuity.

The report found that amongst other things, enterprises are investing in risk assessments and outsourcing more services. In some cases, where a CISO cannot be hired, organisations may look to hire a vCISO. It is important that the vCISO is able to understand cyber in context to the business and help to align security objectives with the organisations objectives. Black Arrow supports clients as their vCISO with specialist experience in cyber security risk management in a business context.

https://www.blackarrowcyber.com/blog/threat-briefing-14-july-2023

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Risk is Driving Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB) Decisions - MSSP Alert

• Stabilising The Cyber security Landscape: The Rise Of vCISOs (forbes.com)

• Talent and Governance, not Technology, are Key to Drive Change around Cyber Security - TechNative

• Hybrid Work, Digital Transformation Can Exploit Security Gaps, Study Finds - MSSP Alert

• Human Cyber Risk Can Be Demonstrably Mitigated by Behaviour Changing Training: Analysis - SecurityWeek

• Stress, data privacy, zero trust to shape cyber security trends | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• CISOs under pressure: Protecting sensitive information in the age of high employee turnover - Help Net Security

• Network, IAM, cloud are 2023's top cyber security spend priorities | VentureBeat

• CISOs are making cyber security a business problem - Help Net Security

• Top Information Security Threats for Businesses 2023 (cybersecuritynews.com)

• How to Build a Cyber Resilient Company | Entrepreneur

• Best practices for an effective cyber security strategy | CSO Online

• Exploring the macro shifts in enterprise security - Help Net Security

• Google Cloud CISO Phil Venables On Cyber security, Cloud Adoption And The Boardroom (forbes.com)

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Ransomware Costs Financial Services $32bn in Five Years - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MOVEit victim count closes in on 400 orgs, 20M+ individuals • The Register

• Weekly cyber attacks reach two-year high amid ransomware resurgence | ITPro

• Ransomware attacks are on the rise—and so are ransom payments (fastcompany.com)

• IT worker jailed for impersonating ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Security Patch Management Strengthens Ransomware Defence (trendmicro.com)

• The rise in ransomware attacks this year may be related to Russia's war in Ukraine : NPR

• Who are the ransomware gangs wreaking havoc on the world’s biggest companies? | Renee Dudley | The Guardian

• Cyber security firm Sophos impersonated by new SophosEncrypt ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Trends in ransomware-as-a-service and cryptocurrency to monitor - Help Net SecurityFIN8 deploys ALPHV ransomware using Sardonic malware variant (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Linux Ransomware Poses Significant Threat to Critical Infrastructure (darkreading.com)

• Financial cyber crime syndicate deploys reworked backdoor malware | CyberScoop

• Ransomware attackers getting more sophisticated: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (yahoo.com)

• SophosEncrypt Ransomware Fools Security Researchers (darkreading.com)

• Mallox Ransomware Exploits Weak MS-SQL Servers to Breach Networks (thehackernews.com)

• New Ransomware With RAT Capabilities Impersonating Sophos - SecurityWeek

• Google’s Bard poses ransomware risk, say researchers | Cybernews

• Ransomware review: July 2023 (malwarebytes.com)

• FIN8 Group spotted delivering the BlackCat Ransomware - Security Affairs

• What is Cyber Extortion? | Definition from TechTarget

• Cyber insurers adapting to data-centric ransomware threats | TechTarget

• Shutterfly says Clop ransomware attack did not impact customer data (bleepingcomputer.com)

Ransomware Victims

• MOVEit victim count closes in on 400 orgs, 20M+ individuals • The Register

• Ofcom says it won’t pay ransom, as new MOVEit hack victims come forward | TechCrunch

• MOVEit Transfer vulnerability: New Cl0p 'victims' include Discovery (techmonitor.ai)

• BlackCat and Clop gangs both claim cyber attack on Estée Lauder | Computer Weekly

• Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals targeted by Russian ransomware group | Cybercrime | The Guardian

• Russian medical lab suspends some services after ransomware attack (therecord.media)

• Recycling Giant Tomra Takes Systems Offline Following Cyber attack - SecurityWeek

• Shutterfly says Clop ransomware attack did not impact customer data (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Typo leaks millions of US military emails to Mali web operator | Financial Times (ft.com)

• AI Tool WormGPT Enables Convincing Fake Emails For BEC Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft Exchange servers compromised by Turla APT - Help Net Security

• Microsoft takes pains to obscure role in 0-days that caused email breach | Ars Technica

• Analysis of Storm-0558 techniques for unauthorised email access | Microsoft Security Blog

• Only a handful of hackers are responsible for all email extortion attacks | TechRadar

• Microsoft Tops List of the Most Impersonated Brand for Phishing Scams in Q2 2023 - MSSP Alert

• Enhanced Monitoring to Detect APT Activity Targeting Outlook Online | CISA

• Sorillus RAT and Phishing Attacks Exploit Google Firebase Hosting - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Gmail encouraging users to enable Enhanced Safe Browsing (9to5google.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• AI Tool WormGPT Enables Convincing Fake Emails For BEC Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Only a handful of hackers are responsible for all email extortion attacks | TechRadar

• Nigerian Man Sentenced to 8 Years in US Prison for $8 Million BEC Scheme - SecurityWeek

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Meta's Threads app used as a lure - Help Net Security

Artificial Intelligence

• ChatGPT rival WormGPT with ‘no ethical boundaries’ sold to hackers on dark web | The Independent

• Infosec Doesn't Know What AI Tools Orgs Are Using (darkreading.com)

• One in 12 victims of rise in AI scams (telegraph.co.uk)

• AI models must be reconciled with data protection laws • The Register

• UK Financial Regulator Urges Banks to Tackle AI-Based Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 1 in 4 Brits play with generative AI and some believe it too • The Register

• OpenAI credentials stolen by the thousands for sale on the dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)

• AI must have better security, says top cyber official - BBC News

• Google Categorises 6 Real-World AI Attacks to Prepare for Now (darkreading.com)

• How to Use Generative AI Tools While Still Protecting Your Privacy | WIRED

• Google’s Bard poses ransomware risk, say researchers | Cybernews

Malware

• Microsoft: Hackers turn Exchange servers into malware control centers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Malicious USB Drives Targeting Global Targets with SOGU and SNOWYDRIVE Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Financial cyber crime syndicate deploys reworked backdoor malware | CyberScoop

• New SOHO Router Botnet AVrecon Spreads to 70,000 Devices Across 20 Countries (thehackernews.com)

• LokiBot Malware Targets Windows Users in Office Document Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hackers Target Gamers With Microsoft-Signed Rootkit (darkreading.com)

• Source code of the BlackLotus UEFI Bootkit was leaked on GitHub - Security Affairs

• Are Viruses Still a Threat to Cyber security? (makeuseof.com)

• Black Hat Hacker Exposes Real Identity After Infecting Own Computer With Malware - SecurityWeek

• Pernicious Rootkits Pose Growing Blight On Threat Landscape (darkreading.com)

• Sorillus RAT and Phishing Attacks Exploit Google Firebase Hosting - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Mobile

• Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals - BBC News

• Hackers Exploit WebAPK to Deceive Android Users into Installing Malicious Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Meta confirms WhatsApp is down worldwide (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese APT41 Hackers Target Mobile Devices with New WyrmSpy and DragonEgg Spyware (thehackernews.com)

Botnets

• New SOHO Router Botnet AVrecon Spreads to 70,000 Devices Across 20 Countries (thehackernews.com)

• Ukraine's cyber police dismantled a massive bot farm - Security Affairs

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Cloudflare reports 'alarming surge' in DDoS sophistication, escalation in recent months | CyberScoop

• Attackers intensify DDoS attacks with new tactics - Help Net Security

• Zyxel Vulnerability Exploited by DDoS Botnets on Linux Systems - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• How your internet-connected domestic devices can be a critical tool of cyber attack (mid-day.com)

• US preparing Cyber Trust Mark for more secure smart devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Seven new gadgets added to riskiest connected devices list | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• MOVEit Hack: Number of Impacted Organisations Exceeds 340 - SecurityWeek

• Data compromises on track to set a new record - Help Net Security

• Virustotal data leak exposed data of some registered customers - Security Affairs

• What to do (and what not to do) after a data breach - Help Net Security

• HWL Ebsworth hack: Queensland says its files were taken after criminals release Victorian documents | Cybercrime | The Guardian

• CISOs under pressure: Protecting sensitive information in the age of high employee turnover - Help Net Security

• Thousands of images on Docker Hub leak auth secrets, private keys (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Met Police ‘passed victims’ data to Facebook via online tracking tool’ | Evening Standard

• LastPass: The lessons we learnt from our devastating breach | TechRadar

• JumpCloud, an IT firm serving 200,000 orgs, says it was hacked by nation-state | Ars Technica

• Rogue Azure AD Guests Can Steal Data via Power Apps (darkreading.com)

• FIA World Endurance Championship driver passports leaked - Security Affairs

• Typo leaks millions of US military emails to Mali web operator | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Old Roblox Data Leak Resurfaces, 4000 Users' Personal Information Exposed - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Colorado State University says data breach impacts students, staff (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Only a handful of hackers are responsible for all email extortion attacks | TechRadar

• Nigerian Man Sentenced to 8 Years in US Prison for $8 Million BEC Scheme - SecurityWeek

• NCA: Nation States Using Cyber crime Groups as Proxies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Owner of BreachForums Pleads Guilty to Cyber crime and Child Pornography Charges (thehackernews.com)

• Genesis Market infrastructure and inventory sold on hacker forum (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Black Hat Hacker Exposes Real Identity After Infecting Own Computer With Malware - SecurityWeek

• Police arrests Ukrainian scareware developer after 10-year hunt (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Taking the Fight to the Cyber Criminals (trendmicro.com)

• Russian Charged with Tech Smuggling and Money Laundering - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Extremist-friendly tech company closes after fine for securities fraud | Technology | The Guardian

• Hacker Conversations: Inside the Mind of Daniel Kelley, ex-Blackhat - SecurityWeek

• Go Beyond the Headlines for Deeper Dives into the Cyber criminal Underground (thehackernews.com)

• SA on the brink of being Africa's capital of cyber crime, say digital experts | City Press (news24.com)

• What’s the NCA doing about cyber crime? - Tech Monitor

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Trends in ransomware-as-a-service and cryptocurrency to monitor - Help Net Security

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• IT worker jailed for impersonating ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Former contractor accused of remotely accessing town's water treatment facility | Tripwire

• Insider Risk Management Starts With SaaS Security (darkreading.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• One in 12 victims of rise in AI scams (telegraph.co.uk)

• A Twitter user found scam numbers for major airlines on Google Maps. Google is working to fix it | CNN Business

• UK Financial Regulator Urges Banks to Tackle AI-Based Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Growing scam activity linked to social media and automation - Help Net Security

• A fresh look at the current state of financial fraud - Help Net Security

• Tech support scammers now accepting cash via snail mail • The Register

• Half of UK company directors struck off linked to alleged Covid loan fraud | Coronavirus | The Guardian

• Extremist-friendly tech company closes after fine for securities fraud | Technology | The Guardian

• The cruel new holiday scams you need to know about | This is Money

• Airbnb-Related Scams Surge: Beware Of ‘Too Good To Be True’ Offers (forbes.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Russian Charged with Tech Smuggling and Money Laundering - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insurance

• Cyber insurers adapting to data-centric ransomware threats | TechTarget

• Strengthening Password Security may Lower Cyber Insurance Premiums (bleepingcomputer.com)

Dark Web

• Genesis Market infrastructure and inventory sold on hacker forum (bleepingcomputer.com)

• OpenAI credentials stolen by the thousands for sale on the dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exploring the Dark Side: OSINT Tools and Techniques for Unmasking Dark Web Operations (thehackernews.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• JumpCloud, an IT firm serving 200,000 orgs, says it was hacked by nation-state | Ars Technica

• Google Cloud Build bug lets hackers launch supply chain attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Supply chain executives unaware of growing customer trust issues - Help Net Security

• Possible Supply Chain Attack Targeting Pakistani Government Delivers Shadowpad (trendmicro.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Microsoft makes cloud security logs available for free • The Register

• Microsoft Expands Cloud Logging to Counter Rising Nation-State Cyber Threats (thehackernews.com)

• Top 5 Cloud Security Threats in 2023 (analyticsinsight.net)

• Network, IAM, cloud are 2023's top cyber security spend priorities | VentureBeat

• Google Cloud Build bug lets hackers launch supply chain attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Reducing Security Debt in the Cloud (darkreading.com)

• Three key unanswered questions about the Chinese breach of Microsoft cloud services | CyberScoop

• TeamTNT's Cloud Credential Stealing Campaign Now Targets Azure and Google Cloud (thehackernews.com)

• How to manage cloud exploitation at the edge | CIO

• Sorillus RAT and Phishing Attacks Exploit Google Firebase Hosting - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Hybrid Work, Digital Transformation Can Exploit Security Gaps, Study Finds - MSSP Alert

• Securing The Hybrid Workforce Begins With Browsing (forbes.com)

Attack Surface Management

• How to Manage Your Attack Surface? (thehackernews.com)

• What is attack surface management? | Intruder

Identity and Access Management

• Attacker exploits vulnerability in Active Directory Certificate Services to take control of domain (securityintelligence.com)

• Network, IAM, cloud are 2023's top cyber security spend priorities | VentureBeat

• The rise of hassle-free and secure authentication | CyberScoop

Encryption

• Real-world examples of quantum-based attacks - Help Net Security

• EU Urged to Prepare for Quantum Cyber Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Signal president rejects ‘mass surveillance’ UK law | Fortune

API

• Docker Leaks API Secrets & Private Keys, as Cyber criminals Pounce (darkreading.com)

• API keys: Weaknesses and security best practices | TechTarget

Open Source

• Linux Ransomware Poses Significant Threat to Critical Infrastructure (darkreading.com)

• Half of AI Open Source Projects Reference Buggy Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Zyxel Vulnerability Exploited by DDoS Botnets on Linux Systems - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• LastPass: The lessons we learnt from our devastating breach | TechRadar

• Millions of Keyboard Walk Patterns Found in Compromised Passwords - IT Security Guru

• TeamTNT's Cloud Credential Stealing Campaign Now Targets Azure and Google Cloud (thehackernews.com)

• Strengthening Password Security may Lower Cyber Insurance Premiums (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Growing scam activity linked to social media and automation - Help Net Security

• Met Police ‘passed victims’ data to Facebook via online tracking tool’ | Evening Standard

• Meta's Threads app used as a lure - Help Net Security

• TechScape: ‘Lives are ruined in an afternoon’ – social media and the Huw Edwards story | Technology | The Guardian

Training, Education and Awareness

• Human Cyber Risk Can Be Demonstrably Mitigated by Behavior Changing Training: Analysis - SecurityWeek

• Security Awareness Training Isn’t Working - How Can We Improve It? - SecurityWeek

• Companywide Cyber security Training: 20 Tips To Make It ‘Stick’ (forbes.com)

Digital Transformation

• Hybrid Work, Digital Transformation Can Exploit Security Gaps, Study Finds - MSSP Alert

Travel

• The cruel new holiday scams you need to know about | This is Money

• Airbnb-Related Scams Surge: Beware Of ‘Too Good To Be True’ Offers (forbes.com)

• A Twitter user found scam numbers for major airlines on Google Maps. Google is working to fix it | CNN Business

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• AI models must be reconciled with data protection laws • The Register

• UK Financial Regulator Urges Banks to Tackle AI-Based Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals - BBC News

• Online Safety Bill Last chance for Lords to stop surveillance | Evening Standard

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• OWASP ZAP 2.13.0 Released – What’s New! (gbhackers.com)

Data Protection

• AI models must be reconciled with data protection laws • The Register

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Career Benefits of Learning Ethical Hacking (analyticsinsight.net)

• Should You Be Using a Cyber security Careers Framework? (darkreading.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Nigerian Man Sentenced to 8 Years in US Prison for $8 Million BEC Scheme - SecurityWeek

• Owner of BreachForums Pleads Guilty to Cyber crime and Child Pornography Charges (thehackernews.com)

• What’s the NCA doing about cyber crime? - Tech Monitor

• Police arrests Ukrainian scareware developer after 10-year hunt (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian Charged with Tech Smuggling and Money Laundering - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine's cyber police dismantled a massive bot farm - Security Affairs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals - BBC News

• Online Safety Bill Last chance for Lords to stop surveillance | Evening Standard

• Stress, data privacy, zero trust to shape cyber security trends | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• How to Use Generative AI Tools While Still Protecting Your Privacy | WIRED

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Ukraine's cyber police dismantled a massive bot farm - Security Affairs

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Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Russia

• The rise in ransomware attacks this year may be related to Russia's war in Ukraine : NPR

• Gamaredon hackers start stealing data 30 minutes after a breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Analysis of Storm-0558 techniques for unauthorised email access | Microsoft Security Blog

• Microsoft Exchange servers compromised by Turla APT - Help Net Security

• Pro-Russian hacktivists increase focus on Western targets. The latest is OnlyFans. | CyberScoop

• Elon Musk’s Starlink is putting our soldiers at risk, Ukraine warns (telegraph.co.uk)

• New Threat Actor Launches Cyber attacks on Ukraine and Poland - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 1st Case Of Online Killing? Russian Submarine Commander Falls Prey To Fitness Tracking App (eurasiantimes.com)

• Thousands of Russian officials to give up iPhones over US spying fears | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Ukraine innovates on cyber defence | Financial Times (ft.com)

China

• Three key unanswered questions about the Chinese breach of Microsoft cloud services | CyberScoop

• Chinese APT Favourite Backdoor Found in Pakistani Government App - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• China Espionage Operatives Left Empty Handed in Email Heist, White House Official Says - MSSP Alert

• Xi wants to make the Great Firewall of China even greater • The Register

• Chinese APT41 Hackers Target Mobile Devices with New WyrmSpy and DragonEgg Spyware (thehackernews.com)

North Korea

• JumpCloud breach traced back to North Korean state hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean hackers breached a US tech company to steal crypto | Reuters

Misc/Other/Unknown

• JumpCloud, an IT firm serving 200,000 orgs, says it was hacked by nation-state | Ars Technica

• NCA: Nation States Using Cyber crime Groups as Proxies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• APT Protection: The Key to Safeguarding Your Business (ts2.space)

• How to Secure Your OT Network Against Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) (ts2.space)

• Microsoft Expands Cloud Logging to Counter Rising Nation-State Cyber Threats (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• CVSS 4.0 released, to help assess real-time threat and impact of vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

• Security Patch Management Strengthens Ransomware Defence (trendmicro.com)

• What is Vulnerability Assessment In Cyber security? (gbhackers.com)

• Half of AI Open Source Projects Reference Buggy Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Windows Users Urged To Update As Microsoft Confirms New Zero-Day Exploits (forbes.com)

• Microsoft Bug Allowed Hackers to Breach Over Two Dozen Organisations via Forged Azure AD Tokens (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft still unsure how hackers stole Azure AD signing key (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft takes pains to obscure role in 0-days that caused email breach | Ars Technica

• CVE-2023-38408: Remote Code Execution in OpenSSH’s forwarded ssh-agent | Qualys Security Blog

• New critical Citrix ADC and Gateway flaw exploited as zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• OpenSSH Addresses Remote Code Execution Vulnerability: CVE-2023-38408 - VULNERA

• New AMI BMC Flaws Allowing Takeover and Physical Damage Could Impact Millions of Devices - SecurityWeek

• Adobe Rolls Out New Patches for Actively Exploited ColdFusion Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco fixed a critical flaw in SD-WAN vManage - Security Affairs

• Hacking campaign targets sites using WordPress WooCommerce Payments Plugin - Security Affairs

• Microsoft hit by Storm season – a tale of two semi-zero days – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Chrome 115 Patches 20 Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

• 'METIOR' Defence Blueprint Against Side-Channel Vulnerabilities Debuts | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

• 5 Major Takeaways From Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday (darkreading.com)

• Two Jira Plugin Vulnerabilities in Attacker Crosshairs - SecurityWeek

• Zyxel Vulnerability Exploited by DDoS Botnets on Linux Systems - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google says Apple employee found a zero-day but did not report it | TechCrunch

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Tools and Controls

• Human Cyber Risk Can Be Demonstrably Mitigated by Behaviour Changing Training: Analysis - SecurityWeek

• CISOs under pressure: Protecting sensitive information in the age of high employee turnover - Help Net Security

• Network, IAM, cloud are 2023's top cyber security spend priorities | VentureBeat

• Stress, data privacy, zero trust to shape cyber security trends | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Reducing Security Debt in the Cloud (darkreading.com)

• Leverage Threat Intelligence, AI, and Data at Scale to Boost Cyber Defences (darkreading.com)

• A Few More Reasons Why RDP is Insecure (Surprise!) (thehackernews.com)

• Enterprise communication security a growing risk, priority | TechTarget

• SBOMs Still More Mandate Than Security (darkreading.com)

• MIT’s Cyber security Metior: A Secret Weapon Against Side-Channel Attacks (scitechdaily.com)

• NCSC Shares Alternatives to Using a SOC - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Building resilience through DevSecOps - Help Net Security

• Microsoft's security roadmap: Protect Azure DevOps secrets • The Register

• CISA shares free tools to help secure data in the cloud (bleepingcomputer.com)

• What is the new Enhanced Safe Browsing for Gmail (and should you enable it)? | ZDNET

• Insider Risk Management Starts With SaaS Security (darkreading.com)

• What is Real-Time Monitoring? | Definition from TechTarget

• How to Manage Your Attack Surface? (thehackernews.com)

• What is attack surface management? | Intruder

• 67% of daily security alerts overwhelm SOC analysts - Help Net Security

• Technical Aspects Of Modern SIEM Systems (forbes.com)

• Gmail encouraging users to enable Enhanced Safe Browsing (9to5google.com)

• Microsoft Expands Cloud Logging to Counter Rising Nation-State Cyber Threats (thehackernews.com)

• 3 Ways AI Could Improve Authentication (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft makes cloud security logs available for free • The Register

• Security Awareness Training Isn’t Working - How Can We Improve It? - SecurityWeek

• The XDR Payoff: Better Security Posture (trendmicro.com)

• API keys: Weaknesses and security best practices | TechTarget

• 10 Steps to Help Secure Your APIs - SecurityWeek

• Threat Actors are Targeting Your Web Applications – Here’s How To Protect Them (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Other News

• Google restricting internet access to some employees for security (cnbc.com)

• Enterprise communication security a growing risk, priority | TechTarget

• Healthcare organisations in the crosshairs of cyber attackers - Help Net Security

• Broadband consumers demand security and sustainability - Help Net Security

• Microsoft Exchange Online hit by new outage blocking emails (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Famed Hacker Kevin Mitnick Dead at 59 - SecurityWeek

• Most CNI Firms Think Climate Tech is Increasing Cyber Risk - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber security measures SMBs should implement - Help Net Security

• Satellites Are Rife With Basic Security Flaws | WIRED

• How Hackers Can Hijack a Satellite (darkreading.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

·       OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 April 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Navigating the Future of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber Security Training, and Digital Transformation are Key

Cyber investments have become table stakes for businesses around the world. Cyber crime is increasing, with 91% of organisations reporting at least one cyber incident in the past year. Not only are they growing in numbers, but they are becoming more sophisticated and diverse, with new threats constantly emerging. According to the 2023 Deloitte Global Future of Cyber survey, business leaders are changing how they think of cyber, and it’s emerging as a larger strategic discussion tied to an organisation’s long-term success.

Cyber is about more than protecting information—risk management, incident response planning, threat intelligence and training can often be directly correlated to increasing trust within businesses.

Cyber security training is essential for employees to ensure the safety and security of a business. Employees are often the first line of defence against cyber-attacks and frequently the weakest link in an organisation's security posture. Cyber security training can help employees recognise and avoid common cyber threats, such as phishing attacks, malware, and social engineering. 89% of organisations cited as high-performing cyber organisations have implemented annual cyber awareness training among all employees. With increased digital dependency year over year—effective employee training can raise awareness, reduce risk, improve security posture, and support compliance.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2023/04/20/navigating-the-future-of-cyber-business-strategy-cybersecurity-training-and-digital-transformation-are-key/?sh=1ab15c2c29c1

• Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises

There's no denying that software-as-a-service (SaaS) has entered its golden age. Software tools have now become essential to modern business operations and continuity. However, not enough organisations have implemented the proper procurement processes to ensure they're protecting themselves from potential data breaches and reputational harm.

A critical component contributing to concerns around SaaS management is the rising trend of shadow IT, which is when employees download and use software tools without notifying their internal IT teams. A recent study shows that 77% of IT professionals believe that shadow IT is becoming a major concern in 2023, with more than 65% saying their SaaS tools aren't being approved. Organisations are beginning to struggle with maintaining security as their SaaS usage continues to sprawl.

To combat shadow IT and the high risks that come along with it, organisations must gain greater visibility over their SaaS stacks and institute an effective procurement process when bringing on new software solutions.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/shadow-it-saas-pose-security-liability-for-enterprises

• The Strong Link Between Cyber Threat Intelligence and Digital Risk Protection

While indicators of compromise and attackers’ tactics, techniques, and processes (TTPs) remain central to threat intelligence, cyber threat intelligence needs have grown over the past few years, driven by things like digital transformation, cloud computing and remote working. In fact, these changes have led to a cyber threat intelligence (CTI) subcategory focused on digital risk protection (DRP). DRP is broadly defined as, “telemetry, analysis, processes, and technologies used to identify and mitigate risks associated with digital assets”.

According to research provider ESG, the most important functions of DRP as part of a mature CTI programme are: vulnerability exploit intelligence, takedown services, leaked data monitoring, malicious mobile application monitoring, brand protection and attack surface management. It should be noted that a mature CTI programme can utilise service providers to help carry out threat intelligence, it doesn’t have to be spun up by the organisation from nothing. Regardless, an organisation employing these DRP functions as part of a CTI programme will be increasing its cyber resilience and reducing the chance of a cyber incident.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3693754/the-strong-link-between-cyber-threat-intelligence-and-digital-risk-protection.html

• Weak Credentials, Unpatched Vulnerabilities, Malicious Open Source Packages Causing Cloud Security Risks

Threat actors are getting more adept at exploiting common everyday issues in the cloud, including misconfigurations, weak credentials, lack of authentication, unpatched vulnerabilities, and malicious open-source software (OSS) packages. Meanwhile, security teams take an average of 145 hours to solve alerts, with 80% of cloud alerts triggered by just 5% of security rules in most environments according to a recent report. The report, conducted by UNIT 42 analysed the workload of 210,000 cloud accounts across 1,300 organisations.

The report’s findings echoed similarities from the previous year, finding almost all cloud users, roles, services and resources grant excessive permissions. Some of the other key findings include as many as 83% of organisations having hard-coded credentials in their source control management systems, 53% of cloud accounts allowing weak password usage and 44% allowing password reuse and 71% of high or critical vulnerabilities exposed were at least two years old.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3693260/weak-credentials-unpatched-vulnerabilities-malicious-oss-packages-causing-cloud-security-risks.html

• Over 70 Billion Unprotected Files Available on Unsecured Web Servers

A recent report found that more than 70 billion files, including intellectual property and financial information, are freely available and unprotected on unsecured web servers. Other key findings of the report included almost 1 in 10 of all detected internet-facing assets having an unpatched vulnerability, with the top 10 vulnerabilities found unpatched at least 12 million times each.

The report predicted that there will be a significant rise in information stealing malware; the report had found that 50% of emails associated with customers were plaintext and unencrypted. Additionally, there will be more incidents due to an increase in assets which are not known to IT, known as shadow IT.

Organisations should look to employ efficient patch management, have an up to date asset register, and use encryption to better increase their cyber defences.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/24/critical-cybersecurity-exposures/

• Cyber Thieves Are Getting More Creative

Cyber criminals are constantly changing their tactics and finding new ways to steal money from organisations. An example of this can be seen where criminals are breaking into systems to learn who is authorised to send payments and what the procedures are. Eventually, this leads to the criminal instructing payment to their own account.

Unfortunately, it is only after such events that some organisations are taking actions, such as verifying payments through phone calls. Whilst it is important for organisations to learn from attacks, it is beneficial to take a pro-active approach and employ procedures such as call back procedures before an incident has occurred.

https://hbr.org/2023/04/cyber-thieves-are-getting-more-creative

• Modernising Vulnerability Management: The Move Toward Exposure Management

Managing vulnerabilities in the constantly evolving technological landscape is a difficult task. Although vulnerabilities emerge regularly, not all vulnerabilities present the same level of risk. Traditional metrics such as CVSS score or the number of vulnerabilities are insufficient for effective vulnerability management as they lack business context, prioritisation, and understanding of attackers' motivations, opportunities and means. Vulnerabilities only represent a small part of the attack surface that attackers can leverage.

Exposures are broader and can encompass more than just vulnerabilities. Exposures can result from various factors, such as human error, improperly defined security controls, and poorly designed and unsecured architecture. Organisations should consider that an attacker doesn’t just look at one exposure; attackers will often use a combination of vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, permissions and other exposures to move across systems and reach valuable assets.

As such, organisations looking to improve their cyber resiliency should consider their vulnerability management system and assess both whether it is taking into account exposures and the context in relation to the organisation.

https://thehackernews.com/2023/04/modernizing-vulnerability-management.html

• Two-thirds of Cyber Attacks Involve Ransomware

A report from Sophos focusing on recent incident response cases, found that 68.4% of incidents resulted from ransomware. This was followed by network breaches, accounting for 18.4%. Regarding threat actor access, the report found that unpatched vulnerabilities were the single most common access method, followed by compromised credentials.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365535467/Almost-three-quarters-of-cyber-attacks-involve-ransomware

• Corporate Boards Pressure CISOs to Step Up Risk Mitigation Efforts

A recent report found that the top challenges when implementing an effective cyber/IT risk management programme include an increase in the quantity (49%) and severity (49%) of cyber threats, a lack of funding (37%) and a lack of staffing/cyber risk talent (36%).

Cyber attacks have been increasing for several years now and resulting data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.35 million in 2022, according to the annual IBM ‘Cost of a Data Breach’ report. Given the financial and reputational consequences of cyber attacks, corporate board rooms are putting pressure on CISOs to identify and mitigate cyber/IT risk.

When it came to reporting to the board, 30% of CIO and CISO respondents say they do not communicate risk around specific business initiatives to other company leaders, indicating they may not know how to share that information in a constructive way.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/26/effective-it-risk-management/

• NSA Sees ‘Significant’ Russian Intel Gathering on European, US Supply Chain Entities

According to the US National Security Agency (NSA), Russian hackers could be looking to attack logistics targets more broadly. The NSA have noted a significant amount of intelligence gathering into western countries, including the UK and the US.

Although there is no indication yet regarding attacks from Russia in connection with the logistics related to Ukraine, organisations should be aware and look to improve their cyber security practices to be best prepared.

https://cyberscoop.com/nsa-russian-ukraine-supply-chain-ransomware/

• Email Threat Report 2023: Key Takeaways

According to a recent report, email phishing made up 24% of all spam types in 2022, a significant increase in proportion from 11% in 2021. The finance industry was the most targeted by far, accounting for 48% of phishing incidents. It is followed by the construction sector at 17%, overtaking 2021’s second-place industry, e-commerce. Both the finance and construction industries saw an increase in phishing since last year. Of all the emails analysed in 2022, an enormous 90% were spam emails.

With phishing as prevalent as ever, organisations should look to implement training for their staff to not only be able to spot phishing emails, but to be able to report these and aid in improving the cyber security culture of their organisation.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/04/27/email-threat-report-2023-key-takeaways/

• 5 Most Dangerous New Attack Techniques

Experts from security training provider SANS Institute have revealed the 5 most dangerous new attack techniques: adversarial AI, ChatGPT-powered social engineering, third-party developer attacks (also known as software supply chain attacks), SEO, and paid advertising attacks.

The new techniques highlight the ever changing environment of the attack environment. SEO and paid advertising attacks are leveraging fundamental marketing strategies to gain initial access, heightening the importance for organisations to incorporate scalable user awareness training programmes, tailored to new threats.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3694892/5-most-dangerous-new-attack-techniques.html  

• Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data

A shocking number of organisations — including banks and healthcare providers — are leaking private and sensitive information from their public Salesforce Community websites. The data exposures all stem from a misconfiguration in Salesforce Community that allows an unauthenticated user to access records that should only be available after logging in.

This included the US State of Vermont who had at least five separate Salesforce Community sites that allowed guest access to sensitive data, including a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme that exposed the applicant’s full name, social security number, address, phone number, email, and bank account number. Similar information was leaked by TCF Bank on their Salesforce Community Website.

It's not just Salesforce though; misconfigurations in general are responsible for a number of leaked documents and or exposures relating to an organisation.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/04/many-public-salesforce-sites-are-leaking-private-data/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• New coercive tactics used to extort ransomware payments - Help Net Security

• Capita Admits That Its ‘Cyber Incident’ Was Ransomware and That Customer Data Was Breached - IT Governance UK Blog

• Russian hackers exfiltrated data from from Capita over a week before outage | by Kevin Beaumont | Apr, 2023 | DoublePulsar

• Almost three-quarters of cyber attacks involve ransomware | Computer Weekly

• #RSAC: Ransomware Poses Growing Threat to Five Eyes Nations - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware attacks, human error main cause of cloud data breaches: Report (business-standard.com)

• Effects of the Hive Ransomware Group Takedown (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft Confirms PaperCut Servers Used to Deliver LockBit and Cl0p Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Trojanized Installers Used to Distribute Bumblebee Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MIT and Stanford researchers develop operating system with one major promise: Resisting ransomware | CyberScoop

• Tank storage company Vopak hacked, Ransomware groups report | NL Times

• Health insurer Point32Health suffered a ransomware attack-Security Affairs

• Hacker demands ransom after 'taking control' of Wiltshire school's IT | Swindon Advertiser

• US Navy Contractor Fincantieri Marine Group Hit by Cyber-attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Arnold Clark braced for cyber payout (thetimes.co.uk)

• RSAC speaker offers ransomware victims unconventional advice | TechTarget

• How ransomware victims can make the best of a bad situation | TechTarget

• Hackers Leaked Minneapolis Students' Psychological Reports, Allegations of Abuse (gizmodo.com)

• Linux version of RTM Locker ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CommScope employees left in the dark after ransomware attack | TechCrunch

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Email Threat Report 2023: Key Takeaways - IT Security Guru

• How Dangerous Is Phishing in 2023? - Duo Blog | Duo Security

• The New Frontier in Email Security: Goodbye, Gateways; Hello, Behavioural AI (darkreading.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• WhatsApp used in BEC scam to pilfer $6.4M | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

2FA/MFA

• CrowdStrike details new MFA bypass, credential theft attack | TechTarget

• Phishing-resistant MFA shapes the future of authentication forms - Help Net Security

Malware

• Malware-Free Cyber attacks Are On the Rise; Here's How to Detect Them (darkreading.com)

• Trojanized Installers Used to Distribute Bumblebee Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ex-Conti and FIN7 Actors Collaborate with New Backdoor (securityintelligence.com)

• EvilExtractor malware activity spikes in Europe and the US (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Zaraza Malware Exploits Web Browsers To Steal Stored Passwords (latesthackingnews.com)

• This evil malware disables your security software, then goes in for the kill | TechRadar

• Decoy Dog malware toolkit found after analysing 70 billion DNS queries (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lazarus Subgroup Targeting Apple Devices with New RustBucket macOS Malware (thehackernews.com)

• A Security Team Is Turning This Malware Gang’s Tricks Against It | WIRED

• Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software | WeLiveSecurity

• Google banned 173K developer accounts to block malware, fraud rings (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese Cyber spies Delivered Malware via Legitimate Software Updates - SecurityWeek

• Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online

Mobile

• WhatsApp used in BEC scam to pilfer $6.4M | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• 35M Downloads Of Android Minecraft Clones Spreads Adware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Botnets

• Google Gets Court Order to Take Down CryptBot That Infected Over 670,000 Computers (thehackernews.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• New SLP bug can lead to massive 2,200x DDoS amplification attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Top 15 DDoS Protection Best Practices - Security Boulevard

• 'Anonymous Sudan' Claims Responsibility for DDoS Attacks Against Israel (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Government Agencies Release Blueprint for Secure Smart Cities - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• TP-Link Archer WiFi router flaw exploited by Mirai malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Over 70 billion unprotected files available on unsecured web servers - Help Net Security

• Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data – Krebs on Security

• American Bar Association data breach hits 1.4 million members (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CFPB Employee Sends 256,000 Consumers' Data to Personal Email - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• American Bar Association (ABA) suffered a data breach-Security Affairs

• Shields Health Breach Exposes 2.3M Users' Data (darkreading.com)

• Serving UK Armed Forces member charged under Official Secrets Act (telegraph.co.uk)

• Yellow Pages Canada confirms cyber attack as Black Basta leaks data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vantage Travel Experiences Data Security Incident (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• The IRS is sending four investigators across the world to fight cyber crime | TechCrunch

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Kubernetes RBAC abused to create persistent cluster backdoors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Foreign Trade Bank Representative Charged in Crypto Laundering Conspiracies (darkreading.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Ransomware attacks, human error main cause of cloud data breaches: Report (business-standard.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• The IRS is sending four investigators across the world to fight cyber crime | TechCrunch

• How Startups Can Take Steps To Prevent Syphoning & Fraud

• US deploys more cyber forces abroad to help fight hackers | Reuters

• The ‘Your computer was locked’ scam is gaining traction (consumeraffairs.com)

• The true numbers behind deepfake fraud - Help Net Security

• Google banned 173K developer accounts to block malware, fraud rings (bleepingcomputer.com)

Deepfakes

• The true numbers behind deepfake fraud - Help Net Security

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• North Korean Foreign Trade Bank Representative Charged in Crypto Laundering Conspiracies (darkreading.com)

Insurance

• The Complexities of Cyber Insurance | Cyber Risk Management (telos.com)

Dark Web

• Metaverse Version of the Dark Web Could be Nearly Impenetrable (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Capita Admits That Its ‘Cyber Incident’ Was Ransomware and That Customer Data Was Breached - IT Governance UK Blog

• Russian hackers exfiltrated data from from Capita over a week before outage | by Kevin Beaumont | Apr, 2023 | DoublePulsar

• At least 2 critical infrastructure orgs breached by North Korea-linked hackers behind 3CX attack - -Security Affairs-Security Affairs

• The Huge 3CX Breach Was Actually 2 Linked Supply Chain Attacks | WIRED

• That 3CX supply chain attack keeps getting worse • The Register

• NSA sees 'significant' Russian intel gathering on European, US supply chain entities | CyberScoop

• North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyber attack | CNN Politics

• SD Worx hack: Payroll firm for M&S hit by cyber attack (thetimes.co.uk)

• A third-party’s perspective on third-party InfoSec risk management - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• Securing Software Supply Chains Requires Outside-the-Box Thinking - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises (darkreading.com)

• Weak credentials, unpatched vulnerabilities, malicious OSS packages causing cloud security risks | CSO Online

• 14 Kubernetes and Cloud Security Challenges and How to Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware attacks, human error main cause of cloud data breaches: Report (business-standard.com)

• GhostToken Flaw Could Let Attackers Hide Malicious Apps in Google Cloud Platform (thehackernews.com)

• Saas Security: The Need For Continuous Sustenance (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How CISOs navigate security and compliance in a multi-cloud world - Help Net Security

• Cloud Complexity Means Bugs Are Missed in Testing - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Study: 84% of Companies Use Breached SaaS Applications - Here's How to Fix it for Free! (thehackernews.com)

• Security experts found a major bug in Google Cloud | TechRadar

• Most SaaS adopters exposed to browser-borne attacks - Help Net Security

• Cloud-native security metrics for CISOs | TechTarget

• Exposed Artifacts Seen In Misconfigured Cloud Software Registries (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Google accounts attacked and hijacked by this devious security flaw | TechRadar

Containers

• Kubernetes RBAC abused to create persistent cluster backdoors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts spotted first-ever crypto mining campaign leveraging Kubernetes RBAC-Security Affairs

• Combating Kubernetes — the Newest IAM Challenge (darkreading.com)

Attack Surface Management

• Over 70 billion unprotected files available on unsecured web servers - Help Net Security

• Study of past cyber attacks can improve organisations' defence strategies - Help Net Security

Shadow IT

• Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• Rethinking the effectiveness of current authentication initiatives - Help Net Security

• Combating Kubernetes — the Newest IAM Challenge (darkreading.com)

Open Source

• The double-edged sword of open-source software - Help Net Security

• Linux Shift: Chinese APT Alloy Taurus Is Back With Retooling (darkreading.com)

• Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online

• Linux version of RTM Locker ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Weak credentials, unpatched vulnerabilities, malicious OSS packages causing cloud security risks | CSO Online

• Password reset woes could cost FTSE 100 companies $156 million each month - Help Net Security

• The War on Passwords Enters a Chaotic New Phase | WIRED

• A '!password20231#' password may not be as complex as you think (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Thousands of Social Media Takedowns Hit People Smugglers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Metaverse Version of the Dark Web Could be Nearly Impenetrable (darkreading.com)

• Vietnamese Hackers Linked to 'Malverposting' Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malvertising

• Trojanized Installers Used to Distribute Bumblebee Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google ads push BumbleBee malware used by ransomware gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 35M Downloads Of Android Minecraft Clones Spreads Adware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Navigating The Future Of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber security Training, And Digital Transformation Are Key (forbes.com)

Digital Transformation

• Navigating The Future Of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber security Training, And Digital Transformation Are Key (forbes.com)

• Cyber security in Finance: Protecting Your Digital Transformation | CSO Online

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Tech giants and government have failed to stop child sex abuse online, says Sajid Javid (telegraph.co.uk)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• (ISC)2 Urges Countries to Strengthen Collaboration on Cyber security Regulation - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Navigating The Future Of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber security Training, And Digital Transformation Are Key (forbes.com)

• Corporate boards pressure CISOs to step up risk mitigation efforts - Help Net Security

• How the Talent Shortage Impacts Cyber security Leadership (securityintelligence.com)

• Is your bank account safe? Mass layoffs weaken cyber security across finance sector | Fox Business

• The Tangled Web of IR Strategies (darkreading.com)

• The strong link between cyber threat intelligence and digital risk protection | CSO Online

• Cyber Thieves Are Getting More Creative (hbr.org)

• Organisations are stepping up their game against cyber threats - Help Net Security

• CISOs: unsupported, unheard, and invisible - Help Net Security

• The Relationship Between Security Maturity and Business Enablement | CSO Online

• CISOs Rethink Data Security with Info-Centric Framework (darkreading.com)

• UK Cyber Pros Burnt Out and Overwhelmed - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Good, Better And Best Security (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• #RSAC: Organisations Warned About the Latest Attack Techniques - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• SANS Reveals Top 5 Most Dangerous Cyber attacks for 2023 (darkreading.com)

• Cloud-native security metrics for CISOs | TechTarget

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• Small Business is a Big Priority: NIST Expands Outreach to the Small Business Community | NIST

• Are you ready for PCI DSS 4.0? - Help Net Security

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• UK Cyber Pros Burnt Out and Overwhelmed - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How to Begin a Career in Ethical Hacking in the Year 2023? (analyticsinsight.net)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• To combat cyber crime, US law enforcement increasingly prioritizes disruption | CyberScoop

• US to focus on stifling cyber attacks, not convictions • The Register

• US deploys more cyber forces abroad to help fight hackers | Reuters

• Effects of the Hive Ransomware Group Takedown (darkreading.com)

• Google Gets Court Order to Take Down CryptBot That Infected Over 670,000 Computers (thehackernews.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Hackers can find your home on Strava even if you use privacy settings, researchers find | Cycling Weekly

• Major US CFPB Data Breach Caused by Employee (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• The Growing Need for Cyber Security in an Age of AI Disruption (analyticsinsight.net)

• From pope’s jacket to napalm recipes: how worrying is AI’s rapid growth? | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

• Cyber security Survival: Hide From Adversarial AI (darkreading.com)

• AI Experts: Account for AI/ML Resilience & Risk While There's Still Time (darkreading.com)

• 5 most dangerous new attack techniques | CSO Online

• NSA Cyber security Director Says ‘Buckle Up’ for Generative AI | WIRED

• The New Risks ChatGPT Poses to Cyber security (hbr.org)

• From ChatGPT to HackGPT: Meeting the Cyber security Threat of Generative AI (mit.edu)

• ChatGPT fans need 'defensive mindset' to avoid scammers • The Register

• DHS announces AI task force, security sprint on China-related threats | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• The New Frontier in Email Security: Goodbye, Gateways; Hello, Behavioral AI (darkreading.com)

• Nvidia releases a toolkit to make text-generating AI ‘safer’ | TechCrunch

• Artificial intelligence takes RSA Conference by storm | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• The good, the bad and the generative AI • The Register

• Secureworks CEO weighs in on XDR landscape, AI concerns | TechTarget

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Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• BCS Policy Jam : Cyberwar and Ukraine one year on | BCS

• FBI aiding Ukraine in collection of digital and physical war crime evidence | CyberScoop

• NSA sees 'significant' Russian intel gathering on European, US supply chain entities | CyberScoop

• #RSAC: Cyber-Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure Should Be War Crimes, says Ukraine Official - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• UK undersea cables worth £7.4 trillion a day under ‘real threat’ from Russia | The Independent

• Eurocontrol says website 'under attack' by pro-Russia crew • The Register

• Iran cyberespionage group taps SimpleHelp for persistence on victim devices | CSO Online

• Russian Hackers Tomiris Targeting Central Asia for Intelligence Gathering (thehackernews.com)

• CISA, Cyber Command Collaboration Blocks Attempted Attacks on US Interests - MSSP Alert

Nation State Actors

• APT Groups Expand Reach to New Industries and Geographies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chinese Cyber spies Delivered Malware via Legitimate Software Updates - SecurityWeek

• North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyber attack | CNN Politics

• Western cyber security must advance to counter China's cyber space progress, says NCSC director (computing.co.uk)

• China building cyber weapons to hijack enemy satellites, says US leak | Financial Times (ft.com)

• NCSC raises alert on cyber threat to infrastructure | UKAuthority

• Iran cyberespionage group taps SimpleHelp for persistence on victim devices | CSO Online

• DHS announces AI task force, security sprint on China-related threats | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• At least 2 critical infrastructure orgs breached by North Korea-linked hackers behind 3CX attack - -Security Affairs-Security Affairs

• North Korea's Kimsuky APT Keeps Growing, Despite Public Outing (darkreading.com)

• APT 'Mint Sandstorm' quickly exploits new PoC hacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Russian Hackers Suspected in Ongoing Exploitation of Unpatched PaperCut Servers (thehackernews.com)

• North Korean Foreign Trade Bank Representative Charged in Crypto Laundering Conspiracies (darkreading.com)

• Iranian Hackers Launch Sophisticated Attacks Targeting Israel with PowerLess Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus Subgroup Targeting Apple Devices with New RustBucket macOS Malware (thehackernews.com)

• US Cyberwarriors Thwarted 2020 Iran Election Hacking Attempt - SecurityWeek

• Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software | WeLiveSecurity

• Linux Shift: Chinese APT Alloy Taurus Is Back With Retooling (darkreading.com)

• Pro-Russia hacking group executed a disruptive attack against a Canadian gas pipeline-Security Affairs

• Charming Kitten's New BellaCiao Malware Discovered in Multi-Country Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Iranian cyber spies deploy new malware implant on Microsoft Exchange Servers | CSO Online

• A component in Huawei network appliances could be used to take down Germany’s telecoms networks-Security Affairs

• Ukrainian arrested for selling data of 300M people to Russians (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FIN7 Hackers Caught Exploiting Recent Veeam Vulnerability - SecurityWeek

• Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online

• CISA, Cyber Command Collaboration Blocks Attempted Attacks on US Interests - MSSP Alert

• Lazarus, Scarcruft North Korean APTs Shift Tactics, Thrive (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Weak credentials, unpatched vulnerabilities, malicious OSS packages causing cloud security risks | CSO Online

• Modernizing Vulnerability Management: The Move Toward Exposure Management (thehackernews.com)

• GitLab’s new security feature uses AI to explain vulnerabilities to developers | TechCrunch

• Microsoft: Windows 10 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10 (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• New Google Chrome Zero-Day Bug Actively Exploited in Wide (gbhackers.com)

• Flaw in Microsoft Process Explorer under active attack • The Register

• Hackers Exploit Outdated WordPress Plugin to Backdoor Thousands of WordPress Sites (thehackernews.com)

• APC warns of critical unauthenticated RCE flaws in UPS software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Double zero-day in Chrome and Edge – check your versions now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Security experts found a major bug in Google Cloud | TechRadar

• TP-Link Archer WiFi router flaw exploited by Mirai malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Mozilla confirms memory leak in Firefox - gHacks Tech News

• SolarWinds Platform Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

• VMware Releases Critical Patches for Workstation and Fusion Software (thehackernews.com)

• Apache Superset Vulnerability: Insecure Default Configuration Exposes Servers to RCE Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco discloses XSS zero-day flaw in server management tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft removes LSA Protection from Windows settings to fix bug (bleepingcomputer.com)

• PaperCut says hackers are exploiting ‘critical’ security flaws in unpatched servers | TechCrunch

• FIN7 Hackers Caught Exploiting Recent Veeam Vulnerability - SecurityWeek

• New high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2023-29552) discovered in the Service Location Protocol (SLP) | Bitsight

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Tools and Controls

• Navigating The Future Of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber security Training, And Digital Transformation Are Key (forbes.com)

• Corporate boards pressure CISOs to step up risk mitigation efforts - Help Net Security

• The Tangled Web of IR Strategies (darkreading.com)

• 14 Kubernetes and Cloud Security Challenges and How to Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

• Six Key Considerations When Choosing a Web Application Firewall  - Security Boulevard

• The Complexities of Cyber Insurance | Cyber Risk Management (telos.com)

• Unified Endpoint Management: A Powerful Tool for Your Cyber security Arsenal | CSO Online

• GitLab’s new security feature uses AI to explain vulnerabilities to developers | TechCrunch

• Google Authenticator finally, mercifully adds account syncing for two-factor codes - The Verge

• The Needs of a Modernized SOC for Hybrid Cloud (securityintelligence.com)

• Rethinking the effectiveness of current authentication initiatives - Help Net Security

• Attack Surface Management Strategies (trendmicro.com)

• Google will add End-to-End encryption to Google Authenticator (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google 2FA Syncing Feature Could Put Your Privacy at Risk (darkreading.com)

• Embracing zero-trust: a look at the NSA’s recommended IAM best practices for administrators | CSO Online

• CISOs struggle to manage risk due to DevSecOps inefficiencies - Help Net Security

• Generative AI and security: Balancing performance and risk - Help Net Security

• #RSAC: GPT-4 Empowers Cyber security Leaders to Make Smarter Risk Decisions - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• SSL vs TLS: Which Should You Be Using? (trendmicro.com)

• CISA aims to reduce email threats with serial CDR prototype | TechTarget

• Top 15 DDoS Protection Best Practices - Security Boulevard

• Threat Actor Names Proliferate, Adding Confusion (darkreading.com)

• AI Dominates RSA as Excitement and Questions Surround its Potential in Cyber security Tooling - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Email Threats - Discover the latest trends and stay one step ahead - VIPRE

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Other News

• Falling Dwell Time May Be Down to Faster Threat Activity - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The threat from commercial cyber proliferation - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Hackers could learn how to send fake terror threats on YouTube, warn experts (telegraph.co.uk)

• Government launches new cyber security measures to tackle ever growing threats - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• Attackers are logging in instead of breaking in - Help Net Security

• NCSC unveils data driven cyber security model | UKAuthority

• Hacker Group Names Are Now Absurdly Out of Control | WIRED

• 38 Countries Take Part in NATO's 2023 Locked Shields Cyber Exercise - SecurityWeek

• Quad Countries Prepare For Info Sharing on Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The White House National Cyber security Strategy Has a Fatal Flaw (darkreading.com)

• Threat Actor Names Proliferate, Adding Confusion (darkreading.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

·       OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 March 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• It’s Time to Evaluate Your Security Education Plan with the Rise in Social Engineering Attacks

Security provider Purplesec found 98% of attacks in 2022 involved an element of social engineering. Social engineering attacks can take many forms including phishing, smishing, vishing and quishing and it’s vital to educate your organisation on how to best prepare for these. Education plans should focusing on educating all levels of users, including those at the top. These plans should also be tested to allow organisations to assess where they are at and identify where they can improve.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/as-social-engineering-attacks-skyrocket-evaluate-your-security-education-plan

• Mobile Users are More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks

A report conducted by mobile security provider Lookout focused on the impact of mobile phishing. Some of the key findings from the report included that more than 50% of personal devices were exposed to a mobile phishing attack every quarter, the percentage of users falling for multiple mobile phishing links increasing and an increased targeting of highly regulated industries such as insurance, banking and financial services. It is likely that this has resulted from the increase in relaxed bring your own device (BYOD) policies.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/mobile-users-more-susceptible-to-phishing-attacks-than-two-years-ago/

• Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber Crime

Phishing attacks are at an all-time high and the usage of Phishing as a Service (PaaS) opens this attack technique to virtually anyone. The sale of “phishing kits” and usage of artificial intelligence has further increased the availability of this attack technique. In response, organisations should look to improve their email security, cloud security and education programs for employees.

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/23/c/phishing-as-a-service-phaas.html

• Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes

The average time it takes for a threat actor to move laterally from a compromised host within an organisation dropped 14% between 2012 and 2022 down to 84 minutes, according to a report by security provider Crowdstrike. With the reduction in time it takes a threat actor to move across systems, organisations have even less time to enact their incident response plans and contain breaches effectively, putting further pressure on the incident response team. By responding quickly, organisations can minimise the cost and damage of a breach. The report from Crowdstrike found that organisations were facing increasing difficulty in detecting suspicious activity as attackers are choosing to use valid organisation credentials rather than malware, to gain access to an organisation’s systems.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/attacker-breakout-time-drops-just/

• Attackers are Developing and Deploying Exploits Faster Than Ever

A report from security provider Rapid7 found that over 56% of vulnerabilities were exploited within seven days of public disclosure. Worryingly, the median time for exploitation in 2022 was just one day. The finding from the report highlights the need for organisations to not only conduct threat intelligence to be aware of vulnerabilities but to also look to employ patches where possible in a timely manner.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/attackers-developing-deploying-exploits/

• Old Vulnerabilities are Haunting Organisations and Aiding Attackers

Known vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities for which patches have already been made available, are one of the primary attack vectors for threat actors. Vulnerability management vendor Tenable found that the top exploited vulnerabilities were originally disclosed as far back as 2017 and organisations that had not applied these patches were at increased risks of attack.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/known-exploitable-vulnerabilities/

• Scams Drive Nearly $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022

Americans lost $8.8 billion to fraud last year, with imposter scams responsible for $2.8 billion of that amount, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Losses to business imposters were particularly damaging, climbing to $660 million from the previous year. Interestingly, the FTC found that younger people reported losing money to fraud the most often.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/investment-scams-drive-9bn-in/

• Economic Pressure are Increasing Cyber Security Risks and a Recession Would Only Further This

The World Economic Forum’s recent report found that 93% of cyber security leaders and 86% of business leaders think it is moderately or very likely that global geopolitical instability will lead to a catastrophic cyber event in the next two years. Reinforcing this, a report from (ISC)² found that 80% of business executives believe a weakening economy will increase cyber threats and a recession will only amplify this.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3689008/economic-pressures-are-increasing-cybersecurity-risks-a-recession-would-amp-them-up-more.html

• Cyber Security in this Era of Polycrisis

A year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the geopolitical context is increasingly tense and volatile. The world faces several major crises in what has been coined a 'polycrisis,' a cluster of global shocks with compounding effects. This, along with increasing geopolitical tensions causes a rise in risk from cyber attacks. In fact, the European Union Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA) recently issued an alert regarding actors conducting malicious cyber activities against businesses and governments in the European Union and findings from Google show a 300% increase in state-sponsored cyber attacks targeting users in NATO countries.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/cybersecurity-in-an-era-of-polycrisis/

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions

Research provider TRM labs found that some major Russian-linked ransomware crime gangs have rebranded their activities in 2022 to avoid sanctions. To strengthen their anonymity, two major ransomware crime gangs LockBit and Conti restructured their activities. Conti is reported to have restructured into three smaller groups named Black Besta, BlackByte, Karakurt. LockBit on the other hand launched LockBit 3.0, which is focused on monetary gain. Additionally, the report found that Russian-speaking darknet markets had amassed over $130 million in sales.

https://cryptopotato.com/russian-ransomware-projects-rebranded-to-avoid-western-sanctions-report/

• Ransomware Attacks Ravaged Big Names in February

Despite the apparent slight drop in ransomware activity last month, several high profile targets of various industries were hit; this ranges from the likes of the US Marshal Service, retailer WH Smith, satellite provider Dish and many more. These attacks reinforce the concept that any organisation can be a victim, regardless of industry.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/365532056/Ransomware-attacks-ravaged-big-names-in-February

• Firms Who Pay Ransoms Subsidise New Attacks

A report from security provider Trend Micro found that whilst only a relatively small number of ransomware victims pay their extorters, those that do pay are effectively funding 6-10 new attacks. The report also found that attackers are aware of which industries and countries pay ransoms more often, so organisations belonging to those industries and countries may find themselves an even more attractive target.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/firms-pay-ransom-subsidise-10/

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber Crime

A report from threat intelligence provider Recorded Future has highlighted the impact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on cyber. Recorded Future explain how a number of threat actor groups fled during the war and in addition to differing political views between groups, there has been a disruption to the cyber environment. In fact, Recorded Future found that Russian-language dark web marketplaces have taken a major hit and the prediction is that the epicentre of cyber crime may shift to English-speaking dark web forums, shops and marketplaces.

https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/ukraine-war-fault-line-cybercrime-forever

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Firms Who Pay Ransom Subsidise 10 New Attacks: Report - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Ransomware Attacks: Don’t Let Your Guard Down - SecurityWeek

• Ransomware attacks ravaged big names in February | TechTarget

• Cyber Insurance Market Back From Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks (insurancejournal.com)

• Royal Mail schools LockBit in leaked negotiation (malwarebytes.com)

• 'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register

• Wiper malware goes global, destructive attacks surge - Help Net Security

• A Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 3 (trendmicro.com)

• New Exfiltrator-22 post-exploitation kit linked to LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• PureCrypter malware hits govt orgs with ransomware, info-stealers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bitdefender Releases Free Decryptor for MortalKombat Ransomware Strain (thehackernews.com)

• Dish Network confirms ransomware attack behind multi-day outage (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US Marshals Ransomware Hit Is 'Major' Incident (darkreading.com)

• The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)

• Vice Society publishes data stolen during Vesuvius ransomware attack • Graham Cluley

• US Cybersecurity Agency Raises Alarm Over Royal Ransomware's Deadly Capabilities (thehackernews.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert

• Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber crime (trendmicro.com)

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Managed XDR Exposes Spear-Phishing Campaign Targeting Hospitality Industry Using RedLine Stealer (trendmicro.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Expert strategies for defending against multilingual email-based attacks - Help Net Security

• Hackers Target Young Gamers: How Your Child Can Cause Business Compromise (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• As Social Engineering Attacks Skyrocket, Evaluate Your Security Education Plan (darkreading.com)

• The Top 5 New Social Engineering Attacks in 2023 - (ISC)² Blog (isc2.org)

• How to Prevent Callback Phishing Attacks on Your Organization (bleepingcomputer.com)

2FA/MFA

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• RIG Exploit Kit still infects enterprise users via Internet Explorer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exfiltrator-22 Post-Exploitation Toolkit Nips At Cobalt Strike's Heels (darkreading.com)

• Malicious package flood on PyPI might be sign of new attacks to come | CSO Online

• Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Parallax RAT Targeting Cryptocurrency Firms with Sophisticated Injection Techniques (thehackernews.com)

• It's official: BlackLotus malware can bypass secure boot • The Register

• Threat actors target law firms with GootLoader and SocGholish--Security Affairs

• Managed XDR Exposes Spear-Phishing Campaign Targeting Hospitality Industry Using RedLine Stealer (trendmicro.com)

Mobile

• Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert

• Mobile Banking Trojans Surge, Doubling in Volume (darkreading.com)

• Privacy Concerns Raised Over Android Apps' Data Safety Labels - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Signal would 'walk' from UK if Online Safety Bill undermined encryption - BBC News

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Don't be fooled by a pretty icon, malicious apps hide in plain sight - Help Net Security

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Danish Hospitals Struck By Cyber attack From ‘Anonymous Sudan’ (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek

• LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)

• Stanford University discloses data breach affecting PhD applicants (bleepingcomputer.com)

• More than 200 cyber attacks with theft of personal data reported to Irish authorities in a year (thejournal.ie)

• Threat actors leak Activision employee data on hacking forum--Security Affairs

• 10 US states that suffered the most devastating data breaches in 2022 - Help Net Security

• Australian orgs lodged 497 data breach notices in back half of 2022 - Security - iTnews

• WH Smith targeted by cyber attack with hackers accessing data on current and former employees | Business News | Sky News

• API Security Flaw Found in Booking.com Allowed Full Account Takeover - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hatch Bank discloses data breach after GoAnywhere MFT hack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• GunAuction site was hacked and data of 565k accounts were exposed--Security Affairs

• Chick-fil-A confirms accounts hacked in months-long "automated" attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• What GoDaddy's Years-Long Breach Means for Millions of Clients (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Cryptocurrency Bitcoin mining rig found in school crawlspace • The Register

• Highly evasive cryptocurrency miner targets macOS--Security Affairs

• Parallax RAT Targeting Cryptocurrency Firms with Sophisticated Injection Techniques (thehackernews.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Investment Scams Drive $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

• How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)

• FTC reveals alarming increase in scam activity, costing consumers billions - Help Net Security

• Resecurity identified the investment scam network Digital Smoke - Help Net Security

• Pig butchering scam explained: Everything you need to know (techtarget.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

Insurance

• Cyber Insurance Market Back From Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks (insurancejournal.com)

• The future of cyber insurance - IT Security Guru

Dark Web

• Sale of Stolen Credentials and Initial Access Dominate Dark Web Markets (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security

• Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

Software Supply Chain

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

• SBOM is a 'massive galaxy of mess' for supply chain security • The Register

• IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• How to Tackle the Top SaaS Challenges of 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• Cloud incident response: Frameworks and best practices | TechTarget

• Security teams have no control over risky SaaS-to-SaaS connections - Help Net Security

• It only takes one over-privileged identity to do major damage to a cloud - Help Net Security

• SCARLETEEL hackers use advanced cloud skills to steal source code, data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

• Google Cloud Platform allows data exfiltration without a (forensic) trace - Help Net Security

• What Happened in That Cyber attack? With Some Cloud Services, You May Never Know (darkreading.com)

• Public SaaS Assets Are a Major Risk For Medium, Large Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Report: Inside the High Risk of Third-Party SaaS Apps (darkreading.com)

Containers

• Hackers Exploit Containerized Environments to Steals Proprietary Data and Software (thehackernews.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)

• How to work from home securely, the NSA way (malwarebytes.com)

Encryption

• Signal would 'walk' from UK if Online Safety Bill undermined encryption - BBC News

API

• Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference? (thehackernews.com)

• API Security Flaw Found in Booking.com Allowed Full Account Takeover - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Open Source

• Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Should organisations swear off open-source software altogether? | VentureBeat

• Top 10 open source software risks for 2023 | CSO Online

• IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek

• Critical Vulnerabilities Allowed Booking.com Account Takeover - SecurityWeek

• Sale of Stolen Credentials and Initial Access Dominate Dark Web Markets (darkreading.com)

Social Media

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO

• TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News

• Meta says $725M deal ends all Cambridge Analytica claims; one state disagrees | Ars Technica

Training, Education and Awareness

• As Social Engineering Attacks Skyrocket, Evaluate Your Security Education Plan (darkreading.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Hackers Target Young Gamers: How Your Child Can Cause Business Compromise (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber resilience in focus: EU act to set strict standards - Help Net Security

• Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)

• White House to Take Aggressive Stance Mandating Private Industry Make Systems Cyber Safe - MSSP Alert

• ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

• CISOs Share Their 3 Top Challenges for Cybersecurity Management (darkreading.com)

• The Importance of Recession-Proofing Security Operations (darkreading.com)

• Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert

• Decrypting Cyber Risk Quantification (trendmicro.com)

• How to de-risk your digital ecosystem | CSO Online

• CISO Conversations: Code42, BreachQuest Leaders Discuss Combining CISO and CIO Roles - SecurityWeek

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• CISA releases free ‘Decider’ tool to help with MITRE ATT&CK mapping (bleepingcomputer.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Gartner Prediction: Nearly Half of Cybersecurity Pros Will Change Jobs by 2025 - MSSP Alert

• Top 7 cybersecurity jobs in high demand (cointelegraph.com)

• Growing Demand For Skilled Cybersecurity Workforce In Digital Age (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Dutch cyber security professionals experience stress akin to soldiers in war zone, claims expert | Computer Weekly

• Partnering With a Cybersecurity Vendor Can Help You Recruit Top Talent - MSSP Alert

• CISOs Are Stressed Out and It's Putting Companies at Risk (thehackernews.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• 'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register

• The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Press greets Home Office redraft of national security bill with scepticism | Media | The Guardian

• Privacy Concerns Raised Over Android Apps' Data Safety Labels - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The Air Force Is Now Using Facial Recognition Drones (gizmodo.com)

• How dog tracker apps are snooping on humans, according to cyber security experts (telegraph.co.uk)

Artificial Intelligence

• Generative AI Changes Everything We Know About Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• ChatGPT is bringing advancements and challenges for cybersecurity - Help Net Security

• How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)

• ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)

• Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)

• 'A year of cyberwar' with Russia: An inside look from a top Ukrainian cybersecurity official | CyberScoop

• Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• CISA Calls For Increased Vigilance One Year After Ukraine's Russian Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register

• Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online

• China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)

• 'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek

• Belgium’s cyber security agency links China to spear phishing attack on MP | Financial Times (ft.com)

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

• China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors | WIRED

Nation State Actors

• Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)

• Hacker group defaces Russian websites to display the Kremlin on fire | TechCrunch

• Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)

• CISA Calls For Increased Vigilance One Year After Ukraine's Russian Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs

• Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register

• Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online

• EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO

• China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)

• 'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek

• Belgium’s cyber security agency links China to spear phishing attack on MP | Financial Times (ft.com)

• 'A year of cyberwar' with Russia: An inside look from a top Ukrainian cybersecurity official | CyberScoop

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

• China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors | WIRED

• TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News

• Russia bans foreign messaging apps in government organisations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese hackers use new custom backdoor to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Unpatched old vulnerabilities continue to be exploited: Report | CSO Online

• All CVEs Are Not Created Equal (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• A world of hurt for Fortinet and ManageEngine after users fail to install patches | Ars Technica

• Cisco ClamAV anti-malware scanner vulnerable to serious security flaw | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Popular IBM file transfer tool vulnerable to cyber attacks, CISA says - The Record from Recorded Future News

• Hackers are actively exploiting Zoho ManageEngine flaw-Security Affairs

• All In One SEO WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To 3+ Million (searchenginejournal.com)

• CISA warns of hackers exploiting ZK Java Framework RCE flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Security Defects in TPM 2.0 Spec Raise Alarm - SecurityWeek

• Cisco patches critical Web UI RCE flaw in multiple IP phones (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Aruba Networks fixes six critical vulnerabilities in ArubaOS (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft releases Windows security updates for Intel CPU flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Tools and Controls

• LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)

• Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online

• The Future of Network Security: Predictive Analytics and ML-Driven Solutions (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft announces automatic BEC, ransomware attack disruption capabilities - Help Net Security

• How to use zero trust and IAM to defend against cyber attacks in an economic downturn | VentureBeat

• Zero trust: building a mixed estate - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Pentesting No Longer Driven by Regulatory Compliance, New Study Finds - MSSP Alert

• Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference? (thehackernews.com)

• A new AI-based tool to detect DDoS attacks

• CISA Shares Advice to Improve Networks' Monitoring and Hardening - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft a Leader in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms - Microsoft Security Blog

• Accurately assessing the success of zero-trust initiatives | TechTarget

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Other News

• Attackers are developing and deploying exploits faster than ever - Help Net Security

• Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Moving target defence must keep cyber attackers guessing - Help Net Security

• Covert cyber attacks on the rise as attackers shift tactics for maximum impact - Help Net Security

• Dormant accounts are a low-hanging fruit for attackers - Help Net Security

• Dish Network goes offline after likely cyber attack, employees cut off (bleepingcomputer.com)

• News Corp says state hackers were on its network for two years (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK won the Military Cyberwarfare exercise Defence Cyber Marvel-Security Affairs

• To Safeguard Critical Infrastructure, Go Back to Basics (darkreading.com)

• Feds accuse Google of destroying evidence in antitrust case • The Register

• Microsoft recommending you scan more Exchange server files • The Register

• CISA director urges tech sector to stop shipping unsafe products | CyberScoop

• Developers can make a great extension of your security team - Help Net Security

• 2023 Browser Security Report Uncovers Major Browsing Risks and Blind Spots (thehackernews.com)

• Uncovering the most pressing cybersecurity concerns for SMBs - Help Net Security

• Wiz execs: Most overhyped security tool is technology itself • The Register

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

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·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

·       OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 17 February 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• High Risk Users May be Few, but the Threat They Pose is Huge

High risk users represent approximately 10% of the worker population according to research provider, Elevate Security research. The research found that high risk users were responsible for 41% of all simulated phishing clicks, 30% of all real-world phishing clicks, 54% of all secure-browsing incidents and 42% of all malware events. This is worrying, considering the rise in sophisticated targeted phishing campaigns.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/16/high-risk-behavior/

• The Cost of Cyber Security Insurance is Soaring so Firms Need to Take Prevention More Seriously

State-backed cyber attacks are on the rise, but they are not raising the level of alarm that they should in the corporate world. Unfortunately, this is not a productive way of thinking. Come the end of March, insurance provider Lloyds will no longer cover damage from cyber attacks carried out by state or state-backed groups. In the worst cases, this reduced insurance coverage could exacerbate the trend of companies taking a passive approach toward state-backed attacks as they feel there is now really nothing they can do to protect themselves. The uncertainty however, could be the motivation for companies to take the threat of state-backed attacks more seriously.

https://fortune.com/2023/02/15/cost-cybersecurity-insurance-soaring-state-backed-attacks-cover-shmulik-yehezkel/

• Cyber Attacks Worldwide Increased to an All-Time Record-Breaking High, Report Shows

According to a report by security provider Check Point, cyber attacks rose 38% in 2022 compared to the previous year. Some of the key trends in the report included an increase in the number of cloud-based networking attacks, with a 48% rise and non-state affiliated hacktivist groups becoming more organised and effective than ever before. Additionally, ransomware is becoming more difficult to attribute and track and extra focus should be placed on exfiltration detection.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cyberattacks-worldwide-increased-to-an-all-time-high-check-point-research-reveals/

• Most Organisations Make Cyber Security Decisions Without Insights

A report by security provider Mandiant found some worrying results when it came to organisational understanding of threat actors. Some of the key findings include, 79% of respondents stating that most of their cyber security decisions are made without insight into the treat actors targeting them, 79% believing their organisation could focus more time and energy on identifying critical security trends, 67% believing senior leadership teams underestimate the cyber threats posed to their organisation and finally, 47% of respondents felt that they could not prove to senior leadership that their organisation has a highly effective cyber security program.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/mandiant-report-most-organizations-make-cybersecurity-decisions-without-insights/

• Ransomware Attackers Finding New Ways to Weaponise Old Vulnerabilities

Ransomware attackers are finding new ways to exploit organisations’ security weaknesses by weaponising old vulnerabilities.  A report by security provider Cyber Security Works had found that 76% of the vulnerabilities currently being exploited were first discovered between 2010-2019.

https://venturebeat.com/security/ransomware-attackers-finding-new-ways-to-weaponize-old-vulnerabilities/

• Are Executives Fluent in IT Security Speak? 5 Reasons Why the Communication Gap is Wider Than You Think

Using data from two different reports conducted by security provider Kaspersky, the combined data showed some worrying results. Some of the results include 98% of respondents revealing they faced at least one IT security miscommunication that regularly leads to bad consequences, 62% of managers revealing miscommunication led to at least one cyber security incident, 42% of business leaders wanting their IT security team to better communicate and 34% of C-level executives struggle to speak about adopting new security solutions.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/are-c-suite-executives-fluent-in-it-security-speak-five-reasons-why-the-communication-gap-is-wider-than-you-think/

• Business Email Compromise Groups Target Firms with Multilingual Impersonation Attacks

Security providers Abnormal Security have identified two Business Email Compromise (BEC) groups “Midnight Hedgehog” and “Mandarin Capybara” which are conducting impersonation attacks in at least 13 different languages. Like many payment fraud attacks, finance managers or other executives are often targeted. In a separate report by Abnormal Security, it was found that business email compromise (BEC) attacks increased by more than 81% during 2022.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bec-groups-multilingual/

• EU Countries Told to Step up Defence Against State Hackers

European states have raced to protect their energy infrastructure from physical attacks but the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) said more needed to be done against cyber warfare against financial institutions and the telecommunications networks and power grids they rely on. "The war in Ukraine, the broader geopolitical landscape and the increasing use of cyber attacks have significantly heightened the cyber threat environment," the ESRB said in a report. In addition, the ESRB highlight an increased risk of cyber attacks on the EU financial system, suggesting that stress tests and impact analyses should be carried out to identify weaknesses and measure resilience.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-told-step-up-defence-against-state-hackers-2023-02-14/

• Cyber Criminals Exploit Fear and Urgency to Trick Consumers

Threats using social engineering to steal money, such as refund and invoice fraud and tech support scams, increased during Q4 of 2022 according to a report by software provider Avast. “At the end of 2022, we have seen an increase in human-centred threats, such as scams tricking people into thinking their computer is infected, or that they have been charged for goods they didn’t order. It’s human nature to react to urgency, fear and try to regain control of issues, and that’s where cyber criminals succeed” Avast commented.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/13/cybercriminals-exploit-fear-urgency-trick-consumers/

• How to Manage Third Party and Supply Chain Cyber Security Risks that are Too Costly to Ignore

Many organisations have experienced that “after the breach” feeling — the moment they realise they have to tell customers their personal information may have been compromised because one of the organisations’ vendors had a data breach. Such situations involve spending significant amount of money and time to fix a problem caused by a third party. An organisation’s ability to handle third-party cyber risk proactively depends on its risk management strategies.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/10/why-third-party-cybersecurity-risks-are-too-costly-to-ignore/

• Russian Spear Phishing Campaign Escalates Efforts Towards Critical UK, US and European Targets

Following the advisory from the NCSC, it is clear that Russian state-sponsored hackers have become increasingly sophisticated at launching phishing attacks against critical targets in the UK, US and Europe over the last 12 months. The attacks included the creation of fake personas, supported by social media accounts, fake profiles and academic papers, to lure targets into replying to sophisticated phishing emails. In some cases, the bad actor may never leverage the account to send emails from and only use it to make decisions based on intelligence collection.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365531158/Russian-spear-phishing-campaign-escalates-efforts-toward-critical-UK-US-and-European-targets

• 5 Biggest Risks of Using Third Party Managed Service Providers

As business processes become more complex, companies are turning to third parties to boost their ability to provide critical services from cloud storage to data management to security. It’s often more efficient and less expensive to contract out work. But it does present risks. 5 of the biggest risks to be considered are: indirect cyber attacks, financial risks from incident costs, reputational damage, geopolitical risk and regulatory compliance risk.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3687812/5-major-risks-third-party-services-may-bring-along-with-them.html#tk.rss_news

• Cyber Crime as a Service: A Subscription Based Model in the Wrong Hands

Arguably nothing in tech has changes the landscape more than ‘as a Service’ offerings, the subscription-based IT service delivery model, in fact, the ‘as a Service’ offering has made its way into the cyber crime landscape. And cyber crime, for its part, has evolved beyond a nefarious hobby; today it’s a means of earning for cyber criminals. Organised cyber crime services are available for hire, particularly to those lacking resources and hacking expertise but willing to buy their way into cyber criminal activities. Underground cyber crime markets have thus emerged, selling cyber attack tools and services ranging from malware injection to botnet tools, Denial of Service and targeted spyware services.

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/learn/cybercrime-as-a-service.html

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Ransomware attackers finding new ways to weaponize old vulnerabilities | VentureBeat

• US, UK slap sanctions on Russians linked to Conti and more • The Register

• Threat Analysis: VMware ESXi Attacks Soared in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Clop ransomware claims it breached 130 orgs using GoAnywhere zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Members of Russian cyber crime network unmasked by US and UK authorities - The Verge

• December ransomware attack leads to massive data breach from California health network - The Record from Recorded Future News

• Over 500 ESXiArgs Ransomware infections in one day in Europe-Security Affairs

• New ESXi ransomware strain spreads, foils decryption tools | TechTarget

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• North Korea Using Healthcare Ransomware To Fund More Hacking (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• DPRK fund malicious cyber activities with ransomware attacks on critical Infrastructure-Security Affairs

• US Warns Critical Sectors Against North Korean Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cisco Talos spots new MortalKombat ransomware attacks | TechTarget

• Ion: after the hack, the clean-up - Risk.net

• Hackers Target Israel’s Technion Demanding Huge Sum In Bitcoin - I24NEWS

• City of Oakland systems offline after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MTU cyber breach: Probe after ransomware attacks 'like a murder investigation' (irishexaminer.com)

• MTU data appears on dark web after cyber attack – The Irish Times

• Oakland City Services Struggle to Recover From Ransomware Attack (darkreading.com)

• LockBit spree hits three large companies (techmonitor.ai)

• Ransomware gang uses new zero-day to steal data on 1 million patients | TechCrunch

• City of Oakland issued state of emergency after ransomware attack-Security Affairs

• Glasgow Arnold Clark customers at risk after major cyber attack | HeraldScotland

• LockBit and Royal Mail Ransomware Negotiation Leaked - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• No relief in sight for ransomware attacks on hospitals | TechTarget

• Burton Snowboards cancels online orders after 'cyber incident' (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dallas Central Appraisal District paid $170,000 to ransomware attackers (bitdefender.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• NameCheap's email hacked to send Metamask, DHL phishing emails (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals target fans of The Last of Us with recent malware and phishing scams - IT Security GuruCyber

• Venmo Phishing Abusing LinkedIn "slink"

• Spain, US dismantle phishing gang that stole $5 million in a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• BEC Groups Target Firms With Multilingual Impersonation Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

2FA/MFA

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

Malware

• Experts Warn of Surge in Multipurpose Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Malicious Npm Package Uses Typosquatting, Downloads Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft OneNote Abuse for Malware Delivery Surges - Security Week

• New TA886 group targets companies with Screenshotter malware-Security Affairs

• Novel phishing campaign takes screenshots ahead of payload delivery | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Great, hackers are now using ChatGPT to generate malware | Digital Trends

• Devs targeted by W4SP Stealer malware in malicious PyPi packages (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals target fans of The Last of Us with recent malware and phishing scams - IT Security Guru

• Researchers Uncover 700+ Malicious Open Source Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Pepsi distributor blames info-stealing malware for breach • The Register

• Malware that can do anything and everything is on the rise - Help Net Security

• Lokibot, AgentTesla Grow in January 2023's Most Wanted Malware List - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New stealthy 'Beep' malware focuses heavily on evading detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thousands of WordPress sites have been infected by a mystery malware | TechRadar

• Beep: New Evasive Malware That Can Escape Under The Radar (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Hackers start using Havoc post-exploitation framework in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Targeting US and German Firms Monitor Victims' Desktops with Screenshotter (thehackernews.com)

• Malware authors leverage more attack techniques that enable lateral movement | CSO Online

Mobile

• RedEyes hackers use new malware to steal data from Windows, phones (bleepingcomputer.com)

Botnets

• Mirai V3G4 botnet exploits 13 flaws to target IoT devices-Security Affairs

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Cloudflare blocks record-breaking 71 million RPS DDoS attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 87% of largest DDoS attacks in Q4 targeted telecoms: Lumen (fiercetelecom.com)

• The Tor network hit by wave of DDoS attacks for at least 7 months-Security Affairs

Internet of Things – IoT

• Digital burglaries: The threat from your smart home devices | Fox News

• Mirai V3G4 botnet exploits 13 flaws to target IoT devices-Security Affairs

• New Mirai malware variant infects Linux devices to build DDoS botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)

Data Breaches

• MP’s laptop and iPad stolen from pub in 'worrying' security breach | Metro News

• Reddit was hit with a phishing attack. How it responded is a lesson for everyone | ZDNET

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

• 4 misconceptions about data exfiltration | VentureBeat

• Highmark data breach affecting about 300,000 members exposed personal information to hackers – WPXI

• Gulp! Pepsi hack sees personal information stolen by data-stealing malware (bitdefender.com)

• Nearly 50 million Americans impacted by health data breaches in 2022 (chiefhealthcareexecutive.com)

• My Password Manager was Hacked! How to Prevent a Catastrophe (bleepingcomputer.com)

• After apparent hack, data from Australian tech giant Atlassian dumped online | CyberScoop

• Atlassian: Leaked Data Stolen via Third-Party App (darkreading.com)

• Health info for 1 million patients stolen using critical GoAnywhere vulnerability | Ars Technica

• Scandinavian Airlines says cyber attack caused passenger data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Cyber crime as a Service: A Subscription-based Model in The Wrong Hands | Splunk

• A Hacker’s Mind — how the elites exploit the system | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Dark Web Revenue Down Dramatically After Hydra's Demise (darkreading.com)

• Russian hacker convicted of $90 million hack-to-trade charges (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Enigma, Vector, and TgToxic: The New Threats to Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus hackers use new mixer to hide $100 million in stolen crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 451 PyPI packages install Chrome extensions to steal crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DeFi exploits and access control hacks cost crypto investors billions in 2022: Report (cointelegraph.com)

• Using the blockchain to prevent data breaches | VentureBeat

• SideWinder APT Spotted Stealing Crypto (darkreading.com)

• Quarter of Crypto Tokens in 2022 Linked to Pump-and-Dump - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• A former Credit Suisse employee leaked employees' historic bonus data (efinancialcareers.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Russian IT biz owner made $90M from stolen financial info • The Register

• Refund and Invoice Scams Surge in Q4 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MoneyGram Fraud Victims Get $115m in Compensation - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 'Pig butchering' scams on the rise, luring victims with promises of relationships and riches | CyberScoop

• Cyber security Experts Warn Against Valentine's Day Romance Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• Romance scam targets security researcher, hilarity ensues • The Register

• 10 signs that scammers have you in their sights | WeLiveSecurity

• Hackers Leverage PayPal to Send Malicious Invoices - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• US, UK slap sanctions on Russians linked to Conti and more • The Register

Insurance

• The cost of cyber security insurance is soaring–and state-backed attacks will be harder to cover. It’s time for companies to take threats more seriously | Fortune

Dark Web

• Dark Web Revenue Down Dramatically After Hydra's Demise (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• How to manage third-party cyber security risks that are too costly to ignore | TechCrunch

• 5 biggest risks of using third-party services providers | CSO Online

Cloud/SaaS

• Reimagining zero trust for modern SaaS - Help Net Security

• Cloud security: Where do CSP and client responsibilities begin and end? | VentureBeat

• Application and cloud security is a shared responsibility - Help Net Security

Attack Surface Management

• To thwart cyber attacks, enterprises must have visibility of their assets: Sophos CEO - The Hindu BusinessLine

Open Source

• Researchers Uncover 700+ Malicious Open Source Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Configuration Issues in SaltStack IT Tool Put Enterprises at Risk (darkreading.com)

• Solving open-source security — from Alpha to Omega | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• New Mirai malware variant infects Linux devices to build DDoS botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Eek! You Can Steal Passwords From This Password Manager Using the Notepad App | PCMag

• Eurostar forces 'password resets' — then fails and locks users out (bleepingcomputer.com)

• My Password Manager was Hacked! How to Prevent a Catastrophe (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Metaverse Adds New Dimensions to Web 3.0 Cyber security | TechRepublic

• Hard drugs actively sold on Twitter in plain sight. Twitter says it doesn’t breach its safety policies • Graham Cluley

• Elon Musk Seems to Think His Own Employees Are Shadowbanning Him (gizmodo.com)

• Venmo Phishing Abusing LinkedIn "slink"

Malvertising

• AdSense fraud campaign relies on 10,890 sites that were infected since September 2022-Security Affairs

Training, Education and Awareness

• High-risk users may be few, but the threat they pose is huge - Help Net Security

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• 5th State of CCPA, CPRA, and GDPR Compliance Report Shows More Than 90% of Companies Are Not Compliant (darkreading.com)

• The Online Safety Bill: An attack on encryption (element.io)

• As regulations skyrocket, is compliance even possible anymore? - Help Net Security

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds | Computer Weekly

• Cyber attacks Worldwide Increased to an All-Time High, Check Point Research Reveals - MSSP Alert

• The cost of cyber security insurance is soaring–and state-backed attacks will be harder to cover. It’s time for companies to take threats more seriously | Fortune

• Are C-Suite Executives Fluent in IT Security Speak? Five Reasons Why the Communication Gap is Wider Than You Think - MSSP Alert

• Actionable intelligence is the key to better security outcomes - Help Net Security

• To thwart cyber attacks, enterprises must have visibility of their assets: Sophos CEO - The Hindu BusinessLineT

• Majority of Firms Make Cyber security Decisions Without Attacker Insight - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 5 Ways Security and Compliance Can Break Down Silos to Save Money and Meet Increased Regulations - MSSP Alert

• Build Cyber Resiliency With These Security Threat-Mitigation Considerations (darkreading.com)

• 5th State of CCPA, CPRA, and GDPR Compliance Report Shows More Than 90% of Companies Are Not Compliant (darkreading.com)

• Evolving cyber attacks, alert fatigue creating DFIR burnout, regulatory risk | CSO Online

• Simplify to Survive: How Organisations Can Navigate Cyber-Risk (darkreading.com)Simplify to Survive: How Organisations Can Navigate Cyber-Risk (darkreading.com)

• As regulations skyrocket, is compliance even possible anymore? - Help Net Security

• Storage security for compliance and cyberwar in 2023 • The Register

Backup and Recovery

• A CISOs Practical Guide to Storage and Backup Ransomware Resiliency (thehackernews.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Get hired in cyber security: Expert tips for job seekers - Help Net Security

• 3 Ways CISOs Can Lead Effectively and Avoid Burnout (darkreading.com)

• Cyber security Jobs Remain Secure Despite Recession Fears (darkreading.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Members of Russian cyber crime network unmasked by US and UK authorities - The Verge

• Spain, US dismantle phishing gang that stole $5 million in a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• The FBI’s most controversial surveillance tool is under threat | Ars Technica

Artificial Intelligence

• Russian hackers are trying to break into ChatGPT, says Check Point | ZDNET

• Cyber criminals Bypass ChatGPT Restrictions to Generate Malicious Content - Check Point Software

• Great, hackers are now using ChatGPT to generate malware | Digital Trends

• Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine | WIRED

• A.I. in the military could be a game changer in warfare | Fortune US issues declaration on responsible use of AI in the military | Reuters

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections | Technology | The Guardian

Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• EU countries told to step up defence against state hackers | Reuters

• Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says | The Independent

• Hacks, leaks and wipers: Google analyses a year of Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine | Cyber scoop

• Google: Russia continues to set cyber sights on NATO nations | TechTarget

• US shoots down ‘high-altitude object’ above Alaska | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Military Organizations in Pakistan Targeted With Sophisticated Espionage Tool - security Week

• SpaceX curbed Ukraine's use of Starlink terminals - Militarnyi

• US shoots down ‘octagonal’ flying object near military sites in Michigan | US news | The Guardian

• Six companies join US entity list after Chinese spy balloon • The Register

• How Alan Turing still casts his genius in the age of cyberwar | Metro News

• US warns its citizens in Russia to get out immediately over security fears | Euronews

• Unidentified airborne objects: A trio of new intrusions leaves America's leaders grasping for explanations | CNN Politics

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• ‘Significant’ debris from China spy balloon retrieved, says US military | US national security | The Guardian

• Use of Chinese cameras by College of Policing is risk to national security, says commissioner (telegraph.co.uk)

• Ukraine’s use of SpaceX satellites risks starting World War Three, says Elon Musk (telegraph.co.uk)

• Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine | WIRED

• Albanian gangs set up hundreds of spy cameras to keep ahead of police | Financial Times (ft.com)

• A.I. in the military could be a game changer in warfare | Fortune

• Chinese cameras leave British police vulnerable to spying, says watchdog | Espionage | The Guardian

• China-based cyber espionage actor seen targeting South America | CSO Online

• What Happened to #OpRussia? (darkreading.com)

• The Lessons From Cyberwar, Cyber-in-War and Ukraine  - security Week

• Storage security for compliance and cyberwar in 2023 • The Register

Nation State Actors

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• EU countries told to step up defence against state hackers | Reuters

• Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says | The Independent

• Hacks, leaks and wipers: Google analyses a year of Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine | CyberScoop

• Google: Russia continues to set cyber sights on NATO nations | TechTarget

• Military Organizations in Pakistan Targeted With Sophisticated Espionage Tool - Security Week

• MagicWeb Mystery Highlights Nobelium Attacker's Sophistication (darkreading.com)

• Russian hackers are trying to break into ChatGPT, says Check Point | ZDNET

• North Korean Hackers Are Attacking US Hospitals | WIRED

• Six companies join US entity list after Chinese spy balloon • The Register

• Lazarus hackers use new mixer to hide $100 million in stolen crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Unidentified airborne objects: A trio of new intrusions leaves America's leaders grasping for explanations | CNN Politics

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• Group-IB Blocks Attack By Chinese Tonto Team Hackers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chinese ship accused of using ‘military-grade laser’ against Philippine vessel | Philippines | The Guardian

• Chinese Hackers Targeting South American Diplomatic Entities with ShadowPad (thehackernews.com)

• Use of Chinese cameras by College of Policing is risk to national security, says commissioner (telegraph.co.uk)

• Ukraine’s use of SpaceX satellites risks starting World War Three, says Elon Musk (telegraph.co.uk)

• Chinese cameras leave British police vulnerable to spying, says watchdog | Espionage | The Guardian

• China-based cyber espionage actor seen targeting South America | CSO Online

• What Happened to #OpRussia? (darkreading.com)

• UK Policing Riddled with Chinese CCTV Cameras - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• A new operating system has been released in Russia! (gizchina.com)

• SideWinder APT Spotted Stealing Crypto (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Link SideWinder Group to Dozens of Targeted Attacks in Multiple Countries (thehackernews.com)

• SideWinder APT Attacks Regional Targets in New Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Ransomware attackers finding new ways to weaponize old vulnerabilities | VentureBeat

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Patch Tuesday: 36 RCE bugs, 3 zero-days, 75 CVEs – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Citrix Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Windows, Linux Apps - Security Week

• Adobe Plugs Critical Security Holes in Illustrator, After Effects Software - Security Week

• Apple releases new fix for iPhone zero-day exploited by hackers | TechCrunch

• Intel issues patches for SGX vulnerabilities • The Register

• Firefox Updates Patch 10 High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week

• Critical RCE Vulnerability Discovered in ClamAV Open-Source Antivirus Software (thehackernews.com)

• CISA Warns of Active Attacks Exploiting Fortra MFT, TerraMaster NAS, and Intel Driver Flaws (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft says Intel driver bug crashes apps on Windows PCs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Serious Security: GnuTLS follows OpenSSL, fixes timing attack bug – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Splunk Enterprise Updates Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week

• Dozens of Vulnerabilities Patched in Intel Products - Security Week

• High-severity DLP flaw impacts Trellix for Windows | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Critical Vulnerability Patched in Cisco Security Products - Security Week

• Health info for 1 million patients stolen using critical GoAnywhere vulnerability | Ars Technica

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Tools and Controls

• A CISOs Practical Guide to Storage and Backup Ransomware Resiliency (thehackernews.com)

• SOAR vs. SIEM: What's the difference? | TechTarget

• PAM is failing - IT Security Guru

• Combining identity and security strategies to mitigate risks - Help Net Security

• Defending against attacks on Azure AD: Goodbye firewall, hello identity protection | CSO Online

• Regular Pen Testing Is Key to Resolving Conflict Between SecOps and DevOps (thehackernews.com)

• Attack surface management (ASM) is not limited to the surface - Help Net Security

• How to filter Security log events for signs of trouble | TechTarget

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

·       OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

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