Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 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

• March 2023 Broke Ransomware Attack Records with a 91% Increase from the Previous Month

March 2023 was the most prolific month recorded by cyber security analysts in recent years, measuring 459 attacks, an increase of 91% from the previous month and 62% compared to March 2022. According to NCC Group, which compiled the report based on statistics derived from its observations, the reason last month broke all ransomware attack records was CVE-2023-0669. This is a vulnerability in Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT secure file transfer tool that the Clop ransomware gang exploited as a zero-day to steal data from 130 companies within ten days.

Regarding the location of last month's victims, almost half of all attacks (221) breached entities in North America. Europe followed with 126 episodes, and Asia came third with 59 ransomware attacks.

The recorded activity spike in March 2023 highlights the importance of applying security updates as soon as possible, mitigating potentially unknown security gaps like zero days by implementing additional measures and monitoring network traffic and logs for suspicious activity.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/march-2023-broke-ransomware-attack-records-with-459-incidents/

• Organisations Overwhelmed with Cyber Security Alerts, Threats and Attack Surfaces

Many organisations are struggling to manage key security projects while being overwhelmed with volumes of alerts, increasing cyber threats and growing attack surfaces, a new report has said. Compounding that problem is a tendency by an organisation’s top brass to miss hidden risks associated with digital transformation projects and compliance regulations, leading to a false sense of confidence in their awareness of these vulnerabilities.

The study comprised IT professionals from the manufacturing, government, healthcare, financial services, retail and telecommunications industries. Five of the biggest challenges they face include:

• Keeping up with threat intelligence (70%)

• Allocating cyber security resources and budget (47%)

• Visibility into all assets connected to the network (44%)

• Compliance and regulation (39%)

• Convergence of IT and OT (32%)

The report also focused on breaches within organisations, finding that 64% had suffered a breach or ransomware attack in the last five years; 43% said it had been caused by employee phishing.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/organizations-overwhelmed-with-cybersecurity-alerts-threats-and-attack-surfaces-armis-study-shows/

• One in Three Businesses Faced Cyber Attacks Last Year

Nearly a third of businesses and a quarter of charities have said they were the subject of cyber attacks or breaches last year, new data has shown. Figures collected for the UK Government by polling company Ipsos show a similar proportion of larger and medium-sized companies and high-income charities faced attacks or breaches last year as in 2021.

Overall, 32% of businesses said they had been subject to attacks or breaches over a 12-month period, with 24% of charities saying the same. Meanwhile, about one in ten businesses (11%) and 8% of charities said they had been the victims of cyber crime – which is defined more narrowly – over the 12-month period. This rose to a quarter (26%) of medium-sized businesses, 37% of large businesses and 25% of high-income charities. The UK Government estimated there had been 2.4 million instances of cyber crime against UK businesses, costing an average of £15,300 per victim.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/one-three-businesses-faced-cyber-105751822.html

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber Security Efforts Should Be Merged

Across early-stage startups and mature public companies alike, organisations are increasingly moving to a convergence of fraud prevention, identity and access management (IdAM), and cyber security. To improve an organisation's overall security posture, business, IT, and fraud leaders must realise that their areas shouldn't be treated as separate line items. Ultimately, these three disciplines serve the same purpose — protecting the business — and they must converge. This is a simple statement, but complex in practice, due mainly to the array of people, strategies, and tooling that today's organisations have built.

The convergence of these three functions comes at a seminal moment, as global threats are heightened due to several factors: geopolitical tensions like the war on Ukraine, the economic downturn, and a never-ending barrage of sophisticated attacks on businesses and consumers. At the same time, companies are facing slowing revenues, rising inflation, and increased pressure from investors, causing layoffs and budget reductions in the name of optimisation. Cutting back in the wrong areas, however, increases risk.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/why-your-anti-fraud-identity-cybersecurity-efforts-should-be-merged

• Tight Budgets and Burnout Push Enterprises to Outsource Cyber Security

With cyber security teams struggling to manage the remediation process and monitor for vulnerabilities, organisations are at a higher risk for security breaches, according to cyber security penetration test provider Cobalt. As enterprises prioritise efficiencies, security leaders increasingly turn to third-party vendors to alleviate the pressures of consistent testing and to fill in talent gaps.

Cobalt’s recent report found:

• Budget cuts and layoffs plague security teams: 63% of US cyber security professionals had their department’s budget cut in 2023.

• Cyber security professionals deprioritise responsibilities to stay afloat: 79% of US cyber security professionals admit to deprioritising responsibilities leading to a backlog of unaddressed vulnerabilities.

• Inaccurate security configurations cause vulnerabilities: 40% of US respondents found the most security vulnerabilities were related to server security misconfigurations.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/19/cybersecurity-professionals-responsibilities/

• Complex 8 Character Passwords Can Be Cracked in as Little as 5 Minutes

Recently, security vendor Hive released their findings on the time it takes to brute force a password in 2023. This year’s study included the emergence of AI tools. The vendor found that a complex 8 character password could be cracked in as little as 5 minutes. This number rose to 226 years when 12 characters were used and 1 million years when 14 characters were used. A complex password involves the use of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols.

Last year, the study found the same 8 and 12 character passwords would have taken 39 minutes and 3,000 years, showing the significant drop in the time it takes to brute force a password. The study highlights the importance for organisations to be aware of their password security and the need for consistent review and updates to the policy.

https://www.hivesystems.io/blog/are-your-passwords-in-the-green

• 83% of Organisations Paid Up in Ransomware Attacks

A report this week found that 83% of victim organisations paid a ransom at least once. The report found that while entities like the FBI and CISA argue against paying ransoms, many organisations decide to eat the upfront cost of paying a ransom, costing an average of $925,162, rather than enduring the further operational disruption and data loss.

Organisations are giving ransomware attackers leverage over their data by failing to address vulnerabilities created by unpatched software, unmanaged devices and shadow IT. For instance, 77% of IT decision makers argue that outdated cyber security practices have contributed to at least half of security incidents. Over time, these unaddressed vulnerabilities multiply, giving threat actors more potential entry points to exploit and greater leverage to force companies into paying up.

https://venturebeat.com/security/83-of-organizations-paid-up-in-ransomware-attacks/

• Security is a Revenue Booster, Not a Cost Centre

Security has historically been seen as a cost centre, which has led to it being given as little money as possible. Many CISOs, CSOs, and CROs fed into that image by primarily talking in terms of disaster avoidance, such as data breaches hurting the enterprise and ransomware potentially shutting it down. But what if security presented itself instead as a way to boost revenue and increase market share? That could easily shift those financial discussions into something much more comfortable.

For example, Apple touted its investments into the secure enclave to claim that it offers users better privacy. Specifically, the company argued that it couldn't reveal information to federal authorities because the enclave was just that secure. Apple turned that into a powerful competitive argument against rival Android creator Google, which makes much of its revenue by monetising users' data.

In another scenario, bank regulations require financial institutions to reimburse customers who are victimised by fraudsters, but they carve out an exception for wire fraud. Imagine if a bank realises that covering all fraud — even though it is not required to do so — could be a powerful differentiator that would boost its market share by supporting customers better than competitors do.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/security-is-a-revenue-booster-not-a-cost-center

• Ex-CEO Gets Prison Sentence for Bad Security

A clinic was recently subject to a cyber attack and even though the clinic was itself the victim, the ex-CEO of the clinic faced criminal charges, too. It would appear that the CEO was aware of the clinic’s failure to employ data security precautions and was aware of this for up to two years before the attack took place.

Worse still, the CEO allegedly knew about the problems because the clinic suffered breaches in 2018 and 2019, and failed to report them; presumably hoping that no traceable cyber crimes would arise as a result, and thus that the company would never get caught out. However, modern breach disclosure and data protection regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, make it clear that data breaches can’t simply be “swept under the carpet” any more, and must be promptly disclosed for the greater good of all.

The former CEO has now been convicted and given a prison sentence, reminding business leaders that merely promising to look after other people’s personal data is not enough. Paying lip service alone to cyber security is insufficient, to the point that you can end up being treated as both a cyber crime victim and a perpetrator at the same time.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2023/04/18/ex-ceo-of-breached-pyschotherapy-clinic-gets-prison-sentence-for-bad-data-security/

• Warning From UK Cyber Agency for a New ‘Class’ of Russian Hackers

There is a new ‘class’ of Russian hackers, the UK cyber-agency NCSC warns. Due to an increased danger of attacks by state-aligned Russian hackers, the NCSC is encouraging all businesses to put the recommended protection measures into place. The NCSC alert states, “during the past 18 months, a new kind of Russian hacker has developed.” These state-aligned organisations frequently support Russia’s incursion and are driven more by ideology than money. These hacktivist organisations typically concentrate their harmful online activity on launching DDoS (distributed denial of service) assaults against vital infrastructure, including airports, the legislature, and official websites. The NCSC has released a special guide with a list of steps businesses should take when facing serious cyber threats. System patching, access control confirmation, functional defences, logging, and monitoring, reviewing backups, incident plans, and third-party access management are important steps.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/warning-uk-cyberagency-russian-hackers/

• KnowBe4 Q1 Phishing Report Reveals IT and Online Services Emails Drive Dangerous Attack Trend

KnowBe4 announced the results of its Q1 2023 top-clicked phishing report, and the results included the top email subjects clicked on in phishing tests.

The report found that phishing tactics are changing with the increasing trend of cyber criminals using email subjects related to IT and online services such as password change requirements, Zoom meeting invitations, security alerts and more. These are effective because they would impact an end users’ daily workday and subsequent tasks to be completed.

71% of the most effective phishing lures related to HR (including leave, dress code, expenses, pay and performance) or tax, and these types of emails continue to be very effective.

Emails that are disguised as coming from an internal source such as the IT department or HR are especially dangerous because they appear to come from a more trusted, familiar place where an employee would not necessarily question it or be as sceptical. Building up an organisation’s human firewall by fostering a strong security culture is essential to outsmart bad actors.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/04/19/knowbe4-q1-phishing-report-reveals-it-and-online-services-emails-drive-dangerous-attack-trend/

• Outsourcing Group Capita Admits Customer Data May Have Been Breached During Cyber Attack

Capita, which runs crucial services for the UK NHS, Government, Military and Financial Services, has for the first time admitted that hackers accessed potential customer, staff and supplier data during a cyber attack last month. The company said its investigation into the attack – which caused major IT outages for clients – found that hackers infiltrated its systems around 22 March, meaning they had around nine days before Capita “interrupted” the breach on 31 March.

While Capita has admitted that data was breached during the incident, it raises the possibility that public sector information was accessed by hackers. Capita, which employs more than 50,000 people in Britain, is one of the government’s most important suppliers and holds £6.5bn-worth of public sector contracts. Capita stopped short of disclosing how many customers were potentially affected by the breach, and is still notifying anyone whose data might be at risk.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/20/capita-admits-customer-data-may-have-been-breached-during-cyber-attack

• Outdated Cyber Security Practices Leave Door Open for Criminals

A recent report found that as organisations increasingly find themselves under attack, they are drowning in cyber security debt – unaddressed security vulnerabilities like unpatched software, unmanaged devices, shadow IT, and insecure network protocols that act as access points for bad actors. The report found a worrying 98% of respondents are running one or more insecure network protocols and 47% had critical devices exposed to the internet. Despite these concerning figures, fewer than one-third said they have immediate plans to address any of the outdated security practices that put their organisations at risk.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/20/outdated-cybersecurity-practices/

• Quantifying Cyber Risk Vital for Business Survival

Organisations are starting to wake up to the fact that the impact of ransomware and other cyber attacks cause long term issues. The financial implications are far reaching and creating barriers for companies to continue operations after these attacks. As such, quantifying cyber risk is business-specific, and organisations must assess what type of loss they may face, which includes revenue, remediation, legal settlement, or otherwise.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/19/cyber-attacks-financial-impact/

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets

Over half of corporate network devices sold second-hand still contain sensitive company data, according to a new study. The study involved the purchase of recycled routers, finding that 56% contained one or more credentials as well as enough information to identify the previous owner.

Some of the analysed data included customer data, credentials, connection details for applications and authentication keys. In some cases, the data allowed for the location of remote offices and operators, which could be used in subsequent exploitation efforts.

In a number of cases the researchers were able to determine with high confidence — based on the data still present on the devices — who their previous owner was. The list included a multinational tech company and a telecoms firm, both with more than 10,000 employees and over $1 billion in revenue.

The study informed organisations who had owned the routers. Unfortunately, when contacted, some of the organisations failed to respond or acknowledge the findings.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/recycled-network-exposing/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• 83% of organisations paid up in ransomware attacks  | VentureBeat

• March 2023 broke ransomware attack records with 459 incidents (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers start abusing Action1 RMM in ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society ransomware uses new PowerShell data theft tool in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• RTM Locker: Emerging Cyber crime Group Targeting Businesses with Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Western Digital Hackers Demand 8-Figure Ransom Payment for Data (darkreading.com)

• UK Education Sector Suffered Most from Ransomware in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• NCR was the victim of BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang - Security Affairs

• Darktrace Denies Getting Hacked After Ransomware Group Names Company on Leak Site - SecurityWeek

• LockBit ransomware encryptors found targeting Mac devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Abuse victims' data stolen in ransomware attack (rte.ie)

• Hackers publish sensitive employee data stolen during CommScope ransomware attack | TechCrunch

• Vice Society is using custom PowerShell tool for data exfiltrationSecurity Affairs

• Black Basta claims it's selling off stolen Capita data • The Register

• An Analysis of the BabLock Ransomware (trendmicro.com)

• Ransomware reinfection and its impact on businesses - Help Net Security

• Microsoft SQL servers hacked to deploy Trigona ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Play ransomware gang uses custom Shadow Volume Copy data-theft tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware gangs abuse Process Explorer driver to kill security software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Medusa ransomware crew boasts of Microsoft code leak • The Register

• New Ransomware Attack Hits Health Insurer Point32Health (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing Attacks Surge as Threat Actors Leverage New AI Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Qbot campaign delivers malware by hijacking business emails | CSO Online

• KnowBe4 Q1 Phishing Report reveals IT and online services emails drive dangerous attack trend - IT Security Guru

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• Phishing FAQ: How to Spot Scams and Stop Them in Their Tracks - CNET

• UK government employees receive average of 2,246 malicious emails per year - IT Security Guru

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• US charges three men with six million dollar business email compromise plot | Tripwire

2FA/MFA

• How to Prevent 2 Common Attacks on MFA (darkreading.com)

Malware

• Ex-Conti and FIN7 Actors Collaborate with New Domino Backdoor (securityintelligence.com)

• New Chameleon banking trojan is stealing account info — what you need to know | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• US, UK warn of govt hackers using custom malware on Cisco routers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New QBot campaign delivered hijacking business correspondenceSecurity Affairs

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files (gbhackers.com)

• Raspberry Robin Adopts Unique Evasion Techniques - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MacStealer - newly-discovered malware steals passwords and exfiltrates data from infected Macs • Graham Cluley

• 'AuKill' Malware Hunts & Kills EDR Processes (darkreading.com)

• What Are Computer Worms And How To Prevent Them (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Mobile

• Android malware infiltrates 60 Google Play apps with 100M installs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

• NSO Group is Back in Business With 3 New iOS Zero-Click Exploits (darkreading.com)

• Conversational Attacks Fastest Growing Mobile Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Global Spyware Attacks Spotted Against Both New & Old iPhones (darkreading.com)

Botnets

• 'Zaraza' Bot Targets Google Chrome to Extract Login Credentials (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Military helicopter crash blamed on missing software patch • The Register

• Why xIoT Devices Are Cyberattackers' Gateway Drug for Lateral Movement (darkreading.com)

• Hikvision: Chinese surveillance tech giant denies leaked Pentagon spy claim - BBC News

• The Car Thieves Using Tech Disguised Inside Old Nokia Phones and Bluetooth Speakers (vice.com)

• Popular Fitness Apps Leak Location Data Even When Users Set Privacy Zones (darkreading.com)

• Five Eye nations release new guidance on smart city cyber security | CSO Online

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Ex-CEO of breached psychotherapy clinic gets prison sentence for bad data security – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Kodi Confirms Data Breach: 400K User Records and Private Messages Stolen (thehackernews.com)

• Volvo retailer leaks sensitive files - Security Affairs

• Rheinmetall suffers cyber attack, military business unaffected, spokesperson says | Reuters

• Jack Teixeira's charges in full: 'Top secret' access, leak searches and the Espionage Act - BBC News

• Online Gaming Chats Have Long Been Spy Risk for US Military - SecurityWeek

• Cyber attack on Insurance Information Bureau of India; data at risk - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

• Air Force Unit in Document Leaks Case Loses Intel Mission - SecurityWeek

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Inside look at cyber criminal organisations: Why size matters | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

• Standardized data collection methods can help fight cyber crime | TechTarget

• Why Cyber criminals Love The Rust Programming Language (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• On the hunt for the businessmen behind a billion-dollar scam - BBC News

• Hundred Finance loses $7 million in Optimism hack (cointelegraph.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Human-Centered Approach Can Reduce Cyber security Failures, Gartner Predicts - MSSP Alert

• HR Magazine - UK government plans to make businesses liable for employee fraud

• Top risks and best practices for securely offboarding employees | CSO Online

• Critical Infrastructure Firms Concerned Over Insider Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How to Strengthen your Insider Threat Security - IT Security Guru

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Pre-pandemic techniques are fueling record fraud rates - Help Net Security

• HR Magazine - UK government plans to make businesses liable for employee fraud

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• Police disrupts $98M online fraud ring with 33,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Trial and error in Kuwait | CyberScoop

• US extradites Nigerian charged in $6m email fraud scam • The Register

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• Three charged over banking fraud for hire website | Computer Weekly

• On the hunt for the businessmen behind a billion-dollar scam - BBC News

• Hundred Finance loses $7 million in Optimism hack (cointelegraph.com)

• Dennis Kozlowski and the Infamous $6,000 Shower Curtain | Entrepreneur

• FTC orders payments firm to pay $650k over tech support scam • The Register

• Conversational Attacks Fastest Growing Mobile Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Fraudsters impersonating genuine providers cost £177.6m in 2022, UK Finance data suggests | Business News | Sky News

• Scammers using social media to dupe people into becoming money mules - Help Net Security

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Police Crack Comms to Bust Money Laundering Group - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insurance

• Bank of America warns Lloyd’s over state-backed cyber attack exclusion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber insurance Backstop: Can the Industry Survive Without One? - SecurityWeek

• Cyber insurer launches InsurSec solution to help SMBs improve security, risk management | CSO Online

Dark Web

• Stolen ChatGPT premium accounts up for sale on the dark web | CSO Online

• How 'Operation Cookie Monster' took down a major dark web market | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Capita PLC falls on reports cyber attack was worse than admitted (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)

• 3CX Software Supply Chain Compromise Initiated by a Prior Software Supply Chain Compromise; Suspected North Korean Actor Responsible | Mandiant

• Capita admits customer, supplier or colleague data may have been accessed by hackers | Business News | Sky News

• Lazarus APT group employed Linux Malware in recent attacks-Security Affairs

• Hackers start abusing Action1 RMM in ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• CISA Introduces Secure-by-design and Secure-by-default Development Principles – Security Week

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud Security Alerts Take Six Days to Resolve - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud • The Register

• Western Digital Hackers Demand 8-Figure Ransom Payment for Data (darkreading.com)

• Is there really a march from the public cloud back on-prem? | TechCrunch

• Uncovering (and Understanding) the Hidden Risks of SaaS Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files (gbhackers.com)

• Microsoft 365 outage blocks access to web apps and services (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts disclosed 2 critical flaws in Alibaba cloud database services Security Affairs

Attack Surface Management

• Recycled Core Routers Expose Sensitive Corporate Network Info (darkreading.com)

Shadow IT

• The staying power of shadow IT, and how to combat risks related to it - Help Net Security

Identity and Access Management

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• The Attacks that can Target your Windows Active Directory (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The biggest data security blind spot: Authorization - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Crime agencies condemn Facebook and Instagram encryption plans | Meta | The Guardian

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

API

• Triple-digit Increase in API and App Attacks on Tech and Retail - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• There's Been a 400% Increase in Unique API Attackers - The New Stack

Open Source

• Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud • The Register

• Security beyond software: The open source hardware security evolution - Help Net Security

• Report: Most IT Teams Can't Fix Open Source Software Security - DevOps.com

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• How Long It Would Take A Hacker To Brute Force Your Password In 2023, Ranked | Digg

Social Media

• LinkedIn deploys new secure identity verification for all members | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Crime agencies condemn Facebook and Instagram encryption plans | Meta | The Guardian

• Scammers using social media to dupe people into becoming money mules - Help Net Security

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• EU privacy regulators to create task force to investigate ChatGPT | Computerworld

• What Business Needs to Know About the New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy (hbr.org)

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• As Consumer Privacy Evolves, Here's How You Can Stay Ahead of Regulations (darkreading.com)

• Brit cops rapped over app that recorded 200k phone calls • The Register

• Three Effective Ways For Boards To Prepare For Imminent SEC Cyber Rules (forbes.com)

• US imposes $300m penalty over hard disk drive exports to Huawei - BBC News

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Security Is a Revenue Booster, Not a Cost Centre (darkreading.com)

• Tight budgets and burnout push enterprises to outsource cyber security - Help Net Security

• Ex-CEO of breached psychotherapy clinic gets prison sentence for bad data security – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• 'One in three firms faced cyber attacks last year' (aol.co.uk)

• Skills shortage puts Europe’s cyber resilience to the test – EURACTIV.com

• Quantifying cyber risk vital for business survival - Help Net Security

• Wargaming an effective data breach playbook - Help Net Security

• Outdated cyber security practices leave door open for criminals - Help Net Security

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• Gartner Top Strategic Cyber security Trends 2023

• 3 Flaws, 1 War Dominated Cyber-Threat Landscape in 2022 (darkreading.com)

• Lack of Breach Info on Notices Surges in Q1 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ex-CIO must pay £81k over Total Shambles Bank migration • The Register

• Economic uncertainty drives upskilling as a key strategy for organisations - Help Net Security

• Top risks and best practices for securely offboarding employees | CSO Online

• How companies are struggling to build and run effective cyber security programs - Help Net Security

• Three Effective Ways For Boards To Prepare For Imminent SEC Cyber Rules (forbes.com)

• Small Business Interest in Cyber-Hygiene Wanes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Secure Disposal

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Enterprises Exposed to Hacker Attacks Due to Failure to Wipe Discarded Routers - SecurityWeek

Backup and Recovery

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

Data Protection

• Government reprimanded for serious breaches of data protection law - Jersey Evening Post

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• Brit cops rapped over app that recorded 200k phone calls • The Register

• ChatGPT's Data Protection Blind Spots and How Security Teams Can Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Skills shortage puts Europe’s cyber resilience to the test – EURACTIV.com

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Ex-CEO of hacked therapy clinic sentenced for failing to protect patients' session notes (bitdefender.com)

• Police disrupts $98M online fraud ring with 33,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US extradites Nigerian charged in $6m email fraud scam • The Register

• How 'Operation Cookie Monster' took down a major dark web market | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Three charged over banking fraud for hire website | Computer Weekly

• Police Crack Comms to Bust Money Laundering Group - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• What the Recent Collapse of SVB Means for Privacy (darkreading.com)

• As Consumer Privacy Evolves, Here's How You Can Stay Ahead of Regulations (darkreading.com)

• Popular Fitness Apps Leak Location Data Even When Users Set Privacy Zones (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• Phishing Attacks Surge as Threat Actors Leverage New AI Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• Stolen ChatGPT premium accounts up for sale on the dark web | CSO Online

• Pen testing amid the rise of AI-powered threat actors | TechTarget

• EU privacy regulators to create task force to investigate ChatGPT | Computerworld

• Cyber crims hop geofences, clamor for stolen ChatGPT accounts • The Register

• AI-created malware sends shockwaves through cybersecurity world | Fox News

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Tech Insight: Dangers of Using Large Language Models Before They Are Baked (darkreading.com)

• ChatGPT-Related Malicious URLs on the Rise - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ChatGPT's Data Protection Blind Spots and How Security Teams Can Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

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Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• Russian hackers targeting UK more frequently (thetimes.co.uk)

• UK NCSC warns of new class of Russian cyber adversary threatening critical infrastructure | CSO Online

• Russian hackers want to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure, minister warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Jack Teixeira's charges in full: 'Top secret' access, leak searches and the Espionage Act - BBC News

• Russian SolarWinds Culprits Launch Fresh Barrage of Espionage Cyberattacks (darkreading.com)

• Meet the hacker armies on Ukraine's cyber front line - BBC News

• Offensive cyber company QuaDream shutting down amidst spyware accusations | Ctech (calcalistech.com)

• Genius hackers help Russia’s neighbors thwart cyber incursions | Cybernews

• NSO Group is Back in Business With 3 New iOS Zero-Click Exploits (darkreading.com)

• UK, US sound the alarm on Russians exploiting Cisco flaws • The Register

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers behind retaliatory cyber attacks on US orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

• Heightened threat of state-aligned groups against western... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft shifts to a new threat actor naming taxonomy - Microsoft Security Blog

• How cyber support to Ukraine can build its democratic future | CyberScoop

• Google TAG Warns of Russian Hackers Conducting Phishing Attacks in Ukraine (thehackernews.com)

• Blind Eagle Cyber Espionage Group Strikes Again: New Attack Chain Uncovered (thehackernews.com)

• Britain sounds alarm on spyware, mercenary hacking market | Reuters

• Global Spyware Attacks Spotted Against Both New & Old iPhones (darkreading.com)

• The UK will need more than words in this cyber war | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Google: Ukraine targeted by 60% of Russian phishing attacks in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors

• BT holds China-Taiwan war game to stress test supply chains | Financial Times (ft.com)

• 3CX Supply Chain Attack Tied to Financial Trading App Breach (darkreading.com)

• UK security chief’s alert over threat from China (thetimes.co.uk)

• Russia accuses NATO of launching 5,000 cyberattacks since 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Uncovers APT41's Use of Open Source GC2 Tool to Target Media and Job Sites (thehackernews.com)

• APT41 Taps Google Red Teaming Tool in Targeted Info-Stealing Attacks (darkreading.com)

• China starts ‘surgical’ retaliation against foreign companies after US-led tech blockade | Financial Times

• Iranian-Russian cooperation on hack attacks may challenge Israeli cyber supremacy | The Times of Israel

• US charges 44 members of alleged Chinese troll army • The Register

• Hikvision: Chinese surveillance tech giant denies leaked Pentagon spy claim - BBC News

• Iranian Hackers Using SimpleHelp Remote Support Software for Persistent Access (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers behind retaliatory cyber attacks on US orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Heightened threat of state-aligned groups against western... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft shifts to a new threat actor naming taxonomy - Microsoft Security Blog

• Nation-state threat actor Mint Sandstorm refines tradecraft to attack high-value targets - Microsoft Security Blog

• MuddyWater Uses SimpleHelp to Target Critical Infrastructure Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Killnet Boss Exposes Rival Leader in Kremlin Hacktivist Beef (darkreading.com)

• Iranian Nation-State Actor "Mint Sandstorm" Weaponizes N-day Flaws - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Iranian Government-Backed Hackers Targeting U.S. Energy and Transit Systems (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus Group Adds Linux Malware to Arsenal in Operation Dream Job (thehackernews.com)

• US imposes $300m penalty over hard disk drive exports to Huawei - BBC News

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Vulnerability Management

• Military helicopter crash blamed on missing software patch • The Register

• Google Outlines Initiatives to Fortify Vulnerability Management - MSSP Alert

• Beyond CVEs: The Key to Mitigating High-Risk Security Exposures (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• UK, US sound the alarm on Russians exploiting Cisco flaws • The Register

• Thousands at risk from critical RCE bug in legacy MS service | Computer Weekly

• CISA: Patch Bug Exploited by Chinese E-commerce App - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Critical Flaws in vm2 JavaScript Library Can Lead to Remote Code Execution (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers actively exploit critical RCE bug in PaperCut servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google patches another actively exploited Chrome zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts disclosed 2 critical flaws in Alibaba cloud database services - Security Affairs

• VMware Patches Pre-Auth Code Execution Flaw in Logging Product - SecurityWeek

• Cisco and VMware Release Security Updates to Patch Critical Flaws in their Products (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Defender update causes Windows Hardware Stack Protection mess (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Tools and Controls

• CISA Asks Manufacturers to Prioritize Cybersecurity in Product Design - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Pen testing amid the rise of AI-powered threat actors | TechTarget

• 7 countries unite to push for secure-by-design development | CSO Online

• Wargaming an effective data breach playbook - Help Net Security

• Where There's No Code, There's No SDLC (darkreading.com)

• Cloud Security Alerts Take Six Days to Resolve - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DFIR via XDR: How to expedite your investigations with a DFIRent approach (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft opens up Defender with file hash, URL search • The Register

• Beyond CVEs: The Key to Mitigating High-Risk Security Exposures (darkreading.com)

• How to build a cybersecurity deception program | TechTarget

• Enterprises Exposed to Hacker Attacks Due to Failure to Wipe Discarded Routers - SecurityWeek

• Threat Posed by 'Irresponsible' Use of Commercial Hacking Tools Increasing, NCSC Warns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

• Generative AI in SecOps and how to prepare | TechTarget

• AI defenders ready to foil AI-armed attackers • The Register

• Newer Authentication Tech a Priority for 2023 (darkreading.com)

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Other News

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Misconfiguration leaves thousands of servers vulnerable to attack, researchers find | CyberScoop

• Fortra shares findings on GoAnywhere MFT zero-day attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to defend against TCP port 445 and other SMB exploits | TechTarget

• Criminal Records Service still disrupted 4 weeks after hack - BBC News

• Attackers use abandoned WordPress plugin to backdoor websites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyberspace Solarium Commission says space systems should be considered critical infrastructure | CyberScoop

• UK Strengthens Cyber security Audits for Government Agencies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• EU launches Cyber Solidarity Act to respond to large-scale attacks – EURACTIV.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 24 December 2021

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.

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Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Cyber Criminals Shifting Focus: IT Sector Most Targeted In 2021

Darktrace reported that the IT and communications sector was globally the most targeted industry by cybercriminals in 2021.

Darktrace’s data is developed by ‘early indicator analysis’ that looks at the breadcrumbs of potential cyber-attacks at several stages before they are attributed to any particular actor and before they escalate into a full-blown crisis. Findings show that its artificial intelligence autonomously interrupted an average of 150,000 threats per week against the sector in 2021.

The IT and communications sector includes telecommunications providers, software developers, and managed security service providers, amongst others. There was also a growing trend of hackers targeting backup servers in an attempt to deliberately disable or corrupt backup files by deleting a single index file that would render all backups inaccessible. Attackers could then launch ransomware attacks against the clients of the backup vendor, preventing recovery and forcing payment.

In 2020, the most attacked industry was the financial and insurance sector, showing that cyber-criminals have shifted their focus over the last 12 months.

Over the last 12 months, it is clear that attackers are relentlessly trying to access the networks of trusted suppliers in the IT and communications sector. Quite simply, it is a better return on investment than, for example, going after one company in the financial services sector. SolarWinds and Kaseya are just two well-known and recent examples of this. Sadly, there is likely to be more in the near term.

The findings of this research mark one year since the compromise of US software company SolarWinds rattled the security industry. This landmark supply-chain attack made thousands of organisations vulnerable to infiltration by inserting malicious code into the Orion system. Over the last 12 months, there has been a continued spate of attacks against the IT and communications sector, including the high-profile attacks on Kaseya and Gitlab.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/22/cybercriminals-it-sector/

New Ransomware Variants Flourish Amid Law Enforcement Actions

Ransomware groups continue to evolve their tactics and techniques to deploy file-encrypting malware on compromised systems, notwithstanding law enforcement's disruptive actions against the cyber crime gangs to prevent them from victimizing additional companies.

"Be it due to law enforcement, infighting amongst groups or people abandoning variants altogether, the RaaS [ransomware-as-a-service] groups dominating the ecosystem at this point in time are completely different than just a few months ago," Intel 471 researchers said in a report published this month. "Yet, even with the shift in the variants, ransomware incidents as a whole are still on the rise."

Sweeping law enforcement operations undertaken by government agencies in recent months have brought about rapid shifts in the RaaS landscape and turned the tables on ransomware syndicates like Avaddon, BlackMatter, Cl0p, DarkSide, Egregor, and REvil, forcing the actors to slow down or shut down their businesses altogether.

https://thehackernews.com/2021/12/new-ransomware-variants-flourish-amid.html

93% of Tested Networks Vulnerable to Breach, Pen Testers Find

Data from dozens of penetration tests and security assessments suggest nearly every organisation can be infiltrated by cyber attackers.

The vast majority of businesses can be compromised within a month by a motivated attacker using common techniques, such as compromising credential, exploiting known vulnerabilities in software and Web applications, or taking advantage of configuration flaws, according to an analysis of security assessments by Positive Technologies.

In 93% of cases, an external attacker could breach a target company's network and gain access to local devices and systems, the company's security service professionals found. In 71% of cases, the attacker could affect the businesses in a way deemed "unacceptable." For example, every bank tested by the security firm could be attacked in a way that disrupted business processes and reduced the quality of their service.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/93-of-tested-networks-vulnerable-to-breach-pentesters-find

Dridex Malware Trolls Employees With Fake Job Termination Emails

A new Dridex malware phishing campaign is using fake employee termination emails as a lure to open a malicious Excel document, which then trolls the victim with a season's greeting message.

Dridex is a banking malware spread through malicious emails that was initially developed to steal online banking credentials. Over time, the developers evolved the malware to use different modules that provide additional malicious behaviour, such as installing other malware payloads, providing remote access to threat actors, or spreading to other devices on the network.

This malware was created by a hacking group known as Evil Corp, which is behind various ransomware operations, such as BitPaymer, DoppelPaymer, WastedLocker variants, and Grief. Due to this, Dridex infections are known to lead to ransomware attacks on compromised networks.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/dridex-malware-trolls-employees-with-fake-job-termination-emails/

More Than 35,000 Java Packages Impacted By Log4j Flaw, Google Warns

The Google Open Source Team scanned the Maven Central Java package repository and found that 35,863 packages (8% of the total) were using versions of the Apache Log4j library vulnerable to Log4Shell exploit and to the CVE-2021-45046 RCE.

“More than 35,000 Java packages, amounting to over 8% of the Maven Central repository (the most significant Java package repository), have been impacted by the recently disclosed log4j vulnerabilities (1, 2), with widespread fallout across the software industry.” reads the report published by Google. “As far as ecosystem impact goes, 8% is enormous.”

The Google experts used the Open Source Insights, a project used to determine open source dependencies, to assess all versions of all artifacts in the Maven Central Repository.

The experts pointed out that the direct dependencies account for around 7,000 of the affected packages. Most of the affected artifacts are related to indirect dependencies.

Since the vulnerability was disclosed, 13% of all vulnerable packages have been fixed (4,620).

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/125845/security/log4j-java-packages-flaws.html

Log4j Flaw: Attackers Are 'Actively Scanning Networks' Warns New Guidance, Joint Advisory from Cyber Agencies in US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

A new informational Log4J advisory has been issued by cybersecurity leaders from the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The guide includes technical details, mitigations and resources to address known vulnerabilities in the Apache Log4j software library.

The project is a joint effort by the US' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI and NSA, as well as the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), Computer Emergency Response Team New Zealand (CERT NZ), New Zealand National Cyber Secure Centre (NZ NCSC), and the United Kingdom's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK).

The organisations said they issued the advisory in response to "active, worldwide exploitation by numerous threat actors, including malicious cyber threat actors." Numerous groups from North Korea, Iran, Turkey and China have been seen exploiting the vulnerability alongside a slate of ransomware groups and cybercriminal organisations.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/cisa-cybersecurity-centers-from-australia-nz-uk-and-canada-release-log4j-advisory/

Conti Ransomware Gang Has Full Log4Shell Attack Chain

The Conti gang was the first professional-grade, sophisticated ransomware group to weaponise Log4j2, now with a full attack chain.

The Conti ransomware gang, which last week became the first professional crimeware outfit to adopt and weaponize the Log4Shell vulnerability, has now built up a holistic attack chain.

The sophisticated Russia-based Conti group – which Palo Alto Networks has called “one of the most ruthless” of dozens of ransomware groups currently known to be active – was in the right place at the right time with the right tools when Log4Shell hit the scene 10 days ago, security firm Advanced Intelligence (AdvIntel) said in a report shared with Threatpost on Thursday.

As of Monday the attack chain has taken the following form, AdvIntel’s Yelisey Boguslavskiy told Threatpost: Emotet -> Cobalt Strike -> Human Exploitation -> (no ADMIN$ share) -> Kerberoast -> vCenter ESXi with log4shell scan for vCenter.

https://threatpost.com/conti-ransomware-gang-has-full-log4shell-attack-chain/177173/

Second Ransomware Family Exploiting Log4j Spotted In US, Europe

This was quickly followed by a second ransomware group when researchers found a second family of ransomware has been growing in usage for attack attempts that exploit the critical vulnerability in Apache Log4j, including in the US and Europe.

A number of researchers, including at cybersecurity giant Sophos, have now said they’ve observed the attempted deployment of a ransomware family known as TellYouThePass. Researchers have described TellYouThePass as an older and largely inactive ransomware family — which has been revived following the discovery of the vulnerability in the widely used Log4j logging software.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/12/21/second-ransomware-family-exploiting-log4j-spotted-in-u-s-europe/

Threat actors steal $80 million per month with fake giveaways, surveys

Scammers are estimated to have made $80 million per month by impersonating popular brands asking people to participate in fake surveys or giveaways.

Researchers warn of this new trend in global fraud schemes involving targeted links to make investigation and take-down increasingly challenging.

According to current estimates, these massive campaigns resulted in an estimated $80,000,000 per month, stolen from 10 million people in 91 countries.

The scam themes are the typical and "trustworthy" fake surveys and giveaways from popular brands with the holiday season making targets more susceptible to fraudulent gift offerings.

According to a report by Group-IB, there are currently 60 known scam networks that use targeted links in their campaigns, impersonating 121 brands in false giveaways.

Each network uses an average of 70 different Internet domain names as part of their campaigns, but some find great success with fewer domains, which indicates that quality beats quantity when it comes to scams.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/threat-actors-steal-80-million-per-month-with-fake-giveaways-surveys/

Microsoft Teams might have a few serious security issues

Security researchers have discovered four separate vulnerabilities in Microsoft Teams that could be exploited by an attacker to spoof link previews, leak IP addresses and even access the software giant's internal services.

These discoveries were made by researchers at Positive Security who “stumbled upon” them while looking for a way to bypass the Same-Origin Policy (SOP) in Teams and Electron according to a new blog post. For those unfamiliar, SOP is a security mechanism found in browsers that helps stop websites from attacking one another.

During their investigation into the matter, the researchers found that they could bypass the SOP in Teams by abusing the link preview feature in Microsoft's video conferencing software by allowing the client to generate a link preview for the target page and then using either summary text or optical character recognition (OCR) on the preview image to extract information.

https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-teams-might-have-a-few-serious-security-issues

The Future of Work Has Changed, and Your Security Mindset Needs to Follow

VPNs have become a vulnerability that puts organisations at risk of cyber attacks.

When businesses first sent employees to work from home in March 2020 — thinking it'd only be for two weeks — they turned to quick fixes that would enable remote work for large numbers of people as quickly as possible. While these solutions solved the short-term challenge of allowing distributed workforces to connect to a company's network from anywhere, they're now becoming a security vulnerability that is putting organisations at risk of growing cyberattacks.

Now that almost two years have passed and work has fundamentally shifted, with fully or hybrid remote environments here to stay, business and security leaders need solutions that better fit their unique and increasingly complex needs. In fact, a new survey from Menlo Security has found that 75% of organisations are re-evaluating their security strategies for remote employees, exemplifying that accommodating remote work is a top priority for the majority of business leaders.

To successfully manage the risks that distributed workforces entail, leaders must shift their mindset away from the hub-and-spoke approach of providing connectivity to the entire network, instead segmenting access by each individual private application, wherever it is deployed, as threats of cyberattacks loom across all industries. As organisations grapple with the added security challenges that remote and hybrid work environments bring, adopting a zero-trust approach will be critical for end-to-end network and endpoint protection.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/the-future-of-work-has-changed-and-your-security-mindset-needs-to-follow

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Threats

Ransomware

• Ransomware Threat Just as Urgent as Terrorism, Say Two-Thirds of IT Pros - Infosecurity Magazine

• PYSA Emerges as Top Ransomware Actor in November | Threatpost

• AvosLocker Ransomware Reboots In Safe Mode To Bypass Security Tools (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Rook Ransomware Is Yet Another Spawn Of The Leaked Babuk Code (bleepingcomputer.com)

• PYSA Ransomware Behind Most Double Extortion Attacks In November (bleepingcomputer.com)

• This Ransomware Strain Just Started Targeting Lots More Businesses | ZDNet

Phishing

• How Likely Are Employees To Fall Prey To A Phishing Attack? - Help Net Security

• Dridex Omicron Phishing Taunts With Funeral Helpline Number (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Phishing Campaign Claims $80m Per Month - IT Security Guru

Malware

• Log4j Vulnerability Now Used To Install Dridex Banking Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New BLISTER Malware Using Code Signing Certificates to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)

IoT

• Honeypot Experiment Reveals What Hackers Want From IoT Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking

• Example Of How Attackers Are Trying To Push Crypto Miners Via Log4Shell - SANS Internet Storm Center

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Cyber Crime Cops Arrest NHS Workers - Infosecurity Magazine

Scams, Fraud & Financial Crime

• Robocalls More Than Doubled in 2021, Cost Victims $30B | Threatpost

Insurance

• Cyber Insurance Trends: Insurers And Insurees Must Adapt Equally To Growing Threats - Help Net Security

Dark Web

• 2easy Now A Significant Dark Web Marketplace For Stolen Data (bleepingcomputer.com)

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

• Lights Out: Cyber Attacks Shut Down Building Automation Systems (darkreading.com)

• Walk-Through Metal Detectors Can Be Hacked, New Research Finds (gizmodo.com)

Nation State Actors

• FBI: State Hackers Exploiting New Zoho Zero-Day Since October (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords

• UK National Crime Agency Finds 225 Million Previously Unexposed Passwords • The Register

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Fisher Price Chatter Bluetooth Telephone Has Serious Privacy Issues - Security Affairs

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Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Teams Bug Allowing Phishing Unpatched Since March (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FBI: Another Zoho ManageEngine Zero-Day Under Active Attack | Threatpost

• Active Directory Bugs Could Let hackers Take Over Windows Domain Controllers (thehackernews.com)

• New Exploit Lets Malware Attackers Bypass Patch for Critical Microsoft MSHTML Flaw (thehackernews.com)

• All in One SEO Plugin Bug Threatens 3M Websites with Takeovers | Threatpost

• Researchers Disclose Unpatched Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Teams Software (thehackernews.com)

• Crooks Bypass A Microsoft Office Patch For CVE-2021-40444 To Spread Formbook Malware - Security Affairs

• Microsoft Admits To Azure App Service Source Code Leak Bug • The Register

• Expert Details macOS Bug That Could Let Malware Bypass Gatekeeper Security (thehackernews.com)

• New Dell BIOS Updates Cause Laptops And Desktops Not To Boot (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Western Digital Warns Customers To Update Their My Cloud Devices (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• New Mobile Network Vulnerabilities Affect All Cellular Generations Since 2G (thehackernews.com)

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Sector Specific

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Escalation in Healthcare Data Breaches - Infosecurity Magazine

Retail

• The Retail Sector Needs To Know When And Not If It Will Be Hacked - Help Net Security

Transport and Aviation

• Tropic Trooper Cyber Espionage Hackers Targeting Transportation Sector (thehackernews.com)

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Other News

• How Confident Can Organisations Be In Their Managed Services Security? - Help Net Security

• Experts Discover Backdoor Deployed on the US Federal Agency's Network (thehackernews.com)

• Half-Billion Compromised Credentials Lurking on Open Cloud Server | Threatpost

• New Log4J Flaw Caps Year of Relentless Cyber Security Crises - WSJ

• Log4Shell Is A Dumpster Fire That Should Have Been Avoided - Help Net Security

• The Log4j Flaw Is The Latest Reminder That Quick Security Fixes Are Easier Said Than Done - CyberScoop

• 7 of the Most Impactful Cyber Security Incidents of 2021 (darkreading.com)

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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 weekly ‘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 10 December 2021

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.

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Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Beware Of Ransomware Attacks Between Christmas And New Year’s!

Darktrace reported that its security researchers discovered a 30% increase in the average number of attempted ransomware attacks globally over the holiday season in every consecutive year from 2018 to 2020 compared to the monthly average.

The researchers also observed a 70% average increase in attempted ransomware attacks in November and December compared to January and February. Following a record number of ransomware attacks this year, the company expects the spike to be higher over the 2021 holiday period.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/09/ransomware-attacks-holiday/

Why Holidays Put Your Company at Risk of Cyber Attack (And How to Take Precautions)

It is a time when many are thinking of their families and loved ones, time off work, and gift-giving – the holidays. However, while many have their minds outside the realm of work during the holiday season, often, this is when attackers plan their most sinister attacks.

So how can you take precautions to protect your organisation during these times?

Attackers today do not have a soft spot for businesses and give companies a break at any time of the year, especially not during holidays. On the contrary, any time of the year where companies may be less prepared to fend off a cyberattack is an opportunity for successful compromise. As a result, the holidays put your company at a higher risk of cyberattack.

https://thehackernews.com/2021/12/why-holidays-put-your-company-at-risk.html

Security Experts Sound Alarm on Zero-Day in Widely Used Log4j Tool

Security experts are sounding the equivalent of a five-alarm fire on a critical new zero-day vulnerability in Log4j, a logging framework that is ubiquitously present in Java software.

The flaw (CVE-2021-44228) could allow remote attackers to run arbitrary code on any application that uses Log4j and is already being actively exploited. Some vendors have observed mass scanning activity — presumably by threat actors — for vulnerable applications, and there are some reports of exploit activity against organisations. Attacks against the flaw take little skill to execute and are being fueled by proof-of-concept code in the wild.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/security-experts-sound-alarm-on-zero-day-in-widely-used-log4j-tool

SolarWinds Attackers Spotted Using New Tactics, Malware

One year after the disruptive supply-chain attacks, researchers have observed two new clusters of activity from the Russia-based actors that signal a significant threat may be brewing.

One year after the notorious and far-reaching SolarWinds supply-chain attacks, its orchestrators are on the offensive again. Researchers said they’ve seen the threat group – which Microsoft refers to as “Nobelium” and which is linked to Russia’s spy agency – compromising global business and government targets with novel tactics and custom malware, stealing data and moving laterally across networks.

https://threatpost.com/solarwinds-attackers-new-tactics-malware/176818/

Cyber Crime Supply Chain: Fuelling The Rise In Ransomware

Trend Micro released a research detailing the murky cybercrime supply chain behind much of the recent surge in ransomware attacks. Demand has increased so much over the past two years that many cybercriminal markets now have their own “Access-as-a-Service” sections.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/06/cybercrime-supply-chain/

Weak Passwords Caused 30% Of Security Breaches

A recent survey assessed the risk factors associated with password management and how to safeguard them from attacks or breaches. The results revealed that 30% of respondents reported password leaks and security breaches as a result of poor password practices. Respondees admitted to making poor password choices, such as sharing them with colleagues, family members or friends; writing them on sticky notes, papers, planners; re-using passwords across multiple sites and only changing them when prompted.

Consequently, researchers revealed some of the best password practices to create unhackable passwords. These practices include using secure VPNs, two-factor authentication, using a password management software and creating unique passwords that aren’t easily deduced .

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2021/12/10/weak-passwords-caused-30-of-security-breaches/

Work-from-Anywhere Requires "Work-from-Anywhere Security"

Securing today's expanding networks often includes adding additional technologies to an already overburdened security environment. With organisations already struggling to manage an average of 45 security tools, with each incident requiring coordination across 19 different devices, adding new technologies to the mix may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

The most recent example of the rapid expansion of the network's attack surface has been remote work. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for a work-from-anywhere (WFA) strategy. And now, as workers begin to return to the office, a hybrid approach to work has become the new status quo. According to Accenture, 83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model that allows them to work remotely between 25% and 75% of the time. And businesses are listening. 63% of high-revenue growth companies have already enabled productivity anywhere workforce models.

One of the biggest security challenges of a hybrid workforce is that employees need to move seamlessly between the corporate office, their home network, and other remote locations. Applications, whether deployed in the data centre, SaaS, or cloud, not only need to be available from anywhere, but user experience—and security—needs to be consistent from any location as well.

https://www.securityweek.com/work-anywhere-requires-work-anywhere-security

Just 3% of UK Firms Escaped a Supply Chain Breach in 2021

Some 97% of UK organisations suffered a supply chain breach over the past year, up from 82% in 2020 and the second highest figure globally, according to BlueVoyant.

The security firm polled 1200 C-level executives with responsibility for managing risk in supply chains, across the UK, US, Singapore, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.

UK firms also experienced a higher-than-average percentage of breaches: 59% suffered between two and five supply chain incidents compared to an overall average of 49%. The average number of breaches in the country grew from 2.64 in 2020 to 3.57 in 2021.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given these figures, only a quarter (27%) of UK respondents said they consider third-party cyber risk a key priority versus a 42% global average.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/just-3-uk-firms-escaped-supply/

Critical Flaw In ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP Tool Exploited In The Wild

News of this latest zero-day vulnerability comes after hackers exploited at least two other flaws in ManageEngine products this year. Attacks against MSPs and their tools have seen a rise over the past several years due to hackers realizing that compromising such organisations can provide an easy way into the networks of thousands of businesses that rely on them to manage their IT assets.

News of this latest zero-day vulnerability comes after hackers exploited at least two other flaws in ManageEngine products this year. Attacks against MSPs and their tools have seen a rise over the past several years due to hackers realizing that compromising such organisations can provide an easy way into the networks of thousands of businesses that rely on them to manage their IT assets.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3643928/critical-flaw-in-manageengine-desktop-central-msp-tool-exploited-in-the-wild.html

New Financial Services Industry Report Reveals Major Gaps in Storage and Backup Security

Continuity™, the first dedicated storage and backup security provider, this week announced findings from its Security Intelligence Report: Analysis of Storage and Backup Security in the Financial Services & Banking Sector. This extensive study – the first of its kind – explores the security posture of storage and backup environments in the global financial services industry.

The survey of 200 financial services firms and banks from 45 countries revealed that most of these organisations have not yet reached a satisfactory level of storage and backup maturity. Notably, more than half (52%) of the respondents were not strongly confident about their storage and backup security, and a quarter (25%) noted they were significantly concerned (low or no confidence).

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/new-financial-services-industry-report-reveals-major-gaps-in-storage-and-backup-security

UK’s Poor Cyber Risk Planning Could “Wreak Havoc”

The UK’s long-term risk planning is under-powered and could expose the nation if it is struck by a serious cyber-threat, a new House of Lords (HoL) report has found.

The study, Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society, was produced by the upper chamber’s Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning after interviews with 85 expert witnesses.

It claimed that the government spends too much of its time reacting to crises and emergencies, neglecting the kind of long-term planning which would have prepared the country better for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The UK’s unpreparedness to manage the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus was and is clear. More broadly, our inquiry has analyzed the UK’s risk assessment process and found that our current system is deficient at assessing and addressing future threats and hazards,” it argued.

“However, pandemics are only one of a number of extreme risks facing the UK. Severe space weather events could render smart technologies on which much of society relies inoperable for weeks or longer; this would include GPS, the internet, communications systems and power supplies. A cyber or physical attack on our critical national infrastructure could wreak havoc.”

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uks-poor-cyber-risk-planning-could/

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Threats

Ransomware

• Ransomware Attacks Soar, Hackers Set To Become More Aggressive | Reuters

• Emotet’s Behaviour & Spread Are Omens of Ransomware Attacks | Threatpost

• Ireland Conti Ransomware Attack Vector Was Spam Email • The Register

• Crackdown On Crypto Firms Needed To ‘Wreck’ Ransomware, Says Ex-GCHQ Boss (telegraph.co.uk)

• Companies Linked to Russian Ransomware Hide in Plain Sight - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• New 'Karakurt' Cyber Crime Gang Focuses On Data Theft And Extortion - Security Affairs

• More Than 300 Spar Shops In North Of England Hit By Cyber Attack | Hacking | The Guardian

• New Cerber Ransomware Targets Confluence And GitLab Servers (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Ransomware Attack Locks Hotel Guests Out Of Rooms - IT Security Guru

• BlackCat: A New Rust-based Ransomware Malware Spotted in the Wild (thehackernews.com)

• ALPHV BlackCat - This Year's Most Sophisticated Ransomware (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Phishing

• Microsoft, Google OAuth Flaws Can Be Abused In Phishing Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Researchers Explore Microsoft Outlook Phishing Techniques (darkreading.com)

• Convincing Microsoft Phishing Uses Fake Office 365 Spam Alerts (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Study: Most Phishing Pages Are Abandoned Or Disappear In A Matter Of Days - Techrepublic

• Phishing Attacks Use QR Codes To Steal Banking Credentials (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Malware

• Emotet Is Back and More Dangerous Than Before (darkreading.com)

• 140,000 Reasons Why Emotet is Piggybacking on TrickBot in its Return from the Dead (thehackernews.com)

• Malicious Notepad++ Installers Push StrongPity Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Dangerous Android Scam Drains Your Bank Account With One Phone Call (Bgr.Com)

IOT

• IoT Under Attack: Security Is Still Not Good Enough On These Edge Devices | ZDNet

• Three-Quarters of Firms Admit to Sub-Optimal IoT Security - Infosecurity Magazine

Data Breaches/Leaks

• 2021 Will Be A Record-Breaking Year For Data Breaches, What About 2022? - Help Net Security

• Volvo Says Data Got Stolen In Cyber Attack (jalopnik.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Microsoft Seizes 42 Malicious Web Domains Used By Chinese Hackers (thehackernews.com)

• Google Disrupts Massive Glupteba Botnet, Sues Russian Operators (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Cyber Criminals Are Using Fake Advertising To Distribute Malware | Techspot

Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking

• Hackers Are Minting Their Own Crypto To Use In Elaborate Phishing Scams | Techradar

• Tor2Mine Cryptominer Is Warning Sign Of Network Exploitation • The Register

• QNAP Warns Users Of Bitcoin Miner Targeting Their NAS Devices (Bleepingcomputer.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Burned Out Workers Are Less Likely To Follow Security Guidelines - Help Net Security

Fraud & Financial Crime

• Romance Fraudster Targeted 670 Women Online - Infosecurity Magazine

• Passport Forgeries At All Time High - IT Security Guru

Dark Web

• The Dark Web Has Its Own People's Court (darkreading.com)

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

• NIST Cyber-Resiliency Framework Extended to Include Critical Infrastructure Controls (darkreading.com)

Nation State Actors

• UK Spy Chief Raises Fears Over China’s Digital Renminbi | Financial Times (FT.com)

• Collect Today, Decrypt Tomorrow: How Russia And China Are Preparing For Quantum Computing | CSO Online

• Russia Blocks Tor Privacy Service in Latest Censorship Move (thehackernews.com)

Cloud

• Top 10 Azure Cloud Configuration Mistakes (trendmicro.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Your Microsoft Network Is Only As Secure As Your Oldest Server | CSO Online

• With 18,378 Vulnerabilities Reported In 2021, NIST Records Fifth Straight Year Of Record Numbers | ZDNet

• Lack of Patching Leaves 300,000 Routers at Risk for Attack (darkreading.com)

• Vulnerability In Windows 10 URI Handler Leads To Remote Code Execution | Malwarebytes Labs

• Cisco Hit With Software And Physical Issues | Network World

• Dark Mirai Botnet Targeting RCE On Popular TP-Link Router (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Sprawling Active Attack Aims to Take Over 1.6M WordPress Sites | Threatpost

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Sector Specific

Financial Services Sector

• US Bank Regulator Urges Vigilance As Ransomware Attacks On The Rise | Reuters

• Israel Leads 10-Country Simulation Of Major Cyber Attack On World Markets | The Times Of Israel

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Ireland Conti Ransomware Attack Vector Was Spam Email • The Register

Retail

• Fueled by Pandemic Realities, Grinchbots Aggressively Surge in Activity | Threatpost

• Hackers Infect Random WordPress Plugins To Steal Credit Cards (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Transport and Aviation

• German Logistics Giant Hellmann Reports Cyberattack | ZDNet

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Other News

• Google, Microsoft: Internet Whac-a-Mole vs. Cyber Criminals - MSSP Alert

• From DDoS To Bots And Everything In Between: Preparing For The New And Improved Attacker Toolbox - Help Net Security

• Are You Guilty of These 8 Network-Security Bad Practices? | Threatpost

• 1.6 Million WordPress Sites Under Cyber Attack From Over 16,000 IP Addresses (thehackernews.com)

• Next-Gen Maldocs & How to Solve the Human Vulnerability | Threatpost

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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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