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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 March 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 March 2022
-Guernsey Cyber Security Warning For Islanders And Businesses
-CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware And State-Supported Cyber Crime
-Four Key Risks Exacerbated By Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
-These Four Types Of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters Of Reported Incidents
-Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
-Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
-Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be A Harbinger Of Dangers Ahead
-Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
-Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
-Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
-UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
-Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools Of Other APT Groups
-The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities In Critical Infrastructure
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
Guernsey Cyber Security Warning for Islanders and Businesses
There has been a rise in cyber-attacks since the war in Ukraine began, according to the States of Guernsey and a cyber-security firm.
The States said: "We have seen a noticeable increase in the number of phishing emails since the war began."
The Channel Islands see more than 10 million cyber attacks every month, according to research by Guernsey firm Black Arrow Cyber Consulting.
It encouraged vigilance, as the islands are not immune to these attacks.
A States spokesman said: "The whole community needs to remain vigilant against such emails, which are designed to appear to be from reputable sources in order to dupe people into providing personal information or access to their device via the clicking of a link."
Bruce McDougall, from Black Arrow Cyber Consulting, said: "Criminals don't let a good opportunity go to waste. So they're conducting scams encouraging people to make false payments in the belief they're collecting for charities."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-60763398
CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware and State-Supported Cyber Crime
As some nations turn a blind eye, defence becomes life-or-death matter
With ransomware gangs raiding network after network, and nation states consciously turning a blind eye to it, today's chief information security officers are caught in a "perfect storm," says Cybereason CSO Sam Curry.
"There's this marriage right now of financially motivated cyber crime that can have a critical infrastructure and economic impact," Curry said during a CISO roundtable hosted by his endpoint security shop. "And there are some nation states that do what we call state-ignored sanctioning," he continued, using Russia-based REvil and Conti ransomware groups as examples of criminal operations that benefit from their home governments looking the other way.
"You get the umbrella of sovereignty, and you get the free license to be a privateer in essence," Curry said. "It's not just an economic threat. It's not just a geopolitical threat. It's a perfect storm."
It's probably not a huge surprise to anyone that destructive cyber attacks keep CISOs awake at night. But as chief information security officers across industries — in addition to Curry, the four others on the roundtable spanned retail, biopharmaceuticals, electronics manufacturing, and a cruise line — have watched threats evolve and criminal gangs mature, it becomes a battle to see who can innovate faster; the attackers or the defenders.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/ciso_security_storm/
Four Key Risks Exacerbated by Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the emerging risk landscape, and it requires enterprise risk management (ERM) leaders to reassess previously established organisational risk profiles in at least four key areas, according to Gartner.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the velocity of many risks we have tracked on a quarterly basis in our Emerging Risks survey,” said Matt Shinkman, VP with the Gartner Risk and Audit Practice.
“As ERM leaders reassess their organisational risk models, they must also ensure a high frequency of communication with the C-Suite as to the critical changes that require attention now.”
There are four major areas of risk that ERM leaders should continually monitor and examine their mitigation strategies as part of a broader aligned assurance approach as the war continues: Talent Risk, Cyber Security Risk, Financial Risk and Supply Chain Risk
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/17/erm-leaders-risk/
These Four Types of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters of Reported Incidents
Any ransomware is a cyber security issue, but some strains are having more of an impact than others.
Ransomware causes problems no matter what brand it is, but some forms are noticeably more prolific than others, with four strains of the malware accounting for a combined total of almost 70% of all attacks.
According to analysis by cyber security company Intel 471, the most prevalent ransomware threat towards the end of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which accounted for 29.7% of all reported incidents. Recent victims of LockBit have included Accenture and the French Ministry of Justice.
Almost one in five reported incidents involved Conti ransomware, famous for several incidents over the past year, including an attack against the Irish Healthcare Executive. The group recently had chat logs leaked, providing insights into how a ransomware gang works. PYSA and Hive account for one in 10 reported ransomware attacks each.
"The most prevalent ransomware strain in the fourth quarter of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which was responsible for 29.7% of all reported incidents, followed by Conti at 19%, PYSA at 10.5% and Hive at 10.1%," said the researchers.
Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
The cyber crime underground has fractured into pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia camps, with the latter increasingly focused on critical national infrastructure (CNI) targets in the West, according to a new report from Accenture.
The consulting giant’s Accenture Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI) arm warned that the ideological schism could spell mounting risk for Western organisations as pro-Kremlin criminal groups adopt quasi-hacktivist tactics to choose their next victims.
Organisations in the government, media, finance, insurance, utilities and resources sectors should be braced for more attacks, said ACTI.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/critical-infrastructure-threat/
Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
An expanding threat landscape is testing the limits of cyber insurance coverage.
The industry experienced a rapid maturation over the past three years as enterprises required a broader umbrella of insurance coverage to combat increasing cyber risks. While demands and premiums continue to rise, one recent area of contention involves war and hostile acts, an exclusion that's becoming harder to categorize.
A judgment in December, coupled with the Russian invasion last month that posed potential cyber retaliations to Ukraine allies, highlighted shortcomings in insurance policies when it comes to cyber conflicts.
Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be a Harbinger of Dangers Ahead
Several deepfake video experts called a doctored video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that went viral this week before social media platforms removed it a poorly executed example of the form, but nonetheless damaging.
Elements of the Zelenskyy deepfake — which purported to show him calling for surrender — made it easy to debunk, they said. But that won’t always be the case.
https://www.cyberscoop.com/zelenskyy-deepfake-troubles-experts/
Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
They’re choosing sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, beckoning previously shunned ransomware groups and thereby reinvigorating those groups’ once-diminished power.
A rift has formed in the cyber crime underground: one that could strengthen, rather than cripple, the cyber-onslaught of ransomware.
According to a report, ever since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, “previously coexisting, financially motivated threat actors divided along ideological factions.”
“Pro-Ukrainian actors are refusing to sell, buy, or collaborate with Russian-aligned actors, and are increasingly attempting to target Russian entities in support of Ukraine,” wrote researchers from Accenture’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI). “However, pro-Russian actors are increasingly aligning with hacktivist-like activity targeting ‘enemies of Russia,’ especially Western entities due to their claims of Western warmongering.”
What might otherwise seem like a good thing – bad guys fighting bad guys – may in fact pose an increased threat to the West.
https://threatpost.com/cybercrooks-political-in-fighting-threatens-the-west/178899/
Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
There was a 50% year-on-year surge in cloud-based email threats in 2021, but a drop in ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) detections as attacks became more targeted, according to Trend Micro.
The security vendor’s 2021 roundup report, Navigating New Frontiers, was compiled from data collected by customer-installed products and cloud-based threat intelligence.
It revealed that Trend Micro blocked 25.7 million email threats targeting Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 users last year, versus 16.7 million in 2020.
The number of phishing attempts almost doubled during the period, as threat actors continued to target home workers. Of these, 38% were focused on stealing credentials, the report claimed.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cloudbased-email-threats-surge-2021/
Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
Researchers uncovered more than two million new mobile malware samples in the wild last year, Zimperium said in a new report.
Those threats spanned some 10 million mobile devices in at least 214 countries, the Dallas, Texas-based solution provider said in its newly released 2022 Global Mobile Threat Report. Indeed, mobile malware proved in 2021 to be the most prevalent security threat to enterprises, encountered by nearly 25 percent mobile endpoints among Zimperium’s customers worldwide. The 2.3 million new mobile strains Zimperium’s researchers located amount to nearly 36,000 new strains of malware weekly and roughly 5,000 each day.
UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
Criminal defence law firm Tuckers Solicitors is facing a fine from the UK's data watchdog for failing to properly secure data that included information on case proceedings which was scooped up in a ransomware attack in 2020.
The London-based business was handed a £98,000 penalty notice by the Information Commissioner's Office under Article 83 of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation 2018.
The breach was first noted by Tuckers on August 23 2020 when part of its IT system became unavailable. On closer inspection, resident techies found a note from the attackers confirming they had compromised part of the infrastructure. The Microsoft Exchange server was out of action and two days' worth of emails were lost, as detailed by the company blog at the time.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/15/brit_solicitor_fined_for_failing/
Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups
A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found.
The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to the victim network, ultimately leading to the deployment of Cobalt Strike payloads on compromised assets, said Felipe Duarte and Ido Naor, researchers at Israeli incident response firm Security Joes, in a report published last week.
Although the infection was contained at this stage, the researchers characterized the compromise as a case of a suspected ransomware attack.
The intrusion is said to have taken place in February 2022, with the attackers making use of post-exploitation tools such as ADFind, NetScan, SoftPerfect, and LaZagne. Also employed is an AccountRestore executable to brute-force administrator credentials and a forked version of a reverse tunneling tool called Ligolo.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/russian-ransomware-gang-retool-custom.html
The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure
Recent cyber events have shown how extremely vulnerable critical infrastructure is. What are the biggest security concerns?
In any world conflict, one of the primary threats posed is cyber actors disabling or destroying the core infrastructure of the adversary. Based on the global reaction to the current world conflict, countries fear reprisals. The worry is that there will be collateral damage to the critical infrastructure of other countries not directly involved in the current conflict.
Today, services such as healthcare systems, power grids, transportation and other critical industries are increasingly integrating their operational technology with traditional IT systems in order to modernize their infrastructure, and this has opened up a new wave of cyber attacks. Though businesses are ramping up their security initiatives and investments to defend and protect, their efforts have largely been siloed, reactive, and lack business context. Lack of visibility of risk across the estate is a huge problem for this sector.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/15/critical-infrastructure-security/
Threats
Ransomware
Nearly 34 Ransomware Variants Observed in Hundreds of Cyber Attacks in Q4 2021 (thehackernews.com)
Franchises, Partnerships Emerge in Ransomware-as-a-Service Operations | ZDNet
Dozens of Ransomware Variants Used In 722 Attacks Over 3 Months (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti Leak: A Ransomware Gang's Chats Expose Its Crypto Plans | WIRED
Google Blows Lid Off Conti, Diavol Ransomware Access-Broker Ops | Threatpost
SEC Filings Show Hidden Ransomware Costs And Losses | CSO Online
Exotic Lily Sells Ransomware Groups Access To Targets • The Register
New "Initial Access Broker" Working with Conti gang - IT Security Guru
Google Exposes Tactics Of A Conti Ransomware Access Broker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Avoslocker Ransomware Gang Targets US Critical Infrastructure - Security Affairs
How Prepared Are Organisations To Face A Ransomware Attack On Kubernetes? - Help Net Security
Experts Find Some Affiliates of BlackMatter Now Spreading BlackCat Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Bridgestone Cyber Attack Timeline and Ransomware Recovery Details - MSSP Alert
Automotive Giant Denso Confirms Hack, Pandora Ransomware Group Takes Credit | ZDNet
Phishing & Email
Massive Phishing Campaign Uses 500+ Domains To Steal Credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
How CAPTCHA Puzzles Cloak Phishing Page URLs In Emails • The Register
Microsoft the No. 1 Most-Spoofed Brand in Phishing Attacks (darkreading.com)
76,000 Scams Taken Down Through Email Reporting - IT Security Guru
Phony Instagram ‘Support Staff’ Emails Hit Insurance Company | Threatpost
This Browser-In-The-Browser Attack Is Perfect For Phishing • The Register
Malware
New "B1txor20" Linux Botnet Uses DNS Tunnel and Exploits Log4J Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Attacker Uses Websites' Contact Forms To Spread BazarLoader Malware | TechRepublic
Gh0stCringe RAT Targeting Database Servers in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Cyclops Blink Malware Sets Up Shop in ASUS Routers • The Register
DirtyMoe Botnet Gains New Exploits in Wormable Module to Spread Rapidly (thehackernews.com)
Linux Botnet Exploits Log4j Flaw To Hijack Arm, x86 Systems • The Register
New Threat: B1txor20, A Linux Backdoor Using DNS Tunnel (360.com)
Russian Cyclops Blink Botnet Launches Assault Against Asus Routers | ZDNet
TrickBot Malware Abusing MikroTik Routers as Proxies for Command-and-Control (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
2021 Mobile Security: Android More Vulnerabilities, iOS More Zero-Days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Secret Keys Found in Leaked Samsung Source Code | SecurityWeek.Com
Scammers Have 2 Clever New Ways To Install Malicious Apps on iOS Devices | Ars Technica
Threat Intel Report: Who Is Behind Staggering 190GB Samsung Galaxy Hack? (forbes.com)
Android Trojan Persists On The Google Play Store Since January (bleepingcomputer.com)
IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Financially Motivated Threat Actors Willing To Go After Russian Targets - Help Net Security
A Third of Malicious Logins Originate in Nigeria - Infosecurity Magazine
Phishers Exploit Ukraine Conflict To Solicit Crypto - IT Security Guru
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
Cloud
How Cloud Services Become Weapons In Russia-Ukraine Cyber Conflict | ZDNet
The Next Big Cyber Security Threat Is Connected SaaS Platforms (thenextweb.com)
Privacy
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
CafePress Fined For Covering Up Customer Info Leak • The Register
Meta Fined €17 Million by Irish Regulator for GDPR Violations | CSO Online
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Conti Leaks Reveal the Ransomware Group’s Links to Russia | WIRED
How The Cyber World Can Support Ukraine | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
FBI Warns of MFA Flaw Used By State Hackers For Lateral Movement (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine Secret Service Arrests Hacker Helping Russian Invaders (thehackernews.com)
Open Source Maintainer Sabotages Code to Wipe Russian, Belarusian Computers (vice.com)
German Government Advises Against Using Kaspersky Antivirus (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine's "IT Army" Hit With Info-Stealing Malware- IT Security Guru
Mozilla Firefox Removes Russian Search Providers Over Misinformation Concerns (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fake Antivirus Updates Used To Deploy Cobalt Strike in Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukrainian Hacktivists Allegedly Dumps Kaspersky Product Source Code Online (Updated) - Lowyat.NET
New CaddyWiper Data Wiping Malware Hits Ukrainian Networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top Ukrainian Cyber Official Praises Volunteer Hacks On Russian Targets, Offers Updates - CyberScoop
Anonymous Sent A Message To Russians: "Remove Putin" - Security Affairs
Cyber Attacks Cripple Russian Websites After Ukraine Invasion (gizmodo.com)
Russia Faces IT Crisis With Just Two Months Of Data Storage Left (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia Labels Meta 'Extremist Organisation, Bans Instagram • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
China-Linked Threat Actors Are Targeting The Government Of Ukraine - Security Affairs
China Claims It Captured NSA Spy Tool That Already Leaked • The Register
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 15 Vulnerabilities To List Of Flaws Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Linux Bug in Netfilter Firewall Module Lets Attackers Gain Root Access (thehackernews.com)
Apple Patch Day: Gaping Security Holes in iOS, macOS, iPadOS | SecurityWeek.Com
OpenSSL Patches Denial-Of-Service Certificate Flaw • The Register
OpenSSL Patches Infinite-Loop DoS Bug In Certificate Verification – Naked Security (sophos.com)
SolarWinds Warns Of Attacks Targeting Web Help Desk Instances (bleepingcomputer.com)
High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in BIND Server | SecurityWeek.Com
QNAP Warns Severe Linux Bug Affects Most Of Its NAS Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Hackers Target Bank Networks with new Rootkit to Steal Money from ATM Machines (thehackernews.com)
Banks on Alert For Russian Reprisal Cyber Attacks on Swift | Ars Technica
Fraudsters Use Intelligent Bots To Attack Financial Institutions (scmagazine.com)
70% of Financial Service Providers Are Implementing API Security - Help Net Security
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Transport and Aviation
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Does the Free World Need a Global Cyber Alliance? | SecurityWeek.Com
Why EDR Is Not Sufficient To Protect Your Organisation - Help Net Security
Public and Private Sector Security: Better Protection by Collaboration | SecurityWeek.Com
The Importance Of Building In Security During Software Development - Help Net Security
How Fast Can Organisations Respond To A Cyber Security Crisis? - Help Net Security
Researcher Uses 379-Year-Old Algorithm To Crack Crypto Keys Found In The Wild | Ars Technica
How Pen Testing Gains Critical Security Buy-in and Defence Insight (darkreading.com)
DarkHotel APT Targets Wynn, Macao Hotels to Rip Off Guest Data | Threatpost
When IT Spending Plans Don't Reflect Security Priorities (darkreading.com)
Half of People Accept All Cookies Despite The Security Risk | TechRadar
Business Is At Last Collaborating On Cyber Security | Financial Times (ft.com)
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 January 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 January 2022
-Cyber Risks Top Worldwide Business Concerns In 2022
-Bosses Think That Security Is Taken Care Of: CISOs Aren't So Sure
-Fraud Is On the Rise, and It's Going to Get Worse
-Two-Fifths of Ransomware Victims Still Paying Up
-Less Than a Fifth of Cyber Leaders Feel Confident Their Organisation is Cyber-Resilient
-Endpoint Malware And Ransomware Detections Hit All-Time High
-End Users Remain Organisations' Biggest Security Risk
-Supply Chain Disruptions Rose In 2021
-Red Cross Begs Attackers Not to Leak Stolen Data for 515K People
-DHL Dethrones Microsoft As Most Imitated Brand In Phishing Attacks
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 Risks Top Worldwide Business Concerns In 2022
Cyber perils are the biggest concern for companies globally in 2022, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer. The threat of ransomware attacks, data breaches or major IT outages worries companies even more than business and supply chain disruption, natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have heavily affected firms in the past year.
Cyber incidents tops the Allianz Risk Barometer for only the second time in the survey’s history (44% of responses), Business interruption drops to a close second (42%) and Natural catastrophes ranks third (25%), up from sixth in 2021. Climate change climbs to its highest-ever ranking of sixth (17%, up from ninth), while Pandemic outbreak drops to fourth (22%).
The annual survey incorporates the views of 2,650 experts in 89 countries and territories, including CEOs, risk managers, brokers and insurance experts. View the full global and country risk rankings.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/20/cyber-concern-2022/
Bosses Think That Security Is Taken Care Of: CISOs Aren't So Sure
The World Economic Forum warns about a significant gap in understanding between C-suites and information security staff - but it's possible to close the gap.
Organisations could find themselves at risk from cyberattacks because of a significant gap between the views of their own security experts and the boardroom.
The World Economic Forum's new report, The Global Cyber Security Outlook 2022, warns there are big discrepancies between bosses and information security personnel when it comes to the state of cyber resilience within organisations.
According to the paper, 92% of business executives surveyed agree that cyber resilience is integrated into enterprise risk management strategies – or in other words, protecting the organisation against falling victim to a cyberattack, or mitigating the incident so it doesn't result in significant disruption.
However, only 55% of security-focused executives believe that cyber resilience is integrated into risk management strategies – indicating a significant divide in attitudes to cyber security.
This gap can leave organisations vulnerable to cyberattacks, because boardrooms believe enough has been done in order to mitigate threats, while in reality there could be unconsidered vulnerabilities or extra measures put in place.
Fraud Is On the Rise, and It's Going to Get Worse
The acceleration of the digital transformation resulted in a surge of online transactions, greater adoption of digital payments, and increased fraud.
As more daily activities — work, education, shopping, and entertainment — shift online, fraud is also on the rise. A trio of recent reports paint a bleak picture, highlighting concerns that companies are experiencing increasing losses from fraud and that the situation will get worse over the coming year.
In KPMG's survey of senior risk executives, 67% say their companies have experienced external fraud in the past 12 months, and 38% expect the risk of fraud committed by external perpetrators to somewhat increase in the next year. External fraud, which includes credit card fraud and identity theft, is specifically referring to incidents perpetuated by individuals outside the company. For most of these respondents, there was a financial impact: Forty-two percent say their organisations experienced 0.5% to 1% of loss as a result of fraud and cybercrime.
https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/fraud-is-on-the-rise-and-its-going-to-get-worse
Two-Fifths of Ransomware Victims Still Paying Up
Two-fifths (39%) of ransomware victims paid their extorters over the past three years, with the majority of these spending at least $100,000, according to new Anomali research.
The security vendor hired The Harris Poll to complete its Cyber Resiliency Survey – interviewing 800 security decision-makers in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, the UAE, Mexico and Brazil.
Some 87% said their organisation had been the victim of a successful attack resulting in damage, disruption, or a breach since 2019. However, 83% said they’d experienced more attacks since the start of the pandemic.
Over half (52%) were ransomware victims, with 39% paying up. Of these, 58% gave their attackers between $100,000 and $1m, while 7% handed over more than $1m.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/two-fifths-ransomware-victims/
Less Than a Fifth of Cyber Leaders Feel Confident Their Organisation is Cyber-Resilient
Less than one-fifth (17%) of cyber leaders feel confident that their organisations are cyber-resilient, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s inaugural Global Cyber Security Outlook 2022 report.
The study, written in collaboration with Accenture, revealed there is a wide perception gap between business executives and security leaders on the issue of cyber security. For example, 92% of businesses believe cyber-resilience is integrated into their enterprise risk-management strategies, compared to just 55% of cyber leaders.
This difference in attitude appears to be having worrying consequences. The WEF said that many security leaders feel that they are not consulted in security decisions, and only 68% believe cyber-resilience forms a major part of their organisation’s overall corporate risk management.
In addition, over half (59%) of all cyber leaders admitted they would find it challenging to respond to a cyber security incident due to a shortage of skills within their team.
Supply chain security was another major concern among cyber leaders, with almost nine in 10 (88%) viewing SMEs as a key threat to supply chains.
Interestingly, 59% of cyber leaders said cyber-resilience and cyber security are synonymous, with the differences not well understood.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyber-leaders-organisation/
Endpoint Malware And Ransomware Detections Hit All-Time High
Endpoint malware and ransomware detections surpassed the total volume seen in 2020 by the end of Q3 2021, according to researchers at the WatchGuard Threat Lab. In its latest report, WatchGuard also highlights that a significant percentage of malware continues to arrive over encrypted connections.
While zero-day malware increased by just 3% to 67.2% in Q3 2021, the percentage of malware that arrived via Transport Layer Security (TLS) jumped from 31.6% to 47%. Data shows that many organisations are not decrypting these connections and therefore have poor visibility into the amount of malware hitting their networks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/20/endpoint-malware-ransomware-detections-q3-2021/
End Users Remain Organisations' Biggest Security Risk
With the rapid adoption of hybrid working environments and increased attacks, IT and security professionals worry that future data breaches will most likely be the result of end users who are negligent of or break security policy, according to a recent Dark Reading survey. The percentage of respondents in Dark Reading's 2021 Strategic Security Survey who perceive users breaking policy as the biggest risk fell slightly, however, from 51% in 2020 to 48% in 2021. Other potential issues involving end users showed improvements as well, with social engineering falling in concern from 20% to 15% and remote work worries halving from 26% to 13%.
While this trend is positive, it's unclear where the increased confidence comes from, since more people now report ineffective end-user security awareness training (11%, to 2020's 7%).
Respondents shared their heightened concern about well-funded attacks. In 2021, 25% predicted an attack targeted at their organisations (a rise from 2020, when 20% said the same), and fear of a nation-state-sponsored action rose to 16% from 9% the year before. Yet only 16% reported sophisticated, automated malware as a top concern, a 10% drop from 2020, and fear of a gap between security and IT advances only merited 9%. A tiny 3% worried that their security tools wouldn't work well together, dropping from the previous year's 10%.
Supply Chain Disruptions Rose In 2021
56% of businesses experienced more supply chain disruptions in 2021 than 2020, a Hubs report reveals.
Last year was marked by a number of challenges, including computer chip shortages, port congestion, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, logistics impediments, and energy crises, though with every hurdle faced, solutions are being sought. It is increasingly clear that while certain risks are hard to anticipate and difficult to plan for, it is possible to mitigate the effects of supply chain disruptions by establishing a robust and agile supply chain.
Over 98% of global companies are now planning to boost the resilience of their manufacturing supply chains, however, 37% have yet to implement any measures. As businesses develop long term strategies, over 57% of companies say diversification of their supply chains is the most effective way of building resilience. This report explores last year’s most disruptive events, how disruptions have changed over time, industry trends and strategies for strengthening manufacturing supply chains.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/19/supply-chain-disruptions-2021/
Red Cross Begs Attackers Not to Leak Stolen Data for 515K People
A cyber attack forced the Red Cross to shut down IT systems running the Restoring Family Links system, which reunites families fractured by war, disaster or migration. UPDATE: The ICRC says it’s open to confidentially communicating with the attacker.
The Red Cross is imploring threat actors to show mercy by abstaining from leaking data belonging to 515,000+ “highly vulnerable” people. The data was stolen from a program used to reunite family members split apart by war, disaster or migration.
“While we don’t know who is responsible for this attack, or why they carried it out, we do have this appeal to make to them,” Robert Mardini, the director general of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), said in a release on Wednesday. “Your actions could potentially cause yet more harm and pain to those who have already endured untold suffering. The real people, the real families behind the information you now have are among the world’s least powerful. Please do the right thing. Do not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data.”
https://threatpost.com/red-cross-begs-attackers-not-to-leak-515k-peoples-stolen-data/177799/
DHL Dethrones Microsoft As Most Imitated Brand In Phishing Attacks
DHL was the most imitated brand in phishing campaigns throughout Q4 2021, pushing Microsoft to second place, and Google to fourth.
This isn't surprising considering that the final quarter of every year includes the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping season, so phishing lures based on package deliveries naturally increase.
DHL is an international package delivery and express mail service, delivering over 1.6 billion parcels per year.
As such, phishing campaigns impersonating the brand have good chances of reaching people who are waiting for a DHL package to arrive during the holiday season.
The specific lures range from a package that is stuck at customs and requires action for clearance to supposed tracking numbers that hide inside document attachments or embedded links.
Threats
Ransomware
New White Rabbit Ransomware Linked To FIN8 Hacking Group (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti Ransomware Gang Started Leaking Files Stolen From Bank Indonesia - Security Affairs
This New Ransomware Comes With A Small But Dangerous Payload | ZDNet
FBI Warning: This New Ransomware Makes Demands Of Up To $500,000 | ZDNet
Experts Warn Of Attacks Using A New Linux Variant Of SFile Ransomware - Security Affairs
SEC Filing Reveals Fortune 500 Firm Targeted in Ransomware Attack | Threatpost
FBI Warns Organisations of Diavol Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Marketing Giant RRD Confirms Data Theft In Conti Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
After Ransomware Arrests, Some Dark Web Criminals Are Getting Worried | ZDNet
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Phishing
Phishing Impersonates Shipping Giant Maersk To Push STRRAT Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
#COVID19 Phishing Emails Surge 500% on Omicron Concerns - Infosecurity Magazine
Financially Motivated Earth Lusca Threat Actors Targets Orgs Worldwide - Security Affairs
Malware
Microsoft Details Recent Damaging Malware Attacks on Ukrainian Organisations (darkreading.com)
Custom-Written Malware Discovered Across Windows, MacOS, And Linux Systems | TechSpot
Backdoor RAT for Windows, macOS, and Linux went undetected until now | Ars Technica
Ukraine: Wiper Malware Masquerading As Ransomware Hits Government Organisations - Help Net Security
Linux Malware Is On The Rise. Here Are Three Top Threats Right Now | ZDNet
Malware That Can Survive OS Reinstalls Strikes Again, Likely for Cyber Espionage | PCMag
New MoonBounce UEFI Malware Used By Apt41 In Targeted Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Exposed Records Exceeded 40 Billion In 2021 - Help Net Security
European Regulators Hand Out €1.1bn in GDPR Fines - Infosecurity Magazine
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Financially Motivated Earth Lusca Threat Actors Targets Orgs Worldwide - Security Affairs
A Hacker Is Negotiating With Victims on the Blockchain After $1.4M Heist (vice.com)
FBI & European Police Take Down Computer Servers Used In Major Cyberattacks Worldwide - CNNPolitics
Europol Shuts Down VPNLab, Cyber Criminals' Favourite VPN Service (thehackernews.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Cyber Criminals Actively Target VMware vSphere with Cryptominers | Threatpost
New BHUNT Password Stealer Malware Targeting Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)
Cheap Malware Is Behind A Rise In Attacks On Cryptocurrency Wallets | ZDNet
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Research: Why Employees Violate Cyber Security Policies (hbr.org)
What CISOs Can Learn About Insider Threats From Iran's Human Espionage Tactics | CSO Online
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
How Buy Now, Pay Later Is Being Targeted By Fraudsters - Help Net Security
Romance Scammer Who Targeted 670 Women Gets 28 Months In Jail – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Insurance
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
UK Mulls Making MSPs Subject To Mandatory Security Standards • The Register
‘Anomalous’ Spyware Stealing Credentials In Industrial Firms (bleepingcomputer.com)
European Union Simulated A Cyber Attack On A Fictitious Finnish Power Company - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors
Ukraine Cyber Attack Timeline: Microsoft, CISA, White House and Kyiv Statements - MSSP Alert
Chinese Hackers Spotted Using New UEFI Firmware Implant in Targeted Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Security Scanners Across Europe Tied To China Govt, Military | AP News
Cloud
Privacy
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Your Keyboard Walking Password Isn’t Complex Or Secure – Review Geek
Box Flaw Allowed To Bypass MFA And Takeover Accounts - Security Affairs
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 13 Exploited Vulnerabilities To List, 9 with Feb. 1 Remediation Date | ZDNet
High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in McAfee Enterprise Product | SecurityWeek.Com
Cisco Releases Patch for Critical Bug Affecting Unified CCMP and Unified CCDM (thehackernews.com)
A bug in McAfee Agent allows to run code with SYSTEM privileges - Security Affairs
Zoho Fixes A Critical Vulnerability (CVE-2021-44757) in Desktop Central - Security Affairs
Ubuntu Patch For Heap Buffer Overflow Vulnerability • The Register
Google Details Two Zero-Day Bugs Reported in Zoom Clients and MMR Servers (thehackernews.com)
Hackers Attempt to Exploit New SolarWinds Serv-U Bug in Log4Shell Attacks (thehackernews.com)
F5 Patches Two Dozen Vulnerabilities in BIG-IP | SecurityWeek.Com
McAfee Bug Can Be Exploited to Gain Windows SYSTEM Privileges | Threatpost
Oracle Critical Patch Update for January 2022 will fix 483 new flaws - Security Affairs
20K WordPress Sites Exposed by Insecure Plugin REST-API | Threatpost
Cisco Issues Patch for Critical RCE Vulnerability in RCM for StarOS Software (thehackernews.com)
Critical Bugs in Control Web Panel Expose Linux Servers to RCE Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Critical SAP Vulnerability Allows Supply Chain Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Zoho Plugs Another Critical Security Hole In Desktop Central (bleepingcomputer.com)
Safari Exploit Can Leak Browser Histories And Google Account Info | Engadget
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
More Than Half Of Medical Devices Found To Have Critical Vulnerabilities | ZDNet
Additional Healthcare Firms Disclose Impact From Netgain Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com
Retail
Education and Academia
Other News
Biggest MSP Takeaways From The Apache Log4j Vulnerability - MSSP Alert
The Emotional Stages Of A Data Breach: How To Deal With Panic, Anger, And Guilt | CSO Online
The Log4j Vulnerability Puts Pressure on the Security World | Threatpost
Hackers Planted Secret Backdoor in Dozens of WordPress Plugins and Themes (thehackernews.com)
BadUSB explained: How rogue USBs threaten your organisation | CSO Online
Millions of UK Wi-Fi Routers Vulnerable To Security Threats - IT Security Guru
NATO, Ukraine Sign Deal to 'Deepen' Cyber Cooperation | SecurityWeek.Com
UK Umbrella Company Parasol Group Confirms Cyber Attack • The Register
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 20 August 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 August 2021:
-Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds
-Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyberattack Tools
-60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts
-LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally
-Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online
-Phishing Costs Quadruple Over 6 Years
-Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk
-Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks
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
A Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds
Roughly a third of large international companies have faced a ransomware attack or other data breach in the last 12 months, according to a new survey.
Analysts surveyed almost 800 companies and found 37% of international companies experienced ransomware attacks this past year. The survey focused on companies with more than 500 employees.
Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyber Attack Tools
Even with plenty of old problems to contend with, firms need to get ready for new and more powerful automated ransomware tools.
Cyber criminals are constantly looking for the best return on their investment and solutions that lower the chance of being caught. Sadly, that appears to mean small businesses are their current target of opportunity.
Tech media and cyber pundits have been sounding the alarm and offering small businesses specific cybersecurity solutions for a few years now, but it seems to no avail.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/company-size-is-a-nonissue-with-automated-cyberattack-tools/
Over 60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts
Nearly two thirds of employees are using personal passwords to protect corporate data, and vice versa, with even more business leaders concerned about this very issue. Surprisingly, 97% of employees know what constitutes a strong password, yet over half (53%) admit to not always using one.
http://hrnews.co.uk/over-60-of-employees-reuse-passwords-across-business-and-personal/
LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally
Fresh attacks target companies’ employees, promising millions of dollars in exchange for valid account credentials for initial access.
The LockBit ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang has ramped up its targeted attacks, researchers said, with attempts against organizations in Chile, Italy, Taiwan and the U.K. using version 2.0 of its malware.
https://threatpost.com/lockbit-ransomware-proliferates-globally/168746/
Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online
A secret terrorist watchlist with 1.9 million records, including classified "no-fly" records was exposed on the internet.
The list was left accessible on an Elasticsearch cluster that had no password on it.
Phishing Costs Nearly Quadrupled Over 6 Years
Lost productivity & mopping up after the costly attacks that follow phishing – BEC & ransomware in particular – eat up most costs, not pay-outs to crooks.
Research shows that the cost of phishing attacks has nearly quadrupled over the past six years: Large US companies are now losing, on average, $14.8 million annually, or $1,500 per employee.
That’s up sharply from 2015’s figure of $3.8 million, according to a new study from Ponemon Institute that was sponsored by Proofpoint.
According to the study, released Tuesday, phishing leads to some of the costliest cyber attacks.
https://threatpost.com/phishing-costs-quadrupled/168716/
Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk
A recent report shows declining confidence in many organisations’ security function to address today’s threats.
80% of respondents to the Trend Micro’s biannual Cyber Risk Index (CRI) report said they expect to experience a data breach that compromises customer data in the next 12 months.
The report surveyed more than 3,600 businesses of all sizes and industries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America for their thoughts on cyber risk. Despite an increased focus on security due to high-profile ransomware and other attacks in the past year, respondents reported a rise in risk due to inadequate security processes like backing up key assets.
Organisations are overwhelmed as they pivot from traditional to distributed networks. Pandemic-driven work-from-home growth is potentially how businesses will be run going forward. That distributed network means that it’s harder for IT staff to know what assets are under their control and what security controls should be in place. With the line blurring between corporate and personal assets, organizations are overwhelmed with the pace of change.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3629477/security-teams-report-rise-in-cyber-risk.html
Organisations Aware Of The Importance Of Zero Trust, Yet Still Relying On Passwords
Organisations have become more security conscious over the course of the pandemic, leading them to invest heavily in zero trust, according to a new study.
The report surveyed over 600 global security leaders about their initiatives and found that remote work has led to a change in how organizations view the importance of zero trust, with financial services, healthcare organisations and the software industry seeing the most significant progress.
78% of companies globally say that zero trust has increased in priority and nearly 90% are currently working on a zero trust initiative, up from just 41% a year ago.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/11/importance-of-zero-trust/
Reliance On Third Party Workers Making Companies More Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks
A new survey revealed 83% of respondents agree that because organisations increasingly rely on contractors, freelancers, and other third party workers, their data systems have become more vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Further, 88% of people say organisations and government entities must have better data security systems in place to protect them from the increase in third party remote attacks.
Recent high-profile breaches, including SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, and JBS Foods, have exposed how vulnerable organisations are to cyber crime and in particular ransomware attacks. Of note with recent attacks is how data breaches can quickly affect aspects of everyday life, such as the ability to fill a car with petrol or buy meat at the supermarket.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/16/reliance-on-third-party-workers/
The Cyber Security Skills Gap Persists For The Fifth Year Running
Most organisations are still lacking talent, according to a new report, but experts think expanding the definition of a cybersecurity professional can help.
T-Mobile Hack Is A Return To The Roots Of Cyber Crime
In the world of cyber crime, ransomware attacks might be the sophisticated bank heists. The hack of T-Mobile is more akin to smashing a window, grabbing merchandise, and running.
The attack that exposed the personal information of millions of T-Mobile customers spotlights a common type of cyber threat that can inflict significant damage to consumers, much like the recent rash of ransomware attacks hitting companies.
The breach exposed the data of more than 40 million people, T-Mobile confirmed Wednesday, including customer’s full names and driver’s license information. A hacker posted about the stolen information on a cyber crime forum late last week, offering to sell the information to buyers for the price of six bitcoin, or about $270,000.
This type of attack, in which hackers worm their way into companies’ systems, steal data and try to sell it online, has been a common tactic for years, cyber security experts say. Unlike the high-profile ransomware attacks that have disrupted fuel supplies, hospital systems and food production in recent months, these data exfiltration hacks do not lock down computer systems.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/19/tmobile-breach-data-hacks/
Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks
The first half of 2021 shows a 22 percent increase in the volume of phishing attacks over the same time period last year, a new report reveals. Notably, however, phishing volume in June dipped dramatically for the first time in six months, immediately following a very high-volume in May.
Bad actors continue to utilise phishing to fleece proprietary information, and are developing more sophisticated ways to do so based on growth in areas such as cryptocurrency and sites that use single-sign-on.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/19/phishing-attacks-h1-2021/
Connected Devices Increasingly At Risk As New Ransomware Attacks Are Reported Almost Daily
A new report has shined a light on the state of connected devices. The number of agentless and un-agentable devices increased to 42% in this year’s report (compared to 32% of agentless or un-agentable devices in 2020). These devices include medical and manufacturing devices that are critical to business operations along with network devices, IP phones, video surveillance cameras and facility devices (such as badge readers) that are not designed with security in mind, cannot be patched, and cannot support endpoint security agents.
With almost half of devices in the network that are either agentless or un-agentable, organisations need to complement their endpoint security strategy with a network-based security approach to discover and secure these devices.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/12/connected-devices-risks/
Threats
Ransomware
John Oliver On Ransomware Attacks: ‘It’s In Everyone’s Interest To Tet This Under Control’
Device Complexity Leaving Schools At Heightened Risk Of Ransomware Attacks
This Ransomware Has Returned With New Techniques To Make Attacks More Effective
Diavol Ransomware Sample Shows Stronger Connection To TrickBot Gang
Ransomware Criminals' Demands Rise As Aggressive Tactics Pay Off
BEC
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Malware Campaign Uses Clever 'Captcha' To Bypass Browser Warning
Malware Dev Infects Own PC And Data Ends Up On Intel Platform
Researchers Discover New AdLoad Malware Campaigns Targeting Macs And Apple Products
Mobile
IOT
Vulnerabilities
Multiple Flaws Affecting Realtek Wi-Fi SDKs Impact Nearly A Million IoT Devices
Unpatched Remote Hacking Flaw Disclosed In Fortinet's FortiWeb WAF
65 Vendors Affected By Severe Vulnerabilities In Realtek Chips
Eight-Year-Old Bug In Microsoft's 64-Bit VBA Prompts Complaints Of Neglect
Cisco Won’t Fix Zero-Day RCE Vulnerability In End-Of-Life VPN Routers
Data Breaches/Leaks
Chase Bank Accidentally Leaked Customer Info To Other Customers
Colonial Pipeline Reports Data Breach After May Ransomware Attack
Ford Bug Exposed Customer And Employee Records From Internal Systems
Dark Web
Dark Web Blockchain Analysis Tool Suspended After Flurry Of Media Coverage
Dark Web Drug Dealer Indicted For Laundering $137 Million In Bitcoin From Prison
Dark Web Criminals Have Built A Tool That Checks For Dirty Bitcoin
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Nation State Actors
Cloud
Other News
Threat Actors Hacked US Census Bureau In 2020 By Exploiting A Citrix Flaw
Cyber Security Is Top Priority For Enterprises As They Shift To Digital-First Operating Models
SMEs Awareness Of GDPR Is High, But Few Adhere To Its Legal Requirements
Hacker Finds A Way To Steal Windows 365 User Names And Passwords
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.