Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 August 2022

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

• Three Ransomware Gangs Consecutively Attacked the Same Network

Hive, LockBit and BlackCat, three prominent ransomware gangs, consecutively attacked the same network, according to Sophos. The first two attacks took place within two hours, and the third attack took place two weeks later. Each ransomware gang left its own ransom demand, and some of the files were triple encrypted.

It’s bad enough to get one ransomware note, let alone three. Multiple attackers create a whole new level of complexity for recovery, particularly when network files are triple encrypted. Cyber security that includes prevention, detection and response is critical for organisations of any size and type—no business is immune.

The “Multiple Attackers: A Clear and Present Danger” whitepaper further outlines additional cases of overlapping cyber attacks, including cryptominers, remote access trojans (RATs) and bots. In the past, when multiple attackers have targeted the same system, the attacks usually occurred across many months or multiple years. The attacks described in Sophos’ whitepaper took place within days or weeks of each other—and, in one case, simultaneously—often with the different attackers accessing a target’s network through the same vulnerable entry point.

Typically, criminal groups compete for resources, making it more difficult for multiple attackers to operate simultaneously. Cryptominers normally kill their competitors on the same system, and today’s RATs often highlight bot killing as a feature on criminal forums. However, in the attack involving the three ransomware groups, for example, BlackCat—the last ransomware group on the system—not only deleted traces of its own activity, but also deleted the activity of LockBit and Hive.

In another case, a system was infected by LockBit ransomware. Then, about three months later, members of Karakurt Team, a group with reported ties to Conti, was able to leverage the backdoor LockBit created to steal data and hold it for ransom.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/09/ransomware-gangs-attacks/

• As The Cost of Cyber Insurance Rises, The Number of Organisations Who Can’t Afford It Is Set to Double

The number of organisations that will be either unable to afford cyber insurance, be declined cover, or experience significant coverage limitations is set to double in 2023, according to Huntsman Security.

Even for those insured, the perfect storm of ongoing attacks, tightening regulations and growing financial pressures is making it more likely that any attack on an organisation will leave it exposed.

Factors like the supply chain crisis, inflation and skill shortages are all adding to the difficulty for organisations trying to execute on their cyber security strategy. At the same time, increases in insurance premiums, limits on coverage, increasing underwriting rigour, and capacity constraints are all limiting the accessibility of cyber insurance, for many.

Loss ratios will not improve until premium incomes better match the current level of pay-outs. With this reduced insurance access alongside increasing cyber threats and tightening regulations, many organisations are losing cyber insurance as an important risk management tool. Even those who can still get insurance are paying a prohibitively high cost.

With a third of UK firms subject to cyber attacks at least once a week, cyber insurance as part of overall risk management is crucial. To bridge this accessibility gap insurers are seeking to improve the quality of risk information, so premiums better reflect the true cost of that risk. Unless organisations can demonstrate they have insurers’ specified controls in place to manage their security risks, insurers will continue to have difficulty quantifying that risk. It’s for these reasons that insurers have changed the basis upon which their products are offered to reflect the risk being underwritten more accurately.

In this environment, improving and demonstrating the effectiveness of security controls will now be essential: both for organisations looking to improve their cyber resilience and oversight while enhancing their eligibility for insurers, and for insurers who need to minimise their own exposure by ensuring the accuracy of their risk pricing process.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/11/afford-cyber-insurance/

• Identity Cyber Attacks, Microsoft 365 Dominate Cyber Security Incidents, Expel Research Finds

Identity-based cyber attacks (including credential theft, credential abuse and long-term access key theft) accounted for 56% of all incidents in Q2 of 2022, and Microsoft 365 remained the prime target for SaaS attacks, according to Expel’s Quarterly Threat Report.

Among the key findings:

• Business email compromise (BEC) and business application compromise (BAC) access to application data represented 51% of all incidents.

• Identity-based attacks in popular cloud environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounted for 5%.

• Ransomware groups change tactics, with threat groups and their affiliates all but abandoning the use of Visual Basic for Application (VBA) macros and Excel 4.0 macros to gain initial entry to Windows-based environments. In Q1, a macro-enabled Microsoft Word document (VBA macro) or Excel 4.0 macro was the initial attack vector in 55% of all pre-ransomware incidents. In Q2, that figure fell sharply to 9%. Instead, ransomware operators opted to use disk image (ISO), short-cut (LNK) and HTML application (HTA) files to gain initial entry.

• Cloud attacks are becoming more sophisticated, with 14% of identity attacks against cloud identity providers tackling the multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirement by continuously sending push notifications.

• Microsoft 365 is a common threat target, with BEC in Microsoft Office 365 (O365) remaining the top threat to organisations in Q2. 45% of all Q2 incidents were BEC attempts in O365. No BEC attempts were identified in Google Workspaces. 19% of BEC attempts bypassed MFA in O365 using legacy protocols, a 16% increase of compared to Q1.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/identity-cyberattacks-targeting-microsoft-365-dominate-cybersecurity-incidents-expel-research-finds/

• Exploit Activity Surges 150% in Q2 Thanks to Log4Shell

Detections of malware events, botnet activity and exploits all increased significantly in the second quarter of 2022, according to new data from Nuspire.

The managed security services provider (MSSP) gathered the data from its endpoint detection and response (EDR) and managed detection and response (MDR) tools to produce its Q2 2022 Quarterly Threat Report.

The company recorded an increase in malware events of over 25%, a doubling of botnet detections and a rise in exploit activity of 150% versus the first quarter.

Botnet activity in particular surged towards the end of Q2, thanks to the Torpig Mebroot botnet – a banking trojan designed to scrape credit card and payment information from infected devices, the report revealed. Nuspire claimed it is particularly difficult to detect and remove, because it targets a machine’s master boot record.

It attributed much of the surge in exploit activity to the persistent threat posed by the Log4j bugs discovered at the end of December 2021. At the time, experts warned that the ubiquity of the utility, and the difficulty many organisations have in finding all instances of the CVE due to complex Java dependencies, means it may be exploited for years.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/exploit-activity-150-q2-log4shell/

• Ransomware Is Not Going Anywhere: Attacks Are Up 24%

Avast released a report revealing a significant increase in global ransomware attacks, up 24% from Q1/2022. Researchers also uncovered a new zero-day exploit in Chrome, as well as signals of how cyber criminals are preparing to move away from macros as an infection vector.

After months of decline, global ransomware attacks increased significantly in Q2/2022, up 24% from the previous quarter. The highest quarter-on-quarter increases in ransomware risk ratio occurred in Argentina (+56%), UK (+55%), Brazil (+50%), France (+42%), and India (+37%).

Businesses and consumers should be on guard and prepared for encounters with ransomware, as the threat is not going anywhere anytime soon.

The decline in ransomware attacks observed in Q4/2021 and Q1/2022 were thanks to law enforcement agencies busting ransomware group members, and caused by the war in Ukraine, which also led to disagreements within the Conti ransomware group, halting their operations. Things dramatically changed in Q2/2022. Conti members have now branched off to create new ransomware groups, like Black Basta and Karakurt, or may join other existing groups, like Hive, BlackCat, or Quantum, causing an uptick in activity.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/12/increase-ransomware-attacks/

• Email Is the Single Biggest Threat to Businesses, And Here’s What You Can Do About It

Email remains one of the most popular methods of communication, particularly for business communications. There were 316.9 billion emails sent and received every day in 2021, and this is set to increase to 376.4 billion by 2025. But despite the scale of its use and how much people exchange confidential information over email, it is not a secure system by design.

Consequently, email is a major attack vector for organisations of all sizes. Deloitte found that 91% of all cyber attacks originate from a phishing email (an email that attempts to steal money, identity or personal information through a spoof website link that looks legitimate). The cost to organisations can be catastrophic with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reporting in August 2021 that phishing email attacks had cost UK organisations more than £5 million in the past 13 months.

It’s not enough for individuals to create complex passwords or rely on the security services of their email provider. Spam filters are not enough to stop malicious emails creeping into inboxes. Fortunately, safeguarding your emails with enterprise-grade email security doesn’t have to cost the earth or be hard to integrate so businesses of any size can protect themselves.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/email-is-the-single-biggest-threat-to-businesses-and-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it/

• Realtek SDK Vulnerability Exposes Routers from Many Vendors to Remote Attacks

A serious vulnerability affecting the embedded Configurable Operating System (eCos) software development kit (SDK) made by Taiwanese semiconductor company Realtek could expose the networking devices of many vendors to remote attacks.

The security hole, tracked as CVE-2022-27255 and rated ‘high severity’, has been described as a stack-based buffer overflow that can allow a remote attacker to cause a crash or achieve arbitrary code execution on devices that use the SDK. An attack can be carried out through the wide area network (WAN) interface using specially crafted session initiation protocol (SIP) packets.

The Realtek eCos SDK is provided to companies that manufacture routers, access points and repeaters powered by RTL819x family SoCs. The SDK implements the base functionalities of the router, including the web administration interface and the networking stack. Vendors can build on top of this SDK to add custom functionality and their branding to the device.

Realtek informed customers about the eCos SDK vulnerability in March, when it announced the availability of a patch. However, it’s up to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) using the SDK to ensure that the patch is distributed to end-user devices.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely — directly from the internet — to hack affected routers running with default settings. No user interaction is required for successful exploitation.

https://www.securityweek.com/realtek-sdk-vulnerability-exposes-routers-many-vendors-remote-attacks

• Most Companies Are at An Entry-Level When It Comes to Cloud Security

Ermetic released a study by Osterman Research that found 84% of respondents were at an entry-level (one or two rating, with four being the highest) in terms of their cloud security capabilities.

The study found that only 16% ranked on the Ermetic Cloud Security Model at the top two levels, and 80% of companies said they lack a dedicated security team responsible for protecting cloud resources from threats.

“One of the most unexpected findings that emerged from this study was the lack of cloud security maturity among the largest enterprises surveyed,” said the author of the report. “Less than 10% of companies with more than 10,000 employees reported being at the top two maturity levels, while nearly 20% of smaller enterprises have achieved repeatable or automated & integrated cloud security capabilities.”

The report shows why new cloud data breaches are being reported all the time. Multi-cloud deployments, plus low investment in security, does not make for a good combination.

The new frontiers of cyber security, such as cloud security or internet of things (IoT) security are often at early stages of maturity. Organisations that are mature in their IT and data centre security are already overwhelmed and stretched thin and that’s why automation and simplification will help organisations accelerate their maturity in areas like cloud security.

There’s a mistaken belief that cloud computing environments inherently have security built-in — they don’t.

https://www.scmagazine.com/news/cloud-security/most-companies-are-at-an-entry-level-when-it-comes-to-cloud-security

• The Impact of Exploitable Misconfigurations on Network Security

Network professionals feel confident with their security and compliance practices but data suggests that they also leave their organisations open to risk, which is costing a significant amount of revenue, according to Titania.

In addition, some businesses are not minimising their attack surface effectively. Companies are prioritising firewall security and chronicle a fast time to respond to misconfigurations when detected in annual audits. However, switches and routers are only included in 4% of audits and these devices play a vital role in reducing an organisation’s attack surface and preventing lateral movement across the network.

Respondents also indicated that financial resources allocated to mitigating network configuration, which currently stands around 3.4% of the total IT budget, and a lack of accurate automation are limiting factors in misconfiguration risk management.

The study, which surveyed 160 senior cyber security decision-makers revealed:

• Misconfigurations cost organisations millions, up to 9% of their annual revenue but the true cost is likely to be higher.

• Compliance is a top priority, with 75% of organisations across all sectors saying their business relies on compliance to deliver security. Whilst almost every organisation reported that it is meeting its security and compliance requirements, this is at odds with a number of the other findings from the survey and other reports that show a decline in organisations maintaining full compliance with regulated data security standards.

• Remediation prioritisation is a challenge. 75% said their network security tools meant they could categorise and prioritise compliance risks ‘very effectively’. However, 70% report difficulties prioritising remediation based on risk and also claim inaccurate automation as the top challenges when meeting security and compliance requirements.

• Routers and switches are mostly overlooked. 96% of organisations prioritise the configuration and auditing of firewalls, but not routers or switches. This leaves these devices exposed to potentially significant and unidentified risks.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/12/impact-exploitable-misconfigurations-network-security/

• Industrial Spy Ransomware: New Threat Group Emerges to Exfiltrate Data, Extort Victims

A new ransomware group dubbed Industrial Spy that first emerged in April 2022 is specialising in exfiltration and double extortion tactics and has the potential to do significant damage, Zscaler’s threat tracking team said.

The threat crew has shown that it possesses the capability to breach organisations and have been “actively adding unencrypted data from two or three victims every month,” Zscaler said. In some instances, the threat group appears to only exfiltrate and ransom data. In other cases, they encrypt, exfiltrate and ransom the data, the cloud security provider said.

At this point, it’s not clear who’s behind the threat entry or if it’s nation-state affiliated. The group started as a data extortion marketplace where criminals could buy large companies’ internal data, promoting the marketplace through Readme.txt files downloaded using malware downloaders.

In May, 2022, the threat group introduced their own ransomware to create double extortion attacks that combine data theft with file encryption.

What you need to know:

• Industrial Spy started by ransoming stolen data and more recently has combined these attacks with ransomware.

• The threat group exfiltrates and sells data on their dark web marketplace, but does not always encrypt a victim’s files.

• The ransomware utilises a combination of RSA and 3DES to encrypt files.

• Industrial Spy lacks many common features present in modern ransomware families.

• The Industrial Spy ransomware family is relatively basic, and parts of the code appear to be in development.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-breaches-and-attacks/ransomware/new-ransomware-family-industrial-spy-emerges-to-exfiltrate-data-extort-victims/

• UK NHS Service Recovery May Take a Month After MSP Ransomware Attack

Managed service provider (MSP) Advanced confirmed that a ransomware attack on its systems disrupted emergency services (111) from the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). Customers of seven solutions from the British MSP have been impacted either directly or indirectly, the company said. The first has stated it could take a month to recover systems to full service.

The ransomware attack started to disrupt Advanced systems on Thursday, August 4 and was identified around 7 AM. It caused a major outage to NHS emergency services across the UK.

Advanced did not disclose the ransomware group behind the attack but said that it took immediate action to mitigate the risk and isolated Health and Care environments where the incident was detected. The company is working with forensic experts from Microsoft (DART) and Mandiant, who are also helping bring the affected systems back online securely and with added defences:

• Implementing additional blocking rules and further restricting privileged accounts for Advanced staff

• Scanning all impacted systems and ensuring they are fully patched

• Resetting credentials

• Deploying additional endpoint detection and response agents

• Conducting 24/7 monitoring

After implementing the security measures above, Advanced said it would restore connectivity to its environments and assist customers to gradually reconnect safely and securely.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/uk-nhs-service-recovery-may-take-a-month-after-msp-ransomware-attack/

• A Single Flaw Broke Every Layer of Security in MacOS

Every time you shut down your Mac, a pop-up appears: “Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?” Nestled under the prompt is another option most of us likely overlook: the choice to reopen the apps and windows you have open now when your machine is turned back on. Researchers have now found a way to exploit a vulnerability in this “saved state” feature—and it can be used to break the key layers of Apple’s security protections.

The vulnerability, which is susceptible to a process injection attack to break macOS security, could allow an attacker to read every file on a Mac or take control of the webcam. It's basically one vulnerability that could be applied to three different locations.

https://www.wired.com/story/a-single-flaw-broke-every-layer-of-security-in-macos/

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Threats

Ransomware

• Cisco hacked by Yanluowang ransomware gang, 2.8GB allegedly stolen (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware, email compromise are top security threats, but deepfakes increase | CSO Online

• Feds: Zeppelin Ransomware Resurfaces with New Compromise, Encryption Tactics | Threatpost

• Black Basta: New ransomware threat aiming for the big league | CSO Online

• Could criminalizing ransomware payments put a stop to the current crime wave? - Help Net Security

• 7-Eleven Denmark confirms ransomware attack behind store closures (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Update: Colosseum Dental Benelux pays ransom to threat actors (databreaches.net)

• SolidBit Ransomware Group Recruiting New Affiliates on Dark Web - Infosecurity Magazine

• Fears for patient data after ransomware attack on NHS software supplier | NHS | The Guardian

• US reveals 'Target' pic of Conti man with $10m reward offer • The Register

• Organisations would like the government to help with ransomware demand costs - Help Net Security

• Hacker uses new RAT malware in Cuba Ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Maui ransomware linked to North Korean group Andariel • The Register

• How to Stop Zeppelin Ransomware Attacks: CISA, FBI Mitigation Guidance - MSSP Alert

• Novel Ransomware Comes to the Sophisticated SOVA Android Banking Trojan (darkreading.com)

• US govt will pay you $10 million for info on Conti ransomware members (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• LogoKit update: The phishing kit leveraging open redirect vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

• Phishing site masquerading "Have I Been Pwned" website detected. Be careful as very similar URL (exploitone.com)

Other Social Engineering; SMishing, Vishing, etc

• Hackers Behind Twilio Breach Also Targeted Cloudflare Employees (thehackernews.com)

• SMS phishing nabs Twilio employee credentials, allowed access customer data (scmagazine.com)

Malware

• Cyber criminals Shift From Macros to Shortcut Files to Hack Business PCs, HP Reports - Infosecurity Magazine

• Emotet Tops List of July's Most Widely Used Malware - Infosecurity Magazine

• Top malware strains observed in 2021 | Security Magazine

• Microsoft blocks UEFI bootloaders enabling Windows Secure Boot bypass (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Google researchers dissect Android spyware, zero days (techtarget.com)

• Novel Ransomware Comes to the Sophisticated SOVA Android Banking Trojan (darkreading.com)

• Xiaomi Phones with MediaTek Chips Found Vulnerable to Forged Payments (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers install Dracarys Android malware using modified Signal app (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• The Time Is Now for IoT Security Standards (darkreading.com)

• Introducing the book: If It's Smart, It's Vulnerable - Help Net Security

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cisco hacked by access broker with Lapsus$ ties (techtarget.com)

• New dark web markets claim association with criminal cartels (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dark Utilities C2 service draws thousands of cyber criminals • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Email marketing firm hacked to steal crypto-focused mailing lists (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Swan Bitcoin Discloses Data Leak Due to Phishing Attack on Newsletter Provider - Decrypt

• Phishers Swim Around 2FA in Coinbase Account Heists | Threatpost

• Crypto and the US government are headed for a decisive showdown | Ars Technica

• Cameo’s CEO fell victim to the latest Bored Ape NFT heist - The Verge

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• “Hi Mum” Phishing Scam Swindles Unsuspecting Parents (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How hackers are stealing credit cards from classifieds sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Why robotexts are scammers' favourite new tool - CyberScoop

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• US Sanctions Crypto 'Laundering' Service Tornado | SecurityWeek.Com

• Virtual Currency Platform ‘Tornado Cash’ Accused of Aiding APTs | Threatpost

• Greece Flies Russian Money Launderer to US: Lawyer | SecurityWeek.Com

Insurance

• BlackBerry Study: Most SMBs Have Less Than $600K in Ransomware Coverage - MSSP Alert

• Number Of Firms Unable To Access Cyber-Insurance Set To Double (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Australian court finds insurer not liable for ransomware clean-up costs - Security - iTnews

Cloud/SaaS

• Implementing zero trust for a secure hybrid working enterprise - Help Net Security

• How to Clear Security Obstacles and Achieve Cloud Nirvana (darkreading.com)

• Why SAP systems need to be brought into the cyber security fold - Help Net Security

Open Source

• Chinese hackers backdoor chat app with new Linux, macOS malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Facebook's Metaverse is Expanding the Attack Surface (trendmicro.com)

• Meta's chatbot says the company 'exploits people' - BBC News

• Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’ | Threatpost

Training, Education and Awareness

• 25% of employees don't care enough about cyber security to report a security incident - Help Net Security

Privacy

• Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’ | Threatpost

Travel

• Don't get stung by these fake holiday cyber-scams this summer | TechRadar

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Predator Pleads Guilty After Targeting Thousands of Young Girls Online - Infosecurity Magazine

• Huge rise in self-generated child sexual abuse content online, report finds | Internet safety | The Guardian

• Online sexual blackmail of primary school children surges since lockdown (telegraph.co.uk)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• Compliance Certifications: Worth the Effort? (darkreading.com)

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

• Russia's digital attacks are haphazard, chaotic, says top Ukrainian cyber official - CyberScoop

• Cyberspying Aimed at Industrial Enterprises in Russia and Ukraine Linked to China | SecurityWeek.Com

• Killnet Releases 'Proof' of its Attack Against Lockheed Martin | SecurityWeek.Com

• Meta Cracks Down on Cyber Espionage Operations in South Asia Abusing Facebook (thehackernews.com)

• New Hacker Forum Takes Pro-Ukraine Stance | Threatpost

• Ex Twitter employee found guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia - Security Affairs

• Ex-CIA security boss predicts coming crackdown on spyware • The Register

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russia Is Escalating Ukraine Hacking, Black Hat Research Says (gizmodo.com)

• Russian invasion has destabilized cyber security norms • The Register

• Russia-Ukraine Conflict Holds Cyberwar Lessons (darkreading.com)

• Industroyer2: How Ukraine avoided another blackout attack (techtarget.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese Hackers May Be Behind Attacks Targeting Eastern Europe and Afghanistan - Infosecurity Magazine

• China-linked spies used six backdoors to steal defence info • The Register

• Mandiant researchers uncover significant new disinformation campaign (securitybrief.co.nz)

• Stats say Chinese researchers are not deterred by China's vulnerability law (scmagazine.com)

• Chinese scammers target kids with promise of extra gaming • The Register

• Chinese hackers backdoor chat app with new Linux, macOS malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea Allegedly Stole Millions of Dollars Worth of Crypto Assets - IT Security Guru

• Maui ransomware linked to North Korean group Andariel • The Register

• North Korean hackers target crypto experts with fake Coinbase job offers (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Google's bug bounty boss: Finding vulns is 'totally useless' • The Register

• Patch Madness: Vendor Bug Advisories Are Broken, So Broken (darkreading.com)

• Human Threat Hunters Are Essential to Thwarting Zero-Day Attacks (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Patches ‘Dogwalk’ Zero-Day and 17 Critical Flaws | Threatpost

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerability Affecting ASA and Firepower Solutions (thehackernews.com)

• Yet another Microsoft RCE bug under active exploit • The Register

• Palo Alto Networks: New PAN-OS DDoS flaw exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA adds UnRAR and Windows flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog - Security Affairs

• Zimbra auth bypass bug exploited to breach over 1,000 servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Researchers Debut Fresh RCE Vector for Common Google API Tool (darkreading.com)

• Surge in CVEs as Microsoft Fixes Exploited Zero Day Bugs - Infosecurity Magazine

• Risky Business: Enterprises Can’t Shake Log4j flaw - Security Affairs

• Years after claiming DogWalk wasn't a vulnerability, Microsoft confirms flaw is being exploited and issues patch (bitdefender.com)

• Three flaws allow attackers to bypass UEFI Secure Boot feature - Security Affairs

• Windows devices with newest CPUs are susceptible to data damage (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical Flaws Disclosed in Device42 IT Asset Management Software (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco fixed a flaw in ASA, FTD devices that can give access to RSA private key - Security Affairs

• Organisations Warned of Critical Vulnerabilities in NetModule Routers | SecurityWeek.Com

• 4 Flaws, Other Weaknesses Undermine Cisco ASA Firewalls (darkreading.com)

• New vulnerability in AMD Ryzen CPUs could seriously jeopardize performance | TechRadar

• ÆPIC Leak: Architectural Bug in Intel CPUs Exposes Protected Data | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Paid $13.7 Million via Bug Bounty Programs Over Past Year | SecurityWeek.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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Other News

• Microsoft 365 outage triggered by Meraki firewall false positive (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Why VPN no longer has a place in a secure work environment | TechRadar

• VMware: The threat of lateral movement is growing (techtarget.com)

• 36% of orgs expose insecure FTP protocol to the internet, and some still use Telnet - Help Net Security

• 5 key things learned from CISOs of smaller enterprises survey - Help Net Security

• Stolen credentials are the most common attack vector companies face - Help Net Security

• Your cyber security staff are burned out - and many have thought about quitting | ZDNet

• Researchers Use ‘Invisible Finger’ to Remotely Control Touchscreens (vice.com)

• Businesses are struggling to balance security and end-user experience - Help Net Security

• Starlink Successfully Hacked Using $25 Modchip | Threatpost

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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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 June 2022

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

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks Have Risen 53% Year-Over-Year

Armorblox released a report which highlights the use of language-based attacks that bypass existing email security controls. The report uncovers how the continued increase in remote working has made critical business workflows even more vulnerable to new forms of email-based attacks, often resulting in financial fraud or credential theft.

Language-based attacks have become the new normal for business email compromise (BEC) with 74% of these attacks using language as the main attack vector.

Security teams spend a massive amount of time configuring rules and exceptions in their email security solutions to block impersonation emails – both for executives and other employees. Despite all of that manual work and rule writing, 70% of impersonation emails evaded email security controls.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/06/language-based-attacks-email-video/

• Ransomware Attacks Setting New Records

Zscaler released the findings of its annual ThreatLabz Ransomware Report, which revealed an 80 percent increase in ransomware attacks year-over-year.

In 2022, the most prevalent ransomware trends include double-extortion, supply chain attacks, ransomware-as-a-service, ransomware rebranding, and geo-political incited ransomware attacks. The report details which industries are being targeted the most by cyber criminals, explains the damage caused by double-extortion and supply chain attacks, and catalogues the most active ransomware groups operating today.

Modern ransomware attacks require a single successful asset compromise to gain initial entry, move laterally, and breach the entire environment, making legacy VPN and flat networks extremely vulnerable. Attackers are finding success exploiting weaknesses across businesses’ supply chains as well as critical vulnerabilities like Log4Shell, PrintNightmare, and others. And with ransomware-as-a-service available on the darkweb, more and more criminals are turning to ransomware, realising that the odds of receiving a big payday are high.

The tactics and scope of ransomware attacks have been steadily evolving, but the end goal continues to be a disruption of the target organisation and theft of sensitive information for the purposes of ransom. The size of the ransom often depends on the number of systems infected and the value of the data stolen: the higher the stakes, the higher the payment. In 2019, many ransomware groups updated their tactics to include data exfiltration, commonly referred to as a ‘double extortion’ ransomware.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/07/ransomware-attacks-increase/

• Hackers Are Now Hiding Inside Networks for Longer. That's Not a Good Sign

Cyber criminals are spending more time inside networks before they're discovered, and that's allowing them to do more damage.

The amount of time cyber criminal intruders are spending inside victims' networks is increasing, providing them with the ability to carry out higher complexity campaigns and more damaging cyber attacks.

According to analysis by cyber security researchers at Sophos, who examined incidents targeting organisations around the world and across a wide range of industry sectors, the median dwell time that cyber criminals spend inside compromised networks is now 15 days, up from 11 days the previous year.

Dwell time is the amount of time hackers are inside the network before they're discovered or before they leave – and being able to spend an increased amount of time inside a compromised network undetected means they're able to more carefully conduct malicious activity, such as monitoring users, stealing data or laying the foundations for a malware or ransomware attack.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/hackers-are-now-hiding-inside-networks-for-longer-thats-not-a-good-sign/

• Paying Ransomware Paints Bigger Bullseye on Target’s Back

Ransomware attackers often strike targets twice, regardless of whether the ransom was paid.

Paying ransomware attackers doesn’t pay off and often paints a bigger target on a victim’s back. Eighty percent of ransomware victims that paid their attackers were hit a second time by the malware scourge.

New ransomware numbers come from a Cybereason’s April ransomware survey of 1,456 cyber security professionals. According to the gated report (registration required), victims that were successfully extorted were not only targeted a second time, but frequently data encrypted by criminals later became unusable during the decryption process because of corruption issues.

The fact that ransomware gangs strike so quickly a second and third time isn’t surprising, because they will try to profit in any possible way so why not hit the same company, demand a higher ransom, and get paid again?

https://threatpost.com/paying-ransomware-bullseye-back/179915/

• Organisations Fix Only 1 in 10 Vulnerabilities Monthly

New research from SecurityScorecard features a couple of eye-popping “only” findings: Only 10 percent of vulnerabilities are remediated each month, and only 60 percent of companies have improved their security profile despite a 15-fold increase in the number of cyber incidents in the last three years.

That’s not good. The research, which sought to measure how long it took the 1.6 million organisations assessed to remediate vulnerabilities in the three-year period from 2019 to 2022, also found the following:

·       53% had at least one exposed vulnerability to the internet, while 22% of organisations amassed more than 1,000 vulnerabilities each, confirming more progress is required to protect organisations’ critical assets.

·       The financial sector is among the slowest remediation rates (median to fix 50% = 426 days), while utilities ranked among the fastest (median = 270 days).

·       Despite a 15-fold increase in exploitation activity for vulnerabilities with published exploit code, there was little evidence that organisations in the financial sector fixed exploited flaws faster.

·       The IT sector (62.6%) and public sector (61.6%) had the highest prevalence of open vulnerabilities.

·       The financial sector (48.6%) exhibited the lowest proportion of open vulnerabilities; however, there is less than a 10% difference between this and other sectors in terms of industries with the most open vulnerabilities.

·       It typically takes organisations 12 months to remediate half of the vulnerabilities in their internet-facing infrastructure.

·       When firms have fewer than 10 open vulnerabilities, it can take about a month to close just half of them, but when the list grows into the hundreds, it takes up to a year to reach the halfway point.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/organizations-fix-only-1-in-10-vulnerabilities-monthly/

• Cyber Attack Surface "Spiralling Out of Control"

Global organisations are still beset with cyber visibility and control challenges, with two-fifths (43%) admitting their digital attack surface is out of control as a result, according to new Trend Micro research.

The security vendor polled over 6200 IT and business decision-makers to compile its new study, ‘Mapping the digital attack surface: Why global organisations are struggling to manage cyber risk’.

It revealed that nearly three-quarters (73%) are concerned about the increasing size of their attack surface. Over a third (37%) said it is “constantly evolving and messy,” and just half (51%) thought they were able to fully define its extent.

These visibility challenges are greatest in cloud environments, although problems persist across the board. The report highlights complex supply chains, tool bloat and home working-driven shadow IT as additional contributory factors.

On average, respondents estimated having just 62% visibility of their attack surface.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberattack-surface-out-of-control/

• Phishing Hits All-Time High in Q1 2022

The first quarter of 2022 saw phishing attacks hit a record high, topping one million for the first time, according to data from the Anti Phishing Working Group (APWG).

The industry, law enforcement and government coalition’s new Phishing Activity Trends Report also revealed that March was the worst month on record for phishing, with 384,291 attacks detected.

The financial sector was the worst hit, accounting for 24% of all detected attacks, although webmail and SaaS providers were also popular targets.

Attacks spoofing retailers dropped 17% from the previous quarter to 15% following the busy holiday shopping season, while those against social media services rose significantly, from nearly 9% percent of all attacks to 13% over the same period.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/phishing-hits-all-time-high-q1/

• Ransomware's ROI Retreat Will Drive More BEC Attacks

Law enforcement crackdowns, tighter cryptocurrency regulations, and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operator shutdowns are driving down the return on investment for ransomware operations across the globe.

A presentation at the RSA Conference last week laid out analysis of the ransomware threat landscape, predicting that there will be a pivot from ransomware toward renewed interest in basic business email compromise (BEC) attacks in the next 6 to 12 months.

Ransomware attacks grab headlines and have been supercharged by a few prolific RaaS operators, but crackdowns on just one group can make an enormous dent.

Ransomware is a centralised ecosystem with small numbers of operators responsible for the majority of attacks.

The recent disappearance of Pysa, left just two groups, Conti and Lockbit, with more than 50% of the share of the total ransomware attacks in the first half of 2022. BEC groups, on the other hand, are diffuse and scattered, making them much harder to eradicate.

Although they're not as quick to make the headlines, BEC attacks have cost business more than $43 billion since 2016, according to the FBI, and make up $1 out of every $3 lost to cyber attacks, far outpacing ransomware losses.

Ransomware has had a moment over the past couple of years, in part because once threat actors were able to abandon arcane wire transfers to collect ransoms and rely on cryptocurrency, caps on transactions were lifted and it became simple to collect much larger amounts. But new crypto regulations are chilling the ability of these cyber criminals to rely on its infrastructure to do business, adding "friction" to the transactions.

BEC attacks, by comparison, rely on social engineering to corrupt a business's financial supply chain to get employees to willingly part with the cash, making them exponentially harder to track and stop. 

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/retreat-of-ransomware-roi-will-drive-bec-attacks-analyst-warns

• The Real Cost of Cyber Attacks: What Organisations Should Be Prepared For

With each passing year, hackers and cyber criminals of all kinds are becoming more sophisticated, malicious, and greedy conducting brazen and often destructive cyber-attacks that can severely disrupt a company’s business operations. And this is a big problem, because, first and foremost, customers rely on a company’s ability to deliver services or products in a timely manner. Cyber attacks not only can affect customers’ data, but they can impact service delivery.

Data breaches and costs associated with them have been on the rise for the past few years, but, according to a 2021 report, the average cost per breach increased from $3.86 million in 2020 to $4.24 million in 2021. The report also identified four categories contributing most global data breach costs – Lost business cost (38%), Detection and escalation (29%), Post breach response (27%), and Notification (6%).

Ransomware attacks cost an average of $4.62 million (the cost of a ransom is not included), and destructive wiper-style attacks cost an average of $4.69 million, the report said.

For a business, a data breach is not just a loss of data, it can also have a long-lasting impact on operations and undermine customers’ trust in the company. In fact, a survey revealed that 87% of consumers are willing to take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust a company is handling their data responsibly. Therefore, the reputational damage might be detrimental to a business’ ability to attract new customers.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/the-real-cost-of-cyber-attacks-what-organizations-should-be-prepared-for/

• Why Smishing and Vishing Attempts Surged In 2021

In The Human Factor Report 2022, security vendor Proofpoint found that SMS phishing (smishing) attacks more than doubled year-on-year in 2021. The report is based on their analysis of over 2.6 billion email messages, 49 billion URLs, 1.9 billion attachments, 28 million cloud accounts and 1.7 billion mobile messages.

The study details the most common attack surfaces and methods including categories of risk, vulnerabilities, attacks, Russian Aligned APT’s, and Privilege as a vector.

Key Findings:

• Managers and executives make up only 10% of users, but almost 50% of the most severe attack risk

• Attackers attempt to initiate more than 100,000 telephone-oriented attacks every day.

• Malicious URLS are 3-4x more common than malicious attachments.

• Smishing attempts more than doubled in the US over the year, while in the UK over 50% of lures are themed around delivery notification.

• More than 20 million messages attempted to deliver malware linked to eventual ransomware attack

• Data loss prevention alerts have stabilised as businesses adopt permanent hybrid work models.

• 80% of businesses are attacked by a compromised supplier account in any given month.

• 35% of cloud tenants that received a suspicious login also saw suspicious post-access activity.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/expert-comments/why-smishing-and-vishing-attempts-surged-in-2021/

• Know Your Enemy! Learn How Cyber Crime Adversaries Get In…

Cyber security vendor Sophos dug into the incident reports of 144 real-life cyber attacks investigated by its Rapid Response team during 2021.

What they found might not surprise you, but it’s vital information nevertheless, because it’s what really happened, not merely what might have.

Notably:

• Unpatched vulnerabilities were the entry point for close to 50% of the attackers.

• Attackers stuck around for more than a month on average when ransomware wasn’t their primary goal.

• Attackers were known to have stolen data in about 40% of incidents. (Not all data thefts can be proved, of course, given that there isn’t a gaping hole where your copy of the data used to be, so the true number could be much higher.)

• RDP was abused to circumnavigate the network by more than 80% of attackers once they’d broken in.

Intriguingly, if perhaps unsurprisingly, the smaller the organisation, the longer the crooks had generally been in the network before anyone noticed and decided it was time to kick them out.

In businesses with 250 staff and below, the crooks stuck around (in the jargon, this is known by the quaintly archaic automotive metaphor of dwell time) for more than seven weeks on average.

This compared with an average dwell time of just under three weeks for organisations with more than 3000 employees.

As you can imagine, however, ransomware criminals typically stayed hidden for much shorter periods (just under two weeks, instead of just over a month), not least because ransomware attacks are inherently self-limiting.

After all, once ransomware crooks have scrambled all your data, they’re out of hiding and straight into their in-your-face blackmail phase.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2022/06/07/know-your-enemy-learn-how-cybercrime-adversaries-get-in/

• Small Businesses Struggle with an Increase in Cyber Attacks

Part of the problem: They don’t believe they are targets, so they don’t make security a priority. Cyber attacks are becoming more common for small businesses, and many aren’t prepared to deal with an attack.

As small businesses have accelerated their adoption of new technologies for remote work, communication, production and sales during the pandemic, their expanded computer networks have created new vulnerabilities to phishing and ransomware attacks. But many small businesses still don’t expect to be targeted by hackers, so preparing for a cyber attack is well down their list of priorities.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/small-business-cyberattacks-increase-11654540786

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Threats

Ransomware

• Ransomware attacks have increased by 80% year-over-year - Help Net Security

• How the Russia-Ukraine war makes ransomware payments harder | CSO Online

• How Poor Communication Opens the Door to Ransomware and Extortion (darkreading.com)

• Cuba ransomware returns to extorting victims with updated encryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society gang adds the Italian City of Palermo to its data leak site - Security Affairs

• Qbot - known channel for ransomware - delivered via phishing and Follina exploit - Help Net Security

• Black Basta Ransomware Targets ESXi Servers in Active Campaign (darkreading.com)

• Mandiant: Cyber extortion schemes increasing pressure to pay (techtarget.com)

• Roblox Game Pass store used to sell ransomware decryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Costa Rican government held up by ransomware … again • The Register

• Gloucester Council IT Systems Still Not Fully Operational Six Months After Cyber-Attack - Infosecurity Magazine

• BEEF ALERT: Ransomware Group Very Mad at Being Associated with Lavish Russian Hackers (vice.com)

• Ransomware Pressure Forcing UK CISOs to Consider Quitting - Infosecurity Magazine

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Business Email Compromise Scams Are Poised to Eclipse Ransomware | WIRED

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Evasive phishing mixes reverse tunnels and URL shortening services (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Proofpoint: We Block Up to Two Million Extortion Emails Daily - Infosecurity Magazine

• Massive Facebook Messenger phishing operation generates millions (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Facebook phishing campaign nets millions in IDs and cash • The Register

Other Social Engineering

• Smishing and Vishing Attempts Surged in 2021 - Infosecurity Magazine

Malware

• Symantec sees more malware operators exploiting Follina • The Register

• Potent Emotet Variant Spreads Via Stolen Email Credentials | Threatpost

• Symbiote Malware Poses Stealthy, Linux-Based Threat to Financial Industry (darkreading.com)

• This advanced new malware strain leaves you practically defenceless | TechRadar

• Be on the lookout for this malware that hijacks your browser and generates bogus search results | PC Gamer

• MacOS malware attacks slipping through the cracks (techtarget.com)

• 11 infamous malware attacks: The first and the worst | CSO Online

• 9 types of computer virus and how they do their dirty work | CSO Online

Mobile

• Android June 2022 updates bring fix for critical RCE vulnerability (bleepingcomputer.com)

IoT

• New Privacy Framework for IoT Devices Gives Users Control Over Data Sharing (thehackernews.com)

• How to Compromise a Printer in Three Simple Steps | CrowdStrike

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Since 2004, the average American has had at least 7 data breaches (scmagazine.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• World Economic Forum wants a global map of online crime • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs

• Threat actors exploit recently disclosed Atlassian Confluence flaw in cryptomining campaign - Security Affairs

• Researchers Detail How Cyber Criminals Targeting Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)

• 7 NFT Scams That Could Be Targeting Your Brand (darkreading.com)

• Hackers stole +$250,000 in Ethereum from Bored Ape Yacht ClubSecurity Affairs

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Pandemic-related identity fraud: How serious is it? - Help Net Security

• Apple Release 2021 Fraud Prevention Analysis- IT Security Guru

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Information, AML/CFT steps are key to fighting international digital crime, DOJ report says (cointelegraph.com)

Insurance

• Microsoft flags common pitfalls for cyber insurance (techtarget.com)

Dark Web

• Dark web sites selling alleged Western weapons sent to Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• 82% of CIOs believe their software supply chains are vulnerable - Help Net Security

• Boards, CEOs demand software supply chain security improvements - Help Net Security

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Major DDoS attacks increasing after invasion of Ukraine (techtarget.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud Security Tops Ransomware As Primary RSA Conference Attendee Concern - MSSP Alert

• Only 13.5% of IT pros have mastered security in the cloud native space - Help Net Security

• Is Cloud Security Losing Sight of Endpoints? - MSSP Alert

• OMIGOD: Cloud providers still using secret middleware • The Register

• Getting to grips with SaaS security - Help Net Security

Attack Surface Management

• Taming the Digital Asset Tsunami | Threatpost

Open Source

• Symbiote, a nearly-impossible-to-detect Linux malware - Security Affairs

Privacy

• Researchers Find Bluetooth Signals Can be Fingerprinted to Track Smartphones (thehackernews.com)

• New Privacy Framework for IoT Devices Gives Users Control Over Data Sharing (thehackernews.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Digital fingerprints of a million child abuse images made - BBC News

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• US dismantled and seized SSNDOB cyber crime marketplace - Security Affairs

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

• “Cyber Spetsnaz” is Attacking Government Agencies - Security Affairs

• Russian Ministry Website Reportedly Hacked- IT Security Guru

• Ordinary Ukrainians wage war with digital tools and drones | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Ukraine's secret cyber-defence: Excellent backups • The Register

• Major DDoS attacks increasing after invasion of Ukraine (techtarget.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russia escalates threats against West in response to cyber attacks - CyberScoop

• Russia, China, oppose US cyber support of Ukraine • The Register

Nation State Actors – China

• Russia, China, oppose US cyber support of Ukraine • The Register

• Chinese hacking group Aoqin Dragon quietly spied orgs for a decade (bleepingcomputer.com)

• China Is "Scanning" One Of World's Most Surveilled City; Now Risks Being Blinded By A Bill In The UK Parliament (eurasiantimes.com)

• People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Exploit Network Providers and Devices | CISA

• US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Microsoft seized 41 domains used by Iran-linked Bohrium APT - Security Affairs

• Iranian hackers target energy sector with new DNS backdoor (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc APT

• State-Backed Hackers Exploit Microsoft 'Follina' Bug to Target Entities in Europe and US (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• CISA warning: Hackers are exploiting these 36 "significant" cyber security vulnerabilities - so patch now | ZDNet

• How CISA's list of 'must-patch' vulnerabilities has expanded both in size, and who's using it - CyberScoop

• Even the Most Advanced Threats Rely on Unpatched Systems (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Windows zero-day exploited in US local govt phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DogWalk zero-day Windows bug receives patch - but not from Microsoft (bitdefender.com)

• Chrome 102 Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• NSA, FBI warning: Hackers are using these flaws to target VPNs and network devices | ZDNet

• Ubuntu Users Get a Massive Linux Kernel Update, 35 Security Vulnerabilities Patched - 9to5Linux

• Vulnerability discovered in Apple M1 chip • The Register

• Threat Actors Start Exploiting Meeting Owl Pro Vulnerability Days After Disclosure | SecurityWeek.Com

• Critical U-Boot Vulnerability Allows Rooting of Embedded Systems | SecurityWeek.Com

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Sector Specific

Financial Services Sector

• Symbiote Malware Poses Stealthy, Linux-Based Threat to Financial Industry (darkreading.com)

Telecoms

• String of attacks on French telecom infrastructure preceded April attack on fiber optic cables (cyberscoop.com)

• US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic (bleepingcomputer.com)

• People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Exploit Network Providers and Devices | CISA

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Healthcare-specific cyber security problems and how to address them - Help Net Security

• Data for 2 million patients stolen in largest healthcare breach so far of 2022 (scmagazine.com)

Retail/eCommerce

• Online gun shops in the US hacked to steal credit cards (bleepingcomputer.com)

Energy & Utilities

• Iranian hackers target energy sector with new DNS backdoor (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US Water Utilities Prime Cyber Attack Target, Experts | Threatpost

Education and Academia

• Ransomware attacks keeping the educational sector on its toes - Help Net Security

• Personal Information of Over 30,000 Students Exposed in Unprotected Database | SecurityWeek.Com

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• The Human Factor Report 2022 | Proofpoint US

• Router security report 2021 | Securelist

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Other News

• 'Shields Up': the new normal in cyberspace - CyberScoop

• 37 Major Companies and Organisations Pledge to Enhance Cyber Resiliency and Counter Evolving Global Threats (darkreading.com)

• This hacking group quietly spied on their targets for 10 years | ZDNet

• Identity-based Attacks and Living-of-the-land Tactics Represent Top Threats - MSSP Alert

• Over Half of CISOs Struggling for Board Investment - Infosecurity Magazine

• Cisco EVP: Cyber security poverty line is human-rights issue • The Register

• Zero trust segmentation eliminates 5 cyber disasters per year and saves $20+ million annually - Help Net Security

• Top three most critical areas of web security - Help Net Security

• How the Colonial Pipeline attack has changed cyber security | CSO Online

• Five Eyes alliance’s top cop: tech is the future of Policing • The Register

• The costs and damages of DNS attacks - Help Net Security

• An Emerging Threat: Attacking 5G Via Network Slices (darkreading.com)

• How AI Is Useful — and Not Useful — for Cyber security (darkreading.com)

• Only 43% of security pros can respond to critical alerts in less than an hour - Help Net Security

• Now Is the Time to Plan for Post-Quantum Cryptography (darkreading.com)

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