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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 19 April 2024

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 19 April 2024:

-94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted by Attackers

-Sharing IT Providers Is a Risk for Financial Services, Says IMF, as Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability

-Hackers are Threatening to Publish a Huge Stolen Sanctions and Financial Crimes Watchlist

-Your Annual Cyber Security Is Not Working, but There is a Solution

-73% of Security Professionals Say They’ve Missed, Ignored or Failed to Act on a High Priority Security Alert

-Russia and Ukraine Top Inaugural World Cyber Crime Index

-Police Takedown Major Cyber Fraud Superstore: Will the Cyber Crime Industry Become More Fragmented?

-Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cyber Security as Top Threat

-The Threat from Inside: 14% Surge in Insider Threats Compared to Previous Year

-Dark Web Sales Driving Major Rise in Credential Attacks as Attackers Pummel Networks with Millions of Login Attempts

-Large Enterprises Experience Breaches, Despite Large Security Stacks - Report Finds 93% of Breaches Lead to Downtime and Data Loss

-Charities Doing Worse than Private Sector in Staving off Cyber 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

94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted by Attackers

Organisations that have backed up sensitive data may believe they are safe from the effects of ransomware attacks; however a new study by Sophos reported that cyber criminals attempted to compromise the backups of 94% of companies hit by ransomware in the past year. The research found that criminals can demand a higher ransom when they compromise an organisation’s backup data, and those victims are twice as likely to pay. The median ransom demand is $2.3 million when backups are compromised, compared to $1 million otherwise.

Additionally, sectors like state and local governments, along with media and entertainment, are particularly vulnerable with nearly all affected organisations experiencing backup compromises.

Source: [Tech Republic]

Sharing IT Providers Is a Risk for Financial Services, Says IMF, as Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability

The International Monetary Fund has found that with greater digitalisation and heightened geopolitical tensions comes a greater risk of cyber attack with systemic consequences. The IMF noted that losses more than quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5 billion.

The push for technology has led to a number of financial services institutions relying on third-party IT firms, increasing their susceptibility to cyber disruption on a wider scale and a potential ripple effect were a third party to be hit. Whilst such third parties can increase the cyber resilience of a financial services institution, they also expose the industry to systemwide shocks, the IMF reports.

The IMF recommend institutions should identify potential systematic risks in their third-party IT firms. If the organisation is unable to perform such risk assessments, they should seek the expert support of an independent cyber security specialist.

Sources: [The Banker] [IMF]

Hackers are Threatening to Publish a Huge Stolen Sanctions and Financial Crimes Watchlist

A cyber crime group named GhostR has claimed responsibility for stealing 5.3 million records from the World-Check database, which companies use for "know your customer" (KYC) checks to screen potential clients for financial crime risks. The data theft occurred in March and originated from a Singapore-based firm with access to World-Check. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), which owns World-Check, confirmed that the breach involved a third-party's dataset and not their systems directly. The stolen data includes sensitive information on individuals identified as high-risk, such as government-sanctioned figures and those linked to organised crime. LSEG is coordinating with the affected third party and authorities to protect the compromised data and prevent its dissemination.

Source: [TechCrunch]

Your Annual Cyber Security Is Not Working, But There is a Solution

Most organisations utilise annual security training in an attempt to ensure every department develops their cyber awareness skills and is able to spot and report a threat. However, this training is often out of date. Additionally, often training has limited interactivity, failing to capture and maintain employees’ attention and retention. On top of this, many training courses fail to connect employees to real-world scenarios that could occur in their specific job.

To get the most return on investment, organisations need to have more regular education, with the aim of long-term behavioural shifts in the work place, nudging employees towards greater cyber hygiene.

Source: [TechRadar]

73% of Security Professionals Say They’ve Missed, Ignored or Failed to Act on a High Priority Security Alert

A new survey from Coro, targeting small medium enterprises (SME) cyber security professionals, reveals that 73% have missed or ignored high priority security alerts due to overwhelming workloads and managing multiple security tools. The 2024 SME Security Workload Impact Report highlights that SMEs are inundated with alerts and responsibilities, which dilute their focus from critical security threats. On average, these professionals manage over 11 security tools and spend nearly five hours daily on tasks like monitoring and patching vulnerabilities. Respondents handle an average of over 2,000 endpoint security agents across 656 devices, more than half dealing with frequent vendor updates.

Source: [Business Wire]

Russia and Ukraine Top Inaugural World Cyber Crime Index

The inaugural World Cybercrime Index (WCI) identifies Russia, Ukraine, and China as the top sources of global cyber crime. This index, the first of its kind, was developed over four years by an international team from the University of Oxford and the University of New South Wales, with input from 92 cyber crime experts. These experts ranked countries based on the impact, professionalism, and technical skills of their cyber criminals across five cyber crime categories, including data theft, scams, and money laundering. Russia topped the list, followed by Ukraine and China, highlighting their significant roles in high-tech cyber criminal activities. The index, expected to be updated regularly, aims to provide a clearer understanding of cyber crime's global geography and its correlation with national characteristics like internet penetration and GDP. Of note the UK and US also made the top ten list, so it is not just other countries we need to worry about.

Top ten Countries in full:

1.       Russia

2.       Ukraine

3.       China

4.       United States

5.       Nigeria

6.       Romania

7.       North Korea

8.       United Kingdom

9.       Brazil

10.   India

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]

Police Takedown Major Cyber Fraud Superstore: Will the Cyber Crime Industry Become More Fragmented?

The London Metropolitan Police takedown of online fraud service LabHost serves as a reminder of the industrial scale on which cyber crimes are being performed, with the service amassing 480,000 debit or credit card numbers and 64,000 PINs: all for the subscription price of £300 a month. The site even included tutorial videos on how to commit crime and offered customer service.

Such takedowns can lead to fragmentation. The 2,000 individuals subscribed to LabHost may have lost access but where there is demand, supply will be found. The takedown of one service allows other, small services to fill the gap. As the saying goes ‘nature abhors a vacuum’ and it is especially true when it comes to cyber crime; there is too much business for empty spaces not to be filled.

Sources: [ITPro] [The Guardian]

Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cyber Security as Top Threat

Small businesses are experiencing a stable business climate, as reflected by the Small Business Index, indicating an increasing optimism about the economy. However, the recent surge in cyber attacks, including major assaults on UnitedHealth Group and MGM Resorts, has underscored the growing vulnerability of these businesses to cyber crime. Despite 80% of small to medium-sized enterprises feeling well-protected by their IT defences, a Devolutions survey reveals that 69% of them still fell victim to cyber attacks last year. This has led to cyber security being viewed as the greatest threat by 60% of small businesses, even surpassing concerns over supply chain disruptions and the potential for another pandemic.

The average cost of these attacks ranges from $120,000 to $1.24 million, leading to 60% of affected businesses closing within six months. This vulnerability is further compounded by a common underestimation of the ransomware threat. While 71% of businesses feel prepared for future threats, the depth of this preparedness varies, with only 23% feeling very prepared for cyber security challenges.

Sources: [Claims Journal] [Inc.com]

The Threat from Inside: Insider Threats Surge 14% Annually as Cost-of-Living Crisis Bites

Employee fraud grew significantly last year thanks to the opportunities afforded by remote working and the pressures of a cost-of-living crisis in the UK, according to Cifas, an anti-fraud non-profit. The number of individuals recorded in its cross-sector Insider Threat Database (ITD) increased 14% year-on-year (YoY) in 2023, with the most common reason being “dishonest action to obtain benefit by theft or deception” (49%).

Insider threats – both by accident or with malicious intent – by their own employees are overlooked, despite accounting for 58% of cybersecurity breaches in recent years. As a result, a large proportion of businesses may lack any strategy to address insider risks, leaving them vulnerable to financial, operational and reputational harm.

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine] [TechRadar]

Dark Web Sales Driving Major Rise in Credential Attacks as Attackers Pummel Networks with Millions of Login Attempts

Dark web sales are driving a major rise in credential attacks, with a surge in infostealer malware attacks over the last three years significantly heightening the cyber crime landscape. Kaspersky reports a sevenfold increase in data theft attacks, leading to the compromise of over 26 million devices since 2022. Cyber criminals stole roughly 400 million login credentials last year alone, often sold on dark web markets for as low as $10 per log file. These stolen credentials have become a lucrative commodity, fostering a complex economy of initial access brokers who facilitate broader corporate network infiltrations. The Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions have been particularly affected, with millions of credentials stolen annually.

Simultaneously, Cisco’s Talos team warns of a current credential compromise campaign targeting networks via mass login attempts to VPN, SSH, and web apps. Attackers use a mix of generic and specific usernames with nearly 100 passwords from about 4,000 IP addresses, likely routed through anonymising services (such as TOR). These attacks pose risks like unauthorised access, account lockouts, and potential denial-of-service. The attack volume has increased since 18 March this year mirroring a previous alert by Cisco about a similar campaign affecting VPNs. Despite method and infrastructure similarities, a direct link between these campaigns is yet to be confirmed.

Sources: [Ars Technica] [Data Breach Today]

Large Enterprises Experience Breaches, Despite Large Security Stacks; Report Finds 93% of Breaches Lead to Downtime and Data Loss

93% of enterprises admitting to having had a breach have suffered significant consequences, ranging from unplanned downtime to data exposure or financial loss, according to a recent report. 73% of organisations made changes to their IT environment at least quarterly, however only 40% tested their security at the same frequency. Unfortunately, this means that many organisations are facing a significant gap in which changes in the IT environment are untested, and therefore their risk unknown.

Security tools can aid this, however as the report finds, despite having a large number of security stacks, 51% still reported a breach in the past 24 months. Organisations must keep in mind that security extends beyond the technical realm, and it needs to include people and operations.

Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [Help Net Security]

Charities Doing Worse than Private Sector in Staving off Cyber Attacks

Recent UK Government data reveals a significant cyber security challenge for charities, with about a third experiencing breaches this past year, equating to nearly 924,000 cyber crimes. Notably, 83% of these incidents involved phishing, with other prevalent threats including fraud emails and malware. The data found that 63% of charities said cyber security was a high priority for senior management, however, charities lag behind the private sector in adopting security monitoring tools and conducting risk assessments.

Additionally, while half of the charities implement basic cyber hygiene defences like malware protection and password policies, only about 40% seek external cyber security guidance.

Source: [TFN]

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Other Social Engineering

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Insurance

Cloud/SaaS

Identity and Access Management

Linux and Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Malvertising

Training, Education and Awareness

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Backup and Recovery

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

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

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

China

Russia

Iran

North Korea

Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

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

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.

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 June 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 June 2021: Cyber Insurers Recoil As Ransomware Attacks ‘Skyrocket’; US Puts Cyber Crime On Par With Terror After Ransomware Attacks; Cyber Attack Leaves 7,000 Out Of Work; Irish Health Service Patient Data Leaked Online; Enterprise Networks Vulnerable To 20-Year-Old Exploits; US Seize Domains Used By SolarWinds Intruders For Spear-Phishing; Hacker Group DarkSide Operates Like A Franchise; Interpol Intercepts $83M Fighting Financial Cyber Crime

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 Insurers Recoil As Ransomware Attacks ‘Skyrocket’

The Great Fire of London helped forge the property insurance market, as residents feared a repeat of the savage destruction of 1666. In the absence of a state-backed fire service, some insurers even employed their own brigades, betting that limiting the damage to a property would be cheaper than rebuilding it. After a wave of high-profile cyber assaults, Graeme Newman, chief innovation officer at London-based insurance provider CFC, draws a parallel with today’s rapidly evolving market for cyber coverage. Insurance companies now provide emergency support services as well as financial compensation, so “the insurers own the digital fire trucks”, he said.

https://www.ft.com/content/4f91c4e7-973b-4c1a-91c2-7742c3aa9922

US Puts Cyber Crime On Par With Terror After Ransomware Attacks

The US government is raising the fight against cyber criminals to the same level as the battle against terrorists after a surge of ransomware attacks on large corporations. Internal guidance circulated by the Department of Justice instructs prosecutors to pool their information about hackers. The idea, said John Carlin, of the attorney-general’s office, is to “make the connections between actors and work your way up to disrupt the whole chain”.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-cybercrime-terror-ransomware-attacks-joe-biden-pzrqbkfwt

Russia Under Fire As Cyber Attack Leaves 7,000 Out Of Work

An attack this week on JBS meatworks in North America and Australia brought the firm to a standstill, and now threatens to turn into a diplomatic row with Russia. JBS are reported to supply 20% of the world meat market and the ransomware attack has left 7,000 workers unable to do their jobs.

https://www.afr.com/politics/russia-under-fire-as-ransomware-attack-leaves-7000-out-of-work-20210602-p57xha

Irish Health Service Confirms Data Of Nearly 520 Patients Is Online After Cyber Attack

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed the data of nearly 520 patients is online after media reports of their publication. In a statement, the HSE said the data contains correspondence with patients, minutes of meetings and includes sensitive patient data. The HSE also confirmed corporate documents are among the HSE data illegally accessed.  Confirmation of the authenticity of this data follows an analysis carried out by the agency and comments from the Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, that reports of patient data being shared online are "very credible".

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40301054.html

Enterprise Networks Vulnerable To 20-Year-Old Exploits

While the industry focuses on exotic attacks – like the SolarWinds incident — the real risk to enterprises comes from older exploits, some as much as 20-years old. “While organisations always need to keep up with the latest security patches, it is also vital to ensure older system and well-known vulnerabilities from years past are monitored and patched as well,” says Etay Maor, senior director of security strategy at Cato Networks. “Threat actors are attempting to take advantage of overlooked, vulnerable systems.” Our research showed that attackers often scanned for end-of-life and unsupported systems. Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) identified were exploits targeting software, namely vSphere, Oracle WebLogic, and Big-IP, as well as routers with remote administration vulnerabilities.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/05/27/enterprise-networks-vulnerable/

US Authorities Seize Two Domains Used By SolarWinds Intruders For Malware Spear-Phishing Operation

Uncle Sam on Tuesday said it had seized two web domains used to foist malware on victims using spoofed emails from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The domain takeovers, which occurred on Friday, followed a court order issued in the wake of a Microsoft report warning about the spear-phishing campaign. The phishing effort relied on malware-laden messages sent via marketing service Constant Contact. "Cyber intrusions and spear-phishing email attacks can cause widespread damage throughout affected computer networks, and can result in significant harm to individual victims, government agencies, NGOs, and private businesses,” said Acting US Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement. "As demonstrated by the court-authorized seizure of these malicious domains, we are committed to using all available tools to protect the public and our government from these worldwide hacking threats."

https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/02/feds_seize_nobelium/

Hacker Group DarkSide Operates In A Similar Way To A Franchise

DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, has a business model that’s more familiar than people think, according to New York Times correspondent Andrew Kramer, “It operates something like a franchise, where individual hackers can come and receive the ransomware software and use it, as well as, use DarkSide’s reputation, as it were, to extract money from their targets, mostly in the United States,” Kramer said in an interview that aired Wednesday night.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/02/hacker-group-darksides-operates-in-a-similar-way-to-a-franchise-new-york-times-reporter-says.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

Interpol Intercepts $83 Million Fighting Financial Cyber Crime

The Interpol (short for International Criminal Police Organisation) has intercepted $83 million belonging to victims of online financial crime from being transferred to the accounts of their attackers. Over 40 law enforcement officers specialized in fighting cyber crime across the Asia Pacific region took part in the Interpol-coordinated Operation HAECHI-I spanning more than six months. Between September 2020 and March 2021, law enforcement focused on battling five types of online financial crimes: investment fraud, romance scams, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, online sextortion, and voice phishing.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/interpol-intercepts-83-million-fighting-financial-cyber-crime/

Is It Really The Wild West In Cyber Crime? Why We Need To Re-Examine Our Approach To Ransomware

Once again, cyber security has become a headline topic within and well outside technology circles, along with the little-known operator of a significant fuel pipeline: Colonial Pipeline. A ransomware attack, and ensuing panic buying of gasoline, resulted in widespread fuel shortages on the east coast, thrusting the issue of cyber security into the lives of everyday Americans. Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount later acknowledged that his company ultimately paid the cybercriminals $4.4 million to unlock company systems, generating a great deal of controversy around the simple question (and associated complex potential answers), of whether companies should pay when their systems are held hostage by ransomware.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-it-really-the-wild-west-in-cybercrime-why-we-need-to-re-examine-our-approach-to-ransomware/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

IOT

 Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Supply Chain

Nation State Actors

Privacy

Other News

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.

Read More