Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 July 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

• Businesses Urged Not to Give In To Ransomware Cyber Criminals As Authorities See Increase In Payouts

While there have been arguments made for criminalising the payment of ransoms, it poses a number of additional risks such as providing the criminals with an additional factor they could use to extort their victims.

Businesses are being urged not to pay cyber extortionists as authorities say they are seeing evidence of a rise in ransomware payments.

In a joint letter to the Law Society, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner's Office are warning solicitors who may have been advising their clients to pay.

It follows warnings earlier this year by cyber security experts from the UK, US, and Australia of a "growing wave of increasingly sophisticated ransomware attacks" which could have "devastating consequences".

The joint letter states that while ransomware payments are "not unusually unlawful" those who pay them "should be mindful of how relevant sanctions regimes (particularly those related to Russia)" when considering making the payment.

The US sanctioned in December 2019 any financial dealings with a Russian cyber crime group that was accused of working with Russian intelligence to steal classified government documents.

Despite the spillover from the Russian war in Ukraine - in one case knocking 5,800 wind turbines in Germany offline - the NCSC says it has not detected any increase in hostile activity targeting Britain during the conflict.

Businesses however had been warned that there is a heightened threat level when it comes to cyber attacks due to the conflict which is likely to be here "for the long-haul".

https://news.sky.com/story/businesses-urged-not-to-give-in-to-ransomware-cyber-criminals-as-authorities-see-increase-in-payouts-12648253

• People Are the Primary Attack Vector Around the World

With an unprecedented number of employees now working in hybrid or fully remote environments, compounded by an increase in cyber threats and a more overwhelmed, COVID-19 information fatigued workforce, there has never been a more critical time to effectively create and maintain a cyber secure workforce and an engaged security culture.

People have become the primary attack vector for cyber-attackers around the world. Humans, rather than technology, represent the greatest risk to organisations and the professionals who oversee security awareness programs are the key to effectively managing that risk.

Awareness programs enable security teams to effectively manage their human risk by changing how people think about cyber security and help them exhibit secure behaviours, from the Board of Directors on down.

Effective and mature security awareness programs not only change their workforce’s behaviour and culture but also measure and demonstrate their value to leadership via a metrics framework. Organisations can no longer justify an annual training to tick the compliance box, and it remains critical for organisations to dedicate enough personnel, resources, and tools to manage their human risk effectively.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/05/people-primary-attack-vector/

• Early Detection Crucial in Stopping Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scams

Cofense Intelligence studied hundreds of business email compromise attacks and found that most scams attempt to establish trust with targeted employees over multiple emails.

Avoiding a costly social engineering attack often requires employees to spot suspicious emails before threat actors request sensitive information or access.

Cofense Intelligence published new research Thursday that showed most business email compromise (BEC) scams can be thwarted in their initial stages when the attackers are not asking for money or a transfer of funds. The cyber security vendor analysed hundreds of BEC emails sent to customers during March and April, and engaged with the threat actors in approximately half the cases.

The company found that only 36% of attackers looking to conduct fraud attacks opened with a cordial greeting and request for cash, gift cards or confidential payment information. Most BEC scams, Cofense found, attempt to slowly build up trust over the course of multiple email exchanges with the target and ingratiate them with common phrases like "sorry to bother you."

Once they realise they can get money out of you, they will do everything they can to drain you dry. For many of the scammers, this becomes a literal hustle, where they will quickly pivot to other cash-out methods. Just because something starts as a wire transfer doesn't mean they won't ask you to send cryptocurrency, gift cards, a cheque, or use your personal Venmo or PayPal to wire them money.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/252522493/Early-detection-crucial-in-stopping-BEC-scams

• 54% of SMBs Do Not Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

SMB owners across the globe are still relying only on usernames and passwords to secure critical employee, customer, and partner data, according to the Global Small Business Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Study released by the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI).

Services that enforce MFA require users to present more than one piece of evidence whenever they log in to a business account (e.g., company email, payroll, human resources, etc.).

MFA has been in use for decades and is widely recommended by cyber security experts, yet 55% of SMBs surveyed are not “very aware” of MFA and its security benefits, and 54% do not use it for their business. Of the businesses that have not implemented MFA, 47% noted they either didn’t understand MFA or didn’t see its value. In addition, nearly 60% of small business and medium-sized owners have not discussed MFA with their employees.

Nearly all account compromise attacks can be stopped outright, just by using MFA. It’s a proven, effective way to thwart bad actors.

Of the companies that have implemented some form of MFA, many still seem to have done so haphazardly. Only 39% of those who offer MFA have a process for prioritising critical hardware, software, and data, with 49% merely “encouraging the use of MFA when it is available.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/08/smb-implement-mfa/

• New Cyber Threat Emerges from the Inside, Research Report Finds

In its 2022 Insider Risk Intelligence & Research Report, DTEX Systems, a workforce cyber intelligence and security company, identifies a new cyber threat: the “Super Malicious Insider.”

Just what is a Super Malicious Insider and where does it come from? Well, it comes from inside your own organisation or someone who recently worked for you — a threat actor who may be truly of your own making.

“It was the year (2021) we all came to realise the Work-from-Anywhere (WFA) movement was here to stay,” DTEX reports. “For security and risk professionals, this hastened the end of corporate perimeter-centric security, and a requirement to protect hundreds of thousands of ‘remote offices’ outside of traditional corporate controls. To make matters worse, a measurable increase in employee attrition toward the end of 2021 created the perfect storm for insider threats.”

So, if your organisation didn’t observe a proportional increase in attempted or actual data loss, then you were likely not looking, DTEX asserts.

Critically your insiders know your vulnerabilities and can exploit them, for example, when an employee quits to join a competitor, it is often tempting to take proprietary information with them. This can include customer lists, product plans, financial data and other intellectual property.

The Super Malicious Insider is better able to hide their activities, obfuscate data and exfiltrate sensitive information without detection. Importantly, in numerous insider incidents reviewed in 2021, the Super Malicious Insider had made significant efforts to appear normal by not straying outside of their day-to-day routine, DTEX reports.

Here are some key statistics from the report:

• Industrial espionage is at an all-time high. In 2021, 72% of respondents saw an increase in actionable insider threat incidents. IP or data theft led the list at 42% of incidents, followed by unauthorised or accidental disclosure (23%), sabotage (19%), fraud (%) and other (7%). In fact, 42% of all DTEX i3 investigations involved theft of IP or customer data.

• The technology industry (38%), followed by pharma/life sciences (21%), accounted for the most IP theft incidents. In addition, technology (33%) had the most super malicious incidents, followed by critical infrastructure (24%) and government (11%).

• Investigations that led to criminal prosecution occurred within someone’s home 75% of the time. More telling, 32% of malicious incident incidents included sophisticated insider techniques.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/new-cyberthreat-emerges-from-the-inside-research-report-finds/

• Ransomware: Why It's Still A Big Threat, And Where The Gangs Are Going Next

Ransomware attacks are still lucrative for cyber criminals because victims pay ransoms - and the threat is still evolving.

Ransomware has been a cyber security issue for a long time, but last year it went mainstream. Security threats like malware, ransomware and hacking gangs are always evolving.

Major ransomware attacks like those on Colonial Pipeline, the Irish Healthcare Executive and many others demonstrated how significant the problem had become as cyber attacks disrupted people's lives.

What was once a small cyber-criminal industry based around encrypting files on personal computers and demanding a ransom of a few hundred dollars for a decryption key had evolved into a massive ecosystem designed around holding critical services and infrastructure to ransom - and making extortion demands of millions of dollars.

No wonder Lindy Cameron, head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has described ransomware as "the biggest global cyber threat".

Ransomware is continually evolving, with new variants appearing, new ransomware groups emerging, and new techniques and tactics designed to make the most money from attacks.

And as the recent Conti ransomware leaks showed, the most successful ransomware gangs are organised as if they were any other group of software developers.

They are really acting like a business. Aside from the fact they're not legitimately registered, they really are. They're functioning like a real business and sometimes the number of people within these organisations is bigger than some startups. They have shown a lot of resilience and a lot of agility in adapting to what's new.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-why-its-still-a-big-threat-and-where-the-gangs-are-going-next/

• NCSC: Prepare for Protracted Period of Heightened Cyber Risk

The UK’s leading cyber security agency has urged organisations to follow best practices and take care of their infosecurity staff in order to weather an extended period of elevated cyber risk due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guide, Maintaining A Sustainable Strengthened Cyber Security Posture, comes on the back of warnings that organisations must “prepare for the long haul” as the conflict enters its fifth month.

Alongside basic hygiene controls, the strengthening of cyber-resilience and revisiting of risk-based decisions made in the earlier acute phase of the war, organisations should pay special attention to their security staff, the NCSC said.

“Increased workloads for cyber security staff over an extended period can harm their wellbeing and lead to lower productivity, with a potential rise in unsafe behaviours or errors,” it said.

With this in mind, the guide highlighted several steps IT security managers should consider:

• Empower staff to make decisions in order to improve agility and free-up leaders to focus on medium-term priorities

• Spread workloads evenly across a wider pool of staff to reduce the risk of burnout and enable less experienced employees to benefit from development opportunities

• Provide opportunities for staff to recharge through more frequent breaks and time away from the office, as well as work on less pressured tasks

• Look after each other by watching for signs that colleagues are struggling and ensuring they always have the right resources to hand

• Engage the entire workforce with the right internal communications processes, and support so that all staff are able to identify and report suspicious behaviour

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-prepare-cyber-risk/

• 69% Of Employees Need to Deal with More Security Measures In A Hybrid Work Environment

Security firm Ivanti worked with global digital transformation experts and surveyed 10,000 office workers, IT professionals, and the C-Suite to evaluate the level of prioritisation and adoption of digital employee experience in organisations and how it shapes the daily working experiences for employees. The report revealed that 49% of employees are frustrated by the tech and tools their organisation provides and 64% believe that the way they interact with technology directly impacts morale.

One of the biggest challenges facing IT leaders today is the need to enable a seamless end user experience while maintaining robust security. The challenge becomes more complex when there is pressure from the top to bypass security measures, with 49% of C-level executives reporting they have requested to bypass one or more security measures in the last year.

Maintaining a secure environment and focusing on the digital employee experience are two inseparable elements of any digital transformation. In the war for talent a key differentiator for organisations is providing an exceptional and secure digital experience. Ivanti, a cyber security software provider, says “We believe that organisations not prioritising how their employees experience technology is a contributing factor for the Great Resignation”.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/04/security-measures-hybrid-work-environment/

• FBI and MI5 Leaders Give Unprecedented Joint Warning on Chinese Spying

The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency have delivered an unprecedented joint address, raising fresh alarm about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.

In a speech at MI5’s London headquarters intended as a show of western solidarity, Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stood alongside the MI5 director general, Ken McCallum. Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns about economic espionage and hacking operations by China, as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.

“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our’, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray said.

He told the audience the Chinese government was “set on stealing your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry tick, and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market”.

Ken McCallum said MI5 was running seven times as many investigations into China as it had been four years ago and planned to “grow as much again” to tackle the widespread attempts at inference which pervade “so many aspects of our national life”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/06/fbi-mi5-china-spying-cyberattacks-business-economy

• As Cyber Criminals Recycle Ransomware, They're Getting Faster

Like history, ransomware repeats itself. Researchers recently encountered a new variant of a ransomware campaign and observed that it has been improving itself by reusing code from publicly available sources.

Nokoyawa is a new ransomware for Windows that first appeared at the beginning of this year. The first samples found by researchers were gathered in February 2022 and contain significant coding similarities with other older ransomware strains, some going back to 2019.

These new variants had been improving themselves by reusing code from publicly available sources. The April 2022 samples include three new features that increase the number of files that Nokoyawa can encrypt. These features already existed in recent ransomware families, and their addition just indicates that Nokoyawa developers are trying to match pace with other operators in terms of technological capability.

https://www.securityweek.com/cybercriminals-recycle-ransomware-theyre-getting-faster

• UK Military Investigates Hacks on Army Social Media Accounts

British military authorities are trying to find out who hacked the army’s social media accounts over the weekend, flooding them with cryptocurrency videos and posts related to collectible electronic art.

The investigation was launched after authorised content on the army’s YouTube account was replaced with a video feed promoting cryptocurrencies that included images of billionaire Elon Musk. The Army’s Twitter account retweeted a number of posts about non-fungible tokens, unique digital images that can be bought and sold but have no physical counterpart.

“Apologies for the temporary interruption to our feed,” the Army said in a tweet posted after the Twitter account was restored on Sunday. “We will conduct a full investigation and learn from this incident. Thanks for following us, and normal service will now resume.”

The Ministry of Defence said late Sunday that both breaches had been “resolved.”

While internet users were unable to access the Army’s YouTube site on Monday, a spokesperson said the site was down for standard maintenance. The Twitter feed was operating normally.

Although U.K. officials have previously raised concerns about state-sponsored Russian hacking, the military did not speculate on who was responsible for Sunday’s breaches.

“The Army takes information security extremely seriously, and until their investigation is complete it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the Ministry of Defence said.

https://www.securityweek.com/uk-military-investigates-hacks-army-social-media-accounts

Campaign Targeting SOHO Routers Highlights Risks to Remote Workers

A targeted attack campaign has been compromising small office/home office (SOHO) routers since late 2020, with the goal of hijacking network communications and infecting local computers with stealthy and sophisticated backdoors. Attacks against home routers are not new, but the implants used by attackers in this case were designed for local network reconnaissance and lateral movement instead of just abusing the router itself.

"The rapid shift to remote work in spring of 2020 presented a fresh opportunity for threat actors to subvert traditional defence-in-depth protections by targeting the weakest points of the new network perimeter - devices that are routinely purchased by consumers but rarely monitored or patched - small office/home office (SOHO) routers," researchers from Black Lotus Labs, the threat intelligence arm of telecommunications company Lumen Technologies said in a recent report.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3665912/apt-campaign-targeting-soho-routers-highlights-risks-to-remote-workers.html#tk.rss_news

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Threats

Ransomware

• Lawyers Urged to Stop Advising Clients to Pay Ransomware Demands - Infosecurity Magazine

• Ransomware in 2022: Evolving threats, slow progress (techtarget.com)

• AstraLocker ransomware closes doors to pursue cryptojacking • The Register

• Ransomware gangs are feeling the crypto winter's impact | TechSpot

• LockBit explained: How it has become the most popular ransomware | CSO Online

• Hive ransomware gang turns to Rust, more complex encryption • The Register

• New RedAlert Ransomware targets Windows, Linux VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware, hacking groups move from Cobalt Strike to Brute Ratel (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean ransomware dubbed Maui active since May 2021 • The Register

• Hive Ransomware Upgrades to Rust for More Sophisticated Encryption Method (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware, hacking groups move from Cobalt Strike to Brute Ratel (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New 'HavanaCrypt' Ransomware Distributed as Fake Google Software Update | SecurityWeek.Com

• As New Clues Emerges, Experts Wonder: Is REvil Back? (thehackernews.com)

• Researchers Detail Techniques LockBit Ransomware Using to Infect its Targets (thehackernews.com)

• New 0mega ransomware targets businesses in double-extortion attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Feds wave red flag over Maui ransomware | CSO Online

• Evolution of the LockBit Ransomware operation relies on new techniques - Security Affairs

• AstraLocker ransomware shuts down and releases decryptors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• QNAP warns of new Checkmate ransomware targeting NAS devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Quantum ransomware attack affects 657 healthcare orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How Conti ransomware group crippled Costa Rica — then fell apart | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Researchers Detail Techniques LockBit Ransomware Using to Infect its Targets (thehackernews.com)

• EternalBlue 5 years after WannaCry and NotPetya - SANS Internet Storm Center

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Fake copyright complaints push IcedID malware using Yandex Forms (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Spear Phishing Fake Job Offer Likely Behind Axie Infinity's Lazarus $600m Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• Hackers Exploiting Follina Bug to Deploy Rozena Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

• Dangerous new malware dances past more than 50 antivirus services | TechRadar

• Raspberry Robin campaign leverages compromised QNAP devicesSecurity Affairs

• Malware knocks IT services vendor SHI offline • The Register

• Near-undetectable malware linked to Russia's Cozy Bear • The Register

• New stealthy OrBit malware steals data from Linux devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers are using YouTube videos to trick people into installing malware | TechRadar

Mobile

• This WhatsApp scam promises big, but just sends you into a spiral | ZDNet

• Android malware subscribes you to premium services without you knowing - GSMArena.com news

• Free smartphone stalkerware detection tool gets dedicated hub (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Four more apps that infected thousands of Android devices with malware removed from Google Play store | ZDNet

• Apple Debuts Spyware Protection for State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Vulnerability allows hackers to unlock and start Honda cars remotely | TechSpot

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Marriott Data Breach Exposes PII, Credit Cards (darkreading.com)

• Aon Hack Exposed Sensitive Information of 146,000 Customers - Infosecurity Magazine

• Hackers Claim to Have Stolen Police Data in China’s Largest Cyber Security Breach - Bloomberg

• Human Error Blamed for Leak of 1 Billion Records of Chinese Citizens | Threatpost

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Ransomware gangs are feeling the crypto winter's impact | TechSpot

• AstraLocker ransomware closes doors to pursue cryptojacking • The Register

• Hackers are using YouTube videos to trick people into installing malware | TechRadar

• PennyWise crypto-stealing malware spreads through YouTube (cointelegraph.com)

• US urges Japan to step up pressure on crypto miners with links to Russia | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Large-scale cryptomining campaign is targeting the NPM repositorySecurity Affairs

• ECB to warn eurozone countries over crypto regulation | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Microsoft Issue Updated Warning Against Known Cloud Threat Actor Group - IT Security Guru

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Human Error Blamed for Leak of 1 Billion Records of Chinese Citizens | Threatpost

• HackerOne incident raises concerns for insider threats (techtarget.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Ukrainian police takes down phishing gang behind payments scam | ZDNet

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Applying Shift Left principles to third party risk management - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• NPM supply-chain attack impacts hundreds of websites and apps (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Microsoft Issue Updated Warning Against Known Cloud Threat Actor Group - IT Security Guru

• Cloud Misconfig Exposes 3TB of Sensitive Airport Data in Amazon S3 Bucket: 'Lives at Stake' (darkreading.com)

• What Do All of Those Cloud Cyber Security Acronyms Mean? (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• 6 signs your IAM strategy is failing, and how to fix it | CSO Online

Asset Management

• How a cyber asset management strategy can help enterprises detect threats - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Encryption is high up on corporate priority lists - Help Net Security

• Quantum-resistant encryption recommended for standardization • The Register

• The threat of quantum computing to sensitive data - Help Net Security

• Inside NIST's 4 Crypto Algorithms for a Post-Quantum World (darkreading.com)

• End-to-end encryption’s central role in modern self-defence | Ars Technica

API

• Why your API gateway is not enough for API security? - Help Net Security

Open Source

• Researchers Warn of New OrBit Linux Malware That Hijacks Execution Flow (thehackernews.com)

Social Media

• British Army Cyber Attack Reminds Businesses That Social Media Accounts Are Prime Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Limp Facebook Policies – Do They Ignore Suffering And Crime! (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Digital Transformation

• Cyber security is driving digital transformation in alternative investment institutions - Help Net Security

Travel

• Marriott suffered a new data breach, attackers stole 20GB of data - Security Affairs

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking

• Free smartphone stalkerware detection tool gets dedicated hub (bleepingcomputer.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• ICO Set to Scale Back Public Sector Fines - Infosecurity Magazine

• ECB to warn eurozone countries over crypto regulation | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Wegmans hit with $400,000 data-breach penalty (democratandchronicle.com)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• PCI DSS 4.0 released, addresses emerging threats and technologies - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Ukrainian police takes down phishing gang behind payments scam | ZDNet

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

• Apple's New "Lockdown Mode" Protects iPhone, iPad, and Mac Against Spyware (thehackernews.com)

• Pro-Kremlin hackers Killnet hit Latvia with biggest cyber attack in its history | World | The Times

• TrickBot Gang Shifted its Focus on "Systematically" Targeting Ukraine (thehackernews.com)

• UK to combat Russia’s ‘hostile online warfare’ by forcing internet firms to remove disinformation | TechCrunch

• NATO Announce Plans to Develop Cyber Rapid Response Capabilities - IT Security Guru

• FBI and MI5 bosses: China cheats and steals at massive scale • The Register

• Hackers linked to the Chinese government increasingly target Russia, analysis suggests - CyberScoop

• In Switch, Trickbot Group Now Attacking Ukrainian Targets (darkreading.com)

• Apple Debuts Spyware Protection for State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russian Info Ops Ramp Up Effort to Divide West on Ukraine - Infosecurity Magazine

• Near-undetectable malware linked to Russia's Cozy Bear • The Register

Nation State Actors – China

• US and UK intelligence chiefs call for vigilance on China’s industrial spies | Financial Times (ft.com)

• China Censors What Could Be Biggest Data Hack in History (gizmodo.com)

• Hackers linked to the Chinese government increasingly target Russia, analysis suggests - CyberScoop

• China’s Cabinet Stresses Cyber Security After Data Leak - Bloomberg

• Security warning after sale of stolen Chinese data - BBC News

• Five accused of trying to silence China critics in US • The Register

• 50 Chinese students leave UK in three years after spy chiefs’ warning | Espionage | The Guardian

• More UK calls for ban of CCTV makers Hikvision, Dahua • The Register

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Russian information operations focus on dividing Western coalition supporting Ukraine - CyberScoop

• North Korean ransomware dubbed Maui active since May 2021 • The Register

• Feds wave red flag over Maui ransomware | CSO Online

• Spear Phishing Fake Job Offer Likely Behind Axie Infinity's Lazarus $600m Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Hacktivists claiming attack on Iranian steel facilities dump tranche of 'top secret documents' - CyberScoop

• Latest Cyber Attack Against Iran Part of Ongoing Campaign | Threatpost

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Vulnerability Management

• Google: Half of zero-day exploits linked to poor software fixes | ZDNet

• Why Browser Vulnerabilities Are a Serious Threat — and How to Minimize Your Risk (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Cisco and Fortinet Release Security Patches for Multiple Products (thehackernews.com)

• Google Patches Actively Exploited Chrome Bug | Threatpost

• OpenSSL version 3.0.5 fixes a flaw that could potentially lead to RCE - Security Affairs

• Apache “Commons Configuration” patches Log4Shell-style bug – what you need to know – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Cisco fixed a critical arbitrary File Overwrite flaw in Enterprise Communication solutions - Security Affairs

• Cisco Releases 10 Security Patches For Expressway Series and TelePresence VCS Products - Infosecurity Magazine

• Django fixes SQL Injection vulnerability in new releases (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google fixes the fourth Chrome zero-day in 2022 - Security Affairs - Security Affairs

• Tens of Jenkins plugins are affected by zero-day vulnerabilities - Security Affairs

• OpenSSL fixes two “one-liner” crypto bugs – what you need to know – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Fortinet addressed multiple vulnerabilities in several products - Security Affairs

• There’s a Nasty Security Hole in the Apache Webserver – The New Stack

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Sector Specific

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

We currently provide tailored threat intelligence based on the following sectors, additional sectors by arrangement:

• 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

• These are the cyber security threats of tomorrow that you should be thinking about today | ZDNet

• Rising threats spark scramble for cyber workers | The Hill

• Why Browser Vulnerabilities Are a Serious Threat — and How to Minimize Your Risk (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft rolls back plan to block macros by default • Graham Cluley

• Attacker groups adopt new penetration testing tool Brute Ratel | CSO Online

• Security tester says he broke into datacenter via toilets • The Register

• SQL injection, XSS vulnerabilities continue to plague organisations | CSO Online

• Endless cyber-threat pressure could leave security staff burnt out. Here's what you need to change | ZDNet

• Top 7 types of data security technology (techtarget.com)

• Imagination is key to effective data loss prevention - Help Net Security

• The Age of Collaborative Security: What Tens of Thousands of Machines Witness (thehackernews.com)

• Maintaining a sustainable strengthened cyber security posture - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Hacking the Crypto-Monetized Web (trendmicro.com)

• Reflections Of A Former Hacker: How Leaders Can Protect Their Business From Cyber Threats (forbes.com)

• Zero Trust Bolsters Our National Defence Against Rising Cyber Threats (darkreading.com)

• Security advisory accidentally exposes vulnerable systems (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 March 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.

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Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Cyber Criminals Exploit Invasion of Ukraine

Cyber criminals are exploiting Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine to commit digital fraud.

In a blog, researchers at Bitdefender Labs said they had witnessed “waves of fraudulent and malicious emails,” some of which were engineered to exploit the charitable intentions of global citizens towards the people of Ukraine.

Since March 1, researchers have been tracking two specific phishing campaigns designed to infect victims with Agent Tesla and Remcos remote access Trojans.

Agent Tesla is a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) Remote Access Trojan (RAT) and data stealer that can be used to exfiltrate sensitive information, including credentials, keystrokes and clipboard data from victims.

Remcos RAT is typically deployed via malicious documents or archives to give the attacker full control over their victims’ systems. Once inside, attackers can capture keystrokes, screenshots, credentials and other sensitive system data and exfiltrate it.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyber-criminals-invasion-ukraine/

UK Data Watchdog Urges Vigilance Amid Heightened Cyber Threat

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) reports a ‘steady and significant’ increase in cyber-attacks against UK firms over the past two years.

Employees should report any suspicious emails rather than delete them and firms must step up their vigilance against cyber-attacks in the face of a heightened threat from Russian hackers, the UK’s data watchdog has said.

John Edwards, the Information Commissioner, said a new era of security had begun where instead of blacking out windows, people needed to maintain vigilance over their inboxes.

Experts including the UK’s cyber security agency have said Russian hackers could target Britain, and the imposition of sanctions by London on Moscow has increased those fears.

Asked about the potential for a Russia-Ukraine cyber conflict spreading to the UK, Edwards said: “We have picked up on that heightened threat environment and we think it’s really important to take the opportunity to remind businesses of the importance of security over the data that they hold. This is a different era from blacking out the windows and keeping the lights off. The threats are going to come in through your inbox.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/04/uk-data-watchdog-urges-vigilance-amid-heightened-cyber-threat

Phishing - Still a Problem, Despite All The Work

Phishing is a threat that most people know about. Emails designed to trick you into clicking a malicious link or divulge passwords and other credentials have become an everyday occurrence. Despite this familiarity, and the multitude of tools and techniques which purport to stop it, phishing remains the number one initial attack vector affecting organisations and individuals.

Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. Phishing can only be dealt with using multiple complementary measures. This fact leads to some questions: Which measures are most (cost) effective? How should they be implemented? Can they be automated?

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/phishing-still-a-problem-despite-the-work

Phishing Attacks Hit All-Time High in December 2021

The Anti-Phishing Working Group international consortium (APWG) saw 316,747 phishing attacks in December 2021 — the highest monthly total observed since it began its reporting program in 2004. Overall, the number of phishing attacks has tripled from early 2020.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the financial sector, which includes banks, became the most frequently attacked cohort, accounting for 23.2 percent of all phishing. Attacks against webmail and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers remained prevalent as well. Phishing against cryptocurrency targets — such as cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers — inched up to represent 6.5 percent of attacks.

Overall, the number of brands that were attacked in 4Q descended from a record 715 in September 2021, cresting at 682 in November for the Q4 period.

The solution provider Abnormal Security observed 4,200 companies, organisations, and government institutions falling victim to ransomware in Q4 2021, some 36 percent higher than in Q3 2021 and the highest number the company has witnessed over the past two years.

“The overall distribution of ransomware victims indicates that ransomware attacks are industry-agnostic,” said Crane Hassold, Director of Threat Intelligence at Abnormal Security.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/03/phishing-attacks-december-2021/

Ransomware Infections Top List of The Most Common Results of Phishing Attacks

A report from insider threat management software company Egress found some startling conclusions when it spoke to IT leadership: Despite the pervasive and very serious threat of ransomware, very few boards of directors consider it a top priority.

Eighty-four percent of organisations reported falling victim to a phishing attack last year, Egress said, and of those 59% were infected with ransomware as a result. If you add in the 14% of businesses that said they weren’t hit with a phishing attack, and you still end up at around 50% of all organisations having been hit with ransomware in 2021.

Egress said that its data shows there has been a 15% increase in successful phishing attacks over the past 12 months, with the bulk of the attacks utilising malicious links and attachments. Those methods aren’t new, but a 15% increase in successful attacks means that something isn’t working.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ransomware-infections-top-list-of-the-most-common-results-of-phishing-attacks/

Social Media Phishing Attacks Are at An All Time High

Phishing campaigns continue to focus on social media, ramping up efforts to target users for the third consecutive year as the medium becomes increasingly used worldwide for communication, news, and entertainment.

The targeting of social media is the highlighted finding in the 2021 Phishing report by cybersecurity firm Vade, who analysed phishing attack patterns that unfolded throughout 2021.

As part of their report, Vade analysed 184,977 phishing pages to create stats based on a billion corporate and consumer mailboxes that the cyber security firm protects.

Vade also recorded a rise in the sophistication of phishing attacks, especially those targeting Microsoft 365 credentials, an evolution in the tech support scams, and the inevitable dominance of COVID-19 and item shipping lures.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/social-media-phishing-attacks-are-at-an-all-time-high/

Insurance Giant AON Hit by a Cyber Attack

Professional services and insurance giant AON has suffered a cyberattack that impacted a "limited" number of systems.

AON is a multinational professional services firm offering a wide array of solutions, including business insurance, reinsurance, cyber security consulting, risk solutions, healthcare insurance, and wealth management products.

AON generated $12.2 billion of revenue in 2021 and has approximately 50,000 employees spread throughout 120 countries.

In a filing with the US SEC, AON has disclosed that they suffered a cyberattack on February 25th, 2022.

AON has not provided any details of the attack other than that it occurred and affected a limited number of systems.

The company stated that although in the early stages of assessing the incident, based on the information currently known, the company did not expect the incident to have a material impact on its business, operations or financial condition.

In addition to being an insurance broker, AON is also a leading reinsurance company, meaning that they insure the insurance companies.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/insurance-giant-aon-hit-by-a-cyberattack-over-the-weekend/

How Prepared Are Organisations to Face Email-Based Ransomware Attacks?

Proofpoint released a report which provides an in-depth look at user phishing awareness, vulnerability, and resilience. The report reveals that attackers were more active in 2021 than 2020, with findings uncovering that 78% of organisations saw email-based ransomware attacks in 2021, while 77% faced business email compromise attacks (BEC) (18% YoY increase of BEC attacks from 2020), reflecting cyber criminals’ continued focus on compromising people, as opposed to gaining access to systems through technical vulnerabilities

This year’s report examines responses from commissioned surveys of 600 information and IT security professionals and 3,500 workers in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the UK. The report also analyses data from nearly 100 million simulated phishing attacks sent by customers to their employees over a one-year period, along with more than 15 million emails reported via the user-activated PhishAlarm reporting button.

Attacks in 2021 also had a much wider impact than in 2020, with 83% of survey respondents revealing their organisation experienced at least one successful email-based phishing attack, up from 57% in 2020. In line with this, 68% of organisations said they dealt with at least one ransomware infection stemming from a direct email payload, second-stage malware delivery, or other exploit. The year-over-year increase remains steady but representative of the challenges organisations faced as ransomware attacks surged in 2021.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/28/email-based-ransomware-attacks/

The Most Impersonated Brands in Phishing Attacks

Vade announced its annual ranking of the top 20 most impersonated brands in phishing. Facebook, which was in the second spot in 2020, rose to the top spot for 2021, representing 14% of phishing pages, followed by Microsoft, with 13%.

The report analysed 184,977 phishing pages linked from unique phishing emails between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.

Key findings:

·         Financial services is the most impersonated industry

·         Microsoft is the most impersonated cloud brand and the top corporate brand

·         Facebook dominates social media phishing

·         35% of all phishing pages impersonated financial services brands

·         Mondays and Tuesdays are the top days for phishing

·         78% of phishing attacks occur on weekdays

·         Monday and Thursday are the top days for Facebook phishing

·         Thursday and Friday are the top days for Microsoft phishing

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/04/most-impersonated-brands-phishing/

As War Escalates in Europe, It’s ‘Shields Up’ For The Cyber Security Industry

In unprecedented times, even government bureaucracy moves quickly. As a result of the heightened likelihood of cyberthreat from Russian malactor groups, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — part of the Department of Homeland Security — issued an unprecedented warning recommending that “all organisations — regardless of size — adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cyber security and protecting their most critical assets.”

The blanket warning is for all industries to take notice. Indeed, it’s a juxtaposition of sorts to think the cyber security industry is vulnerable to cyber attack, but for many nation state groups, this is their first port of call.

Inspired by the spike in attacks on cyber security agencies globally, a report from Reposify assessed the state of the cyber security industry’s external attack surface (EAS). It coincides with CISA’s warning, and highlights critical areas of concern for the sector and how they mirror trends amongst pharmaceutical and financial companies, providing vital insight into where organisations can focus their efforts, and reinforce the digital perimeter.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/02/as-war-escalates-in-europe-its-shields-up-for-the-cybersecurity-industry/

2022 May Be The Year Cyber Crime Returns Its Focus to Consumers

Threat analysts expect 2022 to be the tipping point for a shift in the focus of hackers from large companies back to consumers.

This prediction is the result of several factors that make consumers a lot more lucrative to threat actors today than in previous years.

ReasonLabs has compiled a detailed report on the status of consumer-level cyber security and what trends are most likely to emerge this year.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/2022-may-be-the-year-cybercrime-returns-its-focus-to-consumers/

Kaspersky Neutral Stance in Doubt As It Shields Kremlin

Kaspersky Lab is protecting the resources of the Russian Ministry of Defence and other high-value domains that are instrumental to the Russian propaganda machine – Russia Today, TASS news agency, Gazprom bank.

The company insists that they ‘never provide any law enforcement or government organisation with access to user data or the company's infrastructure.”

Eugene Kaspersky's refusal to condemn the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine set the cyber security community on fire. His company has tried to shake ties to the Russian government for years but hasn't succeeded quite yet. And recent events, it seems, only made things worse.

"We welcome the start of negotiations to resolve the current situation in Ukraine and hope that they will lead to a cessation of hostilities and a compromise. We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts. War isn't good for anyone," Eugene Kaspersky tweeted when Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks near Ukraine's border with Belarus.

https://cybernews.com/security/kaspersky-neutral-stance-in-doubt-as-it-shields-kremlin/

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Threats

Ransomware

• Accelerated Ransomware Attacks Pressure Targeted Companies to Speed Response (darkreading.com)

• Toyota Japan Shutters 14 Plants After Probable Cyber Attack • The Register

• Bridgestone Still Struggling With Plant Closures Across North America After Cyber Attack | ZDNet

• Cyber Criminals Who Breached Nvidia Issue One Of The Most Unusual Demands Ever | Ars Technica

• Conti Ransomware's Internal Chats Leaked After Siding With Russia (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Conti Group Encrypts Karma Ransomware Extortion Notes - Infosecurity Magazine

Phishing & Email

• Unusual Sign-In Activity Mail Goes Phishing For Microsoft Account Holders | Malwarebytes Labs

Other Social Engineering

• 'Several Combinations Of Social Engineering' Used During Cyber Attack On Camera Maker Axis | ZDNet

• Instagram Scammers As Busy As Ever: Passwords And 2FA Codes At Risk – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Malware

• TrickBot Malware Gang Upgrades its AnchorDNS Backdoor to AnchorMail (thehackernews.com)

• Rebirth of Emotet: New Features of the Botnet and How to Detect it (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• How Much Do Different Generations Trust Their Mobile Devices' Security? - Help Net Security

• TeaBot Android Banking Trojan Continues Its Global Conquest With New Upgrades | ZDNet

• This Nasty Android Malware Steals Your Passwords — What You Need To Know [Update] | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• SharkBot Malware Hides As Android Antivirus In Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)

• A New Money-Stealing Malware Makes Rounds On Google Play Store Posing As An Innocent App With Over 50,000 Downloads - NotebookCheck.net News

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Hackers Leak 190GB Of Alleged Samsung Data, Source Code (bleepingcomputer.com)

• NVIDIA Data Breach Exposed Credentials Of Over 71,000 Employees (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 250,000-Plus Lawyer Disciplinary Records Leak • The Register

• Swiss Bank Requests Destruction of Documents - Infosecurity Magazine

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Ukraine-Russia Cyber Warzone Splits Cyber Underground | Threatpost

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking

• Hackers Threaten To Turn Every Nvidia GPU Into A Bitcoin Mining Machine | TechRadar

• Beware of Ongoing Crypto Cyber War Amidst the Ukraine Russian War in 2022 (analyticsinsight.net)

• Log4shell Exploits Now Used Mostly For DDoS Botnets, Cryptominers (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Don’t Be Fooled Into Thinking You’re Too Smart To Be Scammed | News | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

DoS/DDoS

• DDoSers Are Using A Potent New Method To Deliver Attacks Of Unthinkable Size | Ars Technica

• DDoS Attackers Have Found This New Trick To Knock Over Websites | ZDNet

• Hackers Begin Weaponizing TCP Middlebox Reflection for Amplified DDoS Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Log4shell Exploits Now Used Mostly For DDoS Botnets, Cryptominers (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors

• Responses to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Likely to Spur Retaliation | Mandiant

• Charities, Aid Orgs In Ukraine Attacked With Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber Attacks In Ukraine Could Reach Other Countries - IT Security Guru

• Microsoft Finds FoxBlade Malware Hit Ukraine Hours Before Russian Invasion (thehackernews.com)

• Ukraine Digital Army Brews Cyberattacks, Intel and Infowar | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ukraine Security Agencies Warn Of Ghostwriter Threat Activity, Phishing Campaigns | ZDNet

• Ukraine Asks ICANN To Revoke Russian Domains And Shut Down DNS Root Servers | Ars Technica

• IsaacWiper, The Third Wiper Spotted Since The Beginning Of Russian Invasion - Security Affairs

• Ukrainian Sites Saw A 10x Increase In Attacks When Invasion Started (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber Attacks in Ukraine: New Worm-Spreading Data-Wiper With Ransomware Smokescreen | SecurityWeek.Com

• Chinese Malware Targeted Multiple Governments • The Register

• Iranian Hackers Using New Spying Malware That Abuses Telegram Messenger API (thehackernews.com)

Passwords & Credential Stuffing

• Microsoft Accounts Targeted by Russian-Themed Credential Harvesting | Threatpost

Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare

• Cyber Attack on NATO Could Trigger Collective Defence Clause - Official | Reuters

• Ukraine Conflict Spurs Questions Of How To Define Cyberwar - CyberScoop

• How China Built A One-Of-A-Kind Cyber-Espionage Behemoth To Last | MIT Technology Review

• Russia's Space Chief Says Hacking Satellites 'A Cause For War' - POLITICO

• Ukraine Is Building An 'It Army' Of Volunteers, Something That's Never Been Tried Before | ZDNet

• China-linked Daxin Malware Targeted Multiple Governments in Espionage Attacks (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Get Patching Now: CISA Adds Another 95 Flaws To Its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities List | ZDNet

• Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Expressway, TelePresence VCS Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Firefox Patches Two In-The-Wild Exploits – Update Now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• New Linux Kernel cgroups Vulnerability Could Let Attackers Escape Container (thehackernews.com)

• Critical Security Bugs Uncovered in VoIPmonitor Monitoring Software (thehackernews.com)

• New Security Vulnerability Affects Thousands of Self-Managed GitLab Instances (thehackernews.com)

• Log4Shell Threat Far From Gone: Attackers Continue To Target Vulnerability - Information Security Buzz

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Sector Specific

Financial Services Sector

• Banks Brace For Retaliatory Ransomware Attacks From Russia | Bitcoinist.com

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Conti And Karma Actors Attack Healthcare Provider At Same Time Through ProxyShell exploits – Sophos News

• Over 100,000 Medical Infusion Pumps Vulnerable To Years Old Critical Bug (bleepingcomputer.com)

CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

• Lack Of Visibility Plaguing ICS Environments - Help Net Security

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Vade Releases 2021 Phishers' Favourites Report (darkreading.com)

• Salt Security releases State of API Security Report - IT Security Guru

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Other News

• Microsoft Teams Grows As Cyber Attack Vector - MSSP Alert

• Ukraine Conflict Puts Organisations’ Cyber-resilience To The Test - Information Security Buzz

• The Cyber Security Implications Of The Russia-Ukraine Conflict (forbes.com)

• Cyber Attackers Are Looking To Exploit People Who Want To Help Ukraine, Security Experts Warn | The Independent

• Multifactor Authentication Is Being Targeted by Hackers – The New Stack

• Attacks Abusing Programming APIs Grew Over 600% In 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Soaring Cyber Attacks On BBC – ‘No Industry Is Untouchable’ - Information Security Buzz

• Bad Actors Are Becoming More Successful At Evading AI/ML Technologies - Help Net Security

• Facebook, Twitter, Google Move To Intercept Russian Propaganda, Disinformation About Ukraine - CyberScoop

• Why the Shifting Nature of Endpoints Requires a New Approach to Security (darkreading.com)

• Open Source Security Fears Are Fading Away | ZDNet

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