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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18th August 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 18 August 2023:

-Ransomware Group Targeting MSPs Worldwide in New Campaign

-As Ransomware Surges, A lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable

-Business Email Compromise Attack Costs Far Exceeding Ransomware Losses

-Email Phishing Remains the Main Entry for Cyber Criminals; People with Six Personality Traits are More Susceptible

-Gartner Study Finds Generative AI to be a Top Emerging Risk for Organisations

-LinkedIn Suffers Significant Wave of Account Hacks

-High Net-Worth Families are at Risk of Cyber Crime

-Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers

-PSNI and UK Voter Breaches Show Data Security Should be Taken More Seriously

-The Imperative of Cyber Preparedness: The Power of Tabletop Exercises

-Why Are Phones a Cyber Security Weak Spot?

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

Ransomware Group Targeting MSPs Worldwide in New Campaign

Russia-based cyber attackers called Play are evolving, with the ransomware group now using remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools at outsourced IT providers or managed service providers (MSPs) to gain access and hit downstream customers. A significant number of eventual targets are medium sized business. The group is also utilising intermittent encryption, where files are only partly encrypted, to avoid detection.

The attacks highlight the need for organisations to be aware of where they are in the supply chain and how they can be targeted through their supplier. It is not enough for an organisation to focus on its own security in isolation; organisations also need to have a way of effectively assessing their supply chain risk which includes their MSP.

Source [Dark Reading]

As Ransomware Surges, A lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable

Ransomware attacks continue to increase, with 1500 victims confirmed this year. It is likely this figure will continue to rise. In parallel, criminals are evolving and with that comes a rise in triple extortion; attackers are not just encrypting and exfiltrating an organisation’s data, but also using this data to blackmail employees and target third parties, hitting the supply chain.

Unfortunately for SMBs, they do not have the resources to keep up with such attacks, making them the most vulnerable. A report found that organisations that had 51 to 200 employees were the most targeted, followed by organisations with 11 to 50 employees. When it came to the types of organisations, the Financial Services sector placed first.

This should not mean SMBs should just accept this and wait to be attacked; on the contrary, their increased vulnerability means that SMBs need to effectively prioritise and allocate resources, and if necessary getting in specialist external help, to ensure their protections are the best that resources allow.

Sources [WWD] [InfoSecurity Magazine] [CRN]

Business Email Compromise Attack Costs Far Exceeding Ransomware Losses

Cloudflare's 2023 Phishing Threats Report recorded a 17% spike in business email compromise (BEC) related financial losses between December 2021 and 2022, noting that threat actors are increasingly leaning on this attack method to target organisations. Additionally, across 2022 nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents to the study said they experienced an attempted or successful BEC attack. The Cloudflare report found that the financial impact of BEC led to organisations suffering losses in excess of $2.7 billion, whereas ransomware caused losses of $34.3 million during the same period.

Source [ITPro]

Email Phishing Remains the Main Entry for Cyber Criminals; People with Six Personality Traits are More Susceptible

According to a report, phishing attacks were found to be the initial attack vector for nine in ten cyber attacks. The report found that the focus of a cyber criminal tended to be two objectives: achieving authenticity and getting victims to click. Worryingly, 89% of unwanted messages were found to have bypassed authentication checks, leaving people and procedures as the last line of defence in an organisation.

A separate study found that having the following traits made a user more susceptible to phishing: extroverted, agreeable, people-pleasing, quick to trust, fearful or respectful of authority, and poor self-control.

With employees playing such an important role in preventing phishing, organisations need to ensure that employees are aware of what to look for in a phishing email with regular training to account for evolving tactics. This training should be carried out by experts with experience of conducting phishing simulations, accompanied with the ability to educate users on how they can protect themselves from falling victim.

Sources [Tech Radar] [Makeuseof]

Gartner Study Finds Generative AI to be a Top Emerging Risk for Organisations

In a recent survey, Gartner found that generative AI models such as ChatGPT were the second greatest emerging risk, with concerns around data privacy. This has led to organisations looking to ban such AI, with a separate report by Blackberry finding that ChatGPT faced banning from 75% of organisations.

Banning AI in the organisation is a short-term solution. The benefits of AI are clear and its usefulness in an organisation is significant, with reports finding 75% of IT leaders in favour. Organisations should instead look at how they can govern the usage of AI in their organisation, to reduce the risk of AI-related incidents and improve the effectiveness of work.

Sources [Security Magazine] [Analytics Insight] [IT Security Guru] [Decrypt]

LinkedIn Suffers Significant Wave of Account Hacks

LinkedIn users are reporting losing access to their accounts, with some being pressured into paying a ransom to get back in or else face permanent account deletion. LinkedIn is no stranger to being a target of cyber criminals; last year, the platform was deemed the most abused brand in phishing attempts likely due to its recognisability and widespread use in the corporate world. This extended as far as threat actors using fake LinkedIn profiles.

With the number of accounts being compromised, users need to be vigilant in their use of LinkedIn and be on the lookout for suspicious messages. Black Arrow recommends that users ensure they are using strong and unique passwords, combined with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect themselves.

Source [Dark Reading]

High Net-Worth Families are at Risk of Cyber Crime

A report found that high net-worth families have prioritised cyber security with a notable 77% of respondents stating they had a cyber security plan; however, 55% said their plan “could be better”.

A cyber security plan is not optional anymore. High net-worth families are at increased risk, with criminals cottoning on to the amount of information that is out there and the financial gain that can be made if that information is used effectively. Social media is just one of the things increasing the risk of cyber crime; unbeknownst to some families, their social media may be providing criminals a treasure trove of insight into a family’s wealth, real-time location and habits. Such information can be used by a cyber criminal to employ attacks.

Source [Campdenfb]

Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued rules that formally outlined directors’ responsibilities in cyber security governance for the first time, laying the groundwork for potential enforcement actions. The recently issued rules bring potential regulatory probes and shareholder legal class action alleging senior executives failed to supervise their businesses’ cyber security practices.

Although the practice is not yet universal, a growing number of director and officer (D&O) policies are being drafted with cyber related exclusions. Meanwhile, most cyber insurance policies exempt SEC enforcement actions and investor claims, but some cover allegations against a company’s executives over their cyber security roles.

Whilst this is only in the US at the moment, other developed nations are likely to follow suit.

Source [Bloomberg Law]

PSNI and UK Voter Breaches Show Data Security Should be Taken More Seriously

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the UK Electoral Commission both suffered cyber incidents on the same day. Whilst both incidents were different in how they happened, the result was the same: sensitive information had been leaked. In the case of the PSNI, the data was leaked through a response to a freedom of information (FOI) request, in which an Excel sheet was accidentally included by the PSNI. The Electoral Commission incident resulted from a cyber attack.

The incidents are a wake-up call for organisations. If you have not already done so, you need to put things in place to help protect your data from ending up online. The PSNI incident in particular highlights the need to ensure that data does not leave the organisation by accident.

Source [The Guardian]

The Imperative of Cyber Preparedness: The Power of Tabletop Exercises

Cyber security has become an inescapable concern for organisations across industries. With cyber threats ranging from data breaches to ransomware attacks, it is paramount that companies remain vigilant and prepared.

A key way to be prepared is through a tabletop exercise that simulates a hypothetical cyber security incident and helps organisations to practice and evaluate their response. One example scenario can be responding to a ransomware attack blocking access to the organisation's computers for a ransom. These exercises serve as a practical, engaging, and low-risk way for teams to identify vulnerabilities in current plans, improve coordination, and evaluate the decision-making process during a crisis and this is something that we do with our clients on a regular basis.

Source [JDSupra]

Why Are Phones a Cyber Security Weak Spot?

Mobile phones are more interconnected than ever, with their usage extending to the workplace. Despite this, they often enter the corporate environment with a lack of protection and oversight. When laptops are in the corporate environment they are often secured through methods such as encryption and often the organisation has a clear oversight of the applications and activity on the laptop. Mobile phones on the other hand, are often left unmonitored, despite the fact they can and often do carry sensitive information.

Mobile phones also carry additional risks; for a start, they are easier to lose, due to their size difference and the fact they are often out more. In addition, they may have more entry points. Internet of things (IoT) devices, such as smart appliances, are often controlled by phones, making them another entry point for an attacker.

Source [Tech Shout]


Governance, Risk and Compliance


Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Botnets

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Insurance

Dark Web

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

Cloud/SaaS

Containers

Encryption

API

Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Malvertising

Training, Education and Awareness

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda


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

Russia

China

Iran

North Korea

Misc/Other/Unknown


Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls



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 Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 August 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 11 August 2023:

-75% of Organisations Worldwide Set to Ban ChatGPT and Generative AI Apps on Work Devices

-How an Eight-Character Password Could be Cracked in Just a Few Minutes

-Ransomware Victims Surge 143% as Threat Actors Pivot to Zero-Day Exploits

-How Executives’ Personal Devices Threaten Business Security

-77% of Financial Firms Saw an Increase in Cyber Attack Frequency

-Protecting Against Sophisticated Cyber Attacks Requires Layered Defences

-Managing Human Cyber Risks Matters Now More Than Ever

-Hackers are Targeting Top Executives’ Microsoft 365 Accounts to Steal Work Logins

-UK Shaken by Major Data Breaches

-Threat of Cyber Attacks to UK National Security Upgraded: Compared to Chemical Weapons or Nuclear Attack

-Mac Users are Facing More Dangerous Security Threats Than Ever Before

-Cyber Attack to Cost Outsourcing Firm Capita up to £25m

-Government and Public Services Face 40% More Cyber Attacks and Struggle to Protect Due to Lack of Resources

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

75% of Organisations Worldwide Set to Ban ChatGPT and Generative AI Apps on Work Devices

Newly released research found that 75% of organisations worldwide are currently implementing or considering bans on ChatGPT and other generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications within the workplace, with 61% stating that it will be a long term or permanent solution. Despite this, the majority recognised the opportunity such applications bring to the workplace, with 55% believing it would increase efficiency. All in all, 81% remained in favour of AI, highlighting that whilst organisations see the benefit, they are not ready to take the plunge for fear of being caught flat-footed.

Many organisations may simply not have the expertise-in house or confidence to employ AI effectively. These organisations lack an effective AI management plan, which governs the usage of AI in the corporate environment, rather than banning it outright. By having a clear-set AI plan, organisations can use AI to improve their efficiency, whilst maintaining cyber resilience. An increasing number of organisations have approached us at Black Arrow to discuss how to embrace AI securely; contact us to see how we can help you.

Source: [Dark Reading]

How an Eight-Character Password Could be Cracked in Just a Few Minutes

Strong and complex passwords are necessary to protect online accounts and data from cyber criminals. Complex passwords typically use lowercase and uppercase characters, numbers, and special characters. But complexity by itself can still open your password to cracking if it doesn’t contain enough characters, according to research by security firm Hive Systems. The report found that a complex password of eight characters can be cracked in only five minutes, and other weaker or shorter passwords are cracked instantly. However, passwords that have a greater number of characters are less vulnerable: for example an 18 character password, even if only lowercase letters, would take 481,000 years for a computer to crack.

Since creating and remembering multiple complex and lengthy passwords on your own is impossible, a password manager is your best bet. By using a password manager for yourself or within your organisation, you can generate, store and apply strong passwords for websites and online accounts.

Source: [Techrepublic]

Ransomware Victims Surge 143% as Threat Actors Pivot to Zero-Day Exploits

The number of organisations that became victims of ransomware attacks surged 143% between the first quarter of 2022 and first quarter of this year, as attackers increasingly leveraged zero-day vulnerabilities to break into target networks.

In many of these attacks, threat actors did not bother to encrypt data belonging to victim organisations. Instead, they focused solely on stealing their sensitive data and extorting victims by threatening to sell or leak the data to others. The tactic left even those with otherwise robust backup and restoration processes backed into a corner; this highlights the need for organisations to be able to detect and ideally block anomalous exfiltration of data, and have effective and rehearsed incident response plans to address the concept of pure exfiltration, because having backups is not enough.

The costs of these types of controls continue to fall making them viable for even smaller businesses. Without tools like Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), attacks of this nature cannot be detected until it is too late to do anything to stop them.

Source: [Dark Reading]

How Executives’ Personal Devices Threaten Business Security

Individuals, including executives, are considered a major target for cyber attacks. Motivated attackers know the right individual people they want to go after to achieve their larger organisational goal, and they’ll use any means necessary to be successful.

A recent report found that most executives are using their personal devices for work, creating a “backdoor” for cyber criminals to access large organisations. 50% of executive respondents reported receiving work-related scams in their personal emails.

Personal device use can be effective for organisations, however they need to implement an effective bring-your-own-device (BYOD) procedure and provide employees, including executives, with frequent user awareness and education training. All users at all levels within an organisation need to understand the risks, and importantly the role they play in keeping the organisation secure.

Sources: [Help Net Security] [Security Affairs]

77% of Financial Firms Saw an Increase in Cyber Attack Frequency

According a recent report on the financial services sector, 77% of firms reported an increase in attack frequency, and 87% said attacks were more severe. These firms unanimously said they would look to outsource their cyber security programs to third-party providers to shore up their cyber defences. Among the respondents, firms need to protect hybrid work environments (62%), consolidate cyber security and managed IT services (41%) and tap industry-specific and regulatory expertise (33%).

Source: [SecurityMagazine]

Protecting Against Sophisticated Cyber Attacks Requires Layered Defences

Faced with an influx of sophisticated cyber threats, including usage of AI to further enhance the efficacy of social engineering attacks, and the growth of both malware-as-a-service (MaaS) and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), it is critical for organisations to invest in layered security defences.

Services like managed detection and response (MDR) are integral to monitoring, investigating and responding to threats in real time. But without a strong and comprehensive foundational cyber security posture, managed services alone cannot effectively mitigate threats. To ensure comprehensive defences against emerging threats, organisations must prioritise proactive measures that can stop attacks before they even start. As adversaries continue to refine their attack techniques, layered protection that covers every stage in the attack chain becomes imperative.

Source: [Forbes]

Managing Human Cyber Risks Matters Now More Than Ever

As artificial intelligence (AI) amplifies the sophistication and reach of phishing, vishing, and smishing attacks, understanding and managing human cyber risks has become increasingly vital, according to the SANS Institute. It makes sense as no matter the technological advancement, the human element has always been a point of entry for attackers.

A recent study found that mature security programs, marked by robust teams and leadership support, are characterised by having at least three full-time employees in their security awareness teams. In some cases, this isn’t feasible for an organisation and this is where outsourcing comes in. By outsourcing security awareness, organisations can ensure that they have access to security awareness experts, to keep their organisation educated. Here at Black Arrow we offer regular security and awareness training, bespoke to your organisation, for your employees and leadership team.

Source: [Help Net Security]

Hackers are Targeting Top Executives’ Microsoft 365 Accounts to Steal Work Logins

Cyber security provider Proofpoint reported that high-level execs at some of the world’s leading companies are repeatedly targeted with credential-stealing attacks. More alarmingly, according to Proofpoint, around one-third (35%) of the compromised users had multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled.

The attacks come amid a rise in cases of EvilProxy, a phishing tool that allows attackers to steal even MFA-protected credentials. In the three months to June 2023, around 120,000 EvilProxy phishing emails were observed being sent to hundreds of targeted organisations globally, with many targeting Microsoft 365 user accounts in particular. Approximately 39% of the victims were C-level executives of which 17% were Chief Financial Officers, and 9% were Presidents and CEOs. Users must be trained effectively, to help mitigate the chance of them suffering a phishing attack. The C-suite is no exception.

Sources: [Help Net Security] [Security Affairs]

UK Shaken by Major Data Breaches

Recent major data breaches impacting crucial institutions like the UK Electoral Commission (which exposed the data of 40 million UK voters) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, have brought attention to potential risks. Following a recent freedom of information request 10,000 police officers and staff details where published including details such as first name and surname, their rank or grade and the unit and where they are based. This breach occurred when a junior member of staff forgot to remove the master spreadsheet containing sensitive data when responding to the request.

Sources: [Telegraph] [Tech Crunch]

Threat of Cyber Attacks to UK National Security Upgraded: Compared to Chemical Weapons or Nuclear Attack

The UK government has raised the threat level posed by cyber attacks, now deeming the risk of cyber attacks to be more severe than that presented by small-scale chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attacks according to the latest National Risk Register (NRR) report for 2023. The report also highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) as a “chronic risk” – that is, one that poses “continuous challenges that erode our economy, community, way of life, and/or national security”.

Sources: [ITPro] [Infosecurity Magazine]

Mac Users are Facing More Dangerous Security Threats Than Ever Before

Apple’s MacBook Pro or iPhone devices are often perceived as safer, from a cyber security standpoint, compared to those from Microsoft or Google, mostly because of its “walled garden” approach. However, another key reason why hackers were not historically as interested in Apple was the smaller market share Apple held. That is no longer the case and as attacks are rising against Apple devices, this is something we expect to see continuing to accelerate.

In the last 10 years, Apple’s market share on desktop has increased from less than 7.5% to just over 20% today. Apple frequently patches actively exploited vulnerabilities, with overall 261 security vulnerabilities addressed so far this year. A recent report found that Mac users are targeted by three key threats: Trojans, Adware, and Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA). Of the three, Trojans are the biggest single threat, making up more than half of all threat detections. Of all those detections, around half (52.7%) were for the EvilQuest encryption malicious software.

Source: [Techradar]

Cyber Attack to Cost Outsourcing Firm Capita up to £25m

Capita expects to take a financial hit of as much as £25m as a result of a cyber attack that began in March, pushing the outsourcing group to a pre-tax loss of almost £68m for the first half of the year. The group is still recovering from the attack by the Black Basta ransomware group, which hacked its Microsoft Office 365 software and accessed the personal data of staff working for the company and dozens of clients. Capita, which runs crucial services for local councils, the military, and the NHS, estimated that the financial costs associated with what it called the “cyber incident” would be between £20m and £25m. Previous estimates had put the cost at £15m to £20m.

The group said this new figure reflected the complexities of analysing the “exfiltrated” data, as well as costs of recovery and remediation and new investment to improve its cyber security. However, Capita said it was not currently able to estimate the level of any potential fine related to the incident and had not yet made any provision to cover any future costs. The company’s shares fell by more than 12% in morning trading on Friday after the release of its results, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 250.

Source: [Guardian]

Government and Public Services Face 40% More Cyber Attacks and Struggle to Protect Due to Lack of Resources

A report published by BlackBerry noted a 40% rise in cyber attacks against public sector organisations and government institutions. One of the reasons is the limited resources and resistance that these government and public have; this makes it much easier for an attacker. An easy target is an attractive target.

Source: [Financial Express]


Governance, Risk and Compliance


Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Botnets

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Impersonation Attacks

Insurance

Dark Web

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

Cloud/SaaS

Containers

Identity and Access Management

Encryption

Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Biometrics

Social Media

Malvertising

Training, Education and Awareness

Travel

Parental Controls and Child Safety

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring


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

Russia

China

Iran

North Korea

Misc/Other/Unknown


Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities


Tools and Controls

Other News


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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 06 January 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 06 January 2023:

-Cyber War in Ukraine, Ransomware Fears Drive Surge in Demand for Threat Intelligence Tools

-Cyber Premiums Holding Firms to Ransom

-Ransomware Ecosystem Becoming More Diverse For 2023

-Attackers Evolve Strategies to Outmanoeuvre Security Teams

-Building a Security-First Culture: The Key to Cyber Success

-Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue

-First LastPass, Now Slack and CircleCI. The Hacks Go On (and will likely worsen)

-Data of 235 Million Twitter Users Leaked Online

-16 Car Makers, including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota, and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, Infrastructure

-Ransomware Gang Apologizes, Gives SickKids Hospital Free Decryptor

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 War in Ukraine, Ransomware Fears Drive 2022 Surge in Demand for Threat Intelligence Tools

Amid the heightened fear of ransomware in 2022, threat intelligence emerged as a core requirement of doing business in a world gone mad.

A sizable amount of interest in the historically tech-centric discipline was fuelled in part by fear of cyber attacks tied to the war between Russia and Ukraine. In one example, the Ukrainian government warned the world that the Russian military was planning for multi-pronged attacks targeting the energy sector. Other nation-state cyber attack operations also contributed to the demand, including one June 2022 incident were Iran’s Cobalt Mirage exploited PowerShell vulnerabilities to launch ransomware attacks.

And of course, headlines of data breaches tied to vulnerabilities that organisations did not even know existed within their networks caught the attention not just of security teams, but the C-Suite and corporate board. A misconfigured Microsoft server, for example, wound up exposing years of sensitive data for tens of thousands of its customers, including personally identifiable information, user data, product and project details and intellectual property.

Indeed, according to 183 security pros surveyed by CyberRisk Alliance Business Intelligence in June 2022, threat intelligence has become critical in arming their security operations centres (SOCs) and incident response teams with operational data to help them make timely, informed decisions to prevent system downtime, thwart the theft of confidential data, and protect intellectual property.

Threat intelligence has emerged as a useful tool for educating executives. Many also credited threat intelligence for helping them protect their company and customer data — and potentially saving their organisation's reputation.

https://www.scmagazine.com/resource/threat-intelligence/2022-year-in-review-threat-intelligence-tools

  • Cyber Premiums Holding Firms to Ransom

Soaring premiums for cyber security insurance are leaving businesses struggling to pay other bills, a key industry player has warned.

Mactavish, which buys insurance policies on behalf of companies, said that more than half of big businesses that had bought cyber security insurance had been forced to make cuts elsewhere to pay for it.

In a survey of 200 companies with a turnover above £10 million, Mactavish found that businesses were reducing office costs and staff bonuses and were cutting other types of insurance to meet the higher payments.

Last month Marsh, an insurance broker, revealed that costs for cyber insurance had increased by an average of 66 per cent in the third quarter compared with last year.

Meanwhile, the risk to businesses from hackers continues to rise. A government report on digital threats, published this month, showed the proportion of businesses experiencing cyber security incidents at least monthly had increased from 53 per cent to 60 per cent in the past year. Uber, Cisco and InterContinental Hotels Group were among high-profile targets this year.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyber-safety-premiums-hold-firms-to-ransom-tnrsz3vs2

  • Ransomware Ecosystem Becoming More Diverse for 2023

The ransomware ecosystem has changed significantly in 2022, with attackers shifting from large groups that dominated the landscape toward smaller ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations in search of more flexibility and drawing less attention from law enforcement. This democratisation of ransomware is bad news for organisations because it also brought in a diversification of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), more indicators of compromise (IOCs) to track, and potentially more hurdles to jump through when trying to negotiate or pay ransoms.

Since 2019 the ransomware landscape has been dominated by big and professionalised ransomware operations that constantly made the news headlines and even looked for media attention to gain legitimacy with potential victims. We've seen ransomware groups with spokespeople who offered interviews to journalists or issued "press releases" on Twitter and their data leak websites in response to big breaches.

The DarkSide attack against Colonial Pipeline that led to a major fuel supply disruption along the US East Coast in 2021 highlighted the risk that ransomware attacks can have against critical infrastructure and led to increased efforts to combat this threat at the highest levels of government. This heightened attention from law enforcement made the owners of underground cyber crime forums reconsider their relationship with ransomware groups, with some forums banning the advertising of such threats. DarkSide ceased operations soon thereafter and was followed later in the year by REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, whose creators were indicted and one was even arrested. REvil was one of the most successful ransomware groups since 2019.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 quickly put a strain on the relationship between many ransomware groups who had members and affiliates in both Russia and Ukraine, or other former USSR countries. Some groups, such as Conti, rushed to take sides in the war, threatening to attack Western infrastructure in support of Russia. This was a departure from the usual business-like apolitical approach in which ransomware gangs had run their operations and drew criticism from other competing groups.

This was also followed by a leak of internal communications that exposed many of Conti's operational secrets and caused uneasiness with its affiliates. Following a major attack against the Costa Rican government the US State Department put up a reward of $10 million for information related to the identity or location of Conti's leaders, which likely contributed to the group's decision to shut down operations in May.

Conti's disappearance led to a drop in ransomware activity for a couple of months, but it didn't last long as the void was quickly filled by other groups, some of them newly set up and suspected to be the creation of former members of Conti, REvil and other groups that ceased operations over the past two years.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3684248/ransomware-ecosystem-becoming-more-diverse-for-2023.html#tk.rss_news

  • Attackers Evolve Strategies to Outmanoeuvre Security Teams

Attackers are expected to broaden their targeting strategy beyond regulated verticals such as financial services and healthcare. Large corporations (41%) will be the top targeted sector for cyber attacks in 2023, favoured over financial institutions (36%), government (14%), healthcare (9%), and education (8%), according to cyber security solution provider Titaniam.

The fast pace of change has introduced new vulnerabilities into corporate networks, making them an increasingly attractive target for cyber attackers. To compete in the digital marketplace, large companies are adopting more cloud services, aggregating data, pushing code into production faster, and connecting applications and systems via APIs.

As a result, misconfigured services, unprotected databases, little-tested applications, and unknown and unsecured APIs abound, all of which can be exploited by attackers.

The top four threats in 2022 were malware (30%), ransomware and extortion (27%), insider threats (26%), and phishing (17%).

The study found that enterprises expected malware (40%) to be their biggest challenge in 2023, followed by insider threats (26%), ransomware and related extortion (21%), and phishing (16%).

Malware, however, has more enterprises worried for 2023 than it did for 2022. It is important to note that these threats can overlap, where insiders can have a hand in ransomware attacks, phishing can be a source of malware, etc.

Attackers are evolving their strategies to surprise and outmanoeuvre security teams, which have hardened ransomware defences and improved phishing detection. They’re using new malware, such as loaders, infostealers, and wipers to accelerate attacks, steal sensitive data and create mayhem.

They’re also buying and stealing employee credentials to walk in through the front door of corporate networks.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/04/attackers-evolve-strategies-outmaneuver-security-teams/

  • Building a Security-First Culture: The Key to Cyber Success

Everyone has heard a car alarm go off in the middle of the night, but how often does that notification actually lead to action? Most people will hear the alarm, glance in its direction and then hope the owner will quickly remedy the situation.

Cars alarms often fail because they go off too often, leading to apathy and annoyance instead of being a cause for emergency. For many, cyber security has also become this way. While we see an increase in the noise surrounding the need for organisations to improve the security skillset and knowledge base of employees, there continues to be little proactive action on this front. Most organisations only provide employees with elementary-grade security training, often during their initial onboarding process or as part of a standard training requirement.

At the same time, many organisations also make the grave mistake of leaving all of their security responsibilities and obligations in the hands of IT and security teams. Time and time again, this approach has proven to be highly ineffective, especially as cyber criminals refine their social engineering tactics and target user accounts to execute their attacks.

Alarmingly, recent research found that 30% of employees do not think that they play a role in maintaining their company’s cyber security posture. The same report also revealed that only 39% of employees say they are likely to report a security incident.

As traditional boundaries of access disintegrate and more employees obtain permissions to sensitive company data and systems to carry out their tasks, business leaders must change the mindset of their employees when it comes to the role they play in keeping the organisation safe from cyber crime. The key is developing an integrated cyber security strategy that incorporates all aspects—including all stakeholders—of the organisation. This should be a strategy that breaks down departmental barriers and creates a culture of security responsibility where every team member plays a part.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/01/03/building-a-security-first-culture-the-key-to-cyber-success/

  • Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue

Back in November 2021, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalogue to help federal agencies and critical infrastructure organisations identify and remediate vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited. CISA added 548 new vulnerabilities to the catalogue across 58 updates from January to end of November 2022, according to cyber security solution provider Grey Noise in its first-ever "GreyNoise Mass Exploits Report."

Including the approximately 300 vulnerabilities added in November and December 2021, CISA listed approximately 850 vulnerabilities in the first year of the catalogue's existence.

Actively exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Apple products accounted for over half of the updates to the KEV catalogue in 2022, Grey Noise found. Seventy-seven percent of the updates to the KEV catalogue were older vulnerabilities dating back to before 2022. Many of these vulnerabilities have been around for two decades.

Several of the vulnerabilities in the KEV catalogue are from products that have already entered end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-service-life (EOSL), according to an analysis by a team from cyber security solution provider Cyber Security Works. Even though Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 are EOSL products, the KEV catalogue lists 127 Server 2008 vulnerabilities and 117 Windows 7 vulnerabilities.

Even though the catalogue was originally intended for critical infrastructure and public-sector organisations, it has become the authoritative source on which vulnerabilities are – or have been – exploited by attackers. This is key because the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) assigned Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifiers for over 12,000 vulnerabilities in 2022, and it would be unwieldy for enterprise defenders to assess every single one to identify the ones relevant to their environments. Enterprise teams can use the catalogue's curated list of CVEs under active attack to create their priority lists.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-threat-monitor/adobe-apple-cisco-microsoft-flaws-make-up-half-of-kev-catalog

  • First LastPass, Now Slack and CircleCI. The Hacks Go On (and will likely worsen)

In the past week, the world has learned of serious breaches hitting chat service Slack and software testing and delivery company CircleCI, though giving the companies' opaque wording—“security issue” and “security incident,” respectively—you'd be forgiven for thinking these events were minor.

The compromises—in Slack’s case, the theft of employee token credentials and for CircleCI, the possible exposure of all customer secrets it stores—come two weeks after password manager LastPass disclosed its own security failure: the theft of customers’ password vaults containing sensitive data in both encrypted and clear text form. It’s not clear if all three breaches are related, but that’s certainly a possibility.

The most concerning of the two new breaches is the one hitting CircleCI. The company reported a “security incident” that prompted it to advise customers to rotate “all secrets” they store on the service. The alert also informed customers that it had invalidated their Project API tokens, an event requiring them to go through the hassle of replacing them.

CircleCI says it’s used by more than 1 million developers in support of 30,000 organisations and runs nearly 1 million daily jobs. The potential exposure of all those secrets—which could be login credentials, access tokens, and who knows what else—could prove disastrous for the security of the entire Internet.

It’s possible that some or all of these breaches are related. The Internet relies on a massive ecosystem of content delivery networks, authentication services, software development tool makers, and other companies. Threat actors frequently hack one company and use the data or access they obtain to breach that company's customers or partners. That was the case with the August breach of security provider Twilio. The same threat actor targeted 136 other companies. Something similar played out in the last days of 2020 when hackers compromised Solar Winds, gained control of its software build system, and used it to infect roughly 40 Solar Winds customers.

For now, people should brace themselves for additional disclosures from companies they rely on. Checking internal system logs for suspicious entries, turning on multifactor authentication, and patching network systems are always good ideas, but given the current events, those precautions should be expedited. It’s also worth checking logs for any contact with the IP address 54.145.167.181, which one security practitioner said was connected to the CircleCI breach.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/01/first-lastpass-now-slack-and-circleci-the-hacks-go-on-and-will-likely-worsen/

  • Data of 235 Million Twitter Users Leaked Online

A data leak containing email addresses for 235 million Twitter users has been published on a popular hacker forum. Many experts have immediately analysed it and confirmed the authenticity of many of the entries in the huge leaked archive.

In January 2022, a report claimed the discovery of a vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker to find a Twitter account by the associated phone number/email, even if the user has opted to prevent this in the privacy options. The vulnerability was exploited by multiple threat actors to scrape Twitter user profiles containing both private (phone numbers and email addresses) and public data, and was present within the social media platforms application programming interface (API) from June 2021 until January 2022.

At the end of July 2022, a threat actor leaked data of 5.4 million Twitter accounts that were obtained by exploiting the forementioned, now-fixed vulnerability in the popular social media platform. The scraped data was then put up for sale on various online cyber crime marketplaces. In August, Twitter confirmed that the data breach was caused by a now-patched zero-day flaw.

In December another Twitter data leak made the headlines, a threat actor obtained data of 400,000,000 Twitter users and attempted to sell it. The seller claimed the database is private, and he provided a sample of 1,000 accounts as proof of claims which included the private information of prominent users such as Donald Trump JR, Brian Krebs, and many more. The seller, who is a member of a popular data breach forum, claimed the data was scraped via a vulnerability. The database includes emails and phone numbers of celebrities, politicians, companies, normal users, and a lot of special usernames.

https://securityaffairs.com/140352/data-breach/twitter-data-leak-235m-users.html

  • 16 Car Makers, including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota, and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, and Infrastructure

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car functions and start or stop the engine.

Multiple other security defects, the researchers say, allowed them to access a car maker’s internal applications and systems, leading to the exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to customers and employees, and account takeover, among others. The hacks targeted telematic systems, automotive APIs, and infrastructure.

Impacted car models include Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Toyota. The vulnerabilities were identified over the course of 2022. Car manufacturers were informed about the security holes and they released patches.

According to the researchers, they were able to send commands to Acura, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Infiniti, Nissan, and Porsche vehicles.

Using only the VIN (vehicle identification number), which is typically visible on the windshield, the researchers were able to start/stop the engine, remotely lock/unlock the vehicle, flash headlights, honk vehicles, and retrieve the precise location of Acura, Honda, Kia, Infiniti, and Nissan cars.

They could also lock users out of remote vehicle management and could change car ownership.

https://www.securityweek.com/16-car-makers-and-their-vehicles-hacked-telematics-apis-infrastructure

  • Ransomware Gang Apologises, and Gives SickKids Hospital Free Decrypter

The LockBit ransomware gang has released a free decrypter for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), saying one of its members violated rules by attacking the healthcare organisation. SickKids is a teaching and research hospital in Toronto that focuses on providing healthcare to sick children.

On December 18th, the hospital suffered a ransomware attack that impacted internal and corporate systems, hospital phone lines, and the website. While the attack only encrypted a few systems, SickKids stated that the incident caused delays in receiving lab and imaging results and resulted in longer patient wait times.

On December 29th, SickKids announced that it had restored 50% of its priority systems, including those causing diagnostic or treatment delays. Two days after SickKids' latest announcement, the LockBit ransomware gang apologised for the attack on the hospital and released a decrypter for free.

“We formally apologise for the attack on sikkids.ca and give back the decrypter for free, the partner who attacked this hospital violated our rules, is blocked and is no longer in our affiliate programme," stated the ransomware gang.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ransomware-gang-apologizes-gives-sickkids-hospital-free-decryptor/


Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Malware

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Impersonation Attacks

AML/CFT/Sanctions

Insurance

Dark Web

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

Cloud/SaaS

Encryption

API

Open Source

Social Media

Parental Controls and Child Safety

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Secure Disposal

Backup and Recovery

Data Protection

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

Artificial Intelligence

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

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






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 14 October 2022

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 October 2022:

-Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds

-LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs

-Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks

-Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets

-UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security

-For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks

-EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet

-Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise

-Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies

-Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy

-Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm

-Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users

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

  • Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds

Some organisations have made significant improvements to their ransomware readiness profile in the last year, Axio said in a newly released report. However, a lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, inadequate vulnerability patching and employee training continues to leave ransomware defences lacking in potency.

Axio’s report reveals that only 30% of organisations have a ransomware-specific playbook for incident management in place. In 2021’s report Axio, maker of a cloud-based cyber management software platform, identified seven key areas emerged where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices.

The same patterns showed up in the 2022 report:

  • Managing privileged access.

  • Improving basic cyber hygiene.

  • Reducing exposure to supply chain and third-party risk.

  • Monitoring and defending networks.

  • Managing ransomware incidents.

  • Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner.

  • Improving cyber security training and awareness.

Overall, most organisations surveyed are not adequately prepared to manage the risk associated with a ransomware attack. Key data findings include:

  • The number of organisations with a functional privileged access management solution in place increased by 10% but remains low at 33% overall.

  • Limitations on the use of service and local administrator accounts remain average overall, with nearly 50% of organisations reporting implementing these practices.

  • Approximately 40% of organisations monitor third-party network access, evaluate third-party cyber security posture, and limit the use of third-party software.

  • Less than 50% of respondents implement basic network segmentation and only 40% monitor for anomalous connections.

  • Critical vulnerability patching within 24 hours was reported by only 24% of organisations.

  • Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/most-organizations-unprepared-for-ransomware-attack-lack-incident-playbook-axio-reports/

  • LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs

Business owners with public social media accounts are easy targets for scammers who lift information to create fake accounts. The arduous process for removing fraudulent accounts leaves victims frustrated and vulnerable to further data privacy issues. Victims say platform providers, particularly Facebook and Instagram, must improve their responses to reports of fraud.

Impersonation of a brand or executive contributed to more than 40% of all phishing and social media incidents in the second quarter, according to the Agari and Phish Labs Quarterly Threat Trends and Intelligence Report released in August. Q2 marks the second quarter that impersonation attacks have represented the majority of threats, despite a 6.1% decrease from Q1.

Executive impersonation has been on the rise over the past four quarters — representing more than 15% of attacks, according to the report — as impersonating a corporate figure or company on social media is simple and effective for threat actors.

Thom Singer, CEO for the Austin Technology Council and a public speaker, was recently impersonated on Instagram. A scammer created a fake Instagram account with his name and photos, creating a handle with an extra "r" at the end of Singer. That account appeared to amass over 2,300 followers – nearly as many as Singer's own account – lending to its appearance of authenticity.

He learned of the fake account from a contact who texted to ask if he'd reached out on Instagram, which wasn't a channel Singer typically uses to communicate. Singer reported the fraudulent account using the platform's report button and asked his followers to do the same.

"You can't reach anyone at these platforms, so it takes days to get a fake account removed," Singer said. "These social media sites have no liability, nothing to lose when fraud is happening. They need to up their game and have a better process to get [fraud] handled in a timely manner."

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/LinkedIn-scams-fake-Instagram-accounts-hit-businesses-execs

  • Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks

A new study from behavioural risk firm CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) has been launched and it highlights an alarming surge in phishing and identity theft attacks.

The report, titled ‘Oh, Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors report’, studied the opinions of 3,000 individuals across the US, the UK and Canada towards cyber security and revealed that nearly half (45%) of users are connected to the internet all the time, however, this has led to a surge in identity theft with almost 1 in 4 people being affected by the attack.

Furthermore, 1 in 3 (36%) respondents revealed they have lost money or data due to a phishing attack. Yet the study also revealed that 70% of respondents feel confident in their ability to identify a malicious email, but only 45% will confirm the authenticity of a suspicious email by reaching out to the apparent sender.

When it comes to implementing cyber security best practices, only 33% of respondents revealed they use a unique password for important online accounts, while only 16% utilise passwords of over 12 characters in length. Furthermore, only 18% of participants have downloaded a stand-alone password manager, while 43% of respondents have not even heard of multi-factor authentication.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/12/study-highlights-surge-in-identity-theft-and-phishing-attacks/

  • Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets

A cyber insurer, Acuity Insurance, is reporting an increased need for cyber liability insurance across both personal and business policyholders. From June 2021 to June 2022, the insurer saw cyber liability insurance claims on its commercial insurance policies increase by more than 50%. For personal policies, they saw more than a 90% increase in cyber claims being reported in 2021 compared with 2020.

Our lives, homes and businesses are more connected than ever before. Being connected leads to a greater risk of cyber attacks, which aren't covered under standard homeowners or business insurance policies.

The insurance experts caution that everyone is at risk — whether you are a small business owner or an individual — as cyber attacks continue to pose a serious financial threat. From 2019 to 2021, cyber attacks were up 50% from the previous year, according to recent research. Wire fraud and gift card scams are two of the most common types of cyber attacks impacting both businesses and individuals.

Scams involving social engineering are some of the easiest to fall for, as fraudsters exploit a person's trust to obtain money or personal information, which can then be used for unauthorised withdrawals of money. Cyber insurance can protect you from financial loss caused by wire transfer fraud, phishing attacks, cyber extortion, cyberbullying and more, Acuity reported.

While all cyber crimes have a financial impact, fraudulent wire transfers often come with greater losses. Banks are typically not responsible for funds lost as a result of a fraudulent wire transfer inadvertently authorised by the customer. Whether it's a wrongful money transfer by a business or an individual, cyber insurance can help mitigate some of the financial loss caused by these scams.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/acuity-reports-increase-in-cyber-liability-insurance-claims-as-cybercrime-skyrockets

  • UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security

The UK government has warned organisations to take steps to strengthen their supply chain security.

New National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance has been issued amid a significant increase in supply chain attacks in recent years, such as the SolarWinds incident in 2020. The NCSC cited official government data showing that just over one in 10 businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers (13%), while the proportion covering the wider supply chain is just 7%.

Aimed at medium-to-large organisations, the document sets out practical steps to better assess cyber security across increasingly complex supply chains. This includes a description of typical supplier relationships and ways that organisations are exposed to vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks via the supply chain, and the expected outcomes and key steps needed to assess suppliers’ approaches to security.

The new guidance followed a government response to a call for views last year which highlighted the need for further advice. Supply chain attacks are a major cyber threat facing organisations and incidents can have a profound, long-lasting impact on businesses and customers. With incidents on the rise, it is vital organisations work with their suppliers to identify supply chain risks and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-government-supply-chain-security/

  • For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks

SonicWall released the 2022 SonicWall Threat Mindset Survey which found that 66% of customers are more concerned about cyber attacks in 2022, with the main threat being focused on financially motivated attacks like ransomware.

“No one is safe from cyber attacks — businesses or individuals,” said SonicWall Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Conner. “Today’s business landscape requires persistent digital trust to exist. Supply-chain attacks have dramatically changed the attack surface of the typical enterprise in the past few years, with more suppliers and service providers touching sensitive data than ever before.

“It’s likely we’ll see continued acceleration and evolution of ransomware tactics, as well as other advanced persistent threats (APTs), as cyber crime continues to scale the globe seeking both valuable and weak targets.”

Companies are not only losing millions of dollars to unending malware and ransomware strikes, but cyber attacks on essential infrastructure are impacting real-world services. Despite the growing concern of cyber attacks, organisations are struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving threat landscape as they orient their business, networks, data and employees against unwavering cyber attacks.

“The evolving cyber threat landscape has made us train our staff significantly more,” said Stafford Fields, IT Director, Cavett Turner & Wyble. “It’s made us spend more on cyber security. And what scares me is that an end-user can click on something and bring all our systems down — despite being well protected.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/12/customers-concerned-ransomware/

  • EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet

Old lore held that shooting a werewolf, vampire, or even just your average nasty villain with a silver bullet was a sure-fire takedown: one hit, no more bad guy.

As cyber security professionals, we understand – much like folks in the Old West knew – that there are no panaceas, no actual silver bullets. Yet humans gravitate towards simple solutions to complex challenges, and we are constantly (if unconsciously) seeking silver bullet technology.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools have become Standard Operating Procedures for cyber security regimes. They are every CIO’s starting point, and there’s nothing wrong with this. In a recent study by Cymulate of over one million tests conducted by customers in 2021, the most popular testing vector was EDR.

Yet cyber security stakeholders should not assume that EDR is a silver bullet. The fact is that EDR’s efficacy and protective prowess as a standalone solution has been slowly diminished over the decade since the term was first coined by Gartner. Even as it became a mainstay of enterprise and SMB/SME security posture – attacks have skyrocketed in frequency, severity, and success. Today, EDR is facing some of its greatest challenges, including threats laser-targeting EDR systems like the highly-successful Grandoiero banking trojan.

While EDR should not be your only line of defence against advanced threats, including it in a defence solution array is paramount. It should be installed on all organisational servers – including Linux-based ones. Yet installation is not enough. Your organisation is at significant risk if the underlying OS and EDR are not both implemented and fine-tuned.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/11/edr-is-not-a-silver-bullet/

  • Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise

A report from Laceworks examines the cloud security threat landscape over the past three months and unveils the new techniques and avenues cyber criminals are exploiting for profit at the expense of businesses. In this latest edition, the Lacework Labs team found a significantly more sophisticated attacker landscape, with an increase in attacks against core networking and virtualisation software, and an unprecedented increase in the speed of attacks following a compromise. Key trends and threats identified include:

  • Increased speed from exposure to compromise: Attackers are advancing to keep pace with cloud adoption and response time. Many classes of attacks are now fully automated to capitalise on timing. Additionally, one of the most common targets is credential leakage. In a specific example from the report, a leaked AWS access key was caught and flagged by AWS in record time. Despite the limited exposure, an unknown adversary was able to log in and launch tens of GPU EC2 instances, underscoring just how quickly attackers can take advantage of a single simple mistake.

  • Increased focus on infrastructure, specifically attacks against core networking and virtualisation software: Commonly deployed core networking and related infrastructure consistently remains a key target for adversaries. Core flaws in infrastructure often appear suddenly and are shared openly online, creating opportunities for attackers of all kinds to exploit these potential targets.

  • Continued Log4j reconnaissance and exploitation: Nearly a year after the initial exploit, the Lacework Labs team is still commonly observing vulnerable software targeted via OAST requests. Analysis of Project Discovery (interact.sh) activity revealed Cloudflare and DigitalOcean as the top originators.

https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/attackers-use-automation-to-speed-from-exploit-to-compromise-according-to-lacework-labs-cloud-threat-report

  • Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies

Among the many consequences of the rising number of costly data breaches, ransomware, and other security attacks are pricier premiums for cyber security insurance. The rise in costs could put many organisations out of the running for this essential coverage, a risky proposition given the current threat landscape.

Cyber insurance is a type of specialty insurance that protects organisations against a variety of risks related to information security attacks such as ransomware and data breaches. Ordinarily, these types of risks aren’t included with traditional commercial general liability policies or are not specifically defined in these insurance plans.

Given the rise in attacks, the growing sophistication of these incidents and the potential financial impact, having cyber insurance coverage has become critical for many organisations. Premiums for these plans have been on the rise because of the increase in security-related losses and rising demand for coverage.

Cyber insurance premiums increased by an average of 28% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), an association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries.

Among the primary drivers for the continued price increases were a reduced carrier appetite for the risk and high demand for coverage, CIAB said. The high demand for cyber coverage is in part fueled by greater awareness among companies of the threat cyber risk poses for businesses of all sizes, it said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/companies-are-finding-it-harder-to-get-cyber-insurance-.html

  • Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy

Listening and communicating to both the technical and business sides is critical to successfully leading IT teams and business leaders to the same end-goal.

Of all the crazy postings that advertise for CISO jobs, the one asking for a CISO to code in Python was probably the most outrageous example of the disconnect about a CISO’s role, says Joe Head, CISO search director at UK-based search firm, Intaso. This was a few years ago, and one can only guess that the role had been created by a technologist who didn’t care about or didn’t understand the business — or, inversely by a businessperson who didn’t understand enough about technology.

In either case, the disconnect is real. However, Head and other experts say that when it comes to achieving the true, executive role and reporting to the CEO and board, business skills rule. That doesn’t mean, however, that most CISOs know nothing about technology, because most still start out with technology backgrounds.

In the 2022 CISO survey by executive placement firm, Heidrick & Struggles, most CISOs come from a functional IT background that reflects the issues of the time. For example, in 2022 10% of CISOs came from software engineering backgrounds, which tracks with the White House directive to protect the software supply chain. The report notes that the majority of CISOs have experience in the financial services industry, which has a low risk tolerance and where more money is spent on security.

The survey also indicates that only a small core of CISOs (working primarily for the Fortune 500) rise to the executive level with the combination of business and technical responsibilities that come with the role. In it, more than two-thirds of CISOs responding to the survey worked for companies worth over $5 billion. So, instead of bashing a CISO’s lack of IT skills, the real need lies in developing business skills for the technologists coming up the ranks.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3675952/why-ciso-roles-require-business-and-technology-savvy.html#tk.rss_news

  • Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm

Modified off-the-shelf drones have been found carrying wireless network-intrusion kit in a very unlikely place.

The idea of using consumer-oriented drones for hacking has been explored over the past decade at security conferences like Black Hat 2016, in both the US and in Europe, but now these sort of attacks are actually taking place. A security researcher recently recounted an incident that occurred over the summer at a US East Coast financial firm focused on private investment.

The hacking incident was discovered when the financial firm spotted unusual activity on its internal Atlassian Confluence page that originated from within the company's network. The company's security team responded and found that the user whose MAC address was used to gain partial access to the company Wi-Fi network was also logged in at home several miles away. That is to say, the user was active off-site but someone within Wi-Fi range of the building was trying to wirelessly use that user's MAC address, which is a red flag. The team then took steps to trace the Wi-Fi signal and used a Fluke system to identify the Wi-Fi device.

This led the team to the roof, where two modified commercially available consumer drones series were discovered. One drone was in fine condition and had a modified Wi-Fi Pineapple device, used for network penetration testing. The second drone was carrying a case that contained a Raspberry Pi, several batteries, a GPD mini laptop, a 4G modem, and another Wi-Fi device. It had landed near the building's heating and ventilation system and appeared to be damaged but still operable.

During their investigation, they determined that the first drone had originally been used a few days prior to intercept a worker's credentials and Wi-Fi, and this data was then hard coded into the tools that were deployed on the second drone.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/drone-roof-attack/

  • Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users

A recent analysis shows that Magniber ransomware has been targeting home users by masquerading as software updates.

Reports have shown a ransomware campaign isolated by HP Wolf Security in September 2022 saw Magniber ransomware spread. The malware is known as a single-client ransomware family that demands $2,500 from victims. Magniber was previously primarily spread through MSI and EXE files, but in September 2022 HP Wolf Security began seeing campaigns distributing the ransomware in JavaScript files.

HP Wolf Security reported that some malware families rely exclusively on JavaScript, but have done so for some time. Currently, analysts are also seeing more HTML smuggling, such as with Qakbot and IcedID. This technique also makes use of JavaScript to decode malicious content. The only difference is that the HTML file is executed in the context of the browser and therefore usually requires further user interaction.

Remarkably, HP Wolf Security said, the attackers used clever techniques to evade detection, such as running the ransomware in memory, bypassing User Account Control (UAC) in Windows, and bypassing detection techniques that monitor user-mode hooks by using syscalls instead of standard Windows API libraries.

It appears that with the UAC bypass, the malware deletes the infected system’s shadow copy files and disables backup and recovery features, preventing the victim from recovering their data using Windows tools.

Having recently described the ransomware campaign in a recent interview, HP Wolf noted that the infection chain starts with a web download from an attacker-controlled website.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/14/https-www-infosecurity-magazine-com-news-magniber-ransomware-adopts/


Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Malware

Mobile

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Deepfakes

AML/CFT/Sanctions

Insurance

Dark Web

Software Supply Chain

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

Cloud/SaaS

Encryption

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Training, Education and Awareness

Parental Controls and Child Safety

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Backup and Recovery

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


Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

Nation State Actors – China

Nation State Actors – North Korea

Nation State Actors – Misc





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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 August 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 August 2021:

-Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds

-Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyberattack Tools

-60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts

-LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally

-Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online

-Phishing Costs Quadruple Over 6 Years

-Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk

-Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

A Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds

Roughly a third of large international companies have faced a ransomware attack or other data breach in the last 12 months, according to a new survey.

Analysts surveyed almost 800 companies and found 37% of international companies experienced ransomware attacks this past year. The survey focused on companies with more than 500 employees.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg84q3/a-third-of-global-companies-have-experienced-ransomware-attack-survey-finds

Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyber Attack Tools

Even with plenty of old problems to contend with, firms need to get ready for new and more powerful automated ransomware tools.

Cyber criminals are constantly looking for the best return on their investment and solutions that lower the chance of being caught. Sadly, that appears to mean small businesses are their current target of opportunity.

Tech media and cyber pundits have been sounding the alarm and offering small businesses specific cybersecurity solutions for a few years now, but it seems to no avail.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/company-size-is-a-nonissue-with-automated-cyberattack-tools/

Over 60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts

Nearly two thirds of employees are using personal passwords to protect corporate data, and vice versa, with even more business leaders concerned about this very issue. Surprisingly, 97% of employees know what constitutes a strong password, yet over half (53%) admit to not always using one.

http://hrnews.co.uk/over-60-of-employees-reuse-passwords-across-business-and-personal/

LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally 

Fresh attacks target companies’ employees, promising millions of dollars in exchange for valid account credentials for initial access.

The LockBit ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang has ramped up its targeted attacks, researchers said, with attempts against organizations in Chile, Italy, Taiwan and the U.K. using version 2.0 of its malware.

https://threatpost.com/lockbit-ransomware-proliferates-globally/168746/

Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online

A secret terrorist watchlist with 1.9 million records, including classified "no-fly" records was exposed on the internet.

The list was left accessible on an Elasticsearch cluster that had no password on it.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/secret-terrorist-watchlist-with-2-million-records-exposed-online/

Phishing Costs Nearly Quadrupled Over 6 Years

Lost productivity & mopping up after the costly attacks that follow phishing – BEC & ransomware in particular – eat up most costs, not pay-outs to crooks.

Research shows that the cost of phishing attacks has nearly quadrupled over the past six years: Large US companies are now losing, on average, $14.8 million annually, or $1,500 per employee.

That’s up sharply from 2015’s figure of $3.8 million, according to a new study from Ponemon Institute that was sponsored by Proofpoint.

According to the study, released Tuesday, phishing leads to some of the costliest cyber attacks.

https://threatpost.com/phishing-costs-quadrupled/168716/

Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk

A recent report shows declining confidence in many organisations’ security function to address today’s threats.

80% of respondents to the Trend Micro’s biannual Cyber Risk Index (CRI) report said they expect to experience a data breach that compromises customer data in the next 12 months.

The report surveyed more than 3,600 businesses of all sizes and industries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America for their thoughts on cyber risk. Despite an increased focus on security due to high-profile ransomware and other attacks in the past year, respondents reported a rise in risk due to inadequate security processes like backing up key assets.

Organisations are overwhelmed as they pivot from traditional to distributed networks. Pandemic-driven work-from-home growth is potentially how businesses will be run going forward. That distributed network means that it’s harder for IT staff to know what assets are under their control and what security controls should be in place. With the line blurring between corporate and personal assets, organizations are overwhelmed with the pace of change.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3629477/security-teams-report-rise-in-cyber-risk.html

Organisations Aware Of The Importance Of Zero Trust, Yet Still Relying On Passwords

Organisations have become more security conscious over the course of the pandemic, leading them to invest heavily in zero trust, according to a new study.

The report surveyed over 600 global security leaders about their initiatives and found that remote work has led to a change in how organizations view the importance of zero trust, with financial services, healthcare organisations and the software industry seeing the most significant progress.

78% of companies globally say that zero trust has increased in priority and nearly 90% are currently working on a zero trust initiative, up from just 41% a year ago.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/11/importance-of-zero-trust/

Reliance On Third Party Workers Making Companies More Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

A new survey revealed 83% of respondents agree that because organisations increasingly rely on contractors, freelancers, and other third party workers, their data systems have become more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Further, 88% of people say organisations and government entities must have better data security systems in place to protect them from the increase in third party remote attacks.

Recent high-profile breaches, including SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, and JBS Foods, have exposed how vulnerable organisations are to cyber crime and in particular ransomware attacks. Of note with recent attacks is how data breaches can quickly affect aspects of everyday life, such as the ability to fill a car with petrol or buy meat at the supermarket.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/16/reliance-on-third-party-workers/

The Cyber Security Skills Gap Persists For The Fifth Year Running

Most organisations are still lacking talent, according to a new report, but experts think expanding the definition of a cybersecurity professional can help.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-cybersecurity-skills-gap-persists-for-the-fifth-year-running/

T-Mobile Hack Is A Return To The Roots Of Cyber Crime

In the world of cyber crime, ransomware attacks might be the sophisticated bank heists. The hack of T-Mobile is more akin to smashing a window, grabbing merchandise, and running.

The attack that exposed the personal information of millions of T-Mobile customers spotlights a common type of cyber threat that can inflict significant damage to consumers, much like the recent rash of ransomware attacks hitting companies.

The breach exposed the data of more than 40 million people, T-Mobile confirmed Wednesday, including customer’s full names and driver’s license information. A hacker posted about the stolen information on a cyber crime forum late last week, offering to sell the information to buyers for the price of six bitcoin, or about $270,000.

This type of attack, in which hackers worm their way into companies’ systems, steal data and try to sell it online, has been a common tactic for years, cyber security experts say. Unlike the high-profile ransomware attacks that have disrupted fuel supplies, hospital systems and food production in recent months, these data exfiltration hacks do not lock down computer systems.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/19/tmobile-breach-data-hacks/

Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks

The first half of 2021 shows a 22 percent increase in the volume of phishing attacks over the same time period last year, a new report reveals. Notably, however, phishing volume in June dipped dramatically for the first time in six months, immediately following a very high-volume in May.

Bad actors continue to utilise phishing to fleece proprietary information, and are developing more sophisticated ways to do so based on growth in areas such as cryptocurrency and sites that use single-sign-on.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/19/phishing-attacks-h1-2021/

Connected Devices Increasingly At Risk As New Ransomware Attacks Are Reported Almost Daily

A new report has shined a light on the state of connected devices. The number of agentless and un-agentable devices increased to 42% in this year’s report (compared to 32% of agentless or un-agentable devices in 2020). These devices include medical and manufacturing devices that are critical to business operations along with network devices, IP phones, video surveillance cameras and facility devices (such as badge readers) that are not designed with security in mind, cannot be patched, and cannot support endpoint security agents.

With almost half of devices in the network that are either agentless or un-agentable, organisations need to complement their endpoint security strategy with a network-based security approach to discover and secure these devices.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/12/connected-devices-risks/

 


Threats

Ransomware

BEC

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

IOT

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Dark Web

Supply Chain

DoS/DDoS

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Nation State Actors

Cloud



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
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 23 July 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 23 July 2021: 40% Fell Victim To A Phishing Attack In The Past Month; Traditional Ransomware Defences Are Failing Businesses; The Number Of Employees Going Around IT Security May Surprise You; 740 Ransomware Victims Named On Data Leak Sites In Q2 2021; A More Dynamic Approach Is Needed To Tackle Today’s Evolving Cyber Security Threats; Law Firm For Ford, Boeing, Exxon, Marriott, Walgreens, And More Hacked In Ransomware Attack; UK And Allies Accuse China Of 'Reckless' Cyber Extortion And Microsoft Hack; Even after Emotet takedown, Office docs deliver 43% of all malware downloads now; Gun owners' fears after firearms dealer data breach

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

40% Fell Victim To A Phishing Attack In The Past Month

The global shift to remote work has exacerbated the onslaught, sophistication, and impact of phishing attacks, according to Ivanti. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents said their organisations have fallen victim to a phishing attack in the last year, with 40% confirming they have experienced one in the last month.

Eighty percent of respondents said they have witnessed an increase in volume of phishing attempts and 85% said those attempts are getting more sophisticated. In fact, 73% of respondents said that their IT staff had been targeted by phishing attempts, and 47% of those attempts were successful.

Smishing and vishing scams are the latest variants to gain traction and target mobile users. According to recent research by Aberdeen, attackers have a higher success rate on mobile endpoints than on servers – a pattern that is trending dramatically worse. Meanwhile, the annualized risk of a data breach resulting from mobile phishing attacks has a median value of about $1.7M, and a long tail of value of about $90M.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/07/23/risk-phishing-attacks/

Traditional Ransomware Defences Are Failing Businesses

Traditional cyber security strategies are failing to protect organisations from ransomware attacks, new research suggests. Based on a poll of 200 IT decision-makers whose businesses recently suffered ransomware attacks, 54 percent of all victims had their employees go through anti-phishing training. Furthermore, almost half (49 percent) had perimeter defences set up at the time of the attack. However, attack methods have grown too sophisticated for traditional security measures to keep up. Many attacks (24 percent) still start with a successful phishing attempt, while almost a third (31 percent) see attacker enter the network through public cloud.

https://www.itproportal.com/news/traditional-ransomware-defenses-are-failing-businesses/

Cyber Security Risk: The Number Of Employees Going Around IT Security May Surprise You

Last month, a report was published highlighting challenges associated with enabling IT freedoms while ensuring tight security procedures. The findings detail a complex balancing act between IT teams and network users. Calibrating this equilibrium is particularly challenging in the age of remote work as employees log on and virtually collaborate via a host of digital solutions. Overall, the survey found that virtually all employees (93%) "are working around IT restrictions," and a mere 7% said they were "satisfied with their corporate IT restrictions." Interestingly, this information about IT workarounds does not match security leaders' and IT expectations.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/cybersecurity-risk-the-number-of-employees-going-around-it-security-may-surprise-you/

740 ransomware victims named on data leak sites in Q2 2021: report

More than 700 organizations were attacked with ransomware and had their data posted to data leak sites in Q2 of 2021, according to a new research report from cyber security firm Digital Shadows.

Out of the almost 2,600 victims listed on ransomware data leak sites, 740 of them were named in Q2 2021, representing a 47% increase compared to Q1.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/740-ransomware-victims-named-on-data-leak-sites-in-q2-2021-report/

A More Dynamic Approach Is Needed To Tackle Today’s Evolving Cyber Security Threats

For decades, the cyber security industry has followed a defense-in-depth strategy, which allowed organisations to designate the battlefield against bad actors at their edge firewall. Nowadays, cyber criminals have become as creative as ever. New cyber threats are emerging every day, and with the constantly increasing rate of Ransomware, Phishing, etc. We’re forced to take a more dynamic approach when tackling these cyber threats on a day to day basis. Recent statistics demonstrate the scale of the cyber security issues faced by companies. In 2020, malware attacks increased by 358% and ransomware increased by 435%, and the average cost of recovering from a ransomware attack has doubled in the last 12 months, reaching almost $2 million in 2021.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/07/13/dynamic-approach-cybersecurity-threats/

Law Firm For Ford, Boeing, Exxon, Marriott, Walgreens, And More Hacked In Ransomware Attack

Campbell Conroy & O'Neil, P.C., a law firm handling hundreds of cases for the world's leading companies, has announced a large data breach that resulted from a ransomware attack in February.  In a statement, the law firm said it noticed unusual activity on its network on February 27. The firm later realized it was being hit with a ransomware attack and contacted the FBI as well as cyber security companies for help.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/law-firm-for-ford-boeing-exxon-marriott-walgreens-and-more-hacked-in-ransomware-attack/

UK And Allies Accuse China Of 'Reckless' Cyber Extortion And Microsoft Hack

The Government was hinting yet again at covertly using Britain’s own offensive cyber capabilities – hitting back at cyber attacks with cyber attacks of our own. This approach goes all the way back to 2013, when then defence secretary told the Conservative Party conference that the UK would “build a dedicated capability to counter-attack in cyber space and, if necessary, to strike in cyber space”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/19/uk-allies-accuse-china-reckless-cyber-extortion-microsoft-hack/

Even after Emotet takedown, Office docs deliver 43% of all malware downloads now

Malware delivered over the cloud increased by 68% in Q2, according to data from cyber security firm Netskope.

The company released the fifth edition of its Cloud and Threat Report that covers the cloud data risks, threats and trends they see throughout the quarter.

The report noted that cloud storage apps account for more than 66% of cloud malware delivery.

"In Q2 2021, 43% of all malware downloads were malicious Office docs, compared to just 20% at the beginning of 2020. This increase comes even after the Emotet takedown, indicating that other groups observed the success of the Emotet crew and have adopted similar techniques," the report said.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/even-after-emotet-takedown-office-docs-deliver-43-of-all-malware-downloads-now/

Gun Owners' Fears After Firearms Dealer Data Breach

Thousands of names and addresses belonging to UK customers of a leading website for buying and selling shotguns and rifles have been published to the dark web following a "security breach".

Guntrader.uk told the BBC it learned of the breach on Monday and had notified the Information Commissioner's Office.

Police, including the National Crime Agency, are investigating.

One affected gun owner said he was afraid the breach could lead to his family being targeted by criminals.

Gun ownership is tightly controlled in the UK, making guns difficult to acquire, and potentially valuable on the black market.

The individual, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC the breach "seriously compromises my security arrangements for my firearms and puts me in a situation where me and my family could be targeted and in danger".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57932823  


Threats

Ransomware

BEC

Phishing

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Supply Chain

DoS/DDoS

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Nation State Actors

Cloud

Privacy



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