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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 February 2024

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 09 February 2024:

-Over Half of Companies Experienced Cyber Security Incidents Last Year

-Deepfake Video Conference Costs Business $25 Million

-Watershed Year for Ransomware as Victims Rose by Almost 50% and Payments Hit $1 Billion All-Time High

-Malware-as-a-Service Now the Top Threat to Organisations

-Over 9 in 10 UK Firms Who Fell Victim to Ransomware Paid the Ransom, Despite Alleged “No Pay” Stances

-Chinese State Hackers Hid in National Infrastructure for at Least 5 Years

-Email Attacks on Businesses Tripled and AI is a Huge Contributing Factor

-Security Leaders, C-Suite Unite to Tackle Cyber Threats

-UN Experts Investigate Cyber Attacks by North Korea that Raked in $3 Billion to Build Nuclear Weapons

-What Does a ‘Cyber Security Culture’ Actually Entail?

-Beyond Checkboxes: Security Compliance as a Business Enabler

-No One in Cyber Security Is Ready for the SolarWinds Prosecution

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

Over Half of Companies Experienced Cyber Security Incidents Last Year

According to a recent global survey, over half of the participating companies faced major security incidents in the past year, necessitating additional resources to tackle these challenges. Despite these incidents, many organisations claim improved performance on key cyber security indicators and express confidence in their threat detection capabilities. The research highlights a concerning discrepancy between perceived security measures and the actual state of security operations, underscoring a lack of comprehensive visibility and effective response mechanisms within companies. Particularly concerning is the finding that organisations can typically monitor only two-thirds of their IT environments, exposing significant vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the study points to a greater need for greater automation and third-party assistance in threat detection and response, suggesting that while companies are aware of their shortcomings, the path to enhanced security involves embracing AI-driven solutions to close these gaps. This insight highlights to leadership the importance of investing in advanced cyber security technologies and expertise to safeguard the organisation’s digital assets effectively.

Sources: [Beta News] [Verdict]

Deepfake Video Conference Costs Business $25 Million

There has been a surge in the number of artificial intelligence deepfake attacks where technology is being used to impersonate individuals. In one case, a finance professional at a multinational was reportedly swindled out of $25 million (HK$200 million) of company money when scammers created a deepfake of his London-based chief financial officer in a video conference call, faking both the CFO’s look and voice. The scam involved the fake CFO making increasingly urgent demands to execute money transfers, resulting in 15 transfers from the victim employee. The reality of the attack was only discovered by the victim after he had contacted the company’s corporate head office.

Sources: [The Register] [Help Net Security] [TechCentral ] [Tripwire]

Watershed Year for Ransomware as Victims Rose by Almost 50% And Payments Hit $1 Billion All-Time High

Even with enforcers shutting down some ransomware gangs, the business of ransomware is booming. A recent report from Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 found a 49% increase in the number of victims reported on ransomware leak sites; this does not include those who were victims but did not appear on sites. This comes as ransomware hit an all time high, with over $1b made in ransomware payments. Of note, this is just ransom payments; this does not take in to account reputational damage, recovery costs and loss in share value. The real effects of a ransomware attack may take months or even years to materialise. As ransomware remains a constant threat, it is important for organisations to be prepared.

Sources: [The Verge ] [Malwarebytes] [Infosecurity Magazine] [CSO Online] [ITPro] [TechRadar]

Malware-as-a-Service Now the Top Threat to Organisations

Recent studies have underscored a significant shift in the cyber threat landscape, with Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) now dominating. These ‘as-a-service’ tools are particularly concerning as they lower the barrier to entry for cyber criminals, enabling even those with limited technical knowledge to launch sophisticated attacks. The report found that the most common as-a-Service tools were Malware loaders (77% of investigated threats), crypto-miners (52% of investigated threats) and botnets (39% of investigated threats). These findings underscore the adaptability of these threats, with malware strains being developed with multiple functions to maximise damage. Despite these trends, traditional methods like phishing continue to pose significant challenges for security teams. It’s clear that staying ahead of these evolving threats requires a proactive and comprehensive approach to cyber security.

Sources:[Infosecurity Magazine] [Beta News] [Help Net Security]

Over 9 in 10 UK Firms Who Fell Victim to Ransomware Paid the Ransom, Despite Alleged “No Pay” Stances

A recent report has found that over 97% of UK firms have paid a ransom in the last two years, finding even more reason to operate in a when-not-if environment. When asked about their recovery in an event, 38% said they could recover in four to six days, and 34% need one to two weeks to recover; almost one in four (24%) need over three weeks to recover data and restore business processes. Only 12% said their company had stress-tested their data security, data management, and data recovery processes or solutions in the six months prior to being surveyed, and 46% had not tested their processes or solutions in over 12 months.

Sources: [The FinTech Times] [ Help Net Security]

Chinese State Hackers Hid in National Infrastructure for at Least 5 Years

US cyber officials have said that they discovered China-sponsored hackers lurking in American computer networks, positioning themselves to disrupt communications, energy, transportation and water systems; and this had been going on for at least 5 years. This has led to a joint warning from the US FBI, National Security Agency and Cyber Infrastructure and Security Agency, which has been cosigned by Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This dwell time isn’t just something that is encountered in critical infrastructure networks; attackers lurk on networks, undiscovered often for years, allowing them to see everything going on in the corporate environment.

Sources: [NTD] [Washington Times]

Email Attacks on Businesses Tripled and AI is a Huge Contributing Factor

Email attacks against businesses have increased dramatically as hackers continually use generative AI tools to optimise their content and streamline malicious campaigns, new research has claimed.

The report from Acronis is based on data collected from more than a million unique endpoints across 15 countries, and found AI-powered phishing affected more than 90% of organisations last year. AI helped has email attacks grow by 222% since the second half of 2023.

Sources: [New Electronics] [TechRadar]

Security Leaders, C-Suite Unite to Tackle Cyber Threats

A recent survey found that CEOs are taking a more hands-on approach and prioritising cyber resilience in 2024, leading to the breakdown of traditional silos between IT operations and security teams. The survey polled over 200 C-Suite and senior-level IT executives globally, and revealed a growing recognition of the importance of collaboration in combating sophisticated cyber threats, with 99% of respondents observing increased connectivity between the teams over the past year. While progress has been made, challenges remain, with only 48% of organisations establishing joint protocols for incident mitigation or recovery. Looking ahead, respondents anticipate a significant role for artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing security efforts, with 68% expecting AI to streamline threat detection and response. Despite advancements, fragmented data protection solutions persist as a challenge, impacting over 90% of organisations' cyber resiliency. This underscores the need for a top-down approach to cyber security, with CEOs and boards driving collaboration between IT operations and security teams to optimise cyber preparedness initiatives and mitigate cyber risks effectively.

Source: [Security Boulevard]

UN Experts Investigate Cyber Attacks by North Korea that Raked in $3 Billion to Build Nuclear Weapons

UN sanction monitors are investigating dozens of suspected cyber attacks by North Korea that have raked in $3 billion to help North Korea further its nuclear weapons programme, according to excerpts of an unpublished UN report. “The panel is investigating 58 suspected DPRK cyber attacks on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately $3 billion, which reportedly help fund DPRK’s WMD development,” according to the monitors, who report twice a year to the 15-member security council.

Source: [The Guardian]

What Does a ‘Cyber Security Culture’ Actually Entail?

Fostering a robust cyber security culture emerges as a critical imperative for organisations in 2023, as revealed by ITPro Today's "State of Cybersecurity in 2023" study. Despite this recognition, organisations grapple with various challenges, including budget constraints, staffing shortages, and the failure to implement fundamental security practices like the principle of least privilege and zero trust. Insufficient staffing and constrained budgets elevate the risk of breaches, emphasising the need for a collective effort to bolster security measures.

Cultivating a cyber security culture entails educating every employee on security risks and holding them accountable for risk reduction efforts. While security teams play a pivotal role in setting expectations and providing guidance, a culture of cyber security necessitates continuous training, integration of security into everyday work, and clear delineation of risk ownership throughout the organisation. By prioritising proactive measures and fostering individual responsibility, organisations can fortify their defences against evolving cyber threats and mitigate risks effectively.

Source: [ITPro Today]

Beyond Checkboxes: Security Compliance as a Business Enabler

In today's complex business landscape, regulatory requirements are increasingly intricate, especially concerning cyber security compliance. While compliance might evoke images of stringent regulations and time-consuming audits, reframing our perspective reveals its potential as a vital business enabler. Security leaders, in collaboration with senior management, must cultivate a culture where commitment to cyber security compliance permeates the organisation, emphasising its role in fostering trust, facilitating global market access, and even serving as a competitive advantage. Moreover, robust compliance programs drive operational efficiency, innovation, and cost savings in the long run. Embracing cyber security compliance as a strategic enabler, rather than a regulatory burden, positions businesses for success, innovation, and resilience in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Source: [Forbes]

No One in Cyber Security Is Ready for the SolarWinds Prosecution

The concept of "materiality" has taken centre stage for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in light of new SEC regulations, requiring US public companies to disclose "material cyber security incidents" within four days. The SolarWinds breach and subsequent SEC charges against the company and its CISO highlight the seriousness of these regulations. This shift necessitates a deeper understanding of what constitutes "material" risk in cyber security and a more transparent approach to risk communication. However, many CISOs face challenges in quantifying and communicating cyber risks effectively to boards and executives, who often lack familiarity with cyber security terminology. This regulatory change underscores the need for CISOs to bridge the gap between cyber security and financial reporting, ensuring accurate and precise risk communication at the C-Suite level. Additionally, policymakers should incentivise C-Suite accountability for cyber risk management, fostering a culture where cyber risks are addressed proactively and transparently.

Source:[Council on Foreign Relations]

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Artificial Intelligence

Malware

Mobile

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Cloud/SaaS

Identity and Access Management

Encryption

Linux and Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

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

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Nation State Actors

China

Russia

Iran

North Korea

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

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 10 September 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 10 September 2021

-91% Of IT Teams Have Felt 'Forced' To Trade Security For Business Operations

-Ransomware Attacks Increased Exponentially In 2021

-One In Three Suspect Phishing Emails Reported By Employees Really Are Malicious

-Hackers Shift From Malware To Credential Hijacking

-Attacker Breakout Time Now Less Than 30 Minutes

-Hackers Leak VPN Account Passwords From 87,000 Fortinet FortiGate Devices

-The Impact Of Ransomware On Cyber Insurance Driving The Need For Broader Cyber Security Knowledge

-Hackers Exploit Camera Vulnerabilities To Spy On Parents

-39% Of All Internet Traffic Is From Bad Bots

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

91% Of IT Teams Have Felt 'Forced' To Trade Security For Business Operations

A new survey suggests that most IT staff have felt pressured to ignore security concerns in favour of business operations. On Thursday, a new study report was released, which combines data from an online YouGov survey targeting office workers that adopted WFH and global research conducted with IT decision-makers. In total, 91% of those surveyed said that they have felt "pressured" to compromise security due to the need for business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. 76% of respondents said that security had taken a backseat, and furthermore, 83% believe that working from home has created a "ticking time bomb" for corporate security incidents. https://www.zdnet.com/article/91-of-it-teams-have-felt-forced-to-trade-security-for-business-operations/

Ransomware Attacks Increased Exponentially In 2021

The growing threat of ransomware has been highlighted by NCC Group's Research Intelligence and Fusion Team (RIFT) analysis. Between January-March 2021 and April-June 2021, the number of ransomware assaults studied by the team climbed by 288%, indicating that enterprises are still facing waves of digital extortion in the form of targeted ransomware. https://www.ehackingnews.com/2021/09/ransomware-attacks-increased.html

Phishing Attacks: One In Three Suspect Emails Reported By Employees Really Are Malicious

All the time spent ticking boxes in cyber security training sessions seems to be paying off after all: according to a new report, about a third of emails reported by employees really are malicious or highly suspect, demonstrating the effectiveness of the well-established maxim "Think before you click".  Researchers analysed over 200,000 emails that were flagged by employees from organisations across the globe in the first half of 2021 and found that 33% of the reports could be classified as phishing. https://www.zdnet.com/article/phishing-attacks-one-in-three-suspect-emails-reported-by-employees-really-are-malicious/

Hackers Shift From Malware To Credential Hijacking

Adversaries are relying less on malware to conduct attacks that are consequently more difficult to detect, according to an annual report conducted by researchers. “According to data from our customer base indexed by Threat Graph, 68% of detections from the last three months were not malware-based,” reads the report released Wednesday. “Attackers are increasingly attempting to accomplish their objectives without writing malware to the endpoint, using legitimate credentials and built-in tools (living off the land)—which are deliberate efforts to evade detection by traditional antivirus products.” https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2021/09/report-hackers-shift-malware-credential-hacking/185209/

Attacker Breakout Time Now Less Than 30 Minutes

The average time it takes threat actors to move from initial access to lateral movement has fallen by 67% over the past year, putting extra pressure on security operations (SecOps) teams, according to researchers. The findings come from researchers own investigations with customers across around 248,000 unique global endpoints. For incidents where this “breakout time” could be derived over the past year, it averaged just 1 hour 32 minutes. However, in over a third (36%) of intrusions, adversaries managed to move laterally to additional hosts in under 30 minutes. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/attacker-breakout-time-now-less/

Hackers Leak VPN Account Passwords From 87,000 Fortinet FortiGate Devices

Network security solutions provider Fortinet confirmed that a malicious actor had unauthorizedly disclosed VPN login names and passwords associated with 87,000 FortiGate SSL-VPN devices. "These credentials were obtained from systems that remained unpatched at the time of the actor's scan. While they may have since been patched, if the passwords were not reset, they remain vulnerable," the company said in a statement on Wednesday. https://thehackernews.com/2021/09/hackers-leak-vpn-account-passwords-from.html

53% Find It Difficult To Prevent An Insider Attack During Data Aggregation

Recent data from researchers found that 53% of companies find it impossible or very difficult to prevent an insider attack when data is being aggregated, a key indicator of intent of an attack. The vast majority of security threats follow a pattern or sequence of activity leading up to an attack, and insider threats are no exception. To fully understand any insider incident, visibility into the entire kill chain of an attack is imperative to preventing the exfiltration of critical data. https://venturebeat.com/2021/09/02/53-find-it-difficult-to-prevent-an-insider-attack-during-data-aggregation/

The Impact Of Ransomware On Cyber Insurance Driving The Need For Broader Cyber Security Knowledge

Not only have ransomware attacks spiked, the amount of ransom demanded has grown exponentially—to somewhere between $50 and $70 million dollars. Cyber Insurers can’t cover “whatever amount the hacker demands”—so major policies lost money. Insurers have responded by raising premiums, restricting coverage, or even getting out of the cyber-insurance game altogether in vulnerable markets. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/09/10/cyber-insurance-ransomware/

Hackers Exploit Camera Vulnerabilities To Spy On Parents

Various zero day vulnerabilities in home baby monitor could be compromised that lets threat actors hack into camera feed and put malicious codes like malware. The security issues were found in the IoT gadgets, made by China based developer Victure, that were found by researchers. In a security report, researchers revealed about the stack-based buffer flaw present in ONVIF server Victure PC420 component camera that allows hackers to plant remote codes on the victim device. When compromised, hacker can discover cameras (not owned by them) and command devices to broadcast camera feeds to third party and exploit the camera firmware. https://www.ehackingnews.com/2021/09/hackers-exploit-camera-vulnerabilities.html

39% Of All Internet Traffic Is From Bad Bots

Automated traffic takes up 64% of internet traffic – and whilst just 25% of automated traffic was made up by good bots, such as search engine crawlers and social network bots, 39% of all traffic was from bad bots, a Barracuda report reveals.

These bad bots include both basic web scrapers and attack scripts, as well as advanced persistent bots. These advanced bots try their best to evade standard defences and attempt to perform their malicious activities under the radar. The report revealed that the most common of these persistent bots were ones that went after e-commerce applications and login portals. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/09/07/bad-bots-internet-traffic/

Threats

Ransomware

BEC

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

IOT

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking

Insider Threats

DoS/DDoS

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