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Black Arrow Admin 12/11/2023 Black Arrow Admin 12/11/2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 10 November 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 10 November 2023:

-Boardroom Woes on Ransomware Intensify as Organisations Face an Average of 86 Ransomware-linked Events Annually

-Many SMBs Have No Real Way to Deal with Cyber Threats, Leaving Them Vulnerable

-Cyber Attacks Top Global Risk – 2023 Aon Survey

-To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster

-Meet Your New Cyber Security Auditor: Your Insurer

-Allen and Overy Suffer Ransomware Attack

-Shadow IT Remains a Top Threat, as Shown by Attack on Okta

-Ransomware, AI, and Social Engineering All Set to Be 2024's Biggest Security Threats

-Cyber Governance: Growing Expectations for Information Security Oversight and Accountability

-Generative AI Will Level Up Cyber Attacks, According to New Google Report

-Public Wi-Fi Remains a Huge Risk, is Your Organisation Prepared?

-88% of Security Leaders Think Their Organisation Is Falling Short Addressing Cyber Security

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

Boardroom Woes on Ransomware Intensify as Organisations Face an Average of 86 Ransomware-linked Events Annually

A recent report by Akamai Technologies has found that organisations experienced an average of 86 ransomware-linked events in the past 12 months (successful or not), double the number of annual attacks from 2 years ago.

The most common issues impacting organisations after a ransomware attack were network downtime (44%), data loss (42%) and brand/reputation damage (39%).

Ransomware attackers have increasingly employed tactics like double and triple extortion. These methods combine encryption, data exfiltration, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to extort money. While these strategies are not new, their prevalence has significantly increased in recent times.

With 81% of companies experiencing ransomware attacks in the previous 12 months this is increasingly something that company Boards are concerned about, not only the organisation’s ability to stop a ransomware attack in the first place, but also the organisation’s ability to recover when an attack happens.

Sources: [TechTarget] [PRNewsWire] [Security Magazine] [InsuranceJournal] [Financial Times]

Many SMBs Have No Real Way to Deal with Cyber Threats, Leaving Them Vulnerable

A recent report found that of nearly 6,000 small and medium-sized business (SMB) IT professionals surveyed across Europe, a third of those based in the UK have no cyber security in place to protect assets such as their own printers, with 16% suffering a printer breach alone in the past. Despite this, less than a quarter educated their employees about printer (23%) IT security. With hybrid working seen as a security concern for 38% of SMEs, and potentially leading to more remote use of these devices, surprisingly just 4 in 10 (41%) cover hybrid working as part of their current security training.

Black Arrow supports organisations of all sizes in designing and delivering proportionate user education and awareness programmes, including in-person and online training as well as simulated phishing campaigns. Our programmes help secure employee engagement and build a cyber security culture to protect the organisation.

Sources: [TechRadar] [The Recycler]

Cyber Attacks Top Global Risk – 2023 Aon Survey

Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey identified cyber attacks and data breaches as the leading business risk worldwide, followed by business interruption. Aon warned that deficits in talent or specialised skills may exacerbate cyber risks in particular.

Supply chain disruptions were ranked as another area of concern, with risks associated with supply chain failure hitting a 14-year high in the survey. However, less than 40% of organisations have conducted supplier resilience assessments. which contributes to cyber risk when organisations hand data to suppliers without considering whether their suppliers keep that data safe.

Source: [Investing]

To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster

If you aren’t already running incident simulations in your organisation, it’s time to start. Such simulations allow employees to understand their roles and responsibilities, as well as providing a great opportunity to educate. Cyber attacks are a matter of when, not if, and no-one wants to be improvising their security response in the event of a real cyber incident.

Black Arrow works with organisations of all sizes and sectors to design and prepare for managing a cyber security incident; this can include an Incident Response Plan and an educational tabletop exercise for the leadership team that highlights the proportionate controls to help the organisation prevent and mitigate an incident.

Source: [Dark Reading]

Meet Your New Cyber Security Auditor: Your Insurer

In the dynamic world of cyber security, cyber insurers are emerging as key players, reshaping the landscape with ever more stringent requirements. With ransomware attacks becoming more complex, cyber insurance premiums have surged by 50%, challenging Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to demonstrate their organisation's cyber defence capabilities. Insurers, using detailed risk assessments, are influencing cyber security strategies, compelling organisations to adapt and meet higher standards.

CISOs are now tasked with ensuring their security measures are comprehensive and transparent, as insurers scrutinise everything from multifactor authentication to Active Directory policies. Accurate self-assessment is critical, as any misrepresentation can lead to denied coverage or legal repercussions. In this competitive market, organisations must showcase their cyber maturity, particularly in high-risk industries, to secure coverage. The evolving cyber insurance landscape demands a clear understanding of risk factors and continuous improvement in cyber defence strategies, ultimately aiming to enhance overall protection against cyber threats.

Source: [Dark Reading]

Allen and Overy Suffer Ransomware Attack

Allen & Overy, the “magic circle” law firm, has suffered a cyber attack on its systems, making it the latest large corporation to fall victim to a ransomware hack. A&O confirmed the incident after the infamous ransomware gang LockBit posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, claiming to have breached the legal giant and threatening to publish data from the firm’s files on 28 November.

Earlier this year, the UK National Cyber Security Centre reported that law firms of all sizes were at risk from cyber attackers because of the sensitive client information they routinely handle. The importance of reputation to the business also made law firms attractive targets for extortion.

Sources: [Financial Times] [Law Gazette]

Shadow IT Remains a Top Threat, as Shown by Attack on Okta

Shadow IT refers to IT resources used by employees or end users that don’t have IT approval or oversight. This was the case in the recent Okta attack in which an Okta employee signed into their personal Google account on a company-owned device. It is believed that the employee’s personal Google account had been compromised, and unfortunately since the employee had configured it in a way to save credentials of Okta accounts, the attacker now also had these credentials. The result? 134 downstream customers impacted.

Source: [Computer Weekly]

Ransomware, AI, and Social Engineering All Set to Be 2024's Biggest Security Threats

Ransomware attacks surged to record highs in 2023 and are expected to escalate further, especially with key 2024 elections approaching, ZeroFox Intelligence's 2024 Key Forecasts report indicates. This trend is driven by evolving cyber threats, including sophisticated social engineering and AI-generated synthetic media, aimed at spreading misinformation and targeting electoral processes.

ZeroFox also highlights a concerning shift towards physical damages from cyber attacks, with critical sectors like finance, energy, and healthcare being vulnerable due to outdated security infrastructures. These sectors are likely targets for nation-state and state-sponsored attacks amidst global geopolitical tensions. To counter these threats, the report suggests enhanced security measures, including encrypted cloud backups, vigilant network monitoring, and a zero-trust cyber security approach to safeguard against the evolving landscape of cyber threats.

Source: [TechRadar]

Cyber Governance: Growing Expectations for Information Security Oversight and Accountability

In today's interconnected digital economy, cyber security is a critical governance issue for businesses, necessitating effective oversight and strategic planning. The SEC's new rules, effective July 2023, require public companies to transparently disclose their cyber security strategies and report significant incidents, highlighting the increasing importance of cyber security in corporate governance. This regulatory development aims to improve transparency and accountability in managing cyber risks.

Corporations are responding by emphasising detailed cyber security disclosures, employee training programmes, and board-level expertise in information security. As the landscape of cyber threats evolves, timely and comprehensive reporting of breaches becomes more crucial, aligning with both regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations for robust cyber security governance.

Black Arrow supports business leaders in organisations of all sizes to demonstrate governance of their cyber security by owning their cyber security strategy and leveraging their existing internal and external resources to build resilience against a cyber security incident.

Source: [Harvard]

Generative AI Will Level Up Cyber Attacks, According to New Google Report

Google's Cloud Cyber Security Forecast 2024 report reveals a growing trend of using generative AI in cyber attacks. The technology, particularly large language models (LLMs), is enhancing phishing and social engineering tactics by producing content that appears more legitimate, making it difficult to spot errors typically associated with such attacks. This advancement allows attackers to mimic natural language effectively and create authentic-looking fake news, phone calls, and deepfake videos, potentially eroding public trust in online information.

On the flip side, the report highlights the potential of AI as a powerful tool for cyber defence. Cyber security professionals can leverage AI for rapid data synthesis, efficient threat detection, and swift response actions. As defenders direct AI development with specific security objectives, its capabilities are expected to significantly bolster cyber security measures in the near future.

Source: [ZDNET]

Public Wi-Fi Remains a Huge Risk, is Your Organisation Prepared?

New research found that half of UK participants believed they are most at risk of a cyber attack when using public Wi-Fi, which is Wi-Fi that anyone, including an attacker, can connect to. However, in contrast to concerns, the report found that 41% will use unsecured Wi-Fi if given the opportunity. Further, 53% of participants would enter or access sensitive information whilst connected to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network; this includes bring your own devices (BYOD) that have access to corporate data.

Source: [TechRadar]

88% of Security Leaders Think Their Organisation Is Falling Short in Addressing Cyber Security

A recent study by Foundry reveals a trend towards AI-driven security measures and increased reliance on cyber insurance among organisations. Key priorities for security leaders include preparedness for incidents, data protection, and enhancing IT and cloud data security. Despite this, 88% of security leaders feel their organisations are inadequate in addressing cyber security risks, mainly due to budget limitations, talent scarcity, and challenges in stakeholder communication.

To improve the situation, more top security executives are having regular engagements with the board of directors (85% this year compared to 82% in 2022), aiding in better cyber security initiatives. Security budgets are expected to remain stable or increase, with investments focused on authentication, data analytics, and cloud security, complemented by cyber insurance. AI's role is expanding in threat detection, malware identification, and automated responses, showcasing its growing importance in evolving security landscapes.

Source: [Foundry]

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

When Email Security Meets SaaS Security: Uncovering Risky Auto-Forwarding Rules (thehackernews.com)

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Internet of Things – IoT

SIM Box Fraud to Drive 700% Surge in Roaming Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insurance

Supply Chain and Third Parties

FBI: Ransomware gangs hack casinos via 3rd party gaming vendors (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

Encryption

Linux and Open Source

Hackers exploit Looney Tunables Linux bug, steal cloud creds (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Malvertising

New Malvertising Campaign Uses Fake Windows News Portal to Distribute Malicious Installers (thehackernews.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Trinidad & Tobago’s state telecommunications provider is hacked, raising questions about data protection laws · Global Voices

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

Russia

Iran

North Korea

Beware of BlueNoroff: Mac users targeted with new malware variant - 9to5Mac

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

Vulnerability Management

CVSS 4.0 Offers Significantly More Patching Context (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls

Reports Published in the Last Week

Hiscox cyber threat ranking reveals UK's most vulnerable industries (reward-strategy.com)

Other News

Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

· 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.

Black Arrow Admin 22/10/2023 Black Arrow Admin 22/10/2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 October 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 20 October 2023:

-Cyber Insecurity: Many Businesses Scared They May be Hit by a Cyber Attack at Any Moment

-Cyber Security Investments Show Mature Business Mindset

-SMBs Struggle to Keep Pace as Cyber Threats Reach All Time High

-Phishing Attacks Reach Record Highs as Banks, Financial Services Remain Top Targets with HR Remaining the Most Effective Phishing Lure

-Cyber Attacks are a Matter of When not if, The Best Time to Deal With Them is Before They Happen

-Lloyd's Of London Warns Of Worst-Case-Scenario Cyber Attack

-20,000 Britons Approached By Chinese Agents On LinkedIn, Says MI5 Head

-Ransomware - All it Takes is One Employee Mistake, Criminals are Aiming at Third-Party Vendors

-39% of Individuals Use the Same Password for Multiple Accounts

-Why Fourth-Party Risk Management Is a Must-Have

-AI Adoption Surges But Security Awareness Lags Behind

-UK watchdog fines Equifax £11 million for role in cyber breach

-Why Boards Must Understand and Govern Cyber Security Risk

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Cyber Insecurity: Many Businesses Scared They May be Hit by a Cyber Attack at Any Moment

A report from the Commvault and the International Data Corporation (IDC) found that 61% of respondents believe that a data loss within the next 12 months is "likely" or "highly likely" to occur due to increasingly sophisticated attacks. Unfortunately, most businesses do not have an unlimited budget; cyber security related spending must therefore be effective, taking an informed risk based approach to prioritise the biggest threats to businesses. To understand these threats, businesses must know the current threat landscape and how that relates to their business specifically. In order to be able to apply any threat intelligence, organisations must first ascertain what they need to protect through a documented asset register; after all you cannot protect something you do not know exists.

Sources: [PR Newswire] [TechRadar]

Cyber Security Investments Show Mature Business Mindset

Companies need to start embracing cyber security as a business enabler, rather than being viewed as a pure cost or as a regulatory burden. Good cyber security is a strong indicator of a mature business mindset, giving customers, employees, and suppliers confidence that you are running a mature, responsible operation that takes the value of its data and IP very seriously. With the perception of customers changing to be more security-based, having a high level of cyber security can establish trust and therefore distinguish a business in the marketplace.

Source: [Insider Media] [Compare the Cloud]

SMBs Struggle to Keep Pace as Cyber Threats Reach All Time High

Research conducted by Sage has found UK small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are particularly struggling with cyber security preparedness, with 57% asking for more support with education and training and 45% not understanding what security is needed for their business. The report found that globally, 70% of SMBs highlighted cyber threats as a major concern, with 51% struggling to keep on top of new threats and 48% experiencing a cyber incident in the past year.

SMBs globally, found that their struggle related to making sure employees know what is expected of them in protecting the organisation (45%), providing education and awareness training (44%) and cost (43%).

Source: (IT Security Guru)

Phishing Attacks Hit Record Highs in Q2 2023, with Emails from HR still the Most Effective Lure

Research has found in the third quarter of this year, phishing attacks soared by 173% compared with the previous three months, and malware was up 110% over the same period, with 233.9 million malicious emails detected. Banks and financial services organisations remained a top target, with a 121% rise in phishing attacks.

In a separate report, human resource topics were found to account for more than half of the top-clicked phishing email subjects. This included emails that related to a change in dress code and updates on annual leave. It’s important for organisations to take this into account when training employees.

Sources: [SiliconANGLE1] [Beta News] [SiliconANGLE2] [TechRadar] [Security Brief]

Cyber Attacks Are a Matter of When, Not If; The Best Time to Deal with Them Is Before They Happen

Another week brings more companies added to the list of victims of cyber attacks. Just this week, UK based social care provider CareTech’s childcare subsidiary Cambian was criticised for keeping a cyber attack quiet, with individuals who had data stolen having to chase Cambian for details.

Cyber attacks happen, and companies need to admit when they have happened and inform relevant people. Honesty and clarity are key. After an attack, there are a number of things going on at once such as finding out what has happened, identifying stolen or encrypted data, fulfilling legal and regulatory requirements and communicating both internally and externally. Unfortunately, many companies do not expect to be attacked and therefore do not have anything in place to respond to an attack. In addition to having the necessary defences in place, organisations must be prepared for the event of an attack. This can be outlined in an incident response plan (IRP).

Sources: [Euronews] [The Times] [AI-CIO]

Lloyd's Of London Warns of Worst-Case-Scenario Cyber Attack

In recent modelling by a Lloyds of London researcher, a worst-case-scenario was found to have the potential to cause $3.5 trillion of economic damage within 5 years. While this may seem implausible, with the increased number of cyber attacks, especially to the financial sector, this figure is not as incredulous as it may seem.

The FBI has also stated that the average annual cost of cyber crime worldwide is expected to soar from $8.4 trillion in 2022 to more than $23 trillion in 2027.

Sources: [Reinsurance News] [ABS-CBN News] [The Motley Fool] [City AM]

20,000 Britons Approached by Chinese Agents on LinkedIn, Says MI5 Head

An estimated 20,000 Britons have been approached by Chinese state actors on LinkedIn in the hope of stealing industrial or technological secrets, the head of MI5 stated ahead of the Five Eyes agencies summit. This summit is a meeting of the heads of security from the Five Eyes nations – UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The summit discussed how industrial espionage was happening at “real scale”, with 10,000 UK businesses being at risk, particularly in artificial intelligence, quantum computing or synthetic biology where China was trying to gain a march.

A 'secure innovation' guideline has been released to assist small to medium-sized enterprises, especially tech start-ups, in bolstering their defences against threats from foreign states, criminals, and competitors. This guideline offers basic security advice on areas like investments, supply chains, IT networks, and cloud computing to safeguard emerging technologies.

Sources: [Computer Weekly] [Tech Monitor] [Guardian]

Ransomware - All it Takes is One Employee Mistake, As Criminals are Aiming Third-Party Vendors

According to a report, human error is the root cause of more than 80% of all cyber breaches. The solution in this case, is for organisations to provide effective training to employees to reduce the risk of such an error happening. However, this does not have any impact on third parties that the organisations use. A separate report found that nearly a third of ransomware claims involved a third-party vendor as a point of failure.

Whilst organisations often focus on improving their own cyber security, third parties can become an easily overlooked area. You don’t want to invest a significant amount into your organisation’s cyber security, only for it to fail due to a third party. This is why it is important for organisations to have an effective way of measuring supply chain risk, to ensure that they know what data their third parties have access to and what is being done by the third parties to protect it.

Black Arrow have helped many clients carry out third party risk assessments on a large number of suppliers and this can be done as a standalone offering or as part of a fractional CISO engagement.

Sources: [Security Affairs] [Claims Journal]

39% of Individuals Use the Same Password for Multiple Accounts

According to a recent survey by Yubico, 80% of respondents are concerned about the security of their online accounts. Additionally, 39% admitted to using the same passwords for multiple accounts. The report found that Boomer-generation users are the least likely to reuse passwords at 20%. In comparison, Millennials are twice as likely to reuse passwords for multiple accounts at 47%. This survey highlights that whilst younger generations may be more tech savvy, having grown up with this technology, it also brings with it a more relaxed and complacent attitude when it comes to cyber security hygiene.

Source: [Security Magazine]

Why Fourth-Party Risk Management Is a Must-Have

Most organisations today are acutely aware of the risks that third-party relationships pose, and many employ some form of third-party risk management to understand and monitor these alliances. Another danger also needs to be borne in mind: the threats organisations face from their third parties’ third parties. These ‘fourth parties’, the vendors of an organisation's vendor, are becoming an increasing concern among regulators, particularly those in the banking and financial services sector. Attackers exploit fourth parties just the same as they do third parties to indirectly target an organisation. As a result, these fourth parties greatly increase an IT environment's attack surface.

Fourth parties pose reputational, operational and regulatory risks, and with new regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in Europe coming into place, organisations need to implement a comprehensive third-party risk management program that extends to cover fourth-party risk management. This is the only way to ensure fourth parties are vetted appropriately.

Source: [Tech Target]

AI Adoption Surges but Security Awareness Lags Behind

A new survey found that security is reportedly not the primary concern for organisations when using tools such as ChatGPT and Google Bard. Respondents are more worried about inaccurate responses than the exposure of customer and employee personally identifiable information (PII), disclosure of trade secrets (33%) and financial loss (25%). Basic security practices are lacking, however, with 82% of respondents confident in their security stacks but less than half investing in technology to monitor generative AI use, exposing them to data loss risks. Only 46% have established security policies for data sharing.

Organisations need to rigorously assess and control how large language models (LLMs) handle data, ensuring alignment with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. This involves employing strong encryption, consent mechanisms and data anonymisation techniques, and ensuring control over how the organisation’s data is used, alongside regular audits and updates to ensure data handling practices remain compliant.

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]

UK Watchdog Fines Equifax £11 Million For Role in Cyber Breach

Britain's financial watchdog has fined the consumer credit rating body Equifax £11 million ($13.4 million) for its role in "one of the largest" cyber security breaches in history. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated that "The cyber attack and unauthorised access to data was entirely preventable", identifying that the UK arm of Equifax did not find out data had been accessed until six weeks after their parent company discover the hack.

Source: [Reuters]

Why Boards Must Understand and Govern Cyber Security Risk

The boardroom is a critical control in every company’s system of cyber security risk management. An ineffective approach to cyber security governance creates an overall system of cyber security that is weaker than it needs to be. Boards have typically viewed cyber security as something that it left to IT and have not been able to challenge or interpret the reports that they receive, if any, from their IT departments or IT providers. Governing bodies such as the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) have identified this and have started bringing in regulations that force the board of directors to fully understand digital cyber security risk and have a more vital role as part of the system.
Black Arrow supports business leaders in organisations of all sizes to demonstrate governance of their cyber security, by owning their cyber security strategy and leveraging their existing internal and external resources to build resilience against a cyber security incident.

Source: [Forbes]