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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 27 January 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 27 January 2023:
-Supply Chain Attacks Caused More Data Compromises Than Malware
-What Makes Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Vulnerable to BEC Attacks
-Understanding Your Attack Surface Makes It Easier to Prioritise Technologies and Systems
-Cyber Security Pros Sound Alarm Over Insider Threats
-Ransomware Attack Hit KFC and Pizza Hut Stores in the UK
-Forthcoming SEC Rules Will Trigger ‘Tectonic Shift’ in How Corporate Boards Treat Cyber Security
-Why CISOs Make Great Board Members
-View From Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber Crime
-Cloud Based Networks Under Increasing Attack, Report Finds
-GoTo Admits: Customer Cloud Backups Stolen Together with Decryption Key
-State-Linked Hackers in Russia and Iran are Targeting UK Groups, NCSC Warns
-3.7 Million Customers’ Data of Hilton Hotels Put Up For Sale
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
Supply Chain Attacks Caused More Data Compromises Than Malware
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, data compromises steadily increased in the second half of 2022 and cyber attacks remained the primary source of data breaches.
The number of data breaches resulting from supply chain attacks exceeded malware related compromises in 2022 by 40%. According to the report, more than 10 million people were impacted by supply chain attacks targeting 1,743 entities. By comparison, 70 malware-based cyber attacks affected 4.3 million people.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/26/data-compromises-2022/
What Makes Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Vulnerable to BEC Attacks
According to the United States’ FBI’s 2021 Internet Crime Report, business email compromise (BEC) accounted for almost a third of the country’s $6.9 billion in cyber losses that year – around $2.4 billion. In surprisingly sharp contrast, ransomware attacks accounted for only $50 million of those losses.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are especially vulnerable to this form of attack and BEC’s contribution to annual cyber losses not only makes sense but is also likely underreported.
In stark contrast to highly disruptive ransomware attacks, BEC is subversive and is neither technically complicated nor expensive to deploy. In the case of large organisations, the financial fallout of BEC is almost negligible. That’s not the case for small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack the means to absorb similar financial losses.
BEC’s simplicity gives more credence for attackers to target smaller organisations, and because of that, it’s doubly essential for SMBs to be vigilant.
Understanding Your Attack Surface Makes It Easier to Prioritise Technologies and Systems
It has been observed that attackers will attempt to start exploiting vulnerabilities within the first fifteen minutes of their disclosure. As the time to patch gets shorter, organisations need to be more pragmatic when it comes to remediating vulnerabilities, particularly when it comes to prioritisation.
Attack surfaces constantly evolve and change as new applications are developed, old systems are decommissioned, and new assets are registered. Also, more and more organisations are moving towards cloud-hosted infrastructure, which changes the risk and responsibility for securing those assets. Therefore, it is essential to carry out continuous or regular assessments to understand what systems are at risk, instead of just taking a point-in-time snapshot of how the attack surface looks at that moment.
The first step would be to map “traditional” asset types – those easily associated with an organisation and easy to monitor, such as domains and IP addresses. Ownership of these assets can be easily identified through available information (e.g., WHOIS data). The less traditional asset types (such as GitHub repositories) aren’t directly owned by the organisation but can also provide high-value targets or information for attackers.
It’s also important to understand which technologies are in use to make sound judgements based on the vulnerabilities relevant to the organisation. For example, out of one hundred vulnerabilities released within one month only 20% might affect the organisation’s technologies.
Once organisations have a good understanding of which assets might be at risk, context and prioritisation can be applied to the vulnerabilities affecting those assets. Threat intelligence can be utilised to determine which vulnerabilities are already being exploited in the wild.
What is then the correct answer for this conundrum? The answer is that there is no answer! Instead, organisations should consider a mindset shift and look towards preventing issues whilst adopting a defence-in-depth approach; focus on minimising impact and risk by prioritising assets that matter the most and reducing time spent on addressing those that don’t. This can be achieved by understanding your organisation’s attack surface and prioritising issues based on context and relevance.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/24/understanding-your-attack-surface/
Cyber Security Pros Sound Alarm Over Insider Threats
Gurucul, a security information and event management (SIEM) solution provider, and Cyber security Insiders, a 600,000-plus member online community for information security professionals, found in their annual 2023 Insider Threat Report that only 3% of respondents surveyed are not concerned with insider risk.
Among all potential insiders, cyber security professionals are most concerned about IT users and admins with far-reaching access privileges (60%). This is followed by third-party contractors (such as MSPs and MSSPs) and service providers (57%), regular employees (55%), and privileged business users (53%).
The research also found that more than half of organisations in the study had been victimised by an insider threat in the past year. According to the data, 75% of the respondents believe they are moderately to extremely vulnerable to insider threats, an 8% spike from last year. That coincided with a similar percentage who said attacks have become more frequent, with 60% experiencing at least one attack and 25% getting hit by more than six attacks.
Ransomware Attack Hit KFC and Pizza Hut Stores in the UK
Nearly 300 fast food restaurants, including branches of KFC and Pizza Hut, were forced to close following a ransomware attack against parent company Yum! Brands. In a statement dated 18 January 2023, Yum! confirmed that unnamed ransomware had impacted some of its IT infrastructure, and that data had been exfiltrated by hackers from its servers. However, although an investigation into the security breach continues, the company said that it had seen no evidence that customer details had been exposed.
What has not yet been made public, and may not even be known to those investigating the breach, is how long hackers might have had access to the company's IT infrastructure, and how they might have been able to gain access to what should have been a secure system. Yum! has also not shared whether it has received a ransom demand from its attackers, and if it did how much ransom was demanded, and whether it would be prepared to negotiate with its extortionists.
Forthcoming SEC Rules Will Trigger ‘Tectonic Shift’ in How Corporate Boards Treat Cyber Security
Under rules first proposed in 2022 but expected to be finalised as soon as April 2023, publicly traded companies in the US that determine a cyber incident has become “material”, meaning it could have a significant impact on the business, must disclose details to the SEC and investors within four business days. That requirement would also apply “when a series of previously undisclosed, individually immaterial cyber security incidents has become material in the aggregate.
The SEC’s rules will also require the boards of those companies to disclose significant information on their security governance, such as how and when it exercises oversight on cyber risks. That info includes identifying who on the board (or which subcommittee) is responsible for cyber security and their relevant expertise. Required disclosures will also include how often and by which processes board members are informed and discuss cyber risk. The former cyber adviser to the SEC commented that “The problem we have with the current cyber security ecosystem is that it’s very focused on technical mitigation measures and does not contemplate these business, operational, [or] financial factors.”
Whilst this only impacts US firms, we can expect other jurisdictions to follow suit.
Why CISOs Make Great Board Members
Cyber security-related risk is a top concern, so boards need to know they have the proper oversight in place. The past three years created a perfect storm situation with lasting consequences for how we think about cyber security, and as a result cyber security technologies and teams have shifted from being viewed as a cost centre to a business enabler.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, 40% of companies will have a dedicated cyber security committee. Who is better suited than a CISO to lead that conversation? Cyber security-related risk is a top concern, so boards need to know they have the proper oversight in place. CISOs can provide advice on moving forward with digital change initiatives and help companies prepare for the future. They can explain the organisation’s risk posture, including exposure related to geopolitical conflict as well as to new business initiatives and emerging threats, and what can be done to mitigate risk.
Lastly, the role of the CISO has evolved from being a risk metrics presenter to a translator of risk to the business. Therefore, the expertise CISOs have developed in recent years in how to explain risk to the board makes them valuable contributors to these conversations. They can elevate the discussion to ensure deep understanding of the trade-offs between growth and risk, enable more informed decision-making, and serve as guardrails for total business alignment.
https://www.securityweek.com/why-cisos-make-great-board-members/
View From Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber Crime
Cyber crime is a risk created by humans, driven by the economic conditions of high profit and easy opportunity. Ransomware is the most recent monetisation of these motives and opportunities, and it has evolved from simple malware to advanced exploits and double or triple extortion models.
The motive for cyber crime is clear: to steal money, but the digital nature of cyber crime makes the opportunity uniquely attractive, due to the following:
· Cryptocurrency makes online extortion, trading illicit goods and services, and laundering fraudulent funds highly anonymous and usually beyond the reach of financial regulators or inspection
· There isn't enough fear of getting caught for cyber crime.
· With the explosion in spending on digital transformation, data is the new gold and it is incredibly easy to steal, due to lapses in basic hygiene like encrypting data-at-rest and in-transit or limiting access to only authorised users.
· Paying extortion through extensive cyber insurance policies only feeds the ransomware epidemic by incentivising further crime, as noted by the FBI.
Fighting cyber crime is a team sport, and to succeed, we must adopt this framework of cyber resilience that integrates the technical, policy, behavioural, and economic elements necessary to manage the reality of ever-growing cyber crime as a predictable and manageable cyber risk.
https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/view-from-davos-the-changing-economics-of-cybercrime
Cloud Based Networks Under Increasing Attack, Report Finds
As enterprises around the world continue to move to the cloud, cyber criminals are following right behind them. There was a 48 percent year-over-year jump in 2022 in cyber attacks on cloud-based networks, and it comes at a time when 98 percent of global organisations use cloud services, according to Check Point. The increases in cyber attacks were experienced in various regions, including Asia (with a 60 percent jump), Europe (50 percent), and North America (28 percent) according to a report by Checkpoint last week.
Check Point explained that "The rise in attacks on the cloud was driven both by an overall increase in cyber attacks globally (38 percent overall in 2022, compared to 48 percent in the cloud) and also by the fact that it holds much more data and incorporates infrastructure and services from large amounts of potential victims, so when exploited the attacks could have a larger impact,". Later, Checkpoint highlighted that human error is a significant factor in the vulnerability of cloud-based networks.
The report highlighted the need for defence capabilities in the cloud to improve. According to Check Point, this means adopting zero-trust cloud network security controls, incorporating security and compliance earlier in the development lifecycle, avoiding misconfigurations, and using tools such as an intrusion detection and prevention systems and next-generation web application firewalls. As commented by Check Point “it is still up to the network and security admins to make sure all their infrastructure is not vulnerable.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/20/cloud_networks_under_attack/
GoTo Admits: Customer Cloud Backups Stolen Together with Decryption Key
On 2022-11-30, GoTo informed customers that it had suffered “a security incident”, summarising the situation as follows:
“Based on the investigation to date, we have detected unusual activity within our development environment and third-party cloud storage service. The third-party cloud storage service is currently shared by both GoTo and its affiliate, LastPass.”
Two months later, GoTo has come back with an update, and the news isn’t great:
“[A] threat actor exfiltrated encrypted backups from a third-party cloud storage service related to the following products: Central, Pro, join.me, Hamachi, and RemotelyAnywhere. We also have evidence that a threat actor exfiltrated an encryption key for a portion of the encrypted backups. The affected information, which varies by product, may include account usernames, salted and hashed passwords, a portion of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings, as well as some product settings and licensing information.”
The company also noted that although MFA settings for some Rescue and GoToMyPC customers were stolen, their encrypted databases were not.
State-Linked Hackers in Russia and Iran are Targeting UK Groups, NCSC Warns
Russian and Iranian state-linked hackers are increasingly targeting British politicians, journalists and researchers with sophisticated campaigns aimed at gaining access to a person’s email, Britain’s online security agency warned on Thursday. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an alert about two groups from Russia and Iran, warning those in government, defence, thinktanks and the media against clicking on malicious links from people posing as conference hosts, journalists or even colleagues.
Both groups have been active for some years, but it is understood they have recently stepped up their activities in the UK as the war in Ukraine continues, as well as operating in the US and other NATO countries.
The hackers typically seek to gain confidence of a target by impersonating somebody likely to make contact with them, such as by falsely impersonating a journalist, and ultimately luring them to click on a malicious link, sometimes over the course of several emails and other online interactions.
NCSC encourages people to use strong email passwords. One technique is to use three random words, and not replicate it as a login credential on other websites. It recommends people use two-factor authentication, using a mobile phone as part of the log on process, ideally by using a special authenticator app.
The cyber agency also advises people exercise particular caution when receiving plausible sounding messages from strangers who rely on Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook or other webmail accounts, sometimes impersonating “known contacts” of the target culled from social media.
3.7 Million Customers’ Data of Hilton Hotels Put Up For Sale
A member of a hacker forum going by the name IntelBroker, has offered a database allegedly containing the personal information of 3.7 million people participating in the Hilton Hotels Honors program. According to the actor, the data in question includes personally identifying information such as name, address and Honors IDs. According to the Hilton Hotel, no guest login credentials, contacts, or financial information have been leaked.
https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/3-7-millions-customers-data-hilton-hotel-up-for-sale/
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Rebranded Ransomware Crews Spike Number of Hijacking Incidents in Q4 2022 - MSSP Alert
The Unrelenting Menace of the LockBit Ransomware Gang | WIRED
Ransomware access brokers use Google ads to breach your network (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI hacked into Hive ransomware gang, disrupted operations | TechTarget
Ransomware victims are refusing to pay, tanking attackers’ profits | Ars Technica
Vice Society Ransomware Group Targets Manufacturing Companies (trendmicro.com)
New Mimic ransomware abuses ‘Everything’ Windows search tool (bleepingcomputer.com)
Contractor error led to Baltimore schools ransomware attack | TechTarget
LAUSD says Vice Society ransomware gang stole contractors’ SSNs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Riot Games receives ransom demand from hackers, refuses to pay (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian
ChatGPT is a bigger threat to cyber security than most realize - Help Net Security
Yahoo Most Faked Brand Name in Phishing Attempts by Threat Actors in Q4 2022 - MSSP Alert
SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK
Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
New 'Blank Image' attack hides phishing scripts in SVG files (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers now use Microsoft OneNote attachments to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
BlackBerry: Threat Actors Launch A Unique Malware Sample Every Minute - MSSP Alert
Consumers Face Greater Risks from Malware but Many are Unprepared and Vulnerable - MSSP Alert
New 'Blank Image' attack hides phishing scripts in SVG files (bleepingcomputer.com)
ChatGPT Could Create Polymorphic Malware Wave, Researchers Warn (darkreading.com)
Hackers now use Microsoft OneNote attachments to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
ChatGPT Can Write Polymorphic Malware to Infect Your Computer (gizmodo.com)
Microsoft plans to kill malware delivery via Excel XLL add-ins (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers use Golang source code interpreter to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Emotet Malware Makes a Comeback with New Evasion Techniques (thehackernews.com)
'DragonSpark' Malware: East Asian Cyber Attackers Create an OSS Frankenstein (darkreading.com)
Malware exploited critical Realtek SDK bug in millions of attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Massive Ad Fraud Scheme Targeted Over 11 Million Devices with 1,700 Spoofed Apps (thehackernews.com)
New 'Hook' Android malware lets hackers remotely control your phone (bleepingcomputer.com)
Pair of Galaxy App Store Bugs Offer Cyber Attackers Mobile Device Access (darkreading.com)
Google to phase out legacy apps with Android 14 to improve security - GSMArena.com news
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Why a hybrid approach can help mitigate DDoS attacks | SC Media
Russia’s largest ISP says 2022 broke all DDoS attack records (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Nice smart device – how long does it get software updates? • The Register
Why British homes are at risk from ‘Trojan Horse’ smart devices (telegraph.co.uk)
Why most IoT cyber security strategies give zero hope for zero trust - Help Net Security
Data Breaches/Leaks
Companies impacted by Mailchimp breach warn their customers - Security Affairs
LastPass owner GoTo says hackers stole customers’ backups | TechCrunch
GoTo warns customers of crypto key and backup heist • The Register
3.7 Million Customers Data Of Hilton Hotels Put Up For Sale (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
QUT confirms personal data of thousands of staff compromised in cyber attack - ABC News
Riot Games hacked, now it faces problems to release content - Security Affairs
ICE releases asylum seekers after exposing their data • The Register
Hacker Gets Hands on No-Fly List of Alleged Terrorist Suspects (gizmodo.com)
Risk & Repeat: Breaking down the LastPass breach | TechTarget
T-Mobile Cyber Attack Spurs Law Firm Investigation - MSSP Alert
Risk & Repeat: Another T-Mobile data breach disclosed | TechTarget
Entire US "No Fly List" Exposed Online Via Unsecured Server (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Near-Record Year for US Data Breaches in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Zacks data breach impacted hundreds of thousands of customers - Security Affairs
French rugby club Stade Français leaks source code - Security Affairs
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Inside the crypto ‘prisons’ scamming Britons out of their life savings (telegraph.co.uk)
Hackers Take Over Robinhood Twitter Account To Promote Scam - Decrypt
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Inside the crypto ‘prisons’ scamming Britons out of their life savings (telegraph.co.uk)
P-to-P fraud most concerning cyber threat in 2023: CSI | CSO Online
Hackers Take Over Robinhood Twitter Account To Promote Scam - Decrypt
Insurance
4 tips to find cyber insurance coverage in 2023 | TechTarget
Insurers in talks on adding state-backed cyber to UK reinsurance scheme | Financial Times (ft.com)
Cyber Security Posture & Insurance Outlook with Advisen (trendmicro.com)
Dark Web
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Report: Cloud-based networks under growing attack • The Register
Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Microsoft Azure-Based Kerberos Attacks Crack Open Cloud Accounts (darkreading.com)
Attack Surface Management
Encryption
API
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bitwarden responds to encryption design flaw criticism | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)
Social Media
Malvertising
Massive Ad Fraud Scheme Targeted Over 11 Million Devices with 1,700 Spoofed Apps (thehackernews.com)
Google Ads invites being abused to push spam, adult sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware access brokers use Google ads to breach your network (bleepingcomputer.com)
Over 4,500 WordPress Sites Hacked to Redirect Visitors to Sketchy Ad Pages (thehackernews.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
View from Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber Crime (darkreading.com)
Awareness Training Must Change | CSA (cloudsecurityalliance.org)
Despite Slowing Economy, Demand for Cyber Security Workers Remains Strong (darkreading.com)
Organisations Must Brace for Privacy Impacts This Year (darkreading.com)
Data Protection
Ireland’s data protection watchdog fines WhatsApp €5.5m • The Register
ICO Offers Data Protection Advice to SMBs - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Despite Slowing Economy, Demand for Cyber Security Workers Remains Strong (darkreading.com)
Can't Fill Open Positions? Rewrite Your Minimum Requirements (darkreading.com)
Veterans bring high-value, real-life experience as potential cyber security employees | CSO Online
Dozens of Cyber Security Companies Announced Layoffs in Past Year - SecurityWeek
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
FBI hacked into Hive ransomware gang, disrupted operations | TechTarget
Dutchman Detained for Dealing Details of Tens of Millions of People (darkreading.com)
Dutch suspect locked up for alleged personal data megathefts – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Organisations Must Brace for Privacy Impacts This Year (darkreading.com)
Scientists use Wi-Fi routers to see humans through walls | ZDNET
Most consumers would share anonymised personal data to improve AI products - Help Net Security
Artificial Intelligence
ChatGPT is a bigger threat to cyber security than most realize - Help Net Security
Learning to Lie: AI Tools Adept at Creating Disinformation - SecurityWeek
FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com
ChatGPT Can Write Polymorphic Malware to Infect Your Computer (gizmodo.com)
Chat Cyber Security: AI Promises a Lot, but Can It Deliver? (darkreading.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian
UK authorities warn of phishing from Iran, Russia • The Register
Armis State of Cyberwarfare and Trends Report - IT Security Guru
SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK
Gamaredon Group Launches Cyber Attacks Against Ukraine Using Telegram (thehackernews.com)
Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com
“Pegasus” lifts the lid on a sophisticated piece of spyware | The Economist
North Korea-linked TA444 turns to credential harvesting activity - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian
UK authorities warn of phishing from Iran, Russia • The Register
SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK
Gamaredon Group Launches Cyber Attacks Against Ukraine Using Telegram (thehackernews.com)
Russia’s largest ISP says 2022 broke all DDoS attack records (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerability Management
Extent of reported CVEs overwhelms critical infrastructure asset owners - Help Net Security
Log4j Vulnerabilities Are Here to Stay — Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)
Trained developers get rid of more vulnerabilities than code scanning tools - Help Net Security
New Open Source OT Security Tool Helps Address Impact of Upcoming Microsoft Patch - SecurityWeek
Halo Security unveils KEV feature to improve attack surface visibility - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Crims can still exploit this NSA-discovered Microsoft bug • The Register
75k WordPress sites impacted by critical online course plugin flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Log4j Vulnerabilities Are Here to Stay — Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)
Chrome 109 update addresses six security vulnerabilities - Security Affairs
Microsoft urges admins to patch on-premises Exchange servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Drupal Patches Vulnerabilities Leading to Information Disclosure | SecurityWeek.Com
Critical Vulnerabilities Patched in OpenText Enterprise Content Management System | SecurityWeek.Com
Around 19,500 end-of-life Cisco routers exposed to hack - Security Affairs
In-the-Wild Exploitation of Recent ManageEngine Vulnerability Commences | SecurityWeek.Com
Apple patches are out – old iPhones get an old zero-day fix at last! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Apple Patches WebKit Code Execution in iPhones, MacBooks - SecurityWeek
Crooks are already exploiting this bug in old iPhones • The Register
Logfile nightmare deepens thanks to critical VMware flaws • The Register
Malware exploited critical Realtek SDK bug in millions of attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Realtek SDK flaw CVE-2021-35394 actively exploited in the wild- Security Affairs
Lexmark warns of RCE bug affecting 100 printer models, PoC released (bleepingcomputer.com)
Crims can still exploit this NSA-discovered Microsoft bug • The Register
Tools and Controls
Is Once-Yearly Pen Testing Enough for Your Organisation? (thehackernews.com)
LastPass owner GoTo says hackers stole customers’ backups | TechCrunch
Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bitwarden responds to encryption design flaw criticism | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)
Companies Struggle With Zero Trust as Attackers Adapt to Get Around It (darkreading.com)
Federal Agencies Infested by Cyber Attackers via Legit Remote Management Systems (darkreading.com)
Why a hybrid approach can help mitigate DDoS attacks | SC Media
Steps To Planning And Implementation Of Endpoint Protection (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Other News
Hackers can make computers destroy their own chips with electricity | New Scientist
Scientists use Wi-Fi routers to see humans through walls | ZDNET
Microsoft 365 outage takes down Teams, Exchange Online, Outlook (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lessons Learned from the Windows Remote Desktop Honeypot Report (bleepingcomputer.com)
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.
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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 Cyber Threat Briefing 20 January 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 January 2023:
-Experts at Davos 2023 Call for a Global Response to the Gathering 'Cyber Storm'
-Cost of Data Breaches to Global Businesses at Five-Year High
-European Data Protection Authorities Issue Record €2.92 Billion In GDPR Fines, an Increase of 168%
-PayPal Accounts Breached in Large-Scale Credential Stuffing Attack
-Royal Mail Boss to Face MPs’ Questions Over Russian Ransomware Attack
-Third-Party Risk Management: Why 2023 Could be the Perfect Time to Overhaul your TPRM Program
-EU Cyber Resilience Regulation Could Translate into Millions in Fines
-Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions for Malicious Purposes
-New Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence
-ChatGPT and its Perilous Use as a "Force Multiplier" for Cyber Attacks
-Mailchimp Discloses a New Security Breach, the Second One in 6 Months
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
Experts at Davos 2023 Call for a Global Response to the Gathering 'Cyber Storm'
As economic and geopolitical instability spills into the new year, experts predict that 2023 will be a consequential year for cyber security. The developments, they say, will include an expanded threat landscape and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
"There's a gathering cyber storm," Sadie Creese, a Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Oxford, said during an interview at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland. "This storm is brewing, and it's really hard to anticipate just how bad that will be."
Already, cyber attacks such as phishing, ransomware and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise. Cloudflare, a major US cyber security firm that provides protection services for over 30% of Fortune 500 companies, found that DDoS attacks—which entail overwhelming a server with a flood of traffic to disrupt a network or webpage—increased last year by 79% year-over-year.
"There's been an enormous amount of insecurity around the world," Matthew Prince, the CEO of Cloudflare, stated during the Annual Meeting. "I think 2023 is going to be a busy year in terms of cyber attacks."
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/cybersecurity-storm-2023-experts-davos23/
Cost of Data Breaches to Global Businesses at Five-Year High
Research from business insurer Hiscox shows that the cost of dealing with cyber events for businesses has more than tripled since 2018. The study, which collated data from the organisation’s previous five annual Cyber Readiness reports, has revealed that:
Since 2018 the median IT budgets for cyber security more than tripled.
Between 2020 and 2022 cyber-attacks increased by over a quarter.
Businesses are increasing their cyber security budgets year-on-year.
In the Hiscox 2022 Cyber Readiness report, the financial toll of cyber incidents, including data breaches, was estimated to be $16,950 (£15,265) on average. As the cost of cyber crime grew, so did organisations’ cyber security budgets – average spending on cyber security tripled from 2018 to 2022, rocketing from $1,470,196 (£1,323,973) to $5,235,162 (£4,714,482).
Hiscox has also revealed that half of all companies surveyed suffered at least one cyber attack in 2022, up 11% from 2020. Financial Services, as well as Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) sectors even reported a minimum of one attack for three consecutive years. Financial Services firms, however, seemed to be hit the hardest, with 66% reporting being impacted by cyber attacks in 2021-2022.
Cyber risk has risen to the same strategic level as traditional financial and operational risks, thanks to a growing realisation by businesses that the impact can be just as severe.
European Data Protection Authorities Issue Record €2.92 Billion in GDPR Fines, an Increase of 168%
European data regulators issued a record €2.92 billion in fines last year, a 168% increase from 2021. That’s according to the latest GDPR and Data Breach survey from international law firm DLA Piper, which covers all 27 Member States of the European Union, plus the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This year’s biggest fine of €405 million was imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) against Meta Platforms Ireland Limited relating to Instagram for alleged failures to protect children’s personal data. The Irish DPC also fined Meta €265 million for failing to comply with the GDPR obligation for Data Protection by Design and Default. Both fines are currently under appeal.
Despite the overall increase in fines since January 28, 2022, the fine of €746 million that Luxembourg authorities levied against Amazon last year remains the biggest to be issued by an EU-based data regulator to date (though the retail giant is still believed to be appealing).
The report also revealed a notable increase in focus by supervisory authorities on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), while the volume of data breaches reported to regulators decreased slightly against the previous year’s total.
PayPal Accounts Breached in Large-Scale Credential Stuffing Attack
PayPal is sending out data breach notifications to thousands of users who had their accounts accessed through credential stuffing attacks that exposed some personal data.
Credential stuffing are attacks where hackers attempt to access an account by trying out username and password pairs sourced from data leaks on various websites. This type of attack relies on an automated approach with bots running lists of credentials to "stuff" into login portals for various services. Credential stuffing targets users that employ the same password for multiple online accounts, which is known as "password recycling."
PayPal explains that the credential stuffing attack occurred between December 6 and December 8, 2022. The company detected and mitigated it at the time but also started an internal investigation to find out how the hackers obtained access to the accounts. By December 20, 2022, PayPal concluded its investigation, confirming that unauthorised third parties logged into the accounts with valid credentials. The electronic payments platform claims that this was not due to a breach on its systems and has no evidence that the user credentials were obtained directly from them.
According to the data breach reporting from PayPal, 34,942 of its users have been impacted by the incident. During the two days, hackers had access to account holders' full names, dates of birth, postal addresses, social security numbers, and individual tax identification numbers. Transaction histories, connected credit or debit card details, and PayPal invoicing data are also accessible on PayPal accounts.
Royal Mail Boss to Face MPs’ Questions Over Russian Ransomware Attack
Royal Mail’s chief executive faced questions from MPs last week over the Russia-linked ransomware attack that caused international deliveries to grind to a halt.
Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, was asked about the recent cyber attack when he appeared before the Commons Business Select Committee to discuss Royal Mail’s response to the cyber attack at the evidence session on Tuesday Jan 17.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Royal Mail has been subject to a cyber incident that is affecting our international export service. We are focused on restoring this service as soon as we are able.”
Royal Mail was forced to suspend all outbound international post after machines used for printing customs dockets were disabled by the Russia-linked Lockbit cyber crime gang. Lockbit’s attackers used ransomware, malicious software that scrambles vital computer files before the gang demands payment to unlock them again. The software also took over printers at Royal Mail’s international sorting offices and caused ransom notes to “spout” from them, according to reports.
Cyber security industry sources cautioned that while Lockbit is known to be Russian in origin, it is not known whether a stolen copy of the gang’s signature ransomware had been deployed by rival hackers.
Third-Party Risk Management: Why 2023 Could be the Perfect Time to Overhaul your TPRM Program
Ensuring risk caused by third parties does not occur to your organisation is becoming increasingly difficult. Every business outsources some aspects of its operations, and ensuring these external entities are a strength and not a weakness isn’t always a straightforward process.
In the coming years we’ll see organisations dedicate more time and resources to developing detailed standards and assessments for potential third-party vendors. Not only will this help to mitigate risk within their supply chain network, it will also provide better security.
As demand for third-party risk management (TPRM) grows, there are key reasons why we believe 2023 could be pivotal for the future of your organisation’s TPRM program, cyber risk being principal amongst them.
Forrester predicted that 60% of security incidents in 2022 would stem from third parties. In 2021 there was a 300% increase in supply chain attacks, a trend that has continued to increase over the past 12 months also. For example, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota was forced to completely shut down its operations due to a security breach with a third-party plastics supplier.
It’s not only the frequency of third-party attacks that has increased, but also the methods that cyber criminals are using are becoming increasingly sophisticated. For example, the SolarWinds cyber breach in 2020 was so advanced that Microsoft estimated it took over a thousand engineers to stop the impact of the attack.
As the sophistication and frequency of supply chain attacks increases, the impact they have on businesses reputations and valuations is also becoming apparent. There is a need for organisations to conduct thorough due diligence of the third parties they choose to work with, otherwise the consequences could be disastrous.
Remember always that cyber security should be a non-negotiable feature of all business transactions.
EU Cyber Resilience Regulation Could Translate into Millions in Fines
The EU Commission’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is intended to close the digital fragmentation problem surrounding devices and systems with network connections – from printers and routers to smart household appliances and industrial control systems. Industrial networks and critical infrastructures require special protection.
According to the European Union, there is currently a ransomware attack every eleven seconds. In the last few weeks alone, among others, a leading German children’s food manufacturer and a global Tier1 automotive supplier headquartered in Germany were hit, with the latter becoming the victim of a massive ransomware attack. Such an attack even led to insolvency at the German manufacturer Prophete in January 2023. To press manufacturers, distributors and importers into action, they face significant penalties if security vulnerabilities in devices are discovered and not properly reported and closed.
“The pressure on the industry – manufacturers, distributors and importers – is growing immensely. The EU will implement this regulation without compromise, even though there are still some work packages to be done, for example regarding local country authorities,” says Jan Wendenburg, CEO, ONEKEY.
The financial fines for affected manufacturers and distributors are therefore severe: up to 15 million euros or 2.5 percent of global annual revenues in the past fiscal year – the larger number counts. “This makes it absolutely clear: there will be substantial penalties on manufacturers if the requirements are not implemented,” Wendenburg continues.
Manufacturers, distributors and importers are required to notify ENISA – the European Union’s cyber security agency – within 24 hours if a security vulnerability in one of their products is exploited. Exceeding the notification deadlines is already subject to sanctions.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/19/eu-cyber-resilience-regulation-fines/
Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions for Malicious Purposes
Russian cyber-criminals have been observed on dark web forums trying to bypass OpenAI’s API restrictions to gain access to the ChatGPT chatbot for nefarious purposes.
Various individuals have been observed, for instance, discussing how to use stolen payment cards to pay for upgraded users on OpenAI (thus circumventing the limitations of free accounts). Others have created blog posts on how to bypass the geo controls of OpenAI, and others still have created tutorials explaining how to use semi-legal online SMS services to register to ChatGPT.
“Generally, there are a lot of tutorials in Russian semi-legal online SMS services on how to use it to register to ChatGPT, and we have examples that it is already being used,” wrote Check Point Research (CPR). “It is not extremely difficult to bypass OpenAI’s restricting measures for specific countries to access ChatGPT,” said Check Point. “Right now, we are seeing Russian hackers already discussing and checking how to get past the geofencing to use ChatGPT for their malicious purposes.”
They added that they believe these hackers are most likely trying to implement and test ChatGPT in their day-to-day criminal operations. “Cyber-criminals are growing more and more interested in ChatGPT because the AI technology behind it can make a hacker more cost-efficient,” they explained.
Case in point, just last week, Check Point Research published a separate advisory highlighting how threat actors had already created malicious tools using ChatGPT. These included infostealers, multi-layer encryption tools and dark web marketplace scripts.
More generally, the cyber security firm is not the only one believing ChatGPT could democratise cyber crime, with various experts warning that the AI bot could be used by potential cyber-criminals to teach them how to create attacks and even write ransomware.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/russian-hackers-to-bypass-chatgpt/
New Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence
Cyber security firm Coalfire this week unveiled its second annual State of CISO Influence report, which explores the expanding influence of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and other security leaders.
The report revealed that the CISO role is maturing quickly, and the position is experiencing more equity in the boardroom. In the last year alone, there was a 10-point uptick in CISOs doing monthly reporting to the board. These positive outcomes likely stem from the increasingly metrics-driven reporting CISOs provide, where data is more effectively leveraged to connect security outcomes to business objectives.
An especially promising development in this year's report is how security teams are being looped into corporate projects. Of the security leaders surveyed, 78% say they are consulted early in project development when business objectives are first identified, and two-thirds are now making presentations to the highest levels of enterprise authority. 56% of CISOs present security metrics to their CEOs, up from 43% in 2021.
Cloud migration was universally identified as one of those top business objectives. The move to the cloud saddles CISOs with many challenges. The top priorities listed by CISOs include dealing with an expanding attack surface, staffing, and new compliance requirements — all within constrained budgets. In fact, 43% of security leaders said their budgets remained static or were reduced following business migration to the cloud.
Given these challenges, leading CISOs are transforming their approaches. To address multiple cloud compliance requirements, security leaders are focusing on the most onerous set of rules and creating separate environments for different requirements. Risk assessments were identified as the key tool used to secure funding for these and other cyber initiatives and to set top priorities.
"Costs and risks are up, while at the same time, cyber budgets are trending flat or down," said Colefire. "Cyber security has historically been lower in priority for organisations, but we are witnessing a big shift in enterprise cyber expectations. CISOs are rising to meet those expectations, speaking to the business, and as a result, solidifying their role in the C-suite."
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/new-coalfire-report-reveals-cisos-rising-influence
ChatGPT and its Perilous Use as a "Force Multiplier" for Cyber Attacks
As a form of OpenAI technology, ChatGPT has the ability to mimic natural language and human interaction with remarkable efficiency. However, from a cyber security perspective, this also means it can be used in a variety of ways to lower the bar for threat actors.
One key method is the ability for ChatGPT to draft cunning phishing emails en masse. By feeding ChatGPT with minimal information, it can create content and entire emails that will lure unsuspecting victims to provide their passwords. With the right API setup, thousands of unique, tailored, and sophisticated phishing emails can be sent almost simultaneously.
Another interesting capability of ChatGPT is the ability to write malicious code. While OpenAI has put some controls in place to prevent ChatGPT from creating malware, it is possible to convince ChatGPT to create ransomware and other forms of malware as code that can be copied and pasted into an integrated development environment (IDE) and used to compile actual malware. ChatGPT can also be used to identify vulnerabilities in code segments and reverse engineer applications.
ChatGPT will expedite a trend that is already wreaking havoc across sectors – lowering the bar for less sophisticated threat actors, enabling them to conduct attacks while evading security controls and bypassing advanced detection mechanisms. And currently, there is not much that organisations can do about it. ChatGPT represents a technological marvel that will usher in a new era, not just for the cyber security space.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sj0lfp11oi
Mailchimp Discloses a New Security Breach, the Second One in 6 Months
The popular email marketing and newsletter platform Mailchimp was hacked twice in the past six months. The news of a new security breach was confirmed by the company; the incident exposed the data of 133 customers.
Threat actors targeted the company’s employees and contractors to gain access to an internal support and account admin tool.
“On January 11, the Mailchimp Security team identified an unauthorised actor accessing one of our tools used by Mailchimp customer-facing teams for customer support and account administration. The unauthorised actor conducted a social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees and contractors, and obtained access to select Mailchimp accounts using employee credentials compromised in that attack.” reads the notice published by the company. “Based on our investigation to date, this targeted incident has been limited to 133 Mailchimp accounts.”
The malicious activity was discovered on January 11, 2023; in response to the intrusion the company temporarily suspended access for impacted accounts. The company also notified the primary contacts for all affected accounts less than 24 hours after the initial discovery.
https://securityaffairs.com/140997/data-breach/mailchimp-security-breach.html
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Yum Brands says nearly 300 restaurants in UK impacted due to cyber attack | Reuters
Royal Mail boss to face MPs’ questions over Russian ransomware attack (telegraph.co.uk)
What is LockBit ransomware and how does it operate? | Royal Mail | The Guardian
How cyber-attack on Royal Mail has left firms in limbo - BBC News
Royal Mail restarts limited overseas post after cyber-attack - BBC News
How Royal Mail’s hacker became the world’s most prolific ransomware group | Financial Times (ft.com)
Ransomware Trends In Q4 2022: Key Findings And Recommendations (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Microsoft: Cuba ransomware hacking Exchange servers via OWASSRF flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft retracts its report on Mac ransomware (techrepublic.com)
Ransomware Dips During 2022: Are Cyber attacks Slowing or Just a Blip? - MSSP Alert
Up to 1,000 ships affected by DNV ransomware attack - Splash247
Avast releases free BianLian ransomware decryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vice Society ransomware leaks University of Duisburg-Essen’s data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware attack cuts 1,000 ships off from on-shore servers • The Register
Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack | Computer Weekly
Cyber-crime gangs' earnings slide as victims refuse to pay - BBC News
Ransomware gang steals data from KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut brand owner (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
How AI chatbot ChatGPT changes the phishing game | CSO Online
The big risk in the most-popular, and aging, big tech email programs (cnbc.com)
Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security
Fake DHL emails allow hackers to breach Microsoft 365 accounts (msn.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Techniques that attackers use to trick victims into visiting malicious content - Help Net Security
As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)
2FA/MFA
CircleCI's hack caused by malware stealing engineer's 2FA-backed session (bleepingcomputer.com)
The Importance of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - MSSP Alert
Malware
New Backdoor Created Using Leaked CIA's Hive Malware Discovered in the Wild (thehackernews.com)
Experts spotted a backdoor that borrows code from CIA's Hive malware - Security Affairs
ChatGPT Creates Polymorphic Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)
New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Malicious ‘Lolip0p’ PyPi packages install info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers exploit Cacti critical bug to install malware, open reverse shells (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers can use GitHub Codespaces to host and deliver malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers turn to Google search ads to push info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
How to spot a cyberbot – five tips to keep your device safe (theconversation.com)
Mobile
New 'Hook' Android malware lets hackers remotely control your phone (bleepingcomputer.com)
Roaming Mantis’ Android malware adds DNS changer to hack WiFi routers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
6,000+ Customer Accounts Breached, NortonLifeLock Alert Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
1.7 TB of data from digital intelligence firm Cellebrite leaked online - Security Affairs
LastPass faces mounting criticism over recent breach | TechTarget
Mailchimp discloses a new incident, the second one in 6 months - Security Affairs
PayPal Breach Exposed PII of Nearly 35K Accounts (darkreading.com)
T-Mobile US says hacker accessed personal data of 37 million customers • TechCrunch
Twitter says leaked emails not hacked from its systems - BBC News
Hacked! My Twitter user data is out on the dark web -- now what? | ZDNET
Twitter sued over data leak that it denied was caused by a flaw | Business
Nissan North America data breach caused by vendor-exposed database (bleepingcomputer.com)
18k Nissan Customers Affected by Data Breach at Third-Party Software Developer | SecurityWeek.Com
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto exchanges freeze accounts tied to North Korea • The Register
Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs
FTX Says $415 Million Of Its Crypto Assets Was Hacked (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Google Ads-delivered malware drains NFT influencer’s entire crypto wallet (cointelegraph.com)
Bitcoin is a ‘hyped-up fraud’, says JP Morgan chief (telegraph.co.uk)
International Arrests Over 'Criminal' Crypto Exchange | SecurityWeek.Com
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Hacker stole credit cards from Canada alcohol retailer LCBO - Security Affairs
Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs
New York man defrauded thousands using credit cards sold on dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)
FTX Says $415 Million Of Its Crypto Assets Was Hacked (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
The US Has a Massive Money Transfer Surveillance Apparatus (gizmodo.com)
The threat of location spoofing and fraud - Help Net Security
HUMAN Security Stops VASTFLUX Digital Ad Fraud Operation - MSSP Alert
International Arrests Over 'Criminal' Crypto Exchange | SecurityWeek.Com
Insurance
Dark Web
New York man defrauded thousands using credit cards sold on dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)
Illegal Solaris darknet market hijacked by competitor Kraken (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
The Dangers of Default Cloud Configurations (darkreading.com)
Report: Cloud-based networks under growing attack • The Register
Data Security in Multicloud: Limit Access, Increase Visibility (darkreading.com)
Hybrid/Remote Working
Encryption
Vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries found through modern fuzzing - Help Net Security
teiss - Cyber Threats - Managing the treat from quantum computers
Threats Of Quantum: The Solution Lies In Quantum Cryptography (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security
TLS Connection Cryptographic Protocol Vulnerabilities (trendmicro.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Compromise of employee device, credentials led to CircleCI breach | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
PayPal accounts breached in large-scale credential stuffing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
NortonLifeLock: threat actors breached Norton Password Manager accounts - Security Affairs
Social Media
Twitter says leaked emails not hacked from its systems - BBC News
Hacked! My Twitter user data is out on the dark web -- now what? | ZDNET
French CNIL fined Tiktok $5.4 Million for violating cookie laws - Security Affairs
Malvertising
Hackers turn to Google search ads to push info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Ads-delivered malware drains NFT influencer’s entire crypto wallet (cointelegraph.com)
HUMAN Security Stops VASTFLUX Digital Ad Fraud Operation - MSSP Alert
Training, Education and Awareness
Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security
As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
GDPR Fines Surge 168% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
European data protection authorities issue record €2.92 billion in GDPR fines | CSO Online
How data protection is evolving in a digital world - Help Net Security
EU cyber resilience regulation could translate into millions in fines - Help Net Security
Online safety bill: Attempt to jail tech bosses ‘could backfire’ | News | The Times
Culture secretary examines plans to punish tech bosses over online harms | Financial Times (ft.com)
French CNIL fined Tiktok $5.4 Million for violating cookie laws - Security Affairs
State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop
How Would the FTC Rule on Noncompetes Affect Data Security? (darkreading.com)
The US Has a Massive Money Transfer Surveillance Apparatus (gizmodo.com)
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Technology is a fragile machine that seems to power everything | Android Central
Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security
New Coalfire Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence (darkreading.com)
Cost of data breaches to global businesses at five-year high- IT Security Guru
Experts at Davos 2023 sound the alarm on cyber security | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Why Mean Time to Repair Is Not Always A Useful Security Metric (darkreading.com)
Why are there so many cyber attacks lately? An explainer on the rising trend | Globalnews.ca
How To Build A Network Of Security Champions In Your Organisation (forbes.com)
EU cyber resilience regulation could translate into millions in fines - Help Net Security
What is Business Attack Surface Management? (trendmicro.com)
How to build a cyber-resilience culture in the enterprise | TechTarget
Why Businesses Need to Think Like Hackers This Year (darkreading.com)
How to prioritize resilience in the face of cyber-attacks | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Cyber-attack contributes to major Harrogate district firm posting £4.1m loss - The Stray Ferret
Data Protection
GDPR Fines Surge 168% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
European data protection authorities issue record €2.92 billion in GDPR fines | CSO Online
How data protection is evolving in a digital world - Help Net Security
State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
New Coalfire Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence (darkreading.com)
IT Burnout may be Putting Your Organisation at Risk (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sophos Joins List of Cyber security Companies Cutting Staff | SecurityWeek.Com
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
UK supermarket uses facial recognition tech to track shoppers - Coda Story
State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop
Artificial Intelligence
How AI chatbot ChatGPT changes the phishing game | CSO Online
ChatGPT and its perilous use as a "Force Multiplier" for cyber attacks | Ctech (calcalistech.com)
Potential threats and sinister implications of ChatGPT - Help Net Security
Criminals seek OpenAI guardrail bypass, use ChatGPT for evil • The Register
ChatGPT Creates Polymorphic Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Putin’s Russian cyber attacks could target UK’s infrastructure | News | The Times
Industrial espionage: How China sneaks out America's technology secrets - BBC News
Ukraine blames Russia for most of over 2,000 cyber attacks in 2022 | Reuters
Beware: Tainted VPNs Being Used to Spread EyeSpy Surveillanceware (thehackernews.com)
Is Elon Musk’s Starlink winning the war for Ukraine? | World | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)
Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group NoName057(16) Strikes Again (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Russian hacktivists NoName057 offer cash for DDoS attacks (techmonitor.ai)
Ukraine links data-wiping attack on news agency to Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russian hackers target Ukrainian press briefing about cyber attacks (axios.com)
Chinese hackers targeted Iranian government entities for months: Report | CSO Online
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Putin’s Russian cyber attacks could target UK’s infrastructure | News | The Times
Ukraine blames Russia for most of over 2,000 cyber attacks in 2022 | Reuters
Is Elon Musk’s Starlink winning the war for Ukraine? | World | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)
Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group NoName057(16) Strikes Again (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Russian hacktivists NoName057 offer cash for DDoS attacks (techmonitor.ai)
Ukraine links data-wiping attack on news agency to Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russian hackers target Ukrainian press briefing about cyber attacks (axios.com)
Russians say they can download software from Intel again • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
Industrial espionage: How China sneaks out America's technology secrets - BBC News
Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)
New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
China wants 30 percent CAGR for its infosec industry • The Register
Chinese hackers targeted Iranian government entities for months: Report | CSO Online
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
The Top 10 Vulnerabilities of 2022: Mastering Vulnerability Management - Security Boulevard
3 Lessons Learned in Vulnerability Management (darkreading.com)
Vulnerabilities
Cisco won’t fix critical flaw in small business routers • The Register
Unpatched Zoho ManageEngine Products Under Active Cyber attack (darkreading.com)
Oracle's First Security Update for 2023 Includes 327 New Patches | SecurityWeek.Com
Why it's time to review your on-premises Microsoft Exchange patch status | CSO Online
Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)
New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Cacti Servers Under Attack as Majority Fail to Patch Critical Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
PoC exploits released for critical bugs in popular WordPress plugins (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries found through modern fuzzing - Help Net Security
Microsoft: Exchange Server 2013 reaches end of support in 90 days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers are using this old trick to dodge security protections | ZDNET
Attackers deploy sophisticated Linux implant on Fortinet network security devices | CSO Online
Researchers to release PoC exploit for critical Zoho RCE bug, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)
MSI accidentally breaks Secure Boot for hundreds of motherboards (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft fixes SSRF vulnerabilities found in Azure services | TechTarget
Over 4,000 Sophos Firewall devices vulnerable to RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical Security Vulnerabilities Discovered in Netcomm and TP-Link Routers (thehackernews.com)
Exploited Control Web Panel Flaw Added to CISA 'Must-Patch' List | SecurityWeek.Com
Two critical flaws discovered in Git system - Security Affairs
Vendors Actively Bypass Security Patch for Year-Old Magento Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com
Cisco Patches High-Severity SQL Injection Vulnerability in Unified CM | SecurityWeek.Com
CVE-2022-47966: Rapid7 Observed Exploitation of Critical ManageEngine Vulnerability | Rapid7 Blog
Critical Microsoft Azure RCE flaw impacted multiple services - Security Affairs
New Microsoft Azure Vulnerability Uncovered — EmojiDeploy for RCE Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Tools and Controls
Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security
Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security
As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)
Zero trust network access for Desktop as a Service - Help Net Security
How to prioritize resilience in the face of cyber-attacks | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
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.
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