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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 15 March 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 15 March 2024:
-Mind The Gap - Mimecast Report Finds Humans Are Biggest Security Flaw
-Three-Quarters of Cyber Victim Are SMBs - Why SMBs are Becoming More Vulnerable
-Cyber Security Skills Gap and Lack of Boardroom Engagement Invite Hacker Havoc
-UK Government’s Ransomware Failings Leave Country ‘Exposed and Unprepared’
-Data Breaches up 72% to New Record High: Cyber Security Incidents Rank as #1 Global Business Threat in 2024
-Finance Sector Facing Huge Number of Cyber Attacks That Could Leave It On its Knees, Highlights the Need to Build a Robust Security Culture
-Microsoft Confirms Russian Hackers Stole Source Code, Some Customer Secrets
-Independent Cyber Security Audits Are Powerful Tools for Boards
-Navigating Cyber Security in The Era of Mergers
-Phishing Tactics Evolve as Sophisticated Vishing and Image-based Phishing Take World by Storm
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
Mind The Gap: Mimecast Report Finds Humans Are Biggest Security Flaw
A global report from Mimecast has found that 74% of all cyber breaches are caused by human factors, including errors, misuse of access privileges or social engineering. Email remains the primary attack vector for cyber threats. Further, 67% of respondents expect AI-driven attacks to soon be the norm and 69% believe their company will be harmed by an attack.
No matter the size, sector or budget of an organisation, people remain a consistent risk factor. Even with strong technology controls, people can still be the risk that brings down the organisation. It is therefore important for organisations to integrate people into their cyber security investments. This should include awareness and education training, and fostering a cyber secure culture in the organisation.
Sources: [IT Security Guru] [Beta News] [Verdict]
Three-Quarters of Cyber Victim Are SMBs: Why SMBs are Becoming More Vulnerable
According to a recent Sophos report, over three-quarters of cyber incidents impacted smaller businesses in 2023, with ransomware having the largest impact. The research also found that in 90% of attacks, data or credential theft was involved and in 43%, data theft was the main focus.
The report found significant usage of initial access brokers; these are attackers whose speciality is to break into computer networks and sell ready-to-go access to other attackers. In fact, the report found that almost half of all malware detected in SMBs were malicious programs used to steal sensitive data and login credentials. Unfortunately, many SMBs struggle to keep up due to a lack of resources and budget; instead, they must be able to prioritise their cyber security efforts to get the most return on investment.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [Help Net Security] [TechRadar] [Nairametrics] [TechTarget]
Cyber Security Skills Gap and Lack of Boardroom Engagement Invite Hacker Havoc
The Ipsos report on Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2023 sheds light on the persistent challenges faced in recruiting, training, and retaining cyber security professionals across various domains. With approximately 739,000 businesses lacking basic cyber skills and 487,000 facing advanced skills gaps, the demand for trained professionals is escalating. The shortage of incident response skills highlights the need for comprehensive education and training programs. Senior management and board-level executives must also be equipped with the knowledge to manage incidents effectively, emphasising reporting, seeking external assistance, and maintaining a no-blame culture. Understanding cyber risks at the business level is crucial, as cyber crime has evolved into a well-organised industry with distinct roles and profit-sharing mechanisms among cyber criminal groups. Conducting tabletop incident response exercises can effectively prepare senior leadership for cyber incidents, ensuring a proactive and coordinated response to mitigate risks and safeguard organisational resilience.
Source: [TechRadar]
UK Government’s Ransomware Failings Leave Country ‘Exposed and Unprepared’
The recent response from the British government to warnings about the looming ransomware threat has sparked criticism, with accusations of adopting an "ostrich strategy" by downplaying the severity of the national cyber threat. Despite alarming assessments from the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) regarding the high risk of a catastrophic ransomware attack, the government's formal response has been met with scepticism. Key recommendations, such as reallocating responsibility for tackling ransomware away from the Home Office, were rejected, with the government arguing that its existing regulations and the current National Cyber Strategy were sufficient. This argument has raised concerns about the government's preparedness and resource allocation. With ransomware attacks escalating in the UK, the Committee underscores the urgency for a proactive national security response to mitigate the potentially devastating impacts on the economy and national security.
Source: [The Record Media]
Data Breaches up 72% to New Record High: Cyber Security Incidents Rank as #1 Global Business Threat in 2024
Research conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) found that 2023 set an all time high in data breaches, 72% more than the prior year. Separately, the Allianz Risk Barometer identified cyber incidents as the biggest global business threat for 2024, ranking above regulatory concerns, climate change and a shortage of skilled workers. It is crucial that the severity of this risk is reflected in the actions taken by organisations, who must effectively govern and implement their cyber security strategy.
Sources: [JDSupra]
Finance Sector Facing Huge Number of Cyber Attacks That Could Leave It On its Knees, Highlights the Need to Build a Robust Security Culture
Cyber security has become a pressing issue on financial institutions due to the rise in cyber attacks, as highlighted by the February attack on Bank of America via a third-party service. The involvement of the LockBit ransomware group underlines the persistent nature of these threats, particularly targeting the financial sector. These attacks disrupt services and undermine trust in the financial system, necessitating robust cyber security frameworks. The new US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule requiring immediate disclosure of cyber security incidents presents both benefits and challenges, calling for clear guidelines and industry-wide collaboration. BlackBerry’s Global Threat Intelligence Report revealed a staggering million attacks globally in just 120 days last year. These attacks, often using commodity malware, make up almost two-thirds of all industry-related incidents. The 27% increase in novel malware samples highlights the need for improved defences. These findings emphasise the need for AI-driven detection and defence strategies. While critical infrastructure remains a primary focus, commercial enterprises must remain vigilant, with a third of threats targeting various sectors, emphasising the pervasive nature of cyber threats across industries.
Source:[ SC Media] [TechRadar]
Microsoft Confirms Russian Hackers Stole Source Code, Some Customer Secrets
In a recent revelation, Microsoft disclosed that the Kremlin-backed threat group known as Midnight Blizzard successfully accessed some of Microsoft’s source code repositories and internal systems following a hack in January 2024. The breach, believed to have originally occurred in November 2023, exploited a legacy test account lacking multi-factor authentication by employing a password spray attack. Microsoft assured no compromise to customer-facing systems but warned of ongoing attempts by Midnight Blizzard to exploit stolen corporate email data. The extent of the breach remains under investigation, with concerns raised over the potential accumulation of attack vectors by the threat actor. The incident underscores the escalating sophistication of nation-state cyber threats and prompts a re-evaluation of security measures, highlighting the imperative for robust defences against such adversaries.
Source: [The Hacker News]
Independent Cyber Security Audits Are Powerful Tools for Boards
Board members are increasingly held accountable for their organisation's cyber posture, facing personal liability for lapses. To gain insight and demonstrate proactive leadership, independent cyber security audits have become indispensable. These audits not only aid in regulatory compliance but also uncover blind spots in the organisation's security measures. Recent regulations, such as by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) underscore the imperative for robust cyber security oversight at the board level. The audit process involves defining the scope, conducting assessments, validating findings through simulations, and presenting comprehensive reports to leadership. By embracing cyber security audits, boards can fulfil their duty of overseeing and enhancing the organisation's cyber resilience in an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Source: [Bloomberg Law]
Navigating Cyber Security in The Era of Mergers
In today's landscape of frequent mergers and acquisitions (M&A), organisations grapple with the challenge of aligning cyber security measures across subsidiaries, posing a risk to overall security. According to an IBM survey, over one in three executives attribute data breaches to M&A activity during integration. This complexity arises as security teams may lack insight into subsidiary infrastructure, hindering risk assessment and mitigation efforts. Historical incidents like the NotPetya attack on Merck and the Talk Talk hack highlight vulnerabilities post-acquisition, emphasising the need for a proactive approach to subsidiary cyber security. To address these challenges, organisations must conduct comprehensive risk assessments, standardise security protocols, foster collaboration, and consider unified security platforms. By proactively addressing visibility gaps and implementing standardised protocols, organisations can fortify their defences against evolving cyber threats amidst M&A activities.
Source: [Forbes]
Phishing Tactics Evolve as Sophisticated Vishing and Image-based Phishing Take World by Storm
According to a recent report, 76% of organisations were compromised by QR-code phishing in the last 12 months. Along with this, there has also been a rise in the number of sophisticated vishing attacks, with recent attacks costing organisations millions. The introduction of artificial intelligence has only added fuel to this fire already impacting security controls such as call-back procedures. With the tactics of phishing evolving, organisations need to ensure they are up-to-date and that employees are trained effectively to mitigate the risk of these.
Sources: [Help Net Security] [Dark Reading]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber Security skills gap and boardroom blindness invite hacker havoc | TechRadar
Independent Cyber Security Audits Are Powerful Tools for Boards (bloomberglaw.com)
Navigating Cyber Security In The Era Of Mergers (forbes.com)
SMEs invest in tech opportunities but risk missing security safeguards (betanews.com)
Your tech tools won’t save you from cyber threats | TechRadar
The CISO Role Is Changing. Can CISOs Themselves Keep Up? (darkreading.com)
Cyber Insurance Strategy Requires CISO-CFO Collaboration (darkreading.com)
How enterprises can tackle risky cyber security behavior and improve workforce resilience | ITPro
Building a Security Culture of Shared Responsibility - Security Boulevard
MDR Metrics that Matter – From Analysts to the Board of Directors | Binary Defense
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Sophos: Remote ransomware attacks on SMBs increasing | TechTarget
UK government’s ransomware failings leave country ‘exposed and unprepared’ (therecord.media)
Understanding the multi-tiered impact of ransomware. (thecyberwire.com)
Ransomware tracker: The latest figures [March 2024] (therecord.media)
The effects of law enforcement takedowns on the ransomware landscape - Help Net Security
UK Conservatives Say 'No' to Cyber Insurance Backstop (inforisktoday.com)
Businesses leaving their Kubernetes containers exposed to ransomware | TechRadar
StopCrypt: Most widely distributed ransomware now evades detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Member of LockBit ransomware group sentenced to 4 years in prison | Ars Technica
Ransomware Victims
British Library’s legacy IT blamed for lengthy rebuild • The Register
British Library shares lessons from cyber attack | UKAuthority
Stanford University failed to detect intruders for 4 months • The Register
Stanford says data from 27,000 people leaked in September ransomware attack (therecord.media)
Law Firm Sues MSP Over Black Basta Ransomware Attack | MSSP Alert
Play ransomware group stole 65,000 Swiss government files • The Register
Cancer Clinics Face Cash Crunch After Hack Rocks US Health Care (claimsjournal.com)
Nissan confirms ransomware attack exposed data of 100,000 people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Equilend warns employees their data was stolen by ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing Threats Rise as Malicious Actors Target Messaging Platforms - Security Boulevard
MiTM phishing attack can let attackers unlock and steal a Tesla (bleepingcomputer.com)
What is phishing? Examples, types, and techniques | CSO Online
Other Social Engineering
Sophisticated Vishing Campaigns Take World by Storm (darkreading.com)
Your tech tools won’t save you from cyber threats | TechRadar
Artificial Intelligence
AI Poses Extinction-Level Risk, State-Funded Report Says | TIME
Cyber crime underworld has removed all the guardrails on AI frontier
Critical ChatGPT Plug-in Vulnerabilities Expose Sensitive Data (darkreading.com)
Cyber attackers are threatening businesses with AI, says Microsoft (qz.com)
Intelligence officials warn pace of innovation in AI threatens US | CyberScoop
How advances in AI are impacting business cyber security - Help Net Security
NCSC Blog - AI and cyber security: what you need to know (techuk.org)
4 types of prompt injection attacks and how they work | TechTarget
Former Google engineer charged with stealing AI trade secrets | TechTarget
How to craft a generative AI security policy that works | TechTarget
2FA/MFA
Malware
Keyloggers, spyware, and stealers dominate SMB malware detections - Help Net Security
SMBs are being hit with more malware attacks than ever, and many can't keep up | TechRadar
Magnet Goblin hackers use 1-day flaws to drop custom Linux malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers exploit WordPress plugin flaw to infect 3,300 sites with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets: The uninvited guests that just won’t leave | CSO Online
Hackers using Weaponized PDF Files to Deliver Remcos RAT (cybersecuritynews.com)
RedLine malware top credential stealer of last 6 months | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Windows SmartScreen Bypass Flaw Exploited to Drop DarkGate RAT (darkreading.com)
Mobile
Blog: Why Hackers Love Phones - Keep your Eye on the Device - Security Boulevard
SIM swappers hijacking phone numbers in eSIM attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
PixPirate Android malware uses new tactic to hide on phones (bleepingcomputer.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
French government sites disrupted by très grande DDOS • The Register
Alabama Under DDoS Cyber Attack by Russian-Backed Hacktivists (darkreading.com)
RIA: Estonia's state institutions hit by largest cyber attack to date | News | ERR
DDoS attacks reach critical levels in 14 seconds | Security Magazine
Internet of Things – IoT
Internet of Risks: Cyber Security Risk in the Internet of Things | UpGuard
Unpatched Sceiner Smart Lock Vulnerabilities Allow Hackers to Open Doors - Security Week
Heated Seats? Advanced Telematics? Software-Defined Cars Drive Risk (darkreading.com)
Chinese spies want to steal IP by backdooring safe locks • The Register
Experts Say Chinese Safes Pose Risks to US National Security (inforisktoday.com)
MiTM phishing attack can let attackers unlock and steal a Tesla (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Data Breaches up 72% From Record High: Cyber Incident Readiness Must be Top of Mind | Epiq - JDSupra
Jersey regulator's data breach leaks names and addresses - BBC News
Over 15,000 hacked Roku accounts sold for 50¢ each to buy hardware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Okta denies it was hacked again after data appears on hacking site | TechRadar
Over 12 million auth secrets and keys leaked on GitHub in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
French unemployment agency data breach impacts 43 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
How to Identify a Cyber Adversary: Standards of Proof (darkreading.com)
How to Identify a Cyber Adversary: What to Look For (darkreading.com)
Broke Cyber Pros Flock to Cyber Crime Side Hustles (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto phishers stole $47M last month, impersonators on X to blame (cointelegraph.com)
Bitcoin Fog mixer operator convicted for laundering $400 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
US Seizes $1.4 Million in Cryptocurrency From Tech Scammers - Security Week
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insider threats can damage even the most secure organisations - Help Net Security
Your tech tools won’t save you from cyber threats | TechRadar
Former Google engineer charged with stealing AI trade secrets | TechTarget
How enterprises can tackle risky cyber security behaviour and improve workforce resilience | ITPro
Building a Security Culture of Shared Responsibility - Security Boulevard
How to Battle Cyber Security Burnout and Protect Your People | Entrepreneur
Insurance
Cyber Insurance Strategy Requires CISO-CFO Collaboration (darkreading.com)
UK Conservatives Say 'No' to Cyber Insurance Backstop (inforisktoday.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Play ransomware group stole 65,000 Swiss government files • The Register
Industry: Act Now To Secure the Solutions You Offer the Military | AFCEA International
Cloud/SaaS
EU’s use of Microsoft 365 found to breach data protection rules | TechCrunch
Guide: On-Prem is Dead. Have You Adjusted Your Web DLP Plan? (thehackernews.com)
How Not to Become the Target of the Next Microsoft Hack (darkreading.com)
Cloud Account Attacks Surged 16-Fold in 2023 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Mastering SANS Security Principles: A Deep Dive (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Cloud security vs. network security: What's the difference? | TechTarget
Encryption
Linux and Open Source
How to Ensure Open Source Packages Are Not Landmines (darkreading.com)
Magnet Goblin hackers use 1-day flaws to drop custom Linux malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Russian Hackers Are Weaponizing Stolen Microsoft Passwords (claimsjournal.com)
Overcoming the threat of account takeover fraud (securitybrief.co.nz)
LastPass suffers worldwide outage causing site 404 error - 9to5Mac
Social Media
Crypto phishers stole $47M last month, impersonators on X to blame (cointelegraph.com)
Meta sues “brazenly disloyal” former exec over stolen confidential docs | Ars Technica
TikTok Ban Raises Data Security, Control Questions (darkreading.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Your tech tools won’t save you from cyber threats | TechRadar
How enterprises can tackle risky cyber security behaviour and improve workforce resilience | ITPro
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Everything you need to know about the EU's Cyber Solidarity Act | ITPro
The New Hacker Playbook: Weaponizing the SEC’s Cyber Disclosure Rules | Woodruff Sawyer - JDSupra
Models, Frameworks and Standards
4 Security Tips From PCI DSS 4.0 Anyone Can Use (darkreading.com)
Mastering SANS Security Principles: A Deep Dive (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Backup and Recovery
Data Protection
EU’s use of Microsoft 365 found to breach data protection rules | TechCrunch
How do you lot feel about Pay or OK model, ICO asks Brits • The Register
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Half of firms struggling to hire cyber security experts (securitybrief.co.nz)
UK Council's Vision: Set High Standards in Cyber Security (govinfosecurity.com)
How to Battle Cyber Security Burnout and Protect Your People | Entrepreneur
Cyber security skills gap and boardroom blindness invite hacker havoc | TechRadar
Broke Cyber Pros Flock to Cyber Crime Side Hustles (darkreading.com)
How To Overcome The Machismo Problem In Cyber Security (forbes.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Nation State Actors
China
TikTok Ban Raises Data Security, Control Questions (darkreading.com)
Lithuania security services warn of China's espionage against the country (securityaffairs.com)
Chinese Cyber Crime: Discretion Is the Better Part of Valor (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Chinese spies want to steal IP by backdooring safe locks • The Register
Experts Say Chinese Safes Pose Risks to US National Security (inforisktoday.com)
Russia
Microsoft says Russian hackers stole source code after spying on its executives - The Verge
Microsoft says Russian hackers breached its systems, accessed source code (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft: Russians are using stolen information to breach company’s systems (therecord.media)
Microsoft says it hasn't been able to evict Russian state hackers | AP News
Kremlin accuses US of plotting election-day cyber attack • The Register
Major operation under way to identify source of Russian attack that 'jammed signals' on... - LBC
First-ever South Korean national detained for espionage in Russia (securityaffairs.com)
Alabama Under DDoS Cyber Attack by Russian-Backed Hacktivists (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
How to Streamline the Vulnerability Management Life Cycle - Security Boulevard
Researchers expose Microsoft SCCM misconfigs usable in cyber attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vulnerability management, its impact and threat modeling methodologies (securityintelligence.com)
Vulnerabilities
Adobe Patches Critical Flaws in Enterprise Products - Security Week
Major CPU, Software Vendors Impacted by New GhostRace Attack - Security Week
Critical Fortinet flaw may impact 150,000 exposed devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fortinet Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products | CISA
SAP Patches Critical Command Injection Vulnerabilities - Security Week
Cisco addressed severe flaws in its Secure Client (securityaffairs.com)
5M WordPress Websites At Risk Amid LiteSpeed Plugin Flaw - Security Boulevard
New cyber crime crew Magnet Goblin caught exploiting Ivanti • The Register
Stealth Bomber: Atlassian Confluence Exploits Drop Web Shells In-Memory (darkreading.com)
Threat actors breached two crucial systems of the US CISA (securityaffairs.com)
Researchers found multiple flaws in ChatGPT plugins (securityaffairs.com)
Exploited Building Access System Vulnerability Patched 5 Years After Disclosure - Security Week
Tools and Controls
Independent Cyber Security Audits Are Powerful Tools for Boards (bloomberglaw.com)
NSA's Zero-Trust Guidelines Focus on Segmentation (darkreading.com)
Expert Cyber Security Strategies For Protecting Remote Businesses (forbes.com)
Guide: On-Prem is Dead. Have You Adjusted Your Web DLP Plan? (thehackernews.com)
Cyber Insurance Strategy Requires CISO-CFO Collaboration (darkreading.com)
How enterprises can tackle risky cyber security behaviour and improve workforce resilience | ITPro
Cloud security vs. network security: What's the difference? | TechTarget
Immutability: A boost to your security backup (betanews.com)
MDR Metrics that Matter – From Analysts to the Board of Directors | Binary Defense
How teams can improve incident recovery time to minimize damages - Help Net Security
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Finance sector facing huge amount of cyber attacks that could leave it on its knees | TechRadar
French state services hit by cyber attacks of 'unprecedented intensity' (france24.com)
Better Safe Than Sorry: Making Cyber Security a Priority | HealthLeaders Media
How Dangerous Is the Cyber Attack Risk to Transportation? (securityintelligence.com)
Pi Day: How Hackers Slice Through Security Solutions - Security Boulevard
78% of MSPs state cyber security is a prominent IT challenge | Security Magazine
No, 'Leave the World Behind' and 'Civil War' Aren’t Happening Before Your Eyes | WIRED
Maritime cyber security: threats and challenges - Port Technology International
What resources do small utilities need to defend against cyber attacks? | CyberScoop
10 free cyber security guides you might have missed - Help Net Security
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 March 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 08 March 2024:
-FBI Reports Cyber Crime Losses Reached $12.5 billion in 2023, Ransomware Losses Surged by 74%, Average Ransomw Demand Reaching $600k
-Capita Plans £100 Million in Cost Cuts as it Continues to Grapple With 2023 Cyber Attack, Resulting in Significant Job Losses
-Employment Law Firm Sues IT Company Over Ransomware Attack
-Stolen Passwords are a Hacker Goldmine
-Phishing Attacks Up 40 Percent in 2023; Attackers Leverage Social Engineering for Greater Success
-Business Leaders Don’t Even Know They’ve Been Hacked
-Rising Cyber Security Risks: Insider Threat Main Concern Among Mid-Market Firms
-Security Risks Plague SMEs in Shift to Remote Working
-After Collecting $22 Million, Ransomware Group Stages FBI Takedown
-Cyber Attacks Remain Chief Concern for Businesses
-Two New Ransomware Groups Join Forces to Launch Joint Attacks
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
FBI Reports Cyber Crime Losses Reached $12.5 billion in 2023, Ransomware Losses Surged by 74%, Average Ransom Demand Reaching $600k
An FBI report into the cost of cyber crime has found that estimated losses in the US alone reached $12.5 billion in 2023. Ransomware accounted for $59.6 million, a 74% increase from the previous year’s report. Of note, the FBI report only deals with complaints made to the FBI; it therefore excludes other countries, and relies on the US organisations to identify that they have been impacted. It is therefore likely that the figure in the US, let alone globally, is significantly higher.
Sources: [Security Boulevard] [Security Week] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Tripwire] [Security Affairs]
Capita Plans £100 Million in Cost Cuts as it Continues to Grapple With 2023 Cyber Attack, Resulting in Significant Job Losses
In the aftermath of a significant cyber attack in 2023, Capita faces a steep financial hurdle with reported losses amounting to £106.6 million. Originally forecasted at £25 million, the revised figure underscores the substantial impact of the breach. Capita’s response strategy, including significant investments in recovery and cyber security bolstering, emphasises the escalating costs associated with data breaches. CEO Adolfo Hernandez announced plans for a substantial cost reduction of over £100 million, indicating the critical need for efficiency improvements to mitigate the financial strain. Capita’s experience serves as a potent reminder of the critical importance of robust cyber resilience strategies. These strategies are not just about preventing attacks, but also about mitigating the potentially devastating financial consequences should a breach occur.
Source: [ITPro]
Employment Law Firm Sues IT Company Over Ransomware Attack
A law firm in California has sued an IT solutions company, saying that after hiring the company to install a network system and server, the law firm suffered a ransomware attack. The law firm found that not long after the network was installed, they were unable to access their data, and when they had gone to retrieve a cloud backup, they had found this was already deleted, forcing them to pay the ransom to get their data back. The law firm is accusing the IT company of negligence and breach of contract and is seeking damages of at least $1 million.
Source: [Law360]
Stolen Passwords are a Hacker Goldmine
Passwords are not only crucial for organisational security, but they also come with significant costs and vulnerabilities. From the time spent by service desks on resets, to the expense of security incidents and breaches, the financial toll is substantial. Weak or reused passwords heighten the vulnerability, with breaches involving stolen credentials costing an average of $4.45 million. Cyber threats are evolving, with hackers increasingly favouring stolen user accounts over traditional malware. This shift, underscored by a notable 71% increase in attacks leveraging valid login credentials in 2023 as reported by CrowdStrike and IBM, highlights the repercussions of compromised credentials. Embracing technologies like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO), along with employee education, can bolster security while alleviating financial strains. Robust identity management and zero-trust security frameworks are essential to mitigate risks further, especially in the face of rising cloud intrusions. Proactive investments in password security software such as password managers can help streamline operations and enhance overall organisational resilience against these evolving threats.
Sources: [Bleeping Computer] [Axios]
Phishing Attacks Up 40 Percent in 2023; Attackers Leverage Social Engineering for Greater Success
Kaspersky recently released their annual spam and phishing report in which they identified over 709 million attempts to access phishing and scam websites, a 40% increase from the previous year. It should be noted that this number is just related to Kaspersky’s identification; the figure is likely far greater. With reports identifying that 90% of phishing involves social engineering, it is important to understand how it is leveraged.
Phishing attacks generally include an element of trust; for example, a bad actor impersonating a reputable brand or providing details about an individual that makes the attack more credible. Often, social engineering will rely on human characteristics, such as urgency, emotion and habit to try to manipulate the target to perform particular actions. Whilst the tools may change, the basis is the same; a successful phish requires user interaction. To mitigate the impact of phishing in corporate environments, organisations must stay informed about the latest adversarial activity and prioritise security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and providing employee awareness and education training that goes beyond ticking boxes.
Sources: [Beta News] [CSO Online] [Security Boulevard] [DarkReading]
Business Leaders Don’t Even Know They’ve Been Hacked
A survey of over 10,000 business leaders across various industries has found that a number of business leaders know little when it comes to their organisation’s cyber security landscape, with 1 in 10, “unsure” and unable to provide a definitive answer as to whether their organisation has had a data breach in 2023. The report highlights that there are a number of leadership positions that are not receiving sufficient information about their organisation’s data security situation.
Receiving regular reports with metrics about the organisation’s cyber security posture is key to organisations achieving and maintaining a solid level of governance, something that is required in various standards and regulations.
Source: [Tech.Co]
Rising Cyber Security Risks: Insider Threat Main Concern Among Mid-Market Firms
According to the 2023 CyberArk Identity Security Threat Landscape Report, insider threats are on the rise, with 68% of organisations reporting an increased frequency in the past year. These threats, considered one of the top concerns over the next 12 months, stem from within an organisation where authorised employees exploit their access to steal or leak sensitive data. Factors such as flexible working, an increase in job transitions, workforce reductions, third-party relationships, economic uncertainties, and employee stress levels further compound these challenges. Negligence, accounting for 62% of insider incidents, plays a significant role; these threats aren’t always malicious but can also be negligent or accidental. As these threats evolve, the potential consequences, including revenue loss and reputational damage, are becoming more apparent to business leaders. To mitigate risks, companies must prioritise improving identity security, particularly in controlling privileged access, and embrace a Zero Trust approach. This ensures full visibility and control over access to sensitive data, safeguarding critical assets and enhancing cyber resilience in an increasingly volatile landscape. Other key identified threats include AI-related risks, ransomware, deep fakes, and malware.
Sources: [TechRadar] [Comms Business]
C-Suite Executives: An Attacker’s Dream?
Cyber criminals are increasingly focusing on high-value targets, particularly C-suite executives who hold extensive organisational access. These executives, often overlooked in security practices and training, have become vulnerable links. The cyber security landscape of 2023 saw significant advancements but also revealed vulnerabilities, exacerbated by global conflicts and strategic cyber attacks. Cyber actors are now targeting entities with high return potential, with ransomware attackers tailoring their strikes to maximise revenues, often from smaller organisations. Interestingly, while automation is on the rise, cyber criminals are opting for a human touch, with human operatives often behind attacks. A report last year showed a nearly 30% spike in fraud specifically targeting senior executives, highlighting the vulnerability of the C-suite. This emphasises the need for robust cyber resilience strategies to safeguard these high-value targets.
Source: [SecurityBrief New Zealand]
Security Risks Plague SMEs in Shift to Remote Working
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working surged, offering businesses newfound flexibility and cost efficiencies. However, this paradigm shift comes with its own set of security challenges, particularly impacting startups and small businesses. The inherent flexibility of remote work exposes companies to risks like unauthorised access, IP theft, and malware. These threats are especially potent for SMEs, jeopardising their financial stability and reputation. Robust security measures include VPNs, enforcing regular software updates, and employee training to mitigate these risks. By embracing these strategies, SMEs can navigate the remote work landscape securely, unlocking its benefits while safeguarding against potential threats.
Source: [SecurityBrief New Zealand]
After Collecting $22 Million, Ransomware Group Stages FBI Takedown
The ransomware group responsible for facilitating a huge attack against a US prescription drug company for $22 million has gone dark, days after receiving the payment and standing accused of scamming their own affiliate out of their share of the gains. Days after the payment was made, AlphV’s public website started displaying a message saying it had been seized by the FBI as part of an international law enforcement action. Ransomware researchers have since said that it has not actually been seized, but appears to be a ploy to exit scam affiliates of the ransomware group. This proves the old adage that there really is no honour among thieves.
Source: [Ars Technica]
Cyber Attacks Remain Chief Concern for Businesses
A recent report has underscored the growing concern among UK corporate businesses regarding cyber attacks as the primary fraud threat in the upcoming year, with 73% of respondents expressing worry. As businesses grapple with the shift to hybrid and remote work models, ensuring robust counter-fraud measures and internal controls is imperative to safeguarding workforces regardless of location. This situation emphasises the critical importance of investing in employee training to combat evolving fraud threats. It highlights the far-reaching consequences that fraud can have on organisations and underscores the necessity of fostering an anti-fraud culture across all levels of the enterprise.
Source: [TheHRDirector]
Two New Ransomware Groups Join Forces to Launch Joint Attacks
Two ransomware groups, Ghostsec and Stormous, have joined forces to conduct double extortion ransomware attacks on various businesses across multiple countries. As part of this, their new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) program, STMX_GhostLocker, provides various options for their affiliates. GhostSec is already part of a coalition called the five families, involving 4 other entities. The group ventured into RaaS last year, offering services for as little as $269.99 per month.
Source: [The Hacker News]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
FBI: Cyber Crime Losses Exceeded $12.5 Billion in 2023 - Security Week
1 in 10 Business Leaders Don’t Even Know They’ve Been Hacked (tech.co)
Cyber attacks remain chief concern for businesses | theHRD (thehrdirector.com)
What Cyber Security Chiefs Need From Their CEOs (darkreading.com)
Simply Human: Why HR Needs To Take The Lead In Cyber Security (forbes.com)
The Security Interviews: Cyber security is about managing risk effectively | Computer Weekly
NIST Cyber Framework 2.0: Doubling Down on Governance, Expanding Applicability | Law.com
CISOs Tackle Compliance With Cyber Guidelines (informationweek.com)
Are C-suite executives cyber security's weakest link? (securitybrief.co.nz
30 years of the CISO role – how things have changed since Steve Katz | CSO Online
How to create an efficient governance control program - Help Net Security
Demystifying the Maze: A Guide to Cyber Risk Quantification Methods (cybersaint.io)
Resilience is built on a solid framework | Professional Security
Research finds that cyber security leaders are taking on multiple roles | Security Magazine
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
ConnectWise ScreenConnect bug used in Play ransomware breach, MSP attack | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Employment Law Firm Sues IT Co. Over Ransomware Attack - Law360
Report: Average Initial Ransomware Demand in 2023 Reached $600K - Security Boulevard
What’s Fueling the Ransomware Epidemic? | Symantec Enterprise Blogs (security.com)
Banning ransomware payments back on the agenda | Computer Weekly
BlackCat Goes Dark After Ripping Off Change Healthcare Ransom (darkreading.com)
Uncle Sam intervenes in Change Healthcare ransomware fiasco • The Register
US cyber and law enforcement agencies warn of Phobos ransomware attacks (securityaffairs.com)
Experts echo calls for ransomware ban as LockBit rallies • The Register
Government urged to ban ransom payments to cyber criminals (computing.co.uk)
Ransomware spikes against critical infrastructure, says FBI • The Register
Major shifts in identity, ransomware, and critical infrastructure threat trends - Help Net Security
Government was third-largest ransomware target last year: FBI - Defense One
JetBrains TeamCity under attack by ransomware thugs • The Register
Ransomware Victims
A Deep Dive into the 2024 Prudential and LoanDepot Breaches - Security Boulevard
Employment Law Firm Sues IT Co. Over Ransomware Attack - Law360
After collecting $22 million, AlphV ransomware group stages FBI takedown | Ars Technica
Change Healthcare hack cripples payment systems across health providers - The Washington Post
Hackers Behind the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Just Received a $22 Million Payment | WIRED
Capita raises threat of further job cuts under plans to save another £100m | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
First BofA, Now Fidelity: Same Vendor Behind Third-Party Breaches (darkreading.com)
UnitedHealth's cyber attack should be a 'wake-up call' for healthcare (yahoo.com)
Security leaders weigh in on the recent UnitedHealth cyber attack | Security Magazine
Canada's anti-money laundering agency offline after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Uncle Sam intervenes in Change Healthcare ransomware fiasco • The RegisterFidelity Investments Notifying 28,000 People of Data Breach - Security Week
Duvel says it has "more than enough" beer after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Dutch passports stolen in ransomware attacks available on dark web | NL Times
Corporate Greed Made the Change Healthcare Cyber attack Worse (nymag.com)
Switzerland: Play ransomware leaked 65,000 government documents (bleepingcomputer.com)
Possible China link to Change Healthcare ransomware attack • The Register
Action needed to avoid repeat of Southern Water cyber attack - Utility Week
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Jamf says 9% of smartphone have fallen for phishing attacks (appleinsider.com)
How attackers leverage social engineering for greater scamming success | CSO Online
Cyber Criminals Spoof US Government Organisations in BEC, Phishing Attacks - Security Week
Annual State of Email Security by the Numbers - Security Boulevard
New Phishing Kit Leverages SMS, Voice Calls to Target Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)
Hackers target Coinbase, Binance staff with phishing clones of Gmail, iCloud (crypto.news)
AI worm that infects computers and reads emails created by researchers | The Independent
95% believe LLMs making phishing detection more challenging - Help Net Security
Other Social Engineering
How attackers leverage social engineering for greater scamming success | CSO Online
New Phishing Kit Leverages SMS, Voice Calls to Target Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)
The Rise of Social Engineering Fraud in Business Email Compromise (darkreading.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Over 225,000 Compromised ChatGPT Credentials Up for Sale on Dark Web Markets (thehackernews.com)
AI tools put companies at risk of data exfiltration - Help Net Security
Don't Give Your Business Data to AI Companies (darkreading.com)
Act now to stop WordPress and Tumblr selling your content to AI firms • Graham Cluley
GTPDOOR backdoor is designed to target telecom carrier networks (securityaffairs.com)
Political deepfakes are spreading like wildfire thanks to GenAI | TechCrunch
AI worm that infects computers and reads emails created by researchers | The Independent
95% believe LLMs making phishing detection more challenging - Help Net Security
Immediate AI risks and tomorrow's dangers - Help Net Security
Defence: Leonardo CEO says stupidity poses a bigger threat than AI (cnbc.com)
2FA/MFA
Malware
No “Apple magic” as 11% of macOS detections last year came from malware | Malwarebytes
Mobile banking malware growing rapidly, ThreatFabric warns | Biometric Update
GTPDOOR backdoor is designed to target telecom carrier networks (securityaffairs.com)
Watch Out for Spoofed Zoom, Skype, Google Meet Sites Delivering Malware (thehackernews.com)
Linux variant of BIFROSE RAT uses deceptive domain strategies (securityaffairs.com)
New Linux malware found targeting mobile networks across the world | TechRadar
ScreenConnect flaws exploited to drop new ToddleShark malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware is coming for your ChatGPT credentials • The Register
North Korea Hits ScreenConnect Bugs to Drop 'ToddleShark' Malware (darkreading.com)
Linux Malware Campaign Targets Misconfigured Cloud Servers - Security Week
AI worm that infects computers and reads emails created by researchers | The Independent
New WogRAT malware abuses online notepad service to store malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Snake, a new Info Stealer spreads through Facebook messages (securityaffairs.com)
Linux Variants of Bifrost Trojan Evade Detection via Typosquatting (darkreading.com)
Mobile
Jamf says 9% of smartphone have fallen for phishing attacks (appleinsider.com)
Mobile banking malware growing rapidly, ThreatFabric warns | Biometric Update
Apple warns of increased iPhone security risks | Computerworld
Android's March 2024 Update Patches Critical Vulnerabilities - Security Week
CISA Adds Android Pixel and Sunhillo Sureline Bugs to Its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
The Importance of Cyber security for Your Smart Devices | HackerNoon
Phone hacking is a real danger. How to keep your data, location secure (usatoday.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Someone is hacking 3D printers to warn owners of a security flaw (bitdefender.com)
Popular doorbell camera brands contain security flaws, making them easy to hack: Report | The Hill
NCSC flags up cyber security for connected places | UKAuthority
The Importance of Cyber Security for Your Smart Devices | HackerNoon
Flipper Zero WiFi phishing attack can unlock and steal Tesla cars (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
The State Of Cyber Security (Part One): Why Are There Still So Many Data Breaches? (forbes.com)
A leaky database spilled 2FA codes for the world’s tech giants | TechCrunch#
American Express credit cards exposed in third-party data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fidelity Investments Notifying 28,000 People of Data Breach - Security Week
AI tools put companies at risk of data exfiltration - Help Net Security
4 Instructive Postmortems on Data Downtime and Loss (thehackernews.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
FBI: Cyber Crime Losses Exceeded $12.5 Billion in 2023 - Security Week
$12.5 billion lost to cyber crime, amid tidal wave of crypto investment fraud | Tripwire
Germany takes down cyber crime market with over 180,000 users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Poorly paid cyber security staff risk ‘breaking bad’ on the dark web (techinformed.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
$12.5 billion lost to cyber crime, amid tidal wave of crypto investment fraud | Tripwire
Hackers target FCC, crypto firms in advanced Okta phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers target Coinbase, Binance staff with phishing clones of Gmail, iCloud (crypto.news)
New Phishing Kit Leverages SMS, Voice Calls to Target Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)
Crypto fraud in 2023: How can security teams fight (securityintelligence.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Comms Business - Insider threat main concern among mid-market firms
Current workforce trends feed into rising cyber security risks | TechRadar
Army Vet Spills National Secrets to Fake Ukrainian Girlfriend (darkreading.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Employment Law Firm Sues IT Co. Over Ransomware Attack - Law360
Capita plans £100 million in cost cuts as it continues to grapple with 2023 cyber attack | ITPro
First BofA, Now Fidelity: Same Vendor Behind Third-Party Breaches (darkreading.com)
American Express credit cards exposed in third-party data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers target FCC, crypto firms in advanced Okta phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Switzerland: Play ransomware leaked 65,000 government documents (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chinese State Hackers Target Tibetans with Supply Chain, Watering Hole Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Cloud/SaaS
10 Essential Processes for Reducing the Top 11 Cloud Risks (darkreading.com)
Hackers target Coinbase, Binance staff with phishing clones of Gmail, iCloud (crypto.news)
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
Linux and Open Source
Open source vulnerabilities dominated 2023, and this year looks no different | ITPro
Linux Malware Campaign Targets Misconfigured Cloud Servers - Security Week
Linux Variants of Bifrost Trojan Evade Detection via Typosquatting (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Hacked WordPress sites use visitors' browsers to hack other sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Over 225,000 Compromised ChatGPT Credentials Up for Sale on Dark Web Markets (thehackernews.com)
Malware is coming for your ChatGPT credentials • The Register
Stolen passwords are a hacker goldmine now, CrowdStrike and IBM find (axios.com)
Passwords are Costing Your Organisation Money - How to Minimize Those Costs (bleepingcomputer.com)
US State AGs tell Meta to fix rampant account takeovers • The Register
Social Media
Google and Meta users see their 2FA security codes leaked online - Root-Nation.com
“Technical Issue” Takes Facebook Offline, Offers No Cyber Security Reassurance | MSSP Alert
Facebook and Instagram Overrun by Account Hackers, States Warn (bloomberglaw.com)
Snake, a new Info Stealer spreads through Facebook messages (securityaffairs.com)
Meta Abandons Hacking Victims, Draining Law Enforcement Resources, Officials Say | WIRED
US State AGs tell Meta to fix rampant account takeovers • The Register
Training, Education and Awareness
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
EU council welcomes cyber solidarity act agreement (verdict.co.uk)
The modern CISO's guide to navigating new SEC cyber regulations (betanews.com)
Five Unintended Consequences of the New SEC Cyber Security Disclosure Rule - Security Boulevard
Navigating regulation challenges for protecting sensitive healthcare data - Help Net Security
Models, Frameworks and Standards
NIST Cyber Security Framework 2.0: 4 Steps to Get Started (darkreading.com)
NIST Cyber Framework 2.0: Doubling Down on Governance, Expanding Applicability | Law.com
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
11 Top Cyber Security Certifications to Consider In 2024 (datamation.com)
Poorly paid cyber security staff risk ‘breaking bad’ on the dark web (techinformed.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Germany takes down cyber crime market with over 180,000 users (bleepingcomputer.com)
A cyber criminal is sentenced, will it make a difference? - Help Net Security
Nigerian National Pleads Guilty of Conspiracy in BEC Operation (darkreading.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
Chinese nation state actors to ramp up cyber espionage attempts in 2024 - IT Security Guru
We’re Slowly Learning About China’s Extensive Hacking Network | Mind Matters
Taiwan's Biggest Telco Breached by Suspected Chinese Hackers (darkreading.com)
Possible China link to Change Healthcare ransomware attack • The Register
A New Wave of Cyber Attacks: Five Actions to Take Now | IndustryWeek
Chinese State Hackers Target Tibetans with Supply Chain, Watering Hole Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Russia
The Five Bears: Russia's Offensive Cyber Capabilities (greydynamics.com)
A Silent World War – Russia’s Cyberwar Against the West (kyivpost.com)
Germany Urged to Tighten Security After Russia Leaked Classified Information - Bloomberg
Germany to investigate Russia’s interception of military talks on Ukraine | Germany | The Guardian
Valuable Russian Military Documents Exposed: Report (newsweek.com)
Russian Hackers Target Ukraine Via A Disinformation Campaign - Security Boulevard
North Korea
Lazarus Group observed exploiting an admin-to-kernel Windows zero-day | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea Hits ScreenConnect Bugs to Drop 'ToddleShark' Malware (darkreading.com)
North Korea’s Kimsuky gang joins rush to exploit new ScreenConnect bugs | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea hacks two South Korean chip firms to steal engineering data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
Firms Still Threatened by Old Vulnerabilities (govinfosecurity.com)
Open source vulnerabilities dominated 2023, and this year looks no different | ITPro
Organisations are knowingly releasing vulnerable applications - Help Net Security
Enhancing security through proactive patch management - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Five Eyes alliance warns of attacks exploiting known Ivanti Gateway flaws (securityaffairs.com)
ConnectWise ScreenConnect bug used in Play ransomware breach, MSP attack | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea’s Kimsuky gang joins rush to exploit new ScreenConnect bugs | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea Hits ScreenConnect Bugs to Drop 'ToddleShark' Malware (darkreading.com)
Hackers exploited Windows 0-day for 6 months after Microsoft knew of it | Ars Technica
Urgent: Apple Issues Critical Updates for Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaws (thehackernews.com)
VMware Issues Security Patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion Flaws (thehackernews.com)
VMWare Urges Users to Uninstall EAP Immediately - Security Boulevard
Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in VPN Product - Security Week
Critical TeamCity flaw now widely exploited to create admin accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical TeamCity Bugs Endanger Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Android's March 2024 Update Patches Critical Vulnerabilities - Security Week
CISA Warns of Pixel Phone Vulnerability Exploitation - Security Week
Tools and Controls
Why cyber maturity assessment should become standard practice - Help Net Security
1 in 10 Business Leaders Don’t Even Know They’ve Been Hacked (tech.co)
The Ultimate Guide to Threat Detection, Investigation, and Response (TDIR) (govinfosecurity.com)
The Security Interviews: Cyber security is about managing risk effectively | Computer Weekly
What Is A Cyber Incident Response Policy? - Security Boulevard
Cyber Criminals Using Novel DNS Hijacking Technique for Investment Scams (thehackernews.com)
Demystifying the Maze: A Guide to Cyber Risk Quantification Methods (cybersaint.io)
Resilience is built on a solid framework | Professional Security
Simply Human: Why HR Needs To Take The Lead In Cyber Security (forbes.com)
The critical role of DNS in cyber security and digital thriving | TechRadar
What is Advanced Threat Protection and How to Use It in Your Business - Security Boulevard
How To Close The DevSecOps Cyber Security Skills Gap And Boost Security (forbes.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
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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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 December 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 01 December 2023:
-Law Firms Face Surge in Targeted Attacks as Hundreds Impacted by Single Attack
-Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels
-Board Support Remains Critical as Majority of CISOs Experience Repeat Cyber Attacks
-Ransomware Attacks Surge 81% in October as New Threat Actors Emerge
-Hacked Microsoft Word Documents Being Used to Trick Windows Users
-Mitigating Deepfake Threats in The Corporate World
-Black Basta Ransomware Made Over $100 Million From Extortion Alone
-Long Recovery Times After Cyber Attacks Could Annihilate Your Organisation
-Booking.com Customers Scammed in Novel Social Engineering Campaign
-Stop Panic Buying Your Security Products and Start Prioritising
-A Fifth of UK SMBs Unable to Spot Scams
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber threat intelligence 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 Strategic Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Law Firms Face Surge in Targeted Attacks as Hundreds Impacted by Single Attack
An estimated 80 to 200 law firms across the UK were impacted by a cyber attack on a third party firm in their supply chain. The attack was on managed service supplier CTS, who provide services to hundreds of law firms across the UK, especially those with conveyancing departments, and many property sales were impacted nationwide as a result of the attack.
This is against a sharp increase in the number of law firms being singled out by cyber threat actors; only recently, magic circle firm Allen & Overy confirmed themselves as a victim of ransomware.
Sources: [SC Media] [Lawyer Monthly] [Scottish Legal News] [Law Gazette] [Dark Reading]
Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels
In the cyber security landscape, human-related factors like social engineering, compromised credentials, and errors are the top causes of breaches. Increased investment in threat detection doesn't guarantee foolproof security. Organisations need a proactive strategy focusing on human risks, a security mindset in employees, and a security culture. According to IBM’s latest data security report, high levels of security training can significantly reduce the impact, cost, and frequency of data breaches.
However, most employee training programmes fail due to staff resistance and lack of management support. The key is convincing leadership of its value. To achieve a successful and impactful security awareness programme, it is important that security teams understand their audiences (leaders, managers, and employees), address their requirements, and effectively communicate the benefits of security training.
Source: [CPO Magazine]
Board Support Remains Critical as Majority of CISOs Experience Repeat Cyber Attacks
A recent report found that despite 95% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) receiving budgetary and other support from their organisation after a cyber attack, this largely fails to prevent future incidents, with over half admitting they have experienced multiple “major cyber security incidents” in the last five years.
The report revealed that after an attack 46% of CISOs were given a bigger tech budget, 42% revised their security strategy, 41% adopted new frameworks, and 38% created new roles. However, incidents come with hidden consequences such as revenue loss, rising insurance premiums and declining reputation. CISOs need to have support from the board and executives from the start so that investments can be made in the right technology, processes, and tools. In doing so, a culture of security and vigilance can be instilled from the top down to help protect organisations against evolving threats.
Sources: [Business Wire] [Silicon UK]
Ransomware Attacks Surge 81% in October as New Threat Actors Emerge
The NCC Group revealed that ransomware attacks have surged by 81% in October 2023, compared to the same period in the previous year. Ransomware gangs have already victimised over 50% more individuals and enterprises in 2023 than during the entirety of 2022. As artificial intelligence, phishing kits and ransomware-as-a-service has improved, so too has the number of threat actors; those who were previously stunted by their technical know-how are now able to gain access to sophisticated attacks.
Source: [Security Brief]
Hacked Microsoft Word Documents Being Used to Trick Windows Users
Active campaigns carried out by cyber criminals are again using macros within Word documents to deploy malware, in spite of Microsoft’s efforts to stop these types of attacks. Most of the time the actor delivers the Word document via phishing emails, with the aim of convincing the user to click and run the macro. Once run, the malware has then achieved its goal of establishing itself on the victims’ machine and executing its malicious payload.
Source: [TechRadar]
Mitigating Deepfake Threats in The Corporate World
Deepfakes are synthetic media that are created or manipulated with the desired outcome of convincing the recipient of their legitimacy; and it’s entering the corporate world. Deepfake technology has already been used to impersonate Presidents and financial experts, however there has been an uprise in the number of these attacks. This has left the corporate world questioning existing operational procedures such as callbacks and how they will need to adjust to encompass the changing landscape.
Some of the ways a corporation can mitigate this, is to promote awareness within the workplace, adjust operational procedures to reflect the current landscape, and utilise advanced detection tools.
Source: [MSSP Alert]
Black Basta Ransomware Made Over $100 Million From Extortion Alone
The cyber crime operator “Black Basta” has raked in at least $100 million in ransom payments from more than 90 victims since it first surfaced in April 2022. In total, 329 victims worldwide were targeted and research has estimated that at least 35% paid a ransom, with multiple payments over $1 million. Black Basta uses double extortion techniques, where data is both ransomed and exfiltrated. This way, victims are forced to pay to get their data back and not have it published online; the latter itself can lead to regulatory fines.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Long Recovery Times After Cyber Attacks Could Annihilate Your Organisation
In the evolving cyber security landscape, organisations are increasingly investing in detection and prevention measures. However, there's a growing trend of neglecting post-attack recovery. While advanced security tools and technologies are crucial, recent ransomware incidents have shown that recovery is equally vital. Organisations have faced substantial downtime and financial losses due to attacks. Cyber resilience, the ability to bounce back quickly after an attack, is crucial, especially with the rise of remote work.
Budgets often prioritise prevention, leaving organisations ill-prepared for recovery. In 2023, a significant number of companies paid ransoms to regain data. To achieve true cyber resilience, a rebalance in approach is essential, focusing on preparation, response, and recovery alongside detection and prevention, ensuring rapid recovery and safeguarding of valuable assets.
Source: [TechRadar]
Booking.com Customers Scammed in Novel Social Engineering Campaign
According to new research by SecureWorks, Booking.com customers are being targeted by a novel social engineering campaign that is “paying serious dividends” for cyber criminals. Researchers believe the campaign has gone on for at least a year and it begins by deploying the Vidar infostealer to gain access partner hotels’ Booking.com credentials. This information is then used to send phishing emails to Booking.com customers and trick them into handing over their payment details, in many cases leading to money being stolen. The scam is proving so fruitful that sales of Booking.com portal credentials are commanding sale prices of up to $2,000 in two cyber crime forums.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Stop Panic Buying Your Security Products and Start Prioritising
In the cyber security landscape, impulse buying can lead to costly mistakes. Breaches are now more expensive than ever, underscoring the need to assess cyber security investments. Fear-driven tactics and the quest for a "silver bullet" solution can push organisations, especially smaller ones, into impulsive investments. These decisions may introduce even more risk by failing to integrate with existing systems, or buying systems but failing to configure them properly or utilising them to the fullest extent, leading to a false sense of security. The consequences can be severe, with breaches now costing organisations millions. To navigate this landscape, organisations must assess the real value of cyber security investments. Calculating risk by evaluating likelihood and impact can guide us in making informed decisions. Instead of impulse buying, assign a monetary value to cyber risks for strategic budget decisions in these economic times, ensuring investments align with security and business goals.
Source: [Help Net Security]
A Fifth of UK SMBs Unable to Spot Scams
New data from UK Finance reveals that 17% of UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle to identify online fraud and scam indicators. This is particularly alarming given the rise in authorised push payment (APP) scams in the UK, where fraudsters impersonate trusted entities to deceive victims into transferring money to controlled accounts. In the first half of 2023 alone, criminals stole a reported £42.6 million through such scams, with total losses including consumer impacts reaching £239 million. SMBs are increasingly targeted due to typically fewer anti-fraud and other countermeasures and controls, compared to larger and better protected larger firms. It is important for SMBs to be vigilant and verify payment details directly with suppliers to help avoid these types of scams.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels - CPO Magazine
40% of Cyber Security Departments Want More Budget to Upskill Employees - IT Security Guru
Board Support Remains Critical as Majority of CISOs Experience Repeat Cyber Attacks | Business Wire
When does it make sense to pay the ransom? | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Former Uber CISO Speaks Out, After 6 Years, on Data Breach, SolarWinds (darkreading.com)
Enterprises prepare for the inevitable cyber attack - Help Net Security
Board Support Critical For Cyber Security Defence | Silicon UK
3 Simple Ways to Teach Your Teammates to Have a Security-First Mindset Today | Inc.com
Long recovery times after cyber attacks could annihilate your organisation | TechRadar
The Role of the CISO in Digital Transformation (darkreading.com)
Stop panic buying your security products and start prioritizing - Help Net Security
Bridging the risk exposure gap with strategies for internal auditors - Help Net Security
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
The rise of Ransomware attacks within the Legal Industry (lawyer-monthly.com)
Ransomware attacks surge 81% in October, new threat actors emerge (securitybrief.co.nz)
Black Basta ransomware made over $100 million from extortion (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why the MOVEit breach still lives rent free in the minds of IT leaders | ITPro
DJVU Ransomware's Latest Variant 'Xaro' Disguised as Cracked Software (thehackernews.com)
How a Teenage Saudi Hacker Went From Lockpicking to Ransomware (darkreading.com)
When does it make sense to pay the ransom? | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
CACTUS Ransomware Exploits Qlik Sense Vulnerabilities in Targeted Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware Attacks Strike South Africa, Decline in UAE (darkreading.com)
Ransomware Victims
Law firm A&O silent on whether it paid ransom to cyber criminals | Law Gazette
Allen & Overy Removed From Ransomware Website With One Day Remaining | Law.com International
Potentially hundreds of UK law firms affected by cyber attack on IT provider CTS (therecord.media)
Cyber Attack Disrupts UK Property Deals - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
London & Zurich ransomware attack sparks financial crisis for businesses (computing.co.uk)
British Library contacts users after Rhysida leaks data • The Register
Ransomware attacks hit Stanford University and Nassau Bay in Texas - NotebookCheck.net News
Slovenia's largest power provider HSE hit by ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
GCHQ investigates cyber attack on hospital to the royals after data stolen (telegraph.co.uk)
English council spent £1.1 million recovering from ransomware attack (therecord.media)
Healthcare giant Henry Schein hit twice by BlackCat ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Qilin ransomware claims attack on automotive giant Yanfeng (bleepingcomputer.com)
New cyber criminal group outed after British Library attack - Emerging Risks Media Ltd
Cyber attack closes hospital emergency rooms in three US states | US healthcare | The Guardian
Two Hackensack Meridian hospital ERs diverting patients after a ransomware attack (msn.com)
DP World confirms data stolen in cyber attack, no ransomware used (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top instant money provider service hacked, over a million users possibly affected | TechRadar
Staples confirms cyber attack behind service outages, delivery issues (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Black Friday: Phishing Emails Soar 237% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
AI like ChatGPT is creating huge increase in malicious phishing email (cnbc.com)
Organisations can't ignore the surge in malicious web links - Help Net Security
How Hackers Phish for Your Users' Credentials and Sell Them (thehackernews.com)
What custom GPTs mean for the future of phishing - Help Net Security
A reality check on email security threats in healthcare (securitybrief.co.nz)
Artificial Intelligence
Released: AI security guidelines backed by 18 countries - Help Net Security
4 key takeaways from new global AI security guidelines | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
CISA and NCSC lead efforts to raise AI security standards • The Register
Security leaders on high alert as GenAI poses privacy and security risks - Help Net Security
AI like ChatGPT is creating huge increase in malicious phishing email (cnbc.com)
A year after ChatGPT’s debut, is GenAI a boon or the bane of the CISO’s existence? | CSO Online
Unpatched Critical Vulnerabilities Open AI Models to Takeover (darkreading.com)
Mitigating Deepfake Threats in the Corporate World | MSSP Alert
4 key takeaways from new global AI security guidelines | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Securing generative AI across the technology stack | TechCrunch
Critical Vulns Found in Ray Open Source Framework for AI/ML Workloads (darkreading.com)
What custom GPTs mean for the future of phishing - Help Net Security
8 Tips on Leveraging AI Tools Without Compromising Security (darkreading.com)
Malware
Implications of “malware free” attacks on SMBs (databreaches.net)
SysJoker Malware Attacking Windows, Linux and Mac Users Abusing OneDrive - Cyber Security News
Hacked Microsoft Word documents being used to trick Windows users | TechRadar
N. Korean Hackers 'Mixing' macOS Malware Tactics to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
Volume of unique malware samples threatens to overwhelm defenders | Computer Weekly
A New, Spookier Gh0st RAT Malware Haunts Global Cyber Targets (darkreading.com)
LogoFAIL bugs in UEFI code allow planting bootkits via images (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
NameDrop in iOS 17 is not a privacy nightmare – here’s how to control it (msn.com)
200+ Malicious Android Apps Targeting Iranian Banks: Experts Warn (thehackernews.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Cyber pros avoid smart devices: there is a good reason | Cybernews
IoT Security Labeling Improving, But More Collaboration Needed - EE Times
Data Breaches/Leaks
App used by hundreds of schools leaking children's data (securityaffairs.com)
Warning: 3 Critical Vulnerabilities Expose ownCloud Users to Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)
Gulf Air exposed to data breach, 'vital operations not affected' | Reuters
General Electric investigates claims of cyber attack, data theft (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers spent 2+ years looting secrets of chipmaker NXP before being detected | Ars Technica
DP World confirms data stolen in cyber attack, no ransomware used (bleepingcomputer.com)
Former Uber CISO Speaks Out, After 6 Years, on Data Breach, SolarWinds (darkreading.com)
Dollar Tree hit by third-party data breach impacting 2 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Leader of Killnet 'unmasked' by Russian state media • The Register
A Fifth of UK SMBs Can’t Spot Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Ex-Motorola tech pleads guilty to cyber crime, passport fraud • The Register
How a Teenage Saudi Hacker Went From Lockpicking to Ransomware (darkreading.com)
Founder of spyware maker Hacking Team arrested for attempted murder: local media | TechCrunch
US imprisons Ukrainian SSNDOB administrator for 8 years • The Register
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
KyberSwap Says Hackers Stole $55m in Crypto - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
US Treasury Sanctions Sinbad Cryptocurrency Mixer Used by North Korean Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Insurance
Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size To Exceed USD (globenewswire.com)
Is cyber insurance worth the effort? | SC Media UK (scmagazineuk.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cyber Attack Disrupts UK Property Deals - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Telecom Industry Association Advances Supply Chain Security | MSSP Alert
Cloud/SaaS
SysJoker Malware Attacking Windows, Linux and Mac Users Abusing OneDrive - Cyber Security News
Top file-sharing service hit with embarrassing security bug that reveals admin passwords | TechRadar
Kubernetes Secrets of Fortune 500 Companies Exposed in Public Repositories (thehackernews.com)
Warning: 3 Critical Vulnerabilities Expose ownCloud Users to Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
How Hackers Phish for Your Users' Credentials and Sell Them (thehackernews.com)
Top file-sharing service hit with embarrassing security bug that reveals admin passwords | TechRadar
Weak & Strong Password Examples: Study Reveals Most Hackable Words (tech.co)
Despite Hype, the Password-Free Workplace Is Still a Long Way Off (darkreading.com)
Navigating the Stormy Seas of Cyber security: The Power of High-Entropy Passwords | HackerNoon
Social Media
Training, Education and Awareness
Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels - CPO Magazine
8 Cyber Security Topics to Include in Your Training Program | Proofpoint US
40% of Cyber Security Departments Want More Budget to Upskill Employees - IT Security Guru
3 Simple Ways to Teach Your Teammates to Have a Security-First Mindset Today | Inc.com
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
European Commission Failing to Tackle Spyware, Lawmakers Say (inforisktoday.com)
Released: AI security guidelines backed by 18 countries - Help Net Security
EU considers widening scope of cyber security regulation (finextra.com)
Thought GDPR Compliance Was Hard? Buckle Up (darkreading.com)
5 resolutions to prepare for SEC's new cyber disclosure rules - Help Net Security
False Claims Act Meets Cyber security Compliance in Government Contracting - ClearanceJobs
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Information overload puts cyber security at risk (betanews.com)
Volume of unique malware samples threatens to overwhelm defenders | Computer Weekly
More than half admit to ignoring cyber security alerts (itsecuritywire.com)
Fewer cyber pros are getting fired immediately after an incident: Trellix survey (axios.com)
Unhappy network professionals juggling more with less - Help Net Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Police dismantle ransomware group behind attacks in 71 countries (bleepingcomputer.com)
CoLP launches strategy for fraud, economic and cyber crime | UK Police News - Police Oracle
Los Angeles SIM Swapper Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison - Security Week
New York Fines First American $1 Million for Cyber Breach (1) (bloomberglaw.com)
Ex-Motorola tech pleads guilty to cyber crime, passport fraud • The Register
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
Russia
Russian hackers pose ‘high’ threat level to EU, bloc’s cyber team warns – POLITICO
North Korea-linked Konni APT uses Russian-language documents (securityaffairs.com)
Ukraine says it hacked Russian aviation agency, leaks data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Leader of Killnet 'unmasked' by Russian state media • The Register
Iran
Pennsylvania water facility hit by Iran-linked hackers | CyberScoop
North Texas water utility serving 2 million hit with cyber attack (therecord.media)
Iranian Mobile Banking Malware Campaign Threat Continues | Zimperium
North Korea
North Korean hackers are carrying out even more cyber attacks than previously thought | TechRadar
North Korea-linked Konni APT uses Russian-language documents (securityaffairs.com)
N. Korean Hackers 'Mixing' macOS Malware Tactics to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
US Treasury Sanctions Sinbad Cryptocurrency Mixer Used by North Korean Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Apple fixes two new iOS zero-days in emergency updates (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zero-Day Alert: Google Chrome Under Active Attack, Exploiting New Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Design flaw leaves Google Workspace vulnerable for takeover - Help Net Security
Major Security Flaws in Zyxel Firewalls, Access Points, NAS Devices - Security Week
Zoom Vulnerability Allowed Hackers to Take Over Meetings, Steal Data (hackread.com)
Why the MOVEit breach still lives rent free in the minds of IT leaders | ITPro
Hackers start exploiting critical ownCloud flaw, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)
Warning: 3 Critical Vulnerabilities Expose ownCloud Users to Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)
PoC for Splunk Enterprise RCE flaw released (CVE-2023-46214) - Help Net Security
Unpatched Critical Vulnerabilities Open AI Models to Takeover (darkreading.com)
Critical Vulns Found in Ray Open Source Framework for AI/ML Workloads (darkreading.com)
CACTUS Ransomware Exploits Qlik Sense Vulnerabilities in Targeted Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Tools and Controls
Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels - CPO Magazine
8 Cyber Security Topics to Include in Your Training Program | Proofpoint US
40% of Cyber Security Departments Want More Budget to Upskill Employees - IT Security Guru
3 Simple Ways to Teach Your Teammates to Have a Security-First Mindset Today | Inc.com
Long recovery times after cyber attacks could annihilate your organisation | TechRadar
Stop panic buying your security products and start prioritizing - Help Net Security
Enable 256-bit Bitlocker encryption on Windows 11 to boost security - gHacks Tech News
Building cyber resilience for tomorrow’s threats - Help Net Security
Volume of unique malware samples threatens to overwhelm defenders | Computer Weekly
Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size To Exceed USD (globenewswire.com)
AI Boosts Malware Detection Rates by 70% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Is cyber insurance worth the effort? | SC Media UK (scmagazineuk.com)
What cyber security pros can learn from first responders (securityintelligence.com)
Why are Organisations Failing to Detect Cyber security Threats? | MSSP Alert
Vulnerability disclosure: Legal risks and ethical considerations for researchers - Help Net Security
Researcher flags OpenCart security issue, founder rages • The Register
Bridging the risk exposure gap with strategies for internal auditors - Help Net Security
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Cyber attack On A&O Highlights Perils Of Law Firm Mergers - Law360
Law Firms & Legal Departments Singled Out for Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)
Hacktivism: What’s in a Name… It May be More Than You Expect - Security Week
Implications of “malware free” attacks on SMBs (databreaches.net)
Reading Borough Council apologises for dodgy infosec advice • The Register
Only 1 in 6 Brits are concerned about cyberthreats at home - Home of Direct Commerce
Paris water agency targeted in cyber attack - Emerging Risks Media Ltd
Why Utilities Need to Supercharge Their Approach to Cyber security (powermag.com)
No plain sailing: modern pirates hack superyachts' cyber security | Euronews
Hackers Hijack Industrial Control System at US Water Utility - Security Week
Estate agents warned to have measures in place to prevent cyber attacks (thenegotiator.co.uk)
CISA to Congress: US Under Threat of Chemical Attacks (darkreading.com)
New BLUFFS attack lets attackers hijack Bluetooth connections (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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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 27 October 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 27 October 2023:
-More Companies Adopt Board-Level Cyber Security Committees
-Ransomware Attacks Rise by More Than 95% Over 2022, to All Time High
-Security Still Not a Priority for a Third of SMBs Despite 73% Suffering Cyber Attack Last Year
-More Than 46 Million Potential Cyber Attacks Logged Every Day
-Fighting Cyber Attacks Requires Top-Down Approach
-Email Security Threats are More Dangerous This Year as Over 200 Million Malicious Emails Detected in Q3 2023
-98% of Security Leaders Worry About Risks of Generative AI as Fears Drive Spending
-48% of Organisations Predict Cyber Attack Recovery Could Take Weeks
-Cyber Security Awareness Doesn't Cut It; It's Time to Focus on Behaviour
-How Cyber Security Has Evolved in The Past 20 Years
-Rising Global Tensions Could Portend Destructive Hacks
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
More Companies Adopt Board-Level Cyber Security Committees
In a recent CISO Report by Splunk, 78% of CISOs and other security leaders reported a dedicated board-level cyber security committee at their organisations. These committees may be made up of qualified individuals or potentially even third parties - not necessarily company employees - that give guidance to the board around matters like risk assessment and cyber security strategy. These board-level cyber security committees can potentially bridge communication barriers between IT, security teams and boards. Black Arrow supports business leaders in organisations of all sizes to demonstrate governance of their cyber risks, by participating in board meetings to upskill and guide the board in requesting and challenging the appropriate information from their internal and external sources.
Source: [Decipher]
Ransomware Attacks Rise by More Than 95% Over 2022, to All Time High
A recent report by Corvus has found that ransomware attacks continued at a record-breaking pace, with Q3 frequency up 11% over Q2 and 95% year-over-year. Even if there were no more ransomware attacks this year, the victim account has already surpassed what was observed for 2021 and 2022. In a separate report, analysis conducted by Sophos has found that dwell times, which is the length of time an attacker is in a victim’s system before they are discovered, has fallen, leaving less time for organisations to detect attacks.
Sources: [Dark Reading] [SC Magazine] [Reinsurance News]
Security Still Not a Priority for a Third of SMBs Despite 73% Suffering Cyber Attack Last Year
Multiple reports highlighting different aspects of small and medium businesses (SMBs) all have one thing in common: the lack of priority that is given to cyber security. One example is a survey conducted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) which found that cyber security is not even a strategic priority for 35% of SMBs when considering moving to the cloud. This comes as a report by Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) found that 73% of US SMBs reported a cyber attack last year, with employee and customer data being the target in data breaches. Despite the rise in SMB attacks, relatively few organisations are following cyber security best practices to help prevent a breach in the first place. Every business, regardless of size, should do everything it reasonably can to protect its data and ensure connectivity, and smaller organisations may be more likely to be a victim of a cyber attack. Security is an enabler for the wider IT and business strategy to help users build the organisation in greater security. It should be hard-baked from the outset; seeking expert advice can help ensure the right proportionate security decisions are being made.
Sources: [Insider Media] [Infosecurity Magazine] [IT Reseller Magazine] [Infosecurity Magazine]
More Than 46 Million Potential Cyber Attacks Logged Every Day
New data released by the UK’s BT Group has found that more than 500 potential cyber attacks are logged every second. The BT data showed that over the last 12 months the most targeted sectors by cyber criminals were IT, defence, banking and insurance sectors; this was followed by the retail, hospitality and education industries. According to the figures 785,000 charities fell victim to cyber attacks. The data found that hackers are relentlessly scanning devices for vulnerabilities by using automation, and artificial intelligence is now being included by attackers to identify weaknesses in an organisation’s cyber defences.
Sources: [Evening Standard] [Proactive] [The Independent]
Fighting Cyber Attacks Requires Top-Down Approach
Organisations must move away from the posture that their IT division owns responsibility for safeguarding against cyber attacks. Instead, what we really need is for cyber security to come down from the top of the organisation, into the departments so that we have an enterprise-wide culture of security. It is the board’s responsibility to work with the executive team to ensure it is not just an IT-centric issue. By aligning cyber risk management with business needs, creating a cyber security strategy as a business enabler, and incorporating cyber security expertise into board and governance, the organisation will create a solid foundation for this top-down approach.
Source: [Chief Investment Officer]
Email Security Threats are More Dangerous This Year as Over 200 million Malicious Emails Detected in Q3 2023
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT has made spam and phishing emails infinitely more dangerous, with over 200 million sent in Q3 2023. A recent report found that link-based malware delivery made up 58% of all malicious emails for the quarter, while attachments made up the remaining 42%. Worryingly, 33% of these were delivered through legitimate but compromised websites.
Phishing does not come through emails alone however, there is also phishing via SMS, QR codes, calls and genuine, but compromised accounts. 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: [Security Magazine] [MSSP Alert] [TechRadar]
98% of Security Leaders Worry About Risks of Generative AI as Fears Drive Spending
Generative AI is playing a significant role in reshaping the phishing email threat landscape, according to a recent report from Abnormal Security. The report found that 98% of security leaders are highly concerned about generative AI's potential to create more sophisticated email attacks, with four-fifths (80.3%) of respondents confirming that their organisation had already received AI-generated email attacks or strongly suspecting that this was the case. A separate report by IBM found that attackers only needed five simple prompts to get the AI to develop a highly convincing phishing email. In a separate report, Gartner stated that AI has created a new scare, which contributed to 80% of CIO’s reporting that they plan to increase spending on cyber security, including AI.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [CSO Online] [Business Wire] [Help Net Security]
48% of Organisations Predict Cyber Attack Recovery Could Take Weeks
A recent report has found that 48% of respondents predicted that it would take days or weeks for their company to recover from cyber attacks, representing a potentially devastating risk to their business. Attacks are a matter of when, not if. Organisations should have plans and procedures in place to be able to recover from an attack; this includes having an incident response plan and regularly testing the organisation’s ability to backup and recover.
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.
Sources: [Security Magazine]
Cyber Security Awareness Doesn't Cut It; It's Time to Focus on Behaviour
The human element remains a significant vulnerability in cyber security, as reinforced by recent analysis. Repeated studies show that knowledge alone does not change behaviour, and that simply giving people more training is unlikely to change outcomes. The study underscores that even with heightened cyber security awareness, there has not been a notable decline in successful cyber attacks that exploit human errors.
We need to draw parallels to real-world skills. The report suggests that cyber security education should be as continuous and context-driven as learning to drive: no one learnt to drive by having a single lesson once a year. For instance, rather than educating employees on using multifactor authentication (MFA) in isolation, it's more impactful to provide an explanation of the additional security that that control provides and the reasons why it is being used to protect the organisation. This contextual approach, accentuated with insights on the advantages of these controls, is poised to foster the right behaviours and bolster security outcomes. However, the challenges persist, with many employees still bypassing recommended security protocols, underscoring the need for a more hands-on, real-time approach to cyber security education.
Source: [Dark Reading]
How Cyber Security Has Evolved in The Past 20 Years
Twenty years ago, the cloud as we know it didn’t exist. There were no Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, not even Gmail was around. Cyber threats have evolved significantly since then, but so too have the solutions. We’ve transitioned from manual, on-site vulnerability scanning and lengthy breach investigations, to automated tools and remote work capabilities that have reduced investigation times from months to weeks. Alongside technological advancements, laws and regulations surrounding cyber security have also tightened, imposing stricter rules on organisations to protect customer data and penalties for attackers.
The bigger picture is staying a step ahead of threat actors in the automation race. Whether that’s accomplished with AI or some other yet-to-be-discovered technology remains to be seen. In the meantime, as is always the case in this industry, regardless of the latest innovation, everyone needs to stay vigilant for threat actors’ attacks and remember that what was adequate to protect technology 20 years ago will not be sufficient to defend against the threat landscape today, and certainly not against the threats of tomorrow.
Source: [Forbes]
Rising Global Tensions Could Portend Destructive Hacks
Governments in the West are warning public and private sector organisations to "remain on heightened alert" for disruptive cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure and key sectors amid a series of escalating global conflicts.
Source: [Info Risk Today]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber security Awareness Doesn't Cut It; It's Time to Focus on Behaviour (darkreading.com)
How Cyber Security Training Lowers Risk Among Employees (forbes.com)
How to establish a great security awareness culture (att.com)
More Companies Adopt Board-Level Cyber Security Committees | Decipher (duo.com)
Fighting Cyber Attacks Requires Top-Down Approach | Chief Investment Officer (ai-cio.com)
SMBs Need to Balance Cyber Security Needs and Resources (darkreading.com)
48% of organisations predict cyber attack recovery to take weeks | Security Magazine
Cyber Security Litigation: Five Trends Unpacked | Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP - JDSupra
Cyber attacks now biggest cause of downtime and data loss – report - CIR Magazine
The Need for a Cyber Security-Centric Business Culture (darkreading.com)
From Snooze to Enthuse: Making Security Awareness Training 'Sticky' (darkreading.com)
Awaken From Cyber Slumber: 3 Steps To Stronger Cyber security (forbes.com)
AI-related security fears drive 2024 IT spending - Help Net Security
Cyber Resilience And Risk Management: Forces Against Cyber Threats (forbes.com)
The Cyber Security Resilience Quotient: Measuring Security Effectiveness - Security Week
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
SonicWall Data Confirms That Ransomware Is Still the Enterprise's Biggest Fear (darkreading.com)
Ransomware is threatening more businesses than ever before | TechRadar
Ransomware isn’t going away – the problem is only getting worse (bleepingcomputer.com)
Known Ransomware Attack Volume Breaks Monthly Record, Again (govinfosecurity.com)
Microsoft Warns as Scattered Spider Expands from SIM Swaps to Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Concerns grow as LockBit knockoffs increasingly target popular vulnerabilities (therecord.media)
The Rise of S3 Ransomware: How to Identify and Combat It (thehackernews.com)
Meet Rhysida, a New Ransomware Strain That Deletes Itself (darkreading.com)
Kaspersky crimeware report: GoPIX, Lumar, and Rhysida. | Securelist
Five things organisations don’t consider before a ransomware attack | TechRadar
Ransomware incidents are on the rise as latest data reveals alarming trend | TechSpot
MGM Resorts hackers 'one of the most dangerous financial criminal groups’ (therecord.media)
Ransomware attacks against hospitals put patients' lives at risk, researchers say : NPR
Ragnar Locker Ransomware Boss Arrested in Paris (darkreading.com)
BlackCat Climbs the Summit With a New Tactic (paloaltonetworks.com)
Ransomware Soars as Myriad Efforts to Stop It Fall Short - Bloomberg
Hackers Using Remote Admin Tools AvosLocker Ransomware (gbhackers.com)
Resilience notes uptick in data exfiltration as cyber criminals change tactics - Reinsurance News
Healthcare Ransomware Attacks Cost US $78bn - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Bracing for AI-enabled ransomware and cyber extortion attacks - Help Net Security
Security Patch Management Strengthens Ransomware Defence (trendmicro.com)
Ransomware Victims
MGM Resorts hackers 'one of the most dangerous financial criminal groups’ (therecord.media)
Ambulances diverted as 3 New York hospitals grapple with cyber attacks | Fox News
Operations of Healthcare Solutions Giant Henry Schein Disrupted by Cyber attack - Security Week
US energy firm shares how Akira ransomware hacked its systems (bleepingcomputer.com)
Seiko says ransomware attack exposed sensitive customer data (bleepingcomputer.com)
American Family Insurance confirms cyber attack is behind IT outages (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber Attack Causing Service Interruptions At Ontario Hospitals (databreaches.net)
Cyber crims leak patient pics in low blow bid to win ransom • The Register
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Over 200 million malicious emails were detected in Q3 2023 | Security Magazine
Watch out - that QR code could just be a phishing scam | TechRadar
Booking.com customers targeted by scam ‘confirmation’ emails | Scams | The Guardian
New Hotel Phishing Scam — Be Careful If You're Offered a Discounted Rate | GOBankingRates
Email security threats are more dangerous than ever - here's what you need to know | TechRadar
What is Phishing? 5 Types of Phishing Attacks You Need to Know | MSSP Alert
The US released popular phishing techniques | Inquirer Technology
Akamai research finds more sophisticated phishing threats in hospitality industry - SiliconANGLE
Don’t Get Spooked Into Falling For These Phishing Scams - IT Security Guru
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Artificial Intelligence
AI-related security fears drive 2024 IT spending - Help Net Security
Boardrooms losing control in generative AI takeover, says Kaspersky | Computer Weekly
Governments, firms should spend more on AI safety, top researchers say | Reuters
Cyber-defence systems seek to outduel criminals in AI race (techxplore.com)
Report warns AI could worsen cyber threat, but government will not ‘rush to regulate’ - CIR Magazine
Businesses fear generative AI will cause ‘catastrophic’ cyber attacks (siliconrepublic.com)
Don't use AI-based apps, Philippine defence ordered its personnel (securityaffairs.com)
Businesses ignorant to gen AI security threats suggests research (ship-technology.com)
Deepfakes: Navigating Data Privacy and Cyber Security Risks | DRI - JDSupra
Artificial Intelligence Bad News For Cyber Threats, Report Warns - TechRound
Bracing for AI-enabled ransomware and cyber extortion attacks - Help Net Security
Oops! When tech innovations create new security threats | CSO Online
2FA/MFA
Malware
Hackers are using an incredibly sneaky trick to hide malware | Digital Trends
Vietnamese Hackers Target UK, US, and India with DarkGate Malware (thehackernews.com)
Quasar RAT Leverages DLL Side-Loading to Fly Under the Radar (thehackernews.com)
Dangerous new malware can crack encrypted USB drives | TechRadar
'Grandoreiro' Trojan Targets Global Banking Customers (darkreading.com)
Powerful Malware Disguised as Crypto Miner Infects 1M+ Windows, Linux PCs (pcmag.com)
The Changing Threat Landscape: Infostealers and the MacOS goldmine - F-Secure Blog
Mobile
Android trojan spotted in the wild can record audio and phone calls | ZDNET
Samsung Galaxy S23 hacked twice in one day at Pwn2Own contest (androidauthority.com)
iLeakage attack exploits Safari to steal data from Apple devices (securityaffairs.com)
Intellexa: Irish-linked spyware used in 'brazen attacks' - report - BBC News
Longer Support Periods Raise the Bar for Mobile Security (darkreading.com)
Android adware apps on Google Play amass two million installs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
This DDoS attack is the biggest in internet history. | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Disinformation and its often overlooked potential for denial-of-services. (thecyberwire.com)
Record-Breaking 100 Million RPS DDoS Attack Exploits HTTP/2 Rapid Reset Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Okta says hackers breached its support system and viewed customer files | Ars Technica
Okta support system breach highlights need for strong MFA policies | CSO Online
1Password suffers cyber security incident after latest Okta breach - Tech Monitor
Okta stock falls after company says client files accessed by hackers via support system (cnbc.com)
Hacker accused of breaching Finnish psychotherapy centre facing 30,000 counts (therecord.media)
City of Philadelphia discloses data breach after five months (bleepingcomputer.com)
500k Irish National Police records exposed by third party • The Register
The 23andMe data breach reveals the vulnerabilities of our interconnected data (theconversation.com)
iLeakage attack exploits Safari to steal data from Apple devices (securityaffairs.com)
DC Board of Elections: Hackers may have breached entire voter roll (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
More than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second, BT says | The Independent
Spain arrests 34 cyber criminals who stole data of 4 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nigerian Police dismantle cyber crime recruitment, mentoring hub (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Cryptojacking campaign Qubitstrike targets exposed Jupyter Notebook instances | CSO Online
Powerful Malware Disguised as Crypto Miner Infects 1M+ Windows, Linux PCs (pcmag.com)
70% of Crypto Companies Report Deepfake Fraud Rise (darkreading.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Forget the outside hacker, the bigger threat is inside • The Register
Human-centric Security Design Reduces Threats by Changing User Behavior (prweb.com)
How to establish a great security awareness culture (att.com)
How Cyber Security Training Lowers Risk Among Employees (forbes.com)
The Need for a Cyber Security-Centric Business Culture (darkreading.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
New Hotel Phishing Scam — Be Careful If You're Offered a Discounted Rate | GOBankingRates
Booking.com customers targeted by scam ‘confirmation’ emails | Scams | The Guardian
Purchase Scams Surge as Fraud Losses Hit £580m - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Online scammers target desperate loan seekers using online fraud | TechRadar
Christmas scams to watch out for this festive season (nationalworld.com)
Cyber criminals exploit the Israeli-Hamas conflict through scam emails and websites (iol.co.za)
70% of Crypto Companies Report Deepfake Fraud Rise (darkreading.com)
Deepfakes
Deepfakes: Navigating Data Privacy and Cyber Security Risks | DRI - JDSupra
70% of Crypto Companies Report Deepfake Fraud Rise (darkreading.com)
Insurance
Telling Small Businesses to Buy Cyber Insurance Isn't Enough (darkreading.com)
Stemming Losses That Go Uncovered by Cyber Insurance | Esquire Deposition Solutions, LLC - JDSupra
Aviva: SMEs ‘woefully underserved’ for cyber cover - Insurance Post (postonline.co.uk)
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Okta Reveals Breach Via Stolen Credential - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
'Log in With...' Feature Allows Full Online Account Takeover for Millions (darkreading.com)
Social Media
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Cyber Security Awareness Doesn't Cut It; It's Time to Focus on Behaviour (darkreading.com)
This Cyber Security Awareness Month, Don't Lose Sight of Human Risk (darkreading.com)
How to establish a great security awareness culture (att.com)
How Cyber Security Training Lowers Risk Among Employees (forbes.com)
The Need for a Cyber Security-Centric Business Culture (darkreading.com)
Cyber Security Awareness Month: What's Still Needed After Twenty Years (forbes.com)
From Snooze to Enthuse: Making Security Awareness Training 'Sticky' (darkreading.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Managed security services [EU Legislation in Progress] | Epthinktank | European Parliament
Report warns AI could worsen cyber threat, but government will not ‘rush to regulate’ - CIR Magazine
UK government finalises IoT cyber security requirements - Lexology
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Hacker accused of breaching Finnish psychotherapy center facing 30,000 counts (therecord.media)
Alleged developer of the Ragnar Locker ransomware was arrested (securityaffairs.com)
Spain arrests 34 cyber criminals who stole data of 4 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nigerian Police dismantle cyber crime recruitment, mentoring hub (bleepingcomputer.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
‘I’m looking for fewer ways to be traceable, not more’ | Financial Times
Google Chrome's new "IP Protection" will hide users' IP addresses (bleepingcomputer.com)
ShadowDragon: Australian spies monitor PornHub, Tinder, Fortnite (crikey.com.au)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Misc Nation State/Cyber Warfare/Cyber Espionage
ICC: September Breach Was Espionage Raid - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
International Criminal Court attack was targeted and sophisticated (securityaffairs.com)
Governments and hackers agree: the laws of war must apply in cyber space (theconversation.com)
It's Time to Establish the NATO of Cyber Security (darkreading.com)
War Crimes Court Flags Cyber Attack That Targeted Its Work - Law360
International Criminal Court systems breached for cyber espionage (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber attack a ‘serious attempt to undermine’ International Criminal Court - Lawyers Weekly
Rising Global Tensions Could Portend Destructive Hacks (inforisktoday.com)
Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber criminals exploit the Israeli-Hamas conflict through scam emails and websites (iol.co.za)
Cyber operations linked to Israel-Hamas fighting gain momentum | CyberScoop
Rising Global Tensions Could Portend Destructive Hacks (inforisktoday.com)
China
MI5 chief warns of Chinese cyber espionage reached an unprecedented scale (securityaffairs.com)
Glasgow universities on red alert over Chinese spies as they join security scheme - Glasgow Live
Navy ends tradition of Chinese laundrymen on warships over spying fears (telegraph.co.uk)
Russia
Russia Cyber attacks Becoming More Sophisticated, Ukraine Official Says - Bloomberg
European govt email servers hacked using Roundcube zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ministry, police and Crimea summit websites victims of cyber attack | Radio Prague International
Major Russian bank reportedly hacked by Ukraine | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers backdoor Russian state, industrial orgs for data theft (bleepingcomputer.com)
Who is sabotaging underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea? (economist.com)
Pro-Russia hackers target inboxes with 0-day in webmail app used by millions | Ars Technica
Russia-Ukraine War: Cyber Attack and Kinetic Warfare Timeline - | MSSP Alert
France says Russian state hackers breached numerous critical networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber attack a ‘serious attempt to undermine’ International Criminal Court - Lawyers Weekly
Ex-NSA techie admits to selling state secrets to Russia • The Register
Iran
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Concerns grow as LockBit knockoffs increasingly target popular vulnerabilities (therecord.media)
Why Do We Need Real-World Context to Prioritise CVEs? (darkreading.com)
Security Patch Management Strengthens Ransomware Defence (trendmicro.com)
Vulnerabilities
Citrix Bleed exploit lets hackers hijack NetScaler accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Exploitation of Citrix NetScaler vulns reaching dangerous levels | Computer Weekly
Critical SolarWinds RCE Bugs Enable Unauthorised Network Takeover (darkreading.com)
CISA adds second Cisco IOS XE flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog - Security Affairs
Cisco hackers likely taking steps to avoid identification | Computer Weekly
F5 Issues Warning: BIG-IP Vulnerability Allows Remote Code Execution (thehackernews.com)
European govt email servers hacked using Roundcube zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)
VMware vCenter Flaw So Critical, Patches Released for End-of-Life Products - Security Week
Critical OAuth Flaws Uncovered in Grammarly, Vidio, and Bukalapak Platforms (thehackernews.com)
Firefox, Chrome Updates Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week
The Forbidden Fruit Of Cyber Security: Hackers Take A Bite Out Of Apple (forbes.com)
Pro-Russia hackers target inboxes with 0-day in webmail app used by millions | Ars Technica
Apple Ships Major iOS, macOS Security Updates - Security Week
Hackers can force iOS and macOS browsers to divulge passwords and much more | Ars Technica
ServiceNow quietly fixes 8-year-old data exposure flaw • The Register
Tools and Controls
48% of organisations predict cyber attack recovery to take weeks | Security Magazine
Cyber attack response plans need to be in place to avoid chaos - FreightWaves
NIST provides solid guidance on software supply chain security in DevSecOps | CSO Online
What is Network Segmentation? Virtual & Physical Segmentation | UpGuard
AI-related security fears drive 2024 IT spending - Help Net Security
Businesses fear generative AI will cause ‘catastrophic’ cyber attacks (siliconrepublic.com)
Is it wise to put all your security solutions in one cyber basket? (securitybrief.co.nz)
Cyber attacks are inevitable, so a focus on resilience is vital - James McGachie (scotsman.com)
Cyber Resilience And Risk Management: Forces Against Cyber Threats (forbes.com)
Are Backup Files the Missing Link in Your Cyber Security? (finextra.com)
Unveiling the power of emerging technologies to empower cyber resilience (techuk.org)
Cyber security concerns grow among physical security professionals | Security Magazine
The Cyber Security Resilience Quotient: Measuring Security Effectiveness - Security Week
Other News
MPs to examine cyber resilience of UK’s critical national infrastructure | CSO Online
Strategies to overcome cyber security misconceptions - Help Net Security
UK NCSC, NPSA launch Secure Innovation campaign to protect tech startups | CSO Online
5 important cyber security takeaways for law firms - Lawyers Weekly
How Cyber Security Has Evolved In The Past 20 Years (forbes.com)
Oops! When tech innovations create new security threats | CSO Online
Spooky Cyber Statistics And Trends You Need To Know (forbes.com)
The Changing Threat Landscape: Infostealers and the MacOS goldmine - F-Secure Blog
Proactively preventing your company from becoming the next cyber attack headline (betanews.com)
Demystifying Cyber Security: Shakespeare To The Rescue | HackerNoon
Cyber Threat: Aviation’s Clear and Present Danger? | Aerospace Tech Review
OT cyber attacks proliferating despite growing cyber security spend - Help Net Security
Cost of a Data Breach: Retail Costs, Risks and Prevention Strategies (securityintelligence.com)
What Would a US Government Shutdown Mean for Cyber Security? (darkreading.com)
Weapons Systems Provide Valuable Lessons for ICS/OT Security - Security Week
Cyber attacks now biggest cause of downtime and data loss – report - CIR Magazine
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 15 September 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 15 September 2023:
-Overconfident Organisations Prone to Cyber Breaches
-Board Members Struggling to Understand Cyber Risks
-Cyber Criminals are Targeting Top Executives and Could be Using Sensitive Information to Extort Them
-Cyber Attacks Reach Fever Pitch in Q2 2023
-Ransomware Attacks Hit Record Levels in UK as More Companies Fail to Tackle Growing Threats
-Microsoft Warns of More Attacks as Ransomware Spreads Through Teams Phishing
-Europol - Financial Crime Makes “Billions” and Impacts “Millions”
-Almost One in Three Parents Have Never Spoken to Their Children About Cyber Security
-Hackers are Dropping USB Drives Outside Buildings to Target Networks
-Data Theft is Now the No. 1 Cyber Security Threat Keeping Execs Awake at Night
-If You Didn’t Change Your Passwords After the LastPass Data Breach, Do It Now
-Cloud Vulnerabilities Surge Nearly 200% as Cloud Credentials Become the New Hot Ticket on the Dark Web
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
Overconfident Organisations Prone to Cyber Breaches
A study found that 95% of UK enterprises were very confident or somewhat confident that they do not have gaps in their security controls, yet despite this, 69% have fallen victim to a cyber attack in the last two years. One of the reasons given for this false sense of confidence was the belief that more tools meant more security; worryingly, 45% of organisations struggled with the implementation of tools due to the need for expertise. Attackers are constantly adapting their tactics to bypass the security controls that most organisations implement. It is difficult for IT teams and business leaders to maintain an objective assessment of how effective their chosen security controls are against today’s attackers. Black Arrow provides the impartial and expert advice that businesses require, including a free initial assessment, with no vested interest other than helping our clients achieve pragmatic and proportionate security.
Source: [IT Security Guru]
Board Members Struggling to Understand Cyber Risks
Board members frequently struggle to understand cyber risks, putting businesses at higher risk of attacks, a new report has found. The report noted that Board interest is being piqued as a result of growing media reporting of cyber incidents, a heightened Board focus on operational resilience post-pandemic, investor pressure and a tightening regulatory environment.
Worryingly, despite the increase in interest and increased internal and external focus on cyber risk, a number of Board-level respondents reported that they felt scared or embarrassed to ask their CISO for fear of exposing their lack of understanding.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Cyber Criminals are Targeting Top Executives and Could be Using Sensitive Information to Extort Them
Senior executives in today's evolving work landscape face growing cyber security threats, including extortion and device theft. The rise of ‘workcations’, which blend work and leisure, has blurred professional and personal boundaries, exposing leaders to heightened risks, and necessitating a strong focus on cyber security.
These executives are particularly attractive targets due to their access to critical information and decision-making authority. To protect their organisations, they must prioritise robust security measures, such as stronger passwords, anti-theft safeguards for devices, multi factor authentication, and, where appropriate or necessary, the use of virtual private networks. As guardians of their businesses' well-being, executives carry the responsibility of upholding stringent cyber security practices, ensuring that the benefits of remote work do not compromise their organisations' security.
Source: [Fortune]
Cyber Attacks Reach Fever Pitch in Q2 2023
A report has found the global landscape of increasing digitisation, political unrest, the emergence of AI and the widespread adoption of work from home, have all contributed to an increase in attacks, which have increased 314% in the first half of this year compared the first half of 2022. Rather worryingly, between the first and second quarter this year, there was a 387% increase in activity.
Source: [Data Centre & Network News]
Ransomware Attacks Hit Record Levels in UK as More Companies Fail to Tackle Growing Threats
A report from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK found ransomware attacks on UK organisations reached record levels last year, impacting over 700 organisations. This isn’t the true count though, as it does not factor the overwhelming majority of victims who do not report attacks, so the true number will be many times this. This increase comes as reports are finding that UK companies are struggling to address the growing threats, and this includes a lack of understanding at the Board level. In fact, 59% of directors say their Board is not very effective in understanding the drivers and impacts of cyber risks for their organisation.
Sources: [The Record] [The Fintech Times] [Financial Times]
Microsoft Warns of More Attacks as Ransomware Spreads Through Teams Phishing
Microsoft says an initial access broker known for working with ransomware groups has recently switched to Microsoft Teams phishing attacks to breach corporate networks. Referring to one of the groups, Microsoft said “In July 2023, Storm-0324 began using phishing lures sent over Teams with malicious links leading to a malicious SharePoint-hosted file,". This tactic has also been used by Russian Nation State Actors.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Europol - Financial Crime Makes “Billions” and Impacts “Millions”
The European policing alliance’s first ever European Financial and Economic Crime Threat Assessment was compiled from “operational insights and strategic intelligence” contributed by member states and Europol partners. The assessment highlighted a criminal economy worth billions of euros and that impacts millions of victims each year.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Almost One in Three Parents Have Never Spoken to Their Children About Cyber Security
A recent report found that 30% of parents have never spoken to their children about cyber security. Additionally, over 40% of parents, who themselves admitted that they didn’t know how to create strong passwords, still give their child access to their mobile phones and almost a third (32%) give them access to their computers. By doing so, parents are not only putting their children at risk, but inadvertently, themselves and the organisations they work for as well.
Black Arrow offers a range of training, including formal and informal training, for individuals, employees and business leaders. Contact us today for a free initial conversation.
Source: [IT Security Guru]
Hackers are Dropping USB Drives Outside Buildings to Target Networks
A mid-year cyber security report found that along with the explosive growth in AI, bad actors are still using tried and tested, but unfortunately still very effective, tactics such as dropping USB drives outside target buildings in the hope that an employee will pick them up and plug them into devices connected to the corporate network. Many times, these actors are banking on their targets lacking protections against these attacks. Think about your organisation, would someone plug a device they found in the street into their work computer out of curiosity? Does your organisation have controls in place to prevent this type of attack?
Source: [Tech Republic]
Data Theft is Now the No. 1 Cyber Security Threat Keeping Execs Awake at Night
According to a recent survey, 55% of IT decision-makers cited data theft as their main concern, with ransomware placed third, after phishing. This comes as ransomware attackers are moving towards more exfiltration-based techniques. Exfiltration creates a significant number of issues for an organisation including the regulatory requirements of telling customers, to not knowing what data has been exfiltrated.
Source: [Information Security Buzz]
If You Didn’t Change Your Passwords After the LastPass Data Breach, Do It Now
Criminals have had plenty of time to use encryption keys stolen in the 2022 LastPass hack to open vaults, and there has been a reported increase in the number of vaults that have been cracked. For those attackers that haven’t been able to crack your password, they're under no time constraints.
Whilst successful attackers may not directly target your email accounts, PayPal wallets, or banks, these assets can be packaged and sold to other criminal third parties. If any of the passwords stored in a LastPass vault prior to 2022 are still in use, you should change them immediately.
Source: [Make Use Of]
Cloud Vulnerabilities Surge Nearly 200% as Cloud Credentials Become the New Hot Ticket on the Dark Web
IBM tracked 632 new cloud-related vulnerabilities (CVEs) between June 2022 and June 2023, a 194% increase from the previous year, according to a new report. The latest haul of new CVEs brings the total number tracked by the vendor to 3,900; a number that has doubled since 2019. Similarly, a separate report from Palo Alto Networks found that 80% of security exposures exist in the cloud.
IBM highlighted that this has led to a number of cloud credentials being actively sold on the dark web, in some cases for the same price as a dozen doughnuts. These credentials are believed to account for almost 90% of goods and services for sale on the dark web.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [The Register] [TechTarget]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Deputy PM urges UK plc not to lose focus on cyber | Computer Weekly
Overconfident Organisations Prone to Cyber Breaches, Study Finds - IT Security Guru
Global companies to hike security spending as threats rise - survey | Reuters
CISOs need to be forceful to gain leverage in the boardroom - Help Net Security
Don't Leave Cyber Security to Chance, the Hidden Risk when Staff Depart - IT Security Guru
Evaluating & Managing Service Provider Security Risks (in 2023) | UpGuard
Cyber Security risks dampen corporate enthusiasm for tech investments - Help Net Security
CISOs and Board Reporting – an Ongoing Problem - SecurityWeek
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransomware attacks hit record level in UK, according to neglected official data (therecord.media)
Ransomware tracker: The latest figures [September 2023] (therecord.media)
Ransomware access broker steals accounts via Microsoft Teams phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware thrives as cyber security remains lax, says UK report | Financial Times (ft.com)
Rust-Written 3AM Ransomware: A Sneak Peek into a New Malware Family (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware in top three threats for 65% of organisations | Security Magazine
TrickBot & Conti Sanctions for CISOs & Board Members (trendmicro.com)
Don’t focus on ransomware variants, say UK’s national cyber and crime agencies (therecord.media)
Cuba Ransomware Gang Continues to Evolve With Dangerous Backdoor (darkreading.com)
Recent Rhysida Attacks Show Focus on Healthcare By Ransomware Actors (darkreading.com)
Ransomware Victims
A phone call to helpdesk was likely all it took to hack MGM | Ars Technica
MGM, Caesars File SEC Disclosures on Cyber Security Incidents (darkreading.com)
Caesars paid millions in ransom to cybercrime group prior to MGM hack – NECN
Group in Casino Hacks Skilled at Duping Workers for Access (1) (bloomberglaw.com)
Ransomware tracker: The latest figures [September 2023] (therecord.media)
Rhysida gang claims to have hacked three more US hospitals (securityaffairs.com)
Ransomware crew claims to have hit Save The Children • The Register
Shell says Australian unit BG Group hit by MOVEit cyber security breach | Reuters
Dutch football association pays ransom to Russian cyber criminals – EURACTIV.com
Cyber security incident affects services at The Weather Network | CFJC Today Kamloops
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Email forwarding flaws enable attackers to impersonate high-profile domains - Help Net Security
Attackers Abuse Google Looker Studio to Evade DMARC, Email Security (darkreading.com)
$24 Million Worth of Crypto Wiped out Overnight in Massive Phishing Attack
Thousands of Microsoft 365 accounts under threat from W3LL phishing kit | TechRadar
Ransomware access broker steals accounts via Microsoft Teams phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)
Facebook Messenger phishing wave targets 100K business accounts per week (bleepingcomputer.com)
Journalists, authors, and other writers targeted by phishing emails | TechRadar
Associated Press Stylebook Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Following Data Breach - SecurityWeek
How should SMBs navigate the phishing minefield? - Help Net Security
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Understanding the dangers of social engineering - Help Net Security
How to Avoid Smishing Attacks Targeting Subscription Service Users (securityintelligence.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Cyber Criminals Feasting On Artificial Intelligence (forbes.com)
ChatGPT Jailbreaking Forums Proliferate in Dark Web Communities (darkreading.com)
Cloud security in the era of artificial intelligence (securityintelligence.com)
Deepfake cyberthreats keep rising. Here's how to prevent them - SiliconANGLE
2FA/MFA
Malware
Microsoft Teams phishing attack pushes DarkGate malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Millions of Facebook Business Accounts Bitten by Python Malware (darkreading.com)
Free Download Manager site redirected Linux users to malware for years (bleepingcomputer.com)
Protecting Your Microsoft IIS Servers Against Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
3 Strategies to Defend Against Resurging Infostealers (darkreading.com)
New HijackLoader Modular Malware Loader Making Waves in the Cybercrime World (thehackernews.com)
Iranian hackers backdoor 34 orgs with new Sponsor malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Steal-It' Campaign Uses OnlyFans Models as Lures (darkreading.com)
Sponsor with batch-filed whiskers: Ballistic Bobcat’s scan and strike backdoor (welivesecurity.com)
Cybersecurity alert: Malware hidden in Microsoft Teams messages targeting users - OnMSFT.com
Iranian Cyberspies Deployed New Backdoor to 34 Organizations - SecurityWeek
Mobile
'Evil Telegram' Spyware Campaign Infects 60K+ Mobile Users (darkreading.com)
France halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels - BBC News
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Massive DDoS attack on US financial company thwarted by cyber firm (therecord.media)
Akamai prevented largest DDoS attack on a US financial company (securityaffairs.com)
After Microsoft and X, Hackers Launch DDoS Attack on Telegram - SecurityWeek
Yukon gov't website back after cyber attack, Nunavut gov't site still down | CBC News
Internet of Things – IoT
Co-op to ban Chinese CCTV after security risk warnings (telegraph.co.uk)
Wyze security camera owners report seeing strangers' camera feeds | Mashable
Hackers will hack anything — including your sex toys - The Hustle
Data Breaches/Leaks
Overconfident Organisations Prone to Cyber Breaches, Study Finds - IT Security Guru
LastPass Hackers Cracking Password Vaults - Experts Warns - Cyber Kendra
Dymocks Booksellers suffers data breach impacting 836k customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
How Do Hackers Sell and Trade Your Data in the Metaverse? (makeuseof.com)
Capita class action: 2,000 sign up in wake of data theft • The Register
Airbus data leaked via infected customer computer • The Register
Threat actor leaks sensitive data belonging to Airbus (securityaffairs.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
How Next-Gen Threats Are Taking a Page From APTs - SecurityWeek
How Do Hackers Sell and Trade Your Data in the Metaverse? (makeuseof.com)
Europol's spotlight report sheds light on evolving cyber attacks (amlintelligence.com)
Cyber criminals Use Webex Brand to Target Corporate Users (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Top blockchain Cyber security threats to watch out for (att.com)
$24 Million Worth of Crypto Wiped out Overnight in Massive Phishing Attack
Blockchain Security Firm Unveils APT Attack by Lazarus Group - DailyCoin
Hackers steal $53 million worth of cryptocurrency from CoinEx (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptoqueen: Accomplice jailed for 20 years for OneCoin financial scam - BBC News
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Latest fraud schemes targeting the payments ecosystem - Help Net Security
Cryptoqueen: Accomplice jailed for 20 years for OneCoin financial scam - BBC News
Glasgow firm issues warning following recent cyber attack | Glasgow Times
Impersonation Attacks
Email forwarding flaws enable attackers to impersonate high-profile domains - Help Net Security
Cyber criminals Use Webex Brand to Target Corporate Users (darkreading.com)
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
ChatGPT Jailbreaking Forums Proliferate in Dark Web Communities (darkreading.com)
Cloud credentials are the hot ticket item on the dark web • The Register
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Evaluating & Managing Service Provider Security Risks (in 2023) | UpGuard
Airbus Cyber Attack: Over 3,200 Vendor Data Accessed by Hackers (cybersecuritynews.com)
Capita class action: 2,000 sign up in wake of data theft • The Register
The rise and evolution of supply chain attacks - Help Net Security
A 2-Week Prescription for Eliminating Supply Chain Threats (darkreading.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Thousands of Microsoft 365 accounts under threat from W3LL phishing kit | TechRadar
7 Steps to Kickstart Your SaaS Security Program (thehackernews.com)
Cloud storage security: What's new in the threat matrix | Microsoft Security Blog
Cloud CVEs Surge 200% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Cloud credentials are the hot ticket item on the dark web • The Register
Palo Alto Networks: 80% of security exposures exist in cloud | TechTarget
Cloud security in the era of artificial intelligence (securityintelligence.com)
Containers
Kubernetes Admins Warned to Patch Clusters Against New RCE Vulns (darkreading.com)
Alert: New Kubernetes Vulnerabilities Enable Remote Attacks on Windows Endpoints (thehackernews.com)
Identity and Access Management
Root Admin User: When Do Common Usernames Pose a Threat? (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Companies need to rethink how they implement identity security - Help Net Security
Enterprises persist with outdated authentication strategies - Help Net Security
Why Identity Management Is the Key to Stopping APT Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
Encryption
API
How to Prevent API Breaches: A Guide to Robust Security (thehackernews.com)
Elevating API security to reinforce cyber defence - Help Net Security
Machine Learning is a Must for API Security - IT Security Guru
Open Source
Free Download Manager site redirected Linux users to malware for years (bleepingcomputer.com)
Linux Malware! Read This If You Use Free Download Manager (itsfoss.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
If You Didn’t Change Your Passwords After the LastPass Data Breach, Do It Now (makeuseof.com)
Root Admin User: When Do Common Usernames Pose a Threat? (databreachtoday.co.uk)
New WiKI-Eve attack can steal numerical passwords over WiFi (bleepingcomputer.com)
Wi-Fi radio signal data can be used 'to predict passwords' • The Register
Cloud credentials are the hot ticket item on the dark web • The Register
Iranian hackers breach defence orgs in password spray attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
Facebook Messenger phishing wave targets 100K business accounts per week (bleepingcomputer.com)
After Microsoft and X, Hackers Launch DDoS Attack on Telegram - SecurityWeek
How Do Hackers Sell and Trade Your Data in the Metaverse? (makeuseof.com)
Millions of Facebook Business Accounts Bitten by Python Malware (darkreading.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
How to Transform Security Awareness Into Security Culture (darkreading.com)
Elevating Cyber Awareness: A Strategic Approach (informationweek.com)
How end-user phishing training works (and why it doesn’t) (bleepingcomputer.com)
Great security training is a real challenge - Help Net Security
Digital Transformation
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
SEC Issues Final Rules on Cyber Security Disclosures | Kelley Drye & Warren LLP - JDSupra
What Makes an Incident ‘Material’? | Calloquy, PBC - JDSupra
The International Criminal Court will now prosecute cyberwar crimes | Ars Technica
Preparing For Cyber Security Disclosures Set For Public Companies (forbes.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
How to develop a cloud backup ransomware protection strategy | TechTarget
How To Backup Data From NAS: A Complete Guide (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Cyber Security Skills Gap: Roadies & Gamers Are Untapped Talent (darkreading.com)
Three ways to overcome cyber security staff shortages (securitybrief.co.nz)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
China
Risk & Repeat: Big questions remain on Storm-0558 attacks | TechTarget
Parliamentary researcher ‘who spied for China’ arrested | UK news | The Guardian
Arrest of alleged spy raises questions around UK’s China policy | Financial Times (ft.com)
Microsoft, Apple versus China, spyware actors (techrepublic.com)
Co-op to ban Chinese CCTV after security risk warnings (telegraph.co.uk)
Spies, Hackers, Informants: How China Snoops on the West - SecurityWeek
China caught with its malware in another nation's power grid • The Register
China Threat Recap: A Deeper Insight (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Iran
Iranian hackers backdoor 34 orgs with new Sponsor malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
‘Scan-and-exploit’ campaign snares unpatched Exchange servers | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea
Misc Nation State/Cyber Warfare
Vulnerability Management
Severe vulnerability found in all browsers, and it's being attacked | PCWorldOvercoming the Rising Threat of Session Hijacking (darkreading.com)
Cloud CVEs Surge 200% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
With 0-days hitting Chrome, iOS, and dozens more this month, is no software safe? | Ars Technica
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft September 2023 Patch Tuesday fixes 2 zero-days, 59 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Unpatched Cisco ASA flaw exploited by attackers (CVE-2023-20269) - Help Net Security
Severe vulnerability found in all browsers, and it's being attacked | PCWorld
After Apple and Google, Mozilla Also Patches Zero-Day Exploited for Spyware Delivery - SecurityWeek
Notepad++ 8.5.7 released with fixes for four security vulnerabilities (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe warns of critical Acrobat and Reader zero-day exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Alert: New Kubernetes Vulnerabilities Enable Remote Attacks on Windows Endpoints (thehackernews.com)
Cisco warns of VPN zero-day exploited by ransomware gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud CVEs Surge 200% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Tools and Controls
Global companies to hike security spending as threats rise - survey | Reuters
Don't Leave Cyber Security to Chance, the Hidden Risk when Staff Depart - IT Security Guru
What Is XDR and Why It's Changing the Security Industry - ReadWrite
Remote Desktop Protocol exposures leave 85% of organisations vulnerable to attack - SiliconANGLE
The Dark Web Is Expanding (As Is the Value of Monitoring It) (darkreading.com)
How to Prevent API Breaches: A Guide to Robust Security (thehackernews.com)
Elevating Cyber Awareness: A Strategic Approach (informationweek.com)
Great security training is a real challenge - Help Net Security
Companies need to rethink how they implement identity security - Help Net Security
Enterprises persist with outdated authentication strategies - Help Net Security
Why Identity Management Is the Key to Stopping APT Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
Easy Configuration Fixes Can Protect Your Server from Attack (securityintelligence.com)
Other News
The Weaponization of Operational Technology (securityintelligence.com)
ICS Computers in Western Countries See Increasing Attacks: Report - SecurityWeek
Cyber Trends: The Gunpowder of the Twenty-First Century (e-ir.info)
The 9 Top Technology Trends That Are Shaping the Future of Cyber Security (makeuseof.com)
The Cyber Security Risks In Education Cannot Be Ignored (forbes.com)
A new Repojacking attack exposed over 4,000 GitHub repositories to hack (securityaffairs.com)
Cyber attacks reach fever pitch in Q2 2023 - Data Centre & Network News (dcnnmagazine.com)
Rising OT/ICS cyber security incidents reveal alarming trend - Help Net Security
Brits happy to break cyber law if the price is right | Computer Weekly
British Military Hit by Six Million Cyber Attacks in 2022 (thedefensepost.com)
Trustwave report on hospitality industry security threats | Cyber Magazine
Cyber security impact on construction, engineering projects (csemag.com)
Cyber criminals come for schools — and schools aren’t ready (hechingerreport.org)
Professional Sports: The Next Frontier of Cyber Security? (darkreading.com)
How Dangerous Is the Cyber Attack Risk to Transportation? (securityintelligence.com)
Poison in the Water: The Physical Repercussions of IoT Security Threats (securityintelligence.com)
Australia Inc roiled by raft of cyber attacks since late 2022 | Reuters
Death by digital: attacks on healthcare put people at risk (synack.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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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 Cyber Threat Briefing 08 September 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 08 September 2023:
-More Than Half of UK Organisations Know They Aren’t Well Protected
-Generative AI Considered a Security Risk by 60% of Board Members: How Organisations Can Prepare
-Businesses Ignore Incident Response at Their Peril
-Blame Culture: An Organisation’s Ticking Time Bomb
-Spend to Save: CFO’s and Cyber Security Investment
-Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets for Attackers, including Nation-State Actors
-Attackers Access UK Military Data Through Third Party Supplier as Relentless Russian Cyber Attacks Raise Spectre of WW3
-Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs
-Years-old Microsoft Security Holes Still Hot Targets for Cyber Criminals
-Popular ‘As-a-Service’ Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m
-71% of Organisations are Impacted by Cyber Security Skills Shortage
-Multiple Schools Hit by Cyber Attacks Before Term Begins
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
More Than Half of UK Organisations Know They Aren’t Well Protected
According to a recent report, just 49% of business leaders report their organisation is well or very well protected. Cyber security featured as the third highest-rated business priority, with increasing revenues and reducing costs forming the top two. One of the ways an organisation can reduce cost is to outsource, and 63% of respondents agreed, reporting that they wanted to work with an external cyber security partner to improve their security.
Even if you’re in the 49% of organisations that believes it is well protected, this can be a dangerous self-assessment based on a lack of experience and impartiality. Business leaders need independent assurance to ensure their security controls are appropriate and in line with the organisation’s risk appetite. It is essential to dispel assumptions, by investigating your security before an attacker does.
Black Arrow Cyber Consulting offers a free, no-obligation, introductory consultation to help you gain an unbiased perspective on how your current security approach could withstand an attacker. We help our clients to know the questions to ask of their external or internal IT provider, and how to leverage other security controls from existing resources.
Sources: [IT Security Guru][Beta News]
Generative AI Considered a Security Risk by 60% of Board Members. How Organisations Can Prepare
A recent report conducted by Proofpoint found that 60% of board members consider generative AI a security risk.
The rapid development and adoption of AI is double-edged in nature. Whilst it can yield positive benefits if used safely and responsibility within organisations, AI is also being used to great effect by malicious actors with AI abuse growing beyond phishing to increasing the efficacy of multistage attacks, being used to generated malware, and carrying out different types of social engineering attacks.
For this reason Boards and senior leaders are right to be concerned and should ensure appropriate measures are being taken.
Sources: [TheNationalNews] [SCMagazine] [CyberSecurityNews]
Further reading: [BusinessCloud.co.uk] [WIRED UK] [Help Net Security]
Businesses Ignore Incident Response at Their Peril
According to a UK Government report, a quarter of businesses don’t regard cyber incident response skills as essential and almost half said they weren’t confident they could put together an incident response plan. This led to 41% saying they were not very or not at all confident that they would be able to deal with a cyber security breach or attack.
Unfortunately, this leaves many organisations in a situation where they will have to learn the hard way about the implications of not having an incident response plan. A separate government report found that 37% of those hit by a cyber attack said it impacted operations and a quarter experienced negative consequences such as loss of money or data.
One of the ways organisations can circumnavigate their lack of confidence in their ability to construct an incident response plan is to use cyber security experts to construct it.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Blame Culture: An Organisation’s Ticking Time Bomb
An organisation’s attitude and responses to cyber security are almost as important as the actions taken to prevent cyber attacks. “Lessons learnt” are a common feature within mature and cyber resilient organisations. Incidents are a matter of when not if, and it is important that organisations know how to react.
Taking the example of a phishing attack, it is easy to blame the employee who opened it, potentially firing them. With phishing simulations, it is equally easy to discipline an employee who fell for it. The problem is, neither of these focus on what can be learned, such as why the employee fell for it in the first place. Additionally, there is the potential that employees become reserved or reticent about reporting potential events, due to the fear of being disciplined. This can be the difference between an organisation having an early detection of an incident and being able to invoke incident response plans sooner, or leaving the attacker in the system doing damage for longer before being reported.
Source: [ IT Security Guru]
Spend to Save: CFOs and Cyber Security Investment
For chief financial officers (CFOs), the increasing impact of data breaches creates a paradox. While more spending is necessary to combat these challenges, this spending isn’t directly tied to profit. Instead, cyber security spending is all about return on investment.
When looking at spending, CFOs need to keep in mind that the total cost of a breach is more than the initial currency loss: there is the knock-on effect of reputation and losses in customers. But it is not a case of spending more to protect more; spending must be tailored to the organisation and prioritise in terms of business needs.
Source: [Security Intelligence]
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets for Attackers, Including Nation-State Actors
An increasing number of attacks by nation-state attackers are targeting cyber security tools in their campaigns. This includes the recent attacks on US officials which attacked and gained access through the firewalls of the victim. Security vendors, just like anyone, will have flaws in their software: there will be vulnerabilities. As such, organisations need to be aware of these vulnerabilities and when support runs out for their cyber security tools, to better protect themselves.
Source: [News Week]
Attackers Access UK Military Data Through Third Party Supplier as Relentless Russian Cyber Attacks Raise Spectre of WW3
Top secret military data from the UK’s Ministry of Defence was stolen and then sold by the ransomware gang LockBit. How, you might ask? Through a rogue Windows 7 PC that belonged to their fencing supplier, Zaun. The LockBit Ransom group conducted the attack on the supplier’s network, and Zaun admitted the group may have exfiltrated 10GB of data.
Many attackers have realised that if you cannot directly attack an organisation, then the supplier can present a way in. Organisations need to be sure of their suppliers’ security, and conduct third party security assessments to identify the risk the supplier may present to the organisation itself.
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.
Source: [The Register] [Tech Monitor]
Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs
PDFs are often seen as safe, something that cannot be used by an attacker, but that’s wrong. Actors are using this trustworthiness, as well as the difficulty in detection and ubiquity of PDFs, to weaponise them. Common tactics involve malicious hyperlinks within PDFs and macros that run when a PDF is opened, and in some cases attackers are disguising a malicious Word document as a PDF to evade detection.
Source: [Cyber Security News]
Years-old Microsoft Security Holes Still Hot Targets for Cyber Criminals
A recent report has found that Microsoft vulnerabilities as old as 6 years are still being exploited, with one recorded as being exploited as recently as 31 August. In fact, since this particular vulnerability was fixed, it has been used to deploy 467 different malware types. This is not the number of attacks, but the number of different types of malware used in attacks.
The concept isn’t just for Microsoft. Many organisations do not employ effective patching strategies, and as such leave the doors open to attackers. Sometimes, these doors are open for years.
Source: [The Register]
Popular ‘As-a-Service’ Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m
As-a-service operations allow attackers to employ sophisticated attacks without the need for extensive knowledge; they simply just purchase the ability. Take phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS), where an attacker with very limited cyber knowledge simply needs to purchase a phishing kit and they are then well-equipped to target organisations. This availability in tools creates a significant surge in the number of cyber criminals, with one scheme alone raking in $64.5 billion in illegal gains.
Source: [IT Security Guru]
71% of Organisations are Impacted by Cyber Security Skills Shortage
Most organisations (71%) report that they’ve been impacted by the cyber security skills shortage, leading to an increased workload for the cyber security team (61%), unfilled open job requisitions (49%) and high burnout among staff (43%). Further, 95% respondents state the cyber security skills shortage and its associated impacts have not improved over the past few years and 54% (up 10% from 2021) say it has got worse.
Organisations need to continue maintaining and improving their security while their cyber security positions remain unfilled. Black Arrow supports firms to achieve this by providing expert resources on a flexible basis for technical, governance and transformational positions.
Source: [Security Magazine] [Digital Journal]
Multiple Schools Hit by Cyber Attacks Before Term Begins
Ahead of the new school term, a number of schools have become the victim of serious cyber attacks. The education sector isn’t a new target, with previous ransomware reports finding the education sector to account for 16% of victims.
The education sector remains a target due to the valuable data they hold, large attack surfaces and frequently a lack of resources and budgets, something many small and medium-sized business may share.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
The importance of CISOs is not recognised by senior leadership - IT Security Guru
Blame Culture: An Organisation's Ticking Time Bomb - IT Security Guru
Spend to save: The CFO’s guide to cyber security investment (securityintelligence.com)
SEC tells companies to “show their work” on cyber security - Red Canary
Cyber security: a life cycle, not a destination | Hydrocarbon Engineering
Rising Physical Incidents Should Drive C-Level Investment & Action (forbes.com)
Compliance budgets under strain as inflation and workload grow - Help Net Security
Cyber Security pros battle discontent amid skills shortage - Help Net Security
CISOs weigh in on building security-focused culture | Healthcare IT News
How Do Some Companies Get Compromised Again and Again? (securityintelligence.com)
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ministry of Defence documents leaked by LockBit (techmonitor.ai)
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Ransomware attackers are targeting exposed Microsoft SQL databases, report says (therecord.media)
Ransomware and Data Breaches: Impacts Continue to Grow Louder (govtech.com)
Education Sector Heavily Targeted as the School Year Begins (databreaches.net)
Killware vs. Ransomware: What's the Difference? (makeuseof.com)
Is this the next target for international ransomware attacks? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
To Pay or Not to Pay? The Ransomware Dilemma (informationweek.com)
Snake Ransomware Endangers Your Data: How Can You Stop It? (makeuseof.com)
How to Prevent Ransomware: 6 Key Steps to Safeguard Assets (techtarget.com)
Ransomware Victims
LockBit Leaks Documents Filched From UK Defence Contractor (darkreading.com)
Ministry of Defence documents leaked in cyber attack (civilserviceworld.com)
Debenham High School IT system hit by cyber attack - BBC News
Highgate Wood School delays term by 6 days after cyber attack | This Is Local London
Cyber attack hits Wokingham's Maiden Erlegh School | Reading Chronicle
Ransomware gang claims credit for Sabre data breach | TechCrunch
Hackers claim to publish prominent Israeli hospital’s patient data (therecord.media)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
AI abuse grows beyond phishing to multistage cyber attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Google is enabling Chrome real-time phishing protection for everyone (bleepingcomputer.com)New phishing tool hijacked thousands of Microsoft business email accounts (therecord.media)
Beware of New Fileless Malware that Propagates Via Spam Mail (cybersecuritynews.com)
Spam is up, QR codes emerge as a significant threat vector - Help Net Security
From unsuspecting click to data compromise - Help Net Security
Alert: Phishing Campaigns Deliver New SideTwist Backdoor and Agent Tesla Variant (thehackernews.com)
Getting off the hook: 10 steps to take after clicking on a phishing link (welivesecurity.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
How cyber criminals use look-alike domains to impersonate brands - Help Net Security
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI considered a security risk by 60% of board members, survey finds (thenationalnews.com)
AI ‘triggers DeepTech anxiety for senior leaders’ (businesscloud.co.uk)
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
AI abuse grows beyond phishing to multistage cyber attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
UK tech tsar warns of AI cyber threat to NHS | Financial Times (ft.com)
It's the summer of adversarial chatbots. Here's how to defend against them - SiliconANGLE
Will the AI Arms Race Lead to the Pollution of the Internet? (darkreading.com)
UK cyber chief urges ‘Security by Design’ in AI development (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)
Generative AI’s Biggest Security Flaw Is Not Easy to Fix | WIRED UK
Developers have security, other generative AI concerns but use it anyway - ARN (arnnet.com.au)
How Companies Can Cope With the Risks of Generative AI Tools (darkreading.com)
3 ways to strike the right balance with generative AI - Help Net Security
Peril vs. Promise: Companies, Developers Worry Over Generative AI Risk (darkreading.com)
Experts Probe AI Risks Around Malicious Use, China Influence (govinfosecurity.com)
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
Malware
Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs (cybersecuritynews.com)
'Atomic macOS Stealer' Malware Delivered via Malvertising Campaign - SecurityWeek
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
UNRAVELING EternalBlue: inside the WannaCry’s enabler (securityaffairs.com)
Malware configurations How to find and use them? (govinfosecurity.com)
Beware of New Fileless Malware that Propagates Via Spam Mail (cybersecuritynews.com)
New Python Variant of Chaes Malware Targets Banking and Logistics Industries (thehackernews.com)
New BLISTER Malware Update Fuelling Stealthy Network Infiltration (thehackernews.com)
Alert: Phishing Campaigns Deliver New SideTwist Backdoor and Agent Tesla Variant (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Hacking device Flipper Zero can spam nearby iPhones with Bluetooth pop-ups | TechCrunch
September Android updates fix zero-day exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hacker exploits security flaw to target iPhone users with 'notification attack' | Macworld
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
DDoS attack took down the site of German financial agency BaFin (securityaffairs.com)
Mirai variant infects low-cost Android TV boxes for DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Releases Capacity Enhancement Guide to Strengthen Agency Resilience to DDoS Attack | CISA
BYOD
Internet of Things – IoT
Securing The IoT From The Threat China Poses To US Infrastructure (forbes.com)
Connected cars and cyber crime: A primer - Help Net Security
Hacking device Flipper Zero can spam nearby iPhones with Bluetooth pop-ups | TechCrunch
Mirai variant infects low-cost Android TV boxes for DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why consumer drones represent a special cyber security risk (securityintelligence.com)
Like privacy? Then smart devices are a dumb idea • The Register
Maker of ‘smart’ chastity cage left users’ emails, passwords, and locations exposed | TechCrunch
Data Breaches/Leaks
Electoral Commission failed basic security test before hack - BBC News
Insurer fined $3M for exposing data of 650k clients for two years (bleepingcomputer.com)
Golf gear giant Callaway data breach exposes info of 1.1 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
Freecycle confirms massive data breach impacting 7 million users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Popular Websites Leaking Secrets - SecurityWeek
Johnson & Johnson discloses IBM data breach impacting patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
Northern Ireland police chief quits in wake of data breach • The Register
Lawsuit blames Tesla for data breach it sued ex-staff over • The Register
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Popular 'As-a-Service' Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m - IT Security Guru
Cyber Crime Tremors: Experts Forecast Qakbot Resurgence (govinfosecurity.com)
It might be too soon to claim victory against Qakbot | Computer Weekly
Cyber crime to cost Germany 206 billion euros in 2023, survey finds | Reuters
Cyber criminals coercing children in their own bedrooms | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
YouTuber Loses $60K Worth of Crypto After Showing Seed Phrases on Stream - Decrypt
Who Pulled Off a $41M Online Casino Heist? North Korea, FBI Says (vice.com)
Is this the next target for international ransomware attacks? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Bitcoin exchange exec admits he ignored anti-laundering laws • The Register
Cyber criminals target graphic designers with GPU miners (talosintelligence.com)
LastPass under fire again as users report stolen crypto keys and losses | Cybernews
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Popular 'As-a-Service' Operations Have Earned Cyber criminals over $64m - IT Security Guru
Fake YouPorn extortion scam threatens to leak your sex tape (bleepingcomputer.com)
Four Convicted in $18m Investment Fraud Scheme - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Global roaming fraud losses to surpass $8 billion by 2028 - Help Net Security
Airlines Battle Surge in Loyalty Program Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How We Track Crypto Money Laundering for Off-Chain Crime (chainalysis.com)
See Tickets Alerts 300,000 Customers After Another Web Skimmer Attack - SecurityWeek
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
Impersonation Attacks
'Smishing Triad' Targeted USPS and US Citizens for Data Theft (securityaffairs.com)
How cyber criminals use look-alike domains to impersonate brands - Help Net Security
Deepfakes
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
AML/CFT/Sanctions
How We Track Crypto Money Laundering for Off-Chain Crime (chainalysis.com)
Four Convicted in $18m Investment Fraud Scheme - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Bitcoin exchange exec admits he ignored anti-laundering laws • The Register
Insurance
Insights Into the Changing Landscape of Cyber Insurance - Frost Brown Todd | Full-Service Law Firm
Time and effort to obtain cyber insurance increasing for US businesses | CSO Online
Beazley expects to sponsor more cyber catastrophe bonds in 2024 - Artemis.bm
Lloyd’s categorises cyber war wordings in aggregation clarity push (insuranceinsider.com)
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Ministry of Defence documents leaked by LockBit (techmonitor.ai)
Supply chain related security risks, and how to protect against them (malwarebytes.com)
5 ways to improve your supply chain security posture | IT Reseller Magazine (itrportal.com)
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Creating a more cyber secure supply chain requires group effort - FreightWaves
Facing Third-Party Threats With Non-Employee Risk Management (darkreading.com)
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Step Up Your Defence Against Cloud-loving Cyber Criminals (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Hybrid/Remote Working
Attack Surface Management
What OSINT is, and why it’s dangerous | Kaspersky official blog
Armis report sheds light on top 10 targeted assets by cyber attackers - SiliconANGLE
Top 10 riskiest assets threatening global business - IT Security Guru
Encryption
Government denies U-turn on encrypted messaging row - BBC News
UK lawmakers back down on encryption-busting 'spy clause' | CyberScoop
API
Open Source
Software industry urged to assume risk on open source security | CIO Dive
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
It's a Zero-day? It's Malware? No! It's Username and Password (thehackernews.com)
Chrome extensions can steal plaintext passwords from websites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hacker gains admin control of Sourcegraph and gives free access to the masses | Ars Technica
Passwords From The November 2022 LastPass Breach Being Cracked? - PC Perspective
LastPass under fire again as users report stolen crypto keys and losses | Cybernews
Maker of ‘smart’ chastity cage left users’ emails, passwords, and locations exposed | TechCrunch
75% of education sector attacks linked to compromised accounts - Help Net Security
Social Media
Malvertising
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Children's snack recalled after its website caught serving porn (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber criminals coercing children in their own bedrooms | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
SEC tells companies to “show their work” on cyber security - Red Canary
Verizon to pay feds $4M over cyber security lapse | Light Reading
Government denies U-turn on encrypted messaging row - BBC News
UK drops 'spy clause' for scanning encrypted messages • The Register
Models, Frameworks and Standards
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
CIS Benchmarks Communities: Where configurations meet consensus - Help Net Security
Explaining The New NIST Cyber Security Framework to the C-Suite
Backup and Recovery
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
71% of organisations are impacted by cyber security skills shortage | Security Magazine
Cyber Security Skills Gap set to cost UK £120 billion by 2023 - Essex-TV
6 free resources for getting started in cyber security - Help Net Security
Cyber professionals say industry urgently needs to confront mental health crisis | CyberScoop
Cyber security pros battle discontent amid skills shortage - Help Net Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
It might be too soon to claim victory against Qakbot | Computer Weekly
Cops drill into chat apps to thwart coke-smuggling ring • The Register
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
Russia-linked attackers hit UK Ministry of Defence, leak stolen data | CSO Online
Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyber war with Russia : NPR
China and Russia are pushing the boundaries of cyber attacks to harm other states - CityAM
Ukraine's CERT Thwarts APT28's Cyber Attack on Critical Energy Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Russia-linked hack on Trident base sparks 'World War Three' warning from expert (yahoo.com)
Russia, China behind majority of cyber attacks targeting German businesses (aa.com.tr)
Elon Musk's Father Fears Possible Assassination Attempt on His Son (businessinsider.com)
Big Tech failed to police Russian disinformation: EU study • The Register
North Korea hackers going after Russian targets, Microsoft says, World News - AsiaOne
China
How China gets free intel on tech companies’ vulnerabilities | Ars Technica
Experts Probe AI Risks Around Malicious Use, China Influence (govinfosecurity.com)
How Microsoft's highly secure environment was breached (malwarebytes.com)
Securing The IoT From The Threat China Poses To US Infrastructure (forbes.com)
China and Russia are pushing the boundaries of cyber attacks to harm other states - CityAM
Russia, China behind majority of cyber attacks targeting German businesses (aa.com.tr)
German companies report more cyber attacks from Russia, China | Meta.mk
Microsoft finally explains cause of Azure breach: An engineer’s account was hacked | Ars Technica
South Korean Cyber Security Concerns Over Chinese-Made Cranes, Meteorological Gear | The Epoch Times
Huawei hits back in Portugal over 5G 'ban' with lawsuit - DCD (datacenterdynamics.com)
Iran
Hackers push anti-Iranian government messages to millions via breached app | CyberScoop
Iranian hackers breach US aviation org via Zoho, Fortinet bugs (bleepingcomputer.com)
North Korea
Lazarus hackers deploy fake VMware PyPI packages in VMConnect attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Warn of Cyber Weapons Used by Lazarus Group's Andariel Cluster (thehackernews.com)
Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyber war with Russia : NPR
North Korean hackers target security researchers with new zero-day (therecord.media)
North Korea hackers going after Russian targets, Microsoft says, World News - AsiaOne
Who Pulled Off a $41M Online Casino Heist? North Korea, FBI Says (vice.com)
Misc Nation State/Cyber Warfare
Nation-state 'hot zones' offer view of the future of cyber war – report - CIR Magazine
Lloyd’s categorises cyber war wordings in aggregation clarity push (insuranceinsider.com)
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets For Nation-State Hackers (newsweek.com)
Multiple Nation-State Threat Actors Exploit CVE-2022-47966 and CVE-2022-42475 | CISA
Vulnerability Management
Years-old Microsoft bugs are still hot targets for criminals • The Register
Old vulnerabilities are still a big problem - Help Net Security
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
How China gets free intel on tech companies’ vulnerabilities | Ars Technica
Vulnerabilities
Apple discloses 2 actively exploited zero-days in iPhones, Macs (securityaffairs.com)
Google patches 4 high-rated security issues in latest Chrome 116 update - gHacks Tech News
Two flaws in Apache SuperSet allow to remotely hack servers (securityaffairs.com)
Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerability in BroadWorks Platform - SecurityWeek
Multiple Notepad++ Flaws Let Attackers Execute Arbitrary Code (cybersecuritynews.com)
Hackers exploit MinIO storage system to breach corporate networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
ASUS routers vulnerable to critical remote code execution flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
September Android updates fix zero-day exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco SSO authentication bug patched - Security - Networking - iTnews
Multiple Nation-State Threat Actors Exploit CVE-2022-47966 and CVE-2022-42475 | CISA
Security or performance? Zenbleed forces you to choose | Digital Trends
Tools and Controls
Many businesses still aren't using BYOD protection | TechRadar
Insights Into the Changing Landscape of Cyber Insurance - Frost Brown Todd | Full-Service Law Firm
Spend to save: The CFO’s guide to cyber security investment (securityintelligence.com)
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
IOCs vs Artifacts How to Filter Out the Noise (govinfosecurity.com)
Time and effort to obtain cyber insurance increasing for US businesses | CSO Online
Chrome extensions can steal plaintext passwords from websites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dangling DNS Used to Hijack Subdomains of Major Organisations - SecurityWeek
Why DNS Security Can Be Your Most Problematic Blind Spot (hyas.com)
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets For Nation-State Hackers (newsweek.com)
Rising Physical Incidents Should Drive C-Level Investment & Action (forbes.com)
Why Cyber Security Risk Assessment Matters in the Banking Industry (securityintelligence.com)
Cut through cyber security vendor hype with these 6 tips | TechTarget
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Best practices for implementing a proper backup strategy - Help Net Security
Other News
Education Sector Heavily Targeted as the School Year Begins (databreaches.net)
Schools warned of cyberattack threat as new year begins | Science & Tech News | Sky News
Ways to protect WordPress sites and blogs from hacking | Kaspersky official blog
Insecure by design: What you need to know about defending critical infrastructure | CSO Online
Half of Switzerland's large companies have been the victim of a cyber attack | Euronews
Dangling DNS Used to Hijack Subdomains of Major Organizations - SecurityWeek
Securing the future: Safeguarding cyber-physical systems | CSO Online
25 Major Car Brands Get Failing Marks From Mozilla for Security and Privacy - SecurityWeek
Cyber security In Focus Ahead Of Berlin NATO Conference | OilPrice.com
10 old-school security principles that (still) rule | CSO Online
Surge in Hospital Hacks Endangers Patients, Cyber Official Says - WSJ
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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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 Cyber Threat Briefing 18th August 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 18 August 2023:
-Ransomware Group Targeting MSPs Worldwide in New Campaign
-As Ransomware Surges, A lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable
-Business Email Compromise Attack Costs Far Exceeding Ransomware Losses
-Email Phishing Remains the Main Entry for Cyber Criminals; People with Six Personality Traits are More Susceptible
-Gartner Study Finds Generative AI to be a Top Emerging Risk for Organisations
-LinkedIn Suffers Significant Wave of Account Hacks
-High Net-Worth Families are at Risk of Cyber Crime
-Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers
-PSNI and UK Voter Breaches Show Data Security Should be Taken More Seriously
-The Imperative of Cyber Preparedness: The Power of Tabletop Exercises
-Why Are Phones a Cyber Security Weak Spot?
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Ransomware Group Targeting MSPs Worldwide in New Campaign
Russia-based cyber attackers called Play are evolving, with the ransomware group now using remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools at outsourced IT providers or managed service providers (MSPs) to gain access and hit downstream customers. A significant number of eventual targets are medium sized business. The group is also utilising intermittent encryption, where files are only partly encrypted, to avoid detection.
The attacks highlight the need for organisations to be aware of where they are in the supply chain and how they can be targeted through their supplier. It is not enough for an organisation to focus on its own security in isolation; organisations also need to have a way of effectively assessing their supply chain risk which includes their MSP.
Source [Dark Reading]
As Ransomware Surges, A lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable
Ransomware attacks continue to increase, with 1500 victims confirmed this year. It is likely this figure will continue to rise. In parallel, criminals are evolving and with that comes a rise in triple extortion; attackers are not just encrypting and exfiltrating an organisation’s data, but also using this data to blackmail employees and target third parties, hitting the supply chain.
Unfortunately for SMBs, they do not have the resources to keep up with such attacks, making them the most vulnerable. A report found that organisations that had 51 to 200 employees were the most targeted, followed by organisations with 11 to 50 employees. When it came to the types of organisations, the Financial Services sector placed first.
This should not mean SMBs should just accept this and wait to be attacked; on the contrary, their increased vulnerability means that SMBs need to effectively prioritise and allocate resources, and if necessary getting in specialist external help, to ensure their protections are the best that resources allow.
Sources [WWD] [InfoSecurity Magazine] [CRN]
Business Email Compromise Attack Costs Far Exceeding Ransomware Losses
Cloudflare's 2023 Phishing Threats Report recorded a 17% spike in business email compromise (BEC) related financial losses between December 2021 and 2022, noting that threat actors are increasingly leaning on this attack method to target organisations. Additionally, across 2022 nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents to the study said they experienced an attempted or successful BEC attack. The Cloudflare report found that the financial impact of BEC led to organisations suffering losses in excess of $2.7 billion, whereas ransomware caused losses of $34.3 million during the same period.
Source [ITPro]
Email Phishing Remains the Main Entry for Cyber Criminals; People with Six Personality Traits are More Susceptible
According to a report, phishing attacks were found to be the initial attack vector for nine in ten cyber attacks. The report found that the focus of a cyber criminal tended to be two objectives: achieving authenticity and getting victims to click. Worryingly, 89% of unwanted messages were found to have bypassed authentication checks, leaving people and procedures as the last line of defence in an organisation.
A separate study found that having the following traits made a user more susceptible to phishing: extroverted, agreeable, people-pleasing, quick to trust, fearful or respectful of authority, and poor self-control.
With employees playing such an important role in preventing phishing, organisations need to ensure that employees are aware of what to look for in a phishing email with regular training to account for evolving tactics. This training should be carried out by experts with experience of conducting phishing simulations, accompanied with the ability to educate users on how they can protect themselves from falling victim.
Sources [Tech Radar] [Makeuseof]
Gartner Study Finds Generative AI to be a Top Emerging Risk for Organisations
In a recent survey, Gartner found that generative AI models such as ChatGPT were the second greatest emerging risk, with concerns around data privacy. This has led to organisations looking to ban such AI, with a separate report by Blackberry finding that ChatGPT faced banning from 75% of organisations.
Banning AI in the organisation is a short-term solution. The benefits of AI are clear and its usefulness in an organisation is significant, with reports finding 75% of IT leaders in favour. Organisations should instead look at how they can govern the usage of AI in their organisation, to reduce the risk of AI-related incidents and improve the effectiveness of work.
Sources [Security Magazine] [Analytics Insight] [IT Security Guru] [Decrypt]
LinkedIn Suffers Significant Wave of Account Hacks
LinkedIn users are reporting losing access to their accounts, with some being pressured into paying a ransom to get back in or else face permanent account deletion. LinkedIn is no stranger to being a target of cyber criminals; last year, the platform was deemed the most abused brand in phishing attempts likely due to its recognisability and widespread use in the corporate world. This extended as far as threat actors using fake LinkedIn profiles.
With the number of accounts being compromised, users need to be vigilant in their use of LinkedIn and be on the lookout for suspicious messages. Black Arrow recommends that users ensure they are using strong and unique passwords, combined with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect themselves.
Source [Dark Reading]
High Net-Worth Families are at Risk of Cyber Crime
A report found that high net-worth families have prioritised cyber security with a notable 77% of respondents stating they had a cyber security plan; however, 55% said their plan “could be better”.
A cyber security plan is not optional anymore. High net-worth families are at increased risk, with criminals cottoning on to the amount of information that is out there and the financial gain that can be made if that information is used effectively. Social media is just one of the things increasing the risk of cyber crime; unbeknownst to some families, their social media may be providing criminals a treasure trove of insight into a family’s wealth, real-time location and habits. Such information can be used by a cyber criminal to employ attacks.
Source [Campdenfb]
Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued rules that formally outlined directors’ responsibilities in cyber security governance for the first time, laying the groundwork for potential enforcement actions. The recently issued rules bring potential regulatory probes and shareholder legal class action alleging senior executives failed to supervise their businesses’ cyber security practices.
Although the practice is not yet universal, a growing number of director and officer (D&O) policies are being drafted with cyber related exclusions. Meanwhile, most cyber insurance policies exempt SEC enforcement actions and investor claims, but some cover allegations against a company’s executives over their cyber security roles.
Whilst this is only in the US at the moment, other developed nations are likely to follow suit.
Source [Bloomberg Law]
PSNI and UK Voter Breaches Show Data Security Should be Taken More Seriously
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the UK Electoral Commission both suffered cyber incidents on the same day. Whilst both incidents were different in how they happened, the result was the same: sensitive information had been leaked. In the case of the PSNI, the data was leaked through a response to a freedom of information (FOI) request, in which an Excel sheet was accidentally included by the PSNI. The Electoral Commission incident resulted from a cyber attack.
The incidents are a wake-up call for organisations. If you have not already done so, you need to put things in place to help protect your data from ending up online. The PSNI incident in particular highlights the need to ensure that data does not leave the organisation by accident.
Source [The Guardian]
The Imperative of Cyber Preparedness: The Power of Tabletop Exercises
Cyber security has become an inescapable concern for organisations across industries. With cyber threats ranging from data breaches to ransomware attacks, it is paramount that companies remain vigilant and prepared.
A key way to be prepared is through a tabletop exercise that simulates a hypothetical cyber security incident and helps organisations to practice and evaluate their response. One example scenario can be responding to a ransomware attack blocking access to the organisation's computers for a ransom. These exercises serve as a practical, engaging, and low-risk way for teams to identify vulnerabilities in current plans, improve coordination, and evaluate the decision-making process during a crisis and this is something that we do with our clients on a regular basis.
Source [JDSupra]
Why Are Phones a Cyber Security Weak Spot?
Mobile phones are more interconnected than ever, with their usage extending to the workplace. Despite this, they often enter the corporate environment with a lack of protection and oversight. When laptops are in the corporate environment they are often secured through methods such as encryption and often the organisation has a clear oversight of the applications and activity on the laptop. Mobile phones on the other hand, are often left unmonitored, despite the fact they can and often do carry sensitive information.
Mobile phones also carry additional risks; for a start, they are easier to lose, due to their size difference and the fact they are often out more. In addition, they may have more entry points. Internet of things (IoT) devices, such as smart appliances, are often controlled by phones, making them another entry point for an attacker.
Source [Tech Shout]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable to Ransomware Attacks – WWD
1 in 5 CIOs Believe Cyber Security Ops Are Not An Immediate Priority - IT Security Guru
Cyber threat risks reach three-year high – Avast (securitybrief.co.nz)
Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers (bloomberglaw.com)
Why Finance Leaders In Midsize Businesses Are Stepping Up Cyber security Efforts (forbes.com)
Why are ultra-high-net-worth families at increased risk of cyber crime? | Campden FB
Traditional vs. Enterprise Risk Management: How Do They Differ? (techtarget.com)
4 reasons to understand technology risks when buying a business (businessplus.ie)
Boards Don't Want Security Promises — They Want Action (darkreading.com)
Cyber attacks and data protection worries loom large | Natasha Doris | CDR Article (cdr-news.com)
How threats to mid-sized businesses impact us all - Help Net Security
7 Reasons People Don't Understand What You Tell Them (darkreading.com)
6 Cyber Threat Areas for Companies and Organisations to Prioritize (forbes.com)
How poor cyber security policies disrupt business continuity - IT Security Guru
Cyber Prevention, Training Attract More Spend Than Remediation, Recovery, Execs Say - | MSSP Alert
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Lack of Resources Makes SMBs Most Vulnerable to Ransomware Attacks – WWD
Business email compromise attack costs far exceeding ransomware losses | ITPro
Reported ransomware attacks doubled in key sectors (securitybrief.co.nz)
'Play' Ransomware Group Targeting MSPs Worldwide in New Campaign (darkreading.com)
As Ransomware Gangs Shift To Data Extortion, Some Adopt A New Tactic: ‘Customer Service’ | CRN
Triple Extortion Ransomware and the Cyber Crime Supply Chain (bleepingcomputer.com)
Companies are finding it harder to detect ransomware | TechRadar
Top 3 Ransomware Attack Vectors And How To Avoid Them (techtarget.com)
Knight ransomware distributed in fake Tripadvisor complaint emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
'DoubleDrive' attack turns Microsoft OneDrive into ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Why Hospitals Are Being Increasingly Targeted by Cyber Attacks | Chicago News | WTTW
'Bulletproof' Lolekhosted ransomware hacker indicted (cnbc.com)
LOLEKHosted admin arrested for aiding Netwalker ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Monti ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers with new Linux locker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Crimeware server used by NetWalker ransomware seized and shut down – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Rapid7 Says ROI for Ransomware Remains High; Zero-Day Usage Expands - SecurityWeek
Sophos: ‘Royal’ Is Trying to Make Itself the King of Ransomware (darkreading.com)
Microsoft: BlackCat's Sphynx ransomware embeds Impacket, RemCom (bleepingcomputer.com)
3 strategies that can help stop ransomware before it becomes a crisis | CSO Online
Latitude Financial takes profit hit from major cyber attack | The West Australian
Ransomware down 57%, Secureworks warns against complacency (securitybrief.co.nz)
Ransomware Diaries: Volume 3 – LockBit’s Secrets (databreaches.net)
HHS Launches 'Digiheals' Project to Better Protect US Hospitals From Ransomware | WIRED
Ransomware Renaissance 2023: The Definitive Guide to Stay Safer (securityintelligence.com)
How to Create a Ransomware Incident Response Plan (techtarget.com)
Ransomware Victims
Several hospitals still counting the cost of widespread ransomware attack (malwarebytes.com)
Has leading UK jeweller been hit by BianLian ransomware gang? (techmonitor.ai)
Cyber attack on Bay area vendor cripples real estate industry (therealdeal.com)
Colorado warns 4 million of data stolen in IBM MOVEit breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Millions of Americans’ health data stolen after MOVEit hackers targeted IBM | TechCrunch
LockBit claims seven new victims in ransomware spree (techmonitor.ai)
Cyber attack strikes Prince George's County schools, district says - The Washington Post
Clorox Operations Disrupted By Cyber Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Inside Housing - News - Hackney to procure new IT system after cyber attack
Largest switching and terminal railroad in US investigating ransomware data theft (therecord.media)
Honor Among Cyber Criminals? Why a Canadian Firm Paid Ransom (inforisktoday.com)
Alberta dental benefits administrator hit by cyber attack | Edmonton Sun
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing remains most dominant, fastest growing internet crime (securitybrief.co.nz)
If You Have These 6 Personality Traits, You're More Vulnerable to Phishing Scams (makeuseof.com)
Business email compromise attack costs far exceeding ransomware losses | ITPro
Reports show 62% jump in phishing attacks last year - The Hindu BusinessLine
Phishing Operators Make Ready Use of Abandoned Websites for Bait (darkreading.com)
3 Major Email Security Standards Prove Too Porous for the Task (darkreading.com)
Cyber Security Experts: AI Could Be Phishing Schemes’ Ultimate Weapon — Or Worse - The Messenger
Spear Phishing vs Phishing: How to Tell the Difference (techrepublic.com)
How to Prevent Phishing Attacks with Multi-Factor Authentication (techrepublic.com)
As Phishing Gets Even Sneakier, Browser Security Needs to Step Up (darkreading.com)
Email security vendor leaves 2M domains open to phishing hacks, study finds (axios.com)
Cyber Criminals Abusing Cloudflare R2 for Hosting Phishing Pages, Experts Warn (thehackernews.com)
'Gold mine' phishing scams rob Main Street on social media like Meta (cnbc.com)
Malicious QR code hacking campaign is targeting Microsoft credentials - SiliconANGLE
Phishing campaign steals accounts for Zimbra email servers worlwide (bleepingcomputer.com)
30% of phishing threats involve newly registered domains - Help Net Security
Russian Hackers Use Zulip Chat App for Covert C&C in Diplomatic Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Gone Phishing: An Analysis of a Targeted User Attack (huntress.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI a Top Emerging Risk for Organisations: Gartner Survey - Decrypt
ChatGPT Faces Ban from 75% of Organisations: Blackberry Report (analyticsinsight.net)
AI Is Coming For Your Data: 6 Steps To Ensure Cyber Resilience (forbes.com)
New study by AMD finds nearly half of organisations are not ready for AI - IT Security Guru
Over 74% of organisations see a rise in AI use by cyber criminals | Security Magazine
Navigating generative AI risks and regulatory challenges - Help Net Security
Cyber security Experts: AI Could Be Phishing Schemes’ Ultimate Weapon — Or Worse - The Messenger
Top 10 AI Security Risks According to OWASP (trendmicro.com)
AI 'evil twins' may already be manipulating human nature | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber security practitioners' generative AI dilemma (iapp.org)
People Coaxed AI Into Giving Wrong Math Answers, System Prone to Flaws (businessinsider.com)
Following Pushback, Zoom Says It Won't Use Customer Data to Train AI Models (darkreading.com)
AI Can Decipher Passwords by Listening to Keystrokes Over Zoom: Study (businessinsider.com)
Fake Out: Disinformation Campaigns Get Generative AI Boost (inforisktoday.com)
2FA/MFA
How to prevent multifactor authentication fatigue attacks - SiliconANGLE
How to Prevent Phishing Attacks with Multi-Factor Authentication (techrepublic.com)
Malware
Potent Trojans Targeting MacOS Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Approximately 2000 Citrix NetScaler servers were backdoored in massive campaign-Security Affairs
Almost 2,000 Citrix NetScaler servers backdoored in hacking campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
XWorm, Remcos RAT Evade EDRs to Infect Critical Infrastructure (darkreading.com)
An Apple Malware-Flagging Tool Is ‘Trivially’ Easy to Bypass | WIRED
Macs are getting compromised to act as proxy exit nodes - Help Net Security
Malware Dwell Time: Everything You Need to Know (makeuseof.com)
Gootloader SEO watering hole malware targets law firms | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Raccoon Stealer malware returns with new stealthier version (bleepingcomputer.com)
Beware! Subscription malware arms hackers with tools to steal your private data | Laptop Mag
New Financial Malware 'JanelaRAT' Targets Latin American Users (thehackernews.com)
Malware Unleashed: Public Sector Hit in Sudden Surge, Reveals New Report (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Hackers Suspected in New Wave of Malicious npm Packages (thehackernews.com)
Stories from the SOC - Unveiling the stealthy tactics of Aukill malware (att.com)
Massive 400,000 proxy botnet built with stealthy malware infections (bleepingcomputer.com)
Users of cyber crime forums often fall victim to info-stealers, researchers find (therecord.media)
Turns out AI probably isn't very good at writing malware • The Register
Malware Turning Windows Machines Into Proxies (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Mobile
Lapsus$ hackers took SIM-swapping attacks to the next level (bleepingcomputer.com)
Does Turning Your Android Phone Off Protect You From Malware? (makeuseof.com)
3 Mobile or Client-Side Security Myths Debunked (darkreading.com)
Cyber Criminals Targeting Victims through Mobile Beta-Testing Applications (ic3.gov)
Threat actors use beta apps to bypass mobile app store security (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI warns of money-stealing fake beta-release mobile apps • The Register
Three reasons why your smartphone needs security protection (securitybrief.co.nz)
Unsupported Compression Methods Enable Android Malware to Bypass Detection (zimperium.com)
This $70 device can spoof an Apple device and trick you into sharing your password | TechCrunch
Botnets
Massive 400,000 proxy botnet built with stealthy malware infections (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mirai Common Attack Methods Remain Consistent, Effective (darkreading.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Runaway Charger: The Major Threat Of Hacking EV Stations (slashgear.com)
Ford says cars with WiFi vulnerability still safe to drive (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Electoral Commission had unpatched vulnerability on server • The Register
UK Police Data Breach Exposes Victim Information - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
UK govt contractor MPD FM leaks employee passport data-Security Affairs
Cumbria Police accidentally publish officers' names and salaries online (bitdefender.com)
LinkedIn hack: You need to check your LinkedIn account - gHacks Tech News
ICO reprimands law firm over data breach that saw money stolen - Legal Futures
How & Why Cyber Criminals Fabricate Data Leaks (darkreading.com)
Researchers find sensitive personal data in over 30% of cloud assets | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Insurance Data Breach Victims File Class-Action Suit Against Law Firm (darkreading.com)
The most notable data breaches of 2023… So far | IT Reseller Magazine (itrportal.com)
Discord.io confirms breach after hacker steals data of 760K users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Millions of Americans’ health data stolen after MOVEit hackers targeted IBM | TechCrunch
Man arrested in Northern Ireland police data leak • The Register
teiss - News - PBI data breach impacted more than 1.2m customers of Wilton Reassurance Life Company
Here’s what you need to do after your personal data is breached (telegraph.co.uk)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Meet the Most (In)Famous Hacking Groups Active Today (makeuseof.com)
Cyber security researchers become target of criminal hackers | Financial Times (ft.com)
Lapsus$ hackers took SIM-swapping attacks to the next level (bleepingcomputer.com)
How & Why Cyber Criminals Fabricate Data Leaks (darkreading.com)
Who Are Script Kiddies? Are They a Threat to Your Security? (makeuseof.com)
Researchers Harvest, Analyse 100K Cyber Crime Forum Credentials (darkreading.com)
File sharing site Anonfiles shuts down due to overwhelming abuse (bleepingcomputer.com)
How Innovation Accelerators Are at Work on the Dark Side (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail • The Register
Web3 projects suffered from forty-two exploits within a week (coinpaper.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail • The Register
UK gov keeps repeating its voter registration website is NOT a scam (bleepingcomputer.com)
“Grab hold and give it a wiggle” – ATM card skimming is still a thing – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Latin Americans Fall Prey to More Online Scams, Cyber Attacks (insurancejournal.com)
The road ahead for ecommerce fraud prevention - Help Net Security
A Huge Scam Targeting Kids With Roblox and Fortnite 'Offers' Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight | WIRED
Insurance
Cyber Attack Rule Raises Insurance Risks for Corporate Officers (bloomberglaw.com)
Insurance Data Breach Victims File Class-Action Suit Against Law Firm (darkreading.com)
The cyber security insurance market is estimated at USD 14.4 (globenewswire.com)
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Building Cyber security into the supply chain is essential as threats mount (att.com)
Why the public sector still loves Capita (even though it got hacked) - Tech Monitor
Experts Uncover Weaknesses in PowerShell Gallery Enabling Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
PowerShell Gallery Prone to Typosquatting, Other Supply Chain Attacks (darkreading.com)
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
'DoubleDrive' attack turns Microsoft OneDrive into ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Researchers find sensitive personal data in over 30% of cloud assets | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Amazon AWS distances itself from Moq amid data collection controversy (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adapting to the Cloud Era of Cyber security: How CISO’s Priorities Are Evolving | Network Computing
Datacentre management vulnerabilities leave public clouds at risk | Computer Weekly
Spear Phishing vs Phishing: How to Tell the Difference (techrepublic.com)
Containers
Encryption
UK Government Slammed For Encryption Mistruths - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
WhatsApp is right to be angry about the UK’s encryption mess | The Spectator
Google adds post-quantum encryption key protection to Chrome • The Register
API
The Evolution of API: From Commerce to Cloud-Security Affairs
How financial services cyber regulations are hotting up for API security (betanews.com)
Open Source
Why a Software Bill of Materials Is Business-Critical - The Futurum Group
Monti Ransomware Returns with New Linux Variant and Enhanced Evasion Tactics (thehackernews.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
6 best practices to defend against corporate account takeover attacks | CSO Online
What's the State of Credential theft in 2023? (thehackernews.com)
Building a secure future without traditional passwords - Help Net Security
Are browser-stored passwords secure? | Kaspersky official blog
Passwordless is more than a buzzword among cyber security pros - Help Net Security
More hardcoded credentials than ever, and sloppy coding is to blame | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
AI Can Decipher Passwords by Listening to Keystrokes Over Zoom: Study (businessinsider.com)
Social Media
LinkedIn hack: You need to check your LinkedIn account - gHacks Tech News
LinkedIn accounts hacked in widespread hijacking campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Gold mine' phishing scams rob Main Street on social media like Meta (cnbc.com)
Malvertising
Adblock 360 Adware Extension: 3 Ways to Remove for Good - MSPoweruser
Malvertisers up their game against researchers (malwarebytes.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Navigating generative AI risks and regulatory challenges - Help Net Security
UK Government Slammed For Encryption Mistruths - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
ICO reprimands law firm over data breach that saw money stolen - Legal Futures
Breaking Down the New SEC Cyber security Rules | Epiq - JDSupra
Confusion Surrounds SEC's New Cyber security Material Rule (darkreading.com)
How financial services cyber regulations are hotting up for API security (betanews.com)
A closer look at the new TSA oil and gas pipeline regulations - Help Net Security
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Center for Internet Security announces secretive Microsoft partnership | StateScoop
What's New in the NIST Cyber security Framework 2.0 (darkreading.com)
Data Protection
Researchers find sensitive personal data in over 30% of cloud assets | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Amazon AWS distances itself from Moq amid data collection controversy (bleepingcomputer.com)
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
650,000 cyber jobs are now vacant: How to tackle the risk (securityintelligence.com)
Effectively upskilling cyber security professionals to help close the skills gap | CSO Online
How to overcome the challenges of today's cyber security talent shortage - SiliconANGLE
Army struggling to hire cyber staff as attacks on Britain ramp up (telegraph.co.uk)
Vietnam admits massive shortage of infosec pros • The Register
Heavy workloads driving IT professionals to resign - Help Net Security
ISC2 Announces Major Milestone as Community Grows to Half a Million Strong (prnewswire.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Polish police arrest five in swoop on Cyber Crime site - TVN24
Lapsus$ Report: Law Enforcement Battles Cyber Threats (beincrypto.com)
LOLEKHosted admin arrested for aiding Netwalker ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sextortion suspects on trial after one victim dies • The Register
Crimeware server used by NetWalker ransomware seized and shut down – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Raccoon Stealer malware back with updated version following administrator arrest (therecord.media)
Man arrested in Northern Ireland police data leak • The Register
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Amazon AWS distances itself from Moq amid data collection controversy (bleepingcomputer.com)
Following Pushback, Zoom Says It Won't Use Customer Data to Train AI Models (darkreading.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
APT29 is targeting Ministries of Foreign Affairs of NATO-aligned countries-Security Affairs
Russian spy agencies targeting Starlink with custom malware, Ukraine warns (telegraph.co.uk)
Russian-African Security Gathering Exposes Kremlin's Reduced Influence (darkreading.com)
Hacked electronic sign declares “Putin is a dickhead” as Russian ruble slumps • Graham Cluley
Russian Hackers Use Zulip Chat App for Covert C&C in Diplomatic Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Suspected spies for Russia held in major UK security investigation - BBC News
Russia turning to sleeper cells and unofficial agents | Espionage | The Guardian
China
Top US cyber official warns of infrastructure attack risk if China tensions rise (nbcnews.com)
New Zealand says it is aware of China-linked intelligence activity in country | Reuters
China teases imminent exposé of seismic US spying scheme • The Register
Chinese Espionage Group Active Across Eastern Europe (inforisktoday.com)
15,000 cyber attacks detected per second in Taiwan: Software provider - Focus Taiwan
US lawmaker says FBI notified him of email breach linked to Microsoft cloud hack | TechCrunch
Iran
German Intelligence Warns of Surge in Iranian Espionage (govinfosecurity.com)
Charming Kitten Targets Iranian Dissidents with Advanced Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Iran and the Rise of Cyber Enabled Influence Operations (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Misc/Other/Unknown
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Almost 2,000 Citrix NetScaler servers backdoored in hacking campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Adds Citrix ShareFile Flaw to KEV Catalog Due to In-the-Wild Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Patched Citrix NetScaler Devices Still Contain Backdoors (govinfosecurity.com)
Zoom ZTP & AudioCodes Phones Flaws Uncovered, Exposing Users to Eavesdropping (thehackernews.com)
Magento shopping cart attack targets critical vulnerability • The Register
New Python URL Parsing Flaw Enables Command Injection Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Data centers at risk due to flaws in power management software | CyberScoop
Bugs in transportation app Moovit gave hackers free rides | TechCrunch
Google Chrome 116: more Telemetry and 26 security patches - gHacks Tech News
Google Fixes 26 Bugs Amid Fake Update Warning - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
AMD has fixed its latest security flaw - but at the cost of massive slowdowns | TechRadar
Proxyjacking trend continues as attackers abuse years-old GitLab vulnerability | ITPro
Windows feature that resets system clocks based on random data is wreaking havoc | Ars Technica
Tools and Controls
XWorm, Remcos RAT Evade EDRs to Infect Critical Infrastructure (darkreading.com)
AI-powered fraud detection: Strengthening security in fintech | The Financial Express
MaginotDNS attacks exploit weak checks for DNS cache poisoning (bleepingcomputer.com)
Evaluate the risks and benefits of AI in cyber security | TechTarget
How to Choose a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Solution (darkreading.com)
How to Prevent Phishing Attacks with Multi-Factor Authentication (techrepublic.com)
Building a secure future without traditional passwords - Help Net Security
Passwordless is more than a buzzword among cyber security pros - Help Net Security
SEC cyber security rules shape the future of incident management - Help Net Security
Traditional vs. Enterprise Risk Management: How Do They Differ? (techtarget.com)
Endpoint Management Statistics, Trends And Facts 2023 - Abdalslam
Why You Need Continuous Network Monitoring? (thehackernews.com)
CISA releases cyber defence plan for remote monitoring and management software - SiliconANGLE
How poor cyber security policies disrupt business continuity - IT Security Guru
Cyber Prevention, Training Attract More Spend Than Remediation, Recovery, Execs Say - | MSSP Alert
Other News
Healthcare incurs highest data breach costs – for the 13th year in a row | Healthcare IT News
Here's Why You Should Never Accept Unsolicited Tech by Post (makeuseof.com)
Government highlights cyber threat to health and social care | UKAuthority
Why is the Education Sector a Target for Cyber Attacks? | UpGuard
Cyber security in the Entertainment Industry: Risks and Solutions | UpGuard
What would an OT cyber attack really cost your organisation? | CSO Online
Education has had most cyber attacks, survey finds | Education Business (educationbusinessuk.net)
Cyber attacks Are On The Up: What Are The Risks & Remedies For Aviation? (simpleflying.com)
Bank of Ireland ATM Glitch Hands Out 'Free' Money (gizmodo.com)
Exclusive: 300 independent retailers affected by cyber attack | News | Retail Week (retail-week.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.
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 Cyber Threat Briefing 28th July 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 July 2023:
-Half of UK businesses Struggle to Fill Cyber Security Skills Gap as Companies Encounter Months-long Delays in Filling Critical Security Positions
-Deloitte Joins fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY as MOVEit Victims Exceeds 500
-Why Cyber Security Should Be Part of Your ESG Strategy
-Lawyers Take Frontline Role in Business Response to Cyber Attacks
-Organisations Face Record $4.5M Per Data Breach Incident
-Cryptojacking Soars as Cyber Attacks Diversify
-Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket in 2023
-Blocking Access to ChatGPT is a Short-Term Solution to Mitigate AI Risk
-Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends on It (Because it Does)
-Why CISOs Should Get Involved with Cyber Insurance Negotiation
-Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber Security Experts, SEC Says
-Over 400,000 Corporate Credentials Stolen by Info-stealing Malware
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
Half of UK Businesses Struggle to Fill Cyber Security Skills Gap
Half of UK businesses have a cyber security skills gap that they are struggling to fill amid a challenging labour market, according to data published by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which found that there were more than 160,000 cyber security job postings in the last year – a 30% increase on the previous period. In all, the UK requires an additional 11,200 people with suitable cyber skills to meet the demands of the market, the report estimates.
In a separate report, it was found that a lack of executive understanding and an ever-widening talent gap is placing an unsustainable burden on security teams to prevent business-ending breaches. When asked how long it takes to fill a cyber security role, 82% of organisations report it takes three months or longer, with 34% reporting it takes seven months or more. These challenges have led one-third (33%) of organisations to believe they will never have a fully-staffed security team with the proper skills.
With such a gap, some organisations have turned to outsourcing cyber security roles, such as chief information security officers (CISOs), leading to a rise in virtual CISOs (vCISO). With outsourcing, organisations can ensure that they are easily able to pick up and use cyber security experts, greatly reducing the delay were they to hire. Black Arrow supports clients as their vCISO with specialist experience in cyber security risk management in a business context.
https://www.uktech.news/cybersecurity/uk-cybersecurity-skills-gap-20230725
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/26/security-teams-executive-burden/
Deloitte Joins Fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY as Victims Exceed 500
The global auditing and accounting firm Deloitte appeared alongside a further 55 MOVEit victims that were recently named by the Cl0p ransomware gang, making them the third Big Four accounting firm to be affected and amongst over 500 organisations in total with that number expected to continue to increase.
Research by Kroll has also uncovered a new exfiltration method used by Cl0p in their the MOVEit attacks, highlighting constant efforts by the ransomware gang. Worryingly, it has been reported that Cl0p have made between $75-100 million from ransom payments and it is expected this, along with the victim count, will rise.
https://cybernews.com/security/deloitte-big-four-moveit-pwc-ey-clop/
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/clop-could-make-100m-moveit/
Why Cyber Security Should Be Part of Your ESG Strategy
Organisations need to consider cyber security risks in their overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy amid growing cyber threats and regulatory scrutiny. The ESG programme is, in many ways, a form of risk management to mitigate the risks to businesses, societies and the environment, all of which can be impacted by cyber security. The investment community has been singling out cyber security as one of the major risks that ESG programmes will need to address due to the potential financial losses, reputational damage and business continuity risks posed by a growing number of cyber attacks and data breaches.
Various ESG reporting frameworks have emerged in recent years to provide organisations with guidelines on how they can operate ethically and sustainably, along with metrics that they can use to measure their progress. There are also specific IT security standards and frameworks, including ISO 27001 and government guidelines. Some regulators have gone as far as mandating the adoption of baseline security standards by critical infrastructure operators and firms in industries like financial services, but that does not mean organisations outside of regulated sectors are less pressured to shore up their cyber security posture.
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366545432/Why-cyber-security-should-be-part-of-your-ESG-strategy
Lawyers Take Frontline Role in Business Response to Cyber Attacks
Cyber security risk has shot to the top of general counsels’ agendas as the sophistication and frequency of attacks has grown. According to security company Sophos’s State of Ransomware 2023 report, 44% of UK businesses surveyed said they had been hit with ransomware in the past year. Of those affected, 33% said their data was encrypted and stolen and a further 6% said that their data was not encrypted but they experienced extortion.
In-house lawyers have a key role around the boardroom table when dealing with a breach including war-gaming and discussing cases in which a company will pay a ransom. The advent of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation in Europe, and equivalents elsewhere, demands that businesses hit by a data breach notify a regulator, and the individuals whose data was stolen, or both, depending on certain factors. This has led to far greater exposure of cyber incidents which companies previously could have tried to deal with privately.
https://www.ft.com/content/2af44ae8-78fc-4393-88c3-0d784a850331
Organisations Face Record $4.5M Per Data Breach Incident
In a recent report conducted by IBM, the average cost per data breach for US business in 2023 jumped to $4.45 million, a 15% increase over three years. In the UK, the average cost was found to be £3.4 million, rising to £5.3 million for financial services. It is likely that the cost per breach will maintain a continual rise, with organisations struggling to crack down on cyber crime, something threat groups like Cl0p are taking advantage of.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/orgs-record-4.5m-data-breach-incident
Cryptojacking Soars as Cyber Attacks Diversify
According to a recent report, a variety of attacks have increased globally, including cryptojacking (399%), IoT malware (37%) and encrypted threats (22%). This reflects the increase in actors who are changing their methods of attacks. The report found that we can expect more state-sponsored activity targeting a broader set of victims in 2023, including SMBs, government entities and enterprises.
Cryptojacking, sometimes referred to as malicious cryptomining, is where an attacker will use a victim’s device to mine cryptocurrency, giving the attacker free money at the expense of your device, network health and electricity.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/27/cryptojacking-attacks-rise/
Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket in 2023
Ransomware attacks surged by 74% in Q2 2023 compared to the first three months of the year, a new report has found. The significant increase in ransomware over April, May and June 2023 suggests that attackers are regrouping. In July 2023, the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis found that in the first half of 2023, ransomware attackers extorted $176m more than the same period in 2022, reversing a brief downward trend in 2022.
The report also observed an uptick in “pure extortion attacks,” with cyber criminals increasingly relying on the threat of data leaks rather than encrypting data to extort victims. Such schemes may not trigger any ransomware detection capability but could potentially be picked up by a robust Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-attacks-skyrocket-q2/
Blocking Access to ChatGPT is a Short-Term Solution to Mitigate AI Risk
Despite the mass adoption of generative AI, most companies don’t know how to assess its security, exposing them to risks and disadvantages if they don’t change their approach. A report found that for every 10,000 enterprise users, an enterprise organisation is experiencing approximately 183 incidents of sensitive data being posted to ChatGPT per month. Worryingly, despite the security issues, only 45% have an enterprise-wide strategy to ensure a secure, aligned deployment of AI across the entire organisation.
Blocking access to AI related content and AI applications is a short term solution to mitigate risk, but comes at the expense of the potential benefits that AI apps offer to supplement corporate innovation and employee productivity. The data shows that in financial services and healthcare nearly 1 in 5 organisations have implemented a blanket ban on employee use of ChatGPT, while in the technology sector, only 1 in 20 organisations have done likewise.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/28/chatgpt-exposure/
https://www.techradar.com/pro/lots-of-sensitive-data-is-still-being-posted-to-chatgpt
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/25/generative-ai-strategy/
Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends on It (Because it Does)
Data breaches can be incredibly costly. Be it lawsuits, regulatory fines, or a fall in stock price, the financial consequences of a breach can bring even the largest organisation to its knees. However, in the face of economic damage, it’s too easy to overlook the vast reputational impacts that often do more harm to a business. After all, it’s relatively easy to recoup monetary losses, less so to regain customer trust.
It’s important to remember that reputational damage isn’t limited to consumer perceptions. Stakeholder, shareholder, and potential buyer perception is also something that needs to be considered. By having effective defence in depth controls including robust data loss prevention (DLP) solutions in place, organisations can reduce the risk of a breach from happening.
Why CISOs Should Get Involved with Cyber Insurance Negotiation
Generally negotiating cyber insurance policies falls to the general counsel, chief financial officer, or chief operations officer. Having the chief information security officer (CISO) at the table when negotiating with insurance brokers or carriers is a best practice for ensuring the insurers understand not only which security controls are in place, but why the controls are configured the way they are and the organisation's strategy. That said, often best practices are ignored for reasons of expediency and lack of acceptance by other C-suite executives.
Sometimes being the CISO can be a no-win position. According to a recent survey more than half of all CISOs report to a technical corporate officer rather than the business side of the organisation. This lack of recognition by the board can diminish the CISO's ability to deliver business-imperative insights and recommendations, leaving operations to have a more commanding influence on the board than cyber security. Too often the CISO gets the responsibility to protect the company without the authority and budget to accomplish their task.
Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber Security Experts, SEC Says
A recent report has found that only five Fortune 100 companies currently list a security professional in the executive leadership pages of their websites. This is largely unchanged from five of the Fortune 100 in 2018. One likely reason why a great many companies still don’t include their security leaders within their highest echelons is that these employees do not report directly to the company’s CEO, board of directors, or chief risk officer.
The chief security officer (CSO) or chief information security officer (CISO) position traditionally has reported to an executive in a technical role, such as the chief technology officer (CTO) or chief information officer (CIO). But workforce experts say placing the CISO/CSO on unequal footing with the organisation’s top leaders makes it more likely that cyber security and risk concerns will take a backseat to initiatives designed to increase productivity and generally grow the business.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently implemented new regulations necessitating publicly traded companies to report cyber attacks within four business days, once they're deemed material incidents. While the SEC is not presently advocating for the need to validate a board cyber security expert's credentials, it continues to insist that cyber security expertise within management be duly reported to them. The increased disclosure should help companies compare practices and may spur improvements in cyber defences, but meeting the new disclosure standards could be a bigger challenge for smaller companies with limited resources.
Over 400,000 Corporate Credentials Stolen by Info-stealing Malware
Information stealers are malware that steal data stored in applications such as web browsers, email clients, instant messengers, cryptocurrency wallets, file transfer protocol (FTP) clients, and gaming services. The stolen information is packaged into archives called 'logs,' which are then uploaded back to the threat actor for use in attacks or sold on cyber crime marketplaces. Worryingly, employees use personal devices for work or access personal stuff from work computers, and this may result in many info-stealer infections stealing business credentials and authentication cookies. A report has found there are over 400,000 corporate credentials stolen, from applications such as Salesforce, Google Cloud and AWS. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number containing OpenAI credentials; this is alarming as where AI is used without governance, the credentials may leak things such as internal business strategies and source code.
With such an array of valuable information for an attacker, it is no wonder incidents involving info stealers doubled in Q1 2023. Organisations can best protect themselves by utilising password managers, enforcing multi-factor authentication and having strict usage controls. Additionally, user awareness training can help avoid common infection channels such as malicious websites and adverts.
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/infostealer-incidents-more-than-doubled-in-q1-2023
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Data Breaches Cost Businesses $4.5M on Average (darkreading.com)
Why CISOs Should Get Involved With Cyber Insurance Negotiation (darkreading.com)
SEC now requires companies to disclose cyber attacks in 4 days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber security Experts, SEC Says (darkreading.com)
Companies encounter months-long delays in filling critical security positions - Help Net Security
Enterprises should layer-up security to avoid legal repercussions - Help Net Security
Explaining risk maturity models and how they work | TechTarget
Why cyber security should be part of your ESG strategy | Computer Weekly
The old “trust but verify” adage should be the motto for every CISO | CSO Online
Companies are rushing into generative AI without a cohesive, secure strategy - Help Net Security
Few Fortune 100 Firms List Security Pros in Their Executive Ranks – Krebs on Security
The critical cyber security backup plan too many companies are ignoring (cnbc.com)
Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends On It (Because It Does) (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Why Computer Security Advice Is More Confusing Than It Should Be (darkreading.com)
Why whistleblowers in cyber security are important and need support | CSO Online
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Clop now leaks data stolen in MOVEit attacks on clearweb sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
MOVEit Vulnerability Investigations Uncover Additional Exfiltration Method (kroll.com)
Clop Could Make $100m from MOVEit Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
The tail of the MOVEit hack may be longer than we realize | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Millions of people's healthcare files accessed by Clop gang • The Register
Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket in Q2 2023 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Local Governments Targeted for Ransomware – How to Prevent Falling Victim (thehackernews.com)
New Nitrogen malware pushed via Google Ads for ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dozens of Organisations Targeted by Akira Ransomware - SecurityWeek
The FBI's Cynthia Kaiser on how the bureau fights ransomware | CyberScoop
Risk & Repeat: Are data extortion attacks ransomware? | TechTarget
ALPHV ransomware adds data leak API in new extortion strategy (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware: Sophos says most universities pay | Times Higher Education (THE)
Ransomware Victims
PwC has data leaked on the clear web - Cyber Security Connect
Deloitte joins fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY | Cybernews
DHL investigating MOVEit breach as number of victims surpasses 20 million (therecord.media)
Up to 11 Million People Hit by MOVEit Hack at Government Services Firm Maximus - SecurityWeek
Millions of people's healthcare files accessed by Clop gang • The Register
Tampa General Hospital Says Patient Information Stolen in Ransomware Attack - SecurityWeek
Yamaha confirms cyber attack after multiple ransomware gangs claim attacks (therecord.media)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Chinese Hackers Breached Ambassador’s Email - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED
Stolen Microsoft key may have opened up more than inboxes • The Register
The Email Threat Landscape, Q1 2023: Key Takeaways (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
How to avoid LinkedIn phishing attacks in the enterprise | TechTarget
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Artificial Intelligence
Blocking access to ChatGPT is a short term solution to mitigate risk - Help Net Security
UN Security Council to hold first talks on AI risks | Reuters
Companies are rushing into generative AI without a cohesive, secure strategy - Help Net Security
ChatGPT, Other Generative AI Apps Prone to Compromise, Manipulation (darkreading.com)
Lots of sensitive data is still being posted to ChatGPT | TechRadar
Dark Web Markets Offer New FraudGPT AI Tool - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Top FBI officials warn of 'unparalleled' threat from China and AI | CyberScoop
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Generative AI - SecurityWeek
OpenAI, Meta and other tech firms sign onto White House AI commitments | FedScoop
Intel's deepfake detector tested on real and fake videos - BBC News
How is the Dark Web Reacting to the AI Revolution? (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware
Over 400,000 corporate credentials stolen by info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Infostealer incidents more than doubled in Q1 2023 | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
The Alarming Rise of Infostealers: How to Detect this Silent Threat (thehackernews.com)
Decoy Dog: New Breed of Malware Posing Serious Threats to Enterprise Networks (thehackernews.com)
Rust-based malware used to hack both Windows and Linux servers - Neowin
Lazarus hackers hijack Microsoft IIS servers to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
FIN8 is rewriting its backdoor malware to avoid detection | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
New Nitrogen malware pushed via Google Ads for ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New P2PInfect worm malware targets Linux and Windows Redis servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
HotRat: New Variant of AsyncRAT Malware Spreading Through Pirated Software (thehackernews.com)
Who and What is Behind the Malware Proxy Service SocksEscort? – Krebs on Security
Mobile
Chinese-backed Hacking Group Launches Two Bugs Targeting Android Devices - MSSP Alert
Spyhide stalkerware is spying on tens of thousands of phones | TechCrunch
Botnets
Hackers Target Apache Tomcat Servers for Mirai Botnet and Crypto Mining (thehackernews.com)
Multiple DDoS Botnets Exploiting Recent Zyxel Vulnerability - SecurityWeek
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Critical UK Infrastructures in the crosshairs of DDoS attacks (link11.com)
Zyxel users still getting hacked by DDoS botnet emerge as public nuisance No. 1 | Ars Technica
Anonymous Sudan DDoS strikes dominate attacks by KillNet collective | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
BYOD
Internet of Things – IoT
Peloton Bugs Expose Enterprise Networks to IoT Attacks (darkreading.com)
Microsoft previews Defender for IoT firmware analysis service (bleepingcomputer.com)
Axis Door Controller Vulnerability Exposes Facilities to Physical, Cyber Threats - SecurityWeek
Data Breaches/Leaks
Capita breach class action nears 1,000 sign-ups • The Register
VirusTotal: We're sorry for mistake that exposed 5,000 users • The Register
Deloitte joins fellow Big Four MOVEit victims PWC, EY | Cybernews
NATO investigating apparent breach of unclassified information sharing platform | CyberScoop
BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nice Suzuki, sport: shame dealer left your data up for grabs - Security Affairs
Johns Hopkins hit with class action lawsuit connected to data breach - CBS Baltimore (cbsnews.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
The New Summer Vacation Necessity: Cyber Hygiene (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Cryptojacking soars as cyber attacks increase, diversify - Help Net Security
Hackers Target Apache Tomcat Servers for Mirai Botnet and Crypto Mining (thehackernews.com)
Lazarus hackers linked to $60 million Alphapo cryptocurrency heist (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Realst macOS malware steals your cryptocurrency wallets (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Dark Web Markets Offer New FraudGPT AI Tool - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Consumers demand more from businesses when it comes to security - Help Net Security
CISOs gear up to combat the rising threat of B2B fraud - Help Net Security
MPs launch inquiry into prosecution of Norton Motorcycles pension fraud | Crime | The Guardian
Insurance
Why CISOs Should Get Involved With Cyber Insurance Negotiation (darkreading.com)
Brave New World of Cyber Insurance Meets Old-World Contract Principles | New Jersey Law Journal
Dark Web
BreachForums database and private chats for sale in hacker data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
How is the Dark Web Reacting to the AI Revolution? (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Capita breach class action nears 1,000 sign-ups • The Register
DHL investigating MOVEit breach as number of victims surpasses 20 million (therecord.media)
The tail of the MOVEit hack may be longer than we realize | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Up to 11 Million People Hit by MOVEit Hack at Government Services Firm Maximus - SecurityWeek
Banking Sector Targeted in Open-Source Software Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Strengthening the weakest links in the digital supply chain - Help Net Security
JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain Attack Hits NHS Ambulance Trusts - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED
Microsoft 365 Breach Risk Widens to Millions of Azure AD Apps (darkreading.com)
JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)
Wiz Says 62% of AWS Environments Exposed to Zenbleed Exploitation - SecurityWeek
The 4 Keys to Building Cloud Security Programs That Can Actually Shift Left (thehackernews.com)
Ubuntu Linux Cloud Workloads Face Rampant Root Take Takeovers (darkreading.com)
Shadow IT
Encryption
Hacking police radios: 30-year-old crypto flaws in the spotlight – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Researchers Find ‘Backdoor’ in Encrypted Police and Military Radios (vice.com)
API
Open Source
New OpenSSH Vulnerability Exposes Linux Systems to Remote Command Injection (thehackernews.com)
Rust-based malware used to hack both Windows and Linux servers - Neowin
Banking Sector Targeted in Open-Source Software Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
New P2PInfect worm malware targets Linux and Windows Redis servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ubuntu Linux Cloud Workloads Face Rampant Root Take Takeovers (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
How to avoid LinkedIn phishing attacks in the enterprise | TechTarget
Stanford researchers find Mastodon has a massive child abuse material problem - The Verge
Training, Education and Awareness
Travel
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stanford researchers find Mastodon has a massive child abuse material problem - The Verge
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
SEC now requires companies to disclose cyber attacks in 4 days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Companies Must Have Corporate Cyber security Experts, SEC Says (darkreading.com)
Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)
OpenAI, Meta and other tech firms sign onto White House AI commitments | FedScoop
Data Protection
More US States are ramping up data privacy laws in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Protect Your Data Like Your Reputation Depends On It (Because It Does) (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Companies encounter months-long delays in filling critical security positions - Help Net Security
Bridging the cyber security skills gap through cyber range training - Help Net Security
Overcoming the cyber security talent shortage with upskilling initiatives - Help Net Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
More US States are ramping up data privacy laws in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Amazon agrees to $25 million fine for Alexa children privacy violations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Companies Need to Prove They Can Be Trusted with Technology (hbr.org)
Ryanair Hit With Lawsuit Over Use of Facial Recognition Technology (darkreading.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
Anonymous Sudan DDoS strikes dominate attacks by KillNet collective | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Russian court jails cyber security executive for 14 years in treason case | Reuters
Russia ‘using disinformation’ to imply Sweden supported Qur’an burnings | Sweden | The Guardian
69% of Russian gamers are pirating after Ukraine invasion pushback | Ars Technica
China
Top FBI officials warn of 'unparalleled' threat from China and AI | CyberScoop
China’s Breach of Microsoft Cloud Email May Expose Deeper Problems | WIRED
Stolen Microsoft key may have opened up more than inboxes • The Register
Chinese Hackers Breached Ambassador’s Email - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
The Chinese groups accused of hacking the US and others | Reuters
Industrial Organisations in Eastern Europe Targeted by Chinese Cyber spies - SecurityWeek
Chinese-backed Hacking Group Launches Two Bugs Targeting Android Devices - MSSP Alert
China Propaganda Spreads via US News Sites, Freelancers, Times Square (darkreading.com)
China-backed hackers suspected in NetScaler RCE attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
US Senator Wyden Accuses Microsoft of ‘Cyber security Negligence’ - SecurityWeek
North Korea
North Korean Cyber spies Target GitHub Developers (darkreading.com)
JumpCloud hack linked to North Korea after OPSEC mistake (bleepingcomputer.com)
GitHub warns of Lazarus hackers targeting devs with malicious projects (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus hackers hijack Microsoft IIS servers to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus hackers linked to $60 million Alphapo cryptocurrency heist (bleepingcomputer.com)
Misc/Other/Unknown
Vulnerability Management
Google: 41 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in 2022 | TechTarget
CVSS 4.0 Is Here, But Prioritizing Patches Still a Hard Problem (darkreading.com)
Want to live dangerously? Try running Windows XP in 2023 • The Register
A step-by-step guide for patching software vulnerabilities - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Over 20,000 Citrix Appliances Vulnerable to New Exploit - SecurityWeek
A flaw in OpenSSH forwarded ssh-agent allows remote code execution-Security Affairs
Apple fixes new zero-day used in attacks against iPhones, Macs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ivanti patches MobileIron zero-day bug exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zyxel users still getting hacked by DDoS botnet emerge as public nuisance No. 1 | Ars Technica
Apache OpenMeetings Wide Open to Account Takeover, Code Execution (darkreading.com)
Super Admin elevation bug puts 900,000 MikroTik devices at risk (bleepingcomputer.com)
Norwegian government IT systems hacked using zero-day flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
VMware fixes bug exposing CF API admin credentials in audit logs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Major Security Flaw Discovered in Metabase BI Software – Urgent Update Required (thehackernews.com)
Cyber security Agencies Warn Against IDOR Bugs Exploited for Data Breaches (thehackernews.com)
Atlassian RCE Bugs Plague Confluence, Bamboo (darkreading.com)
Zenbleed attack leaks sensitive data from AMD Zen2 processors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft shares fix for some Outlook hyperlinks not opening (bleepingcomputer.com)
China-backed hackers suspected in NetScaler RCE attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Study reveals silent Python package security fixes • The Register
Windows 10 KB5028244 update released with 19 fixes, improved security (bleepingcomputer.com)
Wiz Says 62% of AWS Environments Exposed to Zenbleed Exploitation - SecurityWeek
Multiple DDoS Botnets Exploiting Recent Zyxel Vulnerability - SecurityWeek
Zimbra patches zero-day vulnerability exploited in XSS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Ninja Forms plugin flaw lets hackers steal submitted data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Two flaws in Linux Ubuntu affect 40% of Ubuntu users - Security Affairs
Tools and Controls
Why cyber security should be part of your ESG strategy | Computer Weekly
Lawyers take frontline role in business response to cyber attacks | Financial Times (ft.com)
Explaining risk maturity models and how they work | TechTarget
Microsoft enhances Windows 11 Phishing Protection with new features (bleepingcomputer.com)
Shadow Coding Is An Intoxicating Shortcut—And A Security Landmine (forbes.com)
Zero trust rated as highly effective by businesses worldwide - Help Net Security
50% of Zero Trust Programs Risk Failure According to PlainID Survey (darkreading.com)
Google Chrome to offer 'Link Previews' when hovering over links (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why are computer security guidelines so confusing? - Help Net Security
Threat Intelligence Is Growing — Here's How SOCs Can Keep Up (darkreading.com)
Designing a Security Strategy for Defending Multicloud Architectures (darkreading.com)
Converging networking and security with SASE - Help Net Security
Artificial Intelligence Continues To Revolutionize Cyber security (forbes.com)
Key factors for effective security automation - Help Net Security
Microsoft previews Defender for IoT firmware analysis service (bleepingcomputer.com)
The 4 Keys to Building Cloud Security Programs That Can Actually Shift Left (thehackernews.com)
CISOs consider zero trust a hot security ticket - Help Net Security
How a Cyber Security Platform Addresses the 3 “S” (trendmicro.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Maritime Cyber attack Database Launched by Dutch University - SecurityWeek
Google’s new security pilot program will ban employee Internet access | Ars Technica
macOS Under Attack: Examining the Growing Threat and User Perspectives (thehackernews.com)
Why whistleblowers in cyber security are important and need support | CSO Online
World's most internetty firm tries life off the net • The Register
Exam board cyber attack investigation: Teenager arrested (schoolsweek.co.uk)
Companies Need to Prove They Can Be Trusted with Technology (hbr.org)
Heart monitor manufacturer hit by cyber attack, takes systems offline (bitdefender.com)
Cyber security Agencies Warn Against IDOR Bugs Exploited for Data Breaches (thehackernews.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
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· 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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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 02 June 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 02 June 2023:
-How to Keep Cyber Attacks from Tanking Your Balance Sheet
-Company Size Doesn’t Matter When It Comes to Cyber Attacks
-‘Exceptional’ Cyber Attacks Now Normal, says BT Security Chief
-How State-Sponsored/Advanced Persistent Threat Groups (APTs) Target SMBs
-Phishing Campaigns Thrive as Evasive Tactics Outsmart Conventional Detection
-Don't be Polite When you Get a Text from a Wrong Number
-Capita Cyber Attack: 90 Downstream Organisations Reported Data Breaches
-Travel-Themed Phishing, BEC Campaigns Get Smarter as Summer Season Arrives
-Organisations Spend 100 Hours Battling Post-Delivery Email Threats
-Ransomware Gangs Adopting Business-like Practices to Boost Profits
-The Sobering Truth About Ransomware—For The 80% Who Paid Up
-The Great CISO Resignation: Why Security Leaders are Quitting in Droves
-When is it Time for a Cyber Hygiene Audit?
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
How to Keep Cyber Attacks from Tanking Your Balance Sheet
According to a recent Forrester report, last year saw 1 billion records exposed in the top 35 breaches, $2.6 billion stolen in the top nine cryptocurrency breaches, and $2.7 billion in fines levied to the top 35 violators.
The average cost of a data breach reached $4.35 million in 2022, according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report for that year, which represents a 2.6% increase over the prior year, and a 12.7% increase from 2020. For ransomware, a report found the average payment in 2021 was approximately $1.85 million, more than double the $760,000 figure from 2020. These are just direct costs; indirect costs are far greater and can include lost business, lost customers, reputational loss and regulatory fines.
When it comes to managing cyber risk, corporate boards should look to understand cyber security as a strategic business enabler, understand the impacts, align risk-management with business needs, ensure the organisation supports cyber security, incorporate cyber security expertise into governance and encourage systemic resilience.
https://hbr.org/2023/06/how-to-keep-cyberattacks-from-tanking-your-balance-sheet
Company Size Doesn’t Matter When It Comes to Cyber Attacks
65% of large organisations suffered a cyber attack within the last 12 months, which is similar to the results among companies of all sizes (68%), according to a recent report. The most common security incidents were the same for all companies; these were phishing, ransomware and user account compromise, also known as business email compromise (BEC).
Smaller companies often underestimate their risk, with the reasoning that cyber criminals want the biggest targets as they will likely have more intellectual property, however all businesses have valuable data and are therefore a target. Additionally, smaller organisations can sometimes be seen as a way into larger organisations that use their services.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/29/larger-organizations-cyberattacks/
‘Exceptional’ Cyber Attacks Now Normal, says BT Security Chief
The threat of cyber attacks is growing at an “unprecedented” pace, according to the chief security officer at multinational teleco BT, Howard Watson, but it is not just large organisations such as BT who will be impacted by this increase.
Watson highlighted that the increase in sophisticated technology poses the biggest threat in the long run: “Technological advancement, as ever, is a double-edged sword in security. Quantum and AI have great potential for benefits in the right hands, or to cause massive damage in the wrong hands. But we know that cyber criminals will utilise these technologies, so we have to be able to respond in kind.” Adding to this, the chief security officer highlighted that events that were previously considered as ‘exceptional’ need to be assessed and planned for as a probability, rather than a possibility.
How State-Sponsored/Advanced Persistent Threat Groups (APTs) Target SMBs
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are not exempt from being targeted by advanced persistent threat (APT) actors, according to Proofpoint researchers who collected data from over 200,000 SMB customers. Proofpoint identified a rise in phishing campaigns originating from such state-sponsored APT groups, who are highly skilled and typically state-sponsored groups with distinct strategic goals. These goals range from espionage and intellectual property theft to destructive attacks, state-sponsored financial theft, and disinformation campaigns.
Unfortunately, SMBs often lack adequate cyber security measures, making them vulnerable to all kinds of cyber threats. APT actors exploit this weakness by targeting SMBs as a stepping stone towards achieving their larger goals.
Alongside phishing campaigns, it was identified that APTs are increasingly targeting regional outsourced IT providers/Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to mount supply chain attacks. By compromising regional MSPs within geographies that align with the strategic collection requirements of APT actors, threat actors can gain access to multiple SMBs to extract sensitive information or execute further attacks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/31/apt-targeting-smbs/
Phishing Campaigns Thrive as Evasive Tactics Outsmart Conventional Detection
According to research, 2022 saw a 25% increase in the use of phishing kits. These phishing kits are a set of tools that enable cyber criminals to effortlessly create and maintain large scale sophisticated phishing campaigns. It is this sophistication that allows cyber criminals to circumnavigate conventional detections; in fact, the research found a 40% increase in the use of anti-bot technologies designed to prevent automated scanners from identifying content as phishing.
In some cases (11% of observed phishing kits) malicious links would not be detected when tested by anti-phishing controls because those controls do not use the exact device parameters, geolocation and referrer of the intended target victim’s profile; therefore the malicious link is allowed to be delivered to the intended target.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/01/advanced-detection-evasion-techniques/
Don't be Polite When you Get a Text from a Wrong Number
You should immediately be suspicious of any text you get from a number not in your contacts, even if it may be innocent looking. Your first reaction may be to be polite and let them know they have the wrong number, but this person is a stranger. Strangely, despite teaching our children not to talk to strangers, many are comfortable with divulging information to them. Although letting them know they made a mistake seems harmless, responding opens you up to being scammed and you’ve just let them know you’re a real person. Every bit of helpful information you provide has the potential to be leveraged by an attacker.
Capita Cyber Attack: 90 Downstream Organisations Reported Data Breaches
90 organisations have reported breaches of personal information held by Capita after the outsourcing group had suffered a cyber attack, according to Britain’s data watchdog. The attack on Capita, which occurred in March, is still impacting businesses, with the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) making enquiries. Organisations must notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach.
The impact of the attack, and its knock-on effect, highlights the need for organisations to consider their third party security, no matter the size of the third party they use.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/30/capita-cyber-attack-data-breaches-ico
Travel-Themed Phishing, BEC Campaigns Get Smarter as Summer Season Arrives
A recent survey from McAfee found that nearly a third (30%) of adults have fallen victim or know someone who has fallen victim to an online scam when bargain hunting for travel deals during the summer season, with a full two-thirds of victims losing up to $1,000.
This has extended to the corporate environment, with threat actors impersonating the HR department and exploiting the trust users place in their employers, a report has found. The attack leverages regular HR procedures associated with holiday requests and taps into the anticipation and excitement surrounding the summer travel season, to capitalise on exploiting the user.
https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/travel-themed-phishing-bec-campaigns-smarter-summer-season
Organisations Spend 100 Hours Battling Post-Delivery Email Threats
Nearly every victim of a spear-phishing attack in the last 12 months saw impacts on their organisation, including malware infections, stolen data, and reputational damage, according to Barracuda Networks. The research shows that cyber criminals continue to barrage organisations with targeted email attacks, and many companies are struggling to keep up.
While spear-phishing attacks are low-volume, they are widespread and highly successful compared to other types of email attacks. On average, organisations take nearly 100 hours to identify, respond to, and remediate a post-deliver email threat: 43 hours to detect the attack and 56 hours to respond and remediate after the attack is detected.
Users at companies with more than a 50% remote workforce report higher levels of suspicious emails: 12 per day on average, compared to 9 per day for those with less than a 50% remote workforce. Companies with more than a 50% remote workforce also reported that it takes longer to both detect and respond to email security incidents: 55 hours to detect and 63 hours to respond and mitigate, compared to an average of 36 hours and 51 hours respectively for organisations with fewer remote workers.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/30/2023-spear-phishing-trends/
Ransomware Gangs Adopting Business-like Practices to Boost Profits
Ransomware gangs are using a variety of business-like practices to boost profits, making it more difficult for defenders to differentiate various groups, a new report by WithSecure has surmised. This move towards mirroring legitimate businesses practices means that tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) are blurring.
The underground marketplace now includes entities including ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) groups, Initial Access Brokers (IAB), crypter-as-a-service (CaaS), cryptojackers, malware-as-a-service (MaaS) groups and nation-state actors. This allows nation-states to use tools available on the underground market to gain access to networks and systems without being detected. Ultimately, this trend towards professionalisation makes the expertise and resources to attack organisations accessible to lesser-skilled or poorly resourced threat actors.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-gangs-business-practices/
The Sobering Truth about Ransomware—for the 80% Who Paid Up
Newly published research of 1,200 organisations impacted by ransomware reveals a sobering truth that awaits many of those who decide to pay the ransom. According to research, 80% of the organisations surveyed decided to pay the demanded ransom in order to both end the ongoing cyber attack and recover otherwise lost data. This is despite 41% of those organisations having a “do not pay” policy in place, which only goes to reinforce the cold hard fact that cyber crime isn’t an easy landscape to navigate. This is something that’s especially true when your business is facing the real-world impact of dealing with a ransomware attack.
Of the 960 organisations that paid a ransom, 201 of them (21%) were still unable to recover their lost data. The same number also reported that ransomware attacks were now excluded from their insurance policies. Of those organisations with cyber insurance cover, 74% reported a rise in premiums. Another report, published by Sophos, revealed that 32% of those surveyed opted to pay the ransom but a shocking 92% failed to recover all their data and 29% were unable to recover more than half of the encrypted data.
Some groups have switched to stealing sensitive customer or corporate data instead, with the ransom demanded in return for them not selling it to the highest bidder or publishing it online. Many groups combine the two for a double extortion ransomware attack.
The Great CISO Resignation: Why Security Leaders are Quitting in Droves
With the rise in AI tools such as ChatGPT broadening an attacker’s arsenal, this places greater and greater pressure on security leaders who are already dealing with shrinking budgets, skeleton crew staff and a conglomeration of security tools and protocols — so much so that they are increasingly quitting. A recent report found that nearly a third (32%) of CISOs in the US and UK were considering leaving their current organisation and 9 out of 10 reported themselves as “moderately” or “tremendously” stressed.
This so-called Great CISO Resignation is concerning, because what happens when there’s nobody guarding the gate and rallying the troops?
When is it Time for a Cyber Hygiene Audit?
Effective cyber hygiene practices limit threats against your systems, devices and users, preventing breaches that could compromise sensitive business information, database information, and personal data. But cyber hygiene isn’t a static or one-off process. It requires routine execution and, occasionally, a full audit. This audit typically covers a range of aspects including encryption, documentation, authentication, patches, security and ongoing cyber hygiene.
Good cyber hygiene is a necessary part of maintaining IT security. Setting up processes and procedures within your organisation’s regular operating procedures is an effective way to maintain cyber hygiene. Although the responsibilities may differ by position, everyone in the organisation plays a role.
An audit provides important information on where and where you need to improve. It also provides a baseline for measuring improvement and effectiveness. The key to success is to integrate hygiene into routine process starting top down from policies into every part of the business and making use of third party experts to help aid in the process.
https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/devops/23/e/cyber-hygiene-audit-best-practices.html
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Company size doesn't matter when it comes to cyber attacks - Help Net Security
How to Keep Cyber attacks from Tanking Your Balance Sheet (hbr.org)
The great CISO resignation: Why security leaders are quitting in droves - SDxCentral
‘Exceptional’ cyber attacks now normal, says BT security chief (thetimes.co.uk)
HowTo: Improve Your Cyber Resilience - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
The strategic importance of digital trust for modern businesses - Help Net Security
Vendors: Threat actor taxonomies are confusing but essential | TechTarget
Experts Not Willing To Wager A Candy Bar On Their Security (forbes.com)
Breaking Enterprise Silos and Improving Protection – Security Week
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: 17 Consequences And Complications (forbes.com)
Insider risk management: Where your program resides shapes its focus | CSO Online
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Attackers leave organisations with no recovery option - Help Net Security
The Sobering Truth About Ransomware—For The 80% Who Paid Up (forbes.com)
Rogue IT security worker failed to cover his tracks | Tripwire
Organisations Worldwide Targeted in Rapidly Evolving Buhti Ransomware Operation – Security Week
The Week in Ransomware - May 26th 2023 - Cities Under Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyble — Obsidian ORB Ransomware Demands Gift Cards as Payment
AceCryptor: Cyber criminals' Powerful Weapon, Detected in 240K+ Attacks (thehackernews.com)
BlackCat (ALPHV) Ransomware Levels Up for Stealth, Speed and Exfiltration (securityintelligence.com)
Investigating BlackSuit Ransomware’s Similarities to Royal (trendmicro.com)
Fighting ransomware: Perspectives from cyber security professionals - Help Net Security
Ransomware Victims
New York county still dealing with ransomware 8 months later • The Register
ABB confirms data stolen in Black Basta ransomware attack | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
SAS Airlines hit by $3 million ransom demand following DDoS attacks (bitdefender.com)
Industrial Giant ABB Confirms Ransomware Attack, Data Theft – Security Week
MCNA Dental data breach impacts 8.9 million people after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care ransomware attack hits 2.5 million people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyble — Bl00dy Ransomware Targets Indian University: Actively Exploiting PaperCut Vulnerability
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing campaigns thrive as evasive tactics outsmart conventional detection - Help Net Security
Organisations spend 100 hours battling post-delivery email threats - Help Net Security
Phishing remained the top identity abuser in 2022: IDSA report | CSO Online
New phishing technique poses as a browser-based file archiver | CSO Online
Sustained 'Red Deer' Phishing Attacks Impersonate Israel Post, Drop RATs (darkreading.com)
North Korean phishing gang stole rocket tech info • The Register
Artificial Intelligence
AI: War crimes evidence erased by social media platforms - BBC News
Artificial Intelligence's Risks and Rewards in Cyber security (analyticsinsight.net)
ChatGPT Plugins Open Security Holes From PDFs, Websites and More | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)
What not to share with ChatGPT if you use it for work | Mashable
Is ChatGPT a cyber security disaster? We asked the experts | Digital Trends
Generative AI: The new attack vector for trust and safety - Help Net Security
2FA/MFA
Malware
QBot malware abuses Windows WordPad EXE to infect devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Stealthy Bandit Stealer Targeting Web Browsers and Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)
Raspberry Pi Malware Infects Using Default Username and Password | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)
Tracking down a trojan: An inside look at threat hunting in a corporate network (malwarebytes.com)
RomCom malware spread via Google Ads for ChatGPT, GIMP, more (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stealthy SeroXen RAT malware increasingly used to target gamers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Terminator antivirus killer is a vulnerable Windows driver in disguise (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top macOS Malware Threats: Here Are 6 to Watch (darkreading.com)
PyPI malware ramps up the threat to the code repository • The Register
Evasive QBot Malware Leverages Short-lived Residential IPs for Dynamic Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Cyber criminals use legitimate websites to obfuscate malicious payloads - Help Net Security
North Korean ScarCruft Hackers Exploit LNK Files to Spread RokRAT (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Don't be polite when you get a text from a wrong number | kens5.com
Predator Android Spyware: Researchers Uncover New Data Theft Capabilities (thehackernews.com)
Android threat: 'Guerrilla' virus sneakily snuck onto 8.9m phones (citizen.co.za)
Operation Triangulation: previously undetected malware targets iOS devices - Security Affairs
Russian government accuses Apple of colluding with NSA in iPhone spy operation | CyberScoop
Android apps with spyware installed 421 million times from Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets
Active Mirai Botnet Variant Exploiting Zyxel Devices for DDoS Attacks (thehackernews.com)
What Are Botnet Attacks & Explained Prevention Techniques | EC-Council (eccouncil.org)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
SAS Airlines hit by $3 million ransom demand following DDoS attacks (bitdefender.com)
Active Mirai Botnet Variant Exploiting Zyxel Devices for DDoS Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Active Mirai Botnet Variant Exploiting Zyxel Devices for DDoS Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Home routers helped Chinese hackers breach US Navy networks (mybroadband.co.za)
Hackers Win $105,000 for Reporting Critical Security Flaws in Sonos One Speakers (thehackernews.com)
Solar panels vulnerable to hackers, concern for network security - DutchNews.nl
Data Breaches/Leaks
Tesla Whistleblower Leaks 100GB of Data, Revealing Safety Complaints (darkreading.com)
Dutch watchdog looking into alleged Tesla data breach | Reuters
NHS data breach: trusts shared patient details with Facebook without consent | Health | The Guardian
The root causes of API incidents and data breaches - Help Net Security
Pentagon Leaks Emphasise the Need for a Trusted Workforce (darkreading.com)
Yet Another Toyota Cloud Data Breach Jeopardises Thousands of Customers (darkreading.com)
Hacking forum hacked, user database leaked online • Graham Cluley
Risk & Repeat: A troubling trend of poor breach disclosures | TechTarget
New MOVEit Transfer zero-day mass-exploited in data theft attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Workforce platform Prosperix leaks drivers licenses and medical records - Security Affairs
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
US intelligence research agency examines cyber psychology to outwit criminal hackers | CyberScoop
What is the Cyber Crime Atlas? How it can help disrupt cyber crime | CSO Online
New hacking forum leaks data of 478,000 RaidForums members (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hacking forum hacked, user database leaked online • Graham Cluley
Tricks of the trade: How a cyber crime ring operated a multi‑level fraud scheme | WeLiveSecurity
3 signs your kids may be hackers and what to do about it | Euronews
“I was a teenage hacker”: Two child hackers share their stories | Euronews
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
New Stealthy Bandit Stealer Targeting Web Browsers and Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)
Hacked DJ's Twitter account costs cryptocurrency investors $170,000 (bitdefender.com)
Cyber criminals Targeting Apache NiFi Instances for Cryptocurrency Mining (thehackernews.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Rogue IT security worker failed to cover his tracks | Tripwire
Pentagon Leaks Emphasise the Need for a Trusted Workforce (darkreading.com)
Insider risk management: Where your program resides shapes its focus | CSO Online
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Don't be polite when you get a text from a wrong number | kens5.comTricks of the trade: How a cyber crime ring operated a multi‑level fraud scheme | WeLiveSecurity
HMRC in New Tax Credits Scam Warning - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Why You Need Cyber Insurance and How to Obtain It - Arctic Wolf
Cyber Insurance: A Growth Market for Insurers With Some Caveats (carriermanagement.com)
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
One of Microsoft Azure's top tools has a serious security flaw | TechRadar
Top public cloud security concerns for the media and entertainment industry - Help Net Security
Cloud Security: Don’t Confuse Vendor and Tool Consolidation - The New Stack
Why organisations should adopt a cloud cyber security framework - Help Net Security
Can Cloud Services Encourage Better Login Security? Netflix's Accidental Model (darkreading.com)
Hybrid/Remote Working
Shadow IT
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Raspberry Pi Malware Infects Using Default Username and Password | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)
Swiss real estate agency Neho fails to put a password on its systems - Security Affairs
Can Cloud Services Encourage Better Login Security? Netflix's Accidental Model (darkreading.com)
Social Media
NHS data breach: trusts shared patient details with Facebook without consent | Health | The Guardian
Twitter pulls out of voluntary EU disinformation code - BBC News
AI: War crimes evidence erased by social media platforms - BBC News
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Travel
Travel-Themed Phishing, BEC Campaigns Get Smarter as Summer Season Arrives (darkreading.com)
US court finds that border phone searches need a warrant • The Register
Parental Controls and Child Safety
3 signs your kids may be hackers and what to do about it | Euronews
“I was a teenage hacker”: Two child hackers share their stories | Euronews
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
OneMain pays $4.5M after ignored security flaws caused data breaches | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Netflix warns it may remove content from UK catalogue over government media bill | The Independent
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Ways to Help Cyber security's Essential Workers Avoid Burnout (darkreading.com)
Managing mental health in cyber security - Help Net Security
ISACA pledges to help grow cyber security workforce in Europe | CSO Online
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine war blurs lines between cyber crims and state hacks • The Register
Pegasus Spyware Is Detected in a War Zone for the First Time | WIRED
Russian government accuses Apple of colluding with NSA in iPhone spy operation | CyberScoop
How giant pieces of spyware are shaping our views and our world | Evening Standard
Predator may have more spyware capabilities than we know • The Register
Cyberweapon manufacturers plot to stay on the right side of US | Financial Times (ft.com)
Suspected Russia-trained spy whale reappears off Sweden’s coast | Sweden | The Guardian
AI: War crimes evidence erased by social media platforms - BBC News
Nation State Actors
China hacking Guam: Can the US stop foreign cyber attacks? | The Week
Russian government accuses Apple of colluding with NSA in iPhone spy operation | CyberScoop
US sanctions orgs behind North Korea’s ‘illicit’ IT worker army (bleepingcomputer.com)
Home routers helped Chinese hackers breach US Navy networks (mybroadband.co.za)
Investigation Launched After London City Airport Website Hacked (simpleflying.com)
Taiwan rushes to prevent China from cutting off internet and phones | The Japan Times
North Korea says spy satellite launch crashed into sea - BBC News
Dark Pink hackers continue to target govt and military organisations (bleepingcomputer.com)
The next Chinese tech threat is already here | The Spectator
North Korean phishing gang stole rocket tech info • The Register
North Korea's Kimsuky Group Mimics Key Figures in Targeted Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)
North Korean ScarCruft Hackers Exploit LNK Files to Spread RokRAT (thehackernews.com)
Vulnerability Management
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: 17 Consequences And Complications (forbes.com)
Implementing Risk-Based Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation (thehackernews.com)
Focus Security Efforts on Choke Points, Not Visibility (darkreading.com)
Vulnerabilities
New MOVEit Transfer zero-day mass-exploited in data theft attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zero-day vulnerability in MoveIt Transfer under attack | TechTarget
Alert: Hackers Exploit Barracuda Email Security Gateway 0-Day Flaw for 7 Months (thehackernews.com)
WordPress plugin ‘Gravity Forms’ vulnerable to PHP object injection (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress force installs critical Jetpack patch on 5 million sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft finds macOS bug that lets hackers bypass SIP root restrictions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zyxel patches vulnerability in NAS devices (CVE-2023-27988) - Help Net Security
Critical Firmware Vulnerability in Gigabyte Systems Exposes ~7 Million Devices (thehackernews.com)
Millions of Gigabyte Motherboards Were Sold With a Firmware Backdoor | WIRED
Barracuda Email Security Gateway under active attack • The Register
MacOS 'Migraine' Bug: Big Headache for Device System Integrity (darkreading.com)
FTC accuses Amazon of nightmare IoT security fails • The Register
Critical Vulnerabilities Found in Faronics Education Software – Security Week
Tools and Controls
HowTo: Improve Your Cyber Resilience - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
The strategic importance of digital trust for modern businesses - Help Net Security
Vendors: Threat actor taxonomies are confusing but essential | TechTarget
Artificial Intelligence's Risks and Rewards in Cyber security (analyticsinsight.net)
Digital nomads drive changes in identity verification - Help Net Security
Tracking down a trojan: An inside look at threat hunting in a corporate network (malwarebytes.com)
The Top 10 endpoint security challenges and how to overcome them | VentureBeat
Why You Need Cyber Insurance and How to Obtain It - Arctic Wolf
Cloud Security: Don’t Confuse Vendor and Tool Consolidation - The New Stack
Disaster recovery challenges enterprise CISOs face - Help Net Security
Implementing Risk-Based Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation (thehackernews.com)
Research Reveals UK Firms Plan to Embrace New Era of Digital Identity- IT Security Guru
Reports Published in the Last Week
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 April 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 April 2023:
- Navigating The Future of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber Security Training, and Digital Transformation Are Key
- Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises
- The Strong Link Between Cyber Threat Intelligence and Digital Risk Protection
- Weak Credentials, Unpatched Vulnerabilities, Malicious Open Source Packages Causing Cloud Security Risks
- Over 70 billion Unprotected Files Available on Unsecured Web Servers
- Cyber Thieves Are Getting More Creative
- Modernising Vulnerability Management: The Move Toward Exposure Management
- Almost Three-quarters of Cyber Attacks Involve Ransomware
- Corporate Boards Pressure CISOs to Step Up Risk Mitigation Efforts
- NSA Sees ‘Significant’ Russian Intel Gathering on European, US Supply Chain Entities
- Email Threat Report 2023: Key Takeaways
- 5 Most Dangerous New Attack Techniques
- Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data
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
Navigating the Future of Cyber: Business Strategy, Cyber Security Training, and Digital Transformation are Key
Cyber investments have become table stakes for businesses around the world. Cyber crime is increasing, with 91% of organisations reporting at least one cyber incident in the past year. Not only are they growing in numbers, but they are becoming more sophisticated and diverse, with new threats constantly emerging. According to the 2023 Deloitte Global Future of Cyber survey, business leaders are changing how they think of cyber, and it’s emerging as a larger strategic discussion tied to an organisation’s long-term success.
Cyber is about more than protecting information—risk management, incident response planning, threat intelligence and training can often be directly correlated to increasing trust within businesses.
Cyber security training is essential for employees to ensure the safety and security of a business. Employees are often the first line of defence against cyber-attacks and frequently the weakest link in an organisation's security posture. Cyber security training can help employees recognise and avoid common cyber threats, such as phishing attacks, malware, and social engineering. 89% of organisations cited as high-performing cyber organisations have implemented annual cyber awareness training among all employees. With increased digital dependency year over year—effective employee training can raise awareness, reduce risk, improve security posture, and support compliance.
Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises
There's no denying that software-as-a-service (SaaS) has entered its golden age. Software tools have now become essential to modern business operations and continuity. However, not enough organisations have implemented the proper procurement processes to ensure they're protecting themselves from potential data breaches and reputational harm.
A critical component contributing to concerns around SaaS management is the rising trend of shadow IT, which is when employees download and use software tools without notifying their internal IT teams. A recent study shows that 77% of IT professionals believe that shadow IT is becoming a major concern in 2023, with more than 65% saying their SaaS tools aren't being approved. Organisations are beginning to struggle with maintaining security as their SaaS usage continues to sprawl.
To combat shadow IT and the high risks that come along with it, organisations must gain greater visibility over their SaaS stacks and institute an effective procurement process when bringing on new software solutions.
https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/shadow-it-saas-pose-security-liability-for-enterprises
The Strong Link Between Cyber Threat Intelligence and Digital Risk Protection
While indicators of compromise and attackers’ tactics, techniques, and processes (TTPs) remain central to threat intelligence, cyber threat intelligence needs have grown over the past few years, driven by things like digital transformation, cloud computing and remote working. In fact, these changes have led to a cyber threat intelligence (CTI) subcategory focused on digital risk protection (DRP). DRP is broadly defined as, “telemetry, analysis, processes, and technologies used to identify and mitigate risks associated with digital assets”.
According to research provider ESG, the most important functions of DRP as part of a mature CTI programme are: vulnerability exploit intelligence, takedown services, leaked data monitoring, malicious mobile application monitoring, brand protection and attack surface management. It should be noted that a mature CTI programme can utilise service providers to help carry out threat intelligence, it doesn’t have to be spun up by the organisation from nothing. Regardless, an organisation employing these DRP functions as part of a CTI programme will be increasing its cyber resilience and reducing the chance of a cyber incident.
Weak Credentials, Unpatched Vulnerabilities, Malicious Open Source Packages Causing Cloud Security Risks
Threat actors are getting more adept at exploiting common everyday issues in the cloud, including misconfigurations, weak credentials, lack of authentication, unpatched vulnerabilities, and malicious open-source software (OSS) packages. Meanwhile, security teams take an average of 145 hours to solve alerts, with 80% of cloud alerts triggered by just 5% of security rules in most environments according to a recent report. The report, conducted by UNIT 42 analysed the workload of 210,000 cloud accounts across 1,300 organisations.
The report’s findings echoed similarities from the previous year, finding almost all cloud users, roles, services and resources grant excessive permissions. Some of the other key findings include as many as 83% of organisations having hard-coded credentials in their source control management systems, 53% of cloud accounts allowing weak password usage and 44% allowing password reuse and 71% of high or critical vulnerabilities exposed were at least two years old.
Over 70 Billion Unprotected Files Available on Unsecured Web Servers
A recent report found that more than 70 billion files, including intellectual property and financial information, are freely available and unprotected on unsecured web servers. Other key findings of the report included almost 1 in 10 of all detected internet-facing assets having an unpatched vulnerability, with the top 10 vulnerabilities found unpatched at least 12 million times each.
The report predicted that there will be a significant rise in information stealing malware; the report had found that 50% of emails associated with customers were plaintext and unencrypted. Additionally, there will be more incidents due to an increase in assets which are not known to IT, known as shadow IT.
Organisations should look to employ efficient patch management, have an up to date asset register, and use encryption to better increase their cyber defences.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/24/critical-cybersecurity-exposures/
Cyber Thieves Are Getting More Creative
Cyber criminals are constantly changing their tactics and finding new ways to steal money from organisations. An example of this can be seen where criminals are breaking into systems to learn who is authorised to send payments and what the procedures are. Eventually, this leads to the criminal instructing payment to their own account.
Unfortunately, it is only after such events that some organisations are taking actions, such as verifying payments through phone calls. Whilst it is important for organisations to learn from attacks, it is beneficial to take a pro-active approach and employ procedures such as call back procedures before an incident has occurred.
https://hbr.org/2023/04/cyber-thieves-are-getting-more-creative
Modernising Vulnerability Management: The Move Toward Exposure Management
Managing vulnerabilities in the constantly evolving technological landscape is a difficult task. Although vulnerabilities emerge regularly, not all vulnerabilities present the same level of risk. Traditional metrics such as CVSS score or the number of vulnerabilities are insufficient for effective vulnerability management as they lack business context, prioritisation, and understanding of attackers' motivations, opportunities and means. Vulnerabilities only represent a small part of the attack surface that attackers can leverage.
Exposures are broader and can encompass more than just vulnerabilities. Exposures can result from various factors, such as human error, improperly defined security controls, and poorly designed and unsecured architecture. Organisations should consider that an attacker doesn’t just look at one exposure; attackers will often use a combination of vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, permissions and other exposures to move across systems and reach valuable assets.
As such, organisations looking to improve their cyber resiliency should consider their vulnerability management system and assess both whether it is taking into account exposures and the context in relation to the organisation.
https://thehackernews.com/2023/04/modernizing-vulnerability-management.html
Two-thirds of Cyber Attacks Involve Ransomware
A report from Sophos focusing on recent incident response cases, found that 68.4% of incidents resulted from ransomware. This was followed by network breaches, accounting for 18.4%. Regarding threat actor access, the report found that unpatched vulnerabilities were the single most common access method, followed by compromised credentials.
Corporate Boards Pressure CISOs to Step Up Risk Mitigation Efforts
A recent report found that the top challenges when implementing an effective cyber/IT risk management programme include an increase in the quantity (49%) and severity (49%) of cyber threats, a lack of funding (37%) and a lack of staffing/cyber risk talent (36%).
Cyber attacks have been increasing for several years now and resulting data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.35 million in 2022, according to the annual IBM ‘Cost of a Data Breach’ report. Given the financial and reputational consequences of cyber attacks, corporate board rooms are putting pressure on CISOs to identify and mitigate cyber/IT risk.
When it came to reporting to the board, 30% of CIO and CISO respondents say they do not communicate risk around specific business initiatives to other company leaders, indicating they may not know how to share that information in a constructive way.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/26/effective-it-risk-management/
NSA Sees ‘Significant’ Russian Intel Gathering on European, US Supply Chain Entities
According to the US National Security Agency (NSA), Russian hackers could be looking to attack logistics targets more broadly. The NSA have noted a significant amount of intelligence gathering into western countries, including the UK and the US.
Although there is no indication yet regarding attacks from Russia in connection with the logistics related to Ukraine, organisations should be aware and look to improve their cyber security practices to be best prepared.
https://cyberscoop.com/nsa-russian-ukraine-supply-chain-ransomware/
Email Threat Report 2023: Key Takeaways
According to a recent report, email phishing made up 24% of all spam types in 2022, a significant increase in proportion from 11% in 2021. The finance industry was the most targeted by far, accounting for 48% of phishing incidents. It is followed by the construction sector at 17%, overtaking 2021’s second-place industry, e-commerce. Both the finance and construction industries saw an increase in phishing since last year. Of all the emails analysed in 2022, an enormous 90% were spam emails.
With phishing as prevalent as ever, organisations should look to implement training for their staff to not only be able to spot phishing emails, but to be able to report these and aid in improving the cyber security culture of their organisation.
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/04/27/email-threat-report-2023-key-takeaways/
5 Most Dangerous New Attack Techniques
Experts from security training provider SANS Institute have revealed the 5 most dangerous new attack techniques: adversarial AI, ChatGPT-powered social engineering, third-party developer attacks (also known as software supply chain attacks), SEO, and paid advertising attacks.
The new techniques highlight the ever changing environment of the attack environment. SEO and paid advertising attacks are leveraging fundamental marketing strategies to gain initial access, heightening the importance for organisations to incorporate scalable user awareness training programmes, tailored to new threats.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3694892/5-most-dangerous-new-attack-techniques.html
Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data
A shocking number of organisations — including banks and healthcare providers — are leaking private and sensitive information from their public Salesforce Community websites. The data exposures all stem from a misconfiguration in Salesforce Community that allows an unauthenticated user to access records that should only be available after logging in.
This included the US State of Vermont who had at least five separate Salesforce Community sites that allowed guest access to sensitive data, including a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme that exposed the applicant’s full name, social security number, address, phone number, email, and bank account number. Similar information was leaked by TCF Bank on their Salesforce Community Website.
It's not just Salesforce though; misconfigurations in general are responsible for a number of leaked documents and or exposures relating to an organisation.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/04/many-public-salesforce-sites-are-leaking-private-data/
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
New coercive tactics used to extort ransomware payments - Help Net Security
Almost three-quarters of cyber attacks involve ransomware | Computer Weekly
Ransomware attacks, human error main cause of cloud data breaches: Report (business-standard.com)
Effects of the Hive Ransomware Group Takedown (darkreading.com)
Microsoft Confirms PaperCut Servers Used to Deliver LockBit and Cl0p Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Tank storage company Vopak hacked, Ransomware groups report | NL Times
Health insurer Point32Health suffered a ransomware attack-Security Affairs
Hacker demands ransom after 'taking control' of Wiltshire school's IT | Swindon Advertiser
RSAC speaker offers ransomware victims unconventional advice | TechTarget
How ransomware victims can make the best of a bad situation | TechTarget
Hackers Leaked Minneapolis Students' Psychological Reports, Allegations of Abuse (gizmodo.com)
Linux version of RTM Locker ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
CommScope employees left in the dark after ransomware attack | TechCrunch
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
How Dangerous Is Phishing in 2023? - Duo Blog | Duo Security
The New Frontier in Email Security: Goodbye, Gateways; Hello, Behavioural AI (darkreading.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
2FA/MFA
CrowdStrike details new MFA bypass, credential theft attack | TechTarget
Phishing-resistant MFA shapes the future of authentication forms - Help Net Security
Malware
Malware-Free Cyber attacks Are On the Rise; Here's How to Detect Them (darkreading.com)
Ex-Conti and FIN7 Actors Collaborate with New Backdoor (securityintelligence.com)
EvilExtractor malware activity spikes in Europe and the US (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zaraza Malware Exploits Web Browsers To Steal Stored Passwords (latesthackingnews.com)
This evil malware disables your security software, then goes in for the kill | TechRadar
Decoy Dog malware toolkit found after analysing 70 billion DNS queries (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus Subgroup Targeting Apple Devices with New RustBucket macOS Malware (thehackernews.com)
A Security Team Is Turning This Malware Gang’s Tricks Against It | WIRED
Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software | WeLiveSecurity
Google banned 173K developer accounts to block malware, fraud rings (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chinese Cyber spies Delivered Malware via Legitimate Software Updates - SecurityWeek
Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online
Mobile
WhatsApp used in BEC scam to pilfer $6.4M | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
35M Downloads Of Android Minecraft Clones Spreads Adware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
New SLP bug can lead to massive 2,200x DDoS amplification attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Anonymous Sudan' Claims Responsibility for DDoS Attacks Against Israel (darkreading.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Over 70 billion unprotected files available on unsecured web servers - Help Net Security
Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data – Krebs on Security
American Bar Association data breach hits 1.4 million members (bleepingcomputer.com)
American Bar Association (ABA) suffered a data breach-Security Affairs
Shields Health Breach Exposes 2.3M Users' Data (darkreading.com)
Serving UK Armed Forces member charged under Official Secrets Act (telegraph.co.uk)
Yellow Pages Canada confirms cyber attack as Black Basta leaks data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vantage Travel Experiences Data Security Incident (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
The IRS is sending four investigators across the world to fight cyber crime | TechCrunch
US deploys more cyber forces abroad to help fight hackers | Reuters
The ‘Your computer was locked’ scam is gaining traction (consumeraffairs.com)
Google banned 173K developer accounts to block malware, fraud rings (bleepingcomputer.com)
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
The Huge 3CX Breach Was Actually 2 Linked Supply Chain Attacks | WIRED
That 3CX supply chain attack keeps getting worse • The Register
NSA sees 'significant' Russian intel gathering on European, US supply chain entities | CyberScoop
North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyber attack | CNN Politics
SD Worx hack: Payroll firm for M&S hit by cyber attack (thetimes.co.uk)
A third-party’s perspective on third-party InfoSec risk management - Help Net Security
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Shadow IT, SaaS Pose Security Liability for Enterprises (darkreading.com)
14 Kubernetes and Cloud Security Challenges and How to Solve Them (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware attacks, human error main cause of cloud data breaches: Report (business-standard.com)
GhostToken Flaw Could Let Attackers Hide Malicious Apps in Google Cloud Platform (thehackernews.com)
Saas Security: The Need For Continuous Sustenance (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
How CISOs navigate security and compliance in a multi-cloud world - Help Net Security
Security experts found a major bug in Google Cloud | TechRadar
Most SaaS adopters exposed to browser-borne attacks - Help Net Security
Exposed Artifacts Seen In Misconfigured Cloud Software Registries (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Google accounts attacked and hijacked by this devious security flaw | TechRadar
Containers
Kubernetes RBAC abused to create persistent cluster backdoors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Experts spotted first-ever crypto mining campaign leveraging Kubernetes RBAC-Security Affairs
Combating Kubernetes — the Newest IAM Challenge (darkreading.com)
Attack Surface Management
Over 70 billion unprotected files available on unsecured web servers - Help Net Security
Study of past cyber attacks can improve organisations' defence strategies - Help Net Security
Shadow IT
Identity and Access Management
Rethinking the effectiveness of current authentication initiatives - Help Net Security
Combating Kubernetes — the Newest IAM Challenge (darkreading.com)
Open Source
The double-edged sword of open-source software - Help Net Security
Linux Shift: Chinese APT Alloy Taurus Is Back With Retooling (darkreading.com)
Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online
Linux version of RTM Locker ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Password reset woes could cost FTSE 100 companies $156 million each month - Help Net Security
A '!password20231#' password may not be as complex as you think (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
Malvertising
Google ads push BumbleBee malware used by ransomware gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)
35M Downloads Of Android Minecraft Clones Spreads Adware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Digital Transformation
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Corporate boards pressure CISOs to step up risk mitigation efforts - Help Net Security
How the Talent Shortage Impacts Cyber security Leadership (securityintelligence.com)
Is your bank account safe? Mass layoffs weaken cyber security across finance sector | Fox Business
The strong link between cyber threat intelligence and digital risk protection | CSO Online
Organisations are stepping up their game against cyber threats - Help Net Security
CISOs: unsupported, unheard, and invisible - Help Net Security
The Relationship Between Security Maturity and Business Enablement | CSO Online
CISOs Rethink Data Security with Info-Centric Framework (darkreading.com)
UK Cyber Pros Burnt Out and Overwhelmed - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Good, Better And Best Security (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
SANS Reveals Top 5 Most Dangerous Cyber attacks for 2023 (darkreading.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
UK Cyber Pros Burnt Out and Overwhelmed - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How to Begin a Career in Ethical Hacking in the Year 2023? (analyticsinsight.net)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
To combat cyber crime, US law enforcement increasingly prioritizes disruption | CyberScoop
US to focus on stifling cyber attacks, not convictions • The Register
US deploys more cyber forces abroad to help fight hackers | Reuters
Effects of the Hive Ransomware Group Takedown (darkreading.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Artificial Intelligence
The Growing Need for Cyber Security in an Age of AI Disruption (analyticsinsight.net)
Cyber security Survival: Hide From Adversarial AI (darkreading.com)
AI Experts: Account for AI/ML Resilience & Risk While There's Still Time (darkreading.com)
NSA Cyber security Director Says ‘Buckle Up’ for Generative AI | WIRED
From ChatGPT to HackGPT: Meeting the Cyber security Threat of Generative AI (mit.edu)
ChatGPT fans need 'defensive mindset' to avoid scammers • The Register
DHS announces AI task force, security sprint on China-related threats | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
The New Frontier in Email Security: Goodbye, Gateways; Hello, Behavioral AI (darkreading.com)
Nvidia releases a toolkit to make text-generating AI ‘safer’ | TechCrunch
Artificial intelligence takes RSA Conference by storm | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Secureworks CEO weighs in on XDR landscape, AI concerns | TechTarget
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
FBI aiding Ukraine in collection of digital and physical war crime evidence | CyberScoop
NSA sees 'significant' Russian intel gathering on European, US supply chain entities | CyberScoop
UK undersea cables worth £7.4 trillion a day under ‘real threat’ from Russia | The Independent
Eurocontrol says website 'under attack' by pro-Russia crew • The Register
Iran cyberespionage group taps SimpleHelp for persistence on victim devices | CSO Online
Russian Hackers Tomiris Targeting Central Asia for Intelligence Gathering (thehackernews.com)
CISA, Cyber Command Collaboration Blocks Attempted Attacks on US Interests - MSSP Alert
Nation State Actors
Chinese Cyber spies Delivered Malware via Legitimate Software Updates - SecurityWeek
North Korean hackers breach software firm in significant cyber attack | CNN Politics
China building cyber weapons to hijack enemy satellites, says US leak | Financial Times (ft.com)
NCSC raises alert on cyber threat to infrastructure | UKAuthority
Iran cyberespionage group taps SimpleHelp for persistence on victim devices | CSO Online
DHS announces AI task force, security sprint on China-related threats | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korea's Kimsuky APT Keeps Growing, Despite Public Outing (darkreading.com)
APT 'Mint Sandstorm' quickly exploits new PoC hacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Russian Hackers Suspected in Ongoing Exploitation of Unpatched PaperCut Servers (thehackernews.com)
Lazarus Subgroup Targeting Apple Devices with New RustBucket macOS Malware (thehackernews.com)
US Cyberwarriors Thwarted 2020 Iran Election Hacking Attempt - SecurityWeek
Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software | WeLiveSecurity
Linux Shift: Chinese APT Alloy Taurus Is Back With Retooling (darkreading.com)
Charming Kitten's New BellaCiao Malware Discovered in Multi-Country Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Iranian cyber spies deploy new malware implant on Microsoft Exchange Servers | CSO Online
Ukrainian arrested for selling data of 300M people to Russians (bleepingcomputer.com)
FIN7 Hackers Caught Exploiting Recent Veeam Vulnerability - SecurityWeek
Chinese hackers launch Linux variant of PingPull malware | CSO Online
CISA, Cyber Command Collaboration Blocks Attempted Attacks on US Interests - MSSP Alert
Lazarus, Scarcruft North Korean APTs Shift Tactics, Thrive (darkreading.com)
Vulnerabilities
New Google Chrome Zero-Day Bug Actively Exploited in Wide (gbhackers.com)
Flaw in Microsoft Process Explorer under active attack • The Register
APC warns of critical unauthenticated RCE flaws in UPS software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Double zero-day in Chrome and Edge – check your versions now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Security experts found a major bug in Google Cloud | TechRadar
TP-Link Archer WiFi router flaw exploited by Mirai malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
SolarWinds Platform Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek
VMware Releases Critical Patches for Workstation and Fusion Software (thehackernews.com)
Cisco discloses XSS zero-day flaw in server management tool (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft removes LSA Protection from Windows settings to fix bug (bleepingcomputer.com)
PaperCut says hackers are exploiting ‘critical’ security flaws in unpatched servers | TechCrunch
FIN7 Hackers Caught Exploiting Recent Veeam Vulnerability - SecurityWeek
Tools and Controls
Corporate boards pressure CISOs to step up risk mitigation efforts - Help Net Security
14 Kubernetes and Cloud Security Challenges and How to Solve Them (thehackernews.com)
Six Key Considerations When Choosing a Web Application Firewall - Security Boulevard
The Complexities of Cyber Insurance | Cyber Risk Management (telos.com)
Unified Endpoint Management: A Powerful Tool for Your Cyber security Arsenal | CSO Online
GitLab’s new security feature uses AI to explain vulnerabilities to developers | TechCrunch
Google Authenticator finally, mercifully adds account syncing for two-factor codes - The Verge
The Needs of a Modernized SOC for Hybrid Cloud (securityintelligence.com)
Rethinking the effectiveness of current authentication initiatives - Help Net Security
Google will add End-to-End encryption to Google Authenticator (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google 2FA Syncing Feature Could Put Your Privacy at Risk (darkreading.com)
CISOs struggle to manage risk due to DevSecOps inefficiencies - Help Net Security
Generative AI and security: Balancing performance and risk - Help Net Security
CISA aims to reduce email threats with serial CDR prototype | TechTarget
Threat Actor Names Proliferate, Adding Confusion (darkreading.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
The threat from commercial cyber proliferation - NCSC.GOV.UK
Hackers could learn how to send fake terror threats on YouTube, warn experts (telegraph.co.uk)
Government launches new cyber security measures to tackle ever growing threats - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Attackers are logging in instead of breaking in - Help Net Security
38 Countries Take Part in NATO's 2023 Locked Shields Cyber Exercise - SecurityWeek
The White House National Cyber security Strategy Has a Fatal Flaw (darkreading.com)
Threat Actor Names Proliferate, Adding Confusion (darkreading.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.
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 Cyber Threat Briefing 31 March 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 31 March 2023:
-Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022
-The End User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk
-Millions of Penetration Tests Show Companies’ Security Postures are Getting Worse
-71% of Employees Keep Work Passwords on Personal Devices
-Cyber Crime Frontlines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe
-Security Flaws Cost Fifth of Executive’s Businesses
-Companies Struggle to Build and Run Effective Programs to Protect Data from Insider Threats
-Only 10% of Workers Remember All Their Cyber Security Training
-Silence Gets You Nowhere in a Data Breach
-Just 1% of Cloud Permissions are Actively Used
-Dangerous Misconceptions About Emerging Cyber Threats
-‘Grim’ Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns
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
Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022
The volume of phishing emails sent in 2022 spiked by a jaw-dropping 569% according to a new report. Based on data from 35 million users, the report details the astronomical rise of email phishing as a tactic among threat actors in 2022. Key findings from the report include the number of credential phishing emails sent spiked by 478% and, for the eighth consecutive year, business email compromise (BEC) ranked as the top cyber crime.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/phishing-emails-up-whopping-569-percent-2022
The End User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk
Businesses rely on their end users, but those same users often don't follow the best security practices. Without the right password security policies, a single end user password mistake can be a costly breach of your organisation's defences. End users want to do their work quickly and efficiently, but sharing, reusing and weak passwords can put your organisation at risk so having the right policies in place is essential for security.
Millions of Penetration Tests Show Companies’ Security Postures are Getting Worse
The risk score for the average company worsened in the past year as companies fail to adapt to data exfiltration techniques and adequately protect web applications. Companies' effective data-exfiltration risk increased to 44 out of 100 (with 100 indicating the riskiest posture) in 2022, from an average score of 30 in the previous year, indicating that the overall risk of data being compromised has increased. That's according to rankings by Cymulate, who crunched data on 1.7 million hours of offensive cyber security testing. The research noted that while many companies are improving the adoption of strict network and group policies, attackers are adapting to sidestep such protections. They also found that four of the top-10 CVEs (known vulnerabilities) identified in customer environments were more than two years old.
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/millions-pen-tests-companies-security-posture-getting-worse
71% of Employees Keep Work Passwords on Personal Devices
71% of employees store sensitive work passwords on their personal phones, and 66% use their personal texting apps for work, according to a new mobile bring your own device (BYOD) security report this week, with the report also suggesting 95% of security leaders are increasingly concerned about phishing attacks via private messaging apps. With the widespread use of personal mobile devices in the workplace, it is increasingly difficult for employers to ensure the security of sensitive information. The use of personal devices and personal apps was the direct cause of many high-profile corporate breaches and this is a trend that will surely continue, as employees often use corporate and personal devices for work, effectively doubling the attack surface for cyber criminals as threat actors know there are fewer security controls on personal mobile devices than on corporate ones.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/70-employees-keep-work-passwords/
Cyber Frontlines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe
More than a year into the war in Ukraine, hackers have extended the cyber battleground to Eastern and Northern Europe with the number of incidents in those geographies spiking noticeably. A new report shows that cyber warfare inside the conflict has “clearly moved on” from the beginnings of the war. Over the last 12 months, the research reports that the majority of incidents only affecting Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022 (50.4%) sank to 28.6% in the third period. But European Union countries have seen a spike in incidents related to the war in the past six months from 9.8% to 46.5%. Indeed, the number of attacks on EU countries in the third quarter of 2022 totalled just slightly less than those in the Ukraine. And, in the first quarter of this year, more than 80% of incidents occurred inside the European Union. Cyber is now a crucial weapon in the arsenal of new instruments of war, alongside disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, economic warfare, sabotage and guerrilla tactics. With the lateralisation of the conflict from Ukraine to the rest of Europe, Western Europe should be wary of possible attacks on critical infrastructure in the short term if the conflict continues to accelerate.
Security Flaws Cost Fifth of Executives New Business
Boards continue to under-appreciate the value of cyber security to the business, despite acknowledging its critical role in winning new business and talent, according to Trend Micro. The security giant polled 2,718 business decision makers globally to compile its Risky Rewards study and it found that half (51%) believe cyber security is a necessary cost but not a revenue contributor. 48% argue that its value is limited to threat prevention and two-fifths (38%) see security as a barrier rather than a business enabler. That’s despite a fifth (19%) acknowledging that poor security posture has already impacted their ability to win new business, and 57% thinking there is a strong connection between cyber and client acquisition.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/fifth-execs-security-flaws-cost/
Companies Struggle to Build and Run Effective Programs to Protect Data from Insider Threats
Insider risk is emerging as one of the most challenging threats for organisations to detect, mitigate and manage, Code42 Software said in its annual Data Exposure Report for 2023. To compile data for the study they surveyed some 700 cyber security leaders, managers and practitioners and whilst more than 72% of companies indicated they have an insider risk management (IRM) program in place, the same companies experienced a year-over-year increase in data loss incidents of 32%. 71% of respondees expect data loss from insider events to increase in the next 12 months. Insider incidents are costing organisations $16 million per incident on average, and chief information security officers (CISOs) say that insider risks are the most challenging type of threat to detect. Data loss from insiders is not a new problem but it has become more complex with workforce turnover and cloud adoption.
Only 10% of Workers Remember All Their Cyber Security Training
New research has found that only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training. Furthermore, only half of employees are undergoing regular training, and a quarter aren’t receiving any training at all. Organisations should look to carry out effective and regular training that is tailored to their employees to increase the chance of training content being retained, with a programme of ongoing continual reinforcement.
Silence Gets You Nowhere in a Data Breach
In cyber security, the phrase “what they don’t know won’t hurt them” is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. Despite this, it’s a motto that remains in many organisations’ PR playbooks, as demonstrated by the recent LastPass and Fortra data breaches. Smaller companies, too, are employing a silent-treatment approach to data breaches, and cyber attacks are now a fact of doing business with almost half of US organisations having suffered a cyber attack in 2022. Attackers are increasingly targeting smaller businesses due to the fact they are seen as easier targets than large companies.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/29/silence-gets-you-nowhere-in-a-data-breach/
Just 1% of Cloud Permissions are Actively Used
According to Microsoft, a surge in workload identities, super admins and “over-permissioning” is driving the increase in cyber risk for organisations. Just 1% of users are using the permissions granted to them for day-to-day work. Worryingly, this leaves a significant number of unnecessary permissions which could be used by an attacker to elevate their privileges.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/just-1-of-cloud-permissions-used/
Dangerous Misconceptions About Emerging Cyber Threats
Organisations are leaving common attack paths exposed in their quest to combat emergent threats, according to a new report that delves into the efficacy of different security controls, the most concerning threats as tested by organisations worldwide, and top cyber security best practices for 2023. One of the key findings of the report is that many organisations are actively testing against threats seen in the news, likely from pressure to report on their exposure risk to emergent threats, and whilst this is good, it should not take away from assessing threats and exposures that are more likely actively targeting the business.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/30/misconceptions-emerging-cyber-threats/
‘Grim’ Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns
Europol has warned that criminals are set to take advantage of artificial intelligence to commit fraud and other crimes. Europol highlighted that ChatGPT could be used to speed up criminal research, impersonate speech styles for phishing and write code. Furthermore, despite ChatGPT having safeguards, Europol note that these can be circumvented.
https://www.securityweek.com/grim-criminal-abuse-of-chatgpt-is-coming-europol-warns/
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware | CIO
Clop Keeps Racking Up Ransomware Victims With GoAnywhere Flaw (darkreading.com)
New IcedID malware variants shift from banking trojans to ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Publicly disclosed US ransomware attacks in 2023 | TechTarget
Virgin Group added to Cl0p gang’s victim leak site | Cybernews
New York law firm coughs up $200k after hospital data stolen • The Register
Telecom giant Lumen suffered a ransomware attack-Security Affairs
Ransomware crooks are exploiting IBM file exchange bug with a 9.8 severity | Ars Technica
DarkBit puts data from Israel’s Technion university on sale | CSO Online
Crown Resorts investigating potential data breach after being contacted by hacking group - ABC News
Children’s data feared stolen in Fortra ransomware attack | TechCrunch
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022 (darkreading.com)
IRS Phishing Emails Used to Distribute Emotet - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
These next-level phishing scams use PayPal or Google Docs to steal your data | TechRadar
Winter Vivern hackers exploit Zimbra flaw to steal NATO emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
BEC scammers are after physical goods, the FBI warns - Help Net Security
Australian police arrest four BEC actors who stole $1.7 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
New BEC Tactics Enable Fake Asset Purchases - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
FBI: Business email compromise tactics used to defraud US vendors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
2FA/MFA
Malware
New IcedID malware variants shift from banking trojans to ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
MacStealer macOS malware appears in cyber crime underground--Security Affairs
Cyber Scammers Using Decentralized File Distribution System to Spread Malware - MSSP Alert
Microsoft confirms Defender has gone rogue as it's flagging legit links as malware - Neowin
North Korean malware-spreading, crypto-stealing gang named • The Register
Malware disguised as Tor browser steals $400k in cryptocash • The Register
NullMixer Polymorphic Malware Variant Infects 8K Targets in Just a Month (darkreading.com)
Chinese Cyber spies Use 'Melofee' Linux Malware for Stealthy Attacks - SecurityWeek
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Realtek and Cacti flaws now actively exploited by malware botnets (bleepingcomputer.com)
AlienFox malware caught in the cloud hen house • The Register
Microsoft OneNote will block 120 dangerous file extensions (bleepingcomputer.com)
IRS Phishing Emails Used to Distribute Emotet - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Mobile
Android-based banking Trojan Nexus now available as malware-as-a-service | CSO Online
Inaudible ultrasound attack can stealthily control your phone, smart speaker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia’s Rostec allegedly can de-anonymize Telegram users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android app from China executed 0-day exploit on millions of devices | Ars Technica
Google again accused of destroying evidence in Android case • The Register
Google finds more Android, iOS zero-days used to install spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Samsung keeps ignoring a huge security flaw in millions of Galaxy phones - SamMobile
iOS Vs. Android – Which Is The More Secure Platform? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Inaudible ultrasound attack can stealthily control your phone, smart speaker (bleepingcomputer.com)
This devious cyber attack can target all your smart speakers without you realizing | TechRadar
Gone in 120 seconds: Tesla Model 3 child's play for hackers • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
Fortra told breached companies their data was safe | TechCrunch
Procter & Gamble confirms data theft via GoAnywhere zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)
New York law firm coughs up $200k after hospital data stolen • The Register
Toyota scrambles to patch customer data leak-Security Affairs
500k Impacted by Data Breach at Debt Buyer NCB - SecurityWeek
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Malware disguised as Tor browser steals $400k in cryptocash • The Register
NullMixer Polymorphic Malware Variant Infects 8K Targets in Just a Month (darkreading.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Data loss from insider events increase despite IRM programs, says study | CSO Online
Stop Blaming the End User for Security Risk (darkreading.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Visa fraud expert outlines the many faces of payment ecosystem fraud - Help Net Security
Cyber Scammers Using Decentralized File Distribution System to Spread Malware - MSSP Alert
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
Organisations Reassess Cyber Insurance as Self-Insurance Strategies Emerge (darkreading.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Hackers compromise 3CX desktop app in a supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Winter Vivern hackers exploit Zimbra flaw to steal NATO emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Just 1% of Cloud Permissions Are Actively Used - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Where SSO Falls Short in Protecting SaaS (thehackernews.com)
CISA Releases Hunt Tool for Microsoft's Cloud Services (darkreading.com)
Balancing security risks and innovation potential of shadow IT teams - Help Net Security
AlienFox malware caught in the cloud hen house • The Register
Hybrid/Remote Working
Cyber security focus in second Digital Europe work programme – EURACTIV.com
More companies are watching their remote workers WFH on camera | Fortune
Shadow IT
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
The End-User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Research Examines Traffers and the Business of Stolen Credentials - IT Security Guru
Social Media
Training, Education and Awareness
The era of passive cyber security awareness training is over - Help Net Security
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
Cyber security vs. Everyone: From Conflict to Collaboration (darkreading.com)
Using Observability to Power a Smarter Cyber security Strategy (darkreading.com)
How cyber security decision-makers perceive cyber resilience - Help Net Security
NCSC issues revised security Board Toolkit for business leaders | Computer Weekly
The CISO Mantra: Get Ready to Do More With Less (darkreading.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
FBI confirms access to Breached cyber crime forum database (bleepingcomputer.com)
UK creates fake DDoS-for-hire sites to identify cyber criminals (bleepingcomputer.com)
Australian police arrest four BEC actors who stole $1.7 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
20-Year-Old BreachForums Founder Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison (thehackernews.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
UK Introduces Mass Surveillance With Online Safety Bill - SecurityWeek
FBI Spent Tens of Thousands of Dollars on Bulk Data Collection (gizmodo.com)
Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC - BBC News
More companies are watching their remote workers WFH on camera | Fortune
Artificial Intelligence
'Grim' Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns - SecurityWeek
In Sudden Alarm, Tech Doyens Call for a Pause on ChatGPT | WIRED
Musk, Scientists Call for Halt to AI Race Sparked by ChatGPT - SecurityWeek
AI-fuelled search gives more power to the bad guys | CSO Online
Hacker demonstrates security flaws in GPT-4 just one day after launch | VentureBeat
Godfather of AI Says There's a Minor Risk It'll Eliminate Humanity (futurism.com)
Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC - BBC News
AI has figured out how to draw deepfake hands | The Independent
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Putin and Xi’s plot to control the internet will leave the West in the dust (telegraph.co.uk)
In A Surprise, China-Linked TikTok Grabs Power Norway Needs To Make Ammo (forbes.com)
Cyber crime Front Lines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe - MSSP Alert
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
'Bitter' espionage hackers target Chinese nuclear energy orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Earth Preta’s Cyber Espionage Campaign Hits Over 200 (trendmicro.com)
Biden White House Issues Executive Order on Commercial Spyware (gizmodo.com)
North Korean APT43 Group Uses Cybercrime to Fund Espionage Operations (thehackernews.com)
Google finds more Android, iOS zero-days used to install spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Over 200 Organisations Targeted in Chinese Cyber Espionage Campaign - SecurityWeek
Google: Commercial Spyware Used by Governments Laden With Zero-Day Exploits (darkreading.com)
Chinese Cyber spies Use 'Melofee' Linux Malware for Stealthy Attacks - SecurityWeek
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Pro-Russian hackers target elected US officials supporting Ukraine | Ars Technica
Russian spies more effective than army, say experts - BBC News
Cyber warfare leaks show Russian army is adopting mindset of secret police | Cyberwar | The Guardian
Nation State Actors
Uncle Sam sent cyber-soldiers to Albania to combat Iran • The Register
Russia’s Rostec allegedly can de-anonymize Telegram users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android app from China executed 0-day exploit on millions of devices | Ars Technica
China urges Apple to improve security and privacy • The Register
North Korean malware-spreading, crypto-stealing gang named • The Register
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Vulnerability Management
What you need before the next vulnerability hits - Help Net Security
Vulnerability management vs. risk management, compared | TechTarget
Most Weaponized Vulnerabilities of 2022 and 5 Key Risks: Report - SecurityWeek
Microsoft shares tips on detecting Outlook zero-day exploitation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ignoring network automation is a ticking time bomb for security - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft: No-Interaction Outlook Zero Day Exploited Since Last April - SecurityWeek
Microsoft shares tips on detecting Outlook zero-day exploitation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple patches everything, including a zero-day fix for iOS 15 users – Naked Security (sophos.com)
QNAP fixed Sudo privilege escalation bug in NAS devices-Security Affairs
Patch Now: Cyber criminals Set Sights on Critical IBM File Transfer Bug (darkreading.com)
Super FabriXss flaw in Microsoft Azure SFX could lead to RCE-Security Affairs
OpenAI quickly fixed account takeover bugs in ChatGPT-Security Affairs
Tools and Controls
Even with defence tools, CISOs say cyber attacks are ‘inevitable’ (techrepublic.com)
The era of passive cyber security awareness training is over - Help Net Security
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Prioritizing data security amid workforce disruptions - Help Net Security
Using Observability to Power a Smarter Cyber security Strategy (darkreading.com)
For database security it's down to people, not tech fixes • The Register
Known unknowns: Refining your approach to uncategorized web traffic - Help Net Security
Understanding adversaries through dark web intelligence - Help Net Security
Where SSO Falls Short in Protecting SaaS (thehackernews.com)
How Does Data Literacy Enhance Data Security? (darkreading.com)
CISA Releases Hunt Tool for Microsoft's Cloud Services (darkreading.com)
With Security Copilot, Microsoft brings the power of AI to cyber defence - Stories
Compare breach and attack simulation vs. penetration testing | TechTarget
Ignoring network automation is a ticking time bomb for security - Help Net Security
Microsoft's ‘Security Copilot’ Sics ChatGPT on Security Breaches | WIRED
Breaking the Mold: Pen Testing Solutions That Challenge the Status Quo (thehackernews.com)
Diagnose your SME’s Cyber security and Scan for Recommendations — ENISA (europa.eu)
Protect your entire business with the right authentication method - Help Net Security
Microsoft Defender is flagging legit URLs as malicious • The Register
Managing security in the cloud through Microsoft Intune | CSO Online
Top 5 SD-WAN Challenges and How to Prepare for Them | TechTarget
Organisations Reassess Cyber Insurance as Self-Insurance Strategies Emerge (darkreading.com)
The best defence against cyber threats for lean security teams - Help Net Security
Overcoming obstacles to introduce zero-trust security in established systems - Help Net Security
The foundation of a holistic identity security strategy - Help Net Security
The CISO Mantra: Get Ready to Do More With Less (darkreading.com)
Other News
Hackers changed tactics, went cross-platform in 2022, says Trend Micro | CSO Online
WiFi protocol flaw allows attackers to hijack network traffic (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft OneNote will block 120 dangerous file extensions (bleepingcomputer.com)
How CISOs Can Reduce the Danger of Using Data Brokers (darkreading.com)
How Does Data Literacy Enhance Data Security? (darkreading.com)
Microsoft uses carrot and stick with Exchange Online admins • The Register
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
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 March 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Briefing 03 March 2023:
-It’s Time to Evaluate Your Security Education Plan Amongst the Rise in Social Engineering Attacks
-Mobile Users are More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks
-Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber Crime
-Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes
-Attackers are Developing and Deploying Exploits Faster Than Ever
-Old Vulnerabilities are Haunting Organisations and Aiding Attackers
-Scams Drive Nearly $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022
-Economic Pressure are Increasing Cyber Security Risks and a Recession Would Only Further This
-Cyber Security in This Era of Polycrisis
-Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions
-Ransomware Attacks Ravaged Big Names in February
-Firms Who Pay Ransom Subsidise New Attacks
-How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber Crime
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
It’s Time to Evaluate Your Security Education Plan with the Rise in Social Engineering Attacks
Security provider Purplesec found 98% of attacks in 2022 involved an element of social engineering. Social engineering attacks can take many forms including phishing, smishing, vishing and quishing and it’s vital to educate your organisation on how to best prepare for these. Education plans should focusing on educating all levels of users, including those at the top. These plans should also be tested to allow organisations to assess where they are at and identify where they can improve.
Mobile Users are More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks
A report conducted by mobile security provider Lookout focused on the impact of mobile phishing. Some of the key findings from the report included that more than 50% of personal devices were exposed to a mobile phishing attack every quarter, the percentage of users falling for multiple mobile phishing links increasing and an increased targeting of highly regulated industries such as insurance, banking and financial services. It is likely that this has resulted from the increase in relaxed bring your own device (BYOD) policies.
Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber Crime
Phishing attacks are at an all-time high and the usage of Phishing as a Service (PaaS) opens this attack technique to virtually anyone. The sale of “phishing kits” and usage of artificial intelligence has further increased the availability of this attack technique. In response, organisations should look to improve their email security, cloud security and education programs for employees.
https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/23/c/phishing-as-a-service-phaas.html
Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes
The average time it takes for a threat actor to move laterally from a compromised host within an organisation dropped 14% between 2012 and 2022 down to 84 minutes, according to a report by security provider Crowdstrike. With the reduction in time it takes a threat actor to move across systems, organisations have even less time to enact their incident response plans and contain breaches effectively, putting further pressure on the incident response team. By responding quickly, organisations can minimise the cost and damage of a breach. The report from Crowdstrike found that organisations were facing increasing difficulty in detecting suspicious activity as attackers are choosing to use valid organisation credentials rather than malware, to gain access to an organisation’s systems.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/attacker-breakout-time-drops-just/
Attackers are Developing and Deploying Exploits Faster Than Ever
A report from security provider Rapid7 found that over 56% of vulnerabilities were exploited within seven days of public disclosure. Worryingly, the median time for exploitation in 2022 was just one day. The finding from the report highlights the need for organisations to not only conduct threat intelligence to be aware of vulnerabilities but to also look to employ patches where possible in a timely manner.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/attackers-developing-deploying-exploits/
Old Vulnerabilities are Haunting Organisations and Aiding Attackers
Known vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities for which patches have already been made available, are one of the primary attack vectors for threat actors. Vulnerability management vendor Tenable found that the top exploited vulnerabilities were originally disclosed as far back as 2017 and organisations that had not applied these patches were at increased risks of attack.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/known-exploitable-vulnerabilities/
Scams Drive Nearly $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022
Americans lost $8.8 billion to fraud last year, with imposter scams responsible for $2.8 billion of that amount, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Losses to business imposters were particularly damaging, climbing to $660 million from the previous year. Interestingly, the FTC found that younger people reported losing money to fraud the most often.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/investment-scams-drive-9bn-in/
Economic Pressure are Increasing Cyber Security Risks and a Recession Would Only Further This
The World Economic Forum’s recent report found that 93% of cyber security leaders and 86% of business leaders think it is moderately or very likely that global geopolitical instability will lead to a catastrophic cyber event in the next two years. Reinforcing this, a report from (ISC)² found that 80% of business executives believe a weakening economy will increase cyber threats and a recession will only amplify this.
Cyber Security in this Era of Polycrisis
A year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the geopolitical context is increasingly tense and volatile. The world faces several major crises in what has been coined a 'polycrisis,' a cluster of global shocks with compounding effects. This, along with increasing geopolitical tensions causes a rise in risk from cyber attacks. In fact, the European Union Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA) recently issued an alert regarding actors conducting malicious cyber activities against businesses and governments in the European Union and findings from Google show a 300% increase in state-sponsored cyber attacks targeting users in NATO countries.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/cybersecurity-in-an-era-of-polycrisis/
Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions
Research provider TRM labs found that some major Russian-linked ransomware crime gangs have rebranded their activities in 2022 to avoid sanctions. To strengthen their anonymity, two major ransomware crime gangs LockBit and Conti restructured their activities. Conti is reported to have restructured into three smaller groups named Black Besta, BlackByte, Karakurt. LockBit on the other hand launched LockBit 3.0, which is focused on monetary gain. Additionally, the report found that Russian-speaking darknet markets had amassed over $130 million in sales.
https://cryptopotato.com/russian-ransomware-projects-rebranded-to-avoid-western-sanctions-report/
Ransomware Attacks Ravaged Big Names in February
Despite the apparent slight drop in ransomware activity last month, several high profile targets of various industries were hit; this ranges from the likes of the US Marshal Service, retailer WH Smith, satellite provider Dish and many more. These attacks reinforce the concept that any organisation can be a victim, regardless of industry.
Firms Who Pay Ransoms Subsidise New Attacks
A report from security provider Trend Micro found that whilst only a relatively small number of ransomware victims pay their extorters, those that do pay are effectively funding 6-10 new attacks. The report also found that attackers are aware of which industries and countries pay ransoms more often, so organisations belonging to those industries and countries may find themselves an even more attractive target.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/firms-pay-ransom-subsidise-10/
How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber Crime
A report from threat intelligence provider Recorded Future has highlighted the impact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on cyber. Recorded Future explain how a number of threat actor groups fled during the war and in addition to differing political views between groups, there has been a disruption to the cyber environment. In fact, Recorded Future found that Russian-language dark web marketplaces have taken a major hit and the prediction is that the epicentre of cyber crime may shift to English-speaking dark web forums, shops and marketplaces.
https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/ukraine-war-fault-line-cybercrime-forever
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online
Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)
New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online
Ransomware Attacks: Don’t Let Your Guard Down - SecurityWeek
Ransomware attacks ravaged big names in February | TechTarget
Cyber Insurance Market Back From Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks (insurancejournal.com)
Royal Mail schools LockBit in leaked negotiation (malwarebytes.com)
'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register
Wiper malware goes global, destructive attacks surge - Help Net Security
A Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 3 (trendmicro.com)
New Exfiltrator-22 post-exploitation kit linked to LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
PureCrypter malware hits govt orgs with ransomware, info-stealers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bitdefender Releases Free Decryptor for MortalKombat Ransomware Strain (thehackernews.com)
Dish Network confirms ransomware attack behind multi-day outage (bleepingcomputer.com)
US Marshals Ransomware Hit Is 'Major' Incident (darkreading.com)
The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)
Vice Society publishes data stolen during Vesuvius ransomware attack • Graham Cluley
US Cybersecurity Agency Raises Alarm Over Royal Ransomware's Deadly Capabilities (thehackernews.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online
Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert
Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber crime (trendmicro.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online
Expert strategies for defending against multilingual email-based attacks - Help Net Security
Hackers Target Young Gamers: How Your Child Can Cause Business Compromise (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
As Social Engineering Attacks Skyrocket, Evaluate Your Security Education Plan (darkreading.com)
The Top 5 New Social Engineering Attacks in 2023 - (ISC)² Blog (isc2.org)
How to Prevent Callback Phishing Attacks on Your Organization (bleepingcomputer.com)
2FA/MFA
Malware
RIG Exploit Kit still infects enterprise users via Internet Explorer (bleepingcomputer.com)
Exfiltrator-22 Post-Exploitation Toolkit Nips At Cobalt Strike's Heels (darkreading.com)
Malicious package flood on PyPI might be sign of new attacks to come | CSO Online
Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
It's official: BlackLotus malware can bypass secure boot • The Register
Threat actors target law firms with GootLoader and SocGholish--Security Affairs
Mobile
Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert
Mobile Banking Trojans Surge, Doubling in Volume (darkreading.com)
Signal would 'walk' from UK if Online Safety Bill undermined encryption - BBC News
Don't be fooled by a pretty icon, malicious apps hide in plain sight - Help Net Security
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Data Breaches/Leaks
LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek
LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)
Stanford University discloses data breach affecting PhD applicants (bleepingcomputer.com)
Threat actors leak Activision employee data on hacking forum--Security Affairs
10 US states that suffered the most devastating data breaches in 2022 - Help Net Security
Australian orgs lodged 497 data breach notices in back half of 2022 - Security - iTnews
Hatch Bank discloses data breach after GoAnywhere MFT hack (bleepingcomputer.com)
GunAuction site was hacked and data of 565k accounts were exposed--Security Affairs
Chick-fil-A confirms accounts hacked in months-long "automated" attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
What GoDaddy's Years-Long Breach Means for Millions of Clients (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin mining rig found in school crawlspace • The Register
Highly evasive cryptocurrency miner targets macOS--Security Affairs
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Investment Scams Drive $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)
FTC reveals alarming increase in scam activity, costing consumers billions - Help Net Security
Resecurity identified the investment scam network Digital Smoke - Help Net Security
Pig butchering scam explained: Everything you need to know (techtarget.com)
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security
Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert
Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)
Software Supply Chain
Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)
SBOM is a 'massive galaxy of mess' for supply chain security • The Register
IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)
Cloud/SaaS
How to Tackle the Top SaaS Challenges of 2023 (thehackernews.com)
Cloud incident response: Frameworks and best practices | TechTarget
Security teams have no control over risky SaaS-to-SaaS connections - Help Net Security
It only takes one over-privileged identity to do major damage to a cloud - Help Net Security
SCARLETEEL hackers use advanced cloud skills to steal source code, data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)
Google Cloud Platform allows data exfiltration without a (forensic) trace - Help Net Security
What Happened in That Cyber attack? With Some Cloud Services, You May Never Know (darkreading.com)
New Report: Inside the High Risk of Third-Party SaaS Apps (darkreading.com)
Containers
Hybrid/Remote Working
Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)
How to work from home securely, the NSA way (malwarebytes.com)
Encryption
API
Open Source
Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Should organisations swear off open-source software altogether? | VentureBeat
IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek
Critical Vulnerabilities Allowed Booking.com Account Takeover - SecurityWeek
Sale of Stolen Credentials and Initial Access Dominate Dark Web Markets (darkreading.com)
Social Media
White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek
EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO
TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News
Meta says $725M deal ends all Cambridge Analytica claims; one state disagrees | Ars Technica
Training, Education and Awareness
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)
Cyber resilience in focus: EU act to set strict standards - Help Net Security
Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)
ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security
CISOs Share Their 3 Top Challenges for Cybersecurity Management (darkreading.com)
The Importance of Recession-Proofing Security Operations (darkreading.com)
Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert
CISO Conversations: Code42, BreachQuest Leaders Discuss Combining CISO and CIO Roles - SecurityWeek
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Gartner Prediction: Nearly Half of Cybersecurity Pros Will Change Jobs by 2025 - MSSP Alert
Growing Demand For Skilled Cybersecurity Workforce In Digital Age (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Partnering With a Cybersecurity Vendor Can Help You Recruit Top Talent - MSSP Alert
CISOs Are Stressed Out and It's Putting Companies at Risk (thehackernews.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register
The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)
Press greets Home Office redraft of national security bill with scepticism | Media | The Guardian
The Air Force Is Now Using Facial Recognition Drones (gizmodo.com)
How dog tracker apps are snooping on humans, according to cyber security experts (telegraph.co.uk)
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI Changes Everything We Know About Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)
ChatGPT is bringing advancements and challenges for cybersecurity - Help Net Security
How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)
ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)
Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)
Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)
CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs
White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek
Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register
Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online
China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)
'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek
China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian
Nation State Actors
Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)
Hacker group defaces Russian websites to display the Kremlin on fire | TechCrunch
Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)
CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs
Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)
White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek
Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register
Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online
EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO
China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)
'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek
China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian
TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News
Russia bans foreign messaging apps in government organisations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chinese hackers use new custom backdoor to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
A world of hurt for Fortinet and ManageEngine after users fail to install patches | Ars Technica
Hackers are actively exploiting Zoho ManageEngine flaw-Security Affairs
All In One SEO WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To 3+ Million (searchenginejournal.com)
CISA warns of hackers exploiting ZK Java Framework RCE flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco patches critical Web UI RCE flaw in multiple IP phones (bleepingcomputer.com)
Aruba Networks fixes six critical vulnerabilities in ArubaOS (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft releases Windows security updates for Intel CPU flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Tools and Controls
LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)
Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online
The Future of Network Security: Predictive Analytics and ML-Driven Solutions (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft announces automatic BEC, ransomware attack disruption capabilities - Help Net Security
How to use zero trust and IAM to defend against cyber attacks in an economic downturn | VentureBeat
Pentesting No Longer Driven by Regulatory Compliance, New Study Finds - MSSP Alert
Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference? (thehackernews.com)
Accurately assessing the success of zero-trust initiatives | TechTarget
Other News
Attackers are developing and deploying exploits faster than ever - Help Net Security
Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Moving target defence must keep cyber attackers guessing - Help Net Security
Covert cyber attacks on the rise as attackers shift tactics for maximum impact - Help Net Security
Dormant accounts are a low-hanging fruit for attackers - Help Net Security
Dish Network goes offline after likely cyber attack, employees cut off (bleepingcomputer.com)
News Corp says state hackers were on its network for two years (bleepingcomputer.com)
UK won the Military Cyberwarfare exercise Defence Cyber Marvel-Security Affairs
To Safeguard Critical Infrastructure, Go Back to Basics (darkreading.com)
Feds accuse Google of destroying evidence in antitrust case • The Register
Microsoft recommending you scan more Exchange server files • The Register
CISA director urges tech sector to stop shipping unsafe products | CyberScoop
Developers can make a great extension of your security team - Help Net Security
2023 Browser Security Report Uncovers Major Browsing Risks and Blind Spots (thehackernews.com)
Uncovering the most pressing cybersecurity concerns for SMBs - Help Net Security
Wiz execs: Most overhyped security tool is technology itself • The Register
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 December 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 December 2022:
-Cyber Attacks Set to Become ‘Uninsurable’, Says Zurich Chief
-Your Business Should Compensate for Modern Ransomware Capabilities Right Now
-Reported Phishing Attacks Have Quintupled
-Ransomware, DDoS See Major Upsurge Led by Upstart Hacker Group
-Videoconferencing Worries Grow, With SMBs in Cyber Attack Crosshairs
-Will the Crypto Crash Impact Cyber Security in 2023? Maybe.
-The Worst Hacks of 2022
-Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Further Impact Cyber Security in 2023
-Fraudsters’ Working Patterns Have Changed in Recent Years
-Hacktivism is Back and Messier Than Ever
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Cyber Attacks Set to Become ‘Uninsurable’, Says Zurich Chief
The chief executive of one of Europe’s biggest insurance companies has warned that cyber attacks, rather than natural catastrophes, will become “uninsurable” as the disruption from hacks continues to grow.
Insurance executives have been increasingly vocal in recent years about systemic risks, such as pandemics and climate change, that test the sector’s ability to provide coverage. For the second year in a row, natural catastrophe-related claims are expected to top $100bn.
But Mario Greco, chief executive at insurer Zurich, told the Financial Times that cyber was the risk to watch. “What will become uninsurable is going to be cyber,” he said. “What if someone takes control of vital parts of our infrastructure, the consequences of that?” Recent attacks that have disrupted hospitals, shut down pipelines and targeted government departments have all fed concern about this expanding risk among industry executives. Focusing on the privacy risk to individuals was missing the bigger picture, Greco added: “First off, there must be a perception that this is not just data . . . this is about civilisation. These people can severely disrupt our lives.”
Spiralling cyber losses in recent years have prompted emergency measures by the sector’s underwriters to limit their exposure. As well as pushing up prices, some insurers have responded by tweaking policies so clients retain more losses. There are exemptions written into policies for certain types of attacks. In 2019, Zurich initially denied a $100mn claim from food company Mondelez, arising from the NotPetya attack, on the basis that the policy excluded a “warlike action”. The two sides later settled. In September, Lloyd’s of London defended a move to limit systemic risk from cyber attacks by requesting that insurance policies written in the market have an exemption for state-backed attacks.
https://www.ft.com/content/63ea94fa-c6fc-449f-b2b8-ea29cc83637d
Your Business Should Compensate for Modern Ransomware Capabilities Right Now
The “if, not when” mentality surrounding ransomware may be the biggest modern threat to business longevity. Companies of all sizes and across all industries are increasingly common targets for ransomware attacks, and we know that 94% of organisations experienced a cyber security incident last year alone. Yet, many enterprises continue to operate with decades-old security protocols that are unequipped to combat modern ransomware. Leaders have prioritised improving physical security measures in light of the pandemic — so why haven’t ransomware protections improved?
Maybe it’s the mistaken notion that ransomware attacks are declining. In reality, Q1 of 2022 saw a 200% YoY increase in ransomware incidents. Meanwhile, the rise in Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) offerings suggests that cyber threats have become a commodity for bad actors.
The RaaS market presents a new and troubling trend for business leaders and IT professionals. With RaaS — a subscription ransomware model that allows affiliates to deploy malware for a fee — the barrier to entry for hackers is lower than ever. The relatively unskilled nature of RaaS hackers may explain why the average ransomware downtime has plummeted to just 3.85 days (compared to an average attack duration of over two months in 2019).
While the decrease in attack duration is promising, the rise of RaaS still suggests an inconvenient truth for business leaders: All organisations are at risk. And in time, all organisations will become a target, which is why it’s time for IT and business leaders to implement tough cyber security protocols.
Reported Phishing Attacks Have Quintupled
In the third quarter of 2022, the international Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) consortium observed 1,270,883 total phishing attacks; the worst quarter for phishing that APWG has ever observed. The total for August 2022 was 430,141 phishing sites, the highest monthly total ever reported to APWG.
Over recent years, reported phishing attacks submitted to APWG have more than quintupled since the first quarter of 2020, when APWG observed 230,554 attacks. The rise in Q3 2022 was attributable, in part, to increasing numbers of attacks reported against several specific targeted brands. These target companies and their customers suffered from large numbers of attacks from persistent phishers.
Threat researchers at the cyber security solution provider Fortra noted a 488 percent increase in response-based email attacks in Q3 2022 compared to the prior quarter. While every subtype of these attacks increased compared to Q2, the largest increase was in Advance Fee Fraud schemes, which rose by a staggering 1,074 percent.
In the third quarter of 2022, APWG founding member OpSec Security found that phishing attacks against the financial sector, which includes banks, remained the largest set of attacks, accounting for 23.2 percent of all phishing. Attacks against webmail and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers remained prevalent as well. Phishing against social media services fell to 11 percent of the total, down from 15.3 percent.
Phishing against cryptocurrency targets — such as cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers — fell from 4.5 percent of all phishing attacks in Q2 2022 to 2 percent in Q3. This mirrored the fall in value of many cryptocurrencies since mid-year.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/28/reported-phishing-attacks-quintupled/
Ransomware, DDoS See Major Upsurge Led by Upstart Hacker Group
Cyber threat actors Cuba and Royal are driving a 41% boom in ransomware and other attacks hitting industry and consumer goods and services.
According to the Global Threat Intelligence team of information assurance firm NCC Group, November saw a 41% increase in ransomware attacks from 188 incidents to 265. In its most recent Monthly Threat Pulse, the group reported that the month was the most active for ransomware attacks since April this year.
Key takeaways from the study:
Ransomware attacks rose by 41% in November.
Threat group Royal (16%) was the most active, replacing LockBit as the worst offender for the first time since September 2021.
Industrials (32%) and consumer cyclicals (44%) remain the top two most targeted sectors, but technology experienced a large 75% increase over the last month.
Regional data remains consistent with last month — North America (45%), Europe (25%) and Asia (14%)
DDoS attacks continue to increase.
Recent examples in the services sector include the Play ransomware group’s claimed attack of the German H-Hotels chain, resulting in communications outages. This attack reportedly uses a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange called ProxyNotShell, which as the name implies, has similarities to the ProxyShell zero-day vulnerability revealed in 2021.
Also, back on the scene is the TrueBot malware downloader (a.k.a., the silence.downloader), which is showing up in an increasing number of devices. TrueBot Windows malware, designed by a Russian-speaking hacking group identified as Silence, has resurfaced bearing Ransom.Clop, which first appeared in 2019. Clop ransomware encrypts systems and exfiltrates data with the threat that if no ransom is forthcoming, the data will show up on a leak site.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ransomware-ddos-major-upsurge-led-upstart-hacker-group/
Videoconferencing Worries Grow, With SMBs in Cyber Attack Crosshairs
Securing videoconferencing solutions is just one of many IT security challenges small businesses are facing, often with limited financial and human resources.
It's no secret that the acceleration of work-from-home and distributed workforce trends — infamously spurred on by the pandemic — has occurred in tandem with the rise of video communications and collaboration platforms, led by Zoom, Microsoft, and Cisco.
But given that videoconferencing now plays a critical role in how businesses interact with their employees, customers, clients, vendors, and others, these platforms carry significant potential security risks, researchers say.
Organisations use videoconferencing to discuss M&A, legal, military, healthcare, intellectual property and other topics, and even corporate strategies. A loss of that data could be catastrophic for a company, its employees, its clients, and its customers.
However, a recent report on videoconferencing security showed that 93% of IT professionals surveyed acknowledged security vulnerabilities and gaping risks in their videoconferencing solutions.
Among the most relevant risks is the lack of controlled access to conversations that could result in disruption, sabotage, compromise, or exposure of sensitive information, while use of nonsecure, outdated, or unpatched videoconferencing applications can expose security flaws.
The risks include the potential for interruptions, unauthorised access, and perhaps most concerning, the opportunity for a bad actor to acquire sensitive information.
Will the Crypto Crash Impact Cyber Security in 2023? Maybe.
With the implosion of the FTX exchange putting a punctuation mark on the cryptocurrency crash of 2022, one of the natural questions for those in the cyber security world is, how will this rapid decline of cryptocurrency valuations change the cyber crime economy?
Throughout the most recent crypto boom, and even before then, cyber criminals have used and abused cryptocurrency to build up their empires. The cryptocurrency market provides the extortionary medium for ransomware; it's a hotbed of scams against consumers to steal their wallets and accounts. Traditionally, it's provided a ton of anonymous cover for money laundering on the back end of a range of cyber criminal enterprises.
Even so, according to cyber security experts and intelligence analysts, while there certainly have been some shifts in trends and tactics that they believe are loosely tied to the crypto crash, the jury's still out on long-term impacts.
Regardless of crypto values, cyber criminals this year have definitely become more sophisticated in how they use cryptocurrencies to monetise their attacks including the use by some ransomware groups taking advantage of yield farming within decentralised finance (DeFi), as an example.
The concept of yield farming is the same as lending money, with a contract in place that clearly shows how much interest will need to be paid. The advantage for ransomware groups is that the 'interest' will be legitimate proceeds, so there will be no need to launder or hide it.
Threat actors are increasingly turning toward 'stablecoins,' which are usually tied to fiat currencies or gold to stem their volatility. In many ways, the downturn in crypto values has increased the risk appetite of cyber criminals and is spurring them into more investment fraud and cryptocurrency scams.
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/crypto-crash-impact-cybersecurity-2023-maybe
The Worst Hacks of 2022
The year was marked by sinister new twists on cyber security classics, including phishing, breaches, and ransomware attacks.
With the pandemic evolving into an amorphous new phase and political polarisation on the rise around the world, 2022 was an uneasy and often perplexing year in digital security. And while hackers frequently leaned on old chestnuts like phishing and ransomware attacks, they still found vicious new variations to subvert defences.
Technology magazine Wired looked back on the year's worst breaches, leaks, ransomware attacks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, and digital takeovers. If the first years of the 2020s are any indication, the digital security field in 2023 will be more bizarre and unpredictable than ever. Stay alert, and stay safe out there.
Russia Hacking Ukraine
For years, Russia has pummelled Ukraine with brutal digital attacks causing blackouts, stealing and destroying data, meddling in elections, and releasing destructive malware to ravage the country's networks. Since invading Ukraine in February, though, times have changed for some of Russia's most prominent and most dangerous military hackers. Shrewd long-term campaigns and grimly ingenious hacks have largely given way to a stricter and more regimented clip of quick intrusions into Ukrainian institutions, reconnaissance, and widespread destruction on the network—and then repeated access over and over again, whether through a new breach or by maintaining the old access.
Twilio and the 0ktapus Phishing Spree
Over the summer, a group of researchers dubbed 0ktapus went on a massive phishing bender, compromising nearly 10,000 accounts within more than 130 organisations. The majority of the victim institutions were US-based, but there were dozens in other countries as well.
Ransomware Still Hitting the Most Vulnerable Targets
In recent years, countries around the world and the cyber security industry have increasingly focused on countering ransomware attacks. While there has been some progress on deterrence, ransomware gangs were still on a rampage in 2022 and continued to target vulnerable and vital social institutions, including health care providers and schools. The Russian-speaking group Vice Society, for example, has long specialised in targeting both categories, and it focused its attacks on the education sector this year.
The Lapsus$ Rampage Continues
The digital extortion gang Lapsus$ was on an intense hacking spree at the beginning of 2022, stealing source code and other sensitive information from companies like Nvidia, Samsung, Ubisoft, and Microsoft and then leaking samples as part of apparent extortion attempts. Lapsus$ has a sinister talent for phishing, and in March, it compromised a contractor with access to the ubiquitous authentication service Okta.
LastPass
The beleaguered password manager giant LastPass, which has repeatedly dealt with data breaches and security incidents over the years, said at the end of December that a breach of its cloud storage in August led to a further incident in which hackers targeted a LastPass employee to compromise credentials and cloud storage keys.
Vanuatu
At the beginning of November, Vanuatu, an island nation in the Pacific, was hit by a cyber attack that took down virtually all of the government's digital networks. Agencies had to move to conducting their work on paper because emergency systems, medical records, vehicle registrations, driver's license databases, and tax systems were all down.
Honourable Mention: Twitter-Related Bedlam
Twitter has been in chaos mode for months following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company earlier this year. Amidst the tumult, reports surfaced in July and then again in November of a trove of 5.4 million Twitter users' data that has been circulating on criminal forums since at least July, if not earlier. The data was stolen by exploiting a vulnerability in a Twitter application programming interface, or API.
https://www.wired.com/story/worst-hacks-2022/
Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Further Impact Cyber Security in 2023
Geopolitics will continue to have an impact on cyber security and the security posture of organisations long into 2023.
The impact of global conflicts on cyber security was thrust into the spotlight when Russia made moves to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine’s Western allies were quick to recognise that with this came the threat of Russian-backed cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI), especially in retaliation to hefty sanctions. While this may not have materialised in the way many expected, geopolitics is still front of mind for many cyber security experts looking to 2023.
Russia has always been among a handful of states recognised for their cyber prowess and being the source of many cyber criminal gangs. As previously mentioned, we have failed to see a significant cyber-attack, at least one comparable to the Colonial Pipeline incident, in 2022. However the cyber security services provider, e2e-assure, warned: “We have underestimated Russia’s cyber capability. There is a wide view that Russian cyber activity leading up to and during their invasion of Ukraine indicated that they aren’t the cyber power we once thought. Patterns and evidence will emerge in 2023 that shows this wasn’t the case, instead Russia was directing its cyber efforts elsewhere, with non-military goals (financial and political).”
NordVPN, the virtual private network (VPN) provider, warns that the cyber-war is only just starting: “With China’s leader securing his third term and Russia’s war in Ukraine, many experts predict an increase in state-sponsored cyber-attacks. China may increase cyber-attacks on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other countries opposing the regime. Meanwhile, Russia is predicted to sponsor attacks on countries supporting Ukraine.”
We are used to seeing cyber-attacks that encrypt data and ask for ransom, but it is likely in this era of nation-state sponsored attacks we could experience attacks for the sake of disruption.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/geopolitical-tensions-impact/
Fraudsters’ Working Patterns Have Changed in Recent Years
Less sophisticated fraud — in which doctored identity documents are readily spotted — has jumped 37% in 2022, according to the identify verfication provider Onfido. Fraudsters can scale these attacks on an organisation’s systems around the clock.
It is estimated that the current global financial cost of fraud is $5.38 trillion (£4.37 trillion), which is 6.4% of the world’s GDP. With most fraud now happening online (80% of reported fraud is cyber-enabled), Onfido’s Identity Fraud Report uncovers patterns of fraudster behaviour, attack techniques, and emerging tactics.
Over the last four years, fraudsters’ working patterns have dramatically changed. In 2019, attacks mirrored a typical working week, peaking Monday to Friday and dropping off during the weekends. Yet over the last three years, fraudulent activity started to shift so that levels of fraud span every day of the week.
In 2022, fraud levels were consistent across 24 hours, seven days a week. With technology, fraudsters are more connected across the globe and are able to traverse regions and time zones, and can easily take advantage of businesses’ closed hours when staff are likely offline. This hyperconnectivity means there are no more ‘business hours’ for fraudsters and sophisticated fraud rings — they will scam and defraud 24/7.
“As criminals look to take advantage of digitisation processes, they’re able to commit financial crimes with increasing efficiency and sophistication, to the extent that financial crime and cyber crime are now invariably linked,” said Interpol. “A significant amount of financial fraud takes place through digital technologies, and the pandemic has only hastened the emergence of digital money laundering tools and other cyber-enabled financial crimes.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/29/less-sophisticated-fraud/
Hacktivism is Back and Messier Than Ever
Throughout 2022, geopolitics has given rise to a new wave of politically motivated attacks with an undercurrent of state-sponsored meddling.
During its brutal war in Ukraine, Russian troops have burnt cities to the ground, raped and tortured civilians, and committed scores of potential war crimes. On November 23, lawmakers across Europe overwhelmingly labelled Russia a “state sponsor” of terrorism and called for ties with the country to be reduced further. The response to the declaration was instant. The European Parliament’s website was knocked offline by a DDoS attack.
The unsophisticated attack—which involves flooding a website with traffic to make it inaccessible—disrupted the Parliament’s website offline for several hours. Pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet claimed responsibility for the attack. The hacktivist group has targeted hundreds of organisations around the world this year, having some limited small-scale successes knocking websites offline for short periods of time. It’s been one player in a bigger hacktivism surge.
Following years of sporadic hacktivist activity, 2022 has seen the re-emergence of hacktivism on a large scale. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine spawned scores of hacktivist groups on both sides of the conflict, while in Iran and Israel, so-called hacktivist groups are launching increasingly destructive attacks. This new wave of hacktivism, which varies between groups and countries, comes with new tactics and approaches and, increasingly, is blurring lines between hacktivism and government-sponsored attacks.
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Jersey school locked out of systems as hackers demand "ransom" | Bailiwick Express Jersey
Vice Society Ransomware Attackers Adopt Robust Encryption Methods (thehackernews.com)
Global counter-ransomware task force to become active in January - CyberScoop
Fool Me Thrice? How to Avoid Double and Triple Ransomware Extortion (darkreading.com)
Rackspace criticized for PR response to ransomware attack (expressnews.com)
Ransomware, DDoS see major upsurge led by upstart hacker group (techrepublic.com)
6 Ways to Protect Your Organisation Against LAPSUS$ (darkreading.com)
Your business should compensate for modern ransomware capabilities right now | VentureBeat
Vice Society Adds Custom-branded Payload PolyVice to its Arsenal | Cyware Alerts - Hacker News
Hackers stole data from multiple electric utilities in recent ransomware attack | CNN Politics
Ransomware attack at Louisiana hospital impacts 270,000 patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
The mounting death toll of hospital cyber attacks - POLITICO
Royal ransomware claims attack on Intrado telecom provider (bleepingcomputer.com)
Healthcare Providers and Hospitals Under Ransomware's Siege (darkreading.com)
Guardian Australia staff sent home after cyber attack takes out systems (theage.com.au)
Dumfries Arnold Clark garages hit by company-wide cyber attack - Daily Record
Ransom Deadline Given By LockBit In Port Of Lisbon Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Reported phishing attacks have quintupled - Help Net Security
6 Ways to Protect Your Organisation Against LAPSUS$ (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
GuLoader implements new evasion techniques - Security Affairs
PrivateLoader PPI Service Found Distributing Info-Stealing RisePro Malware (thehackernews.com)
2022 sees over 5000 times new Windows malware vs macOS, over 60 times vs Linux - Neowin
APT Hackers Turn to Malicious Excel Add-ins as Initial Intrusion Vector (thehackernews.com)
New information-stealing malware is being spread by fake pirate sites | TechSpot
Mobile
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Smart Home Cyber security Hubs: Protecting Endpoints in Your Smarthome (compuquip.com)
Google Home speakers allowed hackers to snoop on conversations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
BetMGM discloses security breach impacting 1.5 Million customers - Security Affairs
Massive Twitter data leak investigated by EU privacy watchdog (bleepingcomputer.com)
Massive EDiscovery Provider Shut Down Over 'Unauthorized Access' - Above the LawAbove the Law
Data of 400 Million Twitter users up for sale - Security Affairs
It’s all in the (lack of) details: 2022’s badly handled data breaches | TechCrunch
Military device with biometric database of 2K people sold on eBay for $68 | Ars Technica
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
How ‘brazen’ multibillion-dollar crypto fraud fell to pieces | Business | The Times
BTC.com lost $3 million worth of cryptocurrency in cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers steal $8 million from users running trojanized BitKeep apps (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bitcoin Mining Pool Btc.com Suffers $3 Million Cyber attack – Mining Bitcoin News
Crypto wallet BitKeep lost over $9M over a cyber attack - Security Affairs
Case for blockchain in financial services dented by failures | Financial Times (ft.com)
Digital Assets Of $9.9 Million Stolen In BitKeep Cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Crypto platform 3Commas admits hackers stole API keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Linkedin Is Full Of Job Scams – Be Careful Out There (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Scam complaints from Revolut users more than double since 2020 (telegraph.co.uk)
Fraudsters’ working patterns have changed in recent years - Help Net Security
Experts warn of attacks exploiting WordPress gift card plugin - Security Affairs
North Korean Hackers Created 70 Fake Bank, Venture Capital Firm Domains | SecurityWeek.Com
Ukraine shuts down fraudulent call center claiming 18,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Why Attackers Target GitHub, and How You Can Secure It (darkreading.com)
Improving Software Supply Chain Cyber security (trendmicro.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Identity and Access Management
Enterprises waste money on identity tools they don't use - Help Net Security
Steps To Planning And Implementation Of PAM Solutions (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Encryption
API
Crypto platform 3Commas admits hackers stole API keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google: With Cloud Comes APIs & Security Headaches (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Biometrics
Social Media
TikTok User Data Has Been Compromised (giantfreakinrobot.com)
Elon Musk ‘orders Twitter to remove suicide prevention feature’ | Twitter | The Guardian
Massive Twitter data leak investigated by EU privacy watchdog (bleepingcomputer.com)
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m - BBC News
TikTok bans haven't really banned much of anything - The Washington Post
Twitter restores suicide prevention feature | Twitter | The Guardian
Data of 400 Million Twitter users up for sale - Security Affairs
Hacker claims to be selling Twitter data of 400 million users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malvertising
Privacy
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
IBM and 70 Global Banks Co-Create New Cyber security, Risk Framework (accelerationeconomy.com)
Economic uncertainty compels IT leaders to rethink their strategy - Help Net Security
3 important changes in how data will be used and treated - Help Net Security
2022 Top Five Immediate Threats in Geopolitical Context (thehackernews.com)
Secure Disposal
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
IT Jobs: How To Become An Information Security Analyst (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
‘There's a career in cyber security for everyone,’ Microsoft Security CVP says | Fortune
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Google Home speakers allowed hackers to snoop on conversations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software | China | The Guardian
The Threat of Predictive Policing to Data Privacy and Personal Liberty (darkreading.com)
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m - BBC News
78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You (entrepreneur.com)
Germany: Police surveillance software a legal headache – DW – 12/22/2022
Artificial Intelligence
Code-generating AI can introduce security vulnerabilities, study finds | TechCrunch
AI cyber attacks are a ‘critical threat’. This is how NATO is countering them | Euronews
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
2022 Top Five Immediate Threats in Geopolitical Context (thehackernews.com)
Russia’s Cyberwar Foreshadowed Deadly Attacks on Civilians | WIRED
Hundreds of Russian cyber attacks on CHPPs, regional power plants prevented - SBU
Ukrainian Hackers Gather Data on Russian Soldiers, Minister Says - Bloomberg
North Korean hackers targeted nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy experts
German double agent ‘passed Ukraine intelligence to Russia’ (telegraph.co.uk)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Hundreds of Russian cyber attacks on CHPPs, regional power plants prevented - SBU
Russian mobile calls, internet seen deteriorating after Nokia, Ericsson leave – EURACTIV.com
Nation State Actors – China
Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software | China | The Guardian
Nation State Actors – North Korea
BlueNoroff APT Hackers Using New Ways to Bypass Windows MotW Protection (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Hackers Created 70 Fake Bank, Venture Capital Firm Domains | SecurityWeek.Com
North Korean hacking outfit impersonating venture capital firms | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
North Korean hackers targeted nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy experts
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Patch now: Serious Linux kernel security hole uncovered | ZDNET
Microsoft Patches Azure Cross-Tenant Data Access Flaw | SecurityWeek.Com
Critical Linux Kernel flaw affects SMB servers with ksmbd enabled - Security Affairs
Critical “10-out-of-10” Linux kernel SMB hole – should you worry? – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Log4Shell remains a big threat and a common cause for security breaches | CSO Online
Thousands of Citrix servers vulnerable to patched critical flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Netgear warns users to patch recently fixed WiFi router bug (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Warns of Active exploitation of JasperReports Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)
Tools and Controls
Other News
AI cyber attacks are a ‘critical threat’. This is how NATO is countering them | Euronews
Review: 10 Biggest Hacks And Cyber Security Threats Of 2022 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
New information-stealing malware is being spread by fake pirate sites | TechSpot
Trend Micro: Expect 2023 to Bring Uncertainty to Cyber Attackers and Defenders - MSSP Alert
After the Uber Breach: 3 Questions All CISOs Should Ask Themselves (darkreading.com)
Top 10 Cyber Security Predictions For 2023 Based On Expert Responses (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
The Five Stories That Shaped Cyber security in 2022 | SecurityWeek.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.
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 Cyber Threat Briefing 07 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 07 October 2022:
-Russian Sanctions Instigator Lloyd's Possibly Hit by Cyber Attack
-Former Uber Security Chief Convicted of Covering Up Data Breach
-First 72 Hours of Incident Response Critical to Taming Cyber Attack Chaos
-Email Defences Under Siege: Phishing Attacks Dramatically Improve
-Remote Services Are Becoming an Attractive Target for Ransomware
-Growing Reliance on Cloud Brings New Security Challenges
-Many IT Pros Don’t Think a Ransomware Attack Can Impact Microsoft 365 Data
-Ransomware Group Bypasses "Enormous" Range of EDR Tools
-MS Exchange Zero-Days: The Calm Before the Storm?
-Average Company with Data in the Cloud Faces $28 Million in Data-Breach Risk
-Secureworks Finds Network Intruders See Little Resistance
-Regulations, Laws and Accountability are Changing the Cyber Security Landscape
-This Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats
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
Russian Sanctions Instigator Lloyd's Possibly Hit by Cyber Attack
Lloyd’s of London, the London-based insurance market heavily involved in implementing sanctions against Russia, may have been hit by a cyber-attack. On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the British insurance market revealed it had detected “unusual activity” on its systems and has turned off all external connectivity “as a precautionary measure.”
“We have informed market participants and relevant parties, and we will provide more information once our investigations have concluded,” said a Lloyd’s spokesperson.
The company did not comment on whether or not it has been contacted by hackers, if a ransom demand has been issued, or on the possible source of the attack.
However, the insurance market has been closely involved with the design and implementation of sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine – a potential motive for the attack. Lloyd’s itself has confirmed it was working closely with British and international governments to implement such sanctions.
Around 100 insurance syndicates operate at Lloyd's.
Earlier in 2022, Lloyd’s instructed its 76 insurance syndicates to remove “nation-state-backed cyber attacks” from insurance policies by March 2023, as well as losses “arising from a war.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/lloyds-possibly-hit-by-cyberattack/
Former Uber Security Chief Convicted of Covering Up Data Breach
Uber’s former head of security has been convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the rideshare giant, hiding details from US regulators and paying off a pair of hackers in return for their discretion.
The trial, closely watched in cyber security circles, is believed to be the first criminal prosecution of a company executive over the handling of a data breach.
Joe Sullivan, who was fired in 2017 over the incident, was found guilty by a San Francisco jury of obstructing an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. At the time of the 2016 breach, the regulator had been investigating the car-booking service over a different cyber security lapse that had occurred two years earlier.
Jurors also convicted Sullivan of a second count related to having knowledge of but failing to report the 2016 breach to the appropriate government authorities. The incident eventually became public in 2017 when Dara Khosrowshahi, who had just taken over as chief executive, disclosed details of the attack.
Prosecutors said Sullivan had taken steps to make sure data compromised in the attack would not be revealed. According to court documents, two hackers approached Sullivan’s team to notify Uber of a security flaw that exposed the personal information of almost 60mn drivers and riders on the platform.
https://www.ft.com/content/051af6a1-41d1-4a6c-9e5a-d23d46b2a9c9
First 72 Hours of Incident Response Critical to Taming Cyber Attack Chaos
Cyber security professionals tasked with responding to attacks experience stress, burnout, and mental health issues that are exacerbated by a lack of breach preparedness and sufficient incident response practice in their organisations.
A new IBM Security-sponsored survey published this week found that two-thirds (67%) of incident responders suffer stress and anxiety during at least some of their engagements, while 44% have sacrificed the well-being of their relationships, and 42% have suffered burnout, according to the survey conducted by Morning Consult. In addition, 68% of incidents responders often have to work on two or more incidents at the same time, increasing their stress, according to the survey's results.
Companies that plan and practice responding to a variety of incidents can lower the stress levels of their incident responders, employees, and executives, says John Dwyer, head of research for IBM Security's X-Force response team.
"Organisations are not effectively establishing their response strategies with the responders in mind — it does not need to be as stressful as it is," he says. "There is a lot of time when the responders are managing organisations during an incident, because those organisations were not prepared for the crisis that occurs. These attacks happen every day."
The IBM Security-funded study underscores why the cyber security community has focused increasingly on the mental health of its members. About half (51%) of cyber security defenders have suffered burnout or extreme stress in the past year, according to a VMware survey released in August 2021. Cyber security executives have also spotlighted the issue as one that affects the community and companies' ability to retain skilled workers.
Email Defences Under Siege: Phishing Attacks Dramatically Improve
This week's report that cyber attackers are laser-focused on crafting attacks specialised to bypass Microsoft's default security showcases an alarming evolution in phishing tactics, security experts said this week.
Threat actors are getting better at slipping phishing attacks through the weak spots in platform email defences, using a variety of techniques, such as zero-point font obfuscation, hiding behind cloud-messaging services, and delaying payload activation, for instance. They're also doing more targeting and research on victims.
As a result, nearly 1 in 5 phishing emails (18.8%) bypassed Microsoft's platform defences and landed in workers' inboxes in 2022, a rate that increased 74% compared to 2020, according to research published by cyber security firm Check Point Software. Attackers increasingly used techniques to pass security checks, such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and obfuscate functional components of an e-mail, such as using zero-size fonts or hiding malicious URLs from analysis.
The increasing capabilities of attackers is due to the better understanding of current defences, says Avanan, an email security firm acquired by Check Point in August 2021.
"It is a family of 10 to 20 techniques, but they all lead to the objective of deceiving a company's security layers," he says. "The end result is always an email that looks genuine to the recipient but looks different to the algorithm that analyses the content."
Microsoft declined to comment on the research. However, the company has warned of advanced techniques, such as adversary-in-the-middle phishing (AiTM), which uses a custom URL to place a proxy server between a victim and their desired site, allowing the attacker to capture sensitive data, such as usernames and passwords. In July, the company warned that more than 10,000 organisations had been targeted during one AiTM campaign.
Remote Services Are Becoming an Attractive Target for Ransomware
Stolen credentials are no longer the number one initial access vector for ransomware operators looking to infect a target network and its endpoints - instead, they’ve become more interested in exploiting vulnerabilities found in internet-facing systems.
A report from Secureworks claims ransomware-as-a-service developers are quick to add newly discovered vulnerabilities into their arsenals, allowing even less competent hackers to exploit them swiftly, and with relative ease.
In fact, the company's annual State of the Threat Report reveals that flaw exploitation in remote services accounted for 52% of all ransomware incidents the company analysed over the last 12 months.
Besides remote services, Secureworks also spotted a 150% increase in the use of infostealers, which became a “key precursor” to ransomware. Both these factors, the report stresses, kept ransomware as the number one threat for businesses of all sizes, “who must fight to stay abreast of the demands of new vulnerability prioritisation and patching”.
All things considered, ransomware is still the biggest threat for businesses. It takes up almost a quarter of all attacks that were reported in the last 12 months, Secureworks says, and despite law enforcement being actively involved, operators remained highly active.
https://www.techradar.com/news/remote-services-are-becoming-an-attractive-target-for-ransomware
Growing Reliance on Cloud Brings New Security Challenges
There was a time when cloud was just a small subset of IT infrastructure, and cloud security referred to a very specific set of tasks. The current reality is very different, organisations are heavily dependent on cloud technologies and cloud security has become a much more complex endeavour.
Organisations increasingly rely on the cloud to deliver new applications, reduce costs, and support business operations. One in every four organisations already have majority workloads in the cloud, and 44% of workloads currently run in some form of public cloud, says Omdia, a research and advisory group.
Practically every midsize and large organisation now operates in some kind of a hybrid cloud environment, with a mix of cloud and on-premises systems. For most organisations, software-as-a-service constitute the bulk (80%) of their cloud environments, followed by infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service deployments.
In the past, cloud security conversations tended to focus on making sure cloud environments are being configured properly, but cloud security nowadays goes far beyond just configuration management. The sprawling cloud environment means security management has to be centralised, Omdia said. Security functions also need to be integrated into existing application deployment workflows.
On top of all of this, multicloud is becoming more common among organisations as they shift their workloads to avoid being dependent on a single platform. The three major cloud providers – Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform – account for 65% of the cloud market.
https://www.darkreading.com/dr-tech/growing-reliance-on-cloud-brings-new-security-challenges
Many IT Pros Don’t Think a Ransomware Attack Can Impact Microsoft 365 Data
The 2022 Ransomware Report, which surveyed over 2,000 IT leaders, revealed that 24% have been victims of a ransomware attack, with 20% of attacks happening in the last year.
Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year’s ransomware survey revealed that 21% of companies experienced an attack. This year it rose by three percent to 24%.
“Attacks on businesses are increasing, and there is a shocking lack of awareness and preparation by IT pros. Our survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security. As bad actors develop new techniques, companies like ours have to do what it takes to come out ahead and protect businesses around the world,” said Hornetsecurity.
The report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. 25% of IT professionals either don’t know or don’t think that Microsoft 365 data can be impacted by a ransomware attack.
Just as worryingly, 40% of IT professionals that use Microsoft 365 in their organisation admitted they do not have a recovery plan in case their Microsoft 365 data was compromised by a ransomware attack.
“Microsoft 365 is vulnerable to phishing attacks and ransomware attacks, but with the help of third-party tools, IT admins can backup their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks,” said Hofmann.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ransomware-attack-impact-microsoft-365-data/
Ransomware Group Bypasses "Enormous" Range of EDR Tools
A notorious ransomware group has been spotted leveraging sophisticated techniques to bypass endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools.
BlackByte, which the US government has said poses a serious threat to critical infrastructure, used a “Bring Your Own Driver” technique to circumvent over 1000 drivers used by commercially available EDR products, according to Sophos. The UK cyber security vendor explained in a new report that the group had exploited a known vulnerability, CVE-2019-16098, in Windows graphics utility driver RTCorec6.sys. This enabled it to communicate directly with a victim system’s kernel and issue commands to disable callback routines used by EDR tools.
The group also used EDR bypass techniques borrowed from open source tool EDRSandblast to deactivate the Microsoft-Windows-Threat-Intelligence ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) provider. This is a Windows feature “that provides logs about the use of commonly maliciously abused API calls such as NtReadVirtualMemory to inject into another process’s memory,” explained Sophos. Neutralising it in this way renders any security tool relying on the feature also useless, the firm argued.
“If you think of computers as a fortress, for many EDR providers, ETW is the guard at the front gate,” said Sophos. “If the guard goes down, then that leaves the rest of the system extremely vulnerable. And, because ETW is used by so many different providers, BlackByte’s pool of potential targets for deploying this EDR bypass is enormous.”
BlackByte is not the only ransomware group using these advanced techniques to get around existing detection tools, illustrating the continued arms race between attackers and defenders. AvosLocker used a similar method in May, Sophos said. “Anecdotally, from what we’re seeing in the field, it does appear that EDR bypass is becoming a more popular technique for ransomware threat groups,” the firm confirmed. “This is not surprising. Threat actors often leverage tools and techniques developed by the ‘offensive security’ industry to launch attacks faster and with minimal effort.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-bypasses-enormous-range/
MS Exchange Zero-Days: The Calm Before the Storm?
Two exploited MS Exchange zero-days that still have no official fix, have been added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog.
But mitigating the risk of exploitation until patches are ready will require patience and doggedness, as Microsoft is still revising its advice to admins and network defenders, and still working on the patches.
The two vulnerabilities were publicly documented last Wednesday, by researchers with Vietnamese company GTSC, and Microsoft soon after sprung into (discernible) action by offering customer guidance, followed by an analysis of the attacks exploiting the two vulnerabilities. Several changes have been made to the documents since then, after the company found and other researchers pointed out several shortcomings.
Microsoft says its threat analysts observed “activity related to a single activity group in August 2022 that achieved initial access and compromised Exchange servers by chaining CVE-2022-41040 and CVE-2022-41082 in a small number of targeted attacks,” and that the attackers breached fewer than 10 organisations globally. “MSTIC assesses with medium confidence that the single activity group is likely to be a state-sponsored organisation,” they added.
The other good news is there are still no public exploits for the two vulnerabilities. But, Microsoft says, “Prior Exchange vulnerabilities that require authentication have been adopted into the toolkits of attackers who deploy ransomware, and these vulnerabilities are likely to be included in similar attacks due to the highly privileged access Exchange systems confer onto an attacker.”
Enterprise defenders should expect trouble via this attack path in the near future, it seems, so keeping abreast of the changing situation and springing into action as quickly as possible once the patches are made available is advised. Scammers have since started impersonating security researchers and offering non-existing PoC exploits for CVE-2022-41082 for sale via GitHub
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ms-exchange-cve-2022-41040-cve-2022-41082/
Average Company with Data in the Cloud Faces $28 Million in Data-Breach Risk
Hard-to-control collaboration, complex SaaS permissions, and risky misconfigurations — such as admin accounts without multi-factor authentication (MFA) — have left a dangerous amount of cloud data exposed to insider threats and cyber attacks, according to Varonis.
For the report, researchers analysed nearly 10 billion cloud objects (more than 15 petabytes of data) across a random sample of data risk assessments performed at more than 700 companies worldwide. In the average company, 157,000 sensitive records are exposed to everyone on the internet by SaaS sharing features, representing $28 million in data-breach risk, Varonis researchers have found.
One out of every 10 records in the cloud is exposed to all employees — creating an impossibly large internal blast radius, which maximises damage during a ransomware attack. The average company has 4,468 user accounts without MFA enabled, making it easier for attackers to compromise internally exposed data.
Out of 33 super admin accounts in the average organisation, more than half did not have MFA enabled. This makes it easier for attackers to compromise these powerful accounts, steal more data, and create backdoors. Companies have more than 40 million unique permissions across SaaS applications, creating a nightmare for IT and security teams responsible for managing and reducing cloud data risk.
“Cloud security shouldn’t be taken for granted. When security teams lack critical visibility to manage and protect SaaS and IaaS apps and services, it’s nearly impossible to ensure your data isn’t walking out the door,” said Varonis. “This report is a true-to-life picture of over 700 real-world risk assessments of production SaaS environments. The results underscore the urgent need for CISOs to uncover and remediate their cloud risk as quickly as possible.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/05/company-data-breach-risk/
Secureworks Finds Network Intruders See Little Resistance
Attackers who break into networks only need to take a few basic measures in order to avoid detection.
Security vendor Secureworks said in its annual State of the Threat report that it observed several data breaches between June 2021 and June 2022 and found that, by and large, once network intruders gained a foothold on the targets' environment, they had to do relatively little to stay concealed.
"One thing that is notable about them is that none of these techniques are particularly sophisticated," the vendor said. "That is because threat actors do not need them to be; the adversary will only innovate enough to achieve their objectives. So there is a direct relationship between the maturity of the controls in a target environment and the techniques they employ to bypass those controls."
Among the more basic measures taken by the attackers was coding their tools in newer languages such as Go or Rust. This tweak created enough of a difference in the software to evade signature-checking tools, according to Secureworks' report. In other cases, the network intruders hid their activity by packing their malware within a trusted Windows installer or by sneaking it into the Authenticode signature of a trusted DLL. In another case, a malware infection was seen moving data out of the victim's network via TOR nodes. While effective, Secureworks said the techniques are hardly innovative. Rather, they indicate that threat actors find themselves only needing to do the bare minimum to conceal themselves from detection.
Regulations, Laws and Accountability are Changing the Cyber Security Landscape
As cyber criminals continue to develop new ways to wreak havoc, regulators have been working to catch up. They aim to protect data and consumers while avoiding nation-state attacks that are a risk to national and economic security. But some of these regulations may provide an opportunity for MSSPs.
Some of these regulations are a response to what’s generally been a hands-off approach to telling organisations what to do. Unfortunately, cyber security isn’t always prioritised when budgets and resources are allocated. The result is a steadily rising tide of breaches and exploits that have held organisations hostage and made private information available on the dark web.
The new regulations are coming from all directions: at the state and federal levels in the US and around the world. While many of these regulations aren’t yet final, there’s no reason not to start aligning with where trends will ease the impact of changing rules. At the same time, many organisations want to hold the government responsible for some kinds of attacks. It will be interesting to see how regulating works, as most politicians and bureaucrats aren’t known for their technological savvy.
In the US, for example, new regulations are in development in the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Thirty-six states have enacted cyber security legislation, and the count increases as other countries join.
One of the motivating factors for all these new regulations is that most cyber attacks aren’t reported. Lawmakers realise cyber security threats continue to be one of the top national security and economic risks. In the last year and a half (2020-2022), there have been attacks on America’s gas supply, meat supply, and various other companies, courts, and government agencies. One FBI cyber security official estimated the government only learns about 20% to 25% of intrusions at US business and academic institutions.
In March, Congress passed legislation requiring critical infrastructure operators to report significant cyber attacks to CISA within 72 hours of learning about the attack. It also required them to report a ransomware payment within 24 hours. These regulations will also consider reporting “near misses” so that this data can also be studied and tracked. The problem is, how does one define a “near miss”?
This Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats
OpenText announced the Nastiest Malware of 2022, a ranking of the year’s biggest cyber threats. For the fifth year running, experts combed through the data, analysed different behaviours, and determined which malicious payloads are the nastiest.
Emotet regained its place at the top, reminding the world that while affiliates may be taken down, the masterminds are resilient. LockBit evolved its tactics into something never seen before: triple extortion. Analysis also revealed an almost 1100% increase in phishing during the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, indicating a possible end to the “hacker holiday,” a hacker rest period following the busy holiday season.
“The key takeaway from this year’s findings is that malware remains centre stage in the threats posed towards individuals, businesses, and governments,” said OpenText.
“Cyber criminals continue to evolve their tactics, leaving the infosec community in a constant state of catch-up. With the mainstream adoption of ransomware payloads and cryptocurrency facilitating payments, the battle will continue. No person, no business—regardless of size—is immune to these threats.”
While this year’s list may designate payloads into different categories of malware, it’s important to note many of these bad actor groups contract work from others. This allows each group to specialise in their respective payload and perfect it.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/06/2022-nastiest-malware/
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Ransomware Attacks On The Rise, Secureworks Reveals in its State of the Threat Report - MSSP Alert
Ransomware: This is how half of attacks begin, and this is how you can stop them | ZDNET
Fake adult sites push data wipers disguised as ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackByte ransomware abuses legit driver to disable security products (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware attacks ravage schools, municipal governments (techtarget.com)
More and more ransomware is just data theft, no encryption • The Register
Netwalker ransomware affiliate sentenced to 20 years in prison (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs
ADATA denies RansomHouse cyber attack, says leaked data from 2021 breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Avast releases a free decryptor for some Hades ransomware variants - Security Affairs
Cyber criminals Leak LA School Data After It Refuses to Ransom (vice.com)
How Ransomware Is Causing Chaos in American Schools (vice.com)
Ransomware hunters: the self-taught tech geniuses fighting cyber crime | Cyber crime | The Guardian
BEC – Business Email Compromise
BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Callback phishing attacks evolve their social engineering tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
3 ways enterprises can mitigate social engineering risks - Help Net Security
Malware
OpenText Releases List Of The Year’s “Nastiest” Malware - MSSP Alert
This devious malware is able to disable your antivirus | TechRadar
Bumblebee Malware Loader's Payloads Significantly Vary by Victim System (darkreading.com)
Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
NullMixer Dropper Delivers a Multimalware Code Bomb (darkreading.com)
Maggie malware already infected over 250 Microsoft SQL servers - Security Affairs
Mobile
Internet of Things – IoT
7 IoT Devices That Make Security Pros Cringe (darkreading.com)
Ikea Smart Light System Flaw Lets Attackers Turn Bulbs on Full Blast (darkreading.com)
Acronis founder is afraid of his own vacuum cleaner • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
“Egypt Leaks” – Hacktivists are Leaking Financial Data - Security Affairs
No Shangri-La for you: Top hotel chain confirms data leak • The Register
NSA: Someone hacked military contractor and stole data • The Register
City of Tucson discloses data breach affecting over 123,000 people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Optus Says ID Numbers of 2.1 Million Compromised in Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com
Aussie Telco Telstra Breached, Reportedly Exposing 30,000 Employees' Data (darkreading.com)
2K warns users their info has been stolen following breach of its help desk | Ars Technica
Russian retail chain 'DNS' confirms hack after data leaked online (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Breaking: Scams Linked To Crypto Soared By 335% (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Hacker steals $566 million worth of crypto from Binance Bridge (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Binance Says $100 Million Stolen in Latest Crypto Hack (gizmodo.com)
Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Meta sues app dev for stealing over 1 million WhatsApp accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft publishes report on holistic insider risk management - Microsoft Security Blog
Unearth offboarding risks before your employees say goodbye - Help Net Security
Splunk alleges source code theft by former employee • The Register
Ex-NSA Employee Arrested for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to a Foreign Government (thehackernews.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Consumers Feel Hopeless in Protecting Themselves Against Cyber crime, ISACA Reports - MSSP Alert
BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg
Russians dodging mobilization behind flourishing scam market (bleepingcomputer.com)
Scammers and rogue callers – can anything ever stop them? – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Online romance scam boss netted $9.5m, jailed for 25 years • The Register
Deepfakes
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain Attack Targets Customer Engagement Firm Comm100 | SecurityWeek.Com
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud/SaaS
Encryption
API
More Than 30% of All Malicious Attacks Target Shadow APIs (darkreading.com)
APIs are quickly becoming the most popular attack vector - Help Net Security
The Problem of API Security and How To Fix It (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
API authentication failures demonstrate the need for zero trust - Help Net Security
Shadow APIs hit with 5 billion malicious requests - Help Net Security
Open Source
When transparency is also obscurity: The conundrum that is open-source security - Help Net Security
How Secure is Using Open Source Components? - IT Security Guru
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Microsoft warns Basic Auth users over password spray attacks • The Register
Is mandatory password expiration helping or hurting your password security? - Help Net Security
Detecting and preventing LSASS credential dumping attacks - Microsoft Security Blog
Meta Says It Has Busted More Than 400 Login-Stealing Apps This Year | WIRED
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Secure Disposal
Backup and Recovery
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Relentless Russian Cyber attacks on Ukraine Raise Important Policy Questions (darkreading.com)
Finnish intelligence warns of Russia's cyber espionage activities - Security Affairs
Kazakhstan Pins Wave Of Cyber attacks On Foreign Actors | OilPrice.com
Albania weighed invoking NATO’s Article 5 over Iranian cyber attack - POLITICO
We breached Russian satellite network, say pro-Ukraine partisans | Cybernews
Ukrainian forces report Starlink outages during push against Russia | Financial Times (ft.com)
Report: Mexico Continued to Use Spyware Against Activists | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – China
US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register
Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Vulnerabilities
Fortinet warns admins to patch critical auth bypass bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)
Atlassian, Microsoft bugs make CISA’s must-patch list • The Register
US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register
October 2022 Patch Tuesday forecast: Looking for treats, not more tricks - Help Net Security
Fake Microsoft Exchange ProxyNotShell exploits for sale on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Warns of Attacks Exploiting Recent Atlassian Bitbucket Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com
No fix in sight for mile-wide loophole plaguing a key Windows defence for years | Ars Technica
Hackers Exploiting Unpatched RCE Flaw in Zimbra Collaboration Suite (thehackernews.com)
Lazarus employed an exploit in a Dell firmware driver in recent attacks - Security Affairs
Unpatched Zimbra flaw under attack is letting hackers backdoor servers | Ars Technica
macOS Archive Utility Bug Lets Malicious Apps Bypass Security Checks (darkreading.com)
Fortinet Warns of New Auth Bypass Flaw Affecting FortiGate and FortiProxy (thehackernews.com)
VMware fixed a high-severity bug in vCenter Server - Security Affairs
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Guilty verdict in the Uber breach case makes personal liability real for CISOs | CSO Online
Cyber attackers view smaller organisations as easier targets - Help Net Security
Moody's turns up the heat on 'riskiest' sectors for attacks • The Register
5 reasons why security operations are getting harder | CSO Online
Former NSA Employee Faces Death Penalty for Selling Secrets (darkreading.com)
Fast Company Is Back From the Dead After Being Hacked (gizmodo.com)
Ready Or Not, Web 3 Is Coming And With It Comes Cybersquatting 2.0 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Cyber Hygiene: 5 Best Practices for Company Buy-In (trendmicro.com)
School Is in Session: 5 Lessons for Future Cyber Security Pros (darkreading.com)
Want More Secure Software? Start Recognizing Security-Skilled Developers (thehackernews.com)
Incident responders increasingly seek out mental health assistance - Help Net Security
You Are Not Alone If You're Unclear About Extended Detection and Response (XDR) - MSSP Alert
Why digital trust is the bedrock of business relationships - Help Net Security
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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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 Cyber Threat Briefing 09 September 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 September 2022
-Why It’s Mission-critical That All-sized Businesses Stay Cyber Secure
-Half of Firms Report Supply Chain Ransomware Compromise
-Vulnerability Exploits, Not Phishing, Are the Top Cyber Attack Vector for Initial Compromise
-Uber’s Ex-Security Chief Faces Landmark Trial Over Data Breach That Hit 57m Users
-Over 10% of Enterprise IT Assets Found Missing Endpoint Protection
-Some Employees Aren't Just Leaving Companies — They're Defrauding Them
-Ransomware Gangs Switching to New Intermittent Encryption Tactic
-How Posting Personal and Business Photos Can Be a Security Risk
-Your Vendors Are Likely Your Biggest Cyber Security Risk
-A Recent Chinese Hack Is a Wake-up Call for the Security of the World’s Software Supply Chain
-Massive Hotels Group IHG Struck by Cyber Attack Which Disrupts Booking Systems
-London's Biggest Bus Operator Hit by Cyber "Incident"
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
Why It’s Mission-Critical That All-Sized Businesses Stay Cyber Secure
A study analysing millions of emails across thousands of companies found that on average, employees of small businesses with less than 100 employees experience 350% more social engineering attacks than employees of larger enterprises. 57% of these are phishing attacks – the most prevalent social engineering attack of 2021.
Add to the mix that the global average cost of a data breach for businesses has skyrocketed. According to IBM Security’s annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average global cost is now a phenomenal $4.35 million.
Generally, larger corporations tend to have bigger security budgets, making them less of a target than smaller businesses with lesser budgets, and as such, more attractive to cyber criminals. This means that for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – with fewer resources and money – protection from cyber-attacks is now a matter of survival.
Ease of attack is not the only reason why criminals attack SMEs either. SMEs are often an entry point to target bigger organisations within the same supply chain. These larger corporations can either be crucial partners, suppliers, or customers, making SMEs prime targets.
But with efficient cyber security measures, every business regardless of size can keep themselves and their network safe.
Half of Firms Report Supply Chain Ransomware Compromise
Over half (52%) of global organisations know a partner that has been compromised by ransomware, yet few are doing anything to improve the security of their supply chain, according to Trend Micro.
The security vendor polled nearly 3,000 IT decision makers across 26 countries to produce its latest report, ‘Everything is connected: Uncovering the ransomware threat from global supply chains’.
It revealed that 90% of global IT leaders believe their partners and customers are making their own organisation a more attractive ransomware target.
That might be down in part to the fact that SMBs comprise a significant chunk of the supply chain for 52% of respondents. The security of SMBs is generally thought to be less effective than protection in larger, better resourced companies.
However, despite their concerns, less than half (47%) of respondents said they share knowledge about ransomware attacks with their suppliers, while a quarter (25%) claimed they don’t share potentially useful threat information with partners.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/half-firms-supply-chain-ransomware/
Vulnerability Exploits, Not Phishing, Are the Top Cyber Attack Vector for Initial Compromise
Breaches involving phishing and credential compromise have received a lot of attention in recent years because of how frequently threat actors have employed the tactics in executing both targeted and opportunistic attacks. But that doesn't mean that enterprise organisations can afford to lessen their focus on vulnerability patching one bit.
A report from Kaspersky this week identified more initial intrusions last year resulting from exploitation of vulnerabilities in Internet-facing applications than breaches involving malicious emails and compromised accounts combined. And data that the company has collected through the second quarter of 2022 suggests the same trend might be playing out this year as well.
Kaspersky's analysis of its 2021 incident-response data showed that breaches involving vulnerability exploits surged from 31.5% of all incidents in 2020 to 53.6% in 2021. Over the same period, attacks associated with the use of compromised accounts to gain initial access declined from 31.6% in 2020 to 17.9% last year. Initial intrusions resulting from phishing emails decreased from 23.7% to 14.3% during the same period.
Uber’s Ex-Security Chief Faces Landmark Trial Over Data Breach That Hit 57m Users
Uber’s former security officer, Joe Sullivan, is standing trial this week in what is believed to be the first case of an executive facing criminal charges in relation to a data breach.
The US district court in San Francisco will start hearing arguments on whether Sullivan, the former head of security at the ride-share giant, failed to properly disclose a 2016 data breach affecting 57 million Uber riders and drivers around the world.
At a time when reports of ransomware attacks have surged and cyber security insurance premiums have risen, the case could set an important precedent regarding the culpability of US security staffers and executives for the way the companies they work for handle cyber security incidents.
The breach first came to light in November 2017, when Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, revealed that hackers had gained access to the driver’s licence numbers of 600,000 US Uber drivers as well as the names, email addresses and phone numbers of as many as 57 million Uber riders and drivers.
Public disclosures like Khosrowshahi’s are required by law in many US states, with most regulations mandating that the notification be made “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay”.
But Khosrowshahi’s announcement came with an admission: a whole year had passed since the information had been breached.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/06/uber-joe-sullivan-trial-security-data-breach
Over 10% of Enterprise IT Assets Found With Missing Endpoint Protection
More than 10% of enterprise IT assets are missing endpoint protection and roughly 5% are not covered by enterprise patch management solutions.
The figures come from new research by Sevco Security, which the company has compiled in the State of the Cybersecurity Attack Surface report.
"Attackers are very adept at exploiting enterprise vulnerabilities. Security and IT teams already have their hands full mitigating the vulnerabilities that they know about, and our data confirms that this is just the tip of the iceberg," Sevco told Infosecurity Magazine.
The document analyses data aggregated from visibility into more than 500,000 IT assets, and underlines existential and underreported cyber security issues in relation to securing enterprises’ assets.
“The uncertainty of enterprise inventory – the elements that make up an organisation’s cyber security attack surface – upends the foundation of every major security framework and presents a challenge to security teams: it’s impossible to protect what you can’t see,” they said.
For instance, the data found that roughly 3% of all IT assets are “stale” in endpoint protection, while 1% are stale from the perspective of patch management coverage.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/enterprise-assets-miss-endpoint/
Some Employees Aren't Just Leaving Companies — They're Defrauding Them
Since the Great Resignation in 2021, millions of employees have left their roles with current employers in search of better ones. According to Microsoft, 40% of employees reported they are considering leaving their current roles by the end of 2022. With many still working in remote or hybrid positions due to the pandemic, larger businesses have started implementing measures to gain a better understanding of employee morale and sentiment to prevent turnover.
While most employees leave companies on good terms, some may become extremely unhappy or disgruntled prior to their departure and are more likely to defraud the company either before leaving or on their way out the door. The unfortunate reality is that no business is immune to fraud, but luckily, there are several steps you can take to prevent it from happening.
According to the Cressey Fraud Triangle, fraudulent behaviour often occurs due to three contributing factors. These include pressure or motive to commit a fraud (usually a personal financial problem), perceived opportunity within the organisation to commit a fraud (poor oversight or internal controls), and rationalisation (the ability to justify the crime to make it seem acceptable).
Very often, a fraudster needs all three sides of the triangle to successfully commit a crime. Therefore, it is extremely important for organisations to do their best to create controls and understand the risk associated with each of these areas. For example, an employee may be disgruntled and also have personal financial issues. However, if internal controls are robust and the employee doesn't have access to financial instruments, valuable assets or software systems, their ability to defraud the company is extremely limited or will get identified immediately.
Ransomware Gangs Switching to New Intermittent Encryption Tactic
A growing number of ransomware groups are adopting a new tactic that helps them encrypt their victims' systems faster while reducing the chances of being detected and stopped.
This tactic is called intermittent encryption, and it consists of encrypting only parts of the targeted files' content, which would still render the data unrecoverable without using a valid decryption key.
For example, by skipping every other 16 bytes of a file, the encryption process takes almost half of the time required for full encryption but still locks the contents for good.
Additionally, because the encryption is milder, automated detection tools that rely on detecting signs of trouble in the form of intense file IO operations are more likely to fail.
SentinelLabs has posted a report examining a trend started by LockFile in mid-2021 and now adopted by the likes of Black Basta, ALPHV (BlackCat), PLAY, Agenda, and Qyick.
These groups actively promote the presence of intermittent encryption features in their ransomware family to entice affiliates to join the RaaS operation.
"Notably, Qyick features intermittent encryption, which is what the cool kids are using as you read this. Combined with the fact that is written in Go, the speed is unmatched," describes a Qyick advertisement on hacking forums.
How Posting Personal and Business Photos Can Be a Security Risk
Image geotags, metadata, and location information can allow competitors, cyber criminals, and even nation-state threat actors to gain knowledge they can use against organisations.
Marketers in every industry enjoy evidencing their reach to their superiors and providing tangible examples of their width and breadth of influence via social networks, media, and other means of engagement. Photos of both customers and employees engaging at hosted social events, trade shows, conferences, and direct one-on-one encounters are often viewed as gold. Couple this with the individual employee’s or customer’s photos working their way onto social network platforms for others to see and admire, and the value of that gold increases, success being quantified by impressions, views and individual engagements.
The value of that gold doubles when not only does the company harvest data and call it a success, but their competitors also analyse such photos capturing a plethora of useful data points, including geotagged data, metadata of the photo, and identity of the individuals caught in the frame. They, too, call it a success. Yes, the digital engagement involving location data and or location hints within photos is a double-edged sword.
It isn’t just competitors who harvest the data. Criminal elements and nation-state intelligence and security elements do as well. Francis Bacon’s adage, “Knowledge itself is power,” applies. With location, time and place, and identity, competitors, criminals, and nation-states are given their initial tidbits of openly acquired information from which to begin to build their mosaic.
Your Vendors Are Likely Your Biggest Cyber Security Risk
As speed of business increases, more and more organisations are looking to either buy companies or outsource more services to gain market advantage. With organisations expanding their vendor base, there is a critical need for holistic third-party risk management (TPRM) and comprehensive cyber security measures to assess how much risk vendors pose.
While organisations assess and manage risk on a multitude of layers, none present bigger threats to business resiliency than third-party risk and a lack of robust cyber security controls. Breaches and service interruptions tied to these risk areas have brought down critical systems of major organisations. In 2021, 53% of CISOs surveyed by Black Kite reported being hit by at least one ransomware attack.
It bears repeating: Cyber security and third-party risk are the two biggest problems facing your long-term viability. Businesses need to be able to tackle these risk vectors individually to gain a complete view of their risk profile. A cross-functional process is essential to managing the overlap between these risk areas to better protect your organisation and increase workflow efficiency.
Ensuring that the cyber security practices of your vendors align with your organisation’s standards is critical to safeguarding your systems and data. In fact, it is just as important as how stable the business is or how well it delivers products and services.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/05/vendors-cybersecurity-risk/
A Recent Chinese Hack Is a Wake-up Call for the Security of the World’s Software Supply Chain
It’s perhaps only a coincidence that there’s a famous Chinese saying ‘No one knows, not even the ghosts’ that neatly summarises a recent hack on MiMi, a Chinese messaging app. According to recent reports, a Chinese state-backed hacking group inserted malicious code into this messaging app, essentially pulling off the equivalent of the infamous SolarWinds hack. Users of MiMi were served a version of the app with malicious code added, thanks to attackers taking control of the servers that delivered the app. In short, this was a software supply chain attack in which the software delivery pipeline was compromised.
Observers could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another hack. Chinese hacking groups, and those of Western countries too, have developed a reputation over the past two decades for spying, surveillance, and sabotage. But this attack is different than typical hacking fare because the attackers rode in on the back of a trusted piece of software. This is a software supply chain attack, where the attackers tamper with either source code, the software build system, or the software publishing pipeline, all of which have become essential to the functioning of the world’s digital economy.
Software supply chain attacks have been rapidly growing in frequency. Twenty years ago, there might have been one or two a year. These days, depending on the methodology, there are either hundreds or thousands a year, and that’s only counting the reported attacks. And increasingly anybody who depends upon software (read: everybody) is or shortly will be a victim: the U.S. government, Microsoft, thousands of other companies and, apparently in this MiMi attack, individuals.
Massive Hotels Group IHG Struck by Cyber Attack Which Disrupts Booking Systems
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and many others, has had its IT systems breached by malicious hackers.
In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, the multinational hospitality company reported that "parts of the company's technology systems have been subject to unauthorised activity."
As a result, the company said, "IHG's booking channels and other applications have been significantly disrupted since [Monday], and this is ongoing."
The first indication that the company was experiencing problems appeared early on Monday morning UK time, when anyone who tried to book a hotel room via the company's website or app, or access their IHG One Rewards account was greeted by a maintenance message.
Although it has made no declaration regarding the nature of the security breach, in its filing with the London Stock Exchange, IHG mentioned they were "working to fully restore all systems". This would fit into the scenario of IHG having hit been hit with ransomware, which may not only have encrypted data - locking the company out of its systems and demanding a ransom be paid - but could have also caused even more problems.
London's Biggest Bus Operator Hit by Cyber "Incident"
Travellers in London were braced for more delays last week after the city’s largest bus operator revealed it has been hit by a “cyber security incident,” according to reports.
Newcastle-based transportation group Go-Ahead shared a statement with the London Stock Exchange indicating “unauthorised activity” had been discovered on its network yesterday.
“Upon becoming aware of the incident, Go-Ahead immediately engaged external forensic specialists and has taken precautionary measures with its IT infrastructure whilst it continues to investigate the nature and extent of the incident and implement its incident response plans,” it stated. “Go-Ahead will continue to assess the potential impact of the incident but confirms that there is no impact on UK or International rail services which are operating normally.”
However, the same may not be true of its bus services. Sky News reported that bus and driver rosters may have been impacted by the attack, which could disrupt operations.
Go-Ahead operates multiple services in the South, South West, London, North West, East Anglia, East Yorkshire and its native North East. It is London’s largest bus company, operating over 2400 buses in the capital and employing more than 7000 staff.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/londons-biggest-bus-operator-hit/
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Interpol dismantles sextortion ring, warns of increased attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Play Ransomware Attack Playbook Similar to that of Hive, Nokoyawa (trendmicro.com)
Some Members of Conti Group Targeting Ukraine in Financially Motivated Attacks (thehackernews.com)
How to Improve Mean Time to Detect for Ransomware | SecurityWeek.Com
Google: Former Conti ransomware members attacking Ukraine (techtarget.com)
Hackers Are Using NASA Telescope Images To Push Ransomware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Ransomware gang's Cobalt Strike servers DDoSed with anti-Russia messages (bleepingcomputer.com)
Everything You Need To Know About BlackCat (AlphaV) (darkreading.com)
Microsoft: Iranian hackers encrypt Windows systems using BitLocker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Warns of Ransomware Attacks by Iranian Phosphorus Hacker Group (thehackernews.com)
Clarion Housing: Anger over landlord silence since cyber attack - BBC News
New Ransomware Hits Windows, Linux Servers Of Chile Govt Agency (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
QNAP warns new Deadbolt ransomware attacks exploiting 0day - Security Affairs
Second largest U.S. school district LAUSD hit by ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Windows Defender identified Chromium, Electron apps as Hive Ransomware - Security Affairs
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
EvilProxy Commodifies Reverse-Proxy Tactic for Phishing, Bypassing 2FA (darkreading.com)
Criminals harvest users' PI by impersonating popular brands - Help Net Security
Lampion malware returns in phishing attacks abusing WeTransfer (bleepingcomputer.com)
A new phishing scam targets American Express cardholders - Security Affairs
EvilProxy phishing-as-a-service with MFA bypass emerged on the dark web - Help Net Security
GIFShell attack creates reverse shell using Microsoft Teams GIFs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
Cyber criminals targeting Minecraft fans with malware • The Register
Next-Gen Linux Malware Takes Over Devices With Unique Tool Set (darkreading.com)
TeslaGun Primed to Blast a New Wave of Backdoor Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)
New Linux malware evades detection using multi-stage deployment (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bumblebee malware adds post-exploitation tool for stealthy infections (bleepingcomputer.com)
North Korean Hackers Deploying New MagicRAT Malware in Targeted Campaigns (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
NATO docs sold on darkweb after they were stolen from Portugal - Security Affairs
Criminals claim they've stolen NATO missile plans • The Register
TikTok denies data breach following leak of user data - Security Affairs
IRS mistakenly published confidential info for roughly 120K taxpayers - Security Affairs
Samsung US Says Customer Data Compromised in July Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Scammers live-streamed on YouTube a fake Apple crypto event - Security Affairs
FBI: Crooks are using these DeFi flaws to steal your money | ZDNET
Feds freeze $30m in cryptocurrency stolen from Axie Infinity • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
62% of consumers see fraud as an inevitable risk of online shopping - Help Net Security
Islanders in Jersey lose nearly £400,000 to romance fraud | ITV News Channel
The Advantages of Threat Intelligence for Combating Fraud | SecurityWeek.Com
AML/CFT/Sanctions
UK forces crypto exchanges to report suspected sanction breaches | Cryptocurrencies | The Guardian
US Treasury sanctioned Iran ’s Ministry of Intelligence over Albania cyber attack - Security Affairs
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Supply chain risk is a top security priority as confidence in partners wanes - Help Net Security
KeyBank: Hackers of third-party provider stole customer data | The Seattle Times
Government guide for supply chain security: The good, the bad and the ugly - Help Net Security
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud/SaaS
Defenders Be Prepared: Cyber attacks Surge Against Linux Amid Cloud Migration (darkreading.com)
Hybrid Cloud Security Challenges & Solutions (trendmicro.com)
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Are Default Passwords Hiding in Your Active Directory? Here's how to check (bleepingcomputer.com)
200,000 North Face accounts hacked in credential stuffing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
TikTok denies security breach after hackers leak user data, source code (bleepingcomputer.com)
Facebook Engineers Admit They Don’t Know What They Do With Your Data (vice.com)
Privacy
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Google Details Recent Ukraine Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Ukraine dismantles more bot farms spreading Russian disinformation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine is under attack by hacking tools repurposed from Conti cyber crime group | Ars Technica
Newly discovered cyber spy group targets Asia • The Register
New Iranian hacking group APT42 deploys custom Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Israeli Defence Minister's Cleaner Sentenced for Spying Attempt | SecurityWeek.Com
Researchers Find New Android Spyware Campaign Targeting Uyghur Community (thehackernews.com)
Anonymous hacked Yandex taxi causing a traffic jam in Moscow - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Nation State Actors – China
Nation State Actors – North Korea
North Korean Hackers Deploying New MagicRAT Malware in Targeted Campaigns (thehackernews.com)
North Korea's Lazarus Targets Energy Firms With Three RATs | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors – Iran
Microsoft: Iranian hackers encrypt Windows systems using BitLocker (bleepingcomputer.com)
UK condemns Iran for reckless cyber attack against Albania - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
US Treasury sanctioned Iran ’s Ministry of Intelligence over Albania cyber attack - Security Affairs
NATO Condemns Alleged Iranian Cyber attack on Albania | SecurityWeek.Com
New Iranian hacking group APT42 deploys custom Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft investigates Iranian attacks against the Albanian government - Microsoft Security Blog
Microsoft Warns of Ransomware Attacks by Iranian Phosphorus Hacker Group (thehackernews.com)
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
CISA adds 12 new flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog - Security Affairs
September 2022 Patch Tuesday forecast: No sign of cooling off - Help Net Security
High-risk ConnectWise Automate vulnerability fixed, admins urged to patch ASAP - Help Net Security
Hackers Exploit Zero-Day in WordPress BackupBuddy Plugin in ~5 Million Attempts (thehackernews.com)
Mirai Variant MooBot Botnet Exploiting D-Link Router Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)
Cisco won’t fix authentication bypass zero-day in EoL routers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical RCE Vulnerability Affects Zyxel NAS Devices — Firmware Patch Released (thehackernews.com)
Chrome and Edge fix zero-day security hole – update now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Google Patches Sixth Chrome Zero-Day of 2022 | SecurityWeek.Com
QNAP patches zero-day used in new Deadbolt ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
HP fixes severe bug in pre-installed Support Assistant tool (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other News
The Heartbleed bug: How a flaw in OpenSSL caused a security crisis | CSO Online
Cyber Security - the More Things Change, the More They Are The Same | SecurityWeek.Com
CISOs say stress and burnout are their top personal risks (cnbc.com)
How to deal with unprecedented levels of regulatory change - Help Net Security
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 August 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 August 2022
-Average Cost of Data Breaches Hits Record High of $4.35 Million: IBM
-Researchers Warns of Large-Scale Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) Attacks Targeting Enterprise Users
-UK NHS Suffers Outage After Cyber Attack on Managed Service Provider
-A Third of Organisations Experience a Ransomware Attack Once a Week
-Ransomware Products, Services Ads on Dark Web Show Clues to Danger
-Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, How Malware Tricks Users and Antivirus
-Microsoft Accounts Targeted with New MFA-Bypassing Phishing Kit
-Cyber Attack Prevention Is Cost-Effective, So Why Aren’t Businesses Investing to Protect?
-Securing Your Move to the Hybrid Cloud
-Lessons from the Russian Cyber Warfare Attacks
-Four Sneaky Attacker Evasion Techniques You Should Know About
-Zero-Day Defence: Tips for Defusing the Threat
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
Average Cost of Data Breaches Hits Record High of $4.35 Million: IBM
The global average cost of data breaches reached an all-time high of $4.35 million in 2022 compared with $4.24 million in 2021, according to a new IBM Security report. About 60% of the breached organisations raised product and services prices due to the breaches.
The annual report, conducted by Ponemon Institute and analysed and sponsored by IBM Security, is based on the analysis of real-world data breaches experienced by 550 organisations globally between March 2021 and March 2022.
According to the report, about 83% of the organisations have experienced more than one breach in their lifetime, with nearly half of the costs reported to be incurred more than a year after the breach.
The report revealed that ransomware and destructive attacks represented 28% of breaches among the critical infrastructure organisations studied, indicating that threat actors are specifically targeting the sector to disrupt global supply chains. The critical infrastructure sector includes financial services, industrial, transportation, and healthcare companies.
Researchers Warns of Large-Scale Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) Attacks Targeting Enterprise Users
A new, large-scale phishing campaign has been observed using adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) techniques to get around security protections and compromise enterprise email accounts.
It uses a technique capable of bypassing multi-factor authentication. The campaign is specifically designed to reach end users in enterprises that use Microsoft's email services.
Prominent targets include fintech, lending, insurance, energy, manufacturing, and federal credit union verticals located in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
This is not the first time such a phishing attack has come to light. Last month, Microsoft disclosed that over 10,000 organisations had been targeted since September 2021 by means of AitM techniques to breach accounts secured with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
The ongoing campaign, effective June 2022, commences with an invoice-themed email sent to targets containing an HTML attachment, which includes a phishing URL embedded within it.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/08/researchers-warns-of-large-scale-aitm.html
UK NHS Suffers Outage After Cyber Attack on Managed Service Provider
The UK National Health Service (NHS) 111 emergency services were affected by a significant and ongoing outage triggered by a cyber attack that hit the systems of British managed service provider (MSP) Advanced.
Advanced's Adastra client patient management solution, which is used by 85% of NHS 111 services, was hit by a major outage together with several other services provided by the MSP, according to a status page.
"There was a major outage of a computer system that is used to refer patients from NHS 111 Wales to out-of-hours GP providers," the Welsh Ambulance Services said. "This system is used by Local Health Boards to coordinate these services for patients. The ongoing outage is significant and has been far-reaching, impacting each of the four nations in the UK."
The UK public was advised to access the NHS 111 emergency services using the online platform until the incident is resolved.
While no details were provided regarding the nature of the cyber attack, based on the wording, it is likely that this was a ransomware or data extortion attack.
A Third of Organisations Experience a Ransomware Attack Once a Week
Ransomware attacks show no sign of slowing. According to new research published by Menlo Security, a third of organisations experience a ransomware attack at least once a week, with one in 10 experiencing them more than once a day.
The research, conducted among 500+ IT security decision makers at US and UK organisations with more than 1,000 employees, highlights the impact this is having on security professionals’ own wellbeing. When asked what keeps them awake at night, 41% of respondents say they worry about ransomware attacks evolving beyond their team’s knowledge and skillset, while 39% worry about them evolving beyond their company’s security capabilities.
Their biggest concern, however, is the risk of employees ignoring corporate security advice and clicking on links or attachments containing malware (46%). Respondents worry more about this than they do their own job security, with just a quarter (26%) of respondents worried about losing their job.
According to the report, around half of organisations (61% US and 44% UK) have been the victim of a successful ransomware attack in the last 18 months, with customers and prospects the most likely entry point for an attack.
Partners/suppliers and employees/contractors are also seen as serious security risks, although one in 10 admit they are unable to identify how the attacks got in. The top three ransomware attack vectors are email (54%), web browsers via a desktop or laptop (49%) and mobile devices (39%).
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/04/organizations-experience-ransomware-attack/
Ransomware Products and Services Ads on Dark Web Show Clues to Danger
Why is ransomware’s destructive potential so daunting? Some clues are in the “for sale” ads. In an examination of some 35 million dark web URLs, a provider of machine identity management and a forensic specialist found some 475 web pages peddling sophisticated ransomware products and services with a number of high profile crews hawking ransomware-as-a-service.
The work is a joint effort between the Salt Lake City-based Venafi and Forensic Pathways, which took place between November 2021 and March 2022. Researchers used Forensic’s Dark Search Engine to carry out the investigation.
Here are some of the research findings:
87% of the ransomware found on the dark web has been delivered via malicious macros to infect targeted systems.
30 different “brands” of ransomware were identified within marketplace listings and forum discussions.
Many strains of ransomware being sold — such as Babuk, GoldenEye, Darkside/BlackCat, Egregor, HiddenTear and WannaCry — have been successfully used in high-profile attacks.
Ransomware strains used in high-profile attacks command a higher price for associated services. For example, the most expensive listing was $1,262 for a customised version of Darkside ransomware, which was used in the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.
Source code listings for well-known ransomware generally command higher price points. For example, Babuk source code is listed for $950 and Paradise source code is selling for $593.
Ransomware Sold for as Little as $1: In addition to a variety of ransomware at various price points, a wide range of services and tools that help make it easier for attackers with minimal technical skills to launch ransomware attacks are for sale on the dark web, Venafi said. Services with the greatest number of listings include those offering source code, build services, custom development services and ransomware packages that include step-by-step tutorials.
Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing: How Malware Tricks Users and Antivirus
One of the primary methods used by malware distributors to infect devices is by deceiving people into downloading and running malicious files, and to achieve this deception, malware authors are using a variety of tricks.
Some of these tricks include masquerading malware executables as legitimate applications, signing them with valid certificates, or compromising trustworthy sites to use them as distribution points.
According to VirusTotal, a security platform for scanning uploaded files for malware, some of these tricks are happening on a much larger scale than initially thought.
The platform has compiled a report presenting stats from January 2021 until July 2022, based on the submission of two million files daily, illustrating trends in how malware is distributed.
Abusing legitimate domains: Distributing malware through legitimate, popular, and high-ranking websites allows threat actors to evade IP-based blocklists, enjoy high availability, and provide a greater level of trust.
Using stolen code-signing certificates: Signing malware samples with valid certificates stolen from companies is a reliable way to evade AV detection and security warnings on the host. Of all the malicious samples uploaded to VirusTotal between January 2021 and April 2022, over a million were signed, and 87% used a valid certificate.
Disguised as popular software: Masquerading a malware executable as a legitimate, popular application has seen an upward trend in 2022. Victims download these files thinking they’re getting the applications they need, but upon running the installers, they infect their systems with malware. The most mimicked applications are Skype, Adobe Acrobat, VLC, and 7zip.
Lacing legitimate installers - Finally, there’s the trick of hiding malware inside legitimate application installers and running the infection process in the background while the real apps execute in the foreground. Based on VirusTotal stats, this practice also appears to be on the rise this year, using Google Chrome, Malwarebytes, Windows Updates, Zoom, Brave, Firefox, ProtonVPN, and Telegram as lures.
Microsoft Accounts Targeted with New MFA-Bypassing Phishing Kit
A new large-scale phishing campaign targeting credentials for Microsoft email services use a custom proxy-based phishing kit to bypass multi-factor authentication.
Researchers believe the campaign's goal is to breach corporate accounts to conduct BEC (business email compromise) attacks, diverting payments to bank accounts under their control using falsified documents.
The phishing campaign's targets include fin-tech, lending, accounting, insurance, and Federal Credit Union organisations in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
The campaign was discovered by Zscaler's ThreatLabz researchers, who report that the operation is still ongoing, and the phishing actors register new phishing domains almost daily.
Starting in June 2022, Zscaler's analysts noticed a spike in sophisticated phishing attempts against specific sectors and users of Microsoft email services.
Some of the newly registered domains used in the campaign are typo-squatted versions of legitimate domains.
Notably, many phishing emails originated from the accounts of executives working in these organisations, whom the threat actors most likely compromised earlier.
Cyber Attack Prevention Is Cost-Effective, So Why Aren’t Businesses Investing to Protect?
Cyber attacks like ransomware, BEC scams and data breaches are some of the key issues businesses are facing today, but despite the number of high-profile incidents, many boardrooms are reluctant to free up budget to invest in the cyber security measures necessary to avoid becoming the next victim.
In a Help Net Security interview, Former Pentagon Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Reiber, VP Cyber security Strategy and Policy, AttackIQ, discusses how now, more than ever, companies need to protect themselves from cyber threat actors. He offers insight for CISOs, from talking to the Board to proper budget allocation.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/01/cyberattack-prevention-investing/
Securing Your Move to the Hybrid Cloud
The combination of private and public cloud infrastructure, which most organisations are already using, poses unique security challenges. There are many reasons why organisations adopt the public cloud, from enabling rapid growth without the burden of capacity planning to leveraging flexibility and agility in delivering customer-centric services. However, this use can leave companies open to threats.
Since regulatory requirements or other preferences dictate that certain applications remain on private (on-prem) infrastructure, many organisations choose to maintain a mix of private and public infrastructure. Additionally, organisations typically use multiple cloud providers simultaneously or preserve the option to move between providers. However, this hybrid approach presents unique and diverse security challenges. Different cloud providers and private cloud platforms may offer similar capabilities but different ways of implementing security controls, along with disparate management tools.
The question then becomes: How can an organisation maintain consistent governance, policy enforcement and controls across different clouds? And how can it ensure that it maintains its security posture when moving between them? Fortunately, there are steps professionals can take to ensure that applications are continuously secure, starting from the early stages of development and extending throughout the lifecycle.
https://threatpost.com/secure-move-cloud/180335/
Lessons from the Russian Cyber Warfare Attacks
Cyber warfare tactics may not involve tanks and bombs, but they often go hand-in-hand with real combat.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a prime example. Before Russian troops crossed the border, Russian hackers had already taken down Ukrainian government websites. And after the conflict started, the hacktivist group Anonymous turned the tables by hacking Russian media to shut down propaganda about the war.
In these unprecedented times of targeted attacks against governments and financial institutions, every organisation should be on heightened alert about protecting their critical infrastructure and digital attack surface.
With the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a backdrop, two Trend Micro security experts recently discussed cyber warfare techniques and how they’re an important reminder for every business to proactively manage cyber risk.
https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/22/h/russian-cyber-warfare-attacks.html
Four Sneaky Attacker Evasion Techniques You Should Know About
Remember those portrayals of hackers in the 80s and 90s where you just knew when you got pwned? A blue screen of death, a scary message, a back-and-forth text exchange with a hacker—if you got pwned in a movie in the 80s and 90s, you knew it right off the bat.
What a shame that today’s hackers have learned to be quiet when infiltrating an environment. Sure, “loud” attacks like ransomware still exist, but threat actors have learned that if they keep themselves hidden, they can usually do far more damage. For hackers, a little stealth can go a long way. Some attack tactics are inherently quiet, making them arguably more dangerous as they can be harder to detect. Here are four of these attack tactics you should know about.
Trusted Application Abuse: Attackers know that many people have applications that they inherently trust, making those trusted applications the perfect launchpad for cyber attacks. Threat actors know that defenders and the tools they use are often on the hunt for new malware presenting itself in environments. What isn’t so easy to detect is when the malware masquerades under legitimate applications.
Trusted Infrastructure Abuse: Much like trusted application abuse, trusted infrastructure abuse is the act of using legitimate, publicly hosted services and toolsets (such as Dropbox or Google Drive) as part of the attack infrastructure. Threat actors know that people tend to trust Dropbox and Google Drive. As a result, this makes these tools a prime means for threat actors to carry out malicious activity. Threat actors often find trusted infrastructure abuse easy because these services aren’t usually blocked at an enterprise’s gateway. In turn, outbound communications can hide in plain sight.
Obfuscation: Although cyber security has more than its fair share of tedious acronyms, the good news is that many terms can be broken down by their generic dictionary definitions. According to dictionary.com, this is what obfuscate means: “To make something unclear, obscure or difficult to understand.” And that’s exactly what it means in cyber security: finding ways to conceal malicious behaviour. In turn, this makes it more difficult for analysts and the tools they use to flag suspicious or malicious activity.
Persistence: Imagine writing up documentation using your computer, something you may well do in your role. You’ve spent a ton of time doing the research required, finding the right sources and compiling all your information into a document. Now, imagine not hitting save on that document and losing it as soon as you reboot your computer. Sound like a nightmare—or perhaps a real anxiety-inducing experience you’ve been through before? Threat actors agree. And that’s why they establish persistence. They don’t want all of their hard work to get into your systems in the first place to be in vain just because you restart your computer. They establish persistence to make sure they can still hang around even after you reboot.
Zero-Day Defence: Tips for Defusing the Threat
Because they leave so little time to patch and defuse, zero-day threats require a proactive, multi-layered approach based on zero trust.
The recent Atlassian Confluence remote code execution bug is just the latest example of zero-day threats targeting critical vulnerabilities within major infrastructure providers. The specific threat, an Object-Graph Navigation Language (OGNL) injection, has been around for years but took on new significance given the scope of the Atlassian exploit. And OGNL attacks are on the rise.
Once bad actors find such a vulnerability, proof-of-concept exploits start knocking at the door, seeking unauthenticated access to create new admin accounts, execute remote commands, and take over servers. In the Atlassian case, Akamai's threat research team identified that the number of unique IP addresses attempting these exploits grew to more than 200 within just 24 hours.
Defending against these exploits becomes a race against time worthy of a 007 movie. The clock is ticking and you don't have much time to implement a patch and "defuse" the threat before it's too late. But first you need to know that an exploit is underway. That requires a proactive, multi-layered approach to online security based on zero trust.
What do these layers look like? There are a number of different practices that security teams — and their third-party Web application and infrastructure partners — should be aware of.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/zero-day-defense-tips-for-defusing-the-threat
Threats
Ransomware
Reported ransomware attacks are just the tip of the iceberg. That's a problem for everyone | ZDNet
Initial Access Brokers - Key to Rise In Ransomware Attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Ransomware gangs are hitting roadblocks, but aren't stopping (yet) - Help Net Security
LockBit Ransomware Abuses Windows Defender for Payload Loading | SecurityWeek.Com
German Chambers of Industry and Commerce hit by 'massive' cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Task Force releases SMB blueprint for defence and mitigation (scmagazine.com)
German semiconductor giant Semikron says hackers encrypted its network | TechCrunch
Ransomware Hit on European Pipeline & Energy Supplier Encevo Linked to BlackCat (darkreading.com)
Luxembourg Energy Company Hit by Ransomware | SecurityWeek.Com
Spanish research agency still recovering after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Countdown Clock Puts Pressure on Phishing Targets - Infosecurity Magazine
The most impersonated brand in phishing attacks? Microsoft - Help Net Security
Open Redirect Flaw Snags Amex, Snapchat User Data | Threatpost
A new malware threat is spying on users' Gmail inbox — do this before you're next | Laptop Mag
Massive New Phishing Campaign Targets Microsoft Email Service Users (darkreading.com)
North Korean Hackers Use Browser Extension to Spy on Gmail and AOL Accounts - Infosecurity Magazine
Other Social Engineering; SMishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
VirusTotal Reveals Most Impersonated Software in Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Gootkit Loader Resurfaces with Updated Tactic to Compromise Targeted Computers (thehackernews.com)
Woody RAT: A new feature-rich malware spotted in the wild | Malwarebytes Labs
New IoT RapperBot Malware Targeting Linux Servers via SSH Brute-Forcing Attack (thehackernews.com)
New Linux malware brute-forces SSH servers to breach networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Attackers cause Discord discord with malicious npm packages • The Register
Gootkit AaaS malware is still active and uses updated tactics - Security Affairs
Mobile
Facebook finds new Android malware used by APT hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Patches Critical Android Bluetooth Flaw in August Security Bulletin - Infosecurity Magazine
Banking trojan finds new routes to accounts by infiltrating Google Play Store (scmagazine.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Nearly $200 Million Stolen from Cryptocurrency Bridge Nomad | SecurityWeek.Com
Crypto firm that promised security loses $200 million in 'frenzied free-for-all' hack | PC Gamer
Nomad to crooks: Keep 10% as a bounty, return the rest • The Register
Cyber attackers Drain Nearly $6M From Solana Crypto Wallets (darkreading.com)
Man robbed of $800,000 in cryptocurrency sues Google • The Register
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
UK Branded Europe’s “Capital of Card Fraud” - Infosecurity Magazine
Huge network of 11,000 fake investment sites targets Europe (bleepingcomputer.com)
Online payment fraud losses accelerate at an alarming rate - Help Net Security
COMMENT: 'Hi Mum, Hi Dad' Scams On The Rise - Britons Already (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Increase in Fake Tickets Being Sold by Cyber criminals on Social Media - IT Security Guru
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Dark Web
A Ransomware Explosion Fosters Thriving Dark Web Ecosystem (darkreading.com)
The popularity of Dark Utilities 'C2-as-a-Service' rapidly increases - Security Affairs
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Cyber attackers Increasingly Target Cloud IAM as a Weak Link (darkreading.com)
What Worries Security Teams About the Cloud? (darkreading.com)
Who Has Control: The SaaS App Admin Paradox (thehackernews.com)
Enterprises face a multitude of barriers to securing diverse cloud environments - Help Net Security
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Hackers stole passwords for accessing 140,000 payment terminals | TechCrunch
Credential Canaries Create Minefield for Attackers (darkreading.com)
5 reasons why businesses should never use consumer-grade password managers | TechRadar
Social Media
Hackers Exploit Twitter Vulnerability to Exposes 5.4 Million Accounts (thehackernews.com)
Parliament shuts down TikTok account over China data security concerns (telegraph.co.uk)
Over 3,200 Apps Leak Twitter API Keys, Some Allowing Account Hijacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Increase in Fake Tickets Being Sold by Cyber criminals on Social Media - IT Security Guru
Privacy
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Most companies are unprepared for CCPA and GDPR compliance - Help Net Security
Data privacy: Collect what you need, protect what you collect | CSO Online
India scraps data protection law, promises better successor • The Register
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine takes down 1,000,000 bots used for disinformation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nancy Pelosi ties Chinese cyber-attacks to Taiwan visit • The Register
Spanish Research Center Suffers Cyber attack Linked to Russia | SecurityWeek.Com
Russian organisations attacked with new Woody RAT malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Greek intelligence spied on journalist with a surveillance spyware - Security Affairs
Rare Pegasus screenshots depict NSO Group's spyware capabilities | AppleInsider
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese hackers use new Cobalt Strike-like attack framework (bleepingcomputer.com)
Massive China-Linked Disinformation Campaign Taps PR Firm for Help (darkreading.com)
Parliament shuts down TikTok account over China data security concerns (telegraph.co.uk)
Global network of fake news sites push Chinese propaganda, researchers find - CyberScoop
Taiwanese military reports DDoS in wake of US Speaker visit • The Register
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc APT
Vulnerabilities
VMware urges admins to patch critical auth bypass bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical RCE Bug in DrayTek Routers Opens SMBs to Zero-Click Attacks (darkreading.com)
Cisco fixes critical remote code execution bug in VPN routers (bleepingcomputer.com)
F5 Fixes 21 Vulnerabilities With Quarterly Security Patches | SecurityWeek.Com
High-Severity Bug in Kaspersky VPN Client Opens Door to PC Takeover (darkreading.com)
Slack Resets Passwords After a Bug Exposed Hashed Passwords for Some Users (thehackernews.com)
VMware Releases Patches for Several New Flaws Affecting Multiple Products (thehackernews.com)
Hackers are actively exploiting password-stealing flaw in Zimbra (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google fixed Critical Remote Code Execution flaw in Android - Security Affairs
CISA adds Zimbra bug to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue - Security Affairs
Warning! Critical flaws found in US Emergency Alert System • The Register
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
Other News
APIs attacked in 94% of companies in past year - IT Security Guru
Over 60% of Organisations Expose SSH to the Internet - Infosecurity Magazine
How IT and security teams can work together to improve endpoint security - Microsoft Security Blog
Burnout and attrition impact tech teams sustaining modern digital systems - Help Net Security
Machine learning creates a new attack surface requiring specialized defences - Help Net Security
Cyber security lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic (techtarget.com)
10 enterprise database security best practices (techtarget.com)
Resolving Availability vs. Security, a Constant Conflict in IT (thehackernews.com)
Tips to prevent RDP and other remote attacks on Microsoft networks | CSO Online
The Myth of Protection Online — and What Comes Next (darkreading.com)
The Importance of Data Security in the Enterprise (techtarget.com)
How IT Teams Can Use 'Harm Reduction' for Better Cyber security Outcomes (darkreading.com)
Businesses lack visibility into run-time threats against mobile apps and APIs - Help Net Security
Browser synchronization abuse: Bookmarks as a covert data exfiltration channel - Help Net Security
Threats emanating from digital ecosystems can be a blind spot for businesses - Help Net Security
Busting the Myths of Hardware Based Security - Security Affairs
New Traffic Light Protocol standard released after five years (bleepingcomputer.com)
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 Cyber Threat Briefing 29 July 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 29 July 2022
-1 in 3 Employees Don’t Understand Why Cyber Security Is Important
-As Companies Calculate Cyber Risk, The Right Data Makes a Big Difference
-Only 25% Of Organizations Consider Their Biggest Threat to Be from Inside the Business
-The Global Average Cost of a Data Breach Reaches an All-Time High of $4.35 Million
-Race Against Time: Hackers Start Hunting for Victims Just 15 Minutes After a Bug Is Disclosed
-Ransomware-as-a-Service Groups Forced to Change Tack as Payments Decline
-Phishers Targeted Financial Services Most During H1 2022
-HR Emails Dupe Employees the Most – KnowBe4 research reveals
-84% Of Organizations Experienced an Identity-Related Breach In The Past 18 Months
-Economic Downturn Raises Risk of Insiders Going Rogue
-5 Trends Making Cyber Security Threats Riskier and More Expensive
-Ransomware: Publicly Reported Incidents Are Only the Tip of the Iceberg
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
1 in 3 Employees Don’t Understand Why Cyber Security Is Important
According to a new Tessian report, 30% of employees do not think they personally play a role in maintaining their company’s cyber security posture.
What’s more, only 39% of employees say they’re very likely to report a security incident, making investigation and remediation even more challenging and time-consuming for security teams. When asked why, 42% of employees said they wouldn’t know if they had caused an incident in the first place, and 25% say they just don’t care enough about cyber security to mention it.
Virtually all IT and security leaders agreed that a strong security culture is important in maintaining a strong security posture. Yet, despite rating their organisation’s security 8 out 10, on average, three-quarters of organisations experienced a security incident in the last 12 months.
The report suggests this could stem from a reliance on traditional training programs: 48% of security leaders say training is one of the most important influences on building a positive security posture. But the reality is that employees aren’t engaged; just 28% of UK and US workers say security awareness training is engaging and only 36% say they’re paying full attention. Of those who are, only half say it’s helpful, while another 50% have had a negative experience with a phishing simulation. With recent headlines depicting how phishing simulations can go awry, negative experiences like these further alienate employees and decrease engagement.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/28/employees-dont-understand-why-cybersecurity-is-important/
As Companies Calculate Cyber Risk, the Right Data Makes a Big Difference
The proposed US Securities and Exchange Commission’s stronger rules for reporting cyber attacks will have ramifications beyond increased disclosure of attacks to the public. By requiring not just quick reporting of incidents, but also disclosure of cyber policies and risk management, such regulation will ultimately bring more accountability for cyber security to the highest levels of corporate leadership. Other jurisdictions will very likely follow the US in requiring more stringent cyber controls and governance.
This means that boards and executives everywhere will need to increase their understanding of cyber security, not only from a tech point of view, but from a risk and business exposure point of view. The CFO, CMO and the rest of the C-suite and board will want and need to know what financial exposure the business faces from a data breach, and how likely it is that breaches will happen. This is the only way they will be able to develop cyber policies and plans and react properly to the proposed regulations.
Companies will therefore need to be able to calculate and put a dollar value on their exposure to cyber risk. This is the starting point for the ability to make cyber security decisions not in a vacuum, but as part of overall business decisions. To accurately quantify cyber security exposure, companies need to understand what the threats are and which data and business assets are at risk, and they then need to multiply the cost of a breach by the probability that such an event will take place in order to put a dollar figure on their exposure.
While there are many automated tools, including those that use artificial intelligence (AI), that can help with this, the key to doing this well is to make sure calculations are rooted in real and relevant data – which is different for each company or organisation.
Only 25% Of Organisations Consider Their Biggest Threat to Be from Inside the Business
A worrying 73.5% of organisations feel they have wasted the majority of their cyber security budget on failing to remediate threats, despite having an over-abundance of security tools at their disposal, according to Gurucul.
Only 25% of organisations consider their biggest threat to be from inside the business, despite insider threats increasing by 47% over the past two years. With only a quarter of businesses seeing their biggest threat emanating from inside their organisation, it seems over 70% saw the biggest cyber security challenges emanating from external threats such as ransomware. In fact, although external threats account for many security incidents, we must never forget to look beyond those external malicious and bad actors to insider threats to effectively secure corporate data and IP.
The survey also found 33% of respondents said they are able to detect threats within hours, while 27.07% even claimed they can detect threats in real-time. However, challenges persist with 33% of respondents stating that it still takes their organisation days and weeks to detect threats, with 6% not being able to detect them at all.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/28/biggest-threat-inside-the-business/
The Global Average Cost of a Data Breach Reaches an All-Time High of $4.35 Million
IBM Security released the 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report, revealing costlier and higher-impact data breaches than ever before, with the global average cost of a data breach reaching an all-time high of $4.35 million for studied organisations.
With breach costs increasing nearly 13% over the last two years of the report, the findings suggest these incidents may also be contributing to rising costs of goods and services. In fact, 60% of studied organisations raised their product or services prices due to the breach, when the cost of goods is already soaring worldwide amid inflation and supply chain issues.
The perpetuality of cyber attacks is also shedding light on the “haunting effect” data breaches are having on businesses, with the IBM report finding 83% of studied organisations have experienced more than one data breach in their lifetime. Another factor rising over time is the after-effects of breaches on these organisations, which linger long after they occur, as nearly 50% of breach costs are incurred more than a year after the breach.
The 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report is based on in-depth analysis of real-world data breaches experienced by 550 organisations globally between March 2021 and March 2022. The research, which was sponsored and analysed by IBM Security, was conducted by the Ponemon Institute.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/27/2022-cost-of-a-data-breach-report/
Race Against Time: Hackers Start Hunting for Victims Just 15 Minutes After a Bug Is Disclosed
Attackers are becoming faster at exploiting previously undisclosed zero-day flaws, according to Palo Alto Networks. This means that the amount of time that system admins have to patch systems before exploitation happens is shrinking fast..
The company warns in its 2022 report covering 600 incident response (IR) cases that attackers typically start scanning for vulnerabilities within 15 minutes of one being announced.
Among this group are 2021's most significant flaws, including the Exchange Server ProxyShell and ProxyLogon sets of flaws, the persistent Apache Log4j flaws aka Log4Shell, the SonicWall zero-day flaws, and Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus.
While phishing remains the biggest method for initial access, accounting for 37% of IR cases, software vulnerabilities accounted of 31%. Brute-force credential attacks (like password spraying) accounted for 9%, while smaller categories included previously compromised credentials (6%), insider threat (5%), social engineering (5%), and abuse of trusted relationships/tools (4%).
Over 87% of the flaws identified as the source of initial access fell into one of six vulnerability categories.
Ransomware-as-a-Service Groups Forced to Change Tack as Payments Decline
Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operators are evolving their tactics yet again in response to more aggressive law enforcement efforts, in a move that is reducing their profits but also making affiliates harder to track, according to Coveware.
The security vendor’s Q2 2022 ransomware report revealed that concerted efforts to crack down on groups like Conti and DarkSide have forced threat actors to adapt yet again.
It identified three characteristics of RaaS operations that used to be beneficial, but are increasingly seen as a hinderance.
The first is RaaS branding, which has helped to cement the reputation of some groups and improve the chances of victims paying, according to Coveware. However, branding also makes attribution easier and can draw the unwanted attention of law enforcement, it said.
“RaaS groups are keeping a lower profile and vetting affiliates and their victims more thoroughly,” Coveware explained.
“More RaaS groups have formed, resulting in less concentration among the top few variants. Affiliates are frequently shifting between RaaS variants on different attacks, making attribution beyond the variant more challenging.”
In some cases, affiliates are also using “unbranded” malware to make attribution more difficult, it added.
The second evolution in RaaS involves back-end infrastructure, which used to enable scale and increase profitability. However, it also means a larger attack surface and a digital footprint that’s more expensive and challenging to maintain.
As a result, RaaS developers are being forced to invest more in obfuscation and redundancy, which is hitting profits and reducing the amount of resources available for expansion, Coveware claimed.
Finally, RaaS shared services used to help affiliates with initial access, stolen data storage, negotiation management and leak site support.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/raas-groups-forced-change-payments/
Phishers Targeted Financial Services Most During H1 2022
Banks received the lion’s share of phishing attacks during the first half of 2022, according to figures published by cyber security company Vade.
The analysis also found that attackers were most likely to send their phishing emails on weekdays, with most arriving between Monday and Wednesday. Attacks tapered off towards the end of the week, Vade said.
While financial services scored highest on a per-sector basis, Microsoft was the most impersonated brand overall. The company’s Microsoft 365 cloud productivity services are a huge draw for cyber-criminals hoping to access accounts using phishing attacks.
Phishing attacks on Microsoft customers have become more creative, according to Vade, which identified several phone-based attacks. It highlighted a campaign impersonating Microsoft’s Defender anti-malware product, fraudulently warning that the company had debited a subscription fee. It encouraged victims to fix the problem by phone.
Facebook came a close second, followed by financial services company Crédit Agricole, WhatsApp and Orange.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/phishers-financial-services-h1-2022/
HR Emails Dupe Employees the Most – KnowBe4 research reveals
In phishing tests conducted on business emails, more than half of the subject lines clicked imitated Human Resources communications.
New research has revealed the top email subjects clicked on in phishing tests were those related to or from Human Resources, according to the latest ‘most clicked phishing tests‘ conducted by KnowBe4. In fact, half of those that were clicked on had subject lines related to Human Resources, including vacation policy updates, dress code changes, and upcoming performance reviews. The second most clicked category were those send from IT, which include requests or actions of password verifications that were needed immediately.
KnowBe4’s CEO commented “More than 80% of company data breaches globally come from human error, so security awareness training for your staff is one of the least costly and most effective methods to thwart social engineering attacks. Training gives employees the ability to rapidly recognise a suspicious email, even if it appears to come from an internal source, causing them to pause before clicking. That moment where they stop and question the email is a critical and often overlooked element of security culture that could significantly reduce your risk surface.”
This research comes hot off the heels of the recent KnowBe4 industry benchmarking report which found one in three untrained employees will click on a phishing link. The worst performing industries were Energy & Utilities, Insurance and Consulting, with all labelled the most at risk for social engineering in the large enterprise category.
84% Of Organisations Experienced an Identity-Related Breach in the Past 18 Months
60% of IT security decision makers believe their overall security strategy does not keep pace with the threat landscape, and that they are either lagging behind (20%), treading water (13%), or merely running to keep up (27%), according to a survey by Sapio Research.
The report also highlights differences between the perceived and actual effectiveness of security strategies. While 40% of respondents believe they have the right strategy in place, 84% of organisations reported that they have experienced an identity-related breach or an attack using stolen credentials during the previous year and a half.
Promisingly, many organisations are hungry to make a change, particularly when it comes to protecting identities. In fact, 90% of respondents state that their organisations fully recognise the importance of identity security in enabling them to achieve their business goals, and 87% say that it is one of the most important security priorities for the next 12 months.
However, 75% of IT and security professionals also believe that they’ll fall short of protecting privileged identities because they won’t get the support they need. This is largely due to a lack of budget and executive alignment, with 63% of respondents saying that their company’s board still doesn’t fully understand identity security and the role it plays in enabling better business operations.
While the importance of identity security is acknowledged by business leaders, most security teams will not receive the backing and budget they need to put vital security controls and solutions in place to reduce major risks. This means that the majority of organisations will continue to fall short of protecting privileges, leaving them vulnerable to cyber criminals looking to discover privileged accounts and abuse them.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/28/identity-related-breach/
Economic Downturn Raises Risk of Insiders Going Rogue
Declining economic conditions could make insiders more susceptible to recruitment offers from threat actors looking for allies to assist them in carrying out various attacks.
Enterprise security teams need to be aware of the heightened risk and strengthen measures for protecting against, detecting, and responding to insider threats, researchers from Palo Alto Network's Unit 42 threat intelligence team recommended in a report this week.
The security vendor's report highlighted several other important takeaways for security operations teams, including the fact that ransomware and business email compromise attacks continue to dominate incident response cases and vulnerability exploits — accounting for nearly one-third of all breaches.
Unit 42 researchers analysed data from a sampling of over 600 incident response engagements between April 2021 and May 2022 and determined that difficult economic times could lure more actors to cyber crime. This could include both people with technical skills looking to make a fast buck, as well as financially stressed insiders with legitimate access to valuable enterprise data and IT assets. The prevalence of remote and hybrid work models has created an environment where it's easier for workers to steal intellectual property or carry out other malicious activity, the researchers found.
https://www.darkreading.com/risk/economic-downturn-raises-the-risk-of-insiders-going-rogue
5 Trends Making Cyber Security Threats Riskier and More Expensive
Since the pandemic the cyber world has become a far riskier place. According to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022, almost half (48%) of organisations across the US and Europe experienced a cyber attack in the past 12 months. Even more alarming is that these attacks are happening despite businesses doubling down on their cyber security spend.
Cyber security is at a critical inflection point where five megatrends are making the threat landscape riskier, more complicated, and costlier to manage than previously reported. To better understand the evolution of this threat landscape, let’s examine these trends in more detail.
Everything becomes digital
Organisations become ecosystems
Physical and digital worlds collide
New technologies bring new risks
Regulations become more complex
Organisations can follow these best practices to elevate cyber security performance:
Identify, prioritise, and implement controls around risks.
Adopt a framework such as ISO 27001 or NIST Cyber Security Framework.
Develop human-layered cyber security.
Fortify your supply chain.
Avoid using too many tools.
Prioritise protection of critical assets.
Automate where you can.
Monitor security metrics regularly to help business leaders get insight into security effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and levels of security awareness in the organisation.
Cyber security will always be a work in progress. The key to effective risk management is having proactive visibility and context across the entire attack surface. This helps to understand which vulnerabilities, if exploited, can cause the greatest harm to the business. Not all risks can be mitigated; some risks will have to be accepted and trade-offs will have to be negotiated.
Ransomware: Publicly Reported Incidents Are Only the Tip of the Iceberg
The threat landscape report on ransomware attacks published this week by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) uncovers the shortcomings of the current reporting mechanisms across the EU.
As one of the most devastating types of cyber security attacks over the last decade, ransomware, has grown to impact organisations of all sizes across the globe.
This threat landscape report analysed a total of 623 ransomware incidents across the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States for a reporting period from May 2021 to June 2022. The data was gathered from governments' and security companies' reports, from the press, verified blogs and in some cases using related sources from the dark web.
Between May 2021 and June 2022 about 10 terabytes of data were stolen each month by ransomware threat actors. 58.2% of the data stolen included employees' personal data.
At least 47 unique ransomware threat actors were found.
For 94.2% of incidents, we do not know whether the company paid the ransom or not. However, when the negotiation fails, the attackers usually expose and make the data available on their webpages. This is what happens in general and is a reality for 37.88% of incidents.
We can therefore conclude that the remaining 62.12% of companies either came to an agreement with the attackers or found another solution.
The study also shows that companies of every size and from all sectors are affected.
The figures in the report can however only portray a part of the overall picture. In reality, the study reveals that the total number of ransomware attacks is much larger. At present this total is impossible to capture since too many organisations still do not make their incidents public or do not report on them to the relevant authorities.
Threats
Ransomware
LockBit 3.0: Significantly Improved Ransomware Helps the Gang Stay on Top (darkreading.com)
Ransomware looms large over the cyber insurance industry - Help Net Security
800,000 businesses fall victim to ransomware each year (komando.com)
Business services top target of ransomware attacks (securitybrief.co.nz)
How Crypto is Driving the Ransomware Epidemic | Cryptoland Roundtable - YouTube
On security researcher's newsletter, exposing cyber criminals behind ransomware - CyberScoop
LockBit ransomware abuses Windows Defender to load Cobalt Strike (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mailing List Provider WordFly Scrambling to Recover Following Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com
No More Ransom helps millions of ransomware victims in 6 years (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lockbit ransomware gang claims to have breached the Italian Revenue Agency - Security Affairs
Lockbit Ramps Up Attacks on Public Sector - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
A ‘Top Tier’ Hacking Gang Is Likely To Be Behind Entrust Ransomware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
No More Ransom Helped More Than 1.5 Million People Decrypt Their Devices (darkreading.com)
Ransomware caused American Dental Association outage, led to stolen data (scmagazine.com)
The road to ransomware recovery starts before an attack • The Register
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing Attacks Skyrocket with Microsoft and Facebook as Most Abused Brands | Threatpost
Phishing scam targeting Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo customers (komando.com)
APT-Like Phishing Threat Mirrors Landing Pages (darkreading.com)
New Callback Malware Campaign Impersonates Legitimate Cyber Security Providers - MSSP Alert
Phishing Attacks: Microsoft Leads Top 25 of Impersonated Brands - MSSP Alert
1,000s of Phishing Attacks Blast Off From InterPlanetary File System (darkreading.com)
New ‘Robin Banks’ phishing service targets BofA, Citi, and Wells Fargo (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; SMishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
Cisco Incident Response Report: Commodity Malware Top Threat in Q2 - MSSP Alert
Discovery of new UEFI rootkit exposes an ugly truth: The attacks are invisible to us | Ars Technica
As Microsoft blocks Office macros, hackers find new attack vectors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Links Raspberry Robin USB Worm to Russian Evil Corp Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft links Raspberry Robin malware to Evil Corp attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware-laced npm packages used to target Discord users - Security Affairs
CosmicStrand UEFI malware found in Gigabyte, ASUS motherboards (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sophisticated UEFI rootkit of Chinese origin shows up again in the wild after 3 years | CSO Online
Attackers are slowly abandoning malicious macros - Help Net Security
One of the most beloved Windows tools could actually be a huge security risk | TechRadar
QBot phishing uses Windows Calculator DLL hijacking to infect devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Gootkit Loader’s Updated Tactics and Fileless Delivery of Cobalt Strike (trendmicro.com)
Microsoft: Austrian company DSIRF selling Subzero malware (techtarget.com)
Threat actors leverages DLL-SideLoading to spread Qakbot - Security Affairs
Rare 'CosmicStrand' UEFI Rootkit Swings into Cyber crime Orbit (darkreading.com)
Mobile
Here are the top phone security threats in 2022 and how to avoid them | ZDNet
New Android malware apps installed 10 million times from Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)
Roaming Mantis Financial Hackers Targeting Android and iPhone Users in France (thehackernews.com)
Facebook ads push Android adware with 7 million installs on Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)
Millions of Android devices infected with wallet-draining malware | TechRadar
Over a Dozen Android Apps on Google Play Store Caught Dropping Banking Malware (thehackernews.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
IoT Botnets Fuels DDoS Attacks – Are You Prepared? | Threatpost
Dahua IP Camera Vulnerability Could Let Attackers Take Full Control Over Devices (thehackernews.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
US court system suffered ‘incredibly significant attack’ • The Register
Congress Warns of US Court Records System Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Uber admits covering up massive 2016 data breach in settlement with US prosecutors - The Verge
T-Mobile to pay $500M for one of the largest data breaches in US history [Updated] | Ars Technica
Data Stolen in Breach at Security Company Entrust | SecurityWeek.Com
Fallout from massive Shanghai Police data breach reverberates on dark web - CyberScoop
Big Questions Remain Around Massive Shanghai Police Data Breach (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cyber-mercenaries represent shifting criminal business model • The Register
Messaging Apps Tapped as Platform for Cyber Criminal Activity | Threatpost
Teenager Jailed for Snapchat Blackmail Cyber Crimes- IT Security Guru
DUCKTAIL operation targets Facebook’s Business and Ad accounts - Security Affairs
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto fraud on the rise as consumers fall for fake celebrity endorsements | Cybernews
Hackers Increasingly Using WebAssembly Coded Cryptominers to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
NFT Hacking Group Attacks On The Rise, Report Finds- IT Security Guru
Hackers steal $6 million from blockchain music platform Audius (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Major shifts and the growing risk of identity fraud - Help Net Security
JPMorgan, UBS accused of shoddy identity theft protection • The Register
Euro Police Bust €3m Internet Fraud Gang - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Romance scammers jailed after tricking Irish OAP out of €250k (bitdefender.com)
What the Titanic Can Teach Us About Fraud? | SecurityWeek.Com
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
Cyber crime goods and services are cheap and plentiful - Help Net Security
Hackers Selling Malware on Dark Web Underground Market (cybersecuritynews.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Akamai blocked the largest DDoS attack ever on its European customers - Security Affairs
DDoS Attack Trends in 2022: Ultrashort, Powerful, Multivector Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Kansas MSP shuts down cloud services to fend off cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organisations are struggling with SaaS security. Why? - Help Net Security
Attack Surface Management
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
Transport Layer Security (TLS): Issues & Protocol (trendmicro.com)
SSH2 vs. SSH1 and why SSH versions still matter (techtarget.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Using Account Lockout policies to block Windows Brute Force Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stop Putting Your Accounts At Risk, and Start Using a Password Manager (thehackernews.com)
Social Media
Facebook security cracked by Malware made in Vietnam • The Register
Cyber-Criminal Offers 5.4m Twitter Users’ Data - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Privacy
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
UK Seizes Nearly $27m in Crypto-Assets - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
European Cops Helped 1.5 Million People Decrypt Their Ransomwared Computers (vice.com)
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Cyberspies use Google Chrome extension to steal emails undetected (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft says it caught an Austrian spyware group using Windows 0-day exploits - The Verge
Pegasus spyware: Just 'tip of the iceberg' seen so far • The Register
Cyber attacks by Iran and Israel now target critical infrastructure. - The Washington Post
US and Ukraine Sign Agreement to Deepen Cyber security Operational Collaboration - MSSP Alert
CISA, Ukrainian cyber agency deepen partnership to combat Russian threat - CyberScoop
How is Anonymous attacking Russia? The top six ways ranked (cnbc.com)
European Lawmaker Targeted With Cytrox Predator Surveillance Spyware | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russia is quietly ramping up its Internet censorship machine | Ars Technica
Apple network traffic takes mysterious detour through Russia • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese APTs: Interlinked networks and side hustles – Intrusion Truth (wordpress.com)
OneWeb sale risks giving China a stake in ‘Five Eyes’ spying tech (telegraph.co.uk)
Nation State Actors – North Korea
North Korean Hackers Using Malicious Browser Extension to Spy on Email Accounts (thehackernews.com)
North Korean hackers attack EU targets with Konni RAT malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
US puts $10 million bounty on North Korean threat groups • The Register
Is APT28 behind the STIFF#BIZON attacks attributed to North Korea-linked APT37? Security Affairs
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerability Management
Hackers scan for vulnerabilities within 15 minutes of disclosure (bleepingcomputer.com)
Attackers Have 'Favourite' Vulnerabilities to Exploit (darkreading.com)
Taking the Risk-Based Approach to Vulnerability Patching (thehackernews.com)
Organisations struggle to manage devices and stay ahead of vulnerabilities - Help Net Security
2022 Unit 42 Incident Response Report: How Attackers Exploit Zero-Days (paloaltonetworks.com)
Security Teams Overwhelmed With Bugs, Bitten by Patch Prioritization (darkreading.com)
Time between vuln disclosures, exploits is getting smaller • The Register
Vulnerabilities
Critical Samba bug could let anyone become Domain Admin – patch now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Multiple Windows, Adobe Zero-Days Anchor Knotweed Commercial Spyware (darkreading.com)
How to Fix CVE-2022-30190 vulnerability using Microsoft Intune - CloudInfra
CISA releases IOCs for attacks exploiting Log4Shell in VMware Horizon and UAG | CSO Online
Critical FileWave MDM Flaws Open Organisation-Managed Devices to Remote Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Hackers are abusing IIS extensions to establish covert backdoors - Security Affairs
FileWave fixes bugs that left 1,000+ orgs open to ransomware • The Register
Google Chrome Zero-day Vulnerability Discovered By Avast (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
LibreOffice fixed 3 flaws, including a code execution issue - Security Affairs
Drupal developers fixed a code execution flaw in the popular CMS - Security Affairs
LibreOffice Releases Software Update to Patch 3 New Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)
Hackers Exploit PrestaShop Zero-Day to Steal Payment Data from Online Stores (thehackernews.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
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
A Retrospective on the 2015 Ashley Madison Breach – Krebs on Security
The Great BizApp Hack: Cyber-Risks in Your Everyday Business Applications (darkreading.com)
Threat Actors Pivot Around Microsoft’s Macro-Blocking in Office | Threatpost
Microsoft again reverses course, will block macros by default (scmagazine.com)
Is Your Home or Small Business Built on Secure Foundations? Think Again… (darkreading.com)
Infosec pros want more industry cooperation and support for open standards - Help Net Security
We pass cyber attack costs onto customers, businesses admit • The Register
How to Combat the Biggest Security Risks Posed by Machine Identities (thehackernews.com)
Discord, Telegram Services Hijacked to Launch Array of Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
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 Cyber Threat Briefing 03 June 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 June 2022
-Turbulent Cyber Insurance Market Sees Rising Prices and Sinking Coverage
-Ransomware Attacks Still The #1 Threat to Businesses and Organisations
-Third of UK Firms Have Experienced a Security Breach Since 2020
-There Is No Good Digital Transformation Without Cyber Security
-Ransomware Gang Now Hacks Corporate Websites to Show Ransom Notes
-Attackers Are Leveraging Follina, a Critical Microsoft Windows Vulnerability Affecting Nearly All Versions of Windows and Windows Server. What Can You Do?
-Ransomware Attacks Need Less Than Four Days to Encrypt Systems
-57% Of All Digital Crimes In 2021 Were Scams
-Intelligence Is Key to Strategic Business Decisions
-How Cyber Criminals Are Targeting Executives at Home and Their Families
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
Turbulent Cyber Insurance Market Sees Rising Prices And Sinking Coverage
As insurers and brokers reckon with unexpected losses, they're charging more for policies and setting higher requirements.
Chaos reigns in the cyber insurance market. Brokers and cyber insurance carriers — the companies that actually offer the policies — are tightening requirements on what applicants need to do to obtain policies due to losses the insurers have suffered from ransomware coverage. During the past year, premiums grew 18% in the first quarter of 2021 and were up 34% in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Jess Burn, senior analyst at Forrester.
Organisations often find they cannot obtain cyber insurance, are not being renewed for coverage they already have, or are faced with soaring prices and shrinking coverage. Despite the value many organisations put on cyber insurance — in some cases, they're required to carry it to comply with regulations — obtaining such policies is getting more difficult.
While raising premiums, some insurers are reducing coverage. If an organisation bought $10 million worth of coverage for a given price in 2021, for example, renewing that policy in 2022 might see the coverage amount fall to $3 million and the premiums for that lower coverage rise. This phenomenon is due, in part, to insurers trying to strike the right balance of customers' risk profile versus their risk-mitigation efforts.
Ransomware Attacks Still The #1 Threat To Businesses And Organisations
In 2021, ransomware attacks continued to be one of the most prominent threats targeting businesses and organisations worldwide.
High-profile attacks disrupted operations of companies in various sectors.
For example, the Colonial Pipeline attack interrupted critical infrastructure, the JBS Foods attack influenced food processing, and the CNA breach disrupted the insurance industry.
Following the attacks, pressure of law enforcement on ransomware gangs intensified, though simultaneously these threat actors continued to evolve.
They are not only becoming more technologically sophisticated but are also extensively leveraging the growing cyber crime ecosystem looking to find new partners, services and tools for their operations.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/30/ransomware-trends-video/
Third Of UK Firms Have Experienced A Security Breach Since 2020
Cyber threats are behind soaring fraud and economic crime in the UK, where rates are now second only globally to South Africa, according to PwC.
The consulting giant’s latest Global Economic Crime Survey revealed that nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK businesses experienced fraud, corruption or other economic/financial crime during the past 24 months, a significant increase on the 56% recorded in 2020, and 50% in 2018.
It’s also much higher than the 2022 global average of 46%, PwC said.
Cyber crime was the most commonly reported fraud type, although figures here dropped from 42% in 2020 to 32% in 2022. Included for the first time in the report, supply chain incidents accounted for 19%.
Most (51%) reported fraud cases in the UK were traced back to external parties, versus just 43% globally. The top three culprits were cited as customers, hackers and vendors/suppliers.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/third-uk-security-breach-2020/
There Is No Good Digital Transformation Without Cyber Security
Network engineers and CIOs agree that cyber security issues represent the biggest risk for organisations that fail to put networks at the heart of digital transformation plans. According to research commissioned by Opengear, 53% of network engineers and 52% of CIOs polled in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia rank cyber security among the list of their biggest risks.
The concerns are fuelled by an escalating number of cyber attacks. In fact, 61% of CIOs report an increase in cyber security attacks/breaches from 2020-21 compared to the preceding two years. For digital transformation of networking, 70% of network engineers say security is the most important focus area, and 31% say network security is their biggest networking priority.
Digital transformation is a priority, but cyber security risk remains. CIOs also understand the importance of the issues. 51% of network engineers say their CIOs have consulted them on investments to deliver digital transformation plans, the highest priority in the survey.
What’s more, 41% of CIOs rank cyber security among their organisation’s most important investment priorities over the next year, with 35% stating it is among the biggest over the next five years. In both cases, cyber security ranks higher than any other factor.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/31/digital-transformation-cybersecurity-risk/
Ransomware Gang Now Hacks Corporate Websites To Show Ransom Notes
A ransomware gang is taking extortion to a new level by publicly hacking corporate websites to publicly display ransom notes.
This new extortion strategy is being conducted by Industrial Spy, a data extortion gang that recently began using ransomware. As part of their attacks, Industrial Spy will breach networks, steal data, and deploy ransomware on devices. The threat actors then threaten to sell the stolen data on their Tor marketplace if a ransom is not paid.
When ransomware gangs extort a victim, they typically give them a short window, usually a few weeks, to negotiate and pay a ransom before they start leaking data.
During this negotiation process, the threat actors promise to keep the attack secret, provide a decryption key, and delete all data if a ransom is paid.
After this period, the threat actors will use various methods to increase pressure, including DDoS attacks on corporate websites, emailing customers and business partners, and calling executives with threats.
These tactics are all done privately or with minimal exposure on their data leak sites, which are usually only visited by cyber security researchers and the media.
However, this is the first time we have seen a ransomware gang defacing a website to very publicly display a ransom note.
Attackers Are Leveraging Follina, A Critical Microsoft Windows Vulnerability Affecting Nearly All Versions of Windows and Windows Server. What Can You Do?
As the world is waiting for Microsoft to push out a patch for CVE-2022-30190, aka “Follina”, attackers around the world are exploiting the vulnerability in a variety of campaigns.
Microsoft has described CVE-2022-30190 as a Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) remote code execution vulnerability, confirmed it affects an overwhelming majority of Windows and Windows Server versions, and advised on a workaround to be implemented until a patch is ready.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/03/patch-cve-2022-30190/
Ransomware Attacks Need Less Than Four Days To Encrypt Systems
The duration of ransomware attacks in 2021 averaged 92.5 hours, measured from initial network access to payload deployment. In 2020, ransomware actors spent an average of 230 hours to complete their attacks and 1637.6 hours in 2019.
This change reflects a more streamlined approach that developed gradually over the years to make large-scale operations more profitable.
At the same time, improvements in incident response and threat detection have forced threat actors to move quicker, to leave defenders with a smaller reaction margin.
The data was collected by researchers at IBM's X-Force team from incidents analysed in 2021. They also noticed a closer collaboration between initial access brokers and ransomware operators.
Previously, network access brokers might wait for multiple days or even weeks before they found a buyer for their network access.
In addition, some ransomware gangs now have direct control over the initial infection vector, an example being Conti taking over the TrickBot malware operation.
Malware that breaches corporate networks is quickly leveraged to enable post-exploitation stages of the attack, sometimes completing its objectives in mere minutes.
57% Of All Digital Crimes In 2021Were Scams
Group-IB shares its analysis of the landscape of the most widespread cyber threat in the world: scams. Accounting for 57% of all financially motivated cyber crime, the scam industry is becoming more structured and involves more and more parties divided into hierarchical groups.
The number of such groups jumped to a record high of 390, which is 3.5 times more than last year, when the maximum number of active groups was close to 110. Due to SaaS (Scam-as-a-Service), in 2021 the number of cyber criminals in one scam gang increased 10 times compared to 2020 and now reaches 100.
Traffic has become the circulatory system of scam projects: researchers emphasise that the number of websites used for purchasing and providing “grey” and illegal traffic and that lure victims into fraudulent schemes has increased by 1.5 times. Scammers are going into 2022 on a new level of scam attack automation: no more non-targeted users. Scammers are now attracting specific groups of victims to increase conversion rates. Social media are more often becoming the first point of contact between scammers and their potential victims.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/31/scams-widespread-cyber-threat/
Intelligence Is Key To Strategic Business Decisions
Businesses have a growing need for greater relevance in the intelligence they use to inform critical decision-making. Currently just 18% of professionals responsible for security, risk, or compliance in their organisation feel that the intelligence they receive is “very specific and focused on their business”, a S-RM research reveals.
6 in 10 respondents also say the intelligence they receive takes too much time to analyse, meaning it does not always result in better informed decision making. This was the top reason behind dissatisfaction with external intelligence, identified by over 200 professionals working at companies with revenues of over $250 million.
The second most likely reason was that information was not tailored to business needs (47%), followed by too much information (35%).
Growing demand for the use of strategic intelligence has been prompted by increasing cyber (51%) and regulatory concerns (50%). And while these two factors have been climbing the boardroom agenda for years, geopolitical uncertainty has made the need to respond to these developments more acute. In particular, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has created a complex sanctions regime for businesses to operate.
Additionally, navigating the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key challenge for businesses in the past three years, with 40% citing this as a catalyst in driving a growing need for strategic intelligence.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/03/intelligence-decision-making/
How Cyber Criminals Are Targeting Executives At Home And Their Families
Top executives and their families are increasingly being targeted on their personal devices and home networks, as sophisticated threat actors look for new ways to bypass corporate security and get direct access to highly sensitive data.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/01/cybercriminals-targeting-executives-video/
Threats
Ransomware
Cyber criminals Expand Attack Radius and Ransomware Pain Points | Threatpost
FBI, CISA warn: Don't get caught in Karakurt's web • The Register
Conti ransomware targeted Intel firmware for stealthy attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
YourCyanide Ransomware Propagates With PasteBin, Discord, Microsoft Links (darkreading.com)
Conti Leaks Reveal Ransomware Gang's Interest in Firmware-based Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Evil Corp switches to LockBit ransomware to evade sanctions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware attack sends New Jersey county back to 1977 • The Register
Ransomware roundup: System-locking malware dominates headlines | CSO Online
What if ransomware evolved to hit IoT in the enterprise? • The Register
How Costa Rica found itself at war over ransomware | CSO Online
Experts warn of ransomware attacks on government orgs of small states - Security Affairs
Foxconn confirms ransomware attack disrupted production in Mexico (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why Ransomware Timeline Shrinks By 94%? – Information Security Buzz
Hundreds of Elasticsearch databases targeted in ransom attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Watch out for phishing emails that inject spyware trio • The Register
Telegram’s blogging platform abused in phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering
Vishing attacks: What they are and how organisations can protect themselves - Help Net Security
Beware the Smish! Home delivery scams with a professional feel… – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Malware
New XLoader Botnet Version Using Probability Theory to Hide its C&C Servers (thehackernews.com)
LuoYu APT delivers WinDealer malware via man-on-the-side attacks - Security Affairs
EnemyBot malware adds enterprise flaws to exploit arsenal • The Register
Researchers Uncover Malware Controlling Thousands of Sites in Parrot TDS Network (thehackernews.com)
Logic bombs explained: Definition, examples, and prevention | CSO Online
Mobile
Top 10 Android banking trojans target apps with 1 billion downloads (bleepingcomputer.com)
WhatsApp accounts hijacked by call forwarding | Malwarebytes Labs
SideWinder Hackers Use Fake Android VPN Apps to Target Pakistani Entities (thehackernews.com)
SMSFactory Android malware sneakily subscribes to premium services (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishers Having a Field Day on WhatsApp, Telegraph (darkreading.com)
Apple blocked 1.6 millions apps from defrauding users in 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
FBI warns of Ukrainian charities impersonated to steal donations (bleepingcomputer.com)
Euro Cops Bust $47m Money Laundering Operation - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Three Nigerian Users of Agent Tesla RAT Arrested | SecurityWeek.Com
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs
Americans report losing over $1 billion to cryptocurrency scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Clipminer malware gang stole $1.7M by hijacking crypto payments (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bored Ape Yacht Club, Otherside NFTs stolen in Discord server hack (bleepingcomputer.com)
WatchDog hacking group launches new Docker cryptojacking campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
$39.5 billion lost to phone scams in last year - Help Net Security
Britain's biggest bank issues 'urgent warning' over new scam (telegraph.co.uk)
Scams account for most of all financially motivated cyber crime - Help Net Security
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Open Source
Linux malware is on the rise—6 types of attacks to look for | CSO Online
The Open Source Software Security Mobilization Plan: Takeaways for security leaders | CSO Online
Privacy
Vodafone plans carrier-level user tracking for targeted ads (bleepingcomputer.com)
Europe's hope to scan devices for unlawful files criticized • The Register
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
NSA general confirms US offensive cyber ops in Ukraine war • The Register
Deadly Secret: Electronic Warfare Shapes Russia-Ukraine War | SecurityWeek.Com
Anonymous: Operation Russia after 100 days of war - Security Affairs
Chinese LuoYu hackers deploy cyber-espionage malware via app updates (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Nation State Actors – China
China-linked TA413 group actively exploits Microsoft Follina Zero-Day flawSecurity Affairs
Chinese state media propaganda found in 88% of Google, Bing news searches - CyberScoop
Chinese LuoYu Hackers Using Man-on-the-Side Attacks to Deploy WinDealer Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
How Beijing’s surveillance cameras crept into Britain’s corridors of power (telegraph.co.uk)
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc APT
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
CISA adds 75 vulnerabilities to catalogue in 3 days- IT Security Guru
Fighting Follina: Application Vulnerabilities and Detection Possibilities (darkreading.com)
Yet another zero-day (sort of) in Windows “search URL” handling – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Actively Exploited Atlassian Zero-Day Bug Allows Full System Takeover (darkreading.com)
Microsoft Azure vulnerabilities pose new cloud security risk - Protocol
GitLab Issues Security Patch for Critical Account Takeover Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
New Unpatched Horde Webmail Bug Lets Hackers Take Over Server by Sending Email (thehackernews.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Government
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Twice as Many Healthcare Organisations Now Pay Ransom - Infosecurity Magazine
Novartis says no sensitive data was compromised in cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Costa Rica’s public health agency hit by Hive ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Transport and Aviation
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Food and Agriculture
Web3
Other News
How Failing to Prioritize Cyber Security can Hurt Your Company (analyticsinsight.net)
Bad news: The cyber security skills crisis is about to get even worse | ZDNet
Nearly Three-Quarters of Firms Suffer Downtime from DNS Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine
CIOs and network engineers rank cyber security among the biggest risks - Help Net Security
How USB Drives Can Be a Danger to Your Computer (howtogeek.com)
Australian digital driver's licenses hackable in minutes • The Register
Over 3.6 million MySQL servers found exposed on the Internet (bleepingcomputer.com)
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.
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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 11 February 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 February 2022:
-UK, US, Australia Issue Joint Advisory: Ransomware on the Loose, Critical National Infrastructure Affected
-Ransomware Groups and APT Actors Laser-Focused on Financial Services
-Why the C-Suite Should Focus on Understanding Cybersecurity and Investing Appropriately
-Almost $1.3bn Paid to Ransomware Actors Since 2020
-Cyber Crooks Frame Targets by Planting Fabricated Digital Evidence
-Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT) Bypassing Traditional Security Defenses
-LockBit, BlackCat, Swissport, Oh My! Ransomware Activity Stays Strong
-2021 Was The Most Prolific Year On Record For Data Breaches
-$1.3 Billion Lost to Romance Scams in the Past Five Years
-Cyber Security Compliance Still Not A Priority For Many
-The World is Falling Victim to the Growing Trickbot Attacks in 2022
-“We Absolutely Do Not Care About You”: Sugar Ransomware Targets Individuals
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
UK, US, Australia Issue Joint Advisory: Ransomware on the Loose, Critical National Infrastructure Affected
Firms shelled out $5bn in Bitcoin in 6 months
Ransomware attacks are proliferating as criminals turn to gangs providing turnkey post-compromise services, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned.
In a joint UK-US-Australia advisory issued this week, the three countries said they had "observed an increase in sophisticated, high-impact ransomware incidents against critical infrastructure organisations globally."
The warning comes hot on the heels of several high-profile attacks against oil distribution companies and also businesses that operate ports in the West – though today's note insists there was a move by criminals away from "big game hunting" against US targets.
Among the main threats facing Western organisations were the use of "cybercriminal services-for-hire". These, as detailed in the advisory, include "independent services to negotiate payments, assist victims with making payments, and arbitrate payment disputes between themselves and other cyber criminals."
https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/09/uk_us_au_ransomware_warning/
Ransomware Groups and APT Actors Laser-Focused on Financial Services
Trellix released a report, examining cybercriminal behaviour and activity related to cyber threats in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. Among its findings, the research reports that despite a community reckoning to ban ransomware activity from online forums, hacker groups used alternate personas to continue to proliferate the use of ransomware against an increasing spectrum of sectors – hitting the financial, utilities and retail sectors most often, accounting for nearly 60% of ransomware detections.
“While we ended 2021 focused on a resurgent pandemic and the revelations around the Log4j vulnerability, our third-quarter deep dive into cyber threat activity found notable new tools and tactics among ransomware groups and advanced global threat actors,” said Trellix.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/07/cyber-threats-q3-2021/
Why the C-Suite Should Focus on Understanding Cyber Security and Investing Appropriately
Trend Micro has published a research revealing that persistently low IT/C-suite engagement may imperil investments and expose organisations to increased cyber risk. Over 90% of the IT and business decision makers surveyed expressed particular concern about ransomware attacks.
Despite widespread concern over spiralling threats, the study found that only 57% of responding IT teams discuss cyber risks with the C-suite at least weekly.
Vulnerabilities used to go months or even years before being exploited after their discovery.
“Now it can be hours, or even sooner. More executives than ever understand that they have a responsibility to be informed, but they often feel overwhelmed by how rapidly the cyber security landscape evolves. IT leaders need to communicate with their board in such a way that they can understand where the organisation’s risk is and how they can best manage it.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/10/c-suite-engagement/
Almost $1.3bn Paid to Ransomware Actors Since 2020
Cryptocurrency experts have identified $602m of ransomware payments made in 2021, but warned the real figure will likely surpass the $692m paid to cybercrime groups in 2020.
The findings come from the Ransomware Crypto Crime Report produced by blockchain investigations and analytics company Chainalysis. It reveals some fascinating insight into current industry trends.
Average payment size has soared over recent years, from $25,000 in 2019 to $88,000 a year later and $118,000 in 2021. That’s due in part to a surge in targeted attacks on major organisations, known as “big-game hunting,” which can net threat actors tens of millions in a single compromise.
“This big-game hunting strategy is enabled in part by ransomware attackers’ usage of tools provided by third-party providers to make their attacks more effective,” the report explained. “Usage of these services by ransomware operators spiked to its highest ever levels in 2021.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/almost-13bn-paid-to-ransomware/
Cyber Crooks Frame Targets by Planting Fabricated Digital Evidence
The ‘ModifiedElephant’ threat actors are technically unimpressive, but they’ve evaded detection for a decade, hacking human rights advocates’ systems with dusty old keyloggers and off-the-shelf RATs.
Threat actors are hijacking the devices of India’s human rights lawyers, activists and defenders, planting incriminating evidence to set them up for arrest, researchers warn.
The actor, dubbed ModifiedElephant, has been at it for at least 10 years, and it’s still active. It’s been shafting targets since 2012, if not sooner, going after hundreds of groups and individuals – some repeatedly – according to SentinelLabs researchers.
The operators aren’t what you’d call technical prodigies, but that doesn’t matter. Threat researchers at SentinelOne, said that the advanced persistent threat (APT) group – which may be tied to the commercial surveillance industry – has been muddling along just fine using rudimentary hacking tools such as commercially available remote-access trojans (RATs)
https://threatpost.com/cybercrooks-frame-targets-plant-incriminating-evidence/178384/
Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT) Bypassing Traditional Security Defences
Menlo Security announced it has identified a surge in cyberthreats, termed Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT), that bypass traditional security defences.
HEAT attacks are a class of cyber threats targeting web browsers as the attack vector and employs techniques to evade detection by multiple layers in current security stacks including firewalls, Secure Web Gateways, sandbox analysis, URL Reputation, and phishing detection. HEAT attacks are used to deliver malware or to compromise credentials, that in many cases leads to ransomware attacks.
In an analysis of almost 500,000 malicious domains, the research team discovered that 69% of these websites used HEAT tactics to deliver malware. These attacks allow bad actors to deliver malicious content to the endpoint by adapting to the targeted environment. Since July 2021, there was a 224% increase in HEAT attacks.
“With the abrupt move to remote working in 2020, every organisation had to pivot to a work from an anywhere model and accelerate their migration to cloud-based applications. An industry report found that 75% of the working day is spent in a web browser, which has quickly become the primary attack surface for threat actors, ransomware and other attacks. The industry has seen an explosion in the number and sophistication of these highly evasive attacks and most businesses are unprepared and lack the resources to prevent them,” said Menlo Security.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/08/cyberthreats-bypass-security-defences/
LockBit, BlackCat, Swissport, Oh My! Ransomware Activity Stays Strong
However, groups are rebranding and recalibrating their profiles and tactics to respond to law enforcement and the security community’s focus on stopping ransomware attacks.
Law enforcement, C-suite executives and the cyber security community at-large have been laser-focused on stopping the expensive and disruptive barrage of ransomware attacks — and it appears to be working, at least to some extent. Nonetheless, recent moves from the LockBit 2.0 and BlackCat gangs, plus this weekend’s hit on the Swissport airport ground-logistics company, shows the scourge is far from over.
It’s more expensive and riskier than ever to launch ransomware attacks, and ransomware groups have responded by mounting fewer attacks with higher ransomware demands, Coveware has reported, finding that the average ransomware payment in the fourth quarter of last year climbed by 130 percent to reach $322,168. Likewise, Coveware found a 63 percent jump in the median ransom payment, up to $117,116.
“Average and median ransom payments increased dramatically during Q4, but we believe this change was driven by a subtle tactical shift by ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations that reflected the increasing costs and risks previously described,” Coveware analysts said. “The tactical shift involves a deliberate attempt to extort companies that are large enough to pay a ‘big game’ ransom amount but small enough to keep attack operating costs and resulting media and law enforcement attention low.”
https://threatpost.com/lockbit-blackcat-swissport-ransomware-activity/178261/
2021 Was The Most Prolific Year On Record For Data Breaches
Spirion released a guide which provides a detailed look at sensitive data breaches in 2021 derived from analysis conducted against the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) database of publicly reported data breaches in the United States.
The guide is based on the analysis of more than 1,500 data incidents that occurred in the United States during 2021 that specifically involved sensitive data, including personally identifiable information (PII). The report identifies the top sensitive data breaches by the number of individuals impacted, number of records compromised, threat actor, exposure vector, and types of sensitive data exposed by industry sector.
2021 was the most prolific year on record for data breaches, surpassing 2017’s all-time high. Last year a total of 1,862 data compromises were reported by US organisations—a 68 percent increase over 2020. ITRC data revealed that 83% of the year’s incidents exposed 889 million sensitive data records that impacted more than 150 million individuals.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/09/2021-sensitive-data-breaches/
$1.3 Billion Lost to Romance Scams in the Past Five Years
Romance scams are reaching record-highs, regulators warn.
Netflix's new documentary, The Tinder Swindler, is a wild ride.
The show examines how an alleged fraudster impacted the lives of multiple women, matching with them on Tinder and treating them to expensive dates to gain their trust -- and eventually asking for huge sums of money.
While you may watch the show and wonder how someone -- no matter their gender -- could allow themselves to be swindled out of their savings, romance scams are common, breaking hearts and wiping bank balances around the world every day.
We've moved on from the days of "lonely hearts" columns to dating apps, and they're popular channels to conduct fraud.
Fake profiles, stolen photos and videos, and sob stories from fraudsters (their car has broken down, they can't afford to meet a match, or, in The Tinder Swindler's case, their "enemies" are after them) are all weapons designed to secure interest and sympathy.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/1-3-billion-lost-to-romance-scams-in-the-past-five-years-ftc/
Cyber Security Compliance Still Not A Priority For Many
IBM survey suggests that cyber security still isn't a priority for many companies
The most consistent data point in the IBM i Marketplace Survey Results over recent years has been the ever-present cyber security threat. This year is no exception. The study shows that 62% of organisations consider cyber security a number one concern as they plan their IT infrastructure. 22% cite regulations and compliance in their top five. While companies that prioritise security seem to be implementing multiple solutions, it’s still alarming that nearly half of them do not plan to implement them.
The complexity of cyber security often leaves industry leaders confused and overwhelmed, unable to produce the sound, proactive stance that is so essential.
Cyber security standards can be confusing, but they are necessary. Tighter security can be encouraged with an understanding of cyber security guidelines
For many organisations, cyber security standards are just too complex to wrap their hands around, but that doesn’t mean it’s not necessary. Understanding how cyber security guidelines affect companies’ legal standing can help encourage tighter security.
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/02/07/cybersecurity-compliance-still-not-a-priority-for-many/
The World is Falling Victim to the Growing Trickbot Attacks in 2022
The malware goons are back again. The cybercrime operators behind the notorious TrickBot malware have once again upped the ante by fine-tuning its techniques by adding multiple layers of defence to slip past antimalware products.
TrickBot, which started out as a banking trojan, has evolved into a multi-purpose crimeware-as-a-service (CaaS) that’s employed by a variety of actors to deliver additional payloads such as ransomware. Over 100 variations of TrickBot have been identified to date, one of which is a “Trickboot” module that can modify the UEFI firmware of a compromised device. In the fall of 2020, Microsoft along with a handful of U.S. government agencies and private security companies teamed up to tackle the TrickBot botnet, taking down much of its infrastructure across the world in a bid to stymie its operations. But TrickBot has proven to be impervious to takedown attempts, what with the operators quickly adjusting their techniques to propagate multi-stage malware through phishing and malspam attacks, not to mention expanding their distribution channels by partnering with other affiliates like Shathak (aka TA551) to increase scale and drive profits.
Russian-based criminals behind the notorious malware known as Trickbot appear to be working overtime to upgrade the threat’s capabilities. Researchers announced last week the discovery of new malware components that enable monitoring and intelligence gathering on victims. The research findings include the detection of a VNC module that uses a custom communications protocol to obfuscate any data being transmitted between the command-and-control (C2) servers and the victims, making the attacks harder to find. The module is in active development and is being updated by criminals at a rapid pace.
“We Absolutely Do Not Care About You”: Sugar Ransomware Targets Individuals
Ransomware tends to target organisations. Corporations not only house a trove of valuable data they can’t function without, but they are also expected to cough up a considerable amount of ransom money in exchange for their encrypted files. And while corporations struggle to keep up with attacks, ransomware groups have left the average consumer relatively untouched—until now.
Sugar ransomware, a new strain recently discovered by the Walmart Security Team, is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) that targets single computers and (likely) small businesses, too. Sugar, also known to many as Encoded01, has been in operation since November 2021.
Threats
Ransomware
NCSC Joins US and Australian Partners to Reveal Latest Ransomware Trends - NCSC.GOV.UK
Russian Ransomware Attacks Increased During 2021, Joint Review Finds | Cybercrime | The Guardian
FBI: Watch Out For LockBit 2.0 Ransomware, Here's How To Reduce The Risk To Your Network | ZDNet
Law Enforcement Action Push Ransomware Gangs To Surgical Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Europe's Biggest Car Dealer Hit With Ransomware Attack | ZDNet
Swissport Ransomware Incident Delayed Flights - Infosecurity Magazine
How a Texas Hack Changed the Ransomware Business Forever - The Record by Recorded Future
Puma Hit By Data Breach After Kronos Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vodafone Portugal Hit By A Massive Cyber Attack - Security Affairs
Fortune 500 Service Provider Says Ransomware Attack Led To Leak Of More Than 500k SSNs | ZDNet
Phishing
Hackers Using Fake Job Offers in Latest Catfishing Scheme - ClearanceJobs
Threat Actors Revive 20-Year-Old Tactic in Microsoft 365 Phishing Attacks (darkreading.com)
ICO Hit by 2650% Rise in Email Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine
Other Social Engineering
Roaming Mantis SMSishing Campaign Now Targets Europe - Security Affairs
FBI: SIM Swapping Attacks Have Surged Five-Fold - Infosecurity Magazine
Malware
Qbot Needs Only 30 Minutes To Steal Your Credentials, Emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
Linux Malware Attacks Are On The Rise, And Businesses Aren't Ready For It | ZDNet
This Password-Stealing Malware Posed As A Windows 11 Download | ZDNet
Several Malware Families Using Pay-Per-Install Service to Expand Their Targets (thehackernews.com)
Qbot, Lokibot Malware Switch Back To Windows Regsvr32 Delivery (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Medusa Malware Joins Flubot's Android Distribution Network | Threatpost
Critical Android 12 Bug Fixed In February Security Patches • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
Nation State Actors
Russian APT Steps Up Malicious Cyber Activity in Ukraine (darkreading.com)
Iran Malware in HPE Server Stuns Cyber Security Experts - Bloomberg
Iranian Hackers Using New Marlin Backdoor in 'Out to Sea' Espionage Campaign (thehackernews.com)
Cloud
Privacy
Meta Threatens to Shut Down Facebook and Instagram in Europe | The Independent
Facebook Exposes 'God Mode' Token Miscreants Could Use • The Register
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft, Oracle, Apache and Apple vulnerabilities added to CISA catalog | ZDNet
CISA Says 'HiveNightmare' Windows Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Microsoft Fixes Defender Flaw Letting Hackers Bypass Antivirus Scans (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft and Other Major Software Firms Release February 2022 Patch Updates (thehackernews.com)
Apple Patches New Zero-Day Exploited To Hack iPhones, iPads, Macs (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Urges Orgs To Patch Actively Exploited Windows SeriousSAM Bug (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Warns Admins To Patch Maximum Severity SAP Vulnerability (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe Patches 13 Vulnerabilities in Illustrator | SecurityWeek.Com
PHP Everywhere RCE Flaws Threaten Thousands of WordPress Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Defence
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Retail/eCommerce
Wave of MageCart Attacks Target Hundreds Of Outdated Magento Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Threat Actors Compromised +500 Magento-Based E-Stores With E-Skimmers - Security Affairs
Transport and Aviation
Education and Academia
Other News
A "light" February 2022 Patch Tuesday That Should Not Be Ignored - Help Net Security
Organisations Still Struggling To Use APIs Effectively - Help Net Security
Threat Hunting: Your Best Defence Against Unknown Threats - MSSP Alert
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Suffered Serious Cyber Attack Earlier This Year | Reuters
European Police Flag 500+ Pieces of “Terrorist” Content - Infosecurity Magazine
A Quarter of New Online Accounts Are Fake – Report - Infosecurity Magazine
Microsoft To Make Enabling 'Untrusted' Office Macros Tougher In The Name Of Security | ZDNet
Cyber Terrorism Is a Growing Threat & Governments Must Take Action (darkreading.com)
Hackers Have Begun Adapting To Wider Use Of Multi-Factor Authentication | TechRepublic
The Race To Save The Internet From Quantum Hackers (nature.com)
Disaster Recovery Is Critical For Business Continuity - Help Net Security
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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