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Black Arrow Admin 26/03/2023 Black Arrow Admin 26/03/2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 March 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 March 2023:

-Majority of SMBs Lack Dedicated Cyber Experts and Cyber Incident Response Plans

-Controlling Third-Party Data Risk Should Be a Top Cyber Security Priority

-IT Security Spending to Reach Nearly $300 Billion by 2026

-2023 Cyber Security Maturity Report Reveals Organisational Unpreparedness for Cyber Attacks

-Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked

-Should Your Organisation Be Worried About Insider Threats?

-UK Ransomware Incident Volumes Surge 17% in 2022

-Financial Industry Hit by Rising Ransomware Attacks and BEC

-55 zero-day Flaws Exploited Last Year Show the Importance of Security Risk Management

-Security Researchers Spot $36m BEC Attack

-New Victims Come Forward After Mass Ransomware Attack

-Ransomware Gangs’ Harassment of Victims is Increasing

-Wartime Hacktivism is Spilling Over Into the Financial Services Industry

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.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 December 2022

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 December 2022:

-Economic Uncertainty Will Greatly Impact the Spread of Cyber Crime

-Cyber Security Resilience Emerges as Top Priority as 62% of Companies Say Security Incidents Impacted Business Operations

-Cyber Security Should Focus on Managing Risk

-Fear of Cyber Attacks Drives SMBs to Spend More on Software

-Business Email Compromise (BEC) Fraud Attacks Expand Beyond Email and Toward Mobile Devices

-Ransomware Professionalisation Grows as Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) Takes Hold

-Automated Dark Web Markets Sell Corporate Email Accounts For $2

-Cloud Hosting Provider Rackspace Warns of Phishing Risks Following Ransomware Attack

-Security Concerns Scupper Deals for Two-Thirds of Firms

-Microsoft Encourages 'Strong Cyber Hygiene' in Light of Increasing Russian Cyber Attacks

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Economic Uncertainty Will Greatly Impact the Spread of Cyber Crime

Norton released its top cyber trends to watch in 2023, emphasising that the economy will have the greatest impact on the spread of cyber crime next year. Experts predict the pressures associated with economic uncertainty and rising costs will create the perfect environment for scammers to take advantage of people when they are more vulnerable.

It’s expected that cyber criminals will trick victims into surrendering personal information, emptying their bank accounts, or spending money for products, services or “lottery winnings” that never arrive. “We anticipate scammers will continue to prey on the vulnerability of people as economic pressures rise in 2023,” said Norton.

“Cyber criminals love to exploit seasonal opportunities, and consumers are facing a perfect storm of rising prices in the middle of the busiest shopping season of the year when scammers are particularly active. Scams are always harder to detect during the holiday season because consumers expect deep discounts and may believe prices that would normally seem too good to be true. This year, inflation and other unfavourable macroeconomic factors are likely to make people particularly eager to find good deals and they may therefore be at greater risk than in previous years. Taking a few proactive steps today could help you to be safer all year long.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/06/economic-uncertainty-cybercrime/

Cyber Security Resilience Emerges as Top Priority, as 62% of Companies Say Security Incidents Impacted Business Operations

Cyber security resilience is a top priority for companies as they look to defend against a rapidly evolving threat landscape, according to the latest edition of Cisco's annual Security Outcomes Report.

Resilience has emerged as a top priority as a staggering 62 percent of organisations surveyed said they had experienced a security event that impacted business in the past two years. The leading types of incidents were network or data breaches (51.5 percent), network or system outages (51.1 percent), ransomware events (46.7 percent) and distributed denial of service attacks (46.4 percent).

These incidents resulted in severe repercussions for the companies that experienced them, along with the ecosystem of organisations they do business with. The leading impacts cited include IT and communications interruption (62.6 percent), supply chain disruption (43 percent), impaired internal operations (41.4 percent) and lasting brand damage (39.7 percent).

With stakes this high, it is no surprise that 96 percent of executives surveyed for the report said that security resilience is high priority for them. The findings further highlight that the main objectives of security resilience for security leaders and their teams are to prevent incidents, and mitigate losses when they occur.

Technology is transforming businesses at a scale and speed never seen before. While this is creating new opportunities, it also brings with it challenges, especially on the security front. To be able to tackle these effectively, companies need the ability to anticipate, identify, and withstand cyber threats, and if breached be able to rapidly recover from one. That is what building resilience is all about.

Security, after all, is a risk business. As companies don't secure everything, everywhere, security resilience allows them to focus their security resources on the pieces of the business that add the most value to an organisation, and ensure that value is protected.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/cybersecurity-resilience-emerges-as-top-priority-as-62-of-companies-say-security-incidents-impacted-business-operations

Cyber Security Should Focus on Managing Risk

Preventing all data breaches is an unrealistic goal. Instead, focus on finding and minimising the greatest risks.

There is a common misconception that all problems have clear, straightforward solutions — as long as you look hard enough. While this is a bold and ambitious goal, it's misguided when applied to cyber security. Organisations cannot prevent data breaches or cyberattacks altogether, and avoiding a breach or cyber incident is nearly impossible in the modern era. Organisations can, however, take steps to reduce an attack's negative impacts.

Eradicating risk is an impractical goal because you cannot "solve" something that constantly changes. To understand the risks you need to think like an attacker.

Threat actors are, first and foremost, opportunistic. They will always look for the easiest targets to maximise their financial gain. So intimately understanding an organisation's level of risk is the first step to managing and reducing it — and making yourself less of a target.

In line with Verizon’s "Data Breach Investigations Report" (DBIR) the four critical ways that threat actors most frequently use to compromise organisations large and small are credential compromise, phishing, vulnerability exploitation, and botnets, and these are the areas organisations should look reduce risks.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/cybersecurity-should-focus-on-managing-risk

Fear of Cyber Attacks Drives SMBs to Spend More on Software

Despite fears of a looming recession, small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are spending more on software in 2023, according to Capterra’s 2023 SMB Software Buying Trends Survey. 75% of US SMBs estimate they’ll spend more on software in 2023 compared to 2022.

Alongside increased software budgets, Capterra’s survey of over 500 SMBs reveals four other major trends in software buying behaviours and challenges that will impact businesses in 2023:

Fearful of cyber attacks, US businesses rate security as a top motivator for software purchases
Implementation concerns are SMBs’ biggest purchase barrier
Most SMB software purchases are solely handled by IT, disregarding other important stakeholders
Customer reviews sway purchase decisions, and verified reviews are critical

Despite the expected increase in software investments, many US SMBs regret their technology purchases. 61% of US SMBs say they have buyer’s remorse over a technology purchase in the past 12-18 months. Inadequate support services (39%) and higher-than-anticipated costs (34%) are the top reasons behind such regrets.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/07/smbs-software-spending-2023/

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Fraud Attacks Expand Beyond Email and Toward Mobile Devices

Business email compromise (BEC) scams have been increasingly targeting mobile devices, particularly with SMS-focused attacks. According to a new advisory by cyber security specialists at Trustwave, the trend indicates a broader shift towards phishing scams via text messages.

“Phishing scams are prevalent in the SMS threat landscape, and now, BEC attacks are also going mobile,” reads the report. Trustwave further added that scammers typically obtain mobile numbers from data breaches, social media and data brokers, among other methods. After that, attackers ask victims for a wire transfer, send a copy of an aging report or change a payroll account, luring them into paying for something that should be reimbursed later (but never will).

BEC attacks will always be here so long as they remain profitable. Their continued profitability proves that employee cyber security behaviour is neglected and mismanaged by the compliance-based approach to security awareness.

Security culture needs a reformation that begins with transforming the human layer into an asset which, when empowered by the right training and platform, augments the protect-detect-respond pillars of the [National Institute of Standards and Technology] NIST framework.

Trustwave’s findings were also confirmed in SlashNext’s State of Phishing 2022 report, which recently highlighted a 50% increase in attacks on mobile devices, with scams and credential theft at the top of the list of payloads. The document also suggested 83% of organisations reported that mobile device threats had been growing more quickly than other device threats.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bec-attacks-expand-toward-mobile/

Ransomware Professionalisation Grows as Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) Takes Hold

Ransomware groups are getting their acts together, growing in sophistication and business acumen while monetising ransomware beyond encryption, including double and triple extortion, as the market for ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) matures.

In first half of 2022, LockBit, Conti, Alphv, Black Basta, and Vice Society were among the most prolific ransomware gangs, focusing their attack on US-based organisations, according to a LookingGlass report on the topic.

The report confirmed and attributed 1,133 ransomware attacks in the first six months of the year and attributed 207 data leaks across all active threat actor groups throughout the same period. Of the more than 1,300 incidents, the bulk came from the top 15 most active ransomware groups, led by LockBit, Conti, and Alphv.

Ransomware gangs have primarily targeted two sectors during the analysis period: manufacturing and industrial products, followed by engineering and construction and healthcare and life sciences, with the consumer and retail industry rounding out the top five.

The report highlighted the rise of sophisticated software and networks as a principal contributor to the professionalisation of ransomware, with malicious actors now offering RaaS, bug bounties, sales teams, and even customer support.

“This new, more professional ransomware structure can only mean that the problem will continue to grow in the months ahead," the report noted. "We anticipate the adoption of more traditional business practices as the underground economy continues to remain robust”.

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/ransomware-professionalization-grows-as-raas-takes-hold

Automated Dark Web Markets Sell Corporate Email Accounts For $2

Cyber crime marketplaces are increasingly selling stolen corporate email addresses for as low as $2 to fill a growing demand by hackers who use them for business email compromise and phishing attacks or initial access to networks.

Analysts at Israeli cyber-intelligence firm KELA have closely followed this trend, reporting at least 225,000 email accounts for sale on underground markets.

The largest webmail shops are Xleet and Lufix, claiming to offer access to over 100k breached corporate email accounts, with prices ranging between $2 and $30, if not more, for highly-desirable organisations.

Typically, these accounts were stolen via password cracking (brute-forcing) or credential stuffing, had their credentials stolen through phishing, or were bought from other cyber criminals.

Hackers use their access to corporate email accounts in targeted attacks like business email compromise (BEC), social engineering, spear-phishing, and deeper network infiltration.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/automated-dark-web-markets-sell-corporate-email-accounts-for-2/

Cloud Hosting Provider Rackspace Warns of Phishing Risks Following Ransomware Attack

Cloud computing provider Rackspace warned customers on Thursday of increased risks of phishing attacks following a ransomware attack affecting its hosted Microsoft Exchange environment.

While the company is still investigating the incident and is working on bringing affected systems back online, it says that cyber criminals might also take advantage and exploit this incident for their own purposes.

"If you do receive a message from an individual you do not recognise, do not reply. Please login to your control panel and create a ticket, including details about the message you received," Rackspace said. "We understand that contact such as this may be alarming, but we currently have no evidence to suggest that you are at increased risk as a result of this direct contact."

Rackspace added that customers could easily spot scammers attempting to steal their sensitive information since:

Emails from Rackspace will be sent from @rackspace.com emails (although attackers might still use a spoofed email address and redirect their targets to a landing phishing page)
Rackspace support will not ask for login credentials or personal information (e.g., social security number, driver's license) during phone calls

Even though the company is yet to reveal if it has any evidence that the attackers have stolen data from its systems during the breach, customers were advised to remain vigilant and monitor their credit reports and banking account statements for suspicious activity.

Some customers are also reporting an increase in phishing emails impersonating Rackspace since the ransomware attack. Those affected by the Rackspace ransomware attack and outage should not open any suspicious email attachments or click any suspicious links.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/rackspace-warns-of-phishing-risks-following-ransomware-attack/

Security Concerns Scupper Deals for Two-Thirds of Firms

Two-thirds (67%) of global organisations have admitted to losing out on acquiring potential customers due to concerns about their security posture, according to LogRhythm.

The security vendor polled 1175 security professionals and executives across five continents to compile its latest report, The State of the Security Team 2022. It found that security due diligence among customers and partners is increasingly rigorous.

Some 91% of respondents said that their security strategy must now align with customers’ security policies and standards, while 85% claimed their company must provide proof that they meet partners’ security requirements.

There was more worrying news from the report: 70% of respondents reported an increase in workplace stress for security teams, with nearly a third (30%) citing a “significant” increase. Among the key stress factors highlighted in the study were growing attack sophistication, greater responsibilities and increasing attack frequency.

Two-fifths (41%) claimed that better integrated solutions would help to relieve these pressures, while a similar number (42%) pointed to the need for more experienced security professionals. The latter would seem unlikely, given the coming recession’s likely impact on budgets, and persistent industry skills shortages. The gap is now 3.4 million globally, including 56,800 in the UK, a massive 73% year-on-year increase, according to ISC2.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/security-concerns-scupper-deals/

Microsoft Encourages 'Strong Cyber Hygiene' in Light of Increasing Russian Cyber Attacks

Microsoft is gearing up for a slew of Russian cyber attacks this winter, and warns others to stay vigilant. Between missiles, drones, and cyber attacks the onslaught against Ukraine has been a brutal one, and reportedly only set to get worse in the coming months.

"Moscow has intensified its multi-pronged hybrid technology approach to pressure the sources of Kyiv’s military and political support," says Microsoft in a recent blog post. "Recent attacks in Poland suggest that Russian state-sponsored cyber attacks may increasingly be used outside Ukraine in an effort to undermine foreign-based supply chains."

In late October, Russian forces were pushed from formerly occupied territory, retaliating with missile, drone, and cyber strikes that left much of Kyiv in need of simple running water.

The Russian group known to Microsoft as IRIDIUM (aka Sandworm) is thought to be working with the Russian intelligence service, the GRU, in coordinated efforts to inflict suffering on the people of Ukraine. The group has been at large for almost a decade, as Microsoft notes, "Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, IRIDIUM launched a series of wintertime operations against Ukrainian electricity providers, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of citizens in 2015 and 2016."

https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-encourages-strong-cyber-hygiene-in-light-of-increasing-russian-cyberattacks/

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

BEC Attacks Expand Beyond Email and Toward Mobile Devices - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Malware

Mobile

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Insights into insider threats: Detecting and monitoring abnormal user activity - Help Net Security

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Deepfakes

Thanks to AI, it’s probably time to take your photos off the Internet | Ars Technica

AML/CFT/Sanctions

Santander UK fined £108m over anti-money laundering failings | Banco Santander | The Guardian

Insurance

Dark Web

Dark web recruiting techniques: Malware, phishing, and carding - Help Net Security

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

How Naming Can Change the Game in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

Cloud/SaaS

Hybrid/Remote Working

Remote workers losing laptops are bigger threat to companies than hackers (telegraph.co.uk)

Encryption

API

68% of IT leaders are worried about API sprawl - Help Net Security

Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Password Reset Calls Are Costing Your Org Big Money (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

Training, Education and Awareness

Parental Controls and Child Safety

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

5 top qualities you need to become a next-gen CISO | CSO Online

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

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

Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

Nation State Actors – China

Nation State Actors – North Korea

Nation State Actors – Iran

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls

Reports Published in the Last Week

Other News

Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

· Automotive

· Construction

· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

· Defence & Space

· Education & Academia

· Energy & Utilities

· Estate Agencies

· Financial Services

· FinTech

· Food & Agriculture

· Gaming & Gambling

· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

· Health/Medical/Pharma

· Hotels & Hospitality

· Insurance

· Legal

· Manufacturing

· Maritime

· Oil, Gas & Mining

· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

· Retail & eCommerce

· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

· Startups

· Telecoms

· Third Sector & Charities

· Transport & Aviation

· Web3

As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Black Arrow Admin 13/11/2022 Black Arrow Admin 13/11/2022

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 November 2022

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 November 2022:

-Research Finds Organisations Lack Tools and Teams to Address Cyber Security Threats

-Some 98% of Global Firms Suffer Supply Chain Breach in 2021

-Only 30% of Cyber Insurance Holders Say Ransomware is Covered

-Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says

-Ransomware Remains Top Cyber Risk for Organisations Globally, Says Allianz

-How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape

-Swiss Re Wants Government Bail Out academias Cyber Crime Insurance Costs Spike

-Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model

-Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low

-Russia’s Sway Over Criminal Ransomware Gangs Is Coming into Focus

-Insider Risk on the Rise: 12% of Employees Take IP When Leaving Jobs

-Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Research Finds Organisations Lack Tools and Teams to Address Cyber Security Threats

In research conducted in the summer of 2022 by BlackBerry, the findings describe the situation facing organisations regardless of size or vertical.

The survey of 405 senior IT, networking, and security decision-makers in the US, Canada, and the UK revealed 83% of organisations agreed building cyber security programs is expensive due to required tools, licenses, and personnel, and 80% agreed it’s challenging to fill specialised security roles. Most organisations (78%) have an incident management process, but about half (49%) agree they lack the teams and tools to be effective 24x7x365. Evolving security threats (53%) and the task of integrating new technology (53%) are cited as top challenges in maintaining security posture.

While it’s likely these findings surprise no one, they do reveal the challenges facing organisations who are caught between limited resources and increased risk. The urgency increases if we look at the critical infrastructure that keeps things running–like utilities, banks, transportation, key suppliers, industrial controls, and more.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-guests/research-finds-organizations-lack-tools-and-teams-to-address-cybersecurity-threats/

Some 98% of Global Firms Suffer Supply Chain Breach in 2021

Just 2% of global organisations didn’t suffer a supply chain breach last year, with visibility into cyber risk getting harder as these ecosystems expand, according to BlueVoyant.

The security firm polled 2100 C-level execs with responsibility for supply chain and cyber risk management from companies with 1000+ employees to compile its study, The State of Supply Chain Defense: Annual Global Insights Report 2022.

It found the top challenges listed by respondents were:

Awareness internally that third-party suppliers are part of their cyber security posture
Meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring third-party cyber security compliance
Working with third-party suppliers to improve their posture.

Supply chains are growing: the number of firms with over 1000 suppliers increased from 38% in 2021’s report to 50%. Although 53% of organisations audited or reported on supplier security more than twice annually, 40% still rely on suppliers to ensure security levels are sufficient. That means they have no way of knowing if an issue arises with a supplier.

Worse, 42% admitted that if they do discover an issue in their supply chain and inform their supplier, they cannot verify that the issue was resolved. Just 3% monitor their supply chain daily, although the number of respondents using security ratings services to enhance visibility and reduce cyber risk increased from 36% last year to 39% in this year’s report.

With the escalating threat landscape and number of high-profile incidents being reported, firms should focus more strategically on addressing supply chain cyber security risk. In the current volatile economic climate, the last thing any business needs is any further disruption to their operations, any unexpected costs, or negative impact on their brand.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/98-global-firms-supply-chain/

Only 30% of Cyber Insurance Holders Say Ransomware is Covered

Cyber insurance providers appear to be limiting policy coverage due to surging costs from claimants, according to a new study from Delinea.

The security vendor polled 300 US-based IT decision makers to compile its latest report, Cyber insurance: if you get it be ready to use it.

Although 93% were approved for specialised cyber insurance cover by their provider, just 30% said their policy covered “critical risks” including ransomware, ransom negotiations and payments. Around half (48%) said their policy covers data recovery, while just a third indicated it covers incident response, regulatory fines and third-party damages.

That may be because many organisations are regularly being breached and look to their providers for pay-outs, driving up costs for carriers. Some 80% of those surveyed said they’ve had to call on their insurance, and half of these have submitted claims multiple times, the study noted.

As a result, many insurers are demanding that prospective policyholders implement more comprehensive security controls before they’re allowed to sign up.

Half (51%) of respondents said that security awareness training was a requirement, while (47%) said the same about malware protection, AV software, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and data backups.

However, high-level checks may not be enough to protect insurers from surging losses, as they can’t guarantee customers are properly deploying security controls.

Cyber insurance providers need to start advancing beyond simple checklists for security controls. They must require their customers to validate that their security controls work as designed and expected. They need their customers to simulate their adversaries to ensure that when they are attacked, the attack will not result in a breach. In fact, we're already starting to see government regulations and guidance that includes adversary simulation as part of their proactive response to threats.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberinsurance-ransomware-cover/

Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says

It has been reported that more than a third of companies who paid a ransom to cyber criminals after being hit by a ransomware attack went on to be targeted for a second time, according to a new report.

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report found that 36% of companies that made the ransom payment were hit again, while 41% who paid failed to recover all of their data.

The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Lindy Cameron, said last year that ransomware attacks were the “most immediate danger” to the UK and urged companies to take more steps to protect themselves and their data.

The NCSC urges firms not to pay ransoms as it not only helps fund further crime but offers no guarantee that criminals will return the stolen or locked data. The Hiscox report appeared to back up the NCSC’s warnings, with 43% of the businesses who paid a ransom saying they still had to rebuild their systems while 29% said that despite making the payment their stolen data was still leaked. A further 26% said a ransomware attack had had a significant financial impact on their business.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/companies-hit-by-ransomware-often-targeted-again-research-says-and-expert-comments/

Ransomware Remains Top Cyber Risk for Organisations Globally, Says Allianz

According to an Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty cyber report, ransomware remains a top cyber risk for organisations globally, while the threat of state-sponsored cyber attacks grows.

There were a record 623 million attacks in 2021, which was double that of 2020, says Allianz.

It also notes that despite the frequency reducing 23% globally during H1 of 2022, the year-to-date total still exceeds that of the full years of 2017, 2018 and 2019, while Europe saw attacks surge over this period. Allianz suggests that ransomware is forecast to cause $30bn in damages to organisations globally by 2023.

It adds that from an Allianz perspective, the value of ransomware claims the company was involved in together with other insurers, accounted for well over 50% of all cyber claims costs during 2020 and 2021.

The cyber risk landscape doesn’t allow for any resting on laurels. Ransomware and phishing scams are as active as ever and on top of that there is the prospect of a hybrid cyber war.

Most companies will not be able to evade a cyber threat. However, it is clear that organisations with good cyber maturity are better equipped to deal with incidents. Even when they are attacked, losses are typically less severe due to established identification and response mechanisms.

Many companies still need to strengthen their cyber controls, particularly around IT security trainings, better network segmentation for critical environments and cyber incident response plans and security governance.

Allianz observes that geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, are a major factor reshaping the cyber threat landscape as the risks of espionage, sabotage, and destructive cyber-attacks against companies with ties to Russia and Ukraine increase, as well as allies and those in neighbouring countries.

https://www.reinsurancene.ws/ransomware-remains-top-cyber-risk-for-organisations-globally-says-allianz/

How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape

ENISA, EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity, released its annual Threat Landscape report, covering the period from July 2021 up to July 2022.

With more than 10 terabytes of data stolen monthly, ransomware still fares as one of the prime threats in the new report with phishing now identified as the most common initial vector of such attacks. The other threats to rank highest along ransomware are attacks against availability also called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

However, the geopolitical situations particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine have acted as a game changer over the reporting period for the global cyber domain. While we still observe an increase of the number of threats, we also see a wider range of vectors emerge such as zero-day exploits and AI-enabled disinformation and deepfakes. As a result, more malicious and widespread attacks emerge having more damaging impact.

EU Agency for Cybersecurity Executive Director, Juhan Lepassaar stated that “Today’s global context is inevitably driving major changes in the cyber security threat landscape. The new paradigm is shaped by the growing range of threat actors. We enter a phase which will need appropriate mitigation strategies to protect all our critical sectors, our industry partners and therefore all EU citizens.”

State sponsored, cyber crime, hacker-for-hire actors and hacktivists remain the prominent threat actors during the reporting period of July 2021 to July 2022.

ENISA sorted threats into 8 groups. Frequency and impact determine how prominent all of these threats still are.

Ransomware: 60% of affected organisations may have paid ransom demands
Malware: 66 disclosures of zero-day vulnerabilities observed in 2021
Social engineering: Phishing remains a popular technique but we see new forms of phishing arising such as spear-phishing, whaling, smishing and vishing
Threats against data: Increasing in proportionally to the total of data produced
Disinformation – misinformation: Escalating AI-enabled disinformation, deepfakes and disinformation-as-a-service
Supply chain targeting: Third-party incidents account for 17% of the intrusions in 2021 compared to less than 1% in 2020
Threats against availability:
- Largest denial of service (DDoS) attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022
- Internet: destruction of infrastructure, outages and rerouting of internet traffic.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/08/cybersecurity-threat-landscape-2022/

Swiss Re Wants Government Bail Out as Cyber Crime Insurance Costs Spike

As insurance companies struggle to stay afloat amid rising cyber claims, Swiss Re has recommended a public-private partnership insurance scheme with one option being a government-backed fund to help fill the coverage gap.

Global cyber insurance premiums hit $10 billion in 2021, according to Swiss Re's estimates. In a study published this week, the insurance giant forecasted 20 percent annual growth to 2025, with premiums rising to $23 billion over the next few years.

Meanwhile, annual cyber attack-related losses total about $945 billion globally, and about 90% of that risk remains uninsured, according to insurance researchers at the Geneva Association.

While Forrester estimates a typical data breach costs an average $2.4 million for investigation and recovery, only 55 percent of companies currently have cyber insurance policies. Additionally, less than 20 percent have coverage limits in excess of $600,000, which the analyst firm cites as the median ransomware demand in 2021.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/08/government_cyber_insurance/

Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model

Ransomware-as-a-service lowers the barriers to entry, hides attackers’ identities, and creates multitier, specialised roles in service of ill-gotten gains.

Did you know that more than 80% of ransomware attacks can be traced to common configuration errors in software and devices? This ease of access is one of many reasons why cyber criminals have become emboldened by the underground ransomware economy.

And yet many threat actors work within a relatively small and interconnected ecosystem of players. This pool of cyber criminals has created specialised roles and consolidated the cyber crime economy, fuelling ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) to become the dominant business model. In doing so, they've enabled a wider range of criminals to deploy ransomware regardless of their technical expertise and forced all of us to become cyber security defenders in the process.

Ransomware takes advantage of existing security compromises to gain access to internal networks. In the same way businesses hire gig workers to cut costs, cyber criminals have turned to renting or selling their ransomware tools for a portion of the profits rather than performing the attacks themselves.

This flourishing RaaS economy allows cyber criminals to purchase access to ransomware payloads and data leakage, as well as payment infrastructure. What we think of as ransomware gangs are actually RaaS programs like Conti or REvil, used by the many different actors who switch between RaaS programs and payloads.

RaaS lowers the barrier to entry and obfuscates the identity of the attackers behind the ransoming. Some programs can have 50 or more "affiliates," as they refer to their users, with varying tools, tradecraft, and objectives. Anyone with a laptop and credit card who is willing to search the Dark Web for penetration-testing tools or out-of-the-box malware can join this maximum efficiency economy.

https://www.darkreading.com/microsoft/extortion-economics-ransomware-s-new-business-model

Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low

A recent IDC and Druva survey asked 505 respondents across 10 industries about their ransomware experiences and found that many organisations struggle to recover after an attack. In the survey, 85% of the respondents said their organisations had a ransomware recovery plan. The challenge seems to lie in effectively executing that plan.

"A majority of organisations suffered significant consequences from ransomware attacks including long recoveries and unrecoverable data despite paying a ransom," states the "You Think Ransomware Is Your Only Problem? Think Again" report.

Data resiliency is such an important element of cyber security that 96% of respondents considered it a top priority for their organisations, with a full 77% placing it in the top 3. What's striking about the survey results is that only 14% of respondents said they were "extremely confident" in their tools, even though 92% called their data resiliency tools "efficient" or "highly efficient."

When data is spread across hybrid, cloud, and edge environments, data resiliency becomes much more complicated. A plan might seem to cover everything, but then you realise that you lost your backup or can't find the latest restore point.

The ability to recover from an attack is vital, since the growth in ransomware makes it likely that your organisation will get hit. This is why agencies like NIST recommend preparing for when an attacker pierces your defences rather than trying to keep out every intruder. That mindset also shifts the priority to preparation and planning; you need to create a disaster recovery plan that includes policy on restore points and recovery tools — and you need to practice implementing that plan before disaster strikes.

The report lists three key performance indicators that reveal the success of an organisation's recovery from a cyber attack:

The ability to fully recover encrypted or deleted data without paying a ransom.
Zero data loss in the process of recovering the data.
Rapid recovery as defined by applicable service-level requirements.

When a recovery fails to meet these criteria, then the organisation may suffer financial loss, loss of reputation, permanently lost customers, and reduced employee productivity.

https://www.darkreading.com/tech-trends/confidence-in-data-recovery-tools-low

Russia’s Sway Over Criminal Ransomware Gangs Is Coming into Focus

Russia-based ransomware gangs are some of the most prolific and aggressive, in part thanks to an apparent safe harbour the Russian government extends to them. The Kremlin doesn't cooperate with international ransomware investigations and typically declines to prosecute cyber criminals operating in the country so long as they don't attack domestic targets. A long-standing question, though, is whether these financially motivated hackers ever receive directives from the Russian government and to what extent the gangs are connected to the Kremlin's offensive hacking. The answer is starting to become clearer.

New research presented at the Cyberwarcon security conference in Arlington, Virginia, this week looked at the frequency and targeting of ransomware attacks against organisations based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France in the lead-up to these countries' national elections. The findings suggest a loose but visible alignment between Russian government priorities and activities and ransomware attacks leading up to elections in the six countries.

The project analysed a data set of over 4,000 ransomware attacks perpetrated against victims in 102 countries between May 2019 and May 2022. The analysis showed a statistically significant increase in ransomware attacks from Russia-based gangs against organisations in the six victim countries ahead of their national elections. These nations suffered the most total ransomware attacks per year in the data set, about three-quarters of all the attacks.

The data was used to compare the timing of attacks for groups believed to be based out of Russia and groups based everywhere else. They looked at the number of attacks on any given day, and what they found was an interesting relationship where for these Russia-based groups, there was an increase in the number of attacks starting four months before an election and moving three, two, one month in, up to the event.

The findings showed broadly that non-Russian ransomware gangs didn't have a statistically significant increase in attacks in the lead-up to elections. Whereas two months out from a national election, for example, the researchers found that organisations in the six top victim countries were at a 41 percent greater chance of having a ransomware attack from a Russia-based gang on a given day, compared to the baseline.

https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ransomware-gang-connections/

Insider Risk on the Rise: 12% of Employees Take IP When Leaving Jobs

Twelve percent of all employees take sensitive intellectual property (IP) with them when they leave an organisation.

The data comes from workforce cyber intelligence and security company Dtex, which published a report about top insider risk trends for 2022. “Customer data, employee data, health records, sales contacts, and the list goes on,” reads the document. “More and more applications are providing new features that make data exfiltration easier. For example, many now provide the ability to maintain clipboard history and sync across multiple devices.”

Case in point, the report also suggests a 55% increase in unsanctioned application usage, including those making data exfiltration easier by allowing users to maintain clipboard history and sync IP across multiple devices. “Bring Your Own Applications (BYOA) or Shadow IT can be a source of intelligence for business innovation,” Dtex wrote. “Still, they pose a major risk if the security team has not tested these tools thoroughly.”

Further, the new data highlight a 20% increase in resignation letter research and creation from employees taking advantage of the tight labour market to switch positions for higher wages.

“In most cases, an individual planning to leave the business is not pleased with the company’s product, co-workers, work environment, or compensation,” reads the report. “Disgruntled employees are usually jaded by a business that has not shown any steps to alleviate concerns, even after communication attempts.”

Finally, the Dtex report says the industry has witnessed a 200% increase in unsanctioned third-party work on corporate devices from a high prevalence of employees engaged in side gigs.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/12-of-employees-take-ip-when/

Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies

In October, Joe Sullivan, Uber’s former head of security, was convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the ride hailing giant by hiding details from US regulators and then paying off the hackers.

It was a trial followed nervously by cyber security professionals around the world — coming eight years after an incident that had compromised the personal information of more than 57mn people.

“Any news about another company dealing with a data security incident can strike a bit of fear across industries,” notes Mary Pothos, chief privacy officer at digital travel company Booking.com. She adds that incidents like these cause “many companies to pause, rethink or revisit their internal processes to make sure that they are operating effectively”.

These incidents, and threats, are growing at lightning speed, too. War in Ukraine is now being played out as much in cyber space as on the battlefield. The Covid pandemic has forced businesses to rethink where their employees work, and handle or access data. At the same time, the sheer number of web-connected devices is multiplying.

“We need to be people who can predict what is coming along the line, predict the future, almost” said Victor Shadare, head of cyber security at media company Condé Nast, at a recent FT event on cyber security.

Palo Alto Networks, a specialist security company, found that cyber extortion grew rapidly in 2021. Some 35 new ransomware gangs emerged, the average ransom demand increasing 144 per cent that year to $2.2mn, and the average payment rose by 78 per cent to $541,010.

Meanwhile, cyber security personnel have found themselves hemmed in by increasingly onerous regulations. These include threats of legal action if the right people are not informed about breaches, or if products come to market that are not safe enough. On September 15, for example, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new Cyber Resilience Act to protect consumers from products with inadequate security features.

“New domains of security have sprung up over the past years, so it’s not just an information technology problem any more, it’s really a full company risk issue,” says Kevin Tierney, vice-president of global cyber security at automotive group General Motors. He warns that automated and connected vehicles have thrown up additional threats to be addressed.

“You have to start out with the right governance structure and the right policies and procedures — that’s step one of really getting the company to understand what it needs to do,” he says. These include clear rules on how to disable access to tech equipment, on data protection and storage, on transferring and disposing of data, on using corporate networks, and on reporting any data breaches.

Security experts also tend to agree that there need to be robust systems of governance and accountability, to prevent the sort of trouble that befell Sullivan at Uber. Perhaps most crucially, staff across the organisation, from C-suite to assistants, need to know how to spot and manage a threat.

https://www.ft.com/content/0bb6df09-7d77-4605-aac3-89443ed65a18

Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

Instagram star gets 11 years for $300m BEC conspiracy • The Register

Malware

Mobile

Internet of Things – IoT

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

The 'Great Resignation' Caused Insider Threats to Peak in Q3 2022, Kroll Finds - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Insurance

Dark Web

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

DoJ seizes $3.36B Bitcoin from Silk Road hacker - Security Affairs

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

Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

Nation State Actors – China

New BadBazaar Android malware linked to Chinese cyber spies (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

Microsoft: Nation-state threats, zero-day attacks increasing (techtarget.com)

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

Reports Published in the Last Week

Other News

Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

· Automotive

· Construction

· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

· Defence & Space

· Education & Academia

· Energy & Utilities

· Estate Agencies

· Financial Services

· FinTech

· Food & Agriculture

· Gaming & Gambling

· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

· Health/Medical/Pharma

· Hotels & Hospitality

· Insurance

· Legal

· Manufacturing

· Maritime

· Oil, Gas & Mining

· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems

· Retail & eCommerce

· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

· Startups

· Telecoms

· Third Sector & Charities

· Transport & Aviation

· Web3

As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.

Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Threat Intelligence Blog

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 March 2023

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Majority of SMBs Lack Dedicated Cyber Experts and Cyber Incident Response Plans

Controlling Third-Party Data Risk Should be a Top Cyber Security Priority

IT Security Spending to Reach Nearly $300 Billion by 2026

2023 Cyber Security Maturity Report Reveals Organisational Unpreparedness for Cyber Attacks

Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked

Should your Organisation be Worried about Insider Threats?

UK Ransomware Incident Volumes Surge 17% in 2022

Financial Industry Hit by Rising Ransomware Attacks and BEC

55 zero-day Flaws Exploited Last Year Show the Importance of Security Risk Management

Security Researchers Spot $36m BEC Attack

New Victims Come Forward After Mass Ransomware Attack

Ransomware Gangs’ Harassment of Victims is Increasing

Wartime Hacktivism is Spilling Over into the Financial Services Industry

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Botnets

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Deepfakes

Insurance

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

Cloud/SaaS

Hybrid/Remote Working

Identity and Access Management

API

Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Training, Education and Awareness

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Backup and Recovery

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

Artificial Intelligence

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

Nation State Actors

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls

Reports Published in the Last Week

Other News

Sector Specific

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 December 2022

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Economic Uncertainty Will Greatly Impact the Spread of Cyber Crime

Cyber Security Resilience Emerges as Top Priority, as 62% of Companies Say Security Incidents Impacted Business Operations

Cyber Security Should Focus on Managing Risk

Fear of Cyber Attacks Drives SMBs to Spend More on Software

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Fraud Attacks Expand Beyond Email and Toward Mobile Devices

Ransomware Professionalisation Grows as Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) Takes Hold

Automated Dark Web Markets Sell Corporate Email Accounts For $2

Cloud Hosting Provider Rackspace Warns of Phishing Risks Following Ransomware Attack

Security Concerns Scupper Deals for Two-Thirds of Firms

Microsoft Encourages 'Strong Cyber Hygiene' in Light of Increasing Russian Cyber Attacks

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Malware

Mobile