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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 19 April 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 19 April 2024:
-94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted by Attackers
-Sharing IT Providers Is a Risk for Financial Services, Says IMF, as Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability
-Hackers are Threatening to Publish a Huge Stolen Sanctions and Financial Crimes Watchlist
-Your Annual Cyber Security Is Not Working, but There is a Solution
-73% of Security Professionals Say They’ve Missed, Ignored or Failed to Act on a High Priority Security Alert
-Russia and Ukraine Top Inaugural World Cyber Crime Index
-Police Takedown Major Cyber Fraud Superstore: Will the Cyber Crime Industry Become More Fragmented?
-Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cyber Security as Top Threat
-The Threat from Inside: 14% Surge in Insider Threats Compared to Previous Year
-Dark Web Sales Driving Major Rise in Credential Attacks as Attackers Pummel Networks with Millions of Login Attempts
-Large Enterprises Experience Breaches, Despite Large Security Stacks - Report Finds 93% of Breaches Lead to Downtime and Data Loss
-Charities Doing Worse than Private Sector in Staving off Cyber 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
94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted by Attackers
Organisations that have backed up sensitive data may believe they are safe from the effects of ransomware attacks; however a new study by Sophos reported that cyber criminals attempted to compromise the backups of 94% of companies hit by ransomware in the past year. The research found that criminals can demand a higher ransom when they compromise an organisation’s backup data, and those victims are twice as likely to pay. The median ransom demand is $2.3 million when backups are compromised, compared to $1 million otherwise.
Additionally, sectors like state and local governments, along with media and entertainment, are particularly vulnerable with nearly all affected organisations experiencing backup compromises.
Source: [Tech Republic]
Sharing IT Providers Is a Risk for Financial Services, Says IMF, as Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability
The International Monetary Fund has found that with greater digitalisation and heightened geopolitical tensions comes a greater risk of cyber attack with systemic consequences. The IMF noted that losses more than quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5 billion.
The push for technology has led to a number of financial services institutions relying on third-party IT firms, increasing their susceptibility to cyber disruption on a wider scale and a potential ripple effect were a third party to be hit. Whilst such third parties can increase the cyber resilience of a financial services institution, they also expose the industry to systemwide shocks, the IMF reports.
The IMF recommend institutions should identify potential systematic risks in their third-party IT firms. If the organisation is unable to perform such risk assessments, they should seek the expert support of an independent cyber security specialist.
Sources: [The Banker] [IMF]
Hackers are Threatening to Publish a Huge Stolen Sanctions and Financial Crimes Watchlist
A cyber crime group named GhostR has claimed responsibility for stealing 5.3 million records from the World-Check database, which companies use for "know your customer" (KYC) checks to screen potential clients for financial crime risks. The data theft occurred in March and originated from a Singapore-based firm with access to World-Check. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), which owns World-Check, confirmed that the breach involved a third-party's dataset and not their systems directly. The stolen data includes sensitive information on individuals identified as high-risk, such as government-sanctioned figures and those linked to organised crime. LSEG is coordinating with the affected third party and authorities to protect the compromised data and prevent its dissemination.
Source: [TechCrunch]
Your Annual Cyber Security Is Not Working, But There is a Solution
Most organisations utilise annual security training in an attempt to ensure every department develops their cyber awareness skills and is able to spot and report a threat. However, this training is often out of date. Additionally, often training has limited interactivity, failing to capture and maintain employees’ attention and retention. On top of this, many training courses fail to connect employees to real-world scenarios that could occur in their specific job.
To get the most return on investment, organisations need to have more regular education, with the aim of long-term behavioural shifts in the work place, nudging employees towards greater cyber hygiene.
Source: [TechRadar]
73% of Security Professionals Say They’ve Missed, Ignored or Failed to Act on a High Priority Security Alert
A new survey from Coro, targeting small medium enterprises (SME) cyber security professionals, reveals that 73% have missed or ignored high priority security alerts due to overwhelming workloads and managing multiple security tools. The 2024 SME Security Workload Impact Report highlights that SMEs are inundated with alerts and responsibilities, which dilute their focus from critical security threats. On average, these professionals manage over 11 security tools and spend nearly five hours daily on tasks like monitoring and patching vulnerabilities. Respondents handle an average of over 2,000 endpoint security agents across 656 devices, more than half dealing with frequent vendor updates.
Source: [Business Wire]
Russia and Ukraine Top Inaugural World Cyber Crime Index
The inaugural World Cybercrime Index (WCI) identifies Russia, Ukraine, and China as the top sources of global cyber crime. This index, the first of its kind, was developed over four years by an international team from the University of Oxford and the University of New South Wales, with input from 92 cyber crime experts. These experts ranked countries based on the impact, professionalism, and technical skills of their cyber criminals across five cyber crime categories, including data theft, scams, and money laundering. Russia topped the list, followed by Ukraine and China, highlighting their significant roles in high-tech cyber criminal activities. The index, expected to be updated regularly, aims to provide a clearer understanding of cyber crime's global geography and its correlation with national characteristics like internet penetration and GDP. Of note the UK and US also made the top ten list, so it is not just other countries we need to worry about.
Top ten Countries in full:
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. China
4. United States
5. Nigeria
6. Romania
7. North Korea
8. United Kingdom
9. Brazil
10. India
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Police Takedown Major Cyber Fraud Superstore: Will the Cyber Crime Industry Become More Fragmented?
The London Metropolitan Police takedown of online fraud service LabHost serves as a reminder of the industrial scale on which cyber crimes are being performed, with the service amassing 480,000 debit or credit card numbers and 64,000 PINs: all for the subscription price of £300 a month. The site even included tutorial videos on how to commit crime and offered customer service.
Such takedowns can lead to fragmentation. The 2,000 individuals subscribed to LabHost may have lost access but where there is demand, supply will be found. The takedown of one service allows other, small services to fill the gap. As the saying goes ‘nature abhors a vacuum’ and it is especially true when it comes to cyber crime; there is too much business for empty spaces not to be filled.
Sources: [ITPro] [The Guardian]
Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cyber Security as Top Threat
Small businesses are experiencing a stable business climate, as reflected by the Small Business Index, indicating an increasing optimism about the economy. However, the recent surge in cyber attacks, including major assaults on UnitedHealth Group and MGM Resorts, has underscored the growing vulnerability of these businesses to cyber crime. Despite 80% of small to medium-sized enterprises feeling well-protected by their IT defences, a Devolutions survey reveals that 69% of them still fell victim to cyber attacks last year. This has led to cyber security being viewed as the greatest threat by 60% of small businesses, even surpassing concerns over supply chain disruptions and the potential for another pandemic.
The average cost of these attacks ranges from $120,000 to $1.24 million, leading to 60% of affected businesses closing within six months. This vulnerability is further compounded by a common underestimation of the ransomware threat. While 71% of businesses feel prepared for future threats, the depth of this preparedness varies, with only 23% feeling very prepared for cyber security challenges.
Sources: [Claims Journal] [Inc.com]
The Threat from Inside: Insider Threats Surge 14% Annually as Cost-of-Living Crisis Bites
Employee fraud grew significantly last year thanks to the opportunities afforded by remote working and the pressures of a cost-of-living crisis in the UK, according to Cifas, an anti-fraud non-profit. The number of individuals recorded in its cross-sector Insider Threat Database (ITD) increased 14% year-on-year (YoY) in 2023, with the most common reason being “dishonest action to obtain benefit by theft or deception” (49%).
Insider threats – both by accident or with malicious intent – by their own employees are overlooked, despite accounting for 58% of cybersecurity breaches in recent years. As a result, a large proportion of businesses may lack any strategy to address insider risks, leaving them vulnerable to financial, operational and reputational harm.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine] [TechRadar]
Dark Web Sales Driving Major Rise in Credential Attacks as Attackers Pummel Networks with Millions of Login Attempts
Dark web sales are driving a major rise in credential attacks, with a surge in infostealer malware attacks over the last three years significantly heightening the cyber crime landscape. Kaspersky reports a sevenfold increase in data theft attacks, leading to the compromise of over 26 million devices since 2022. Cyber criminals stole roughly 400 million login credentials last year alone, often sold on dark web markets for as low as $10 per log file. These stolen credentials have become a lucrative commodity, fostering a complex economy of initial access brokers who facilitate broader corporate network infiltrations. The Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions have been particularly affected, with millions of credentials stolen annually.
Simultaneously, Cisco’s Talos team warns of a current credential compromise campaign targeting networks via mass login attempts to VPN, SSH, and web apps. Attackers use a mix of generic and specific usernames with nearly 100 passwords from about 4,000 IP addresses, likely routed through anonymising services (such as TOR). These attacks pose risks like unauthorised access, account lockouts, and potential denial-of-service. The attack volume has increased since 18 March this year mirroring a previous alert by Cisco about a similar campaign affecting VPNs. Despite method and infrastructure similarities, a direct link between these campaigns is yet to be confirmed.
Sources: [Ars Technica] [Data Breach Today]
Large Enterprises Experience Breaches, Despite Large Security Stacks; Report Finds 93% of Breaches Lead to Downtime and Data Loss
93% of enterprises admitting to having had a breach have suffered significant consequences, ranging from unplanned downtime to data exposure or financial loss, according to a recent report. 73% of organisations made changes to their IT environment at least quarterly, however only 40% tested their security at the same frequency. Unfortunately, this means that many organisations are facing a significant gap in which changes in the IT environment are untested, and therefore their risk unknown.
Security tools can aid this, however as the report finds, despite having a large number of security stacks, 51% still reported a breach in the past 24 months. Organisations must keep in mind that security extends beyond the technical realm, and it needs to include people and operations.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [Help Net Security]
Charities Doing Worse than Private Sector in Staving off Cyber Attacks
Recent UK Government data reveals a significant cyber security challenge for charities, with about a third experiencing breaches this past year, equating to nearly 924,000 cyber crimes. Notably, 83% of these incidents involved phishing, with other prevalent threats including fraud emails and malware. The data found that 63% of charities said cyber security was a high priority for senior management, however, charities lag behind the private sector in adopting security monitoring tools and conducting risk assessments.
Additionally, while half of the charities implement basic cyber hygiene defences like malware protection and password policies, only about 40% seek external cyber security guidance.
Source: [TFN]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber attack volumes peak in first quarter | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Annual cyber security training isn’t working, so what’s the alternative? | TechRadar
Security breaches are causing more damage than ever before | TechRadar
Small Businesses See Stable Business Climate; Cite Cyber Security as Top Threat (claimsjournal.com)
51% of enterprises experienced a breach despite large security stacks - Help Net Security
Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability (imf.org)
Ex-Uber security exec Joe Sullivan is advising CISOs on how to avoid his legal fate (axios.com)
Cyber Security Tips for Small Businesses Now Considered Big Hacking Targets | Inc.com
The Five Main Steps In A Compliance Risk Assessment Plan (forbes.com)
Pentesting accounts for an average of 13% of total IT security budgets | Security Magazine
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Sophos Study: 94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted (techrepublic.com)
FBI: Akira ransomware raked in $42 million from 250+ victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
What if we made ransomware payments illegal? | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Critical Atlassian Flaw Exploited to Deploy Linux Variant of Cerber Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Moldovan charged for operating botnet used to push ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware, meet DRaaS: The future of disaster mitigation (betanews.com)
A whole new generation of ransomware makers are attempting to shake up the market | TechRadar
Security Think Tank: Approaches to ransomware need a course correction | Computer Weekly
Ransomware Victims Who Pay a Ransom Drops to Record Low (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Ransomware Victims
Change Healthcare’s ransomware attack costs reach nearly $1B • The Register
Ransomware attacks against food, agriculture industry examined | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Ransomware attack compromises UN agency data | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
840-bed hospital in France postpones procedures after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
US think tank Heritage Foundation hit by cyber attack | TechCrunch
Daixin ransomware gang claims attack on Omni Hotels (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware feared as Octapharma Plasma closes 150+ centers • The Register
Cyber Attack Takes Frontier Communications Offline (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
FBI warns of massive wave of road toll SMS phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
FIN7 targets American automaker’s IT staff in phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering
Quishing: The New Cyber Threat to the Cleared Workplace - ClearanceJobs
FBI warns of massive wave of road toll SMS phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber criminals pose as LastPass staff to hack password vaults (bleepingcomputer.com)
Artificial Intelligence
CISOs not changing priorities in response to AI threats (betanews.com)
92% of enterprises unprepared for AI security challenges - Help Net Security
AI Copilot: Launching Innovation Rockets, But Beware of the Darkness Ahead (thehackernews.com)
Best Practices & Guidance For AI Security Deployment 2024 (gbhackers.com)
C-suite weighs in on generative AI and security (securityintelligence.com)
2FA/MFA
Cisco Duo warns third-party data breach exposed SMS MFA logs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Roku Mandates 2FA for Customers After Credential-Stuffing Compromise (darkreading.com)
Malware
LockBit 3.0 Variant Generates Custom, Self-Propagating Malware (darkreading.com)
TA558 Hackers Weaponize Images for Wide-Scale Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Evil XDR: Researcher Turns Palo Alto Software Into Perfect Malware (darkreading.com)
Firebird RAT creator and seller arrested in the US and Australia (bleepingcomputer.com)
Destructive ICS Malware 'Fuxnet' Used by Ukraine Against Russian Infrastructure - Security Week
New SteganoAmor attacks use steganography to target 320 orgs globally (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russian APT Deploys New 'Kapeka' Backdoor in Eastern European Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Malicious Google Ads Pushing Fake IP Scanner Software with Hidden Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Fake cheat lures gamers into spreading infostealer malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Government spyware is another reason to use an ad blocker | TechCrunch
iPhone users warned to disable iMessage temporarily to avoid getting hacked - PhoneArena
Enterprises face significant losses from mobile fraud - Help Net Security
SoumniBot malware exploits Android bugs to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
How to protect IP surveillance cameras from Wi-Fi jamming - Help Net Security
CISA warns of critical vulnerability in Chirp smart locks • The Register
New rules for security of connected products in the UK and EU - Lexology
Data Breaches/Leaks
CISA orders agencies impacted by Microsoft hack to mitigate risks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Panama Papers: Money laundering trial of 27 defendants begins
Giant Tiger data breach may have impacted millions of customers (securityaffairs.com)
5 Ways Your Personal Information May End Up On The Dark Web (slashgear.com)
Law Firm to Pay $8M to Settle Health Data Hack Lawsuit (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Chinese fraud victims seek return of £3bn in bitcoin seized in UK (ft.com)
Ex-Amazon engineer gets 3 years for hacking crypto exchanges (bleepingcomputer.com)
Security engineer jailed for 3 years for $12M crypto hacks | TechCrunch
Hackers hijack OpenMetadata apps in Kubernetes cryptomining attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insurance
Cloud/SaaS
What Is Microsoft's Role in the Shared Responsibility Model for Data Security? (prweb.com)
For Service Accounts, Accountability Is Key to Security (darkreading.com)
Identity and Access Management
Linux and Open Source
Open source groups say more software projects may have been targeted for sabotage (yahoo.com)
Critical Atlassian Flaw Exploited to Deploy Linux Variant of Cerber Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Attackers are pummelling networks around the world with millions of login attempts | Ars Technica
Roku Mandates 2FA for Customers After Credential-Stuffing Compromise (darkreading.com)
Cisco warns of large-scale brute-force attacks against VPN and SSH services (securityaffairs.com)
For Service Accounts, Accountability Is Key to Security (darkreading.com)
Dark Web Sales Driving Major Rise in Credential Attacks (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Social Media
Malvertising
Government spyware is another reason to use an ad blocker | TechCrunch
Google to crack down on third-party YouTube apps that block ads (bleepingcomputer.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Annual cyber security training isn’t working, so what’s the alternative? | TechRadar
Cyber security training: How to make it more motivating (hrexecutive.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
US Supreme Court ruling suggests change in cyber security disclosure process | CSO Online
New rules for security of connected products in the UK and EU - Lexology
Congress votes to kick Uncle Sam’s data broker habit • The Register
Cops can force suspect to unlock phone with thumbprint, US court rules | Ars Technica
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
IT and security professionals demand more workplace flexibility - Help Net Security
National Security at Risk as Essential Cyber Security Roles Face Sharp Decline (prnewswire.com)
Break Security Burnout: Combining Leadership With Neuroscience (darkreading.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Firebird RAT creator and seller arrested in the US and Australia (bleepingcomputer.com)
Moldovan charged for operating botnet used to push ransomware (bleepingcomputer.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
China
Chinese, Russian Hackers Keep Getting Past Microsoft's Security (businessinsider.com)
Leaked FBI document shows MPs were kept in dark over China hack for two years (inews.co.uk)
Risks are higher than ever for US- China cyber war | Responsible Statecraft
State-Sponsored Hackers Exploit Zero-Day to Backdoor Palo Alto Networks Firewalls - Security Week
Singapore infosec boss: splinternet hinders interoperability • The Register
FBI says Chinese hackers preparing to attack US infrastructure | Reuters
Chinese fraud victims seek return of £3bn in bitcoin seized in UK (ft.com)
Russia
Chinese, Russian Hackers Keep Getting Past Microsoft's Security (businessinsider.com)
CISA orders agencies impacted by Microsoft hack to mitigate risks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft breach allowed Russia to steal Feds' emails • The Register
State-Sponsored Hackers Exploit Zero-Day to Backdoor Palo Alto Networks Firewalls - Security Week
How Ukraine’s cyber police fights back against Russia’s hackers | TechCrunch
Russian 'Cyber Sabotage' A Global Threat: Security Firm | IBTimes
Mandiant upgrades Sandworm to APT44 due to increasing threat | TechTarget
Russia's Sandworm 'cyber attacked US, EU water utilities' • The Register
Sandworm Group Shifts to Espionage Attacks, Hacktivist Personas | Decipher (duo.com)
Russia is trying to sabotage European railways, Czech minister said (securityaffairs.com)
Singapore infosec boss: splinternet hinders interoperability • The Register
Russian APT Deploys New 'Kapeka' Backdoor in Eastern European Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Destructive ICS Malware 'Fuxnet' Used by Ukraine Against Russian Infrastructure - Security Week
Iran
Iranian MuddyWater Hackers Adopt New C2 Tool 'DarkBeatC2' in Latest Campaign (thehackernews.com)
Middle East Cyber Ops Intensify, With Israel the Main Target (darkreading.com)
Iran-Backed Hackers Blast Out Threatening Texts to Israelis (darkreading.com)
Israel Holds Hybrid Cyber & Military Readiness Drills (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
How to conduct security patch validation and verification | TechTarget
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: A Beginner’s Guide - The New Stack
The importance of the Vulnerability Operations Centre for cyber security | TechRadar
Vulnerabilities
State-Sponsored Hackers Exploit Zero-Day to Backdoor Palo Alto Networks Firewalls - Security Week
“Highly capable” hackers root corporate networks by exploiting firewall 0-day | Ars Technica
Cisco discloses root escalation flaw with public exploit code (bleepingcomputer.com)
PuTTY SSH client flaw allows recovery of cryptographic private keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
Citrix Releases Security Updates for XenServer and Citrix Hypervisor | CISA
Yubico Issues YubiKey Security Alert For Windows Users (forbes.com)
Samsung Issues Update Now Warning For Millions Of Galaxy Users (forbes.com)
Juniper Networks Publishes Dozens of New Security Advisories - Security Week
Ivanti warns of critical flaws in its Avalanche MDM solution (bleepingcomputer.com)
Oracle Patches 230 Vulnerabilities With April 2024 CPU - Security Week
iPhone users warned to disable iMessage temporarily to avoid getting hacked - PhoneArena
Delinea Fixes Flaw After Analyst Goes Public With Disclosure First (darkreading.com)
Critical Atlassian Flaw Exploited to Deploy Linux Variant of Cerber Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Telegram fixes Windows app zero-day used to launch Python scripts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical RCE Vulnerability in 92,000 D-Link NAS Devices - Security Boulevard
Tools and Controls
Sophos Study: 94% of Ransomware Victims Have Their Backups Targeted (techrepublic.com)
Evil XDR: Researcher Turns Palo Alto Software Into Perfect Malware (darkreading.com)
CISA's Malware Analysis Platform Could Foster Better Threat Intel (darkreading.com)
Pentesting accounts for an average of 13% of total IT security budgets | Security Magazine
Annual cyber security training isn’t working, so what’s the alternative? | TechRadar
6 Ways Businesses Can Boost Their Cloud Security Resilience - Compare the Cloud
Dark Web Monitoring: What's the Value? (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware, meet DRaaS: The future of disaster mitigation (betanews.com)
Cyber security training: How to make it more motivating (hrexecutive.com)
The Five Main Steps In A Compliance Risk Assessment Plan (forbes.com)
AI set to enhance cyber security roles, not replace them - Help Net Security
Stateful vs. stateless firewalls: Understanding the differences | TechTarget
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Charities doing worse than private sector in staving off cyber attacks - TFN
The US counterintelligence head says the list of threats is long and getting longer (cfpublic.org)
Critical Infrastructure Security: Observations From the Front Lines (darkreading.com)
Geopolitical tensions escalate OT cyber attacks - Help Net Security
Microsoft, Beset by Hacks, Grapples With Problem Years in the Making - BNN Bloomberg
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat (theverge.com)
Do we have a plan on how to deal with subsea cables sabotage? | Euronews
Ex-GCHQ chief: Cyber attacks could target fragile trust in utilities - Utility Week
University chiefs to get security service Cobra briefing on hostile states | The Argus
SAP Applications Increasingly in Attacker Crosshairs, Report Shows - Security Week
Emergency services a likely target for cyber attacks, warns DHS - ABC News (go.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 12 April 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 12 April 2024:
-UK Cyber Breaches Survey Finds Business Falling Short on Cyber, as Half Suffer Breach and Many Fail to Report
-The Cyber Attack Stopped by a Microsoft Engineer Was Scarier Than We Realise
-UK Government Urged to Get on ‘Front Foot’ with Ransomware Instead of ‘Absorbing the Punches’
-74% of Employees Falling Victim to Phishing Attacks Hit with Disciplinary Actions; Egress Reveals
-Why Are Many Businesses Turning to Third-Party Security Partners?
-60% of SMBs and 74% of Businesses with up to 500 Employees are Concerned About Cyber Security as Attacks Rise
-Cyber Attacks Cost Financial Firms $12bn Says IMF
-LastPass: Hackers Targeted Employee in Failed Deepfake CEO Call
-Most Cyber Criminal Threats are Concentrated in Just a Few Countries
-Why Incident Response is the Best Cyber Security ROI
-Ransomware Attacks are the Canaries in the Cyber Coal Mine
-Cyber Security is Crucial, but What is Risk and How do You Assess it?
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 Cyber Breaches Survey Finds Business Falling Short on Cyber, as Half Suffer Breach and Many Fail to Report
Half of UK businesses experienced a cyber breach last year, according to a survey by the UK Government. The figure could be much higher however, as the survey found only 34% report breaches externally.
It is said that a cyber incident is a matter of when, not if. Nonetheless, 78% of organisations lack a dedicated response plan outlining actions to be taken in the event of a cyber incident and only 11% review their immediate suppliers for risks. To improve cyber resilience, there needs to be a paradigm shift.
Sources: [Computer Weekly] [Computing] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Info Risk Today]
Cyber Attacks Cost Financial Firms $12bn Says IMF
A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has highlighted significant financial losses in the financial services sector, totalling $12 billion over the last two decades due to cyber attacks, with losses accelerating post-pandemic. The number of incidents and the scale of extreme losses have sharply increased, prompting the IMF to urge enhanced cross-border cooperation to uphold the stability of the global financial system.
The report underscores the critical threat that cyber attacks pose to financial stability, particularly for banks in advanced economies which are more exposed to such risks. With major institutions like JP Morgan facing up to 45 billion cyber threats daily, the IMF emphasises the need for international collaboration to effectively manage and mitigate these risks.
Source: [Finextra]
The Cyber Attack Stopped by a Microsoft Engineer Was Scarier Than We Realise
A critical security breach was narrowly avoided when a Microsoft developer detected suspicious activity in XZ Utils, an open-source library crucial to internet infrastructure. This discovery revealed that a new developer had implanted a sophisticated backdoor in the software, potentially giving unauthorised access to millions of servers worldwide. This incident has intensified scrutiny on the vulnerabilities of open-source software, which is largely maintained by unpaid or underfunded volunteers and serves as a backbone for the internet economy. The situation has prompted discussions among government officials and cyber security experts about enhancing the protection of open-source environments. This close call, described by some as a moment of "unreasonable luck," underscores the pressing need for sustainable support and rigorous security measures in the open-source community.
Source: [Inc.com]
UK Government Urged to Get on ‘Front Foot’ with Ransomware Instead of ‘Absorbing the Punches’
Amidst a rising tide of ransomware attacks affecting wide range of UK services, officials in Westminster are being pressured to enhance funding for operations aimed at disrupting ransomware gangs. The current strategy focuses on bolstering organisational cyber security and recovery preparedness, a stance under the second pillar of the UK's National Cyber Strategy known as resilience. However, this approach has not curbed the frequency of incidents, which have steadily increased over the past five years, impacting sectors including the NHS and local governments. In contrast to the proactive disruption efforts seen in the US, the UK has yet to allocate new funds for such measures, despite successful disruptions like the recent takedown of the LockBit gang by the US National Crime Agency, which underscored the potential benefits of increased resources for cyber crime disruption.
Source: [The Record Media]
74% of Employees Falling Victim to Phishing Attacks Hit with Disciplinary Actions
The Egress 'Email Threat Landscape 2024' report reveals a surge in phishing attacks, with 94% of companies falling victim to this type of crime in this past year alone, leading to increasingly complex cyber security challenges. According to the report, 96% of these companies suffered significant repercussions, including operational disruption and data breaches, with common attack vectors being malicious URLs, and malware or ransomware attachments.
The human cost is also notable, with 74 per cent of employees involved in attacks having faced disciplinary actions, dismissals, or voluntary departures, underscoring the severity of the issue and the heightened vigilance among companies in addressing the phishing threat. Financial losses primarily stem from customer churn, which accounts for nearly half of the total impact. Amidst rising attacks through compromised third-party accounts, Egress advocates for stronger monitoring and defence strategies to protect critical data and reduce organisational and individual hardships.
Source: [The Fintech Times]
Why Are Many Businesses Turning to Third-Party Security Partners?
In 2023, 71% of organisations reported being impacted by a cyber security skills shortage, leading many to scale back their cyber security initiatives amid escalating threats. To bridge the gap, businesses are increasingly turning to third-party security partnerships, reflecting a shift towards outsourcing crucial cyber security operations to handle complex challenges more efficiently. This approach is driven by the need to fill technical and resource gaps in the face of a severe workforce shortfall, with an estimated 600,000 unfilled security positions in the US alone. Moreover, these strategic partnerships allow organisations to leverage external expertise for scalable and effective security solutions, alleviating the burden of staying updated with the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Source: [Help Net Security]
74% of Businesses with up to 500 Employees are Concerned About Cyber Security as Attacks Rise
According to a recent poll by the US Chamber of Commerce, 60% of small businesses expressed concerns about threats, with 58% concerned about a supply chain breakdown. The highest concern came from businesses with 20-500 employees (74%). Despite such concern, only 49% had trained staff on cyber security. When it came to the impact of a cyber event, 27% of respondents say they are one disaster or threat away from shutting down their business.
Sources: [Malwcv arebytes][Marketplace] [US Chamber]
LastPass: Hackers Targeted Employee in Failed Deepfake CEO Call
LastPass recently reported a thwarted voice phishing attack targeting one of its employees using deepfake audio technology to impersonate CEO Karim Toubba. The attack, conducted via WhatsApp, was identified by the employee as suspicious due to the unusual communication channel and clear signs of social engineering, such as forced urgency. Despite the failure of this particular attempt, LastPass has shared the incident publicly to highlight the growing use of AI-generated deepfakes in executive impersonation schemes. This incident underscores a broader trend, as indicated by alerts from both the US Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, pointing to an increase in sophisticated cyber attacks employing deepfake technology for fraud, social engineering, and potential influence operations.
Source: [Bleepingcomputer]
Most Cyber Criminal Threats are Concentrated in Just a Few Countries
Oxford researchers have developed the world's first cyber crime index to identify global hotspots of cyber criminal activity, ranking countries based on the prevalence and sophistication of cyber threats. The index reveals that a significant portion of cyber threats is concentrated in a few countries, with Russia and Ukraine positioned at the top, with the USA and the UK also ranking prominently. The results indicate that countries like China, Russia, Ukraine, the US, Romania, and Nigeria are among the top hubs for activities ranging from technical services to money laundering. This tool aims to refine the focus for cyber crime research and prevention efforts, although the study acknowledges the need for a broader and more representative sample of expert opinions to enhance the accuracy and applicability of the findings. The index underscores that while cyber crime may appear globally fluid, it has pronounced local concentrations.
Sources: [ThisisOxfordshire] [Phys Org]
Why Incident Response is the Best Cyber Security ROI
The Microsoft Incident Response Reference Guide predicts that most organisations will encounter one or more major security incidents where attackers gain administrative control over crucial IT systems and data. While complete prevention of cyber attacks may not be feasible, prompt and effective incident response is essential to mitigate damage and protect reputations. However, many organisations may not be adequately budgeting for incident response, and the recent UK Government report found that 78% of organisations do not have formalised incident response plans, risking prolonged recovery and increased costs. Cyber crime damages hit $23b in 2023, but the true costs of incidents includes non-financial damage such as reputational harm. If a cyber incident is a matter of when, not if, then a prepared incident response plan is the best cyber security ROI.
Black Arrow works with organisations of all sizes and sectors to design and prepare for managing a cyber security incident; this can include an Incident Response Plan and an educational tabletop exercise for the leadership team that highlights the proportionate controls to help the organisation prevent and mitigate an incident.
Source: [CSO Online]
Ransomware Attacks are the Canaries in the Cyber Coal Mine
A recent report has found that ransomware attacks were up 110% compared to the prior month, stating that unreported attacks were up to 6 times higher. The report found that tactics are increasingly using data extortion, with 92% of attacks utilising this method.
Sources: [Silicon Republic] [The Hill]
Cyber Security is Crucial, but What is Risk and How do You Assess it?
Cyber security is an increasingly sophisticated game of cat and mouse, where the landscape is constantly shifting. Your cyber risk is the probability of negative impacts stemming from a cyber incident, but how do you assess risk?
One thing to understand is that there are a multitude of risks: risks from phishing, risks from insiders, risks from network attacks, risks of supply chain compromise, and of course, nation states. To understand risk, an organisation must first identify the information that it needs to protect, to avoid only learning of the information asset’s existence from a successful attacker. Once all assets are identified, then organisations should conduct risk assessments to identify threats and an evaluation the potential damage that can be done.
Sources: [Security Boulevard] [International Banker]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber attacks cost financial firms $12bn says IMF (finextra.com)
UK business falling short on cybersecurity warns government report (computing.co.uk)
60% of small businesses are concerned about cyber security threats | Malwarebytes
Cyber attacks on small businesses are on the rise - Marketplace
What is cyber security risk & how to assess - Security Boulevard
Cyber Security Regulations Aren’t Static—Your Practices Can’t Be Either (forbes.com)
Why Cyber Security Is More Crucial Today Than Ever Before (internationalbanker.com)
Why are many businesses turning to third-party security partners? - Help Net Security
CISO Perspectives on Complying with Cyber Security Regulations (thehackernews.com)
Why incident response is the best cyber security ROI | CSO Online
Privacy Versus Cyber – What is the Bigger Risk? | Jackson Lewis P.C. - JDSupra
Large businesses struggle to tackle cyber threats (betanews.com)
Resilience And Antifragility Are The Best Strategies For 2024 (forbes.com)
The state of secrets security: 7 action items for better managing risk - Security Boulevard
Former Uber CSO Joe Sullivan and lessons learned from the infamous 2016 Uber breach | CSO Online
Why cyberpsychology is such an important part of effective cyber security | CSO Online
Cyber Security in the Evolving Threat Landscape (securityaffairs.com)
How CISOs can make themselves ready to serve on the board | CSO Online
CISOs Need A Data-Driven Approach To Offensive Security (forbes.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransomware surged 110pc last month, report claims (siliconrepublic.com)
Ransomware attacks are the canaries in the cyber coal mine | The Hill
Ransomware gang’s new extortion trick? Calling the front desk | TechCrunch
Frameworks, Guidelines & Bounties Alone Won't Defeat Ransomware (darkreading.com)
Ransomware group maturity should influence ransom payment decision - Help Net Security
Proactive and Reactive Ransomware Protection Strategies - Security Boulevard
How can the energy sector bolster its resilience to ransomware attacks? - Help Net Security
CL0P's Ransomware Rampage - Security Measures for 2024 (thehackernews.com)
LockBit copycat DarkVault spurs rebranding rumour | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Ransomware payouts hit all-time high, but that’s not the whole story (securityintelligence.com)
Ransomware Victims
Second ransomware gang says it’s extorting Change Healthcare • The Register
Targus says it is facing major cyber attack, global operations hit | TechRadar
Optics giant Hoya hit with $10 million ransomware demand (bleepingcomputer.com)
Panera Bread week-long IT outage caused by ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Honeytrap sext scandal MP William Wragg will keep Tory whip (thetimes.co.uk)
How malicious email campaigns continue to slip through the cracks - Help Net Security
TA547 Phishing Attack Hits German Firms with Rhadamanthys Stealer (thehackernews.com)
Cyber Criminals Invade Inboxes: What Small Businesses Can Do (pymnts.com)
Phishing Detection and Response: What You Need to Know - Security Boulevard
Other Social Engineering
Cyber Criminals Target Victims Using Social Engineering Techniques (ic3.gov)
Honeytrap sext scandal MP William Wragg will keep Tory whip (thetimes.co.uk)
LastPass: Hackers targeted employee in failed deepfake CEO call (bleepingcomputer.com)
Artificial Intelligence
China is using generative AI to carry out influence operations (securityaffairs.com)
What Lies Ahead for Cyber Security in the Era of Generative AI? - IT Security Guru
AI risks under the auditor's lens more than ever - Help Net Security
Speed of AI development is outpacing risk assessment | Ars Technica
Malicious PowerShell script pushing malware looks AI-written (bleepingcomputer.com)
LastPass: Hackers targeted employee in failed deepfake CEO call (bleepingcomputer.com)
AI-as-a-Service Providers Vulnerable to PrivEsc and Cross-Tenant Attacks (thehackernews.com)
How Artificial Intelligence Is Fuelling Incel Communities (yahoo.com)
2FA/MFA
Malware
Urgent Security Alert! Hackers Hijacked Notepad++ Plugin (gbhackers.com)
Sophisticated Latrodectus Malware Linked to 2017 Strain (inforisktoday.com)
Critical Flaws Leave 92,000 D-Link NAS Devices Vulnerable to Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Bing ad posing as NordVPN aims to spread SecTopRAT malware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
ScrubCrypt used to drop VenomRAT along with many malicious plugins (securityaffairs.com)
Unit 42: Malware-initiated scanning attacks on the rise | TechTarget
RUBYCARP hackers linked to 10-year-old cryptomining botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)
Raspberry Robin Returns: New Malware Campaign Spreading Through WSF Files (thehackernews.com)
Malicious PowerShell script pushing malware looks AI-written (bleepingcomputer.com)
TA547 Phishing Attack Hits German Firms with Rhadamanthys Stealer (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
How Nation-State DDoS Attacks Impact Us All (darkreading.com)
DDoS Protection Needs Detective and Preventive Controls (darkreading.com)
French cities knocked offline by 'large-scale cyber attack' • The Register
Internet of Things – IoT
Amazon Removes a Feature From Fire TVs Over Security Concerns | Cord Cutters News
Over 90,000 LG Smart TVs may be exposed to remote attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
EV Charging Stations Still Riddled With Cyber Security Vulnerabilities (darkreading.com)
UK town halls given green light to use Chinese CCTV — despite Westminster ban – POLITICO
Hotel check-in terminal leaks rafts of guests' room codes • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
Many of the world's biggest companies reported data breaches last year | TechRadar
US Data Breach Reports Surge 90% Annually in Q1 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
37% of publicly shared files expose personal information - Help Net Security
Acuity confirms hackers stole non-sensitive govt data from GitHub repos (bleepingcomputer.com)
Home Depot confirms third-party data breach exposed employee info (bleepingcomputer.com)
AT&T now says data breach impacted 51 million customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
DOJ data on 340,000 individuals stolen in consulting firm hack | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Taxi software vendor exposes personal details of nearly 300K • The Register
Employee credentials leaked in Microsoft security lapse (techmonitor.ai)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Russia ranked biggest cyber crime threat to rest of the world | Tech News | Metro News
Oxford research uncovers world cyber crime hotspots | thisisoxfordshire
Cyber crooks poison GitHub search to fool developers | Computer Weekly
Zambia Busts 77 People in China-Backed Cyber Crime Op (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Hackers deploy crypto drainers on thousands of WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
RUBYCARP hackers linked to 10-year-old cryptomining botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Microsoft employees exposed internal passwords in security lapse | TechCrunch
Insider Threats Surge Amid Growing Foreign Interference - Security Boulevard
Insurance
US insurers using drones to deny home insurance policies • The Register
Cyber Insurance: Sexy? No. Important? Critically yes. - Security Boulevard
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Why a near-miss cyber attack put US officials and the tech industry on edge - The Japan Times
DOJ data on 340,000 individuals stolen in consulting firm hack | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Encryption
Linux and Open Source
The Cyber Attack Stopped by a Microsoft Engineer Was Scarier Than We Realize | Inc.com
Supply chain attack sends shockwaves through open-source community | CyberScoop
German state ditches Microsoft for Linux and LibreOffice | ZDNET
Open source foundations unite on common standards for EU’s Cyber Resilience Act | TechCrunch
Who’s the bigger cyber security risk – Microsoft or open source? (reason.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Reusing passwords: The hidden cost of convenience (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft employees exposed internal passwords in security lapse | TechCrunch
CISA says Sisense hack impacts critical infrastructure orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Cyber Security Regulations Aren’t Static—Your Practices Can’t Be Either (forbes.com)
Open source foundations unite on common standards for EU’s Cyber Resilience Act | TechCrunch
Spy Law Needs Fixing Now to Stop Overreach—Not a Backdoor Boost (bloomberglaw.com)
CISA: 300,000+ Small Entities Covered By Proposed Cyber Reporting Regs | MSSP Alert
CISO Perspectives on Complying with Cyber Security Regulations (thehackernews.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
HIPAA Fundamentals for Providers | Tucker Arensberg, P.C. - JDSupra
Process and Control Today | NIS2 – cyber security directive from the EU. Get ready! (pandct.com)
Backup and Recovery
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Nation State Actors
China
A TikTok Whistleblower Got DC’s Attention. Do His Claims Add Up? | WIRED
China is using generative AI to carry out influence operations (securityaffairs.com)
Zambia Busts 77 People in China-Backed Cyber Crime Op (darkreading.com)
Honeytrap sext scandal MP William Wragg will keep Tory whip (thetimes.co.uk)
UK town halls given green light to use Chinese CCTV — despite Westminster ban – POLITICO
China flooding Britain with fake stamps in act of 'economic warfare' (telegraph.co.uk)
Russia
Germany to launch cyber military branch to combat Russian threats (therecord.media)
US says Russian hackers stole federal government emails during Microsoft cyber attack | TechCrunch
Macron: Russia will target Paris Olympics (insidethegames.biz)
Cyber attack on TV channel BabyTV: Toddlers suddenly exposed to Russian propaganda | NL Times
Cyber security in 2023: Estonia's year of advanced threats (e-estonia.com)
Oxford research uncovers world cyber crime hotspots | thisisoxfordshire
Most cyber criminal threats are concentrated in just a few countries, new index shows (phys.org)
Extensive Russian criminal record leak conducted by hacktivist group | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Top Israeli spy chief exposes his true identity in online security lapse | Israel | The Guardian
Extensive Russian criminal record leak conducted by hacktivist group | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Apple Updates Spyware Alert System to Warn Victims of Mercenary Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Apple Warns of iPhone "Mercenary Attack" Across 92 Countries (cnet.com)
Vulnerability Management
Zero-Day Attacks on the Rise: Google Reports 50% Increase in 2023 - Security Boulevard
How exposure management elevates cyber resilience - Help Net Security
Company Offering $30 Million for Android, iOS, Browser Zero-Day Exploits - Security Week
Unit 42: Malware-initiated scanning attacks on the rise | TechTarget
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Fixes 149 Flaws in Huge April Patch Release, Zero-Days Included (thehackernews.com)
Patch Tuesday: Code Execution Flaws in Multiple Adobe Software Products - Security Week
SAP's April 2024 Updates Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week
Microsoft Plugs Gaping Hole in Azure Kubernetes Service Confidential Containers - Security Week
Two new bugs can bypass detection and steal SharePoint data | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
New SharePoint flaws help hackers evade detection when stealing files (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers Claiming of Working Windows 0-Day LPE Exploit (cybersecuritynews.com)
Microsoft fixes five security vulnerabilities in Edge 123 - Neowin
Cisco Warns of Vulnerability in Discontinued Small Business Routers - Security Week
Urgent Security Alert! Hackers Hijacked Notepad++ Plugin (gbhackers.com)
+16K Ivanti VPN gateways still vulnerable to RCE CVE-2024-21894 (securityaffairs.com)
Over 92,000 exposed D-Link NAS devices have a backdoor account (bleepingcomputer.com)
Company Offering $30 Million for Android, iOS, Browser Zero-Day Exploits - Security Week
Critical 'BatBadBut' Rust Vulnerability Exposes Windows Systems to Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Intel and Lenovo servers impacted by 6-year-old BMC flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical Flaws Leave 92,000 D-Link NAS Devices Vulnerable to Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Fortinet Patches Critical RCE Vulnerability in FortiClientLinux - Security Week
Researchers Resurrect Spectre v2 Attack Against Intel CPUs - Security Week
AI-as-a-Service Providers Vulnerable to PrivEsc and Cross-Tenant Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Severe Vulnerabilities Discovered in Software to Protect Internet Routing (prleap.com)
Tools and Controls
Seven ways to be sure you can restore from backup | Computer Weekly
Why incident response is the best cyber security ROI | CSO Online
Improving Dark Web Investigations with Threat Intelligence | Recorded Future
What Lies Ahead for Cyber Security in the Era of Generative AI? - IT Security Guru
What is cyber security risk & how to assess - Security Boulevard
Your Guide to Threat Detection and Response - Security Boulevard
Report finds 90% of cyber attacks in 2023 exploited RDP (securitybrief.co.nz)
How exposure management elevates cyber resilience - Help Net Security
Phishing Detection and Response: What You Need to Know - Security Boulevard
The state of secrets security: 7 action items for better managing risk - Security Boulevard
How Red Team Exercises Increases Your Cyber Health | Trend Micro (US)
How Google’s 90-day TLS certificate validity proposal will affect enterprises - Help Net Security
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Third of charities experienced a cyber breach last year, government reports (civilsociety.co.uk)
Hackers Exploit Magento Bug to Steal Payment Data from E-commerce Websites (thehackernews.com)
OODA Loop - The Water Sector Is Being Threatened. That Should Worry Everyone
France Bracing for Cyber Attacks During Summer Olympics - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Risk & Repeat: Cyber Safety Review Board takes Microsoft to task | TechTarget
The Baltimore Bridge Collapse Is a Warning | Proceedings - April 2024 Vol. 150/4/1,454 (usni.org)
Report finds 90% of cyber attacks in 2023 exploited RDP (securitybrief.co.nz)
Financial sector cyber security at the helm of investor protection | Mint (livemint.com)
US Health Dept warns hospitals of hackers targeting IT help desks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Former Uber CSO Joe Sullivan and lessons learned from the infamous 2016 Uber breach | CSO Online
Software-Defined Vehicle Fleets Face a Twisty Road on Cyber Security (darkreading.com)
Independent Pharmacies Must Prioritize Cyber Security (drugtopics.com)
Devious 'man in the middle' hacks on the rise: How to stay safe | PCWorld
Top 10 Attacker Techniques: What do They Mean for MSSPs? | MSSP Alert
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 10 November 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 10 November 2023:
-Boardroom Woes on Ransomware Intensify as Organisations Face an Average of 86 Ransomware-linked Events Annually
-Many SMBs Have No Real Way to Deal with Cyber Threats, Leaving Them Vulnerable
-Cyber Attacks Top Global Risk – 2023 Aon Survey
-To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster
-Meet Your New Cyber Security Auditor: Your Insurer
-Allen and Overy Suffer Ransomware Attack
-Shadow IT Remains a Top Threat, as Shown by Attack on Okta
-Ransomware, AI, and Social Engineering All Set to Be 2024's Biggest Security Threats
-Cyber Governance: Growing Expectations for Information Security Oversight and Accountability
-Generative AI Will Level Up Cyber Attacks, According to New Google Report
-Public Wi-Fi Remains a Huge Risk, is Your Organisation Prepared?
-88% of Security Leaders Think Their Organisation Is Falling Short Addressing Cyber Security
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Boardroom Woes on Ransomware Intensify as Organisations Face an Average of 86 Ransomware-linked Events Annually
A recent report by Akamai Technologies has found that organisations experienced an average of 86 ransomware-linked events in the past 12 months (successful or not), double the number of annual attacks from 2 years ago.
The most common issues impacting organisations after a ransomware attack were network downtime (44%), data loss (42%) and brand/reputation damage (39%).
Ransomware attackers have increasingly employed tactics like double and triple extortion. These methods combine encryption, data exfiltration, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to extort money. While these strategies are not new, their prevalence has significantly increased in recent times.
With 81% of companies experiencing ransomware attacks in the previous 12 months this is increasingly something that company Boards are concerned about, not only the organisation’s ability to stop a ransomware attack in the first place, but also the organisation’s ability to recover when an attack happens.
Sources: [TechTarget] [PRNewsWire] [Security Magazine] [InsuranceJournal] [Financial Times]
Many SMBs Have No Real Way to Deal with Cyber Threats, Leaving Them Vulnerable
A recent report found that of nearly 6,000 small and medium-sized business (SMB) IT professionals surveyed across Europe, a third of those based in the UK have no cyber security in place to protect assets such as their own printers, with 16% suffering a printer breach alone in the past. Despite this, less than a quarter educated their employees about printer (23%) IT security. With hybrid working seen as a security concern for 38% of SMEs, and potentially leading to more remote use of these devices, surprisingly just 4 in 10 (41%) cover hybrid working as part of their current security training.
Black Arrow supports organisations of all sizes in designing and delivering proportionate user education and awareness programmes, including in-person and online training as well as simulated phishing campaigns. Our programmes help secure employee engagement and build a cyber security culture to protect the organisation.
Sources: [TechRadar] [The Recycler]
Cyber Attacks Top Global Risk – 2023 Aon Survey
Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey identified cyber attacks and data breaches as the leading business risk worldwide, followed by business interruption. Aon warned that deficits in talent or specialised skills may exacerbate cyber risks in particular.
Supply chain disruptions were ranked as another area of concern, with risks associated with supply chain failure hitting a 14-year high in the survey. However, less than 40% of organisations have conducted supplier resilience assessments. which contributes to cyber risk when organisations hand data to suppliers without considering whether their suppliers keep that data safe.
Source: [Investing]
To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster
If you aren’t already running incident simulations in your organisation, it’s time to start. Such simulations allow employees to understand their roles and responsibilities, as well as providing a great opportunity to educate. Cyber attacks are a matter of when, not if, and no-one wants to be improvising their security response in the event of a real cyber incident.
Black Arrow works with organisations of all sizes and sectors to design and prepare for managing a cyber security incident; this can include an Incident Response Plan and an educational tabletop exercise for the leadership team that highlights the proportionate controls to help the organisation prevent and mitigate an incident.
Source: [Dark Reading]
Meet Your New Cyber Security Auditor: Your Insurer
In the dynamic world of cyber security, cyber insurers are emerging as key players, reshaping the landscape with ever more stringent requirements. With ransomware attacks becoming more complex, cyber insurance premiums have surged by 50%, challenging Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to demonstrate their organisation's cyber defence capabilities. Insurers, using detailed risk assessments, are influencing cyber security strategies, compelling organisations to adapt and meet higher standards.
CISOs are now tasked with ensuring their security measures are comprehensive and transparent, as insurers scrutinise everything from multifactor authentication to Active Directory policies. Accurate self-assessment is critical, as any misrepresentation can lead to denied coverage or legal repercussions. In this competitive market, organisations must showcase their cyber maturity, particularly in high-risk industries, to secure coverage. The evolving cyber insurance landscape demands a clear understanding of risk factors and continuous improvement in cyber defence strategies, ultimately aiming to enhance overall protection against cyber threats.
Source: [Dark Reading]
Allen and Overy Suffer Ransomware Attack
Allen & Overy, the “magic circle” law firm, has suffered a cyber attack on its systems, making it the latest large corporation to fall victim to a ransomware hack. A&O confirmed the incident after the infamous ransomware gang LockBit posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, claiming to have breached the legal giant and threatening to publish data from the firm’s files on 28 November.
Earlier this year, the UK National Cyber Security Centre reported that law firms of all sizes were at risk from cyber attackers because of the sensitive client information they routinely handle. The importance of reputation to the business also made law firms attractive targets for extortion.
Sources: [Financial Times] [Law Gazette]
Shadow IT Remains a Top Threat, as Shown by Attack on Okta
Shadow IT refers to IT resources used by employees or end users that don’t have IT approval or oversight. This was the case in the recent Okta attack in which an Okta employee signed into their personal Google account on a company-owned device. It is believed that the employee’s personal Google account had been compromised, and unfortunately since the employee had configured it in a way to save credentials of Okta accounts, the attacker now also had these credentials. The result? 134 downstream customers impacted.
Source: [Computer Weekly]
Ransomware, AI, and Social Engineering All Set to Be 2024's Biggest Security Threats
Ransomware attacks surged to record highs in 2023 and are expected to escalate further, especially with key 2024 elections approaching, ZeroFox Intelligence's 2024 Key Forecasts report indicates. This trend is driven by evolving cyber threats, including sophisticated social engineering and AI-generated synthetic media, aimed at spreading misinformation and targeting electoral processes.
ZeroFox also highlights a concerning shift towards physical damages from cyber attacks, with critical sectors like finance, energy, and healthcare being vulnerable due to outdated security infrastructures. These sectors are likely targets for nation-state and state-sponsored attacks amidst global geopolitical tensions. To counter these threats, the report suggests enhanced security measures, including encrypted cloud backups, vigilant network monitoring, and a zero-trust cyber security approach to safeguard against the evolving landscape of cyber threats.
Source: [TechRadar]
Cyber Governance: Growing Expectations for Information Security Oversight and Accountability
In today's interconnected digital economy, cyber security is a critical governance issue for businesses, necessitating effective oversight and strategic planning. The SEC's new rules, effective July 2023, require public companies to transparently disclose their cyber security strategies and report significant incidents, highlighting the increasing importance of cyber security in corporate governance. This regulatory development aims to improve transparency and accountability in managing cyber risks.
Corporations are responding by emphasising detailed cyber security disclosures, employee training programmes, and board-level expertise in information security. As the landscape of cyber threats evolves, timely and comprehensive reporting of breaches becomes more crucial, aligning with both regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations for robust cyber security governance.
Black Arrow supports business leaders in organisations of all sizes to demonstrate governance of their cyber security by owning their cyber security strategy and leveraging their existing internal and external resources to build resilience against a cyber security incident.
Source: [Harvard]
Generative AI Will Level Up Cyber Attacks, According to New Google Report
Google's Cloud Cyber Security Forecast 2024 report reveals a growing trend of using generative AI in cyber attacks. The technology, particularly large language models (LLMs), is enhancing phishing and social engineering tactics by producing content that appears more legitimate, making it difficult to spot errors typically associated with such attacks. This advancement allows attackers to mimic natural language effectively and create authentic-looking fake news, phone calls, and deepfake videos, potentially eroding public trust in online information.
On the flip side, the report highlights the potential of AI as a powerful tool for cyber defence. Cyber security professionals can leverage AI for rapid data synthesis, efficient threat detection, and swift response actions. As defenders direct AI development with specific security objectives, its capabilities are expected to significantly bolster cyber security measures in the near future.
Source: [ZDNET]
Public Wi-Fi Remains a Huge Risk, is Your Organisation Prepared?
New research found that half of UK participants believed they are most at risk of a cyber attack when using public Wi-Fi, which is Wi-Fi that anyone, including an attacker, can connect to. However, in contrast to concerns, the report found that 41% will use unsecured Wi-Fi if given the opportunity. Further, 53% of participants would enter or access sensitive information whilst connected to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network; this includes bring your own devices (BYOD) that have access to corporate data.
Source: [TechRadar]
88% of Security Leaders Think Their Organisation Is Falling Short in Addressing Cyber Security
A recent study by Foundry reveals a trend towards AI-driven security measures and increased reliance on cyber insurance among organisations. Key priorities for security leaders include preparedness for incidents, data protection, and enhancing IT and cloud data security. Despite this, 88% of security leaders feel their organisations are inadequate in addressing cyber security risks, mainly due to budget limitations, talent scarcity, and challenges in stakeholder communication.
To improve the situation, more top security executives are having regular engagements with the board of directors (85% this year compared to 82% in 2022), aiding in better cyber security initiatives. Security budgets are expected to remain stable or increase, with investments focused on authentication, data analytics, and cloud security, complemented by cyber insurance. AI's role is expanding in threat detection, malware identification, and automated responses, showcasing its growing importance in evolving security landscapes.
Source: [Foundry]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Exec security habits are shockingly bad compared to average workers | ITPro
To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster (darkreading.com)
Cyber attacks top global risks, talent retention surges in Aon 2023 survey By Investing.com
Meet Your New Cyber security Auditor: Your Insurer (darkreading.com)
Use business technology? You’re on the cyber security frontline - Digital Journal
No, Okta, senior management, not an errant employee, caused you to get hacked | Ars Technica
Securing data at the intersection of the CISO and CDO - Help Net Security
UK warned cyber security teams buckling under complexity of threats (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Enhancing security: The crucial role of incident response plans | Computer Weekly
Most cyber security investments aren't used to their full advantage - Help Net Security
Improving cyber resilience to prevent devastating cyber attacks | TechRadar
The roadblocks to preventive cyber security success - Help Net Security
SolarWinds fires back at SEC over fraud charges | TechTarget
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Organisations face an average of 86 ransomware attacks annually | Security Magazine
Ransomware, Extortion Claims See ‘Worrying Resurgence,’ Says Allianz (insurancejournal.com)
The 3 key stages of ransomware attacks and useful indicators of compromise - Help Net Security
Ransomware, AI, and social engineering all set to be 2024's biggest security threats | TechRadar
The ransomware warning sign we should all have on our radar | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Critical Confluence flaw exploited in ransomware attacks (securityaffairs.com)
Russian-speaking threat actor "farnetwork" linked to 5 ransomware gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsegmentation proves its worth in ransomware defence - Help Net Security
Ransomware Mastermind Uncovered After Oversharing on Dark Web (darkreading.com)
Ransomware gang behind MOVEit attacks are targeting new zero-day, Microsoft says (therecord.media)
Ransomware Readiness Assessments: One Size Doesn't Fit All (darkreading.com)
TellYouThePass ransomware joins Apache ActiveMQ RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI: Ransomware gangs hack casinos via 3rd party gaming vendors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Healthcare Struggles with Impact of Ransomware Attacks | MSSP Alert
Iranian APT Targets Israeli Education, Tech Sectors With New Wipers - SecurityWeek
Ransomware Victims
Allen & Overy data hit by hackers in ransomware attack (ft.com)
ICBC hit by ransomware impacting global trades • The Register
Cyber attack takes down one of the largest mortgage lenders in the US | TechRadar
American Airlines Pilot Union Recovering After Ransomware Attack - SecurityWeek
Marina Bay Sands Becomes Latest Hospitality Cyber Victim (darkreading.com)
Scottish council's computer systems suffer cyber attack | The National
Dolly.com pays ransom, attackers release data anyway (securityaffairs.com)
Women sue plastic surgery after hack saw their naked photos posted online (bitdefender.com)
TransForm says ransomware data breach affects 267,000 patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Artificial Intelligence
Ransomware, AI, and social engineering all set to be 2024's biggest security threats | TechRadar
Companies have good reasons to be concerned about generative AI - Help Net Security
Virtual Kidnapping: AI Tools Are Enabling IRL Extortion Scams (darkreading.com)
Offensive and Defensive AI: Let's Chat(GPT) About It (thehackernews.com)
Here's what to know about elections, cyber security and AI | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Microsoft, Meta detail plans to fight election deception • The Register
Watch out: Generative AI will level up cyber attacks, according to new Google report | ZDNET
Data protection demands AI-specific security strategies - Help Net Security
Exploring the global shift towards AI-specific legislation - Help Net Security
2FA/MFA
Microsoft Authenticator is now blocking suspicious MFA phone notifications by default - Neowin
Microsoft unhappy with MFA uptake, starts auto-deploying it • The Register
Suspicious Microsoft Authenticator requests don't trigger notifications anymore - gHacks Tech News
23andMe data theft prompts DNA testing companies to switch on 2FA by default | TechCrunch
Malware
Gootloader Aims Malicious, Custom Bot Army at Enterprise Networks (darkreading.com)
48 Malicious npm Packages Found Deploying Reverse Shells on Developer Systems (thehackernews.com)
StripedFly Malware Operated Unnoticed for 5 Years, Infecting 1 Million Devices (thehackernews.com)
This new macOS malware could leave you severely short-changed | TechRadar
Even Google Calendar isn't safe from hackers any more | TechRadar
Hacked proxy service has already infected 10,000 systems worldwide with malware | TechRadar
Evasive Jupyter Infostealer Campaign Showcases Dangerous Variant (darkreading.com)
Beware of BlueNoroff: Mac users targeted with new malware variant - 9to5Mac
How to Outsmart Malware Attacks That Can Fool Antivirus Protection (darkreading.com)
Malicious Python packages spread BlazeStealer malware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Mobile
Google Play Store Introduces 'Independent Security Review' Badge for Apps (thehackernews.com)
Apple 'Find My' network can be abused to steal keylogged passwords (bleepingcomputer.com)
Samsung monthly updates: November 2023 security patch fixes 65 security flaws - SamMobile
37 Vulnerabilities Patched in Android With November 2023 Security Updates - SecurityWeek
Android 14’s storage disaster gets patched, but your data might be gone | Ars Technica
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
OpenAI confirms DDoS attacks behind ongoing ChatGPT outages (bleepingcomputer.com)
Suspected DDoS attack impacts AP news site | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cloudflare website downed by DDoS attack claimed by Anonymous Sudan (bleepingcomputer.com)
OpenAI Battles Service Disruption Linked to Russian Hackers - Decrypt
DDoS attack leads to significant disruption in ChatGPT services (securityaffairs.com)
Russian state-owned Sberbank hit by 1 million RPS DDoS attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
2023 Microsoft Data Breach Statistics: A Comprehensive Overview (techreport.com)
No, Okta, senior management, not an errant employee, caused you to get hacked | Ars Technica
Okta Hack Blamed on Employee Using Personal Google Account on Company Laptop - SecurityWeek
Shadow IT use at Okta behind series of damaging breaches | Computer Weekly
Okta breach affected 134 customers, company admits • The Register
Another top casino has been hit with a massive data breach | TechRadar
Marina Bay Sands Discloses Data Breach Impacting 665k Customers - SecurityWeek
Hilb fears email crooks stole 81K people's financial data • The Register
23andMe data theft prompts DNA testing companies to switch on 2FA by default | TechCrunch
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Dutch hacker jailed for extortion, selling stolen data on RaidForums (bleepingcomputer.com)
How cyber criminals adapt and thrive amidst changing consumer trends - Help Net Security
Ransomware Mastermind Uncovered After Oversharing on Dark Web (darkreading.com)
Operation Monopoly: Dubai Police bust cyberfraud, arrest 43 | Crime – Gulf News
Unraveling cyber crime network's underground operations (crime-research.org)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
The 10 Biggest Crypto Hacks and Scams of 2023 (makeuseof.com)
Monero Project admits thieves stole $437k in mystery breach • The Register
Insurance
Meet Your New Cyber security Auditor: Your Insurer (darkreading.com)
Hiscox cyber threat ranking reveals UK's most vulnerable industries (reward-strategy.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
The perils of over-reliance on single cloud providers - Help Net Security
Secure Cloud Infrastructure from New Cyber Threats (trendmicro.com)
Hackers exploit Looney Tunables Linux bug, steal cloud creds (bleepingcomputer.com)
What We Can Learn from Major Cloud Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)
Encryption
UK NCSC issues new guidance on post-quantum cryptography migration | CSO Online
Outdated cryptographic protocols put vast amounts of network traffic at risk - Help Net Security
Tech groups fear new powers will allow UK to block encryption (ft.com)
Linux and Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
How global password practices are changing - Help Net Security
Apple 'Find My' network can be abused to steal keylogged passwords (bleepingcomputer.com)
LEGO urges fans to change passwords after cyber attack - Dexerto
Global breached accounts down 76% in Q3, study finds (techinformed.com)
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
EU Tries To Slip In New Powers To Intercept Encrypted Web Traffic Without Anyone Noticing | Techdirt
Telecom vendors sound alarm over EU Cyber Resilience Act - Telecoms.com
Europe is trading security for digital sovereignty | CyberScoop
Steps to Follow to Comply With the SEC Cyber security Disclosure Rule (darkreading.com)
Vendors caution on risks of EU cyber security law - Mobile World Live
Tech groups fear new powers will allow UK to block encryption (ft.com)
King’s Speech 'missed opportunity' to update cyber laws | Professional Security
UK wants prior notice from Big Tech of security rollouts • The Register
Exploring the global shift towards AI-specific legislation - Help Net Security
SolarWinds fires back at SEC over fraud charges | TechTarget
SolarWinds: SEC lacks 'competence' to regulate cyber security • The Register
Models, Frameworks and Standards
MITRE partners with Microsoft to address generative AI security risks - Help Net Security
The plan for the inevitable cyber attack: Get the gist of NIST | Computer Weekly
NIST releases revised cyber requirements for controlled unclassified information - Nextgov/FCW
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
UK warned cyber security teams buckling under complexity of threats (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Cyber security pros are putting everyone at risk by working too much | TechRadar
A third of cyber security pros report crumbling work-life balance | ITPro
CISOs Beware: SEC's SolarWinds Action Shows They're Scapegoating Us (darkreading.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Dutch hacker jailed for extortion, selling stolen data on RaidForums (bleepingcomputer.com)
Operation Monopoly: Dubai Police bust cyberfraud, arrest 43 | Crime – Gulf News
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Israeli SMBs Warned to Cut External Comms to Reduce Risks (inforisktoday.com)
As war continues, Israeli government wants more cyber control | Ctech (calcalistech.com)
The new ‘Geneva code’ for hackers on the cyber battlefield | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
Nation State Actors
Russia
Sandworm Cyber attackers Down Ukrainian Power Grid During Missile Strikes (darkreading.com)
Russian-speaking threat actor "farnetwork" linked to 5 ransomware gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware gang behind MOVEit attacks are targeting new zero-day, Microsoft says (therecord.media)
OpenAI Battles Service Disruption Linked to Russian Hackers - Decrypt
US Treasury Sanctions Russian Money Launderer in Cyber crime Crackdown (thehackernews.com)
Russian state-owned Sberbank hit by 1 million RPS DDoS attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Iran
Iranian APT Targets Israeli Education, Tech Sectors With New Wipers - SecurityWeek
Imperial Kitten APT Claws at Israeli Industry with Multiyear Spy Effort (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
New Microsoft Exchange zero-days allow RCE, data theft attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Atlassian Bug Escalated to 10, All Unpatched Instances Vulnerable (darkreading.com)
Critical Confluence flaw exploited in ransomware attacks (securityaffairs.com)
Cloudflare, Google and AWS Disclose HTTP/2 Zero-Day Vulnerability (infoq.com)
Microsoft 365 apps have a lot of new security vulnerabilities - here's what we know | TechRadar
Critical Vulnerabilities Expose Veeam ONE Software to Code Execution - SecurityWeek
Microsoft is killing off three Windows services because of security concerns (betanews.com)
37 Vulnerabilities Patched in Android With November 2023 Security Updates - SecurityWeek
TellYouThePass ransomware joins Apache ActiveMQ RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android 14’s storage disaster gets patched, but your data might be gone | Ars Technica
Tools and Controls
To Improve Cyber Defences, Practice for Disaster (darkreading.com)
Meet Your New Cyber security Auditor: Your Insurer (darkreading.com)
Start with Passwords When Incorporating the 5 Pillars of Zero Trust | EdTech Magazine
How global password practices are changing - Help Net Security
Is Cyber security A Line Or A Circle? The Shape Of Incident Response (forbes.com)
The roadblocks to preventive cyber security success - Help Net Security
Microsegmentation proves its worth in ransomware defence - Help Net Security
Microsoft Authenticator is now blocking suspicious MFA phone notifications by default - Neowin
Microsoft unhappy with MFA uptake, starts auto-deploying it • The Register
Suspicious Microsoft Authenticator requests don't trigger notifications anymore - gHacks Tech News
23andMe data theft prompts DNA testing companies to switch on 2FA by default | TechCrunch
Offensive and Defensive AI: Let's Chat(GPT) About It (thehackernews.com)
Enhancing security: The crucial role of incident response plans | Computer Weekly
Most cyber security investments aren't used to their full advantage - Help Net Security
Improving cyber resilience to prevent devastating cyber attacks | TechRadar
Data protection demands AI-specific security strategies - Help Net Security
7 free cyber threat maps showing attack intensity and frequency - Help Net Security
What is threat detection and response (TDR)? (techtarget.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
US calls for unity against cyber-threats to finance (globalcapital.com)
Royal Mail jeopardizes users with open redirect flaw (securityaffairs.com)
Cyber attacks 'constantly happening' - warning from intelligence expert (securitybrief.co.nz)
Startling Cyber security Statistics for 2023 You Need to Know (techreport.com)S
Study: Companies aren't keeping up with cybersecurity needs (iapp.org)
How to avoid cyber security nightmares (networkingplus.co.uk)
Forecasting the future without falling for the hype | TechRadar
Elevate Your School’s Security Posture as 2024 Approaches | EdTech Magazine
Optus loses court bid to keep report into cause of cyber-attack secret (yahoo.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 03 November 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 03 November 2023:
-Surviving a Ransomware Attack Begins by Acknowledging it’s Inevitable
-Are You and Your Clients Soft Targets?
-Cyber Attacks Cause Revenue Losses in 42% of Small Businesses
-Executives May be The Biggest Risk to Your Business
-Organisations Can Only Stop 57 Percent of Cyber Attacks
-Many Businesses Remain Unprepared for AI as Phishing Attacks Rise 1,265% Since Launch of ChatGPT
-Business Email Compromise is Most Common Entry Point for Cyber Attack
-US Regulator Charges Firm and its CISO For Fraud and Cyber Security Failures
-Companies Scramble to Integrate Immediate Recovery into Ransomware Plans
-Your End-Users are Reusing Passwords, That’s a Big Problem
-Cyber Workforce Demand is Outpacing Supply
-What the Boardroom Is Missing: CISOs
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.
Surviving a Ransomware Attack Begins by Acknowledging it’s Inevitable
The best defence against a ransomware attack is assuming it will happen before it does. Research by Visa Inc found that ransomware continues to rapidly rise. One of the main factors is the use of AI services to mass produce highly personalised and plausible emails. The second is the proliferation of highly professional do-it-yourself ransomware kits, which frequently come with 24/7 tech support. These two factors drastically lower the skill level required for cyber criminals to successfully pull off an attack.
Another new ransomware trend is “dual ransomware attacks”. This is where criminals carry out two or more attacks in close proximity of each other, ranging between 48 hours to a maximum of 10 days. With an 80% chance of re-attack, small and medium sized businesses in hard-hit industries including healthcare and manufacturing are primary targets; organisations must be extra vigilant as the holidays approach because this is when cyber criminals are most likely to attack.
Black Arrow works with organisations of all sizes and sectors to design and prepare for managing a cyber security incident; this can include an Incident Response Plan and an educational tabletop exercise for the leadership team that highlights the proportionate controls to help the organisation prevent and mitigate an incident.
Source: [Venture Beat] [SC Media] [Help Net Security] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Help Net Security] [Tech Crunch]
Are You and Your Clients Soft Targets?
Cyber attacks are not a matter of "if" but "when," and the question you need to ask yourself is, ‘Are you a soft target?’. A soft target is a network or organisation that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable to cyber attacks.
You may feel confident in your ability to recover from an attack, but if you've never thoroughly tested your backup and recovery procedures, and when the time comes you find that it does not work, the result will leave you more likely to pay a ransom in an encryption based ransomware scenario. Reliance on legacy antivirus, which often fails to detect modern threats, can also render your network a soft target. Additionally, the absence of a rigorous vulnerability scanning and patching process leaves vulnerabilities undiscovered, and attackers are quick to exploit them. If you rely solely on prevention measures like firewalls and endpoint protection platforms, you are making yourself an appealing soft target for cyber criminals.
No organisation is entirely immune to cyber attacks. The key to defending you and your client's information effectively is to anticipate attacks, understand your security posture, recognise potential adversaries, and recover correctly in the event of an attack.
Source: [MSSP Alert]
Cyber Attacks Cause Revenue Losses in 42% of Small Businesses
Small businesses may be discouraged from investing in preventive cyber security measures due to the expense involved and the mistaken belief that only larger companies are the target of cyber crimes. However, according to a recent report nearly 8 in 10 small business leaders admit they are anxious about the safety of their company’s sensitive data and information. The report found that employee and customer data continue to be the most impacted categories of information in data breaches with 42% of small businesses losing revenue due to a cyber event.
The widespread use of internet-connected devices has given rise to a substantial surge in threat actors targeting small and medium-sized businesses, with malware, phishing and botnets being the most common threats. Daily malware activity has doubled year over year, and peaks in holiday seasons.
Sources: [Help Net Security] [Security Magazine] [Help Net Security] [JDSupra]
Executives May be The Biggest Risk to Your Business as One in Five Share Work Passwords Outside the Company
According to a recent report, nearly half (49%) of C-level executives have requested to bypass one or more security measures in the past year, highlighting a concerning disparity between what business leaders say about cyber and what they do. The research reported one in five sharing their work password with someone outside the company, 77% using easy-to-remember passwords including birth dates, and a third admitting to accessing unauthorised files and data with nearly two-thirds having the ability to edit those files/data.
Additionally, the C-suite was found to be more than three times as likely than regular users to share work devices with unauthorised users. An essential approach to reducing the risks is a tailored training programme that enables all users, including the C-suite, to understand the objective of security controls and the risks caused by bypassing them. Black Arrow offers bespoke training to all roles within the organisation as well as upskilling tailored to those at the board level.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine] [Tech Radar] [Security Magazine] [Help Net Security]
Organisations Can Only Stop 57 Percent of Cyber Attacks
According to a report from Tenable, over the last two years, the average organisation's cyber security program was prepared to preventatively defend against, or block, just 57 percent of the cyber attacks it encountered. The report found that 58% of respondents focus almost entirely on fighting successful attacks rather than working to prevent them in the first place. This is put down largely to a struggle to obtain an accurate picture of their attack surface. When it came to risks, 75% viewed cloud infrastructure as the greatest source of exposure risk in their organisation.
Source: [Beta News]
Many Businesses Remain Unprepared for AI as Phishing Attacks Rise 1,265% Since Launch of ChatGPT
Generative AI has revolutionised many aspects of life, offering new opportunities that have also greatly benefited malicious actors. A report has found that since the launch of ChatGPT, phishing attacks have increased by 1,265%. A separate report found that many businesses remain unprepared for the impact of AI, with just 16% of respondents satisfied in their organisation’s understanding of these AI tools.
Sources: [Decrypt] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Emerging Risks]
Business Email Compromise is Most Common Entry Point for Cyber Attack
According to cyber insurance provider Hiscox, almost half of UK businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the last year, an increase of 9% from the previous year. Business email compromise was recorded as the most common point of entry, mentioned by 35% of companies who suffered an attack.
The report found that 20% of attacked organisations received a ransomware demand, slightly up from 19% the previous year. The proportion paying the ransom fell from 66% to 63%, but the median ransom rose 13%.
Sources: [Hiscox] [Digital Journal]
US Regulator Charges Firm and its CISO For Fraud and Cyber Security Failures
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced plans to charge a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) with fraud for their role in allegedly lying to investors, overstating cyber security practices, and understating or failing to disclose known risks. A key piece of evidence presented by the SEC involved a presentation that was shared with the CISO, detailing a lack of security in the CISO employer’s setup. The presentation highlighted how exploitation could lead to major reputational and financial loss.
The case represents a larger shift in the dynamics and corporate reporting of security issues and within this, lies the professionalism of the CISO role. It is likely that this incident could become the start of something larger.
Sources: [The Record] [Security Week ] [Forbes]
Companies Scramble to Integrate Immediate Recovery into Ransomware Plans
A survey found that 66% of companies are reevaluating their data protection and cyber resilience strategies. Despite this, 35% are not prioritising recovery and only half (56.6%) focused on both recovery and prevention.
Whilst it is important to prevent attacks, nothing is 100% secure and organisations need to ensure that their ransomware plans include recovery as a part of this. If, or when, you experience an attack, you will not want to improvise your recovery.
Source: [Help Net Security]
Your End-Users are Reusing Passwords: That’s a Big Problem
Password reuse is a difficult vulnerability for IT teams to get full visibility over. The danger is often hidden until it turns up in the form of hackers using compromised credentials as an initial access vector. A recent survey revealed that 53% of people admit to reusing passwords, making it easier for attackers to gain access to multiple applications with a single compromised password.
While it is difficult for organisations to maintain visibility over who is reusing passwords, especially if employees are reusing passwords outside of the organisation, there are still ways to combat this. Implementing tools that can check for compromised passwords, using multi-factor authentication and ensuring all employees carry out cyber security and awareness training are a few methods to help combat password re-use.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Cyber Workforce Demand is Outpacing Supply
A study by ISC2 stated that we would need to double the cyber workforce to adequately protect organisations and their critical assets. The study found that the gap between the demand and supply grew 12.6%. For organisations, this can mean a struggle in hiring cyber expertise.
To address the challenge of attracting and retaining quality senior security professionals, Black Arrow offers a fractional CISO service that gives flexible access to a whole team of specialists with wide expertise, experience and backgrounds in technology, governance and transformation, for less than the cost of hiring one individual.
Source: [Cyber Scoop]
What the Boardroom Is Missing: CISOs
According to a new study only 12% of S&P 500 companies have board directors with relevant cyber credentials, highlighting a major gap in expertise needed to keep organisations secure. As most organisations shift to digital and cloud-first strategies, businesses of all shapes and sizes must protect their assets. Unfortunately, there's a considerable gap between security leaders and the board directors responsible for managing businesses. A recent Harvard Business Review survey revealed just 47% regularly interact with their company's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). That's a severe knowledge gap for a company's security and business leaders.
Introducing CISOs to the boardroom is not just about compliance, it's also about ensuring transparency and accountability. CISOs are already building security programs from the ground up. They provide business compliance, hire the right people, and find the right technology to supplement their team's efforts. Security posture is critical to an enterprise's future success, and having a CISO on the board that speaks the language can help a board understand if their business is making suitable security investments.
Source: [Dark Reading]
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Governance, Risk and Compliance
SEC Charges SolarWinds and Its CISO With Fraud and Cyber security Failures - SecurityWeek
SolarWinds Is A Game Changer - You Cannot Sugarcoat Cyber security (forbes.com)
Part of an executive team? You might be the biggest security risk to your business | TechRadar
One in five executives have shared work passwords outside the company | Security Magazine
Organisations can only stop 57 percent of cyber attacks (betanews.com)
Cyber attacks cause revenue losses in 42% of small businesses - Help Net Security
Huge Cyber security Industry Survey Reveals Concerns Over Cuts Amid New Threats - The Messenger
'Are we adversary aligned?' is the new 'Are we secure?' (betanews.com)
Cyber security habits and behaviours executives need to be aware of - Help Net Security
The hidden costs of data breaches for small businesses - Help Net Security
Cyber workforce demand is outpacing supply, survey finds | CyberScoop
How Do We Truly Make Security 'Everyone's Responsibility'? (darkreading.com)
Why lack of training can put cyber security at risk [Q&A] (betanews.com)
Threat Prevention Begins With IT & Security Team Collaboration (darkreading.com)
The CISO’s toolkit must include political capital within the C-suite | CSO Online
CISO Skills in a Changing Security Market: Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)
Why there’s no one-size-fits all solution to security maturity | TechRadar
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransom Groups Threaten Physical Violence as Social Engineering Tactic (darkreading.com)
Companies scramble to integrate immediate recovery into ransomware plans - Help Net Security
Surviving a ransomware attack begins by acknowledging it's inevitable | VentureBeat
Do government sanctions against ransomware groups work? | TechCrunch
Why rookie hackers are capitalizing on ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Experts Reconsider Banning Ransom Payments as Ransomware Attacks Surge (pymnts.com)
Why ransomware victims can’t stop paying off hackers | TechCrunch
Key Learnings from “Big Game” Ransomware Campaigns - SecurityWeek
New Hunters International ransomware possible rebrand of Hive (bleepingcomputer.com)
SIM Swappers Are Working Directly with Ransomware Gangs Now (404media.co)
One of the most dangerous ransomware kits around might have just gotten a rebrand | TechRadar
Ransomware attacks set to break records in 2023 - Help Net Security
HelloKitty Ransomware Group Exploiting Apache ActiveMQ Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware Victims
Boeing Confirms Cyber Attack, System Compromise (darkreading.com)
CCleaner says hackers stole users’ personal data during MOVEit mass-hack | TechCrunch
Stanford University investigating security incident • The Register
Massive ransomware attack hinders services in 70 German municipalities (therecord.media)
Medical research exec hit in SIM-swap attack by Alphv gang • The Register
Caesars Hackers Accessed Customer Data; Costs to Be Determined (bloomberglaw.com)
Mortgage and loan giant Mr. Cooper blames cyber attack for ongoing outage | TechCrunch
Ransomware attack shuts down Central Florida radiology imager sites (wmfe.org)
British, Toronto Libraries Struggle After Cyber Incidents (darkreading.com)
Ace Hardware says 1,202 devices were hit during cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Artificial Intelligence
Email Phishing Attacks Up 1,265% Since ChatGPT Launched: SlashNext - Decrypt
AI poses new cyber threats with many businesses unprepared (emergingrisks.co.uk)
AI is making cyber attacks even smarter and more dangerous | TechRadar
Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure AI - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Enterprise AI applications are threatening security | TechRadar
What Lurks in the Dark: Taking Aim at Shadow AI (darkreading.com)
ChatGPT, Bard, lack effective defences against fraudsters, Which? warns | Computer Weekly
Huge Cyber security Industry Survey Reveals Concerns Over Cuts Amid New Threats - The Messenger
Malware
Over a million Windows and Linux systems infected by this tricky new malware | TechRadar
DUCKTAIL Malware employs LinkedIn messages Execute Attacks (gbhackers.com)
Daily malware activity doubled year over year for small businesses | Security Magazine
Iranian Group Tortoiseshell Launches New Wave of IMAPLoader Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Malvertising via Dynamic Search Ads delivers malware bonanza (malwarebytes.com)
Windows PCs are being targeted with a nasty new malware - here's what you need to know | TechRadar
Pro-Hamas Hacktivists Targeting Israeli Entities with Wiper Malware (thehackernews.com)
These Seemingly Innocent Search Terms Could Lead Kids to Malware-Filled Websites (pcmag.com)
Malware 'Meal Kits' Serve Up No-Fuss RAT Attacks (darkreading.com)
Arid Viper Camouflages Malware in Knockoff Dating App (darkreading.com)
Ghostpulse Malware Targets Windows PCs With Fake App Installers (pcmag.com)
Latest RAT attack surge bypasses Microsoft's XLL block • The Register
Mozi malware botnet goes dark after mysterious use of kill-switch (bleepingcomputer.com)
Iranian Cyber Spies Use 'LionTail' Malware in Latest Attacks - SecurityWeek
Turla Updates Kazuar Backdoor with Advanced Anti-Analysis to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
16 more infected Android apps you need to delete ASAP (bgr.com)
iOS 17.1 finally fixes a three-year-old Private Wi-Fi Address security hole | Macworld
Android 14’s user-profile data bug seems indistinguishable from ransomware | Ars Technica
New banking scams delivered instantly via WhatsApp - F-Secure Blog
Security Expert: Apple's Lockdown Mode Still Defeats Commercial Spyware | PCMag
Google One data breach: Dark web report at your hand - gHacks Tech News
SIM swapping crypto crook jailed, ordered to pay $945,833 • The Register
SIM Swappers Are Working Directly with Ransomware Gangs Now (404media.co)
Israel Calls In Hackers And Spyware Companies To Break Into Abductees’ Phones (forbes.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
DDoS attacks are getting bigger and more powerful, and that's a really bad thing | TechRadar
Why Does "Anonymous" Launch DDoS Cyber Attacks? (makeuseof.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
IoT's convenience comes with cyber security challenges - Help Net Security
RCE exploit for Wyze Cam v3 publicly released, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
CCleaner says hackers stole users’ personal data during MOVEit mass-hack | TechCrunch
Okta discloses a data breach after a third-party vendor was hacked (securityaffairs.com)
ServiceNow Data Exposure: A Wake-Up Call for Companies (thehackernews.com)
LastPass breach linked to theft of $4.4 million in crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)
Public exposure of data breaches is becoming inevitable – Help Net Security
Browser extensions could capture passwords and sensitive info as plain text (techxplore.com)
Seiged Sec Breach Top Israeli Telecom, Leak Customers Data (dailydot.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
‘Prolific Puma’ Hacker Gives Cyber criminals Access to .us Domains (darkreading.com)
Two Russians indicted for hacking JFK taxi dispatch system • The Register
How cyber criminals adapt and thrive amidst changing consumer trends – Help Net Security
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto thief steals $4.4M in a day as toll rises from LastPass breach (cointelegraph.com)
UK's National Crime Agency Establishes Crypto Investigative Team (mpost.io)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
N. Korean Lazarus Group Targets Software Vendor Using Known Flaws (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Hackers Are Trying to Stage Another Supply Chain Hack (pcmag.com)
Okta discloses a data breach after a third-party vendor was hacked (securityaffairs.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Within 5 Minutes, Hackers Were Able to Get AWS Credentials From GitHub (cyber securitynews.com)
Cryptojackers steal AWS credentials from GitHub in 5 minutes • The Register
Microsoft is Getting Serious About Security. Again. - Thurrott.com
Microsoft is overhauling its software security after major Azure cloud attacks - The Verge
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Your end-users are reusing passwords – that’s a big problem (bleepingcomputer.com)
One in five executives have shared work passwords outside the company | Security Magazine
Within 5 Minutes, Hackers Were Able to Get AWS Credentials From GitHub (cybersecuritynews.com)
Browser extensions could capture passwords and sensitive info as plain text (techxplore.com)
Social Media
DUCKTAIL Malware employs LinkedIn messages Execute Attacks (gbhackers.com)
Russian hacking tool floods social networks with bots, researchers say (therecord.media)
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Finding the right approach to security awareness - Help Net Security
Why lack of training can put cyber security at risk [Q&A] (betanews.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
FTC orders non-bank financial firms to report breaches in 30 days (bleepingcomputer.com)
SEC Charges SolarWinds and Its CISO With Fraud and Cyber security Failures - SecurityWeek
Why The SEC Cyber Security Disclosure Rules Will Improve Cybersecurity (forbes.com)
The UK Online Safety Bill Becomes Law, What Does It Mean? | Hackaday
Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure AI - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Setting the standard for cyber security across the EU | Business Post
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Top 12 IT security frameworks and standards explained | TechTarget
MITRE Releases ATT&CK v14 With Improvements to Detections, ICS, Mobile - SecurityWeek
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
UK cyber skills gap grows 29% despite record hiring (computing.co.uk)
Cyber workforce demand is outpacing supply, survey finds | CyberScoop
Cyber security workforce shortages: 67% report people deficits - Help Net Security
CISO Skills in a Changing Security Market: Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Misc Nation State/Cyber Warfare/Cyber Espionage
Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Hacktivist Activity Related to Gaza Conflict Dwindles (darkreading.com)
New BiBi-Linux wiper malware targets Israeli orgs in destructive attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Israel Calls In Hackers And Spyware Companies To Break Into Abductees’ Phones (forbes.com)
China
Spies and Lies: China’s Cyber Espionage Is on an Unprecedented Level | Mind Matters
Microsoft upgrades security for signing keys in wake of Chinese breach | CyberScoop
Russia
Boeing. ‘Sensitive Data’ Reportedly Stolen by Ransomware Group Linked to Russia - The Messenger
Russian hacking tool floods social networks with bots, researchers say (therecord.media)
FSB arrests Russian hackers working for Ukrainian cyber forces (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia to launch its own version of VirusTotal due to US snooping fears (therecord.media)
A Ukrainian Company Shares Lessons in Wartime Resilience (darkreading.com)
Two Russians indicted for hacking JFK taxi dispatch system • The Register
Iran
Iranian Group Tortoiseshell Launches New Wave of IMAPLoader Malware Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Iranian Cyber Spies Use 'LionTail' Malware in Latest Attacks - SecurityWeek
New Iranian state-sponsored hacking campaign uncovered - SiliconANGLE
FBI Director Warns of Increased Iranian Attacks (darkreading.com)
Iran's MuddyWater Targets Israel in New Spear-Phishing Cyber Campaign (thehackernews.com)
'Scarred Manticore' Unleashes the Most Advanced Iranian Cyber Espionage Yet (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Lazarus Group Looking for Unpatched Software Vulnerabilities (databreachtoday.co.uk)
CVSS 4.0 keys-in on threat intelligence metrics and OT, ICS and IoT | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Vulnerability management metrics: How to measure success - Help Net Security
From Windows 9x to 11: Tracing Microsoft's security evolution - Help Net Security
It's Cheap to Exploit Software — and That's a Major Security Problem (darkreading.com)
Vulnerabilities
Exploit released for critical Cisco IOS XE flaw, many hosts still hacked (bleepingcomputer.com)
F5 fixes BIG-IP auth bypass allowing remote code execution attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers use Citrix Bleed flaw in attacks on govt networks worldwide (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco Patches 27 Vulnerabilities in Network Security Products - SecurityWeek
Atlassian warns users: patch critical Confluence flaw ASAP • The Register
Researchers Find 34 Windows Drivers Vulnerable to Full Device Takeover (thehackernews.com)
Urgent: New Security Flaws Discovered in NGINX Ingress Controller for Kubernetes (thehackernews.com)
D-LINK SQL Injection Vulnerability Let Attacker Escalate Privileges (gbhackers.com)
3,000 Apache ActiveMQ servers vulnerable to RCE attacks exposed online (bleepingcomputer.com)
More Than 100 Vulns in Microsoft 365 Tied to SketchUp 3D Library (darkreading.com)
No patches yet for Apple iLeakage side-channel attack | TechTarget
HelloKitty Ransomware Group Exploiting Apache ActiveMQ Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
iOS 17.1 finally fixes a three-year-old Private Wi-Fi Address security hole | Macworld
Tools and Controls
Companies scramble to integrate immediate recovery into ransomware plans - Help Net Security
Vulnerability management metrics: How to measure success - Help Net Security
6 steps to accelerate cyber security incident response | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Ethical hackers are helping more and more business stay safe | TechRadar
Getting Smart With Cyber security: AI Can Help the Good Guys, Too (darkreading.com)
Massive cyber crime URL shortening service uncovered via DNS data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Huge Cyber security Industry Survey Reveals Concerns Over Cuts Amid New Threats - The Messenger
Defence in depth: Layering your security coverage (securityintelligence.com)
Finding the right approach to security awareness - Help Net Security
Mainframes are around to stay, it’s time to protect them - Help Net Security
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Four Under-The-Radar Security Risks That Can Endanger Your Business (forbes.com)
ING CISO says data sharing is key to financial cyber security (finextra.com)
Threat Prevention Begins With IT & Security Team Collaboration (darkreading.com)
F5 Labs Report Reveals Rise in Malicious Automation | The Fintech Times
Microsoft Vows to Revamp Security Products After Repeated Hacks - Bloomberg
Microsoft launches Secure Future Initiative to bolster security | TechTarget
The 5 Cs of effective cyber defence: Beyond traditional technical skills | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
9 Innovative Ways to Boost Security Hygiene for Cyber Awareness Month (darkreading.com)
How governments can keep data secure in a digital age - New Statesman
Cyber security insights for secure manufacturing - Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
Demystifying the top five OT security myths | Computer Weekly
20 scary cyber security facts and figures for a haunting Halloween (welivesecurity.com)
Construction among industries most at risk from cyber attacks, insurer warns | News | Building
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
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· 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 12 May 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 May 2023:
-79% of Cyber Pros Make Decisions Without Threat Intelligence
-61% of Business Leadership Overlook the Role of Cyber Security as a Business Enabler and as being Key to Business Success
-Risk Managers Warn Cyber Insurance Could Become ‘Unviable Product’
-Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Don’t Give up on Cyber Security
-AI Has Been Dubbed a 'Nuclear' Threat to Cyber Security, but It Can Also Be Used for Defence
-Paying Cyber Hijackers’ Ransoms Doubles Cost of Recovery, Sophos Study Shows
-Majority of US, UK CISOs Unable to Protect Company 'Secrets'
-Company Executives Can’t Afford to Ignore Cyber Security Anymore
-BEC Campaign via Israel Spotted Targeting Multinational Companies
-CISOs Worried About Personal Liability for Breaches
-UK, US and International Allies Uncover Russian Snake Malware Network in 50+ Countries
-Plug-and-Play Microsoft 365 Phishing Tool 'Democratizes' Attack Campaigns
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
79% of Cyber Pros Make Decisions Without Threat Intelligence
In a recent report, 79% of security pros say they make decisions without adversary insights “at least the majority of the time.” Why aren’t companies effectively leveraging threat intelligence? And does the C-Suite know this is going on?
Threat intelligence helps organisations stay informed about the latest cyber threats and vulnerabilities. By gathering and analysing information about potential attacks, threat intelligence can provide organisations with valuable insights into the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used by cyber criminals.
Given the deep value provided by threat intelligence, why aren’t more cyber pros taking advantage of it?
61% of Business Leadership Overlook the Role of Cyber Security as a Business Enabler and as being Key to Business Success
A recent report found only 39% of respondents think their company's leadership has a sound understanding of cyber security's role as a business enabler. Cyber security can be a huge business enabler; executive leaders need to think of cyber security in terms of the value it can deliver at a more strategic level.
Risk Managers Warn Cyber Insurance Could Become ‘Unviable Product’
The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), an umbrella body representing 22 trade associations, said the cyber insurance market is “evolving in isolation from the industries it serves”.
It highlighted a move by Lloyd’s of London, the specialist insurance market and hub for cyber insurance, demanding that standard cyber policies have an exemption for big state-backed attacks.
“Without a more collaborative approach to cyber balancing the risk appetite of the insurance market with the coverage requirements of the corporate buyers, there is a risk that cyber insurance becomes an unviable product for many organisations,” FERMA said in a statement shared with the Financial Times.
The intervention is the strongest yet by the business lobby over the controversial exemption and wider concerns about cyber insurance.
https://www.ft.com/content/401629cc-e68a-41a4-8d50-e7c0d3e27835
Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Don’t Give up on Cyber Security
In today’s increasingly hostile environment, every enterprise, big or small, should be concerned about cyber security and have access to protection from hackers, scammers, phishers, and all the rest of the host of bad actors who seem to be sprouting up around the world.
Yet time and again, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are left out in the cold, an unaddressed market segment that finds real protection either too expensive or far too complex to adopt. Thus, cyber security becomes an “afterthought” or “add when we can” kind of service that leaves SMBs far more vulnerable than the corporate giants — just reading the news every day shows even they aren’t immune to ransomware, intrusions, and data theft. If you haven’t already, start thinking about security now.
AI Has Been Dubbed a 'Nuclear' Threat to Cyber Security, but It Can Also Be Used for Defence
Hackers using ChatGPT are faster and more sophisticated than before, and cyber security analysts who don’t have access to similar tools can very quickly find themselves outgunned and outsmarted by these AI-assisted attackers. However, corporations are stumbling to figure out governance around AI, and while they do so, their employees are clearly defying rules and possibly jeopardising company operations. According to a study of 1.6 million workers, 3.1% input confidential company information into ChatGPT. Although the number seems small, 11% of users' questions include private information. This is a fatal flaw for corporate use considering how hackers can manipulate the system into giving them previously hidden information. In another study, it was found that 80% of security professionals used AI, with 46% of these giving specialised capabilities as a reason.
Paying Cyber Hijackers’ Ransoms Doubles Cost of Recovery, Sophos Study Shows
In three out of four cyber attacks, the hijackers succeeded in encrypting victims’ data, cyber security provider Sophos said in its newly released State of Ransomware 2023 report.
The rate of data encryption amounted to the highest from ransomware since Sophos first issued the report in 2020. Overall, roughly two-thirds of the 3,000 cyber security/IT leaders’ organisations were infected by a ransomware attack in the first quarter of 2023, or the same percentage as last year.
Much advice has been doled out by cyber security providers and law enforcement urging organisations to not pay a ransom. According to Sophos’ survey, the data shows that when organisations paid a ransom to decrypt their data, they ended up doubling their recovery costs. On average, those organisations paying ransoms for decryption forked out $750,000 in recovery costs versus $375,000 for organisations that used backups to recover their data.
Moreover, paying the ransom usually meant longer recovery times, with 45% of those organisations that used backups recovering within a week, compared to 39% of those that paid the ransom.
Majority of US, UK CISOs Unable to Protect Company 'Secrets'
A recent study found 75% of organisations have experienced a data leak involving company secrets, including API keys, usernames, passwords, and encryption keys, in the past. It was found that about 52% of chief information and security officers (CISOs) in the US and UK organisations are unable to fully secure their company secrets. The study showed that a huge chunk of the IT sector realises the danger of exposed secrets. Seventy-five percent said that a secret leak has happened in their organisation in the past, with 60% acknowledging it caused serious issues for the company, employees, or both. The report has pointed out that even though secrets management practice across the US and the UK has seen some maturity, it still needs to go a long way.
Company Executives Can’t Afford to Ignore Cyber Security Anymore
In a recent survey, when asked about the Board and C-Suite‘s understanding of cyber security across the organisation, only 36% of respondents believe that it is considered important only in terms of compliance and regulatory demands, while 17% said it is not seen as a business priority. The disconnect between business and security goals appears to have caused at least one negative consequence to 89% of respondents’ organisations, with 26% also reporting it resulted in an increased number of successful cyber attacks at their company. On the misalignment of cyber security goals, respondents believed it contributed to delays in investments (35%), delays in strategic decision making (34%), and unnecessary increases in spending (27%).
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/10/cybersecurity-business-goals-alignment/
BEC Campaign via Israel Spotted Targeting Multinational Companies
An Israel-based threat group was discovered carrying out a business email compromise (BEC) campaign primarily targeting large and multinational enterprises. The group has conducted 350 BEC campaigns since February 2021, with email attacks targeting employees from 61 countries across six continents. The group operate through two personas — a CEO and an external attorney and spoofed email addresses using real domains.
CISOs Worried About Personal Liability for Breaches
Over three-fifths (62%) of global CISOs are concerned about being held personally liable for successful cyber attacks that occur on their watch, and a similar share would not join an organisation that fails to offer insurance to protect them, according to Proofpoint annual ‘Voice of the CISO’ survey for 2023. The security vendor polled 1600 CISOs from organisations of 200 employees or more across different industries in 16 countries to compile the report.
It revealed that CISOs in sectors with high volumes of sensitive data and/or heavy regulation such as retail (69%), financial services (65%) and manufacturing (65%) are most likely to demand insurance coverage.
Such concerns only add to the mental load on corporate IT security bosses. A combination of high-stress working environments, shrinking budgets and personal liability could be harming CISOs’ quality of life. Some 60% told Proofpoint they’ve experienced burnout in the past 12 months.
CISOs are most likely to experience burnout in the retail (72%) and IT, technology and telecoms (66%) industries.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cisos-worried-personal-liability/
UK, US and International Allies Uncover Russian Snake Malware Network in 50+ Countries
The UK NCSC along with the US National Security Agency (NSA) and various international partner agencies have discovered infrastructure connected with the sophisticated Russian cyber-espionage tool Snake in over 50 countries worldwide. Snake operations have been attributed to a specific unit within Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Center 16.
Cyber criminals reportedly used Snake to retrieve and remove confidential documents related to international relations and diplomatic communications.
According to an advisory published by the agencies on Tuesday, the FSB targeted various industries, including education, small businesses, media, local government, finance, manufacturing and telecommunications. The Snake malware is installed on external infrastructure nodes for further exploitation.
According to the NSA Russian government actors have used this tool for years for intelligence collection and it is hoped that the technical details shared in the advisory will help many organisations find and shut down the malware globally.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nsa-uncovers-russian-snake-malware/
Plug-and-Play Microsoft 365 Phishing Tool 'Democratizes' Attack Campaigns
A new phishing-as-a-service tool called "Greatness" is being used in attacks targeting manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and other sectors.
Researchers at Cisco Talos detailed their findings on "Greatness," a one-stop-shop for all of a cyber criminal's phishing needs. With Greatness, anyone with even rudimentary technical chops can craft compelling Microsoft 365-based phishing lures, then carry out man-in-the-middle attacks that steal authentication credentials — even in the face of multifactor authentication (MFA) — and much more.
The tool has been in circulation since at least mid-2022 and has been used in attacks against enterprises in manufacturing, healthcare, and technology, among other sectors. Half of the targets thus far have been concentrated in the US, with further attacks occurring around Western Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and South Africa.
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/plug-and-play-microsoft-365-phishing-tool-democratizes-attacks
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Make them pay: Hackers devise new tactics to ensure ransomware payment | CSO Online
Ransomware gangs display ruthless extortion tactics in April | TechTarget
Our appetite for data increases the risk of being held to ransom (thetimes.co.uk)
Paying Cyber Hijackers’ Ransoms Doubles Cost of Recovery, Sophos Study Shows - MSSP Alert
Refined methodologies of ransomware attacks - Help Net Security
Ranking ransomware: The gangs, the malware and the ever-present risks | CyberScoop
Ransomware Encryption Rates Reach New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
UK ‘increasingly concerned’ ransomware victims are keeping incidents secret (therecord.media)
Royal ransomware gang quickly expands reign | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Legitimate Software Abuse: A Disturbing Trend in Ransomware Attacks (darkreading.com)
Ransomware attack confirmed at Rochester Public Schools, FBI alerted - Bring Me The News
Constellation Struck By Ransomware Attack, ALPHV Lays Claim (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
New Ransomware Strain 'CACTUS' Exploits VPN Flaws to Infiltrate Networks (thehackernews.com)
New Akira Ransomware Operation Hits Corporate Networks | Black Hat Ethical Hacking
Babuk code used by 9 ransomware gangs to encrypt VMWare ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
$1.1M Paid to Resolve Ransomware Attack on California County - SecurityWeek
Western Digital store offline due to March breach - Help Net Security
Western Digital Confirms Ransomware Group Stole Customer Information - SecurityWeek
Former Conti members are behind latest Royal ransomware hacking spree, report finds (axios.com)
Hackers Contacted Dragos CEO’s Son, Wife in Extortion Attempt - Bloomberg
Multiple Ransomware Groups Adapt Babuk Code to Target ESXi VMs (darkreading.com)
Australian software giant won’t say if customers affected by hack | TechCrunch
Multinational tech firm ABB hit by Black Basta ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Gmail gets blue verification checks to protect against spoofing and phishing | ZDNET
Phishing Ring Bust, Spanish Police Have Arrested 40 People (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
2FA/MFA
Malware
Chrome users, stay alert: Malware may be just one click away - gHacks Tech News
Microsoft issues optional fix for Secure Boot zero-day used by malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
56,000+ cloud-based apps at risk of malware exfiltration - Help Net Security
Millions of mobile phones come pre-infected with malware • The Register
Severe Ruckus RCE Flaws Utilized By Fresh DDoS Botnet Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Fake system update drops Aurora stealer via Invalid Printer loader (malwarebytes.com)
Stealthier version of Linux BPFDoor malware spotted in the wild (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Millions of mobile phones come pre-infected with malware • The Register
Mobile hacking and spyware – understanding the risks - TechHQ
Google Announces New Privacy, Safety, and Security Features Across Its Services (thehackernews.com)
Google Improves Android Security With New APIs - SecurityWeek
New Android FluHorse malware steals your passwords, 2FA codes (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Android updates fix kernel bug exploited in spyware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets
Fortinet warns of a spike of the activity linked to AndoryuBot botnet- Security Affairs
RapperBot DDoS malware adds cryptojacking as new revenue stream (bleepingcomputer.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
FBI seizes 13 more domains linked to DDoS-for-hire services (bleepingcomputer.com)
Severe Ruckus RCE Flaws Utilized By Fresh DDoS Botnet Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Fortinet warns of a spike of the activity linked to AndoryuBot botnet- Security Affairs
RapperBot DDoS malware adds cryptojacking as new revenue stream (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Security researcher finds trove of Capita data exposed online | TechCrunch
In a new hacking crime wave, more personal data is being held hostage (cnbc.com)
Western Digital says hackers stole customer data in March cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Leak of MSI UEFI signing keys stokes fears of “doomsday” supply chain attack | Ars Technica
Boot Guard Keys From MSI Hack Posted, Many PCs Vulnerable | Tom's Hardware(tomshardware.com)
1 Million Impacted by Data Breach at NextGen Healthcare - SecurityWeek
Twitter admits 'security incident' broke Circle privacy • The Register
Food distribution giant Sysco warns of data breach after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
North Korean Hackers Stole 830K Data From Seoul's Top Hospital (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Brightly warns of SchoolDude data breach exposing credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
Simplify data hack cost the firm almost £7m - Property Industry Eye
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
In a new hacking crime wave, more personal data is being held hostage (cnbc.com)
The Team of Sleuths Quietly Hunting Cyber attack-for-Hire Services | WIRED
Phishing Ring Bust, Spanish Police Have Arrested 40 People (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Former Ubiquiti Employee Who Posed as Hacker Sentenced to Prison - SecurityWeek
UK cops score another legal win in EncroChat spying case • The Register
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Human Error Drives Most Cyber Incidents. Could AI Help? (hbr.org)
Overlooking These 4 Critical Measures Expose Your Company to Cyber Attacks | Entrepreneur
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
UK’s new fraud strategy too weak to tackle soaring crime, say experts | Financial Times (ft.com)
Your voice could be your biggest vulnerability - Help Net Security
QR codes used in fake parking tickets, surveys to steal your money (bleepingcomputer.com)
Deepfakes
Insurance
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Security researcher finds trove of Capita data exposed online | TechCrunch
Cyber hack to cost UK outsourcer Capita up to $25 mln | Reuters
Leak of MSI UEFI signing keys stokes fears of “doomsday” supply chain attack | Ars Technica
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
56,000+ cloud-based apps at risk of malware exfiltration - Help Net Security
How to reduce risk with cloud attack surface management | TechTarget
ENISA leans into EU clouds with draft cyber security label • The Register
Hybrid/Remote Working
Attack Surface Management
Identity and Access Management
Top 3 trends shaping the future of cyber security and IAM - Help Net Security
Review your on-prem ADCS infrastructure before attackers do it for you | CSO Online
Why the FTX Collapse Was an Identity Problem (darkreading.com)
Asset Management
CISOs confront mounting obstacles in tracking cyber assets - Help Net Security
How Attack Surface Management Supports Continuous Threat Exposure Management (thehackernews.com)
Encryption
API
Open Source
India bans open source messaging apps on security grounds • The Register
Stealthier version of Linux BPFDoor malware spotted in the wild (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
83% of Americans’ Passwords Can Be Hacked in Less Than a Second, Study Shows (thedailybeast.com)
Top 5 Password Cracking Techniques Used by Hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
Twitter admits 'security incident' broke Circle privacy • The Register
TikTok tracked UK journalist via her cat's account - BBC News
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
UK’s new fraud strategy too weak to tackle soaring crime, say experts | Financial Times (ft.com)
EU parliament report calls for tighter regulation of spyware | Surveillance | The Guardian
India bans open source messaging apps on security grounds • The Register
PEGA committee calls for EU level regulation of spyware • The Register
ENISA leans into EU clouds with draft cyber security label • The Register
Europe’s Moral Crusader Lays Down the Law on Encryption | WIRED
Scanning Plans On Europe's CSAM May Violate International Law (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Risk managers warn cyber insurance could become ‘unviable product’ | Financial Times (ft.com)
79% of Cyber Pros Make Decisions Without Threat Intelligence (securityintelligence.com)
Company executives can't afford to ignore cyber security anymore - Help Net Security
Majority of US, UK CISOs unable to protect company 'secrets': Report | CSO Online
Small- and medium-sized businesses: don’t give up on cyber security | CSO Online
(ISC)² Calls for Global Cyber security Standards, Collaboration, Frameworks - MSSP Alert
Organisations Reliant on Social Media For Threat Intelligence - TechRound
Recognizing Cyberthreat Trends For Effective Defence (forbes.com)
Digital trust can make or break an organisation - Help Net Security
Why more transparency around cyber attacks is good for everyone - NCSC
CISOs face mounting pressures, expectations post-pandemic | TechTarget
CISOs' confidence in post-pandemic security landscape fades - Help Net Security
Overlooking These 4 Critical Measures Expose Your Company to Cyber Attacks | Entrepreneur
NCSC and ICO Dispel Incident Reporting Myths - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
(ISC)² Calls for Global Cyber security Standards, Collaboration, Frameworks - MSSP Alert
ENISA leans into EU clouds with draft cyber security label • The Register
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
FBI seizes 13 more domains linked to DDoS-for-hire services (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing Ring Bust, Spanish Police Have Arrested 40 People (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
UK cops score another legal win in EncroChat spying case • The Register
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
The (Security) Cost of Too Much Data Privacy (darkreading.com)
Twitter admits 'security incident' broke Circle privacy • The Register
TikTok tracked UK journalist via her cat's account - BBC News
Artificial Intelligence
Top US cyber official warns AI may be the 'most powerful weapon of our time' | CyberScoop
Amazon Is Being Flooded With Books Entirely Written by AI (futurism.com)
Your voice could be your biggest vulnerability - Help Net Security
The security and privacy risks of large language models - Help Net Security
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
EU parliament report calls for tighter regulation of spyware | Surveillance | The Guardian
China targets foreign consulting companies in anti-spying raids | China | The Guardian
Mobile hacking and spyware – understanding the risks - TechHQ
New Android updates fix kernel bug exploited in spyware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
CERT-UA Warns of SmokeLoader and RoarBAT Malware Attacks Against Ukraine (thehackernews.com)
PEGA committee calls for EU level regulation of spyware • The Register
FBI-led Operation Medusa kills Russian FSB malware network • The Register
How one of Vladimir Putin’s most prized hacking units got pwned by the FBI | Ars Technica
Nation State Actors
Microsoft warns Iran increasing its cyber-enabled influence operations | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
China labels USA ‘Empire of hacking’ citing old WikiLeaks • The Register
CERT-UA Warns of SmokeLoader and RoarBAT Malware Attacks Against Ukraine (thehackernews.com)
LinkedIn shuts service in China, lays off employees | Fortune
Microsoft: Iranian hacking groups join Papercut attack spree (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI-led Operation Medusa kills Russian FSB malware network • The Register
China targets foreign consulting companies in anti-spying raids | China | The Guardian
Beijing raids consultancy firm Capvision, promises more • The Register
SideWinder Strikes Victims in Pakistan, Turkey in Multiphase Polymorphic Attack (darkreading.com)
North Korean Hackers Stole 830K Data From Seoul's Top Hospital (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Exploit Network Providers and Devices | CISA
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft's May Patch Tuesday Fixes 38 Flaws, Including Active Zero-Day Bug (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft warns of two bugs under active exploit • The Register
Light May Patch Tuesday will weigh heavily on Windows admins | TechTarget
Fortinet fixed two severe issues in FortiADC and FortiOS-Security Affairs
New PaperCut RCE exploit created that bypasses existing detections (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft issues optional fix for Secure Boot zero-day used by malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe Patches 14 Vulnerabilities in Substance 3D Painter - SecurityWeek
Severe Ruckus RCE Flaws Utilized By Fresh DDoS Botnet Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
CyberGhost VPN patches command injection vulnerability | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
A Linux NetFilter kernel flaw allows escalating privileges to 'root'-Security Affairs
SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities With May 2023 Security Updates - SecurityWeek
Fortinet warns of a spike of the activity linked to AndoryuBot botnet-Security Affairs
Tools and Controls
Risk managers warn cyber insurance could become ‘unviable product’ | Financial Times (ft.com)
79% of Cyber Pros Make Decisions Without Threat Intelligence (securityintelligence.com)
Human Error Drives Most Cyber Incidents. Could AI Help? (hbr.org)
Identifying Compromised Data Can Be a Logistical Nightmare (darkreading.com)
Organisations Reliant on Social Media For Threat Intelligence - TechRound
Recognizing Cyberthreat Trends For Effective Defence (forbes.com)
Digital trust can make or break an organisation - Help Net Security
Prevent attackers from using legitimate tools against you - Help Net Security
How to implement principle of least privilege in Azure AD | TechTarget
What is Digital Forensics? Tools, Types, Phases & History (cybersecuritynews.com)
Microsoft enforces number matching to fight MFA fatigue attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
AI Will Take Many Cyber security Jobs, But It's Not a Complete Disaster | PCMag
Google Broadens Dark Web Monitoring To Track All Gmail Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
5 SBOM tools to start securing the software supply chain | TechTarget
The Industrywide Consequences of Making Security Products Inaccessible (darkreading.com)
Top 3 trends shaping the future of cyber security and IAM - Help Net Security
Other News
The Team of Sleuths Quietly Hunting Cyber attack-for-Hire Services | WIRED
Why Should You Take IT Security Seriously? - IT Security Guru
To enable ethical hackers, a law reform is needed - Help Net Security
How datacentre operators can fend off cyber attacks | Computer Weekly
'Windows for Gamers' Rolls Dice With Your Security (vice.com)
Risk of cyber attack is main Eurovision worry, says BBC executive | Eurovision 2023 | The Guardian
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 30 September 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 September 2022:
-UK Organisations, Ukraine's Allies Warned of Potential "Massive" Cyber Attacks By Russia
-Cyber Criminals See Allure in BEC Attacks Over Ransomware
-Most Hackers Need 5 Hours or Less to Break Into Enterprise Environments
-Global Firms Deal with 51 Security Incidents Each Day
-Phishing Attacks Crushed Records Last Quarter, Driven by Mobile
-Why Paying the Ransom is Still the Most Common Response to a Ransomware Attack?
-Ransomware Attacks Continue Increasing: 20% of All Reported Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months
-More Than Half of Security Pros Say Risks Higher in Cloud Than On Premise
-How To Outsmart Increasingly Complex Cyber Attacks
-Top Issues Driving Cyber Security: Growing Number of Cyber Criminals, Variety of Attacks
-Cyber Threats Top Business Leaders' Biggest Concerns
-Fired Admin Cripples Former Employer's Network Using Old Credentials
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 Organisations, Ukraine's Allies Warned of Potential "Massive" Cyber Attacks By Russia
The head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Lindy Cameron has given an update on Russia’s cyber activity amid its war with Ukraine. Her speech at Chatham House last week came just a few days after Ukraine’s military intelligence agency issued a warning that Russia was “preparing massive cyber attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and its allies.” This coincides with a new Forrester report that reveals the extent to which the cyber impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has expanded beyond the conflict zone with malware attacks propagating into European entities.
Addressing Russian cyber activity this year, Cameron stated that, while we have not seen the “cyber-Armageddon” some predicted, there has been a “very significant conflict in cyber space – probably the most sustained and intensive cyber campaign on record – with the Russian State launching a series of major cyber attacks in support of their illegal invasion in February.”
Russian cyber forces from their intelligence and military branches have been busy launching a huge number of attacks in support of immediate military objectives.
Since the start of the year, the NCSC has been advising UK organisations to take a more proactive approach to cyber security in light of the situation in Ukraine. “There may be organisations that are beginning to think ‘is this still necessary?’ as in the UK we haven’t experienced a major incident related to the war in Ukraine. My answer is an emphatic yes,” Cameron said.
In response to significant recent battlefield set-backs, Putin has been reacting in unpredictable ways, and so we shouldn’t assume that just because the conflict has played out in one way to date, it will continue to go the same way, Cameron added. “There is still a real possibility that Russia could change its approach in the cyber domain and take more risks – which could cause more significant impacts in the UK.” UK organisations and their network defenders should therefore be prepared for this period of elevated alert with a focus on building long-term resilience, which is a “marathon not a sprint,” she said.
Cyber Criminals See Allure in BEC Attacks Over Ransomware
While published trends in ransomware attacks have been contradictory — with some firms tracking more incidents and other fewer — business email compromise (BEC) attacks continue to have proven success against organisations.
BEC cases, as a share of all incident-response cases, more than doubled in the second quarter of the year, to 34% from 17% in the first quarter of 2022. That's according to Arctic Wolf's "1H 2022 Incident Response Insights" report, published on 29 September, which found that specific industries — including financial, insurance, business services, and law firms, as well as government agencies — experienced more than double their previous number of cases, the company said.
Overall, the number of BEC attacks encountered per email box has grown by 84% in the first half of 2022, according to data from cyber security firm Abnormal Security.
Meanwhile, so far this year, threat reports released by organisations have revealed contradictory trends for ransomware. Arctic Wolf and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) have seen drops in the number of successful ransomware attacks, while business customers seem to be encountering ransomware less often, according to security firm Trellix. At the same time, network security firm WatchGuard had a contrary take, noting that its detection of ransomware attacks skyrocketed 80% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with all of last year.
The surging state of BEC landscape is unsurprising because BEC attacks offer cyber criminals advantages over ransomware. Specifically, BEC gains do not rely on the value of cryptocurrency, and attacks are often more successful at escaping notice while in progress. Threat actors are unfortunately very opportunistic.
For that reason, BEC — which uses social engineering and internal systems to steal funds from businesses — continues to be a stronger source of revenue for cyber criminals. In 2021, BEC attacks accounted for 35%, or $2.4 billion, of the $6.9 billion in potential losses tracked by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), while ransomware remained a small fraction (0.7%) of the total.
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/cybercriminals-see-allure-bec-attacks-ransomware
Most Hackers Need 5 Hours or Less to Break Into Enterprise Environments
A new survey of 300 ethical hackers provides insight into not only the most common means of initial access, but how a complete end-to-end attack happens.
Around 40% of ethical hackers recently surveyed by the SANS Institute said they can break into most environments they test, if not all. Nearly 60% said they need five hours or less to break into a corporate environment once they identify a weakness.
The SANS ethical hacking survey, done in partnership with security firm Bishop Fox, is the first of its kind and collected responses from over 300 ethical hackers working in different roles inside organisations, with different levels of experience and specialisations in different areas of information security. The survey revealed that on average, hackers would need five hours for each step of an attack chain: reconnaissance, exploitation, privilege escalation and data exfiltration, with an end-to-end attack taking less than 24 hours.
The survey highlights the need for organisations to improve their mean time-to-detect and mean-time-to-contain, especially when considering that ethical hackers are restricted in the techniques they're allowed to use during penetration testing or red team engagements. Using black hat techniques, like criminals do, would significantly improve the success rate and speed of attack.
When asked how much time they typically need to identify a weakness in an environment, 57% of the polled hackers indicated ten or fewer hours: 16% responded six to ten hours, 25% three to five hours, 11% one to two hours and 5% less than an hour.
Global Firms Deal with 51 Security Incidents Each Day
Security operations (SecOps) teams are struggling to respond to dozens of cyber security incidents every single day, according to a new report from Trellix.
The security vendor polled 9000 security decision makers from organisations with 500+ employees across 15 markets to compile its latest study, ‘XDR: Redefining the future of cyber security’.
It found that the average SecOps team has to manage 51 incidents per day, with 36% of respondents claiming they deal with 50 to 200 daily incidents. Around half (46%) agreed that they are “inundated by a never-ending stream of cyber-attacks.”
Part of the problem is the siloed nature of security and detection and response systems, the study claimed. Some 60% of respondents argued that poorly integrated products mean teams can’t work efficiently, while a third (34%) admitted they have blind spots. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that 60% admitted they can’t keep pace with the rapid evolution of security threats.
This could be having a major impact on the bottom line. The vast majority (84%) of security decision makers that Trellix spoke to estimated that their organisation lost up to 10% of revenue from security breaches in the past year.
Medium size businesses ($50–$100m in revenue) lost an average of 8% in revenue, versus 5% for large businesses with a turnover of $10bn–$25bn. That could mean hundreds of millions of dollars are being thrown away each year due to inadequate SecOps.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-firms-51-security-incidents/
Phishing Attacks Crushed Records Last Quarter, Driven by Mobile
Last quarter saw a record-shattering number of observed phishing attacks, fuelled in large part by attempts to target users on their mobile devices.
The latest Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) "Phishing Activity Trends Report" for the second quarter of 2022 found 1,097,811 observed phishing attacks, the most the group has ever measured in its history.
The financial sector remained the top target for phishing lures (27.6%), along with other bombarded sectors, including webmail and software-as-a-service providers, social media sites, and cryptocurrency.
But much of the rise in phishing volume is due to a new threat actor focus on mobile devices, specifically vishing (voice phishing) and smishing (SMS phishing) attacks, the report noted.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/phishing-attacks-crushed-records-last-quarter
Why Paying the Ransom is Still the Most Common Response to a Ransomware Attack
According to new data from Databarracks, 44% of the organisations who experienced a ransomware assault paid the demanded ransom. 22% made use of ransomware decryption software, while 34% restored data from backups.
The Databarracks 2022 Data Health Check produced the results. The annual report has been collecting data on ransomware, cyber, backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity from more than 400 UK IT decision-makers since 2008.
From the victim’s standpoint, it’s logical why you may pay a ransom. You are unable to handle orders or provide customer support, and losses mount swiftly. Downtime expenses can easily surpass the ransom.
Organisations may believe that paying the ransom will solve the issue more quickly, allowing them to resume operations as usual. This strategy is faulty for a number of causes.
First of all, there is no assurance that your data will be returned. Second, once criminals know an organisation is an easy target, they frequently attack it again. Finally, it conveys the incorrect message. By paying, you are assisting the crooks by demonstrating that their strategies are effective.
Ransomware Attacks Continue Increasing: 20% of All Reported Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months
Nearly a quarter of businesses have suffered a ransomware attack, with a fifth occurring in the past 12 months, according to a latest annual report from cyber security specialist Hornetsecurity.
The 2022 Ransomware Report, which surveyed over 2,000 IT leaders, revealed that 24% have been victims of a ransomware attack, with one in five (20%) attacks happening in the last year.
Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year's ransomware survey revealed one in five (21%) 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. The survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security as bad actors develop new techniques.
The 2022 Ransomware Report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. A quarter (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 back up their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks.
Industry responses showed the widespread lack of preparedness from IT professionals and businesses. There has been an increase in businesses not having a disaster recovery plan in place if they do succumb to the heightened threat of a cyber attack.
In 2021, 16% of respondents reported having no disaster recovery plan in place. In 2022, this grew to 19%, despite the rise in attacks.
More Than Half of Security Pros Say Risks Higher in Cloud Than On Premise
A recent survey from machine identity solutions provider Venafi aimed to explore the complexity of cloud environments and the resulting impact on cyber security.
Venafi surveyed 1,101 security decision makers (SDMs) in firms with more than 1,000 employees and found that eighty-one percent of companies have experienced a cloud security incident in the last year. Forty-five percent have suffered at least four security incidents in the same period. More than half of security decision makers believe that security risks are higher in the cloud than on-premise.
Twenty-four percent of the firms have more than 10,000 employees. Ninety-two percent of the SDMs are at manager level or above, with 49% at c-suite level or higher.
Most of the firms surveyed believe the underlying issue is the increasing complexity of their cloud deployments. Since these companies already host 41% of their applications in the cloud, and expect to increase this to 57% over the next 18 months, the problem is only likely to worsen in the future.
The ripest target of attack in the cloud is identity management, especially machine identities. Each of these cloud services, containers, Kubernetes clusters and microservices needs an authenticated machine identity – such as a TLS certificate – to communicate securely. If any of these identities is compromised or misconfigured, it dramatically increases security and operational risks.
Respondents reported that the most common cloud incidents are security incidents during runtime (34%), unauthorised access (33%), misconfigurations (32%), vulnerabilities that have not been remediated (24%), and failed audits (19%).
Their primary operational concerns are hijacking of accounts, services or traffic (35%), malware or ransomware (31%), privacy/data access issues such as those from GDPR (31%), unauthorised access (28%), and nation state attacks (26%).
https://www.securityweek.com/more-half-security-pros-say-risks-higher-cloud-premise
How To Outsmart Increasingly Complex Cyber Attacks
Threat detection is harder today than it was two years ago. Next year will be harder than this year. Why? It’s a compounding effect from skills shortages and threat varieties that’s making it more challenging for any one product to handle key security wins. And cyber security is a constantly evolving sector with 2022 a devastating year for cyber security. Both hackers and security experts are always in a battle to outsmart each other.
Even for businesses with good IT departments, data protection can too quickly become an afterthought. Today’s threat landscape is growing, not just in the frequency of attacks (and the number of high-profile breaches recorded in the media) but so is the complexity of any given threat. A recent piece of research found that in 93 percent of cases, an external attacker can breach an organisation’s network perimeter and gain access to local network resources. Following increasing levels of cyber-attacks, it’s a case of “not if I will be hit by a ransomware attack,” but “when…” Organisations need to do something to mitigate the risk and protect their businesses, and they need to do it now.
Planning and executing a better defence to outsmart attackers and win more security battles doesn’t have to feel like a military operation – but it does require the right service coverage to remove blind spots and reduce emerging risks before they escalate.
https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/how-to-outsmart-increasingly-complex-cyber-attacks/
Top Issues Driving Cyber Security: Growing Number of Cyber Criminals, Variety of Attacks
Fortifying cyber security defences remains a work in progress for many organisations, who acknowledge their shortcomings but have yet to commit the necessary resources to the effort, according to new research from CompTIA.
While a majority of respondents in each of seven geographic regions feels that their company’s cyber security is satisfactory, CompTIA’s “State of Cybersecurity” shows that a much smaller number rank the situation as “completely satisfactory.” Nearly everyone feels that there is room for improvement.
“Companies are aware of the threats they face and the potential consequences of an attack or breach,” said Seth Robinson, VP of industry research, CompTIA. “But they may be underestimating their exposure and how much they need to invest in cyber security. Risk mitigation is the key, the filter through which everything should be viewed.”
Two of the top three issues driving cyber security considerations are the growing volume of cyber criminals, cited by 48% of respondents, and the growing variety of cyber attacks (45%). Additionally, ransomware and phishing have quickly become major areas of concern as digital operations have increased and human error has proven more costly.
“Digital transformation driven by cloud and mobile adoption requires a new strategic approach to cyber security, but this poses significant challenges, both tactically and financially,” Robinson said. “As IT operations and strategy have grown more complex, so has the management of cyber security.”
As cyber security is more tightly integrated with business objectives, zero trust is the overarching policy that should be guiding modern efforts, though its adoption will not take place overnight because it requires a drastically different way of thinking and acting. The report suggests there is small progress in recognising a holistic zero trust approach, but better progress in adopting some elements that are part of an overarching zero trust policy.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/30/top-issues-driving-cybersecurity/
Cyber Threats Top Business Leaders' Biggest Concerns
Cyber threats are the number one concern for business decision makers, beating worries over economic uncertainty, rising energy costs and hiring, according to insurance provider Travelers. The firm polled over 1200 business leaders to compile its 2022 Travelers Risk Index report.
This is the third time in four years that cyber has emerged as the top concern, with more than half (57%) of respondents believing a future cyber-attack on their organisation is inevitable. A quarter (26%) said their company had already been a breach victim, the seventh successive year this figure has risen.
The top two cyber-related concerns were suffering a security breach (57%), and a system glitch causing computers to crash (55%). Becoming a cyber-extortion victim rose from eighth position to third this year.
However, despite general concern about cyber-threats, business decision-makers may also be guilty of overconfidence in their organisation’s security posture.
Nearly all respondents (93%) said they’re confident their company has implemented best practices to prevent or mitigate a cyber event. Yet most have not deployed endpoint detection and response tools (64%), they haven’t conducted a vendor cyber-assessment (59%), and don’t have an incident response plan (53%). Further, while 90% said they’re familiar with multi-factor authentication (MFA), only 52% had implemented it for remote access. This increasingly matters, not only to mitigate cyber-risk but also to reduce insurance premium costs and increase coverage.
Cyber attacks can shut down a company for a long period of time or even put it out of business, and it’s imperative that companies have a plan in place to mitigate any associated operational and financial disruptions.
Effective measures that have proven to reduce the risk of becoming a cyber victim are available, but based on these survey results, not enough companies are taking action. It’s never too late, and these steps can help businesses avoid a devastating cyber-event.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberthreats-top-business-big/
Fired Admin Cripples Former Employer's Network Using Old Credentials
After being laid off, an IT system administrator disrupted the operations of his former employer, a high-profile financial company in Hawaii, hoping to get his job back.
Casey K Umetsu, aged 40, worked as a network admin for the company between 2017 and 2019, when his employer terminated his contract. The US Department of Justice says in a press release that the defendant pled guilty to accessing his former employer's website and making configuration changes to redirect web and email traffic to external computers.
To prolong the business disruption for several more days, Umetsu performed additional actions that essentially locked out the firm's IT team from the website administration panel. In the end, the victimised company learned who was responsible for the sabotage after reporting the cyber security incident to the FBI.
Umetsu is awaiting sentence for his wrongdoings on January 19, 2023. He faces a maximum of 10 years of prison time and a fine of up to $250,000.
While Umetsu's actions are condemnable, the company's security practices cannot be overlooked since Umetsu used credentials that should have been invalidated the moment he got fired.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Ransomware data theft tool may show a shift in extortion tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
The various ways ransomware impacts your organization - Help Net Security
New Royal Ransomware emerges in multi-million dollar attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Research: 20% of All Reported Ransomware Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months - MSSP Alert
BlackCat Ransomware Attackers Spotted Fine-Tuning Their Malware Arsenal (thehackernews.com)
Noberus ransomware gets info-stealing upgrades • The Register
SQL Server admins warned to watch for Fargo ransomware • The Register
BlackCat/ALPHV Gang Adds Wiper Functionality as Ransomware Tactic (darkreading.com)
Leaked LockBit 3.0 builder used by ‘Bl00dy’ ransomware gang in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
NCC Group: IceFire ransomware gang ramping up attacks (techtarget.com)
MS SQL servers are getting hacked to deliver ransomware to orgs - Help Net Security
Hackers Leak French Hospital Patient Data in Ransom Fight | SecurityWeek.Com
Oxford Health: Cyber attack continues to hit NHS trust's services - BBC News
LA School District Ransomware Attackers Now Threaten to Leak Stolen Data (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Fake US govt job offers push Cobalt Strike in phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Germany arrests hacker for stealing €4 million via phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Capital One Phish Showcases Growing Bank-Brand Targeting Trend (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
How cyber criminals use public online and offline data to target employees | CSO Online
Beware Revolut frozen card scams sent via SMS text • Graham Cluley
IRS warns Americans of massive rise in SMS phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware
Office exploits continue to spread more than any other category of malware - Help Net Security
This credit card-stealing malware is spreading like wildfire | Digital Trends
Hacking group hides backdoor malware inside Windows logo image (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers now sharing cracked Brute Ratel post-exploitation kit online (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cobalt Strike malware campaign targets job seekers (techtarget.com)
New Botnet 'Chaos' Targeting Linux, Windows Systems (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Quantum Builder tool helps criminals spread Windows RATs • The Register
Unit 42 finds polyglot files delivering IcedID malware (techtarget.com)
Hackers use PowerPoint files for 'mouseover' malware delivery (bleepingcomputer.com)
Does AI-powered malware exist in the wild? Not yet (techtarget.com)
New Erbium password-stealing malware spreads as game cracks, cheats (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs
APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs
Mobile
WhatsApp 0-Day Bug Let Hackers Execute an Arbitary Code Remotely (gbhackers.com)
Adware on Google Play and Apple Store installed 13 million times (bleepingcomputer.com)
Samsung facing class action suit after customer data leak • The Register
Inside a cyber attack method that targets your cellphone - The Washington Post
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Watchfinder warns customers that hackers stole their data • Graham Cluley
Shangri-La hotels Customer Database Hacked | SecurityWeek.Com
Hacker Behind Optus Breach Releases 10,200 Customer Records in Extortion Scheme (thehackernews.com)
Australia government wants Optus to pay for data breach | ZDNET
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Ukraine Arrests Cyber Crime Group for Selling Data of 30 Million Accounts (thehackernews.com)
New hacking group ‘Metador’ lurking in ISP networks for months (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Scams targeting crypto enthusiasts are becoming increasingly common - Help Net Security
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Cyber sleuth alleges $160M Wintermute hack was an inside job (cointelegraph.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Identities Stolen From 1 In 4 Internet Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Fake Sites Siphon Millions of Dollars in 3-Year Scam (darkreading.com)
Here’s how crooks are using deepfakes to scam your biz • The Register
Deepfakes
Reshaping the Threat Landscape: Deepfake Cyber attacks Are Here (darkreading.com)
The deepfake danger: When it wasn’t you on that Zoom call | CSO Online
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Hackers are making DDoS attacks sneakier and harder to protect against | ZDNET
UK's MI5 website briefly hit by denial of service attack - BBC | Reuters
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Cloud security trends: What makes cloud infrastructure vulnerable to threats? - Help Net Security
81% of Companies Suffered A Cloud Security Incident Last Year – (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
What Lurks in the Shadows of Cloud Security? (darkreading.com)
Open Source
Open source projects under attack, with enterprises as the ultimate targets - Help Net Security
Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Numerous orgs hacked after installing weaponized open source apps | Ars Technica
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
The Country Where You Live Impacts Password Choices (darkreading.com)
Five Steps to Mitigate the Risk of Credential Exposure (thehackernews.com)
Social Media
Fake CISO Profiles on LinkedIn Target Fortune 500s – Krebs on Security
Ofcom chair says tech firms must prioritise safety alongside clicks | Ofcom | The Guardian
UK may fine TikTok $29 million for failing to protect children's privacy | Reuters
Training, Education and Awareness
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Cyber Warfare Rife in Ukraine, But Impact Stays in Shadows | SecurityWeek.Com
Mystery hackers are “hyperjacking” targets for insidious spying | Ars Technica
Cyber espionage group developed backdoors tailored for VMware ESXi hypervisors | CSO Online
Taiwanese citizens prepare for possible cyber war (axios.com)
Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register
Espionage Group Wields Steganographic Backdoor Against Govs, Stock Exchange (darkreading.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Researchers Identify 3 Hacktivist Groups Supporting Russian Interests (thehackernews.com)
APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs
Meta dismantles massive Russian network spoofing Western news sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese Cyberespionage Group 'Witchetty' Updates Toolset in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
China’s infosec researchers may have dodged vuln report ban` • The Register
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Lazarus Lures Aspiring Crypto Pros With Fake Exchange Job Postings (darkreading.com)
Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs
Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
Exchange Server zero-day being actively exploited • The Register
Microsoft Confirms Pair of Blindsiding Exchange Zero-Days, No Patch Yet (darkreading.com)
Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Networking Software | SecurityWeek.Com
Sophos fixes critical code injection bug under exploit • The Register
Zoho ManageEngine flaw is actively exploited, CISA warns | CSO Online
Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Quashes 5 High-Severity Bugs With Chrome 106 Update (darkreading.com)
Critical WhatsApp Bugs Could Have Let Attackers Hack Devices Remotely (thehackernews.com)
Go Update iOS, Chrome, and HP Computers to Fix Serious Flaws | WIRED
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
High-Profile Hacks Show Effectiveness of MFA Fatigue Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Poll Of IT Security Pros Suggests Gaps In UK Cyber Defence (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Why Organisations Need Both EDR and NDR for Complete Network Protection (thehackernews.com)
Lessons From the GitHub Cyber Security Breach (darkreading.com)
Data security trends: 7 statistics you need to know - Help Net Security
Why does a Legacy WAF Fail to “Catch” Sophisticated Attacks? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Akamai finds 13 million malicious newly observed domains a month | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Opinion | The Uber Hack Exposes More Than Failed Data Security - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Cyber security Study Sees “Siloed” Security As Organisational Weak Spot - MSSP Alert
3 types of attack paths in Microsoft Active Directory environments - Help Net Security
97% of enterprises say VPNs are prone to cyber attacks: Study | CSO Online
65% of companies are considering adopting VPN alternatives - Help Net Security
Spoofing cyber attack can make cameras see things that aren’t there | New Scientist
Zero Trust is the Goal But Much Ground Yet to Cover, CompTIA Reports - MSSP Alert
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 April 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 April 2022
-Nearly Two-Thirds of Ransomware Victims Paid Ransoms Last Year, Finds "2022 Cyberthreat Defense Report"
-New Android Banking Malware Remotely Takes Control of Your Device
-Network Intrusion Detections Skyrocketing
-Organisations Underestimating the Seriousness Of Insider Threats
-Watch Out For Phishing Emails From Genuine Mailing Lists, Following Mailchimp Hack
-SpringShell Attacks Target About One in Six Vulnerable Orgs
-New Threat Group Underscores Mounting Concerns Over Russian Cyber Threats
-Consumer Fraud Tripled in The Last Two Years
-Borat RAT: Multiple Threat of Ransomware, DDoS and Spyware
-Bank Had No Firewall License, Intrusion or Phishing Protection – Guess The Rest
-Global APT Groups Use Ukraine War for Phishing Lures
-Paying Ransom Doesn’t Guarantee Data Recovery
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
Nearly Two-Thirds of Ransomware Victims Paid Ransoms Last Year, Finds "2022 Cyberthreat Defense Report"
CyberEdge Group, a leading research and marketing firm serving the cyber security industry’s top vendors, announced the launch of its ninth annual Cyberthreat Defense Report (CDR). The award-winning CDR is the standard for assessing organisations’ security posture, gauging perceptions of information technology (IT) security professionals, and ascertaining current and planned investments in IT security infrastructure – across all industries and geographic regions.
A record 71% of organisations were impacted by successful ransomware attacks last year, according to the 2022 CDR, up from 55% in 2017. Of those that were victimised, nearly two-thirds (63%) paid the requested ransom, up from 39% in 2017.
New Android Banking Malware Remotely Takes Control of Your Device
A new Android banking malware named Octo has appeared in the wild, featuring remote access capabilities that allow malicious operators to perform on-device fraud.
Octo is an evolved Android malware based on ExoCompact, a malware variant based on the Exo trojan that quit the cyber crime space and had its source code leaked in 2018.
The new variant has been discovered by researchers at ThreatFabric, who observed several users looking to purchase it on darknet forums.
Network Intrusion Detections Skyrocketing
A WatchGuard report shows a record number of evasive network malware detections with advanced threats increasing by 33%, indicating a higher level of zero day threats than ever before.
Researchers detected malware threats in EMEA at a much higher rate than other regions of the world in Q4 2021, with malware detections per Firebox at 49%, compared to Americas at 23% and APAC at 29%. The trajectory of network intrusion detections also continued its upward climb with the largest total detections of any quarter in the last three years and a 39% increase quarter over quarter.
Researchers suggest that this may be due to the continued targeting of old vulnerabilities as well as the growth in organisations’ networks. As new devices come online and old vulnerabilities remain unpatched, network security is becoming more complex.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/08/network-malware-detections/
Organisations Underestimating the Seriousness of Insider Threats
Imperva releases data that shows organisations are failing to address the issue of insider threats during a time when the risk is at its greatest.
New research, conducted by Forrester, found that 59% of incidents in EMEA organisations that negatively impacted sensitive data in the last 12 months were caused by insider threats, and yet 59% do not prioritise insider threats the way they prioritise external threats. Despite the fact that insider events occur more often than external ones, they receive lower levels of investment.
This approach is at odds with today’s threat landscape where the risk of malicious insiders has never been higher. The rapid shift to remote working means many employees are now outside the typical security controls that organisations employ, making it harder to detect and prevent insider threats.
Further, the Great Resignation is creating an environment where there is a higher risk of employees stealing data. This data could be stolen intentionally by people looking to help themselves in future employment, because they are disgruntled and want revenge, or it could be taken unintentionally when a careless employee leaves the business with important information.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/08/organizations-insider-threats-issue/
Watch Out for Phishing Emails from Genuine Mailing Lists, Following Mailchimp Hack
A Mailchimp hack means that you’ll want to be even more vigilant than usual about phishing emails. Attackers have taken a clever approach to making their emails appear genuine …
When you subscribe to an email list, there’s a decent chance that the emails you received are actually sent by a company called Mailchimp, rather than directly by the company itself. Mailchimp offers companies a range of tools that make it easy to manage email databases, and send marketing emails and newsletters.
Hackers managed to gain access to more than 100 Mailchimp customer accounts, giving them the ability to send emails that would appear to have come from any one of those businesses.
Users will need to be more vigilant when receiving emails and avoid clicking on links in emails, even if they appear genuine.
https://9to5mac.com/2022/04/05/mailchimp-hack-phishing-alert/
SpringShell Attacks Target About One in Six Vulnerable Orgs
Roughly one out of six organisations worldwide that are impacted by the Spring4Shell zero-day vulnerability have already been targeted by threat actors, according to statistics from one cyber security company.
The exploitation attempts took place in the first four days since the disclosure of the severe remote code execution (RCE) flaw, tracked as CVE-2022-22965, and the associated exploit code.
According to Check Point, who compiled the report based on their telemetry data, 37,000 Spring4Shell attacks were detected over the past weekend alone.
New Threat Group Underscores Mounting Concerns Over Russian Cyber Threats
Crowdstrike says Ember Bear is likely responsible for the wiper attack against Ukrainian networks and that future Russian cyber attacks might target the West.
As fears mount over the prospects of a “cyberwar” initiated by the Russian government, the number of identified Russian threat actors also continues to climb. Last week CrowdStrike publicly revealed a Russia-nexus state-sponsored actor that it tracks as Ember Bear.
CrowdStrike says that Ember Bear (also known as UAC-0056, Lorec53, Lorec Bear, Bleeding Bear, Saint Bear) is likely an intelligence-gathering adversary group that has operated against government and military organisations in eastern Europe since early 2021. The group seems “motivated to weaponize the access and data obtained during their intrusions to support information operations (IO) aimed at creating public mistrust in targeted institutions and degrading government ability to counter Russian cyber operations,” according to CrowdStrike intelligence.
Despite its state-sponsored Russia nexus, Ember Bear differs from its better-known kin such as Fancy Bear or Voodoo Bear because CrowdStrike can’t tie it to a specific Russian organisation. Its target profile, assessed intent, and technical tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) are consistent with other Russian GRU cyber operations.
Consumer Fraud Tripled in The Last Two Years
Reported cases of consumer fraud more than tripled in the years 2020-2021 from prior years, finds a new report by Accenture, presenting a growing challenge for public safety agencies to find new strategies to counter the trend.
The report compiled data from eight developed nations (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on consumer fraud, defined as any fraud directly targeting citizens and excluding fraud targeting government agencies and companies. Reports of such fraud increased at an estimated 6.8% rate annually during 2013-2019 and then increased to a 22.5% annual growth rate yearly during 2020-2021 in parallel with the large shift of workers and consumers to digital channels and greater use of technology during the pandemic.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/08/consumer-fraud-tripled/
Borat RAT: Multiple Threat of Ransomware, DDoS and Spyware
A new remote access trojan (RAT) dubbed "Borat" doesn't come with many laughs but offers bad actors a menu of cyberthreats to choose from.
RATs are typically used by cyber criminals to get full control of a victim's system, enabling them to access files and network resources and manipulate the mouse and keyboard. Borat does all this and also delivers features to enable hackers to run ransomware, distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) and other online assaults and to install spyware, according to researchers at cyber security biz Cyble.
"The Borat RAT provides a dashboard to Threat Actors (TAs) to perform RAT activities and also has an option to compile the malware binary for performing DDoS and ransomware attacks on the victim's machine," the researchers wrote in a blog post, noting the malware is being made available for sale to hackers.
Borat – named after the character made famous by actor Sacha Baron Cohen in two comedy films – comes with the standard requisite of RAT features in a package that includes such functions as builder binary, server certificate and supporting modules.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/04/borat-rat-ransomware-ddos/
Bank Had No Firewall License, Intrusion or Phishing Protection – Guess the Rest
An Indian bank that did not have a valid firewall license, had not employed phishing protection, lacked an intrusion detection system and eschewed use of any intrusion prevention system has, shockingly, been compromised by criminals who made off with millions of rupees.
The unfortunate institution is called the Andra Pradesh Mahesh Co-Operative Urban Bank. Its 45 branches and just under $400 million of deposits make it one of India's smaller banks.
It certainly thinks small about security – at least according to Hyderabad City Police, which last week detailed an attack on the Bank that started with over 200 phishing emails being sent across three days in November 2021. At least one of those mails succeeded in fooling staff, resulting in the installation of a Remote Access Trojan (RAT).
Another technology the bank had chosen not to adopt was virtual LANs, so once the RAT went to work the attackers gained entry to the Bank's systems and were able to roam widely – even in its core banking application
https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/05/mahesh_bank_no_firewall_attack/
Global APT Groups Use Ukraine War for Phishing Lures
Security researchers have detected multiple APT campaigns leveraging Ukraine war-themed documents and news sources to lure victims into clicking on spear-phishing links.
Check Point Research said victim locations ranged from South America to the Middle East, with malware downloads designed to perform keylogging and screenshotting and execute commands.
The threat groups in question include El Machete, which is targeting the financial and government sectors in Nicaragua and Venezuela with malicious macro-laden Word documents containing articles on the war.
One of the docs was an article written by the Russian ambassador to Nicaragua titled: “Dark plans of the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine.”
Another is Lyceum, an Iranian state-linked group targeting the energy sector with emails about war crimes in Ukraine that link to a malicious document hosted elsewhere. Its victims so far have been in Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to Check Point.
One email contained a link to an article from The Guardian hosted on the news-spot[.]live domain, alongside several malicious docs about the war.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-apt-ukraine-war-phishing/
Paying Ransom Doesn’t Guarantee Data Recovery
OwnBackup announced the findings of a global survey conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) that reveals a staggering 79% of respondent organisations have been targeted by ransomware within the past 12 months. Of those organisations, nearly three quarters said the attack was successful, meaning that it disrupted business operations.
Other key findings
· Of the respondents that said their organisation paid a cyber ransom to regain access to data, applications, and/or systems after an attack, only 14% were able to recover all of their data.
· 87% of respondents who made ransom payments said that they experienced additional extortion attempts beyond the initial ransomware demand.
· 31% of respondent organisations targeted by ransomware indicated that application user and permission misconfigurations were the initial point of compromise.
· 87% of respondents are very or somewhat concerned about their backups being infected by ransomware attacks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/07/organizations-targeted-by-ransomware/
Threats
Ransomware
March Ransomware Attacks Strike Finance, Government Targets (techtarget.com)
Why Paying The Ransom Isn’t The Answer For Ransomware Victims - Information Security Buzz
Companies Are More Prepared to Pay Ransoms Than Ever Before (tripwire.com)
Conti Ransomware Deployed in IcedID Banking Trojan Attack (techtarget.com)
Researchers Connect BlackCat Ransomware with Past BlackMatter Malware Activity (thehackernews.com)
Notorious Hacking Group FIN7 Adds Ransomware to Its Repertoire - CyberScoop
BlackCat Purveyor Shows Ransomware Operators Have 9 Lives (darkreading.com)
FIN7 Hackers Evolve Toolset, Work with Multiple Ransomware Gangs (bleepingcomputer.com)
LockBit Ransomware Attack Costs CRM Services Provider Over $42 Million - MSSP Alert
Snap-on Discloses Data Breach Claimed by Conti Ransomware Gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Borat RAT Malware: A 'Unique' Triple Threat That Is Far from Funny | ZDNet
Multiple Hacker Groups Capitalizing on Ukraine Conflict for Distributing Malware (thehackernews.com)
Malicious Web Redirect Service Infects 16,500 Sites to Push Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Uncover How Colibri Malware Stays Persistent on Hacked Systems (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
44 Vulnerabilities Patched in Android With April 2022 Security Updates | SecurityWeek.Com
Samsung Security Flaw Left Phones Exposed for Years (androidpolice.com)
SharkBot Android Malware Continues Popping Up on Google Play | SecurityWeek.Com
Android Apps With 45 Million Installs Used Data Harvesting SDK (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Android Spyware Uses Turla-Linked Infrastructure | SecurityWeek.Com
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Crypto 2022: Hackers Have Nabbed $1.22 Billion Already (yahoo.com)
Malicious Crypto Miners Can Make A Profit In A Few Hours - Help Net Security
Malicious Actors Targeting the Cloud For Cryptocurrency-Mining Activities - Help Net Security
Cryptocurrency-Mining AWS Lambda-Specific Malware Spotted • The Register
MailChimp Breached, Intruders Conducted Phishing Attacks Against Crypto Customers - Security Affairs
Turkey Seeks 40,000-Year Sentences for Alleged Cryptocurrency Exit Scammers | ZDNet
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Traditional Identity Fraud Losses Soar, Totalling $52 Billion in 2021 - Help Net Security
South African and US Officers Swoop on Fraud Gang - Infosecurity Magazine
Insurance
Supply Chain
Cloud
The Importance of Understanding Cloud Native Security Risks - Help Net Security
15 Cyber Security Measures for the Cloud Era - Security Affairs
Privacy
How You’re Still Being Tracked on the Internet - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Using Google's Chrome Browser? This New Feature Will Help You Fix Your Security Settings | ZDNet
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Travel
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
The Russian Cyber Attack Threat Might Force a New IT Stance | Computerworld
FBI Operation Aims to Take Down Massive Russian GRU Botnet | TechCrunch
Microsoft Sinkholes Russian Hacking Group's Domains Targeting Ukraine (darkreading.com)
FBI Disrupts Russian Military Hackers, Preventing Botnet Amid Ukraine War | Fox News
Russia (still) Trying To Weaponize Facebook Amid Ukraine War • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
Symantec: Chinese APT Group Targeting Global MSPs | SecurityWeek.Com
Chinese Hackers Are Using VLC Media Player to Launch Malware Attacks (androidpolice.com)
Hacked: Inside the US-China Cyberwar | Cybersecurity | Al Jazeera
China Uses AI Software to Improve Its Surveillance Capabilities | Reuters
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
CISA Warns of Active Exploitation of Critical Spring4Shell Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Palo Alto Networks firewalls, VPNs vulnerable to OpenSSL bug (bleepingcomputer.com)
A Vulnerability in Zyxel Firewall Could Allow for Authentication Bypass (cisecurity.org)
Spring4Shell Patching Is Going Slow but Risk Not Comparable To Log4Shell | CSO Online
Apple Leaves Big Sur, Catalina Exposed to Critical Flaws: Intego | SecurityWeek.Com
A Mirai-Based Botnet Is Exploiting the Spring4Shell Vulnerability - Security Affairs
Steady Rise in Severe Web Vulnerabilities - Help Net Security
ACF WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To +2 Million Sites (searchenginejournal.com)
Zero Days Are for Life, Not Just For Christmas. Here’s How to Deal With Them • The Register
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
FinTech
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Manufacturing
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Europe Warned About Cyber Threat to Industrial Infrastructure | SecurityWeek.Com
BlackCat Ransomware Targets Industrial Companies | SecurityWeek.Com
Energy & Utilities
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Okta CEO Says Lapsus$ Hack is 'Big Deal,' Aims to Restore Trust (yahoo.com)
86% of Developers Don't Prioritise Application Security - Help Net Security
Digital Transformation Requires Security Intelligence - Help Net Security
Government Officials: AI Threat Detection Still Needs Humans (techtarget.com)
The Original APT: Advanced Persistent Teenagers – Krebs on Security
How Many Steps Does It Take for Attackers To Compromise Critical Assets? - 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.
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 18 March 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 March 2022
-Guernsey Cyber Security Warning For Islanders And Businesses
-CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware And State-Supported Cyber Crime
-Four Key Risks Exacerbated By Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
-These Four Types Of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters Of Reported Incidents
-Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
-Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
-Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be A Harbinger Of Dangers Ahead
-Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
-Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
-Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
-UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
-Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools Of Other APT Groups
-The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities In Critical Infrastructure
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
Guernsey Cyber Security Warning for Islanders and Businesses
There has been a rise in cyber-attacks since the war in Ukraine began, according to the States of Guernsey and a cyber-security firm.
The States said: "We have seen a noticeable increase in the number of phishing emails since the war began."
The Channel Islands see more than 10 million cyber attacks every month, according to research by Guernsey firm Black Arrow Cyber Consulting.
It encouraged vigilance, as the islands are not immune to these attacks.
A States spokesman said: "The whole community needs to remain vigilant against such emails, which are designed to appear to be from reputable sources in order to dupe people into providing personal information or access to their device via the clicking of a link."
Bruce McDougall, from Black Arrow Cyber Consulting, said: "Criminals don't let a good opportunity go to waste. So they're conducting scams encouraging people to make false payments in the belief they're collecting for charities."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-60763398
CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware and State-Supported Cyber Crime
As some nations turn a blind eye, defence becomes life-or-death matter
With ransomware gangs raiding network after network, and nation states consciously turning a blind eye to it, today's chief information security officers are caught in a "perfect storm," says Cybereason CSO Sam Curry.
"There's this marriage right now of financially motivated cyber crime that can have a critical infrastructure and economic impact," Curry said during a CISO roundtable hosted by his endpoint security shop. "And there are some nation states that do what we call state-ignored sanctioning," he continued, using Russia-based REvil and Conti ransomware groups as examples of criminal operations that benefit from their home governments looking the other way.
"You get the umbrella of sovereignty, and you get the free license to be a privateer in essence," Curry said. "It's not just an economic threat. It's not just a geopolitical threat. It's a perfect storm."
It's probably not a huge surprise to anyone that destructive cyber attacks keep CISOs awake at night. But as chief information security officers across industries — in addition to Curry, the four others on the roundtable spanned retail, biopharmaceuticals, electronics manufacturing, and a cruise line — have watched threats evolve and criminal gangs mature, it becomes a battle to see who can innovate faster; the attackers or the defenders.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/ciso_security_storm/
Four Key Risks Exacerbated by Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the emerging risk landscape, and it requires enterprise risk management (ERM) leaders to reassess previously established organisational risk profiles in at least four key areas, according to Gartner.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the velocity of many risks we have tracked on a quarterly basis in our Emerging Risks survey,” said Matt Shinkman, VP with the Gartner Risk and Audit Practice.
“As ERM leaders reassess their organisational risk models, they must also ensure a high frequency of communication with the C-Suite as to the critical changes that require attention now.”
There are four major areas of risk that ERM leaders should continually monitor and examine their mitigation strategies as part of a broader aligned assurance approach as the war continues: Talent Risk, Cyber Security Risk, Financial Risk and Supply Chain Risk
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/17/erm-leaders-risk/
These Four Types of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters of Reported Incidents
Any ransomware is a cyber security issue, but some strains are having more of an impact than others.
Ransomware causes problems no matter what brand it is, but some forms are noticeably more prolific than others, with four strains of the malware accounting for a combined total of almost 70% of all attacks.
According to analysis by cyber security company Intel 471, the most prevalent ransomware threat towards the end of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which accounted for 29.7% of all reported incidents. Recent victims of LockBit have included Accenture and the French Ministry of Justice.
Almost one in five reported incidents involved Conti ransomware, famous for several incidents over the past year, including an attack against the Irish Healthcare Executive. The group recently had chat logs leaked, providing insights into how a ransomware gang works. PYSA and Hive account for one in 10 reported ransomware attacks each.
"The most prevalent ransomware strain in the fourth quarter of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which was responsible for 29.7% of all reported incidents, followed by Conti at 19%, PYSA at 10.5% and Hive at 10.1%," said the researchers.
Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
The cyber crime underground has fractured into pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia camps, with the latter increasingly focused on critical national infrastructure (CNI) targets in the West, according to a new report from Accenture.
The consulting giant’s Accenture Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI) arm warned that the ideological schism could spell mounting risk for Western organisations as pro-Kremlin criminal groups adopt quasi-hacktivist tactics to choose their next victims.
Organisations in the government, media, finance, insurance, utilities and resources sectors should be braced for more attacks, said ACTI.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/critical-infrastructure-threat/
Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
An expanding threat landscape is testing the limits of cyber insurance coverage.
The industry experienced a rapid maturation over the past three years as enterprises required a broader umbrella of insurance coverage to combat increasing cyber risks. While demands and premiums continue to rise, one recent area of contention involves war and hostile acts, an exclusion that's becoming harder to categorize.
A judgment in December, coupled with the Russian invasion last month that posed potential cyber retaliations to Ukraine allies, highlighted shortcomings in insurance policies when it comes to cyber conflicts.
Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be a Harbinger of Dangers Ahead
Several deepfake video experts called a doctored video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that went viral this week before social media platforms removed it a poorly executed example of the form, but nonetheless damaging.
Elements of the Zelenskyy deepfake — which purported to show him calling for surrender — made it easy to debunk, they said. But that won’t always be the case.
https://www.cyberscoop.com/zelenskyy-deepfake-troubles-experts/
Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
They’re choosing sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, beckoning previously shunned ransomware groups and thereby reinvigorating those groups’ once-diminished power.
A rift has formed in the cyber crime underground: one that could strengthen, rather than cripple, the cyber-onslaught of ransomware.
According to a report, ever since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, “previously coexisting, financially motivated threat actors divided along ideological factions.”
“Pro-Ukrainian actors are refusing to sell, buy, or collaborate with Russian-aligned actors, and are increasingly attempting to target Russian entities in support of Ukraine,” wrote researchers from Accenture’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI). “However, pro-Russian actors are increasingly aligning with hacktivist-like activity targeting ‘enemies of Russia,’ especially Western entities due to their claims of Western warmongering.”
What might otherwise seem like a good thing – bad guys fighting bad guys – may in fact pose an increased threat to the West.
https://threatpost.com/cybercrooks-political-in-fighting-threatens-the-west/178899/
Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
There was a 50% year-on-year surge in cloud-based email threats in 2021, but a drop in ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) detections as attacks became more targeted, according to Trend Micro.
The security vendor’s 2021 roundup report, Navigating New Frontiers, was compiled from data collected by customer-installed products and cloud-based threat intelligence.
It revealed that Trend Micro blocked 25.7 million email threats targeting Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 users last year, versus 16.7 million in 2020.
The number of phishing attempts almost doubled during the period, as threat actors continued to target home workers. Of these, 38% were focused on stealing credentials, the report claimed.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cloudbased-email-threats-surge-2021/
Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
Researchers uncovered more than two million new mobile malware samples in the wild last year, Zimperium said in a new report.
Those threats spanned some 10 million mobile devices in at least 214 countries, the Dallas, Texas-based solution provider said in its newly released 2022 Global Mobile Threat Report. Indeed, mobile malware proved in 2021 to be the most prevalent security threat to enterprises, encountered by nearly 25 percent mobile endpoints among Zimperium’s customers worldwide. The 2.3 million new mobile strains Zimperium’s researchers located amount to nearly 36,000 new strains of malware weekly and roughly 5,000 each day.
UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
Criminal defence law firm Tuckers Solicitors is facing a fine from the UK's data watchdog for failing to properly secure data that included information on case proceedings which was scooped up in a ransomware attack in 2020.
The London-based business was handed a £98,000 penalty notice by the Information Commissioner's Office under Article 83 of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation 2018.
The breach was first noted by Tuckers on August 23 2020 when part of its IT system became unavailable. On closer inspection, resident techies found a note from the attackers confirming they had compromised part of the infrastructure. The Microsoft Exchange server was out of action and two days' worth of emails were lost, as detailed by the company blog at the time.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/15/brit_solicitor_fined_for_failing/
Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups
A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found.
The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to the victim network, ultimately leading to the deployment of Cobalt Strike payloads on compromised assets, said Felipe Duarte and Ido Naor, researchers at Israeli incident response firm Security Joes, in a report published last week.
Although the infection was contained at this stage, the researchers characterized the compromise as a case of a suspected ransomware attack.
The intrusion is said to have taken place in February 2022, with the attackers making use of post-exploitation tools such as ADFind, NetScan, SoftPerfect, and LaZagne. Also employed is an AccountRestore executable to brute-force administrator credentials and a forked version of a reverse tunneling tool called Ligolo.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/russian-ransomware-gang-retool-custom.html
The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure
Recent cyber events have shown how extremely vulnerable critical infrastructure is. What are the biggest security concerns?
In any world conflict, one of the primary threats posed is cyber actors disabling or destroying the core infrastructure of the adversary. Based on the global reaction to the current world conflict, countries fear reprisals. The worry is that there will be collateral damage to the critical infrastructure of other countries not directly involved in the current conflict.
Today, services such as healthcare systems, power grids, transportation and other critical industries are increasingly integrating their operational technology with traditional IT systems in order to modernize their infrastructure, and this has opened up a new wave of cyber attacks. Though businesses are ramping up their security initiatives and investments to defend and protect, their efforts have largely been siloed, reactive, and lack business context. Lack of visibility of risk across the estate is a huge problem for this sector.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/15/critical-infrastructure-security/
Threats
Ransomware
Nearly 34 Ransomware Variants Observed in Hundreds of Cyber Attacks in Q4 2021 (thehackernews.com)
Franchises, Partnerships Emerge in Ransomware-as-a-Service Operations | ZDNet
Dozens of Ransomware Variants Used In 722 Attacks Over 3 Months (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti Leak: A Ransomware Gang's Chats Expose Its Crypto Plans | WIRED
Google Blows Lid Off Conti, Diavol Ransomware Access-Broker Ops | Threatpost
SEC Filings Show Hidden Ransomware Costs And Losses | CSO Online
Exotic Lily Sells Ransomware Groups Access To Targets • The Register
New "Initial Access Broker" Working with Conti gang - IT Security Guru
Google Exposes Tactics Of A Conti Ransomware Access Broker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Avoslocker Ransomware Gang Targets US Critical Infrastructure - Security Affairs
How Prepared Are Organisations To Face A Ransomware Attack On Kubernetes? - Help Net Security
Experts Find Some Affiliates of BlackMatter Now Spreading BlackCat Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Bridgestone Cyber Attack Timeline and Ransomware Recovery Details - MSSP Alert
Automotive Giant Denso Confirms Hack, Pandora Ransomware Group Takes Credit | ZDNet
Phishing & Email
Massive Phishing Campaign Uses 500+ Domains To Steal Credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
How CAPTCHA Puzzles Cloak Phishing Page URLs In Emails • The Register
Microsoft the No. 1 Most-Spoofed Brand in Phishing Attacks (darkreading.com)
76,000 Scams Taken Down Through Email Reporting - IT Security Guru
Phony Instagram ‘Support Staff’ Emails Hit Insurance Company | Threatpost
This Browser-In-The-Browser Attack Is Perfect For Phishing • The Register
Malware
New "B1txor20" Linux Botnet Uses DNS Tunnel and Exploits Log4J Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Attacker Uses Websites' Contact Forms To Spread BazarLoader Malware | TechRepublic
Gh0stCringe RAT Targeting Database Servers in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Cyclops Blink Malware Sets Up Shop in ASUS Routers • The Register
DirtyMoe Botnet Gains New Exploits in Wormable Module to Spread Rapidly (thehackernews.com)
Linux Botnet Exploits Log4j Flaw To Hijack Arm, x86 Systems • The Register
New Threat: B1txor20, A Linux Backdoor Using DNS Tunnel (360.com)
Russian Cyclops Blink Botnet Launches Assault Against Asus Routers | ZDNet
TrickBot Malware Abusing MikroTik Routers as Proxies for Command-and-Control (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
2021 Mobile Security: Android More Vulnerabilities, iOS More Zero-Days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Secret Keys Found in Leaked Samsung Source Code | SecurityWeek.Com
Scammers Have 2 Clever New Ways To Install Malicious Apps on iOS Devices | Ars Technica
Threat Intel Report: Who Is Behind Staggering 190GB Samsung Galaxy Hack? (forbes.com)
Android Trojan Persists On The Google Play Store Since January (bleepingcomputer.com)
IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Financially Motivated Threat Actors Willing To Go After Russian Targets - Help Net Security
A Third of Malicious Logins Originate in Nigeria - Infosecurity Magazine
Phishers Exploit Ukraine Conflict To Solicit Crypto - IT Security Guru
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
Cloud
How Cloud Services Become Weapons In Russia-Ukraine Cyber Conflict | ZDNet
The Next Big Cyber Security Threat Is Connected SaaS Platforms (thenextweb.com)
Privacy
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
CafePress Fined For Covering Up Customer Info Leak • The Register
Meta Fined €17 Million by Irish Regulator for GDPR Violations | CSO Online
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Conti Leaks Reveal the Ransomware Group’s Links to Russia | WIRED
How The Cyber World Can Support Ukraine | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
FBI Warns of MFA Flaw Used By State Hackers For Lateral Movement (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine Secret Service Arrests Hacker Helping Russian Invaders (thehackernews.com)
Open Source Maintainer Sabotages Code to Wipe Russian, Belarusian Computers (vice.com)
German Government Advises Against Using Kaspersky Antivirus (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine's "IT Army" Hit With Info-Stealing Malware- IT Security Guru
Mozilla Firefox Removes Russian Search Providers Over Misinformation Concerns (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fake Antivirus Updates Used To Deploy Cobalt Strike in Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukrainian Hacktivists Allegedly Dumps Kaspersky Product Source Code Online (Updated) - Lowyat.NET
New CaddyWiper Data Wiping Malware Hits Ukrainian Networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top Ukrainian Cyber Official Praises Volunteer Hacks On Russian Targets, Offers Updates - CyberScoop
Anonymous Sent A Message To Russians: "Remove Putin" - Security Affairs
Cyber Attacks Cripple Russian Websites After Ukraine Invasion (gizmodo.com)
Russia Faces IT Crisis With Just Two Months Of Data Storage Left (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia Labels Meta 'Extremist Organisation, Bans Instagram • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
China-Linked Threat Actors Are Targeting The Government Of Ukraine - Security Affairs
China Claims It Captured NSA Spy Tool That Already Leaked • The Register
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 15 Vulnerabilities To List Of Flaws Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Linux Bug in Netfilter Firewall Module Lets Attackers Gain Root Access (thehackernews.com)
Apple Patch Day: Gaping Security Holes in iOS, macOS, iPadOS | SecurityWeek.Com
OpenSSL Patches Denial-Of-Service Certificate Flaw • The Register
OpenSSL Patches Infinite-Loop DoS Bug In Certificate Verification – Naked Security (sophos.com)
SolarWinds Warns Of Attacks Targeting Web Help Desk Instances (bleepingcomputer.com)
High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in BIND Server | SecurityWeek.Com
QNAP Warns Severe Linux Bug Affects Most Of Its NAS Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Hackers Target Bank Networks with new Rootkit to Steal Money from ATM Machines (thehackernews.com)
Banks on Alert For Russian Reprisal Cyber Attacks on Swift | Ars Technica
Fraudsters Use Intelligent Bots To Attack Financial Institutions (scmagazine.com)
70% of Financial Service Providers Are Implementing API Security - Help Net Security
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Transport and Aviation
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Does the Free World Need a Global Cyber Alliance? | SecurityWeek.Com
Why EDR Is Not Sufficient To Protect Your Organisation - Help Net Security
Public and Private Sector Security: Better Protection by Collaboration | SecurityWeek.Com
The Importance Of Building In Security During Software Development - Help Net Security
How Fast Can Organisations Respond To A Cyber Security Crisis? - Help Net Security
Researcher Uses 379-Year-Old Algorithm To Crack Crypto Keys Found In The Wild | Ars Technica
How Pen Testing Gains Critical Security Buy-in and Defence Insight (darkreading.com)
DarkHotel APT Targets Wynn, Macao Hotels to Rip Off Guest Data | Threatpost
When IT Spending Plans Don't Reflect Security Priorities (darkreading.com)
Half of People Accept All Cookies Despite The Security Risk | TechRadar
Business Is At Last Collaborating On Cyber Security | Financial Times (ft.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 10 December 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 10 December 2021
-Beware Of Ransomware Attacks Between Christmas and New Year’s!
-Why Holidays Put Your Company at Risk of Cyber Attack (And How to Take Precautions)
-Security Experts Sound Alarm on Zero-Day in Widely Used Log4j Tool
-SolarWinds Attackers Spotted Using New Tactics, Malware
-Cyber Crime Supply Chain: Fueling The Rise In Ransomware
-Weak Passwords Caused 30% Of Security Breaches
-Work-from-Anywhere Requires "Work-from-Anywhere Security"
-Just 3% of UK Firms Escaped a Supply Chain Breach in 2021
-Critical Flaw In ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP Tool Exploited In The Wild
-New Financial Services Industry Report Reveals Major Gaps in Storage and Backup Security
-UK’s Poor Cyber Risk Planning Could “Wreak Havoc”
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
Beware Of Ransomware Attacks Between Christmas And New Year’s!
Darktrace reported that its security researchers discovered a 30% increase in the average number of attempted ransomware attacks globally over the holiday season in every consecutive year from 2018 to 2020 compared to the monthly average.
The researchers also observed a 70% average increase in attempted ransomware attacks in November and December compared to January and February. Following a record number of ransomware attacks this year, the company expects the spike to be higher over the 2021 holiday period.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/09/ransomware-attacks-holiday/
Why Holidays Put Your Company at Risk of Cyber Attack (And How to Take Precautions)
It is a time when many are thinking of their families and loved ones, time off work, and gift-giving – the holidays. However, while many have their minds outside the realm of work during the holiday season, often, this is when attackers plan their most sinister attacks.
So how can you take precautions to protect your organisation during these times?
Attackers today do not have a soft spot for businesses and give companies a break at any time of the year, especially not during holidays. On the contrary, any time of the year where companies may be less prepared to fend off a cyberattack is an opportunity for successful compromise. As a result, the holidays put your company at a higher risk of cyberattack.
https://thehackernews.com/2021/12/why-holidays-put-your-company-at-risk.html
Security Experts Sound Alarm on Zero-Day in Widely Used Log4j Tool
Security experts are sounding the equivalent of a five-alarm fire on a critical new zero-day vulnerability in Log4j, a logging framework that is ubiquitously present in Java software.
The flaw (CVE-2021-44228) could allow remote attackers to run arbitrary code on any application that uses Log4j and is already being actively exploited. Some vendors have observed mass scanning activity — presumably by threat actors — for vulnerable applications, and there are some reports of exploit activity against organisations. Attacks against the flaw take little skill to execute and are being fueled by proof-of-concept code in the wild.
SolarWinds Attackers Spotted Using New Tactics, Malware
One year after the disruptive supply-chain attacks, researchers have observed two new clusters of activity from the Russia-based actors that signal a significant threat may be brewing.
One year after the notorious and far-reaching SolarWinds supply-chain attacks, its orchestrators are on the offensive again. Researchers said they’ve seen the threat group – which Microsoft refers to as “Nobelium” and which is linked to Russia’s spy agency – compromising global business and government targets with novel tactics and custom malware, stealing data and moving laterally across networks.
https://threatpost.com/solarwinds-attackers-new-tactics-malware/176818/
Cyber Crime Supply Chain: Fuelling The Rise In Ransomware
Trend Micro released a research detailing the murky cybercrime supply chain behind much of the recent surge in ransomware attacks. Demand has increased so much over the past two years that many cybercriminal markets now have their own “Access-as-a-Service” sections.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/06/cybercrime-supply-chain/
Weak Passwords Caused 30% Of Security Breaches
A recent survey assessed the risk factors associated with password management and how to safeguard them from attacks or breaches. The results revealed that 30% of respondents reported password leaks and security breaches as a result of poor password practices. Respondees admitted to making poor password choices, such as sharing them with colleagues, family members or friends; writing them on sticky notes, papers, planners; re-using passwords across multiple sites and only changing them when prompted.
Consequently, researchers revealed some of the best password practices to create unhackable passwords. These practices include using secure VPNs, two-factor authentication, using a password management software and creating unique passwords that aren’t easily deduced .
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2021/12/10/weak-passwords-caused-30-of-security-breaches/
Work-from-Anywhere Requires "Work-from-Anywhere Security"
Securing today's expanding networks often includes adding additional technologies to an already overburdened security environment. With organisations already struggling to manage an average of 45 security tools, with each incident requiring coordination across 19 different devices, adding new technologies to the mix may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
The most recent example of the rapid expansion of the network's attack surface has been remote work. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for a work-from-anywhere (WFA) strategy. And now, as workers begin to return to the office, a hybrid approach to work has become the new status quo. According to Accenture, 83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model that allows them to work remotely between 25% and 75% of the time. And businesses are listening. 63% of high-revenue growth companies have already enabled productivity anywhere workforce models.
One of the biggest security challenges of a hybrid workforce is that employees need to move seamlessly between the corporate office, their home network, and other remote locations. Applications, whether deployed in the data centre, SaaS, or cloud, not only need to be available from anywhere, but user experience—and security—needs to be consistent from any location as well.
https://www.securityweek.com/work-anywhere-requires-work-anywhere-security
Just 3% of UK Firms Escaped a Supply Chain Breach in 2021
Some 97% of UK organisations suffered a supply chain breach over the past year, up from 82% in 2020 and the second highest figure globally, according to BlueVoyant.
The security firm polled 1200 C-level executives with responsibility for managing risk in supply chains, across the UK, US, Singapore, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.
UK firms also experienced a higher-than-average percentage of breaches: 59% suffered between two and five supply chain incidents compared to an overall average of 49%. The average number of breaches in the country grew from 2.64 in 2020 to 3.57 in 2021.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given these figures, only a quarter (27%) of UK respondents said they consider third-party cyber risk a key priority versus a 42% global average.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/just-3-uk-firms-escaped-supply/
Critical Flaw In ManageEngine Desktop Central MSP Tool Exploited In The Wild
News of this latest zero-day vulnerability comes after hackers exploited at least two other flaws in ManageEngine products this year. Attacks against MSPs and their tools have seen a rise over the past several years due to hackers realizing that compromising such organisations can provide an easy way into the networks of thousands of businesses that rely on them to manage their IT assets.
News of this latest zero-day vulnerability comes after hackers exploited at least two other flaws in ManageEngine products this year. Attacks against MSPs and their tools have seen a rise over the past several years due to hackers realizing that compromising such organisations can provide an easy way into the networks of thousands of businesses that rely on them to manage their IT assets.
New Financial Services Industry Report Reveals Major Gaps in Storage and Backup Security
Continuity™, the first dedicated storage and backup security provider, this week announced findings from its Security Intelligence Report: Analysis of Storage and Backup Security in the Financial Services & Banking Sector. This extensive study – the first of its kind – explores the security posture of storage and backup environments in the global financial services industry.
The survey of 200 financial services firms and banks from 45 countries revealed that most of these organisations have not yet reached a satisfactory level of storage and backup maturity. Notably, more than half (52%) of the respondents were not strongly confident about their storage and backup security, and a quarter (25%) noted they were significantly concerned (low or no confidence).
UK’s Poor Cyber Risk Planning Could “Wreak Havoc”
The UK’s long-term risk planning is under-powered and could expose the nation if it is struck by a serious cyber-threat, a new House of Lords (HoL) report has found.
The study, Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society, was produced by the upper chamber’s Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning after interviews with 85 expert witnesses.
It claimed that the government spends too much of its time reacting to crises and emergencies, neglecting the kind of long-term planning which would have prepared the country better for the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The UK’s unpreparedness to manage the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus was and is clear. More broadly, our inquiry has analyzed the UK’s risk assessment process and found that our current system is deficient at assessing and addressing future threats and hazards,” it argued.
“However, pandemics are only one of a number of extreme risks facing the UK. Severe space weather events could render smart technologies on which much of society relies inoperable for weeks or longer; this would include GPS, the internet, communications systems and power supplies. A cyber or physical attack on our critical national infrastructure could wreak havoc.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uks-poor-cyber-risk-planning-could/
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware Attacks Soar, Hackers Set To Become More Aggressive | Reuters
Emotet’s Behaviour & Spread Are Omens of Ransomware Attacks | Threatpost
Ireland Conti Ransomware Attack Vector Was Spam Email • The Register
Crackdown On Crypto Firms Needed To ‘Wreck’ Ransomware, Says Ex-GCHQ Boss (telegraph.co.uk)
Companies Linked to Russian Ransomware Hide in Plain Sight - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
New 'Karakurt' Cyber Crime Gang Focuses On Data Theft And Extortion - Security Affairs
More Than 300 Spar Shops In North Of England Hit By Cyber Attack | Hacking | The Guardian
New Cerber Ransomware Targets Confluence And GitLab Servers (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Ransomware Attack Locks Hotel Guests Out Of Rooms - IT Security Guru
BlackCat: A New Rust-based Ransomware Malware Spotted in the Wild (thehackernews.com)
ALPHV BlackCat - This Year's Most Sophisticated Ransomware (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Phishing
Microsoft, Google OAuth Flaws Can Be Abused In Phishing Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Researchers Explore Microsoft Outlook Phishing Techniques (darkreading.com)
Convincing Microsoft Phishing Uses Fake Office 365 Spam Alerts (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Study: Most Phishing Pages Are Abandoned Or Disappear In A Matter Of Days - Techrepublic
Phishing Attacks Use QR Codes To Steal Banking Credentials (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Malware
Emotet Is Back and More Dangerous Than Before (darkreading.com)
Malicious Notepad++ Installers Push StrongPity Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
IOT
IoT Under Attack: Security Is Still Not Good Enough On These Edge Devices | ZDNet
Three-Quarters of Firms Admit to Sub-Optimal IoT Security - Infosecurity Magazine
Data Breaches/Leaks
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Microsoft Seizes 42 Malicious Web Domains Used By Chinese Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Google Disrupts Massive Glupteba Botnet, Sues Russian Operators (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Cyber Criminals Are Using Fake Advertising To Distribute Malware | Techspot
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Hackers Are Minting Their Own Crypto To Use In Elaborate Phishing Scams | Techradar
Tor2Mine Cryptominer Is Warning Sign Of Network Exploitation • The Register
QNAP Warns Users Of Bitcoin Miner Targeting Their NAS Devices (Bleepingcomputer.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud & Financial Crime
Dark Web
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Nation State Actors
UK Spy Chief Raises Fears Over China’s Digital Renminbi | Financial Times (FT.com)
Russia Blocks Tor Privacy Service in Latest Censorship Move (thehackernews.com)
Cloud
Vulnerabilities
Your Microsoft Network Is Only As Secure As Your Oldest Server | CSO Online
Lack of Patching Leaves 300,000 Routers at Risk for Attack (darkreading.com)
Vulnerability In Windows 10 URI Handler Leads To Remote Code Execution | Malwarebytes Labs
Dark Mirai Botnet Targeting RCE On Popular TP-Link Router (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Sprawling Active Attack Aims to Take Over 1.6M WordPress Sites | Threatpost
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
US Bank Regulator Urges Vigilance As Ransomware Attacks On The Rise | Reuters
Israel Leads 10-Country Simulation Of Major Cyber Attack On World Markets | The Times Of Israel
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Retail
Fueled by Pandemic Realities, Grinchbots Aggressively Surge in Activity | Threatpost
Hackers Infect Random WordPress Plugins To Steal Credit Cards (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Transport and Aviation
Other News
Google, Microsoft: Internet Whac-a-Mole vs. Cyber Criminals - MSSP Alert
Are You Guilty of These 8 Network-Security Bad Practices? | Threatpost
1.6 Million WordPress Sites Under Cyber Attack From Over 16,000 IP Addresses (thehackernews.com)
Next-Gen Maldocs & How to Solve the Human Vulnerability | Threatpost
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 26 November 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 26 November 2021
-70% Of IT Pros Say Security Hygiene Has Gotten Harder Over Past Two Years
-As Digital Shopping Surges, Researchers Predict 8 Million Daily Attacks
-More Ransomware Attacks Up to September Than Whole of 2020
-Ransomware Warning: Hackers See Holidays And Weekends As A Great Time To Attack
-Suspect Arrested In 'Ransom Your Employer' Criminal Scheme
-The Newer Cyber Crime Triad: Trickbot-Emotet-Conti
-Threat Actors Find And Compromise Exposed Services In 24 Hours
-Does Your Company Employ A CISO? Many Are Operating Without Security Leadership
-New Malware Is Capable Of Evading Almost All Antivirus Products
-Interpol Arrests Over 1,000 Suspects Linked To Cyber Crime
-Researchers Warn Of Severe Risks From ‘Printjack’ Printer 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
70% Of IT Pros Say Security Hygiene Has Got Harder Over Past Two Years
A new report from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and JupiterOne warns of inadequate security hygiene and posture management practices at many organizations. The research found that 86% of organizations believe they follow best practices for security hygiene and posture management. However, 70% of organizations said they use more than ten security tools to manage security hygiene and posture management, which raises concerns about data management and operations overhead.
In addition, 73% of security professionals admitted that they still depend on spreadsheets to manage security hygiene and posture at their organizations. As a result, 70% of respondents said that security hygiene and posture management had become more difficult over the past two years as their attack surfaces have grown.
As Digital Shopping Surges, Researchers Predict 8 Million Daily Attacks
Arkose Labs released new data on the latest fraud trends, revealing increased threats during the holidays, rising bot attacks, and a resurgence in attacks on travel companies. As shoppers fill their online carts, account takeover (ATO) attacks and gift-card fraud remain persistent.
The report shares the top six fraud-fighting trends from the previous 3 months and provides data highlighting that no digital business is immune from attack. Financial industries saw 32 percent more attacks than in the first half of 2021.
Retail and travel attacks increased 63 percent in Q3, and gaming saw a spate of fake new accounts being set up for fraudulent purposes. Media and streaming businesses saw 60 percent of malicious activity targeting logins, and 20 percent of these attacks originating from human fraud farms.
Technology platforms see 91 percent of all attacks powered by bots. Overall, attacks are increasing in every industry, and they are growing more sophisticated.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/22/threats-during-holidays/
More Ransomware Attacks Up to September Than Whole of 2020
Most UK business leaders expect cyber-threats to surge next year, with ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), cloud and supply chain attacks all predicted to increase, according to PwC.
The findings come from the consulting giant’s 2022 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey and were distilled from interviews with 257 business and technology executives in the UK.
Although most (63%) respondents said they expect security budgets to increase next year, even more (66%) predicted cyber-threats would rise. Ransomware (61%), BEC (61%), malware via software updates (63%), and cloud compromise (64%) were among the most notable.
Bobbie Ramsden-Knowles, crisis and resilience partner at PwC UK, claimed the firm’s threat intelligence team has tracked more ransomware incidents globally up to September this year than for the whole of 2020.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/more-ransomware-attacks-september/
Ransomware Warning: Hackers See Holidays And Weekends As A Great Time To Attack
Just because you're taking a break, that doesn't mean hackers will be too.
Ahead of the holidays cyber agencies have released a warning to stay vigilant on holidays and weekends, because hackers don't plan on taking a holiday break.
Warnings remind organisations that ransomware attackers often choose to launch attacks on holidays and weekends, specifically when businesses are likely to be closed.
Recent history tells us that this could be a time when these persistent cyber actors halfway across the world are looking for ways—big and small—to disrupt the critical networks and systems belonging to organizations, businesses, and critical infrastructure.
Some of the worst ransomware attacks happened on holidays and weekends.
Suspect Arrested In 'Ransom Your Employer' Criminal Scheme
A Nigerian man has been arrested in connection to a scheme attempting to lure insiders to deploy ransomware on employer systems.
On November 22, security expert Brian Krebs reported that the man, Oluwaseun Medayedupin, was arrested by Nigerian authorities on Friday.
The suspect is allegedly linked to a 'ransom your employer' scheme investigated by Abnormal Security in August.
Customers of the cybersecurity firm were sent emails with the subject "Partnership affiliate offer," requesting that the recipient considered becoming an accomplice in a cyberattack.
The emails offered a 40% cut of an anticipated $2.5 million ransomware payment in Bitcoin (BTC), made after the recipients installed the DemonWare ransomware on their employer's systems.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/suspect-arrested-in-ransom-your-employer-criminal-scheme/
The Newer Cyber Crime Triad: Trickbot-Emotet-Conti
Advanced Intelligence researchers argue that the restarting of the Emotet botnet was driven by Conti ransomware gang.
Early this year, law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide conducted a joint operation, named Operation Ladybird, which disrupted the EMOTET botnet. At the time the investigators have taken control of its infrastructure in an international coordinated action.
This operation was the result of a joint effort between authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Canada and Ukraine, with international activity coordinated by Europol and Eurojust.
The law enforcement agency was able to take over at least 700 servers used as part of the Emotet botnet’s infrastructure. The FBI collected millions of email addresses used by Emotet operators in their malware campaigns as part of the cleanup operation.
The Emotet banking trojan has been active at least since 2014, the botnet is operated by a threat actor tracked as TA542. The infamous banking trojan was also used to deliver other malicious code, such as Trickbot and QBot trojans, or ransomware such as Conti, ProLock, Ryuk, and Egregor.
https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/124807/cyber-crime/trickbot-emotet-conti-triad.html
Threat Actors Find And Compromise Exposed Services In 24 Hours
Researchers set up 320 honeypots to see how quickly threat actors would target exposed cloud services and report that 80% of them were compromised in under 24 hours.
Malicious actors are constantly scanning the Internet for exposed services that could be exploited to access internal networks or perform other malicious activity.
To track what software and services are targeted by threat actors, researchers create publicly accessible honeypots. Honeypots are servers configured to appear as if they are running various software as lures to monitor threat actors' tactics.
Does Your Company Employ A CISO? Many Are Operating Without Security Leadership
45% of companies do not employ a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), a Navisite research found. Of this group, 58% think their company should hire a CISO.
Only 40% of respondents stated their cybersecurity strategy was developed by a CISO or member of the security team, with 60% relying on other parts of their organization, including IT, executive leadership and compliance.
130 security, IT and compliance professionals were polled in the US to determine their perceptions on the state of cybersecurity leadership and readiness within their organizations. More than 80% of respondents described their job title as either executive leadership or management, with more than 60% of respondents coming from mid-sized organizations between 100-5,000 employees.
Why you should employ a CISO?
· 21% of respondents admit their company does not have a dedicated person or staff whose sole responsibility is security/cybersecurity.
· 75% of respondents said their company experienced an increase in overall cybersecurity threat volume in the last year.
· 80% of respondents felt their company exhibited strong cybersecurity leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
· 70% of respondents expressed confidence in the effectiveness of their cybersecurity program—but that confidence dropped to 58% for companies without a CISO.
· 47% of survey takers believe their company spends too little on cybersecurity.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/23/employ-ciso/
New Malware Is Capable Of Evading Almost All Antivirus Products
There’s a new JavaScript downloader on the prowl that not only distributes eight different Remote Access Trojans (RATs), keyloggers and information stealers, but is also able to bypass detection by a majority of security tools, experts have warned.
Cyber security researchers at HP Wolf Security named the malware RATDispenser, noting that while JavaScript downloaders typically have a lower detection rate than other downloaders, this particular malware is more dangerous since it employs several techniques to evade detection.
“It’s particularly concerning to see RATDispenser only being detected by about 11% of antivirus systems, resulting in this stealthy malware successfully deploying on victims’ endpoints in most cases,” noted Patrick Schlapfer, Malware Analyst at HP.
https://www.techradar.com/news/new-malware-is-capable-of-evading-almost-all-antivirus-products
Interpol Arrests Over 1,000 Suspects Linked To Cyber Crime
Interpol has coordinated the arrest of 1,003 individuals linked to various cyber-crimes such as romance scams, investment frauds, online money laundering, and illegal online gambling.
This crackdown results from a four-month action codenamed ‘Operation HAEICHI-II,’ which took place in twenty countries between June and September 2021.
These were Angola, Brunei, Cambodia, Colombia, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea (Rep. of), Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam.
On the financial aspect of the operation, the authorities have also intercepted nearly $27,000,000 and froze 2,350 banking accounts linked to various online crimes.
As the Interpol announcement details, at least ten new criminal modus operandi were identified in HAEICHI-II, indicative of the evolving nature of cyber-crime.
Researchers Warn Of Severe Risks From ‘Printjack’ Printer Attacks
A team of Italian researchers has compiled a set of three attacks called 'Printjack,' warning users of the significant consequences of over-trusting their printer.
The attacks include recruiting the printers in DDoS swarms, imposing a paper DoS state, and performing privacy breaches.
As the researchers point out, modern printers are still vulnerable to elementary flaws and lag behind other IoT and electronic devices that are starting to conform with cybersecurity and data privacy requirements.
By evaluating the attack potential and the risk levels, the researchers found non-compliance with GDPR requirements and the ISO/IEC 27005:2018 (framework for managing cyber-risks).
This lack of in-built security is particularly problematic when considering how omnipresent printers are, being deployed in critical environments, companies, and organizations of all sizes.
Threats
Ransomware
Defense Contractors Are Highly Susceptible To Ransomware Attacks - Help Net Security
Holidays Don't Mean Much To Ransomware Attackers - Help Net Security
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Phishing
Malware
Crooks Compromise Microsoft Exchange Servers To Hijack Internal Email Chains - Security Affairs
Hackers Using Microsoft MSHTML Flaw to Spy on Targeted PCs with Malware (thehackernews.com)
Malicious Python Packages Employ Advanced Detection Evasion Techniques - Help Net Security
Stealthy New JavaScript Malware Infects Windows PCs with RATs (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Golang-based Linux Malware Targeting eCommerce Websites (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Spyware Alert! 23 Apps Found Spying On Android Users Via Mobile Camera | techgig
MediaTek Chip Flaw Could Have Let Attackers Spy on Android Phones (darkreading.com)
Over 9 Million Android Phones Running Malware Apps from Huawei's AppGallery (thehackernews.com)
IOT
Hikvision Security Cameras Potentially Exposed to Remote Code Execution (sans.edu)
Some Tesla Owners Unable To Unlock Cars Due To Server Errors (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Vulnerabilities
All Versions of Windows Are Vulnerable to a New Zero-Day Exploit (pcmag.com)
Attackers Hijack Email Using Proxy Logon/Proxyshell Flaws | Threatpost
Expert Discloses Details Of Flaws In Oracle VirtualBox - Security Affairs
VMware Warns of Newly Discovered Vulnerabilities in vSphere Web Client (thehackernews.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Fraud & Financial Crime
Insurance
Nation State Actors
NCSC Warns Industry, Academia Of Foreign Threats To Their Intellectual Property | CSO Online
North Korean Hackers Found Behind a Range of Credential Theft Campaigns (thehackernews.com)
US Bans Chinese Firms For Feeding Tech To The Military • The Register
Cloud
Passwords
Parental Controls
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
SMBs – Small and Medium Businesses
Defence
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Devious ‘Tardigrade’ Malware Hits Biomanufacturing Facilities | WIRED
Preventing a Cyber Pandemic in Healthcare | SecurityWeek.Com
Healthcare Organisations At Risk: The Attack Surface Is Expanding - Help Net Security
ENISA - The Need For Incident Response Capabilities In The Health Sector - Security Affairs
Philips Working on Patches for Vulnerabilities Found in Medical Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Transport and Aviation
Maritime
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
As Digital Shopping Surges, Researchers Predict 8 Million Daily Attacks - Help Net Security
Rising Cyber Crime Demands Laws And Users Keep Up | The Seattle Times
IKEA Email Systems Hit By Ongoing Cyber Attack (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
UK and German Police Take Down 21 Jihadist Websites - Infosecurity Magazine
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 July 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 July 2021: 84% Of Orgs Experienced Phishing Or Ransomware Attacks In The Last Year; Phishing continues to be one of the easiest paths for ransomware; Only Half Of Orgs Can Defend Against Ransomware; MI5 Chief Warns Public Of Cyber-Threat From Hostile States Such As China & Russia; Almost All Orgs Suffered Insider Data Breaches; Cyber Crime Costs Orgs Nearly $1.79 Million Per Minute; Sonicwall Releases Urgent Notice About 'Imminent' Ransomware Targeting Firmware; Google Finds Zero-Day Security Flaws In All Your Favourite Browsers
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
84% Of Organisations Experienced Phishing Or Ransomware Attacks In The Last Year
A new report from Trend Micro has found that 84% of organisations have reported phishing or ransomware security incidents in the last 12 months.
The findings come from an Osterman Research study commissioned by Trend Micro that was compiled from interviews with cyber security professionals in midsize and large organisations nationwide. The research also found that half of organisations are not effective at countering phishing and ransomware threats.
Phishing continues to be one of the easiest paths for ransomware
Ransomware gangs are still using phishing as one of the main ways to attack an organisation, according to a new survey from Cloudian featuring the insights of 200 IT decision-makers who experienced a ransomware attack over the last two years.
More than half of all respondents have held anti-phishing training among employees, and 49% had perimeter defenses in place when they were attacked.
Nearly 25% of all survey respondents said their ransomware attacks started through phishing, and of those victims, 65% had conducted anti-phishing training sessions. For enterprises with fewer than 500 employees, 41% said their attacks started with phishing. About one-third of all victims said their public cloud was the entry point ransomware groups used to attack them.
Ransomware: Only Half Of Organisations Can Effectively Defend Against Attacks, Warns Report
Around half of firms don't have the technology to prevent or detect ransomware attacks, according to research by cybersecurity company Trend Micro. It suggests that many organisations don't have the cybersecurity capabilities required to prevent ransomware attacks, such as the ability to detect phishing emails, remote desktop protocol (RDP) compromise or other common techniques deployed by cyber attackers during ransomware campaigns.
For example, the report warns that many organisations struggle with detecting the suspicious activity associated with ransomware and attacks that could provide early evidence that cyber criminals have compromised the network. That includes failing to identify unusual lateral movement across corporate networks, or being able to spot unauthorised users gaining access to corporate data.
MI5 Chief Warns Public Of Cyber-Threat From Hostile States Such As China & Russia
Head of Britain's MI5, Ken McCallum, is urging the public to be as vigilant about threats from "hostile states" as from terrorism.
These include disruptive cyber-attacks, misinformation, espionage and interference in politics - and are usually linked to Russia and China.
McCallum is warning that "less visible threats... have the potential to affect us all," affecting UK jobs and public services and could even lead to a loss of life.
The head of the Security Service wants to challenge the idea that activity by so-called "hostile states", usually taken to mean primarily Russia and China, only affects governments or certain institutions.
Instead, he is to argue in an annual threat update, that the British public are not immune to the "tentacles" of covert action by other states.
In the speech at MI5's Thames House headquarters, Mr McCallum will warn the "consequences range from frustration and inconvenience, through loss of livelihood, potentially up to loss of life".
Almost All Organisations Have Suffered Insider Data Breaches
Egress’ Insider Data Breach Survey 2021 claims that 94 percent of organisations have experienced insider data breaches in the last year. Human error was the top cause of serious incidents, according to 84 percent of IT leaders surveyed.
However, IT leaders are more concerned about malicious insiders, with 28 percent indicating that intentionally malicious behaviour is their biggest fear. Despite causing the most incidents, human error came bottom of the list, with just over one-fifth (21 percent) saying that it’s their biggest concern.
Additionally, almost three-quarters (74 percent) of organisations have been breached because of employees breaking security rules, and 73 percent have been the victim of phishing attacks.
The survey, independently conducted by Arlington Research on behalf of Egress, surveyed 500 IT leaders and 3,000 employees in the US and UK across vertical sectors including financial services, healthcare and legal.
https://workplaceinsight.net/almost-all-organisations-have-suffered-insider-data-breaches/
Cyber Crime Costs Organisations Nearly $1.79 Million Per Minute
Cybercrime costs organisations an incredible $1.79m every minute, according to RiskIQ’s 2021 Evil Internet Minute Report.
The study, which analysed the volume of malicious activity on the internet, laid bare the scale and damage of cyber-attacks in the past year, finding that 648 cyber-threats occurred every minute.
The researchers calculated that the average cost of a breach is $7.2 per minute, while the overall predicted cybersecurity spend is $280,060 every minute.
E-commerce has been heavily hit by online payment fraud in the past year, with cyber-criminals taking advantage of the shift to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the e-commerce industry saw a record $861.1bn in sales, it lost $38,052 to online payment fraud every minute.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cybercrime-costs-orgs-per-minute/
Phishing, Ransomware Driving Wave of Data Breaches
Data compromises have increased every month this year except May.
If that trend continues, or even if there is only an average of 141 new compromises per month for the next six months, the total will still exceed the previous high of 1,632 breaches set in 2017.
These were among the findings of the nonprofit organization Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) latest data breach analysis report, which revealed publicly reported U.S. data breaches are up 38% in the second quarter of 2021, for a total of 491 compromises, compared to Q1.
https://securityboulevard.com/2021/07/phishing-ransomware-driving-wave-of-data-breaches/
Top CVEs Trending with Cybercriminals
An analysis of criminal forums reveal what publicly known vulnerabilities attackers are most interested in.
Criminal small talk in underground forums offer critical clues about which known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) threat actors are most focused on. This, in turn, offers defenders clues on what to watch out for.
An analysis of such chatter, by Cognyte, examined 15 cybercrime forums between Jan. 2020 and March 2021. In its report, researchers highlight what CVEs are the most frequently mentioned and try to determine where attackers might strike next.
“Our findings revealed that there is no 100 percent correlation between the two parameters, since the top five CVEs that received the highest number of posts are not exactly the ones that were mentioned on the highest number of Dark Web forums examined,” the report said. “However, it is still enough to understand which CVEs were popular among threat actors on the Dark Web during the time examined.”
https://threatpost.com/top-cves-trending-with-cybercriminals/167889/
Sonicwall Releases Urgent Notice About 'Imminent' Ransomware Targeting Firmware
Networking device maker SonicWall sent out an urgent notice to its customers about "an imminent ransomware campaign using stolen credentials" that is targeting Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 series and Secure Remote Access (SRA) products running unpatched and end-of-life 8.x firmware.
In addition to the notice posted to its website, SonicWall sent an email to anyone using SMA and SRA devices, urging some to disconnect their devices immediately. They worked with Mandiant and other security companies on the issue, according to the release.
Google Finds Zero-Day Security Flaws In All Your Favourite Browsers
Researchers at Google have shared insight into four zero-day security vulnerabilities in popular web browsers which were exploited in the wild earlier this year.
DIscovered by Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG), the four vulnerabilities in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and WebKit, the browser engine used by Apple's Safari, were used as a part of three different campaigns.
https://www.techradar.com/news/google-finds-zero-day-security-flaws-in-all-your-favorite-browsers
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware attackers are growing bolder and using new extortion methods
REvil ransomware gang's websites vanish soon after Kaseya fiasco, Uncle Sam threatens retaliation
What it's really like to negotiate with ransomware attackers
This ransomware gang hunts for evidence of crime to pressure victims into paying a ransom
BEC
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Trickbot Malware Rebounds with Virtual-Desktop Espionage Module
Hackers Spread BIOPASS Malware via Chinese Online Gambling Sites
Mobile
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft July 2021 Patch Tuesday: 117 vulnerabilities, Pwn2Own Exchange Server bug fixed
SonicWall vulnerability allows attackers to obtain full control of device and underlying OS
Microsoft's Emergency Patch Fails to Fully Fix PrintNightmare RCE Vulnerability
Serious Security Vulnerability Hits DrayTek’s UK Fibre Routers
Kaseya issues patch for on-premise customers, SaaS rollout underway
Data Breaches
Morgan Stanley suffered data breach of customers after supply chain hack
Fashion retailer Guess discloses data breach after ransomware attack
Insurance giant CNA reports data breach after ransomware attack
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
SolarWinds 0-day gave Chinese hackers privileged access to customer servers
Magecart hackers hide stolen credit card data into images and bogus CSS files
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Insider Threats
Dark Web
Supply Chain
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Vulnerability in Schneider Electric PLCs allows for undetectable remote takeover
Unpatched Critical RCE Bug Allows Industrial, Utility Takeovers
Nation State Actors
Privacy
User Education, Awareness and Training
Other News
Kaseya's Staff Sounded the Alarm About Security Flaws for Years Before Ransomware Attack
Israeli Firm Helped Governments Target Journalists, Activists with 0-Days and Spyware
Endpoint Detection (alone) won’t protect your organisation from advanced hacking groups
Kaseya hack proves we need better cyber metrics
Instagram's Security Checkup will help users secure their accounts after a hack
79% of organisations identify threat modelling as a top priority in 2021
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 May 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 May 2021: Cyber Insurance Firms Start Tapping Out As Ransomware Continues To Rise; Irish Health Service Faces Final Bill Of At Least €100M Following Cyber Attack; The 10 Most Dangerous Cyber Threat Actors; Dramatic Increase In Ransomware Attacks Is Causing Harm On A Significant Scale; Deepfakes Could Be The Next Big Security Threat To Businesses; Two-Thirds Of Organisations Say They'll Take Action To Boost Their Ransomware Defences
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 Insurance Firms Start Tapping Out As Ransomware Continues To Rise
In early May, global insurer AXA made a landmark policy decision: The company would stop reimbursing French companies for ransomware payments to cyber criminals. The decision, which reportedly came after French authorities questioned whether the practice had fuelled the current epidemic in ransomware attacks, may be just the beginning of a general retreat that will force companies to reconsider their attempts to outsource cyber-risk to insurance firms. Already, the massive damages from one damaging crypto worm, NotPetya, caused multiple lawsuits when insurers refused to pay out on cyber insurance claims.
Irish Health Service Faces Final Bill Of At Least €100M Following Cyber Attack
The cyber attack on IT systems in the health service will cost it at least €100 million, according to chief executive Paul Reid. This is at the lower end of estimates of the total cost, he indicated, and includes the cost of restoring the network, upgrading systems to Microsoft 365 and the disruption caused to patients. Appointments for about 7,000 patients a day are being cancelled, almost two weeks after a criminal gang hacked the HSE systems. Mr Reid said the HSE was keen to see an independent and objective assessment of the cyber attack.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/cyberattack-hse-faces-final-bill-of-at-least-100m-1.4577076
Ransomware: Dramatic Increase In Attacks Is Causing Harm On A Significant Scale
A dramatic increase in the number of ransomware attacks and their severity is causing harm on a significant scale, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned. The NCA's annual National Strategic Assessment (NSA) of Serious and Organised Crime details how the overall threat from cyber crime has increased during the past year, with more severe and high-profile attacks against victims. Ransomware attacks have grown in frequency and impact over the course of the last year, to such an extent that they rank alongside other major crimes "causing harm to our citizens and communities on a significant scale," warns the report.
Deepfakes Could Be The Next Big Security Threat To Businesses
An overwhelming majority of businesses say that manipulated online content and media such as deepfakes are a serious security risk to their organisation. Deepfakes have already been shown to pose a threat to people portrayed in the manipulated videos, and could have serious repercussions when the individual holds a position of importance, be it as a leader of a country, or a leader of an enterprise. Earlier in 2021, the FBI’s cyber division warned that deepfakes are a critical emerging threat that can be used in all manners of social engineering attacks including ones aimed at businesses.
https://www.techradar.com/news/deepfakes-could-be-the-next-big-security-threat-to-businesses
Ransomware: Two-Thirds Of Organisations Say They'll Take Action To Boost Their Defences
The severe disruption caused by the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has alerted organisations to the need to bolster their defences against cyber attacks – and two-thirds are set to take actions required to prevent them becoming another ransomware victim following the incident. The ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline – one of the largest pipeline operators in the United States, providing almost half of the East Coast's fuel – caused disruption to operations and led to gas shortages, demonstrating how cyber attacks can have physical consequences.
The 10 Most Dangerous Cyber Threat Actors
When hacking began many decades ago, it was mostly the work of enthusiasts fuelled by their passion for learning everything they could about computers and networks. Today, nation-state actors are developing increasingly sophisticated cyber espionage tools, while cyber criminals are cashing in millions of dollars targeting everything from Fortune 500 companies to hospitals. Cyber attacks have never been more complex, more profitable, and perhaps even more baffling. At times, drawing clear lines between different kinds of activities is a challenging task. Nation-states sometimes partner with each other for a common goal, and sometimes they even appear to be working in tandem with cyber criminal gangs.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3619011/the-10-most-dangerous-cyber-threat-actors.html
Cyber Security Leaders Lacking Basic Cyber Hygiene
Constella Intelligence released the results of a survey that unlocks the behaviours and tendencies that characterize how vigilant organisations’ leaders are when it comes to reducing cyber vulnerability, allowing the industry to better understand how social media is leveraged as an attack vector and how leaders are responding to this challenge. The findings from the survey, which polled over 100 global cyber security leaders, senior-level to C-suite, across all major industries, including financial services, technology, healthcare, retail, and telecommunications, revealed that 57% have suffered an account takeover (ATO) attack in their personal lives—most frequently through email (52%), followed by LinkedIn (31%) and Facebook (26%).
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/05/26/cybersecurity-leaders-cyber-hygiene/
Watch Out: Crypto Jacking Is On The Rise Again
During the last year, though, malicious crypto mining has seen a resurgence, with NTT’s 2021 Global Threat Intelligence Report, published this month, revealing that crypto miners have now overtaken spyware as the world’s most common malware. Crypto miners, says NTT, made up 41% of all detected malware in 2020, and were most widely found in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. The most common coinminer variant was XMRig, which infects a user’s computer to mine Monero, accounting for 82% of all mining activity. Others included Crypto miner and XMR-Stack.
https://cybernews.com/security/watch-out-cryptojacking-is-on-the-rise-again/
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware Attacks Are Becoming More Common – How Do We Stop Them?
FBI Warns Of Conti Ransomware Attacks Against Healthcare Organisations
HSE Cyber Attack Has Had ‘Devastating Impact’, Cancer Services Director Says
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Mobile
IOT
Vulnerabilities
“Unpatchable” Vuln In Apple’s New MAC Chip – What You Need To Know
SonicWall urges customers to 'immediately' patch NSM On-Prem bug
FBI Issues Warning About Fortinet Vulnerabilities After Apt Group Hacks Local Gov’t Office
Restaurant Reservation System Patches Easy-To-Exploit XSS Bug
Bluetooth Flaws Allow Attackers To Impersonate Legitimate Devices
Data Breaches
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency
Dark Web
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Nation State Actors
Threat Actor ‘Agrius’ Emerges To Launch Wiper Attacks Against Israeli Targets
Russian Group Behind SolarWinds Spy Campaign Conduct New Cyber Attacks
Belgium Uproots Cyber Espionage Campaign With Suspected Ties To China
Privacy
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
GDPR Is Being Used As A Bureaucratic Dodge To Avoid Public Scrutiny
UK Universities To Be Offered Advice On National Security Threats
A Chinese Hacking Competition May Have Given Beijing New Ways To Spy On The Uyghurs
How Much Economic Damage Would Be Done If A Cyber Attack Took Out The Internet?
German Cyber Security Chief Fears Hackers Could Target Hospitals
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.