Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 April 2023

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

• March 2023 Broke Ransomware Attack Records with a 91% Increase from the Previous Month

March 2023 was the most prolific month recorded by cyber security analysts in recent years, measuring 459 attacks, an increase of 91% from the previous month and 62% compared to March 2022. According to NCC Group, which compiled the report based on statistics derived from its observations, the reason last month broke all ransomware attack records was CVE-2023-0669. This is a vulnerability in Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT secure file transfer tool that the Clop ransomware gang exploited as a zero-day to steal data from 130 companies within ten days.

Regarding the location of last month's victims, almost half of all attacks (221) breached entities in North America. Europe followed with 126 episodes, and Asia came third with 59 ransomware attacks.

The recorded activity spike in March 2023 highlights the importance of applying security updates as soon as possible, mitigating potentially unknown security gaps like zero days by implementing additional measures and monitoring network traffic and logs for suspicious activity.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/march-2023-broke-ransomware-attack-records-with-459-incidents/

• Organisations Overwhelmed with Cyber Security Alerts, Threats and Attack Surfaces

Many organisations are struggling to manage key security projects while being overwhelmed with volumes of alerts, increasing cyber threats and growing attack surfaces, a new report has said. Compounding that problem is a tendency by an organisation’s top brass to miss hidden risks associated with digital transformation projects and compliance regulations, leading to a false sense of confidence in their awareness of these vulnerabilities.

The study comprised IT professionals from the manufacturing, government, healthcare, financial services, retail and telecommunications industries. Five of the biggest challenges they face include:

• Keeping up with threat intelligence (70%)

• Allocating cyber security resources and budget (47%)

• Visibility into all assets connected to the network (44%)

• Compliance and regulation (39%)

• Convergence of IT and OT (32%)

The report also focused on breaches within organisations, finding that 64% had suffered a breach or ransomware attack in the last five years; 43% said it had been caused by employee phishing.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/organizations-overwhelmed-with-cybersecurity-alerts-threats-and-attack-surfaces-armis-study-shows/

• One in Three Businesses Faced Cyber Attacks Last Year

Nearly a third of businesses and a quarter of charities have said they were the subject of cyber attacks or breaches last year, new data has shown. Figures collected for the UK Government by polling company Ipsos show a similar proportion of larger and medium-sized companies and high-income charities faced attacks or breaches last year as in 2021.

Overall, 32% of businesses said they had been subject to attacks or breaches over a 12-month period, with 24% of charities saying the same. Meanwhile, about one in ten businesses (11%) and 8% of charities said they had been the victims of cyber crime – which is defined more narrowly – over the 12-month period. This rose to a quarter (26%) of medium-sized businesses, 37% of large businesses and 25% of high-income charities. The UK Government estimated there had been 2.4 million instances of cyber crime against UK businesses, costing an average of £15,300 per victim.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/one-three-businesses-faced-cyber-105751822.html

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber Security Efforts Should Be Merged

Across early-stage startups and mature public companies alike, organisations are increasingly moving to a convergence of fraud prevention, identity and access management (IdAM), and cyber security. To improve an organisation's overall security posture, business, IT, and fraud leaders must realise that their areas shouldn't be treated as separate line items. Ultimately, these three disciplines serve the same purpose — protecting the business — and they must converge. This is a simple statement, but complex in practice, due mainly to the array of people, strategies, and tooling that today's organisations have built.

The convergence of these three functions comes at a seminal moment, as global threats are heightened due to several factors: geopolitical tensions like the war on Ukraine, the economic downturn, and a never-ending barrage of sophisticated attacks on businesses and consumers. At the same time, companies are facing slowing revenues, rising inflation, and increased pressure from investors, causing layoffs and budget reductions in the name of optimisation. Cutting back in the wrong areas, however, increases risk.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/why-your-anti-fraud-identity-cybersecurity-efforts-should-be-merged

• Tight Budgets and Burnout Push Enterprises to Outsource Cyber Security

With cyber security teams struggling to manage the remediation process and monitor for vulnerabilities, organisations are at a higher risk for security breaches, according to cyber security penetration test provider Cobalt. As enterprises prioritise efficiencies, security leaders increasingly turn to third-party vendors to alleviate the pressures of consistent testing and to fill in talent gaps.

Cobalt’s recent report found:

• Budget cuts and layoffs plague security teams: 63% of US cyber security professionals had their department’s budget cut in 2023.

• Cyber security professionals deprioritise responsibilities to stay afloat: 79% of US cyber security professionals admit to deprioritising responsibilities leading to a backlog of unaddressed vulnerabilities.

• Inaccurate security configurations cause vulnerabilities: 40% of US respondents found the most security vulnerabilities were related to server security misconfigurations.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/19/cybersecurity-professionals-responsibilities/

• Complex 8 Character Passwords Can Be Cracked in as Little as 5 Minutes

Recently, security vendor Hive released their findings on the time it takes to brute force a password in 2023. This year’s study included the emergence of AI tools. The vendor found that a complex 8 character password could be cracked in as little as 5 minutes. This number rose to 226 years when 12 characters were used and 1 million years when 14 characters were used. A complex password involves the use of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols.

Last year, the study found the same 8 and 12 character passwords would have taken 39 minutes and 3,000 years, showing the significant drop in the time it takes to brute force a password. The study highlights the importance for organisations to be aware of their password security and the need for consistent review and updates to the policy.

https://www.hivesystems.io/blog/are-your-passwords-in-the-green

• 83% of Organisations Paid Up in Ransomware Attacks

A report this week found that 83% of victim organisations paid a ransom at least once. The report found that while entities like the FBI and CISA argue against paying ransoms, many organisations decide to eat the upfront cost of paying a ransom, costing an average of $925,162, rather than enduring the further operational disruption and data loss.

Organisations are giving ransomware attackers leverage over their data by failing to address vulnerabilities created by unpatched software, unmanaged devices and shadow IT. For instance, 77% of IT decision makers argue that outdated cyber security practices have contributed to at least half of security incidents. Over time, these unaddressed vulnerabilities multiply, giving threat actors more potential entry points to exploit and greater leverage to force companies into paying up.

https://venturebeat.com/security/83-of-organizations-paid-up-in-ransomware-attacks/

• Security is a Revenue Booster, Not a Cost Centre

Security has historically been seen as a cost centre, which has led to it being given as little money as possible. Many CISOs, CSOs, and CROs fed into that image by primarily talking in terms of disaster avoidance, such as data breaches hurting the enterprise and ransomware potentially shutting it down. But what if security presented itself instead as a way to boost revenue and increase market share? That could easily shift those financial discussions into something much more comfortable.

For example, Apple touted its investments into the secure enclave to claim that it offers users better privacy. Specifically, the company argued that it couldn't reveal information to federal authorities because the enclave was just that secure. Apple turned that into a powerful competitive argument against rival Android creator Google, which makes much of its revenue by monetising users' data.

In another scenario, bank regulations require financial institutions to reimburse customers who are victimised by fraudsters, but they carve out an exception for wire fraud. Imagine if a bank realises that covering all fraud — even though it is not required to do so — could be a powerful differentiator that would boost its market share by supporting customers better than competitors do.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/security-is-a-revenue-booster-not-a-cost-center

• Ex-CEO Gets Prison Sentence for Bad Security

A clinic was recently subject to a cyber attack and even though the clinic was itself the victim, the ex-CEO of the clinic faced criminal charges, too. It would appear that the CEO was aware of the clinic’s failure to employ data security precautions and was aware of this for up to two years before the attack took place.

Worse still, the CEO allegedly knew about the problems because the clinic suffered breaches in 2018 and 2019, and failed to report them; presumably hoping that no traceable cyber crimes would arise as a result, and thus that the company would never get caught out. However, modern breach disclosure and data protection regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, make it clear that data breaches can’t simply be “swept under the carpet” any more, and must be promptly disclosed for the greater good of all.

The former CEO has now been convicted and given a prison sentence, reminding business leaders that merely promising to look after other people’s personal data is not enough. Paying lip service alone to cyber security is insufficient, to the point that you can end up being treated as both a cyber crime victim and a perpetrator at the same time.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2023/04/18/ex-ceo-of-breached-pyschotherapy-clinic-gets-prison-sentence-for-bad-data-security/

• Warning From UK Cyber Agency for a New ‘Class’ of Russian Hackers

There is a new ‘class’ of Russian hackers, the UK cyber-agency NCSC warns. Due to an increased danger of attacks by state-aligned Russian hackers, the NCSC is encouraging all businesses to put the recommended protection measures into place. The NCSC alert states, “during the past 18 months, a new kind of Russian hacker has developed.” These state-aligned organisations frequently support Russia’s incursion and are driven more by ideology than money. These hacktivist organisations typically concentrate their harmful online activity on launching DDoS (distributed denial of service) assaults against vital infrastructure, including airports, the legislature, and official websites. The NCSC has released a special guide with a list of steps businesses should take when facing serious cyber threats. System patching, access control confirmation, functional defences, logging, and monitoring, reviewing backups, incident plans, and third-party access management are important steps.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/warning-uk-cyberagency-russian-hackers/

• KnowBe4 Q1 Phishing Report Reveals IT and Online Services Emails Drive Dangerous Attack Trend

KnowBe4 announced the results of its Q1 2023 top-clicked phishing report, and the results included the top email subjects clicked on in phishing tests.

The report found that phishing tactics are changing with the increasing trend of cyber criminals using email subjects related to IT and online services such as password change requirements, Zoom meeting invitations, security alerts and more. These are effective because they would impact an end users’ daily workday and subsequent tasks to be completed.

71% of the most effective phishing lures related to HR (including leave, dress code, expenses, pay and performance) or tax, and these types of emails continue to be very effective.

Emails that are disguised as coming from an internal source such as the IT department or HR are especially dangerous because they appear to come from a more trusted, familiar place where an employee would not necessarily question it or be as sceptical. Building up an organisation’s human firewall by fostering a strong security culture is essential to outsmart bad actors.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/04/19/knowbe4-q1-phishing-report-reveals-it-and-online-services-emails-drive-dangerous-attack-trend/

• Outsourcing Group Capita Admits Customer Data May Have Been Breached During Cyber Attack

Capita, which runs crucial services for the UK NHS, Government, Military and Financial Services, has for the first time admitted that hackers accessed potential customer, staff and supplier data during a cyber attack last month. The company said its investigation into the attack – which caused major IT outages for clients – found that hackers infiltrated its systems around 22 March, meaning they had around nine days before Capita “interrupted” the breach on 31 March.

While Capita has admitted that data was breached during the incident, it raises the possibility that public sector information was accessed by hackers. Capita, which employs more than 50,000 people in Britain, is one of the government’s most important suppliers and holds £6.5bn-worth of public sector contracts. Capita stopped short of disclosing how many customers were potentially affected by the breach, and is still notifying anyone whose data might be at risk.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/20/capita-admits-customer-data-may-have-been-breached-during-cyber-attack

• Outdated Cyber Security Practices Leave Door Open for Criminals

A recent report found that as organisations increasingly find themselves under attack, they are drowning in cyber security debt – unaddressed security vulnerabilities like unpatched software, unmanaged devices, shadow IT, and insecure network protocols that act as access points for bad actors. The report found a worrying 98% of respondents are running one or more insecure network protocols and 47% had critical devices exposed to the internet. Despite these concerning figures, fewer than one-third said they have immediate plans to address any of the outdated security practices that put their organisations at risk.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/20/outdated-cybersecurity-practices/

• Quantifying Cyber Risk Vital for Business Survival

Organisations are starting to wake up to the fact that the impact of ransomware and other cyber attacks cause long term issues. The financial implications are far reaching and creating barriers for companies to continue operations after these attacks. As such, quantifying cyber risk is business-specific, and organisations must assess what type of loss they may face, which includes revenue, remediation, legal settlement, or otherwise.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/19/cyber-attacks-financial-impact/

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets

Over half of corporate network devices sold second-hand still contain sensitive company data, according to a new study. The study involved the purchase of recycled routers, finding that 56% contained one or more credentials as well as enough information to identify the previous owner.

Some of the analysed data included customer data, credentials, connection details for applications and authentication keys. In some cases, the data allowed for the location of remote offices and operators, which could be used in subsequent exploitation efforts.

In a number of cases the researchers were able to determine with high confidence — based on the data still present on the devices — who their previous owner was. The list included a multinational tech company and a telecoms firm, both with more than 10,000 employees and over $1 billion in revenue.

The study informed organisations who had owned the routers. Unfortunately, when contacted, some of the organisations failed to respond or acknowledge the findings.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/recycled-network-exposing/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• 83% of organisations paid up in ransomware attacks  | VentureBeat

• March 2023 broke ransomware attack records with 459 incidents (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers start abusing Action1 RMM in ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society ransomware uses new PowerShell data theft tool in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• RTM Locker: Emerging Cyber crime Group Targeting Businesses with Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Western Digital Hackers Demand 8-Figure Ransom Payment for Data (darkreading.com)

• UK Education Sector Suffered Most from Ransomware in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• NCR was the victim of BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang - Security Affairs

• Darktrace Denies Getting Hacked After Ransomware Group Names Company on Leak Site - SecurityWeek

• LockBit ransomware encryptors found targeting Mac devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Abuse victims' data stolen in ransomware attack (rte.ie)

• Hackers publish sensitive employee data stolen during CommScope ransomware attack | TechCrunch

• Vice Society is using custom PowerShell tool for data exfiltrationSecurity Affairs

• Black Basta claims it's selling off stolen Capita data • The Register

• An Analysis of the BabLock Ransomware (trendmicro.com)

• Ransomware reinfection and its impact on businesses - Help Net Security

• Microsoft SQL servers hacked to deploy Trigona ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Play ransomware gang uses custom Shadow Volume Copy data-theft tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware gangs abuse Process Explorer driver to kill security software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Medusa ransomware crew boasts of Microsoft code leak • The Register

• New Ransomware Attack Hits Health Insurer Point32Health (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing Attacks Surge as Threat Actors Leverage New AI Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Qbot campaign delivers malware by hijacking business emails | CSO Online

• KnowBe4 Q1 Phishing Report reveals IT and online services emails drive dangerous attack trend - IT Security Guru

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• Phishing FAQ: How to Spot Scams and Stop Them in Their Tracks - CNET

• UK government employees receive average of 2,246 malicious emails per year - IT Security Guru

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• US charges three men with six million dollar business email compromise plot | Tripwire

2FA/MFA

• How to Prevent 2 Common Attacks on MFA (darkreading.com)

Malware

• Ex-Conti and FIN7 Actors Collaborate with New Domino Backdoor (securityintelligence.com)

• New Chameleon banking trojan is stealing account info — what you need to know | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• US, UK warn of govt hackers using custom malware on Cisco routers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New QBot campaign delivered hijacking business correspondenceSecurity Affairs

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files (gbhackers.com)

• Raspberry Robin Adopts Unique Evasion Techniques - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MacStealer - newly-discovered malware steals passwords and exfiltrates data from infected Macs • Graham Cluley

• 'AuKill' Malware Hunts & Kills EDR Processes (darkreading.com)

• What Are Computer Worms And How To Prevent Them (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Mobile

• Android malware infiltrates 60 Google Play apps with 100M installs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

• NSO Group is Back in Business With 3 New iOS Zero-Click Exploits (darkreading.com)

• Conversational Attacks Fastest Growing Mobile Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Global Spyware Attacks Spotted Against Both New & Old iPhones (darkreading.com)

Botnets

• 'Zaraza' Bot Targets Google Chrome to Extract Login Credentials (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Military helicopter crash blamed on missing software patch • The Register

• Why xIoT Devices Are Cyberattackers' Gateway Drug for Lateral Movement (darkreading.com)

• Hikvision: Chinese surveillance tech giant denies leaked Pentagon spy claim - BBC News

• The Car Thieves Using Tech Disguised Inside Old Nokia Phones and Bluetooth Speakers (vice.com)

• Popular Fitness Apps Leak Location Data Even When Users Set Privacy Zones (darkreading.com)

• Five Eye nations release new guidance on smart city cyber security | CSO Online

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Ex-CEO of breached psychotherapy clinic gets prison sentence for bad data security – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Kodi Confirms Data Breach: 400K User Records and Private Messages Stolen (thehackernews.com)

• Volvo retailer leaks sensitive files - Security Affairs

• Rheinmetall suffers cyber attack, military business unaffected, spokesperson says | Reuters

• Jack Teixeira's charges in full: 'Top secret' access, leak searches and the Espionage Act - BBC News

• Online Gaming Chats Have Long Been Spy Risk for US Military - SecurityWeek

• Cyber attack on Insurance Information Bureau of India; data at risk - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

• Air Force Unit in Document Leaks Case Loses Intel Mission - SecurityWeek

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Inside look at cyber criminal organisations: Why size matters | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

• Standardized data collection methods can help fight cyber crime | TechTarget

• Why Cyber criminals Love The Rust Programming Language (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• On the hunt for the businessmen behind a billion-dollar scam - BBC News

• Hundred Finance loses $7 million in Optimism hack (cointelegraph.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Human-Centered Approach Can Reduce Cyber security Failures, Gartner Predicts - MSSP Alert

• HR Magazine - UK government plans to make businesses liable for employee fraud

• Top risks and best practices for securely offboarding employees | CSO Online

• Critical Infrastructure Firms Concerned Over Insider Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How to Strengthen your Insider Threat Security - IT Security Guru

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Pre-pandemic techniques are fueling record fraud rates - Help Net Security

• HR Magazine - UK government plans to make businesses liable for employee fraud

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• Police disrupts $98M online fraud ring with 33,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Trial and error in Kuwait | CyberScoop

• US extradites Nigerian charged in $6m email fraud scam • The Register

• Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in one year: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• Three charged over banking fraud for hire website | Computer Weekly

• On the hunt for the businessmen behind a billion-dollar scam - BBC News

• Hundred Finance loses $7 million in Optimism hack (cointelegraph.com)

• Dennis Kozlowski and the Infamous $6,000 Shower Curtain | Entrepreneur

• FTC orders payments firm to pay $650k over tech support scam • The Register

• Conversational Attacks Fastest Growing Mobile Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Fraudsters impersonating genuine providers cost £177.6m in 2022, UK Finance data suggests | Business News | Sky News

• Scammers using social media to dupe people into becoming money mules - Help Net Security

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Police Crack Comms to Bust Money Laundering Group - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insurance

• Bank of America warns Lloyd’s over state-backed cyber attack exclusion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber insurance Backstop: Can the Industry Survive Without One? - SecurityWeek

• Cyber insurer launches InsurSec solution to help SMBs improve security, risk management | CSO Online

Dark Web

• Stolen ChatGPT premium accounts up for sale on the dark web | CSO Online

• How 'Operation Cookie Monster' took down a major dark web market | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Capita PLC falls on reports cyber attack was worse than admitted (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)

• 3CX Software Supply Chain Compromise Initiated by a Prior Software Supply Chain Compromise; Suspected North Korean Actor Responsible | Mandiant

• Capita admits customer, supplier or colleague data may have been accessed by hackers | Business News | Sky News

• Lazarus APT group employed Linux Malware in recent attacks-Security Affairs

• Hackers start abusing Action1 RMM in ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• CISA Introduces Secure-by-design and Secure-by-default Development Principles – Security Week

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud Security Alerts Take Six Days to Resolve - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud • The Register

• Western Digital Hackers Demand 8-Figure Ransom Payment for Data (darkreading.com)

• Is there really a march from the public cloud back on-prem? | TechCrunch

• Uncovering (and Understanding) the Hidden Risks of SaaS Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files (gbhackers.com)

• Microsoft 365 outage blocks access to web apps and services (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts disclosed 2 critical flaws in Alibaba cloud database services Security Affairs

Attack Surface Management

• Recycled Core Routers Expose Sensitive Corporate Network Info (darkreading.com)

Shadow IT

• The staying power of shadow IT, and how to combat risks related to it - Help Net Security

Identity and Access Management

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• The Attacks that can Target your Windows Active Directory (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The biggest data security blind spot: Authorization - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Crime agencies condemn Facebook and Instagram encryption plans | Meta | The Guardian

• Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones | The New Yorker

API

• Triple-digit Increase in API and App Attacks on Tech and Retail - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• There's Been a 400% Increase in Unique API Attackers - The New Stack

Open Source

• Linux kernel logic allowed Spectre attack on major cloud • The Register

• Security beyond software: The open source hardware security evolution - Help Net Security

• Report: Most IT Teams Can't Fix Open Source Software Security - DevOps.com

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• How Long It Would Take A Hacker To Brute Force Your Password In 2023, Ranked | Digg

Social Media

• LinkedIn deploys new secure identity verification for all members | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Crime agencies condemn Facebook and Instagram encryption plans | Meta | The Guardian

• Scammers using social media to dupe people into becoming money mules - Help Net Security

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• EU privacy regulators to create task force to investigate ChatGPT | Computerworld

• What Business Needs to Know About the New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy (hbr.org)

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• As Consumer Privacy Evolves, Here's How You Can Stay Ahead of Regulations (darkreading.com)

• Brit cops rapped over app that recorded 200k phone calls • The Register

• Three Effective Ways For Boards To Prepare For Imminent SEC Cyber Rules (forbes.com)

• US imposes $300m penalty over hard disk drive exports to Huawei - BBC News

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Security Is a Revenue Booster, Not a Cost Centre (darkreading.com)

• Tight budgets and burnout push enterprises to outsource cyber security - Help Net Security

• Ex-CEO of breached psychotherapy clinic gets prison sentence for bad data security – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• 'One in three firms faced cyber attacks last year' (aol.co.uk)

• Skills shortage puts Europe’s cyber resilience to the test – EURACTIV.com

• Quantifying cyber risk vital for business survival - Help Net Security

• Wargaming an effective data breach playbook - Help Net Security

• Outdated cyber security practices leave door open for criminals - Help Net Security

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

• Why Your Anti-Fraud, Identity & Cyber security Efforts Should Be Merged (darkreading.com)

• Gartner Top Strategic Cyber security Trends 2023

• 3 Flaws, 1 War Dominated Cyber-Threat Landscape in 2022 (darkreading.com)

• Lack of Breach Info on Notices Surges in Q1 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ex-CIO must pay £81k over Total Shambles Bank migration • The Register

• Economic uncertainty drives upskilling as a key strategy for organisations - Help Net Security

• Top risks and best practices for securely offboarding employees | CSO Online

• How companies are struggling to build and run effective cyber security programs - Help Net Security

• Three Effective Ways For Boards To Prepare For Imminent SEC Cyber Rules (forbes.com)

• Small Business Interest in Cyber-Hygiene Wanes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Secure Disposal

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Enterprises Exposed to Hacker Attacks Due to Failure to Wipe Discarded Routers - SecurityWeek

Backup and Recovery

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

Data Protection

• Government reprimanded for serious breaches of data protection law - Jersey Evening Post

• Marketing biz sent 107M spam emails in a year, says watchdog • The Register

• Brit cops rapped over app that recorded 200k phone calls • The Register

• ChatGPT's Data Protection Blind Spots and How Security Teams Can Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Skills shortage puts Europe’s cyber resilience to the test – EURACTIV.com

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Ex-CEO of hacked therapy clinic sentenced for failing to protect patients' session notes (bitdefender.com)

• Police disrupts $98M online fraud ring with 33,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US extradites Nigerian charged in $6m email fraud scam • The Register

• How 'Operation Cookie Monster' took down a major dark web market | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Three charged over banking fraud for hire website | Computer Weekly

• Police Crack Comms to Bust Money Laundering Group - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• What the Recent Collapse of SVB Means for Privacy (darkreading.com)

• As Consumer Privacy Evolves, Here's How You Can Stay Ahead of Regulations (darkreading.com)

• Popular Fitness Apps Leak Location Data Even When Users Set Privacy Zones (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• Phishing Attacks Surge as Threat Actors Leverage New AI Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• AI tools like ChatGPT expected to fuel BEC attacks - Help Net Security

• Stolen ChatGPT premium accounts up for sale on the dark web | CSO Online

• Pen testing amid the rise of AI-powered threat actors | TechTarget

• EU privacy regulators to create task force to investigate ChatGPT | Computerworld

• Cyber crims hop geofences, clamor for stolen ChatGPT accounts • The Register

• AI-created malware sends shockwaves through cybersecurity world | Fox News

• Hard-to-detect malware loader distributed via AI-generated YouTube videos | CSO Online

• Tech Insight: Dangers of Using Large Language Models Before They Are Baked (darkreading.com)

• ChatGPT-Related Malicious URLs on the Rise - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ChatGPT's Data Protection Blind Spots and How Security Teams Can Solve Them (thehackernews.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

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

• Russian hackers targeting UK more frequently (thetimes.co.uk)

• UK NCSC warns of new class of Russian cyber adversary threatening critical infrastructure | CSO Online

• Russian hackers want to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure, minister warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Jack Teixeira's charges in full: 'Top secret' access, leak searches and the Espionage Act - BBC News

• Russian SolarWinds Culprits Launch Fresh Barrage of Espionage Cyberattacks (darkreading.com)

• Meet the hacker armies on Ukraine's cyber front line - BBC News

• Offensive cyber company QuaDream shutting down amidst spyware accusations | Ctech (calcalistech.com)

• Genius hackers help Russia’s neighbors thwart cyber incursions | Cybernews

• NSO Group is Back in Business With 3 New iOS Zero-Click Exploits (darkreading.com)

• UK, US sound the alarm on Russians exploiting Cisco flaws • The Register

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers behind retaliatory cyber attacks on US orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US citizens charged with pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation • The Register

• Heightened threat of state-aligned groups against western... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft shifts to a new threat actor naming taxonomy - Microsoft Security Blog

• How cyber support to Ukraine can build its democratic future | CyberScoop

• Google TAG Warns of Russian Hackers Conducting Phishing Attacks in Ukraine (thehackernews.com)

• Blind Eagle Cyber Espionage Group Strikes Again: New Attack Chain Uncovered (thehackernews.com)

• Britain sounds alarm on spyware, mercenary hacking market | Reuters

• Global Spyware Attacks Spotted Against Both New & Old iPhones (darkreading.com)

• The UK will need more than words in this cyber war | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Google: Ukraine targeted by 60% of Russian phishing attacks in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors

• BT holds China-Taiwan war game to stress test supply chains | Financial Times (ft.com)

• 3CX Supply Chain Attack Tied to Financial Trading App Breach (darkreading.com)

• UK security chief’s alert over threat from China (thetimes.co.uk)

• Russia accuses NATO of launching 5,000 cyberattacks since 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Human rights groups raise alarm over UN Cyber crime Treaty • The Register

• CISA warns of Android bug exploited by Chinese app to spy on users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Uncovers APT41's Use of Open Source GC2 Tool to Target Media and Job Sites (thehackernews.com)

• APT41 Taps Google Red Teaming Tool in Targeted Info-Stealing Attacks (darkreading.com)

• China starts ‘surgical’ retaliation against foreign companies after US-led tech blockade | Financial Times

• Iranian-Russian cooperation on hack attacks may challenge Israeli cyber supremacy | The Times of Israel

• US charges 44 members of alleged Chinese troll army • The Register

• Hikvision: Chinese surveillance tech giant denies leaked Pentagon spy claim - BBC News

• Iranian Hackers Using SimpleHelp Remote Support Software for Persistent Access (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers behind retaliatory cyber attacks on US orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Heightened threat of state-aligned groups against western... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft shifts to a new threat actor naming taxonomy - Microsoft Security Blog

• Nation-state threat actor Mint Sandstorm refines tradecraft to attack high-value targets - Microsoft Security Blog

• MuddyWater Uses SimpleHelp to Target Critical Infrastructure Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Killnet Boss Exposes Rival Leader in Kremlin Hacktivist Beef (darkreading.com)

• Iranian Nation-State Actor "Mint Sandstorm" Weaponizes N-day Flaws - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Iranian Government-Backed Hackers Targeting U.S. Energy and Transit Systems (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus Group Adds Linux Malware to Arsenal in Operation Dream Job (thehackernews.com)

• US imposes $300m penalty over hard disk drive exports to Huawei - BBC News

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Vulnerability Management

• Military helicopter crash blamed on missing software patch • The Register

• Google Outlines Initiatives to Fortify Vulnerability Management - MSSP Alert

• Beyond CVEs: The Key to Mitigating High-Risk Security Exposures (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• UK, US sound the alarm on Russians exploiting Cisco flaws • The Register

• Thousands at risk from critical RCE bug in legacy MS service | Computer Weekly

• CISA: Patch Bug Exploited by Chinese E-commerce App - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Critical Flaws in vm2 JavaScript Library Can Lead to Remote Code Execution (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers actively exploit critical RCE bug in PaperCut servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google patches another actively exploited Chrome zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts disclosed 2 critical flaws in Alibaba cloud database services - Security Affairs

• VMware Patches Pre-Auth Code Execution Flaw in Logging Product - SecurityWeek

• Cisco and VMware Release Security Updates to Patch Critical Flaws in their Products (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Defender update causes Windows Hardware Stack Protection mess (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Tools and Controls

• CISA Asks Manufacturers to Prioritize Cybersecurity in Product Design - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Pen testing amid the rise of AI-powered threat actors | TechTarget

• 7 countries unite to push for secure-by-design development | CSO Online

• Wargaming an effective data breach playbook - Help Net Security

• Where There's No Code, There's No SDLC (darkreading.com)

• Cloud Security Alerts Take Six Days to Resolve - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DFIR via XDR: How to expedite your investigations with a DFIRent approach (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft opens up Defender with file hash, URL search • The Register

• Beyond CVEs: The Key to Mitigating High-Risk Security Exposures (darkreading.com)

• How to build a cybersecurity deception program | TechTarget

• Enterprises Exposed to Hacker Attacks Due to Failure to Wipe Discarded Routers - SecurityWeek

• Threat Posed by 'Irresponsible' Use of Commercial Hacking Tools Increasing, NCSC Warns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CISOs struggling to protect sensitive data records - Help Net Security

• Generative AI in SecOps and how to prepare | TechTarget

• AI defenders ready to foil AI-armed attackers • The Register

• Newer Authentication Tech a Priority for 2023 (darkreading.com)

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Other News

• Recycled Network Devices Exposing Corporate Secrets - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Misconfiguration leaves thousands of servers vulnerable to attack, researchers find | CyberScoop

• Fortra shares findings on GoAnywhere MFT zero-day attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to defend against TCP port 445 and other SMB exploits | TechTarget

• Criminal Records Service still disrupted 4 weeks after hack - BBC News

• Attackers use abandoned WordPress plugin to backdoor websites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyberspace Solarium Commission says space systems should be considered critical infrastructure | CyberScoop

• UK Strengthens Cyber security Audits for Government Agencies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• EU launches Cyber Solidarity Act to respond to large-scale attacks – EURACTIV.com

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 Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 03 March 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• It’s Time to Evaluate Your Security Education Plan with the Rise in Social Engineering Attacks

Security provider Purplesec found 98% of attacks in 2022 involved an element of social engineering. Social engineering attacks can take many forms including phishing, smishing, vishing and quishing and it’s vital to educate your organisation on how to best prepare for these. Education plans should focusing on educating all levels of users, including those at the top. These plans should also be tested to allow organisations to assess where they are at and identify where they can improve.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/as-social-engineering-attacks-skyrocket-evaluate-your-security-education-plan

• Mobile Users are More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks

A report conducted by mobile security provider Lookout focused on the impact of mobile phishing. Some of the key findings from the report included that more than 50% of personal devices were exposed to a mobile phishing attack every quarter, the percentage of users falling for multiple mobile phishing links increasing and an increased targeting of highly regulated industries such as insurance, banking and financial services. It is likely that this has resulted from the increase in relaxed bring your own device (BYOD) policies.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/mobile-users-more-susceptible-to-phishing-attacks-than-two-years-ago/

• Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber Crime

Phishing attacks are at an all-time high and the usage of Phishing as a Service (PaaS) opens this attack technique to virtually anyone. The sale of “phishing kits” and usage of artificial intelligence has further increased the availability of this attack technique. In response, organisations should look to improve their email security, cloud security and education programs for employees.

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/23/c/phishing-as-a-service-phaas.html

• Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes

The average time it takes for a threat actor to move laterally from a compromised host within an organisation dropped 14% between 2012 and 2022 down to 84 minutes, according to a report by security provider Crowdstrike. With the reduction in time it takes a threat actor to move across systems, organisations have even less time to enact their incident response plans and contain breaches effectively, putting further pressure on the incident response team. By responding quickly, organisations can minimise the cost and damage of a breach. The report from Crowdstrike found that organisations were facing increasing difficulty in detecting suspicious activity as attackers are choosing to use valid organisation credentials rather than malware, to gain access to an organisation’s systems.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/attacker-breakout-time-drops-just/

• Attackers are Developing and Deploying Exploits Faster Than Ever

A report from security provider Rapid7 found that over 56% of vulnerabilities were exploited within seven days of public disclosure. Worryingly, the median time for exploitation in 2022 was just one day. The finding from the report highlights the need for organisations to not only conduct threat intelligence to be aware of vulnerabilities but to also look to employ patches where possible in a timely manner.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/attackers-developing-deploying-exploits/

• Old Vulnerabilities are Haunting Organisations and Aiding Attackers

Known vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities for which patches have already been made available, are one of the primary attack vectors for threat actors. Vulnerability management vendor Tenable found that the top exploited vulnerabilities were originally disclosed as far back as 2017 and organisations that had not applied these patches were at increased risks of attack.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/03/known-exploitable-vulnerabilities/

• Scams Drive Nearly $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022

Americans lost $8.8 billion to fraud last year, with imposter scams responsible for $2.8 billion of that amount, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Losses to business imposters were particularly damaging, climbing to $660 million from the previous year. Interestingly, the FTC found that younger people reported losing money to fraud the most often.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/investment-scams-drive-9bn-in/

• Economic Pressure are Increasing Cyber Security Risks and a Recession Would Only Further This

The World Economic Forum’s recent report found that 93% of cyber security leaders and 86% of business leaders think it is moderately or very likely that global geopolitical instability will lead to a catastrophic cyber event in the next two years. Reinforcing this, a report from (ISC)² found that 80% of business executives believe a weakening economy will increase cyber threats and a recession will only amplify this.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3689008/economic-pressures-are-increasing-cybersecurity-risks-a-recession-would-amp-them-up-more.html

• Cyber Security in this Era of Polycrisis

A year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the geopolitical context is increasingly tense and volatile. The world faces several major crises in what has been coined a 'polycrisis,' a cluster of global shocks with compounding effects. This, along with increasing geopolitical tensions causes a rise in risk from cyber attacks. In fact, the European Union Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA) recently issued an alert regarding actors conducting malicious cyber activities against businesses and governments in the European Union and findings from Google show a 300% increase in state-sponsored cyber attacks targeting users in NATO countries.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/cybersecurity-in-an-era-of-polycrisis/

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions

Research provider TRM labs found that some major Russian-linked ransomware crime gangs have rebranded their activities in 2022 to avoid sanctions. To strengthen their anonymity, two major ransomware crime gangs LockBit and Conti restructured their activities. Conti is reported to have restructured into three smaller groups named Black Besta, BlackByte, Karakurt. LockBit on the other hand launched LockBit 3.0, which is focused on monetary gain. Additionally, the report found that Russian-speaking darknet markets had amassed over $130 million in sales.

https://cryptopotato.com/russian-ransomware-projects-rebranded-to-avoid-western-sanctions-report/

• Ransomware Attacks Ravaged Big Names in February

Despite the apparent slight drop in ransomware activity last month, several high profile targets of various industries were hit; this ranges from the likes of the US Marshal Service, retailer WH Smith, satellite provider Dish and many more. These attacks reinforce the concept that any organisation can be a victim, regardless of industry.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/365532056/Ransomware-attacks-ravaged-big-names-in-February

• Firms Who Pay Ransoms Subsidise New Attacks

A report from security provider Trend Micro found that whilst only a relatively small number of ransomware victims pay their extorters, those that do pay are effectively funding 6-10 new attacks. The report also found that attackers are aware of which industries and countries pay ransoms more often, so organisations belonging to those industries and countries may find themselves an even more attractive target.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/firms-pay-ransom-subsidise-10/

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber Crime

A report from threat intelligence provider Recorded Future has highlighted the impact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on cyber. Recorded Future explain how a number of threat actor groups fled during the war and in addition to differing political views between groups, there has been a disruption to the cyber environment. In fact, Recorded Future found that Russian-language dark web marketplaces have taken a major hit and the prediction is that the epicentre of cyber crime may shift to English-speaking dark web forums, shops and marketplaces.

https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/ukraine-war-fault-line-cybercrime-forever

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Firms Who Pay Ransom Subsidise 10 New Attacks: Report - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Ransomware Attacks: Don’t Let Your Guard Down - SecurityWeek

• Ransomware attacks ravaged big names in February | TechTarget

• Cyber Insurance Market Back From Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks (insurancejournal.com)

• Royal Mail schools LockBit in leaked negotiation (malwarebytes.com)

• 'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register

• Wiper malware goes global, destructive attacks surge - Help Net Security

• A Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 3 (trendmicro.com)

• New Exfiltrator-22 post-exploitation kit linked to LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• PureCrypter malware hits govt orgs with ransomware, info-stealers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bitdefender Releases Free Decryptor for MortalKombat Ransomware Strain (thehackernews.com)

• Dish Network confirms ransomware attack behind multi-day outage (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US Marshals Ransomware Hit Is 'Major' Incident (darkreading.com)

• The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)

• Vice Society publishes data stolen during Vesuvius ransomware attack • Graham Cluley

• US Cybersecurity Agency Raises Alarm Over Royal Ransomware's Deadly Capabilities (thehackernews.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert

• Phishing as a Service Stimulates Cyber crime (trendmicro.com)

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Managed XDR Exposes Spear-Phishing Campaign Targeting Hospitality Industry Using RedLine Stealer (trendmicro.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• New cyber attack tactics rise up as ransomware payouts increase | CSO Online

• Expert strategies for defending against multilingual email-based attacks - Help Net Security

• Hackers Target Young Gamers: How Your Child Can Cause Business Compromise (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• As Social Engineering Attacks Skyrocket, Evaluate Your Security Education Plan (darkreading.com)

• The Top 5 New Social Engineering Attacks in 2023 - (ISC)² Blog (isc2.org)

• How to Prevent Callback Phishing Attacks on Your Organization (bleepingcomputer.com)

2FA/MFA

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• RIG Exploit Kit still infects enterprise users via Internet Explorer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exfiltrator-22 Post-Exploitation Toolkit Nips At Cobalt Strike's Heels (darkreading.com)

• Malicious package flood on PyPI might be sign of new attacks to come | CSO Online

• Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Parallax RAT Targeting Cryptocurrency Firms with Sophisticated Injection Techniques (thehackernews.com)

• It's official: BlackLotus malware can bypass secure boot • The Register

• Threat actors target law firms with GootLoader and SocGholish--Security Affairs

• Managed XDR Exposes Spear-Phishing Campaign Targeting Hospitality Industry Using RedLine Stealer (trendmicro.com)

Mobile

• Mobile Users More Susceptible to Phishing Attacks than Two Years Ago - MSSP Alert

• Mobile Banking Trojans Surge, Doubling in Volume (darkreading.com)

• Privacy Concerns Raised Over Android Apps' Data Safety Labels - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Signal would 'walk' from UK if Online Safety Bill undermined encryption - BBC News

• Phone Attacks and MFA Bypass Drive Phishing to New Heights - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Don't be fooled by a pretty icon, malicious apps hide in plain sight - Help Net Security

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Danish Hospitals Struck By Cyber attack From ‘Anonymous Sudan’ (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek

• LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)

• Stanford University discloses data breach affecting PhD applicants (bleepingcomputer.com)

• More than 200 cyber attacks with theft of personal data reported to Irish authorities in a year (thejournal.ie)

• Threat actors leak Activision employee data on hacking forum--Security Affairs

• 10 US states that suffered the most devastating data breaches in 2022 - Help Net Security

• Australian orgs lodged 497 data breach notices in back half of 2022 - Security - iTnews

• WH Smith targeted by cyber attack with hackers accessing data on current and former employees | Business News | Sky News

• API Security Flaw Found in Booking.com Allowed Full Account Takeover - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hatch Bank discloses data breach after GoAnywhere MFT hack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• GunAuction site was hacked and data of 565k accounts were exposed--Security Affairs

• Chick-fil-A confirms accounts hacked in months-long "automated" attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• What GoDaddy's Years-Long Breach Means for Millions of Clients (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Cryptocurrency Bitcoin mining rig found in school crawlspace • The Register

• Highly evasive cryptocurrency miner targets macOS--Security Affairs

• Parallax RAT Targeting Cryptocurrency Firms with Sophisticated Injection Techniques (thehackernews.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Investment Scams Drive $9bn Fraud Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

• How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)

• FTC reveals alarming increase in scam activity, costing consumers billions - Help Net Security

• Resecurity identified the investment scam network Digital Smoke - Help Net Security

• Pig butchering scam explained: Everything you need to know (techtarget.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Russian Ransomware Projects Rebranded to Avoid Western Sanctions: Report (cryptopotato.com)

Insurance

• Cyber Insurance Market Back From Brink After Onslaught of Ransomware Attacks (insurancejournal.com)

• The future of cyber insurance - IT Security Guru

Dark Web

• Sale of Stolen Credentials and Initial Access Dominate Dark Web Markets (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security

• Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

Software Supply Chain

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

• SBOM is a 'massive galaxy of mess' for supply chain security • The Register

• IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• How to Tackle the Top SaaS Challenges of 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• Cloud incident response: Frameworks and best practices | TechTarget

• Security teams have no control over risky SaaS-to-SaaS connections - Help Net Security

• It only takes one over-privileged identity to do major damage to a cloud - Help Net Security

• SCARLETEEL hackers use advanced cloud skills to steal source code, data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Shocking Findings from the 2023 Third-Party App Access Report (thehackernews.com)

• Google Cloud Platform allows data exfiltration without a (forensic) trace - Help Net Security

• What Happened in That Cyber attack? With Some Cloud Services, You May Never Know (darkreading.com)

• Public SaaS Assets Are a Major Risk For Medium, Large Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Report: Inside the High Risk of Third-Party SaaS Apps (darkreading.com)

Containers

• Hackers Exploit Containerized Environments to Steals Proprietary Data and Software (thehackernews.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)

• How to work from home securely, the NSA way (malwarebytes.com)

Encryption

• Signal would 'walk' from UK if Online Safety Bill undermined encryption - BBC News

API

• Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference? (thehackernews.com)

• API Security Flaw Found in Booking.com Allowed Full Account Takeover - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Open Source

• Iron Tiger hackers create Linux version of their custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Should organisations swear off open-source software altogether? | VentureBeat

• Top 10 open source software risks for 2023 | CSO Online

• IBM Contributes Supply Chain Security Tools to OWASP (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• LastPass Says DevOps Engineer Home Computer Hacked - SecurityWeek

• Critical Vulnerabilities Allowed Booking.com Account Takeover - SecurityWeek

• Sale of Stolen Credentials and Initial Access Dominate Dark Web Markets (darkreading.com)

Social Media

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO

• TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News

• Meta says $725M deal ends all Cambridge Analytica claims; one state disagrees | Ars Technica

Training, Education and Awareness

• As Social Engineering Attacks Skyrocket, Evaluate Your Security Education Plan (darkreading.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Hackers Target Young Gamers: How Your Child Can Cause Business Compromise (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber resilience in focus: EU act to set strict standards - Help Net Security

• Work-From-Home Regulations Are Coming. Companies Aren’t Ready. (mit.edu)

• White House to Take Aggressive Stance Mandating Private Industry Make Systems Cyber Safe - MSSP Alert

• ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Third-party risks overwhelm traditional ERM setups - Help Net Security

• Economic pressures are increasing cybersecurity risks; a recession would amp them up more | CSO Online

• CISOs Share Their 3 Top Challenges for Cybersecurity Management (darkreading.com)

• The Importance of Recession-Proofing Security Operations (darkreading.com)

• Third-Party Risks: Challenges for MSSPs and How to Overcome Them - MSSP Alert

• Decrypting Cyber Risk Quantification (trendmicro.com)

• How to de-risk your digital ecosystem | CSO Online

• CISO Conversations: Code42, BreachQuest Leaders Discuss Combining CISO and CIO Roles - SecurityWeek

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• CISA releases free ‘Decider’ tool to help with MITRE ATT&CK mapping (bleepingcomputer.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Gartner Prediction: Nearly Half of Cybersecurity Pros Will Change Jobs by 2025 - MSSP Alert

• Top 7 cybersecurity jobs in high demand (cointelegraph.com)

• Growing Demand For Skilled Cybersecurity Workforce In Digital Age (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Dutch cyber security professionals experience stress akin to soldiers in war zone, claims expert | Computer Weekly

• Partnering With a Cybersecurity Vendor Can Help You Recruit Top Talent - MSSP Alert

• CISOs Are Stressed Out and It's Putting Companies at Risk (thehackernews.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• 'Ethical hacker' among ransomware suspects arrested • The Register

• The DoJ Disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group Is a Short-Lived Win (darkreading.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• UK seeks to ‘focus’ espionage bill to head off Lords rebellion | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Press greets Home Office redraft of national security bill with scepticism | Media | The Guardian

• Privacy Concerns Raised Over Android Apps' Data Safety Labels - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The Air Force Is Now Using Facial Recognition Drones (gizmodo.com)

• How dog tracker apps are snooping on humans, according to cyber security experts (telegraph.co.uk)

Artificial Intelligence

• Generative AI Changes Everything We Know About Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• ChatGPT is bringing advancements and challenges for cybersecurity - Help Net Security

• How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (vice.com)

• ML practitioners push for mandatory AI Bill of Rights - Help Net Security

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

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

• Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)

• Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)

• 'A year of cyberwar' with Russia: An inside look from a top Ukrainian cybersecurity official | CyberScoop

• Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• CISA Calls For Increased Vigilance One Year After Ukraine's Russian Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register

• Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online

• China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)

• 'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek

• Belgium’s cyber security agency links China to spear phishing attack on MP | Financial Times (ft.com)

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

• China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors | WIRED

Nation State Actors

• Cyber security must be tightened up in this era of polycrisis | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Russian IT “Brain Drain” Decentralizes Cyber crime - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How the Ukraine War Opened a Fault Line in Cyber crime, Possibly Forever (darkreading.com)

• Hacker group defaces Russian websites to display the Kremlin on fire | TechCrunch

• Russia-Ukraine War: A Year of Cyber Shortfalls (foreignpolicy.com)

• CISA Calls For Increased Vigilance One Year After Ukraine's Russian Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CERT of Ukraine: Russia-linked APT backdoored multiple govt sites-Security Affairs

• Evaluating the Cyberwar Set Off by Russian Invasion of Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• White House: No More TikTok on Gov't Devices Within 30 Days - SecurityWeek

• Russian charged with smuggling US counterintel tech • The Register

• Cyber security in wartime: how Ukraine's infosec community is coping | CSO Online

• EU Parliament bans staff from using TikTok over ‘cybersecurity concerns’ – POLITICO

• China's BlackFly Targets Materials Sector in 'Relentless' Quest for IP (darkreading.com)

• 'Hackers' Behind Air Raid Alerts Across Russia: Official - SecurityWeek

• Belgium’s cyber security agency links China to spear phishing attack on MP | Financial Times (ft.com)

• 'A year of cyberwar' with Russia: An inside look from a top Ukrainian cybersecurity official | CyberScoop

• China spends billions on pro-Russia disinformation, US special envoy says | China | The Guardian

• China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors | WIRED

• TikTok answers three big cyber-security fears about the app - BBC News

• Russia bans foreign messaging apps in government organisations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese hackers use new custom backdoor to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Unpatched old vulnerabilities continue to be exploited: Report | CSO Online

• All CVEs Are Not Created Equal (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• A world of hurt for Fortinet and ManageEngine after users fail to install patches | Ars Technica

• Cisco ClamAV anti-malware scanner vulnerable to serious security flaw | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Popular IBM file transfer tool vulnerable to cyber attacks, CISA says - The Record from Recorded Future News

• Hackers are actively exploiting Zoho ManageEngine flaw-Security Affairs

• All In One SEO WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To 3+ Million (searchenginejournal.com)

• CISA warns of hackers exploiting ZK Java Framework RCE flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Security Defects in TPM 2.0 Spec Raise Alarm - SecurityWeek

• Cisco patches critical Web UI RCE flaw in multiple IP phones (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Aruba Networks fixes six critical vulnerabilities in ArubaOS (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft releases Windows security updates for Intel CPU flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Tools and Controls

• LastPass Reveals Second Attack Resulting in Breach of Encrypted Password Vaults (thehackernews.com)

• Well-funded security systems fail to prevent cyber attacks in US and Europe: Report | CSO Online

• The Future of Network Security: Predictive Analytics and ML-Driven Solutions (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft announces automatic BEC, ransomware attack disruption capabilities - Help Net Security

• How to use zero trust and IAM to defend against cyber attacks in an economic downturn | VentureBeat

• Zero trust: building a mixed estate - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Pentesting No Longer Driven by Regulatory Compliance, New Study Finds - MSSP Alert

• Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference? (thehackernews.com)

• A new AI-based tool to detect DDoS attacks

• CISA Shares Advice to Improve Networks' Monitoring and Hardening - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft a Leader in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms - Microsoft Security Blog

• Accurately assessing the success of zero-trust initiatives | TechTarget

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Other News

• Attackers are developing and deploying exploits faster than ever - Help Net Security

• Attacker Breakout Time Drops to Just 84 Minutes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Moving target defence must keep cyber attackers guessing - Help Net Security

• Covert cyber attacks on the rise as attackers shift tactics for maximum impact - Help Net Security

• Dormant accounts are a low-hanging fruit for attackers - Help Net Security

• Dish Network goes offline after likely cyber attack, employees cut off (bleepingcomputer.com)

• News Corp says state hackers were on its network for two years (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK won the Military Cyberwarfare exercise Defence Cyber Marvel-Security Affairs

• To Safeguard Critical Infrastructure, Go Back to Basics (darkreading.com)

• Feds accuse Google of destroying evidence in antitrust case • The Register

• Microsoft recommending you scan more Exchange server files • The Register

• CISA director urges tech sector to stop shipping unsafe products | CyberScoop

• Developers can make a great extension of your security team - Help Net Security

• 2023 Browser Security Report Uncovers Major Browsing Risks and Blind Spots (thehackernews.com)

• Uncovering the most pressing cybersecurity concerns for SMBs - Help Net Security

• Wiz execs: Most overhyped security tool is technology itself • The Register

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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 24 February 2023

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

• Employees Bypass Cyber Security Guidance to Achieve Business Objectives

Researcher Gartner predicts that by 2025, lack of talent or human failure will be responsible for over half of significant cyber incidents. In a survey conducted by Gartner it was found that 69% of employees had bypassed their organisations cyber security guidance in the previous 12 months and 74% said they would bypass cyber security guidance if it helped them or their team achieve a business objective.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/24/bypass-cybersecurity-guidance/

• Three Quarters of Businesses Braced for Serious Email Attack this Year

According to a survey conducted by security provider Vanson Bourne, 76% of cyber security professionals predict that an email related attack will have serious consequences for their organisation in the coming year. The survey found that 82% of companies reported a higher volume of email in 2022 compared with 2021 and 2020 and 74% had said email-based threats had risen over the last 12 months. In addition, a worrying 91% had seen attempts to steal or use their email domain in an attack.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3688573/three-quarters-of-businesses-braced-for-serious-email-attack-this-year.html#tk.rss_news

• The Cost of Living Crisis is Triggering a Wave of Workplace Crime

Almost 6,000 people were caught stealing from their employer in 2022 according to insurance provider Zurich with the firms facing an average loss of £140,000.  Zurich have said “As cost of living pressures mount, employee theft has significantly increased, suggesting some workers could be turning to desperate measures to make ends meet”.

https://news.sky.com/story/the-cost-of-living-crisis-is-triggering-a-wave-of-workplace-crime-heres-how-12817082

• Fighting Ransomware with Cyber Security Audits

With the ever increasing number of devices and distributed environments, it’s easy for organisations to lose track of open IP addresses, administrator accounts and infrastructure configurations; all of this creates an increase in opportunities for threat actors to deploy ransomware. By conducting audits of IT assets, organisations can identify the data they hold and reduce the risk of forgotten devices. The need for auditing of an organisations assets is reinforced where a survey conducted by research provider Enterprise Strategy Group found that nearly 70% of respondents had suffered at least one exploit that started with an unknown, unmanaged, or poorly managed Internet-facing IT asset.

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/23/b/cybersecurity-audit.html

• Record Levels of Fraud Impacting 90% of Payment Compliance Teams

New research from research provider VIXIO has found that 90% of payment company compliance teams are frequently overwhelmed and increased fraud was a particular concern for teams in the UK.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/02/17/overwhelm-impacts-90-of-payment-compliance-teams-as-they-combat-record-levels-of-fraud/

• CISOs Struggle with Stress and Limited Resources

A survey from security provider Cynet has found that 94% of CISOs report being stressed at work, with 65% admitting that this work stress has compromised their ability to protect their organisation. Furthermore, the survey found all respondents said they needed additional resources to adequately cope with current cyber challenges. Amongst some of the key findings were 77% of CISOs believing that a lack of resources had led to important security initiatives falling to the wayside.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/23/cisos-work-related-stress/

• Cyber Threats and Regulations Mount for Financial Industry

Nation-state adversaries, new reporting regulations, and a fast-paced threat landscape mean that financial services and technology firms need to bolster their security posture. For example, last year a report conducted by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and security provider Akamai found that distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) attacks rose 73% more for European financial institutions compared to the previous year. This combination of attacks is followed by an increase in regulations such as the requirement to report breaches to the European Authorities to satisfy the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Such increase has caused financial institutions to bolster their security, with a survey conducted by security provider Contrast finding 72% of financial organisations plan to increase their investment in the security of their applications and 64% mandated cyber security requirements for their vendors.

https://www.darkreading.com/risk/cyberthreats-regulations-mount-for-financial-industry

• HardBit Ransomware Wants Insurance Details to Set the Perfect Price

Operators of a ransomware threat known as Hardbit are trying to negotiate ransom payments so that they would be covered by victim’s insurance companies. Typically, the threat actor tries to convince the victim that it is in their interest to disclose their insurance details so that the threat actor can adjust their demands so that insurance would cover it.

 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hardbit-ransomware-wants-insurance-details-to-set-the-perfect-price/ 

• Social Engineering is Becoming Increasingly Sophisticated

The rapid development of deepfake technology is providing an increase in the sophistication of social engineering attacks. Deepfake technology refers to products created through artificial intelligence, which could allow an individual to impersonate another with likeness and voice during a video conversation. The accessibility of such technology has allowed threat actors to conduct more sophisticated campaigns, including the replication of the voice of a company executive.

https://securityaffairs.com/142487/hacking/social-engineering-increasingly-sophisticated.html

• A Fifth of Brits Have Fallen Victim to Online Scammers

Security founder F-Secure have found that a fifth of Brits had fallen victim to digital scammers in the past, yet a quarter had no security controls to protect themselves. When providing a reason for the lack of security, 60% said they found cyber security too complex. This is worrying for organisations who need to ensure these low levels of security awareness are not displayed in the corporate environment.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/fifth-brits-have-victim-online/

• Cyber Attacks Hit Data Centres to Steal Information from Companies

Cyber attacks targeting multiple data centres globally have resulted in the exfiltration of information relating to companies who used them. In addition, attackers have been seen to publish access credentials relating to these attacks on the dark web. This malicious activity reinforces the need for organisations to be aware of and properly manage their supply chain.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3688909/cyberattacks-hit-data-centers-to-steal-information-from-global-companies.html#tk.rss_news  

• Phishing Fears Ramp Up on Email, Collaboration Platforms

Three quarters of organisations are expecting a serious impact from an email-based attack and with the rapid growth and expansion of collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, it’s expected that these will also be used as a vector for threat actors. Combined with the emergence of Chat-GPT, the landscape provides an increasing amount of opportunities for threat actors.

https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/phishing-fears-ramp-up-on-e-mail-collaboration-platforms

• The War in Ukraine has Shaken up the Cyber Criminal Eco-System

One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war continues -- including an ever-evolving digital component that has implications for the future of cyber security around the world. Among other things, the war in Ukraine has upended the Eastern European cyber criminal ecosystem, according to cyber security experts from Google, shaking up the way ransomware attacks are playing out. Google later explained that “Lines are blurring between financially motivated and government-backed attackers in Eastern Europe”.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-war-in-ukraine-has-shaken-up-the-cybercriminal-ecosystem-google-says/

• Police Bust €41m Email Scam Gang

A coordinated police operation spanning multiple countries led to the dismantling of a criminal network which was responsible for tens of millions in Business Email Compromise (BEC) losses. In one of the attacks the gang used social engineering to target the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a real estate developer, defrauding them of 38 million euros.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/police-bust-41m-bec-gang/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• HardBit ransomware wants insurance details to set the perfect price (bleepingcomputer.com)

• An Overview of the Global Impact of Ransomware Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Fight Ransomware with a Cyber security Audit (trendmicro.com)

• Time to Deploy Ransomware Drops 94% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Majority of Ransomware Attacks Last Year Exploited Old Bugs (darkreading.com)

• A Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 1 (trendmicro.com)

• A Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 2 (trendmicro.com)

• Guardian staff forced to work out of former brewery after ransomware attack (telegraph.co.uk)

• Royal Ransomware Expands Attacks by Targeting Linux ESXi Servers (trendmicro.com)

• Chip company loses $250m after ransomware hits supply chain (malwarebytes.com)

• GoAnywhere zero-day opened door to Clop ransomware (malwarebytes.com)

• Derivatives market still hit by fallout from Ion Markets cyber attack | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Dutch Police arrest three ransomware actors extorting €2.5 million (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Royal Mail resumes overseas deliveries via post offices after cyber-attack | Royal Mail | The Guardian

• LockBit gang takes credit for attack on water utility in Portugal - The Record from Recorded Future News

• IBM: Ransomware defenders showing signs of improvement | TechTarget

• ESXiArgs Ransomware Has Spread to 500 New Targets in Europe. Will there be More? - MSSP Alert

• Ukraine Suffered More Wiper Malware in 2022 Than Anywhere, Ever | WIRED

• Food giant Dole hit by ransomware, halts North American production temporarily (bitdefender.com)

• Wiper Malware Surges Ahead, Spiking 53% in 3 Months (darkreading.com)

• Trellix Report: LockBit 3.0 Ransomware "Most Aggressive" with Demands - MSSP Alert

• Israel's Top Tech University Targeted by DarkBit Ransomware (darkreading.com)

• Warnings were issued over a log-in system used by Cork university in weeks before cyber attack (thejournal.ie)

• Russia’s Invasion Sparks Global Wiper Malware Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Lockbit gang hit Portuguese municipal water utility Aguas do Porto-Security Affairs

• Student Medical Records Exposed After LAUSD Breach (darkreading.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Three-quarters of businesses braced for ‘serious’ email attack this year | CSO Online

• Phishing Fears Ramp Up on Email, Collaboration Platforms (darkreading.com)

• Big rise in 'email thread hijacking' by cyber criminals (rte.ie)

• Fifth of Brits Have Fallen Victim to Online Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Phishing as a Service (cyberark.com)

• Smishing, vishing and whaling: How phishing scams are evolving | The Star

• Microsoft Outlook flooded with spam due to broken email filters (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Coinbase Attack Linked to Group Behind Last Year's Twilio, Cloudflare Hacks - SecurityWeek

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Google Translate Helps BEC Groups Scam Companies in Any Language (darkreading.com)

• Police Bust €38m BEC Gang - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Social engineering, deception becomes increasingly sophisticated-Security Affairs

• Smishing, vishing and whaling: How phishing scams are evolving | The Star

• Coinbase cyber attack targeted employees with fake SMS alert (bleepingcomputer.com)

2FA/MFA

• Twitter Limits SMS-Based 2-Factor Authentication to Blue Subscribers Only (thehackernews.com)

Malware

• GoDaddy Discloses Multi-Year Security Breach Causing Malware Installations and Source Code Theft (thehackernews.com)

• Google Ads Spreads FatalRAT Malware, Disguised As Popular Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Researchers unearth Windows backdoor that’s unusually stealthy | Ars Technica

• Researchers warn of 'Havoc' command and control tool • The Register

• New WhiskerSpy malware delivered via trojanized codec installer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Frebniis malware abuses Microsoft IIS feature to create a backdoor-Security Affairs

• New Stealc malware emerges with a wide set of stealing capabilities (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts Warn of RambleOn Android Malware Targeting South Korean Journalists (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers use fake ChatGPT apps to push Windows, Android malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Use S1deload Stealer to Target Facebook, YouTube Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Unanswered Questions Cloud the Recent Targeting of an Asian Research Org (darkreading.com)

• Hydrochasma Threat Group Bombards Targets with Slew of Commodity Malware, Tools (darkreading.com)

• Wiper Malware Surges Ahead, Spiking 53% in 3 Months (darkreading.com)

• Russian national accused of developing, selling malware appears in US. court | CyberScoop

• Defenders on high alert as backdoor attacks become more common - Help Net Security

Mobile

• Five easy steps to keep your smartphone safe from hackers | ZDNET

• Apple Updates Advisories as Security Firm Discloses New Class of Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

• Is Telegram the New Dark Web? Report Documents “Cybercrime Ecosystem” on Messaging App - CPO Magazine

• Accidental WhatsApp account takeovers? It's a thing • The Register

• Google will boost Android security through firmware hardening (bleepingcomputer.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Seven German Airports Hit by Suspected Cyber Attack (heimdalsecurity.com)

• 4 Tips to Guard Against DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Locking down the remote printer • The Register

• Are your IoT devices at risk? Cyber security concerns for 2023 - Help Net Security

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Sensitive US military emails exposed by unsecured Azure server • The Register

• DNA testing firm inks settlement after forgotten DB break-in • The Register

• Activision did not notify employees of data breach for months | TechCrunch

• GoDaddy blasted for breach response | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• TELUS investigating leak of stolen source code, employee data (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• The war in Ukraine has shaken up the cyber criminal ecosystem, Google says | ZDNET

• Russian cyber crime alliances upended by Ukraine invasion • The Register

• Spain Orders Extradition of British Alleged Hacker to US. - SecurityWeek

• Is Telegram the New Dark Web? Report Documents “Cyber crime Ecosystem” on Messaging App - CPO Magazine

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Norwegian police recover $5.9m crypto stolen by North Korea • The Register

• Coinbase Attack Linked to Group Behind Last Year's Twilio, Cloudflare Hacks - SecurityWeek

• Coinbase breached by social engineers, employee data stolen – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• ‘Nevada Group’ hackers target thousands of computer networks | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Pirated Final Cut Pro infects your Mac with cryptomining malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• SBF faces four additional charges in FTX collapse case • The Register

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Employees bypass cyber security guidance to achieve business objectives - Help Net Security

• Insider Threats Don't Mean Insiders Are Threatening (darkreading.com)

• Insider threats must be top-of-mind for organisations facing layoffs - Help Net Security

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Overwhelm impacts 90% of payment compliance teams as they combat record levels of fraud - IT Security Guru

• The cost of living crisis is triggering a wave of workplace crime - here's how | UK News | Sky News

• Fifth of Brits Have Fallen Victim to Online Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• FTC: Americans lost $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022 after 30% surge (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Firm Fined £200K For "Exploitative" Call Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Europol busts ‘CEO fraud’ gang that stole €38M in a few days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Criminals are flooding the internet with fake advice scams and adware, so watch out | TechRadar

• ‘They bleed you dry’: the recruitment scammers preying on Australian job seekers | Australia news | The Guardian

• City Fund Managers Jailed for £8m Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Scammers Mimic ChatGPT to Steal Business Credentials (darkreading.com)

• SBF faces four additional charges in FTX collapse case • The Register

Insurance

• Lower Data Breach Insurance Costs with These Tips (trendmicro.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• UK NCSC Launches Recommendations on Supply Chain Mapping - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chip company loses $250m after ransomware hits supply chain (malwarebytes.com)

• Third-Party Providers Create Identity and Access Control Challenges for Fintech Apps (darkreading.com)

• 3 Steps to Automate Your Third-Party Risk Management Program (thehackernews.com)

Software Supply Chain

• This Will Be the Year of the SBOM, for Better or for Worse (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Google Cloud CISO Phil Venables: Zero trust ‘essential’ to protect the cloud | VentureBeat

• Four steps SMBs can take to close SaaS security gaps - Help Net Security

• Why Are My Employees Integrating With So Many Unsanctioned SaaS Apps? (darkreading.com)

• Four Reasons Why Web Security is as Important as Endpoint Security for MSSP Clients - MSSP Alert

Containers

• 87% of Container Images in Production Have Critical or High-Severity Vulnerabilities (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• Encrypted Traffic, Once Thought Safe, Now Responsible For Most Cyberthreats (darkreading.com)

• AI Helps Crack NIST-Recommended Post-Quantum Encryption Algorithm - SecurityWeek

API

• Why people-driven remediation is the key to strong API security - Help Net Security

• ‘Most web API flaws are missed by standard security tests’ – Corey J Ball on securing a neglected attack vector | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

Open Source

• At least one open source vulnerability found in 84% of code bases: Report | CSO Online

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Despite Breach, LastPass Demonstrates the Power of Password Management (darkreading.com)

Social Media

• Twitter Limits SMS-Based 2-Factor Authentication to Blue Subscribers Only (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers Use S1deload Stealer to Target Facebook, YouTube Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 7 Tips for Mitigating Cyber-Risks to Your Corporate Social Media (darkreading.com)

• Russia's information war against Ukraine went stealth after Meta crackdown | CyberScoop

Malvertising

• Google Ads Spreads FatalRAT Malware, Disguised As Popular Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Global threats fuel cyber defence training • The Register

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Over confidence is putting children at risk online says Kaspersky research - IT Security Guru

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Cyber threats, Regulations Mount for Financial Industry (darkreading.com)

• Firm Fined £200K For "Exploitative" Call Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Employees bypass cyber security guidance to achieve business objectives - Help Net Security

• The financial system is alarmingly vulnerable to cyber attack | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber threats, Regulations Mount for Financial Industry (darkreading.com)

• Fight Ransomware with a Cyber security Audit (trendmicro.com)

• Evolving Threat Landscape Leading to Cyber security Pro “Burnout,” Study Says - MSSP Alert

• Benchmarking your cyber security budget in 2023 | VentureBeat

• Security breach? Don’t blame your employees | TechCrunch

• 7 reasons to avoid investing in cyber insurance | CSO Online

• 5 top threats from 2022 most likely to strike in 2023 | CSO Online

• Cyber arms race, economic headwinds among top macro cyber security risks for 2023 | CSO Online

• Malicious actors push the limits of attack vectors - Help Net Security

Data Protection

• ICO Calls on Accountants to Improve SME Data Protection - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• CISOs struggle with stress and limited resources - Help Net Security

• Stress pushing CISOs out the door | CSO Online

• Complexity, volume of cyber attacks lead to burnout in security teams - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Police Bust €38m BEC Gang - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Spain Orders Extradition of British Alleged Hacker to US. - SecurityWeek

• Russian national accused of developing, selling malware appears in US. court | CyberScoop

• Dutch Police arrest three ransomware actors extorting €2.5 million (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Supreme Court declines to hear Wikimedia case against NSA surveillance program | CyberScoop

Artificial Intelligence

• MLOps Security AI power analysis breaks post-quantum security algorithm ... (eenewseurope.com)

• AI Helps Crack NIST-Recommended Post-Quantum Encryption Algorithm - SecurityWeek

• Hackers use fake ChatGPT apps to push Windows, Android malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Security Experts Warn of Foreign Cyber Threat to 2024 Voting - SecurityWeek

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

• ENISA and CERT-EU warns Chinese APTs targeting EU organisations-Security Affairs

• Russian cybercrime alliances upended by Ukraine invasion • The Register

• Google Report Reveals Russia's Elaborate Cyber Strategy in Ukraine - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Many cyber operations conducted by Russia are yet to be publicly disclosed, says Dutch intelligence-Security Affairs

• Musk restricts Starlink for Ukraine, cites World War III | Fortune

• America Loves Spying by Balloon, Just Like China (gizmodo.com)

• How Ukraine War Has Shaped US Planning for a China Conflict - SecurityWeek

• Armenia and Azerbaijan Hackers Use OxtaRAT to Monitor Conflict - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russia blames 'hackers' for fake missile strike alerts • The Register

• Russia’s Invasion Sparks Global Wiper Malware Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine says Russian hackers backdoored govt websites in 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russia's information war against Ukraine went stealth after Meta crackdown | CyberScoop

• British Army leads Western Europe’s largest cyber warfare exercise | The British Army (mod.uk)

Nation State Actors

• ENISA and CERT-EU warns Chinese APTs targeting EU organisations-Security Affairs

• The war in Ukraine has shaken up the cybercriminal ecosystem, Google says | ZDNET

• Russian cybercrime alliances upended by Ukraine invasion • The Register

• EU Cyber security Agency Warns Against Chinese APTs - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google Report Reveals Russia's Elaborate Cyber Strategy in Ukraine - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Many cyber operations conducted by Russia are yet to be publicly disclosed, says Dutch intelligence-Security Affairs

• Russian spy working inside as security in a British embassy has been jailed for 13 years | UK News | Sky News

• Norwegian police recover $5.9m crypto stolen by North Korea • The Register

• America Loves Spying by Balloon, Just Like China (gizmodo.com)

• EU Organisations Warned of Chinese APT Attacks - SecurityWeek

• How Ukraine War Has Shaped US Planning for a China Conflict - SecurityWeek

• Earth Zhulong Familiar Patterns Target Southeast Asian Firms (trendmicro.com)

• Earth Kitsune Delivers New WhiskerSpy Backdoor via Watering Hole Attack (trendmicro.com)

• Putin Speech Broadcast Temporarily Stopped By DDoS Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Ukraine Suffered More Wiper Malware in 2022 Than Anywhere, Ever | WIRED

• Lazarus Group Likely Using New WinorDLL64 Backdoor to Exfiltrate Sensitive Data (thehackernews.com)

• Russia’s Invasion Sparks Global Wiper Malware Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine says Russian hackers backdoored govt websites in 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russia's information war against Ukraine went stealth after Meta crackdown | CyberScoop

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Vulnerability Management

• CVSS system criticized for failure to address real-world impact | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Majority of Ransomware Attacks Last Year Exploited Old Bugs (darkreading.com)

• At least one open source vulnerability found in 84% of code bases: Report | CSO Online

Vulnerabilities

• US Cybersecurity Agency CISA Adds Three New Vulnerabilities in KEV Catalog (thehackernews.com)

• Fortinet Issues Patches for 40 Flaws Affecting FortiWeb, FortiOS, FortiNAC, and FortiProxy (thehackernews.com)

• SolarWinds Announces Upcoming Patches for High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

• Fortinet FortiNAC CVE-2022-39952 flaw exploited in the wild hours after release of PoC exploit-Security Affairs

• A New Kind of Bug Spells Trouble for iOS and macOS Security | WIRED

• VMware Patches Critical Vulnerability in Carbon Black App Control Product (thehackernews.com)

• New Privilege Escalation Bug Class Found on macOS and iOS - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• PoC exploit code for critical Fortinet FortiNAC bug released online-Security Affairs

• Newly Disclosed Vulnerability Exposes EOL Arris Routers to Attacks - SecurityWeek

• Hackers Exploit Privilege Escalation Flaw on Windows Backup Service - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Emergency VMware ESXi update fixes Windows Server 2022 VM boot issues (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exploitation attempts observed against Fortinet FortiNAC flaw | TechTarget

• Researchers find hidden vulnerabilities in hundreds of Docker containers - Help Net Security

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Tools and Controls

• Despite Breach, LastPass Demonstrates the Power of Password Management (darkreading.com)

• Google Cloud CISO Phil Venables: Zero trust ‘essential’ to protect the cloud | VentureBeat

• 10 Best Network Security Solutions & Providers - 2023 (cybersecuritynews.com)

• Modern Software: What's Really Inside? (darkreading.com)

• Why privileged access management should be critical to your security strategy | VentureBeat

• The battle for data security now falls on developers; here’s how they can win | VentureBeat

• Zero trust, XDR prominent in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Endpoint Security | VentureBeat

• Advantages of the AWS Security Maturity Model (trendmicro.com)

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Other News

• Army leads Western Europe’s largest cyber warfare exercise | The British Army (mod.uk)

• NSA shares guidance on how to secure your home network (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Encrypted Traffic, Once Thought Safe, Now Responsible For Most Cyberthreats (darkreading.com)

• Malicious actors push the limits of attack vectors - Help Net Security

• Researchers Hijack Popular NPM Package with Millions of Downloads (thehackernews.com)

• Is OWASP at Risk of Irrelevance? (darkreading.com)

• Justice Department Debuts 'Disruptive Technology Strike Force' (gizmodo.com)

• How to Detect New Threats via Suspicious Activities (thehackernews.com)

• At least one open source vulnerability found in 84% of code bases: Report | CSO Online

• White House cyber security strategy to force large companies to make systems secure by design | CyberScoop

• Microsoft urges Exchange admins to remove some antivirus exclusions (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 17 February 2023

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

• High Risk Users May be Few, but the Threat They Pose is Huge

High risk users represent approximately 10% of the worker population according to research provider, Elevate Security research. The research found that high risk users were responsible for 41% of all simulated phishing clicks, 30% of all real-world phishing clicks, 54% of all secure-browsing incidents and 42% of all malware events. This is worrying, considering the rise in sophisticated targeted phishing campaigns.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/16/high-risk-behavior/

• The Cost of Cyber Security Insurance is Soaring so Firms Need to Take Prevention More Seriously

State-backed cyber attacks are on the rise, but they are not raising the level of alarm that they should in the corporate world. Unfortunately, this is not a productive way of thinking. Come the end of March, insurance provider Lloyds will no longer cover damage from cyber attacks carried out by state or state-backed groups. In the worst cases, this reduced insurance coverage could exacerbate the trend of companies taking a passive approach toward state-backed attacks as they feel there is now really nothing they can do to protect themselves. The uncertainty however, could be the motivation for companies to take the threat of state-backed attacks more seriously.

https://fortune.com/2023/02/15/cost-cybersecurity-insurance-soaring-state-backed-attacks-cover-shmulik-yehezkel/

• Cyber Attacks Worldwide Increased to an All-Time Record-Breaking High, Report Shows

According to a report by security provider Check Point, cyber attacks rose 38% in 2022 compared to the previous year. Some of the key trends in the report included an increase in the number of cloud-based networking attacks, with a 48% rise and non-state affiliated hacktivist groups becoming more organised and effective than ever before. Additionally, ransomware is becoming more difficult to attribute and track and extra focus should be placed on exfiltration detection.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cyberattacks-worldwide-increased-to-an-all-time-high-check-point-research-reveals/

• Most Organisations Make Cyber Security Decisions Without Insights

A report by security provider Mandiant found some worrying results when it came to organisational understanding of threat actors. Some of the key findings include, 79% of respondents stating that most of their cyber security decisions are made without insight into the treat actors targeting them, 79% believing their organisation could focus more time and energy on identifying critical security trends, 67% believing senior leadership teams underestimate the cyber threats posed to their organisation and finally, 47% of respondents felt that they could not prove to senior leadership that their organisation has a highly effective cyber security program.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/mandiant-report-most-organizations-make-cybersecurity-decisions-without-insights/

• Ransomware Attackers Finding New Ways to Weaponise Old Vulnerabilities

Ransomware attackers are finding new ways to exploit organisations’ security weaknesses by weaponising old vulnerabilities.  A report by security provider Cyber Security Works had found that 76% of the vulnerabilities currently being exploited were first discovered between 2010-2019.

https://venturebeat.com/security/ransomware-attackers-finding-new-ways-to-weaponize-old-vulnerabilities/

• Are Executives Fluent in IT Security Speak? 5 Reasons Why the Communication Gap is Wider Than You Think

Using data from two different reports conducted by security provider Kaspersky, the combined data showed some worrying results. Some of the results include 98% of respondents revealing they faced at least one IT security miscommunication that regularly leads to bad consequences, 62% of managers revealing miscommunication led to at least one cyber security incident, 42% of business leaders wanting their IT security team to better communicate and 34% of C-level executives struggle to speak about adopting new security solutions.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/are-c-suite-executives-fluent-in-it-security-speak-five-reasons-why-the-communication-gap-is-wider-than-you-think/

• Business Email Compromise Groups Target Firms with Multilingual Impersonation Attacks

Security providers Abnormal Security have identified two Business Email Compromise (BEC) groups “Midnight Hedgehog” and “Mandarin Capybara” which are conducting impersonation attacks in at least 13 different languages. Like many payment fraud attacks, finance managers or other executives are often targeted. In a separate report by Abnormal Security, it was found that business email compromise (BEC) attacks increased by more than 81% during 2022.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bec-groups-multilingual/

• EU Countries Told to Step up Defence Against State Hackers

European states have raced to protect their energy infrastructure from physical attacks but the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) said more needed to be done against cyber warfare against financial institutions and the telecommunications networks and power grids they rely on. "The war in Ukraine, the broader geopolitical landscape and the increasing use of cyber attacks have significantly heightened the cyber threat environment," the ESRB said in a report. In addition, the ESRB highlight an increased risk of cyber attacks on the EU financial system, suggesting that stress tests and impact analyses should be carried out to identify weaknesses and measure resilience.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-told-step-up-defence-against-state-hackers-2023-02-14/

• Cyber Criminals Exploit Fear and Urgency to Trick Consumers

Threats using social engineering to steal money, such as refund and invoice fraud and tech support scams, increased during Q4 of 2022 according to a report by software provider Avast. “At the end of 2022, we have seen an increase in human-centred threats, such as scams tricking people into thinking their computer is infected, or that they have been charged for goods they didn’t order. It’s human nature to react to urgency, fear and try to regain control of issues, and that’s where cyber criminals succeed” Avast commented.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/13/cybercriminals-exploit-fear-urgency-trick-consumers/

• How to Manage Third Party and Supply Chain Cyber Security Risks that are Too Costly to Ignore

Many organisations have experienced that “after the breach” feeling — the moment they realise they have to tell customers their personal information may have been compromised because one of the organisations’ vendors had a data breach. Such situations involve spending significant amount of money and time to fix a problem caused by a third party. An organisation’s ability to handle third-party cyber risk proactively depends on its risk management strategies.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/10/why-third-party-cybersecurity-risks-are-too-costly-to-ignore/

• Russian Spear Phishing Campaign Escalates Efforts Towards Critical UK, US and European Targets

Following the advisory from the NCSC, it is clear that Russian state-sponsored hackers have become increasingly sophisticated at launching phishing attacks against critical targets in the UK, US and Europe over the last 12 months. The attacks included the creation of fake personas, supported by social media accounts, fake profiles and academic papers, to lure targets into replying to sophisticated phishing emails. In some cases, the bad actor may never leverage the account to send emails from and only use it to make decisions based on intelligence collection.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365531158/Russian-spear-phishing-campaign-escalates-efforts-toward-critical-UK-US-and-European-targets

• 5 Biggest Risks of Using Third Party Managed Service Providers

As business processes become more complex, companies are turning to third parties to boost their ability to provide critical services from cloud storage to data management to security. It’s often more efficient and less expensive to contract out work. But it does present risks. 5 of the biggest risks to be considered are: indirect cyber attacks, financial risks from incident costs, reputational damage, geopolitical risk and regulatory compliance risk.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3687812/5-major-risks-third-party-services-may-bring-along-with-them.html#tk.rss_news

• Cyber Crime as a Service: A Subscription Based Model in the Wrong Hands

Arguably nothing in tech has changes the landscape more than ‘as a Service’ offerings, the subscription-based IT service delivery model, in fact, the ‘as a Service’ offering has made its way into the cyber crime landscape. And cyber crime, for its part, has evolved beyond a nefarious hobby; today it’s a means of earning for cyber criminals. Organised cyber crime services are available for hire, particularly to those lacking resources and hacking expertise but willing to buy their way into cyber criminal activities. Underground cyber crime markets have thus emerged, selling cyber attack tools and services ranging from malware injection to botnet tools, Denial of Service and targeted spyware services.

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/learn/cybercrime-as-a-service.html

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Ransomware attackers finding new ways to weaponize old vulnerabilities | VentureBeat

• US, UK slap sanctions on Russians linked to Conti and more • The Register

• Threat Analysis: VMware ESXi Attacks Soared in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Clop ransomware claims it breached 130 orgs using GoAnywhere zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Members of Russian cyber crime network unmasked by US and UK authorities - The Verge

• December ransomware attack leads to massive data breach from California health network - The Record from Recorded Future News

• Over 500 ESXiArgs Ransomware infections in one day in Europe-Security Affairs

• New ESXi ransomware strain spreads, foils decryption tools | TechTarget

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• North Korea Using Healthcare Ransomware To Fund More Hacking (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• DPRK fund malicious cyber activities with ransomware attacks on critical Infrastructure-Security Affairs

• US Warns Critical Sectors Against North Korean Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cisco Talos spots new MortalKombat ransomware attacks | TechTarget

• Ion: after the hack, the clean-up - Risk.net

• Hackers Target Israel’s Technion Demanding Huge Sum In Bitcoin - I24NEWS

• City of Oakland systems offline after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MTU cyber breach: Probe after ransomware attacks 'like a murder investigation' (irishexaminer.com)

• MTU data appears on dark web after cyber attack – The Irish Times

• Oakland City Services Struggle to Recover From Ransomware Attack (darkreading.com)

• LockBit spree hits three large companies (techmonitor.ai)

• Ransomware gang uses new zero-day to steal data on 1 million patients | TechCrunch

• City of Oakland issued state of emergency after ransomware attack-Security Affairs

• Glasgow Arnold Clark customers at risk after major cyber attack | HeraldScotland

• LockBit and Royal Mail Ransomware Negotiation Leaked - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• No relief in sight for ransomware attacks on hospitals | TechTarget

• Burton Snowboards cancels online orders after 'cyber incident' (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dallas Central Appraisal District paid $170,000 to ransomware attackers (bitdefender.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• NameCheap's email hacked to send Metamask, DHL phishing emails (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals target fans of The Last of Us with recent malware and phishing scams - IT Security GuruCyber

• Venmo Phishing Abusing LinkedIn "slink"

• Spain, US dismantle phishing gang that stole $5 million in a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• BEC Groups Target Firms With Multilingual Impersonation Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

2FA/MFA

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

Malware

• Experts Warn of Surge in Multipurpose Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Malicious Npm Package Uses Typosquatting, Downloads Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft OneNote Abuse for Malware Delivery Surges - Security Week

• New TA886 group targets companies with Screenshotter malware-Security Affairs

• Novel phishing campaign takes screenshots ahead of payload delivery | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Great, hackers are now using ChatGPT to generate malware | Digital Trends

• Devs targeted by W4SP Stealer malware in malicious PyPi packages (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals target fans of The Last of Us with recent malware and phishing scams - IT Security Guru

• Researchers Uncover 700+ Malicious Open Source Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Pepsi distributor blames info-stealing malware for breach • The Register

• Malware that can do anything and everything is on the rise - Help Net Security

• Lokibot, AgentTesla Grow in January 2023's Most Wanted Malware List - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New stealthy 'Beep' malware focuses heavily on evading detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thousands of WordPress sites have been infected by a mystery malware | TechRadar

• Beep: New Evasive Malware That Can Escape Under The Radar (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Hackers start using Havoc post-exploitation framework in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Targeting US and German Firms Monitor Victims' Desktops with Screenshotter (thehackernews.com)

• Malware authors leverage more attack techniques that enable lateral movement | CSO Online

Mobile

• RedEyes hackers use new malware to steal data from Windows, phones (bleepingcomputer.com)

Botnets

• Mirai V3G4 botnet exploits 13 flaws to target IoT devices-Security Affairs

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Cloudflare blocks record-breaking 71 million RPS DDoS attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 87% of largest DDoS attacks in Q4 targeted telecoms: Lumen (fiercetelecom.com)

• The Tor network hit by wave of DDoS attacks for at least 7 months-Security Affairs

Internet of Things – IoT

• Digital burglaries: The threat from your smart home devices | Fox News

• Mirai V3G4 botnet exploits 13 flaws to target IoT devices-Security Affairs

• New Mirai malware variant infects Linux devices to build DDoS botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)

Data Breaches

• MP’s laptop and iPad stolen from pub in 'worrying' security breach | Metro News

• Reddit was hit with a phishing attack. How it responded is a lesson for everyone | ZDNET

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

• 4 misconceptions about data exfiltration | VentureBeat

• Highmark data breach affecting about 300,000 members exposed personal information to hackers – WPXI

• Gulp! Pepsi hack sees personal information stolen by data-stealing malware (bitdefender.com)

• Nearly 50 million Americans impacted by health data breaches in 2022 (chiefhealthcareexecutive.com)

• My Password Manager was Hacked! How to Prevent a Catastrophe (bleepingcomputer.com)

• After apparent hack, data from Australian tech giant Atlassian dumped online | CyberScoop

• Atlassian: Leaked Data Stolen via Third-Party App (darkreading.com)

• Health info for 1 million patients stolen using critical GoAnywhere vulnerability | Ars Technica

• Scandinavian Airlines says cyber attack caused passenger data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Cyber crime as a Service: A Subscription-based Model in The Wrong Hands | Splunk

• A Hacker’s Mind — how the elites exploit the system | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Dark Web Revenue Down Dramatically After Hydra's Demise (darkreading.com)

• Russian hacker convicted of $90 million hack-to-trade charges (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Enigma, Vector, and TgToxic: The New Threats to Cryptocurrency Users (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus hackers use new mixer to hide $100 million in stolen crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 451 PyPI packages install Chrome extensions to steal crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DeFi exploits and access control hacks cost crypto investors billions in 2022: Report (cointelegraph.com)

• Using the blockchain to prevent data breaches | VentureBeat

• SideWinder APT Spotted Stealing Crypto (darkreading.com)

• Quarter of Crypto Tokens in 2022 Linked to Pump-and-Dump - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• A former Credit Suisse employee leaked employees' historic bonus data (efinancialcareers.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Russian IT biz owner made $90M from stolen financial info • The Register

• Refund and Invoice Scams Surge in Q4 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• MoneyGram Fraud Victims Get $115m in Compensation - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 'Pig butchering' scams on the rise, luring victims with promises of relationships and riches | CyberScoop

• Cyber security Experts Warn Against Valentine's Day Romance Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• Romance scam targets security researcher, hilarity ensues • The Register

• 10 signs that scammers have you in their sights | WeLiveSecurity

• Hackers Leverage PayPal to Send Malicious Invoices - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• US, UK slap sanctions on Russians linked to Conti and more • The Register

Insurance

• The cost of cyber security insurance is soaring–and state-backed attacks will be harder to cover. It’s time for companies to take threats more seriously | Fortune

Dark Web

• Dark Web Revenue Down Dramatically After Hydra's Demise (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• How to manage third-party cyber security risks that are too costly to ignore | TechCrunch

• 5 biggest risks of using third-party services providers | CSO Online

Cloud/SaaS

• Reimagining zero trust for modern SaaS - Help Net Security

• Cloud security: Where do CSP and client responsibilities begin and end? | VentureBeat

• Application and cloud security is a shared responsibility - Help Net Security

Attack Surface Management

• To thwart cyber attacks, enterprises must have visibility of their assets: Sophos CEO - The Hindu BusinessLine

Open Source

• Researchers Uncover 700+ Malicious Open Source Packages - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Configuration Issues in SaltStack IT Tool Put Enterprises at Risk (darkreading.com)

• Solving open-source security — from Alpha to Omega | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• New Mirai malware variant infects Linux devices to build DDoS botnet (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Eek! You Can Steal Passwords From This Password Manager Using the Notepad App | PCMag

• Eurostar forces 'password resets' — then fails and locks users out (bleepingcomputer.com)

• My Password Manager was Hacked! How to Prevent a Catastrophe (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Metaverse Adds New Dimensions to Web 3.0 Cyber security | TechRepublic

• Hard drugs actively sold on Twitter in plain sight. Twitter says it doesn’t breach its safety policies • Graham Cluley

• Elon Musk Seems to Think His Own Employees Are Shadowbanning Him (gizmodo.com)

• Venmo Phishing Abusing LinkedIn "slink"

Malvertising

• AdSense fraud campaign relies on 10,890 sites that were infected since September 2022-Security Affairs

Training, Education and Awareness

• High-risk users may be few, but the threat they pose is huge - Help Net Security

• Reddit Hack Shows Limits of MFA, Strengths of Security Training (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• 5th State of CCPA, CPRA, and GDPR Compliance Report Shows More Than 90% of Companies Are Not Compliant (darkreading.com)

• The Online Safety Bill: An attack on encryption (element.io)

• As regulations skyrocket, is compliance even possible anymore? - Help Net Security

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds | Computer Weekly

• Cyber attacks Worldwide Increased to an All-Time High, Check Point Research Reveals - MSSP Alert

• The cost of cyber security insurance is soaring–and state-backed attacks will be harder to cover. It’s time for companies to take threats more seriously | Fortune

• Are C-Suite Executives Fluent in IT Security Speak? Five Reasons Why the Communication Gap is Wider Than You Think - MSSP Alert

• Actionable intelligence is the key to better security outcomes - Help Net Security

• To thwart cyber attacks, enterprises must have visibility of their assets: Sophos CEO - The Hindu BusinessLineT

• Majority of Firms Make Cyber security Decisions Without Attacker Insight - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 5 Ways Security and Compliance Can Break Down Silos to Save Money and Meet Increased Regulations - MSSP Alert

• Build Cyber Resiliency With These Security Threat-Mitigation Considerations (darkreading.com)

• 5th State of CCPA, CPRA, and GDPR Compliance Report Shows More Than 90% of Companies Are Not Compliant (darkreading.com)

• Evolving cyber attacks, alert fatigue creating DFIR burnout, regulatory risk | CSO Online

• Simplify to Survive: How Organisations Can Navigate Cyber-Risk (darkreading.com)Simplify to Survive: How Organisations Can Navigate Cyber-Risk (darkreading.com)

• As regulations skyrocket, is compliance even possible anymore? - Help Net Security

• Storage security for compliance and cyberwar in 2023 • The Register

Backup and Recovery

• A CISOs Practical Guide to Storage and Backup Ransomware Resiliency (thehackernews.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Get hired in cyber security: Expert tips for job seekers - Help Net Security

• 3 Ways CISOs Can Lead Effectively and Avoid Burnout (darkreading.com)

• Cyber security Jobs Remain Secure Despite Recession Fears (darkreading.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Members of Russian cyber crime network unmasked by US and UK authorities - The Verge

• Spain, US dismantle phishing gang that stole $5 million in a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• The FBI’s most controversial surveillance tool is under threat | Ars Technica

Artificial Intelligence

• Russian hackers are trying to break into ChatGPT, says Check Point | ZDNET

• Cyber criminals Bypass ChatGPT Restrictions to Generate Malicious Content - Check Point Software

• Great, hackers are now using ChatGPT to generate malware | Digital Trends

• Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine | WIRED

• A.I. in the military could be a game changer in warfare | Fortune US issues declaration on responsible use of AI in the military | Reuters

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections | Technology | The Guardian

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

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• EU countries told to step up defence against state hackers | Reuters

• Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says | The Independent

• Hacks, leaks and wipers: Google analyses a year of Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine | Cyber scoop

• Google: Russia continues to set cyber sights on NATO nations | TechTarget

• US shoots down ‘high-altitude object’ above Alaska | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Military Organizations in Pakistan Targeted With Sophisticated Espionage Tool - security Week

• SpaceX curbed Ukraine's use of Starlink terminals - Militarnyi

• US shoots down ‘octagonal’ flying object near military sites in Michigan | US news | The Guardian

• Six companies join US entity list after Chinese spy balloon • The Register

• How Alan Turing still casts his genius in the age of cyberwar | Metro News

• US warns its citizens in Russia to get out immediately over security fears | Euronews

• Unidentified airborne objects: A trio of new intrusions leaves America's leaders grasping for explanations | CNN Politics

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• ‘Significant’ debris from China spy balloon retrieved, says US military | US national security | The Guardian

• Use of Chinese cameras by College of Policing is risk to national security, says commissioner (telegraph.co.uk)

• Ukraine’s use of SpaceX satellites risks starting World War Three, says Elon Musk (telegraph.co.uk)

• Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine | WIRED

• Albanian gangs set up hundreds of spy cameras to keep ahead of police | Financial Times (ft.com)

• A.I. in the military could be a game changer in warfare | Fortune

• Chinese cameras leave British police vulnerable to spying, says watchdog | Espionage | The Guardian

• China-based cyber espionage actor seen targeting South America | CSO Online

• What Happened to #OpRussia? (darkreading.com)

• The Lessons From Cyberwar, Cyber-in-War and Ukraine  - security Week

• Storage security for compliance and cyberwar in 2023 • The Register

Nation State Actors

• Russian Government evaluates the immunity to hackers acting in the interests of Russia-Security Affairs

• Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets | Computer Weekly

• EU countries told to step up defence against state hackers | Reuters

• Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says | The Independent

• Hacks, leaks and wipers: Google analyses a year of Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine | CyberScoop

• Google: Russia continues to set cyber sights on NATO nations | TechTarget

• Military Organizations in Pakistan Targeted With Sophisticated Espionage Tool - Security Week

• MagicWeb Mystery Highlights Nobelium Attacker's Sophistication (darkreading.com)

• Russian hackers are trying to break into ChatGPT, says Check Point | ZDNET

• North Korean Hackers Are Attacking US Hospitals | WIRED

• Six companies join US entity list after Chinese spy balloon • The Register

• Lazarus hackers use new mixer to hide $100 million in stolen crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Unidentified airborne objects: A trio of new intrusions leaves America's leaders grasping for explanations | CNN Politics

• Russian Hackers Disrupt NATO Earthquake Relief Operations (darkreading.com)

• Group-IB Blocks Attack By Chinese Tonto Team Hackers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chinese ship accused of using ‘military-grade laser’ against Philippine vessel | Philippines | The Guardian

• Chinese Hackers Targeting South American Diplomatic Entities with ShadowPad (thehackernews.com)

• Use of Chinese cameras by College of Policing is risk to national security, says commissioner (telegraph.co.uk)

• Ukraine’s use of SpaceX satellites risks starting World War Three, says Elon Musk (telegraph.co.uk)

• Chinese cameras leave British police vulnerable to spying, says watchdog | Espionage | The Guardian

• China-based cyber espionage actor seen targeting South America | CSO Online

• What Happened to #OpRussia? (darkreading.com)

• UK Policing Riddled with Chinese CCTV Cameras - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• A new operating system has been released in Russia! (gizchina.com)

• SideWinder APT Spotted Stealing Crypto (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Link SideWinder Group to Dozens of Targeted Attacks in Multiple Countries (thehackernews.com)

• SideWinder APT Attacks Regional Targets in New Campaign - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Ransomware attackers finding new ways to weaponize old vulnerabilities | VentureBeat

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Patch Tuesday: 36 RCE bugs, 3 zero-days, 75 CVEs – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Citrix Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Windows, Linux Apps - Security Week

• Adobe Plugs Critical Security Holes in Illustrator, After Effects Software - Security Week

• Apple releases new fix for iPhone zero-day exploited by hackers | TechCrunch

• Intel issues patches for SGX vulnerabilities • The Register

• Firefox Updates Patch 10 High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week

• Critical RCE Vulnerability Discovered in ClamAV Open-Source Antivirus Software (thehackernews.com)

• CISA Warns of Active Attacks Exploiting Fortra MFT, TerraMaster NAS, and Intel Driver Flaws (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft says Intel driver bug crashes apps on Windows PCs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Serious Security: GnuTLS follows OpenSSL, fixes timing attack bug – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Splunk Enterprise Updates Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities - Security Week

• Dozens of Vulnerabilities Patched in Intel Products - Security Week

• High-severity DLP flaw impacts Trellix for Windows | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Critical Vulnerability Patched in Cisco Security Products - Security Week

• Health info for 1 million patients stolen using critical GoAnywhere vulnerability | Ars Technica

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Tools and Controls

• A CISOs Practical Guide to Storage and Backup Ransomware Resiliency (thehackernews.com)

• SOAR vs. SIEM: What's the difference? | TechTarget

• PAM is failing - IT Security Guru

• Combining identity and security strategies to mitigate risks - Help Net Security

• Defending against attacks on Azure AD: Goodbye firewall, hello identity protection | CSO Online

• Regular Pen Testing Is Key to Resolving Conflict Between SecOps and DevOps (thehackernews.com)

• Attack surface management (ASM) is not limited to the surface - Help Net Security

• How to filter Security log events for signs of trouble | TechTarget

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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

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

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

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 10 February 2023

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 Companies Banned from Paying Ransomware Hackers After Attacks on Royal Mail and Guardian

British companies have been banned from paying ransomware hackers after a spate of attacks on businesses including Royal Mail and the Guardian newspaper.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday unveiled sanctions on seven Russian hackers linked to a gang called Conti, effectively banning any payments to the group.

Thursday’s sanctions are the first of their kind to be specifically targeted against Russian ransomware gang members.

The actions follow a spate of high-profile attacks on businesses and amid warnings from GCHQ that Russian and Iranian hackers are stepping up actions in Britain.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/09/companies-banned-paying-hackers-attacks-royal-mail-guardian/

• Fraud Set to Be Upgraded as a Threat to National Security

Fraud is to be reclassified as a threat to national security under UK government plans that will force police chiefs to devote more officers to solving the crime.

It will be elevated to the same status as terrorism, with chief constables mandated to increase resources and combine capabilities in a new effort to combat a fraud epidemic that now accounts for 30 per cent of all crime.

It will be added to the strategic policing requirement, which means that forces will be required by ministers to treat fraud as a major priority alongside not only terrorism, but also public disorder, civil emergencies, serious and organised crime, cyber attacks and child sexual abuse.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/04/fraud-set-upgraded-threat-national-security/

• 98% of Attacks are Not Reported by Employees to their Employers

Cyber attackers are increasingly using social engineering tactics to lure employees into opening malicious emails in an attempt to trick them into providing login credentials, updating bank account information and paying fraudulent invoices. Worryingly, research conducted by security provider Abnormal has found that 98% of attacks on organisations are not reported to the organisation’s security team. In addition to this, the report found that the volume of business email compromise attacks are spiking, growing by 175% over the past two years. The report also found that nearly two-thirds of large enterprises experiencing a supply chain compromise attack in the second half of 2022.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/employees-fail-to-report-98-of-email-cyber-hacks-to-security-teams-study-finds/

• UK Second Most Targeted Nation Behind America for Ransomware

Security research team Kraken Labs released their report earlier this week, which found that of the 101 different countries that registered victims of ransomware, the UK had registered the second highest number of victims behind the US. Currently, there are over 60 ransomware groups, with the top 3 accounting for a third of all ransomware attacks.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/02/07/uk-second-most-targeted-nation-behind-america-for-ransomware/

• Financial Institutions are Suffering from Increasingly Sophisticated Cyber Attacks

This week security provider Contrast Security released its Cyber Bank Heists report, an annual report that exposes cyber security threats facing the financial sector. The report warns financial institutions that security must be a top-of-mind issue amid rising geopolitical tensions, increased destructive attacks utilising wipers and a record-breaking year of zero-day exploits. The report involved a series of interviews with financial sector security leaders and found some notable results. Some of the results include 64% of leaders seeing an increase in application attacks, 72% of respondents planning to increase investment in application security in 2023, 60% of respondents falling victim to destructive attacks and 50% of organisations detecting campaigns which aimed to steal non-public market information.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/financial-institutions-are-suffering-from-increasingly-sophisticated-cyberattacks-according-to-contrast-security

• An Email Attack Can End Up Costing You Over $1 Million

According to a report by security provider Barracuda Network, 75% of organisations had fallen victim to at least one successful email attack in the last 12 months, with those affected facing potential costs of over $1 million for their most expensive attack. The fallout from an email security attack can be significant, with the report finding 44% of those hit had faced significant downtime and business disruption. Additionally financial services greatly impacted by the loss of valuable data (59%) and payments made to attackers (51%). When it came to organisations preparation, 30% felt underprepared when dealing with account takeover and 28% felt unprepared for dealing with business email compromise.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/02/10/email-attack-damage-1-million/

• Cyber Crime Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

Global risks from population pressures and climate change to political conflicts and industrial supply chain challenges characterised 2022. Cyber criminals used this turmoil to exploit these trending topics, including significant events, public affairs, social causes, and anywhere else opportunity appeared. According to security researchers at Zscaler TheatLabz, 2023 will see a rise in Crime-as-a-service (CaaS), supply chains will be bigger targets than ever, there will be a greater need for defence in depth as endpoint protection will not be enough and finally, there will be a decrease in the time between initial compromise and the final stage of an attack.

https://www.darkreading.com/zscaler/cybercrime-shows-no-signs-of-slowing-down

• Surge of Swatting Attacks Targets Corporate Executive and Board Members

Swatting is the act of deceiving an emergency service with the purpose of the service then sending an emergency response, often armed, to a targeted persons address. Security provider Black Cloak has found that swatting incidents are now beginning to target C-suite executives and corporate board members, with the number of incidents increasing over the last few months. Malicious actors are using information from the dark web, company websites and property records to construct their swatting attacks.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3687177/surge-of-swatting-attacks-targets-corporate-executives-and-board-members.html#tk.rss_news

• Phishing Surges Ahead, as ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence Loom

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making it easier for threat actors to create sophisticated and malicious email campaigns. In their report, security provider Vade found that Q4 of 2022 saw a 36% volume increase in phishing campaigns compared to the previous quarter, with over 278.3 million unique phishing emails in that period. The researchers found in particular, new AI tools such as ChatGPT had made it easy for anyone, including those with limited skills, to conduct a sophisticated phishing campaign. Furthermore, the ability of ChatGPT to tailor phishing to different languages is an area for concern.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/bolstered-chatgpt-tools-phishing-surged-ahead

• Pro-Russian Hacktivist Group is Only Getting Started, Experts Warn

A pro-Russian hacktivist group's low-level distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on US critical infrastructure could be a precursor to more serious cyber attacks, health care and security officials warned this week. A DDoS attack involves overwhelming a targeted service, service or network with traffic in an attempt to disrupt it. Earlier this week Killnet, a politically motivated Russian hacking group, overloaded and took down some US healthcare organisations. The attack came after threatening western healthcare organisations for the continued NATO support of Ukraine.

https://www.axios.com/2023/02/03/killnet-russian-hackers-attacks

• Crypto Investors Lost Nearly $4 Billion to Hackers in 2022

Last year marked the worst year on record for cryptocurrency hacks, according to analytic firm Chainalysis’ latest report. According to the report, hackers stole $3.8 billion in 2022, up from $3.3 billion the previous year. De-centralised finance products, which are products that have no requirement for an intermediary or middle-man accounted for about 82% of all crypto stolen.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/04/crypto-investors-lost-nearly-4-billion-dollars-to-hackers-in-2022.html

• PayPal and Twitter Abused in Turkey Relief Donation Scams

Scammers are now exploiting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Turkey and Syria. This time, stealing donations by abusing legitimate platforms such as PayPal and Twitter. It has been identified that multiple scams are running which call for fundraising, linking the victim to a legitimate PayPal site. The money however, is kept by the scammer.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/paypal-and-twitter-abused-in-turkey-relief-donation-scams/

• Mysterious Leak of Booking.com Reservation Data is Being Used to Scam Customers

For almost 5 years, Booking.com customers have been on the receiving end of a continuous series of scams that demonstrate criminals have obtained travel plans amongst other personally identifiable information that were provided to Booking.com. The scams have involved users receiving fake emails purporting to be from Booking.com with genuine travel details that victims had provided. These emails contain links to malicious URL’s that look nearly identical to the Booking.com website. These then display the victim’s expected travel information, requiring them to input their card details. Some of the scams have developed and involve scammers sending WhatsApp messages after payment has been made, purporting to be from hotels which have been booked by the victims.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/mysterious-leak-of-booking-com-reservation-data-is-being-used-to-scam-customers/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• UK/US cyber crime crackdown sees 7 ransomware criminals sanctioned | CSO Online

• US, UK Slap Sanctions on Trickbot Cyber crime Gang - SecurityWeek

• Bitcoin-demanding cyber criminals use bug from 2021 to initiate global ransomware attack  | TechCrunch

• UK second most targeted nation behind America for Ransomware - IT Security Guru

• Hackers who breached ION say ransom paid; company declines comment | Reuters

• New Wave of Ransomware Attacks Exploiting VMware Bug to Target ESXi Servers (thehackernews.com)

• Massive ESXiArgs ransomware attack targets VMware ESXi servers worldwide (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Royal Ransomware adds support for encrypting Linux, VMware ESXi systems-security affairs

• Ongoing VMware ESXi Ransomware Attack Highlights Inherent Virtualisation Risks (darkreading.com)

• Lessons Learned on Ransomware Prevention from the Rackspace Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• ESXiArgs Ransomware Hits Over 3,800 Servers as Hackers Continue Improving Malware - SecurityWeek

• Ransomware Revolution: 4 Types of Cyber Risks in 2023 (trendmicro.com)

• Hypervisor patching struggles exacerbate ESXiArgs attacks | TechTarget

• Linux version of Royal Ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Nevada Ransomware has released upgraded locker - Help Net Security

• Italy, France and Singapore Warn of a Spike in ESXI Ransomware-security affairs

• Massive ransomware attack targets VMware ESXi servers worldwide | CSO Online

• Major Florida Hospital Shuts Down Networks, Ransomware Attack Suspected - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit ransomware gang claims Royal Mail cyber ttack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Medusa botnet returns as a Mirai-based variant with ransomware sting (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Linux variant of Clop Ransomware uses a flawed encryption-security affairs

• After Hive takedown, could the LockBit ransomware crew be the next to fall? | CyberScoop

• Russia-Linked Ransomware Gang Claims Responsibility for Royal Mail Attack (gizmodo.com)

• #StopRansomware - Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Fund DPRK Espionage Activities | CISA

• Largest Canadian bookstore Indigo shuts down site after cyber ttack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Kaspersky Finds Growing Number of Parents Experiencing Ransomware Attacks on Children's Schools (darkreading.com)

• Hackers hit Vesuvius, UK engineering company shuts down affected systems • Graham Cluley

• MKS Instruments falls victim to ransomware attack | CSO Online

• North Korea ransomware targets hospitals to fund digital spycraft, US agencies warn | CyberScoop

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing Surges Ahead, as ChatGPT & AI Loom (darkreading.com)

• Employees Fail to Report 98% of Email Cyber Hacks To Security Teams, Study Finds - MSSP Alert

• An email attack can end up costing you over $1 million - Help Net Security

• What SOCs Need to Know About Water Dybbuk A BEC Actor Using Open-Source Toolkits (trendmicro.com)

• How Can ChatGPT Make It Easier to Boost Phishing Scams? (analyticsinsight.net)

• Cyber criminals exploit volatile job market for targeted email attacks - Help Net Security

• Hong Kong police and Interpol uncover servers and apps used by global phishing syndicate | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

• 'Phishing-as-a-service' kits drive uptick in theft: One business owner's story (cnbc.com)

• Malicious Google ads sneak AWS phishing sites into search results (bleepingcomputer.com)

• NewsPenguin Goes Phishing for Maritime & Military Secrets (darkreading.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• What SOCs Need to Know About Water Dybbuk A BEC Actor Using Open-Source Toolkits (trendmicro.com)

Malware

• Hacker develops new 'Screenshotter' malware to find high-value targets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Threat group targets over 1,000 companies with screenshotting and infostealing malware | CSO Online

• ESXiArgs Ransomware Hits Over 3,800 Servers as Hackers Continue Improving Malware - SecurityWeek

• Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware-security affairs

• FormBook Malware Spreads via Malvertising Using MalVirt Loader to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers backdoor Windows devices in Sliver and BYOVD attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• GuLoader Malware Using Malicious NSIS Executables to Target E-Commerce Industry (thehackernews.com)

• Novel Banking Trojan 'PixPirate' Targets Brazil - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New QakNote attacks push QBot malware via Microsoft OneNote files (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Gootkit Malware Adopts New Tactics to Attack Healthcare and Finance Firms (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware-security affairs

• Fraudulent "CryptoRom" Apps Slip Through Apple and Google App Store Review Process - SecurityWeek

• Android phones from Chinese vendors share private data • The Register

• 'Money Lover' Finance App Exposes User Data (darkreading.com)

• Xiaomi, OnePlus, Top Android Phones in China Spy on You: Study (gizmodo.com)

• Android 14 to block malware from abusing sensitive permissions (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK Proposes Making the Sale and Possession of Encrypted Phones Illegal (vice.com)

• Android's February 2023 Updates Patch 40 Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Passion botnet cyber  Attacks hit healthcare, as actors offer threat as DDoS-as-a-service  | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Here's a list of proxy IPs to help block KillNet's DDoS bots • The Register

• Tor and I2P networks hit by wave of ongoing DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts published a list of proxy IPs used by the group Killnet-security affairs

Internet of Things – IoT

• Medusa botnet returns as a Mirai-based variant with ransomware sting (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Security manufacturer’s smart cameras went dark for two hours (mybroadband.co.za)

• Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Remotely Tamper With Dahua Security Cameras - SecurityWeek

• NIST Picks IoT Standard for Small Electronics Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Swiss authorities open criminal probe into bank data breaches | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Mysterious leak of Booking.com reservation data is being used to scam customers | Ars Technica

• TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate confirm data breach affecting 20M customers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 20 Million Users Impacted by Data Breach at Instant Checkmate, TruthFinder - SecurityWeek

• US Cyber Ambassador's Twitter account hacked • The Register

• Over 12% of analysed online stores expose private data, backups (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 'Money Lover' Finance App Exposes User Data (darkreading.com)

• Reddit reveals security incident • The Register

• Reddit Suffers Security Breach Exposing Internal Documents and Source Code (thehackernews.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Crypto – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Minister: Cyber crimes Now 20% of Spain’s Registered Offenses - SecurityWeek

• Finland’s Most-Wanted Hacker Nabbed in France – Krebs on Security

• Australian Man Sentenced for Scam Related to Optus Hack  - SecurityWeek

• Bungling Optus scammer was no criminal mastermind • Graham Cluley

• Dark Web Market Revenues Sink 50% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Crypto investors lost nearly $4 billion to hackers in 2022 (cnbc.com)

• Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Crypto – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Avraham Eisenberg in court accused of crypto exchange crash • The Register

• Crypto Drainers Are Ready to Ransack Investor Wallets (darkreading.com)

• How Cyber criminals Are Operationalising Money Laundering and What to Do About It (darkreading.com)

• FTX Being Advised by Cyber security Firm Sygnia on Hack Inquiry, CEO Ray Says (coindesk.com)

• Scammers steal $4 million in crypto during in-person meeting • The Register

• Enigma Stealer Targets Cryptocurrency Industry with Fake Jobs (trendmicro.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Another RAC staffer nabbed for sharing road accident data • The Register

• Ex-Ubiquiti worker pleads guilty to data theft, extortion, and smear plot (bitdefender.com)

• Cyber Hygiene: How to get buy-in from employees (trendmicro.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• PayPal and Twitter abused in Turkey relief donation scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Working from home is fuelling fraud epidemic, warn managers (telegraph.co.uk)

• Mysterious leak of Booking.com reservation data is being used to scam customers | Ars Technica

• Avast Threat Report: Consumers Plagued With Refund Fraud, Tech Support Scams, and Adware (darkreading.com)

• As V-Day nears: Romance scams cost victims $1.3B last year • The Register

• What CISOs Can Do About Brand Impersonation Scam Sites (darkreading.com)

• Father killed himself after falling victim to romance scam | News | The Times

• 'Brushing' scams send people free items, but could be a warning sign about a data breach - ABC News

• Fraudulent "CryptoRom" Apps Slip Through Apple and Google App Store Review Process - SecurityWeek

• From ‘hi mum’ to crypto fraud: five of the latest scams to watch out for | Cyber crime | The Guardian

• Criminals use Telegram to recruit 'walkers' as America's big banks see an 84% increase in check fraud (cnbc.com)

• 5 Financial Scams To Watch Out For In 2023 (cnbc.com)

• How Cyber criminals Are Operationalising Money Laundering and What to Do About It (darkreading.com)

• Banks leave doors open for scammers with flaws in online security | This is Money

• Trio Arrested in COVID PPE Fraud Probe - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Twitter restricted in Turkey after the earthquake amid disinformation fear-security affairs

Impersonation Attacks

• What CISOs Can Do About Brand Impersonation Scam Sites (darkreading.com)

• HTML smuggling campaigns impersonate well-known brands to deliver malware | CSO Online

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• How Cyber criminals Are Operationalising Money Laundering and What to Do About It (darkreading.com)

• UK/US cyber crime crackdown sees 7 ransomware criminals sanctioned | CSO Online

• US, UK Slap Sanctions on Trickbot Cyber crime Gang - SecurityWeek

Insurance

• Tackling the New Cyber Insurance Requirements: Can Your Organisation Comply? (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber Insurance, A Must-Have for Small Businesses - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How to Optimise Your Cyber Insurance Coverage (darkreading.com)

Dark Web

• BlackSprut: Darknet Drug Market Advertises On Billboards In Moscow (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Dark Web Market Revenues Sink 50% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Have we learnt nothing from SolarWinds supply chain attacks? • The Register

• Vulnerability Provided Access to Toyota Supplier Management Network - SecurityWeek

Software Supply Chain

• Security pros say third parties are increasingly the cause of cyber security incidents | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• How the Cloud Is Shifting CISO Priorities (darkreading.com)

• Cloud Apps Still Demand Way More Privileges Than They Use (darkreading.com)

• Amazon S3 to apply security best practices for all new buckets - Help Net Security

• Why Some Cloud Services Vulnerabilities Are So Hard to Fix (darkreading.com)

• Malicious Google ads sneak AWS phishing sites into search results (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 7 Critical Cloud Threats Facing the Enterprise in 2023 (darkreading.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Working from home is fuelling fraud epidemic, warn managers (telegraph.co.uk)

• Predictions For Securing Today's Hybrid Workforce (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• 4 identity predictions for 2023 | TechTarget

Encryption

• It Isn't Time to Worry About Quantum Computing Just Yet (darkreading.com)

• UK Proposes Making the Sale and Possession of Encrypted Phones Illegal (vice.com)

API

• 10 API Security Best Practices To Protect Your Organisation (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Patching & Passwords Lead the Problem Pack for Cyber-Teams (darkreading.com)

Biometrics

• Novel face swaps emerge as a major threat to biometric security - Help Net Security

Social Media

• Twitter Implements API Paywall, but Will That Solve Its Enormous Bot Crisis? (darkreading.com)

• Twitter restricted in Turkey after the earthquake amid disinformation fear-security affairs

Malvertising

• FormBook Malware Spreads via Malvertising Using MalVirt Loader to Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)

• Malicious Google ads sneak AWS phishing sites into search results (bleepingcomputer.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Cyber Hygiene: How to get buy-in from employees (trendmicro.com)

• Infosec Launches New Office Comedy Themed Security Awareness Training Series (darkreading.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• It’s never too early to chat to your kids about online safety | Sarah Ayoub | The Guardian

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Corporate ‘privacy’ concerns must not derail Europe’s Data Act | Financial Times (ft.com)

• While governments pass privacy laws, companies struggle to change - Help Net Security

• Prioritising Cyber security Regulation Harmonisation (darkreading.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Quarter of CFOs Have Suffered $1m+ Breaches - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• A Hackers Pot of Gold: Your MSP's Data (thehackernews.com)

• The dangers of unsupported applications - Help Net Security

• Swiss authorities open criminal probe into bank data breaches | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Trends that impact on organisations' 2023 security priorities - Help Net Security

• With TikTok Bans, the Time for Operational Governance Is Now (darkreading.com)

• Optimising Cyber security Investments in a Constrained Spending Environment (darkreading.com)

• Surge of swatting attacks targets corporate executives and board members | CSO Online

• Lessons From the Cold War: How Quality Trumps Quantity in Cyber security (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Hygiene: How to get buy-in from employees (trendmicro.com)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• NIST Picks IoT Standard for Small Electronics Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Data Protection

• Corporate ‘privacy’ concerns must not derail Europe’s Data Act | Financial Times (ft.com)

• While governments pass privacy laws, companies struggle to change - Help Net Security

• Regulator Halts AI Chatbot Over GDPR Concerns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Hong Kong police and Interpol uncover servers and apps used by global phishing syndicate | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

• European Police Arrest 42 After Cracking Covert App - SecurityWeek

• Eurocops shut down Exclu encrypted messaging app • The Register

• Vastaamo hacking suspect arrested in France | TechTarget

• Finnish psychotherapy extortion suspect arrested in France – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Xiaomi, OnePlus, Top Android Phones in China Spy on You: Study (gizmodo.com)

• Steps To Planning And Implementation Of Data Privacy (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare, and we ought to be concerned | Ars Technica

Artificial Intelligence

• Adversaries Using OpenAI’s ChatGPT Chatbot for Cyber  Attacks? Here are Some Clues - MSSP Alert

• Phishing Surges Ahead, as ChatGPT & AI Loom (darkreading.com)

• IT Leaders Reveal Cyber Fears Around ChatGPT - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How Can ChatGPT Make It Easier to Boost Phishing Scams? (analyticsinsight.net)

• ChatGPT's potential to aid attackers puts IT pros on high alert - Help Net Security

• Hackers are selling a service that bypasses ChatGPT restrictions on malware | Ars Technica

• ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare, and we ought to be concerned | Ars Technica

• Jailbreak Trick Breaks ChatGPT Content Safeguards (darkreading.com)

• Generative AI: A benefit and a hazard - Help Net Security

• Regulator Halts AI Chatbot Over GDPR Concerns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google's Bard AI bot mistake wipes $100bn off shares - BBC News

• $120bn wiped off Google after Bard AI chatbot gives wrong answer (telegraph.co.uk)

• Why ChatGPT Isn't a Death Sentence for Cyber Defenders (darkreading.com)

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

• Pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet could just be getting started (axios.com)

• Yes, CISOs should be concerned about the types of data spy balloons can intercept | CSO Online

• Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware-security affairs

• China sharply rebukes US over decision to shoot down spy balloon | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Here's a list of proxy IPs to help block KillNet's DDoS bots • The Register

• What is hybrid warfare? Inside the centre dealing with modern threats - BBC News

• Anonymous leaked 128GB of data stolen from Russian ISP Convex revealing FSB's warrantless surveillance-security affairs

• DPRK Using Unpatched Zimbra Devices to Spy on Researchers (darkreading.com)

• Russian hackers using new Graphiron information stealer in Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Info-Stealer Discovered as Russia Prepares for New Offensive - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The impact of Russia's Ukraine invasion on digital threats - Help Net Security

• Russian Hackers Steal Data In Ukraine With New Graphiron Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Spies, Hackers, Informants: How China Snoops on the US - SecurityWeek

• US teases new China tech sanctions to deflate balloon-makers • The Register

Nation State Actors

• Pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet could just be getting started (axios.com)

• With TikTok Bans, the Time for Operational Governance Is Now (darkreading.com)

• Yes, CISOs should be concerned about the types of data spy balloons can intercept | CSO Online

• Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware-security affairs

• China sharply rebukes US over decision to shoot down spy balloon | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Microsoft: Iran Unit Behind Charlie Hebdo Hack-and-Leak Op - SecurityWeek

• US Downs Chinese Balloon Off Carolina Coast - SecurityWeek

• How did the US successfully shoot down China's 'spy balloon' with a single missile - and what was on it? | US News | Sky News

• Here's a list of proxy IPs to help block KillNet's DDoS bots • The Register

• Android phones from Chinese vendors share private data • The Register

• US sources insist Chinese balloon was military - BBC News

• DPRK Using Unpatched Zimbra Devices to Spy on Researchers (darkreading.com)

• SNP MP Stewart McDonald's emails hacked by Russian group - BBC News

• Australia to remove Chinese surveillance cameras amid security fears - BBC News

• Russian hackers using new Graphiron information stealer in Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Xiaomi, OnePlus, Top Android Phones in China Spy on You: Study (gizmodo.com)

• UN Experts: North Korean Hackers Stole Record Virtual Assets - SecurityWeek

• Mysterious Russian satellites are now breaking apart in low-Earth orbit | Ars Technica

• New Info-Stealer Discovered as Russia Prepares for New Offensive - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Downed balloon one of a ‘fleet’ of Chinese surveillance devices, US alleges | Surveillance | The Guardian

• #StopRansomware - Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Fund DPRK Espionage Activities | CISA

• The impact of Russia's Ukraine invasion on digital threats - Help Net Security

• Russian Hackers Steal Data In Ukraine With New Graphiron Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Experts published a list of proxy IPs used by the group Killnet-security affairs

• NewsPenguin Threat Actor Emerges with Malicious Campaign Targeting Pakistani Entities (thehackernews.com)

• NewsPenguin Goes Phishing for Maritime & Military Secrets (darkreading.com)

• US teases new China tech sanctions to deflate balloon-makers • The Register

• North Korea ransomware targets hospitals to fund digital spycraft, US agencies warn | Cyber scoop

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Vulnerability Management

• Vulnerabilities and exposures to rise to 1,900 a month in 2023: Coalition | CSO Online

• The dangers of unsupported applications - Help Net Security

• Patching & Passwords Lead the Problem Pack for Cyber-Teams (darkreading.com)

• Hypervisor patching struggles exacerbate ESXiArgs attacks | TechTarget

• How to fix the top 5 cyber security vulnerabilities | TechTarget

• 20 Powerful Vulnerability Scanning Tools In 2023 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Vulnerabilities

• High-Severity Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Patched in VMware Workstation - SecurityWeek

• New Wave of Ransomware Attacks Exploiting VMware Bug to Target ESXi Servers (thehackernews.com)

• GoAnywhere MFT Users Warned of Zero-Day Exploit - SecurityWeek

• Serious security hole plugged in infosec tool binwalk | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Cisco fixed command injection bug in IOx Application Hosting Environment-security affairs

• Vulnerability In F5 BIG-IP May Cause DoS And Code Execution (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• GoAnywhere MFT zero-day flaw actively exploited-security affairs

• Exploitation attempts for Oracle E-Business Suite flaw observed after PoC release-security affairs

• Critical vulnerability patched in Jira Service Management Server and Data Center | CSO Online

• Warning: Hackers Actively Exploiting Zero-Day in Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT (thehackernews.com)

• Exploit released for actively exploited GoAnywhere MFT zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)

• OpenSSL Ships Patch for High-Severity Flaws - SecurityWeek

• Patch Released for Actively Exploited GoAnywhere MFT Zero-Day - SecurityWeek

• Unpatched Security Flaws Disclosed in Multiple Document Management Systems (thehackernews.com)

• SonicWall warns web content filtering is broken on Windows 11 22H2 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chrome 110 Patches 15 Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

• OpenSSL Fixes Multiple New Security Flaws with Latest Update (thehackernews.com)

• Android's February 2023 Updates Patch 40 Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek

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Tools and Controls

• Growing number of endpoint security tools overwhelm users, leaving devices unprotected | CSO Online

• Poor Endpoint Device Management Trigger Cyber  Attacks, New Report Finds - MSSP Alert

• Implementing Digital Rights Management Systems to Safeguard Against Unauthorised Access Of Protected Content (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Endpoint security getting easier, but most organisations lack tool consolidation - Help Net Security

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Other News

• A Hackers Pot of Gold: Your MSP's Data (thehackernews.com)

• Yes, CISOs should be concerned about the types of data spy balloons can intercept | CSO Online

• How to Think Like a Hacker and Stay Ahead of Threats (thehackernews.com)

• Surge of swatting a attacks targets corporate executives and board members | CSO Online

• Bermuda: Major Internet And Power Outage Strikes (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 February 2023

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

• Business Leaders Need a Hands-on Approach to Stop Cyber Crime, Says Spy Chief

Business leaders must not see cyber crime as “just a technical issue” that can be left up to IT departments, said Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).  Ms Cameron later commented that “In the world of cyber security, the new year has brought with it some sadly familiar themes - a continuation of cyber incidents affecting organisations large and small as well as the British public”.

Along with this, came the urge for business leaders to step up their efforts in combating cyber crime by taking an active interest and educating themselves on the subject.  When commenting upon board members’ level of understanding, Ms Cameron said “I’d also encourage board members to develop a basic understanding of cyber security, which can help when seeking assurances from IT teams about the resilience of an organisation - in a similar way that leaders have a certain level of understanding of finance to assess financial health”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/28/business-leaders-need-hands-on-approach-stop-cyber-crime-says/

• Rising ‘Firebrick Ostrich’ BEC Group Launches Industrial Scale Cyber Attacks

Business email compromise (BEC) has become one of the most popular methods of financially motivated hacking. And over the past year, one group in particular has demonstrated just how quick, easy, and lucrative it really is.

"Firebrick Ostrich" is a threat actor that's been performing BEC at a near-industrial scale. Since April 2021, the group has carried out more than 350 BEC campaigns, impersonating 151 organisations and utilising 212 malicious domains in the process. This volume of attacks is made possible by the group's wholesale gunslinging approach. Firebrick Ostrich doesn't discriminate much when it comes to targets, or gather exceptional intelligence in order to craft the perfect phishing bait. It throws darts at a wall because, evidently, when it comes to BEC at scale, that's enough.

BEC is attractive to bad actors due to the lower barriers to entry than malware, less risk, faster scaling opportunities, and way more profit potential to higher echelons than other methods of attack. These factors may explain why such attacks are absolutely the emerging trend, potentially even leaving even ransomware in the dust. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of these groups out there.

https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/rising-firebrick-ostrich-bec-group-launches-industrial-scale-cyberattacks

• The Corporate World is Losing its Grip on Cyber Risk

Lloyd's of London’s insurance market prides itself on being able to put a price on anything, from Tina Turner’s legs or Bruce Springsteen’s vocal cords, to the risk that a bounty hunter might claim the reward from Cutty Sark Whisky in the 1970s for capturing the Loch Ness monster.

But from the end of March, there will be something it won’t price: systemic cyber risk, or the type of major, catastrophic disruption caused by state-backed cyber warfare. In one sense, this isn’t surprising. Insurance policies typically exclude acts of war. Russia’s NotPetya attack on Ukraine in 2017 showed how state-backed cyber assaults can surpass traditional definitions of armed conflict and overspill their sovereign target to hit global businesses. It caused an estimated $10bn in damages and years of wrangling between companies like pharma group Merck and snack maker Mondelez and their insurers.

But the move is prompting broader questions about the growing pains in this corner of the insurance world. “Cyber insurance isn’t working anywhere at the moment as a public good for society,” says Ciaran Martin, former head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre. “It has a huge role to play in improving defences in a market-based economy and it has been a huge disappointment in that sense so far.”

The Lloyd’s move is designed, say insurers, to clarify rather than restrict coverage. Whether it succeeds is another matter: this is a murky world, where cyber crime groups operate with impunity in certain jurisdictions.

https://www.ft.com/content/78bfdf29-1e20-4c12-a348-06e98d5ae906

• Microsoft Reveals Over 100 Threat Actors are Deploying Ransomware in Attacks

Microsoft revealed this week that its security teams are tracking over 100 threat actors deploying ransomware during attacks. In all, the company says it monitors over 50 unique ransomware families, with some of the most prominent ransomware payloads in recent campaigns including Lockbit, BlackCat (aka ALPHV), Play, Vice Society, Black Basta, and Royal.

Microsoft said that defence strategies should focus less on payloads themselves but more on the chain of activities that lead to their deployment, since ransomware gangs are still targeting servers and devices not yet patched against common or recently addressed vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, while new ransomware families launch all the time, most threat actors utilise the same tactics when breaching and spreading through networks, making the effort of detecting such behaviour even more helpful in thwarting their attacks.

Attackers are increasingly relying on tactics beyond phishing to conduct their attacks, with threat actors for example capitalising on recently patched Exchange Server vulnerabilities to hack vulnerable servers and deploy Cuba and Play ransomware.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/microsoft-over-100-threat-actors-deploy-ransomware-in-attacks/

• Ransomware Conversations: Why the CFO is Pivotal to Discussing and Preparing for Risk

With the amount of cyber attacks in all industries, organisations are beginning to grasp the significance of cyber risk and how it is integral to protecting and maintaining an efficient business. In fact, the first half of 2022 alone saw 236.1 million cases of ransomware.

Whilst the expectation for responsibility has typically fallen on Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are just as vital in managing cyber risk, which is now inherently also business risk.  The CFO plays an important part in determining whether cyber security incidents will become material and affect the business more seriously. Their insight is critical across many areas which include ransomware, cyber insurance, regulatory compliance and budget management.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/02/02/ransomware-conversations-why-the-cfo-is-pivotal-to-discussing-and-preparing-for-risk

• Greater Incident Complexity, a Shift in How Threat Actors Use Stolen Data Will Drive the Cyber Threat Landscape in 2023

Insurance provider Beazley released their Cyber Services Snapshot Report which claims the cyber security landscape will be influenced by greater complexity and the way threat actors use stolen data. The report also found that as a category, fraudulent instruction experienced a growth as a cause of loss in 2022, up 13% year-over year. 

In response to vulnerabilities such as fraudulent instructions, the report suggests organisations must get smarter about educating users to spot things such as spoofed emails or domain names. The report also cautions organisations to watch for social engineering, spear phishing, bypassing of multi-factor authentication (MFA), targeting of managed service providers (MSP) and the compromise of cloud environments as areas of vulnerability.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/greater-incident-complexity-a-shift-in-the-way-threat-actors-use-stolen-data-and-a-rise-in-us-class-actions-will-drive-the-cyber-threat-landscape-in-2023-according-to-beazley-report

• The Threat from Within: 71% of Business Leaders Surveyed Think Next Cyber Security Breach Will Come from the Inside

A survey conducted by IT provider EisnerAmper found that 71% of business executives worry about accidental internal staff error as one of the top threats facing their organisation and 23% of these worried about malicious intent by an employee. In comparison, 75% of business executives had concerns about external hackers. The survey also asked about current safety measures, with 51% responding that they were “somewhat prepared”. Despite this, only 50% of respondents reported conducting regular cyber security training. 

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/the-threat-from-within-71-of-business-leaders-surveyed-think-next-cybersecurity-breach-will-come-from-the-inside

• 98% of Organisations Have a Supply Chain Relationship That Has Been Breached

A report from SecurityScorecard found that 98% of organisations have a relationship with at least one third party that has experienced a breach in the last two years, while more than 50% have an indirect relationship with more than 200 fourth parties that have been breached. Of course, this is keeping in mind that not all organisations disclose or even know they have been breached.

https://www.securityweek.com/98-of-firms-have-a-supply-chain-relationship-that-has-been-breached-analysis/

• New Survey Reveals 40% of Companies Experienced a Data Leak in the Past Year

Software provider SysKit has published a report on the effects of digital transformation on IT administrators and the current governance landscape. The report found that 40% of organisations experienced a data leak in the previous year. A data leak can have severe consequences on an organisation's efficiency and the impact can lead to large fines, downtime, and loss of business-critical certifications and customers.

In addition, the Survey found that the biggest challenge for IT administrators was a lack of understanding from superiors, huge workloads and misalignment of IT and business strategies.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/new-survey-reveals-40-of-companies-experienced-a-data-leak-in-the-past-year

• Russian Hackers Launch Cyber Attack on Germany in Leopard Tank Retaliation

The websites of key German administrations, including companies and airports, have been targeted by cyber attacks, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) stated.

The BSI commented they had been informed of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks “currently in progress against targets in Germany". This was followed by the statement that “Individual targets in the financial sector” and federal government sites were also attacked, with some websites becoming temporarily unavailable.  It is believed that this is due to the approved deployment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, with Russian hacker site Killnet taking credit.

https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/26/russian-hackers-launch-cyberattack-on-germany-in-leopard-retaliation

• Financial Services Targeted in 28% of UK Cyber Attacks Last Year

Based on data from security provider Imperva, security researchers have identified that over a quarter (28%) of all cyber attacks in the UK hit the financial services and insurance (FSI) industry in the last 12 months. The data also found that Application Programme Interface (API) attacks, malicious automated software and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks were the most challenging for the industry. In addition, the data found that roughly 40% of all account takeover attempts were targeted at the FSI industry.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/quarter-cyber-attacks-uk-financial/

• Phishing Attacks are Getting Scarily Sophisticated. Here’s What to Watch Out For

Hackers are going to great lengths, including mimicking real people and creating and updating fake social media profiles, to trick victims into clicking phishing links and handing over usernames and passwords. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns that these phishing attacks are targeting a range of sectors.

The NCSC has also released mitigation advice to help organisations and individuals protect themselves online. The mitigation advice included the use of strong passwords, separate to other accounts; enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA); and applying the latest security updates.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/phishing-attacks-are-getting-scarily-sophisticated-heres-what-to-watch-out-for/

• City of London on High Alert After Ransomware Attack

A suspected ransomware attack on a key supplier of trading software to the City of London this week appears to have disrupted activity in the derivatives market. The company impacted, Ion Cleared Derivatives, is investigating. It is reported that 42 clients were impacted by the attack.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/city-of-london-high-alert/

• JD Sports Warns of 10 Million Customers Put at Risk in Cyber Attack

Sportswear retailer JD Sports said it was the victim of a cyber attack that exposed the data of 10 million customers, in the latest spate of hacks on UK companies.

JD Sports explained that the attack involved unauthorised access to a system that contained “the name, billing address, delivery address, phone number, order details and the final four digits of payment cards”. The data related to customers’ orders made between November 2018 and October 2020, with outdoor gear companies Millets and Blacks also impacted. A full review with cyber security and external specialists is underway.

https://www.ft.com/content/afe00f2f-afcd-478f-9e4d-1cf9c943fa79

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• City Of London Traders Hit By Russia-Linked Cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• New Nevada Ransomware targets Windows and VMware ESXi systems (bleepingcomputer.com)

• City of London on High Alert After Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware conversations: Why the CFO is pivotal to discussing and preparing for risk - IT Security Guru

• US puts a $10m bounty on Hive while Russia shuts down access • The Register

• Copycat Criminals mimicking Lockbit gang in northern Europe security affairs

• Ransom-what? Learning from Hacked Hackers (secureworld.io)

• Most criminal cryptocurrency is funneled through just 5 exchanges | Ars Technica

• Council leader 'put her foot down' and refused to pay multi-million pound ransom demand from hackers - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)

• 6 Ransomware Trends & Evolutions For 2023 (trendmicro.com)

• Cyber Attack Hits Derivatives Unit of Trading Software Firm ION - Bloomberg

• Regulators weigh in on ION attack as LockBit takes credit • The Register

• New Mimic Ransomware Abuses Windows Search Engine (cyber securitynews.com)

• Stratford University discloses ransomware attack — but which ransomware attack? (databreaches.net)

• Schools don't pay, but ransomware attacks still increasing | TechTarget

• Poser Hackers Impersonate LockBit in SMB Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• Risk & Repeat: The FBI's Hive ransomware takedown | TechTarget

• Nevada Ransomware Has Released Upgraded Locker security affairs

• LockBit Green ransomware variant borrows code from Conti one security affairs

• Arnold Clark customer data stolen in attack claimed by Play ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attacks on public sector persist in January | TechTarget

• Ransomware attack on data firm ION could take days to fix -sources | Reuters

• APT groups use ransomware TTPs as cover for intelligence gathering and sabotage | CSO Online

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing attacks are getting scarily sophisticated. Here's what to watch out for | ZDNET

• BEC Group Uses Open Source Tactics in Hundreds of Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Rising ‘Firebrick Ostrich’ BEC Group Launches Industrial-Scale Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• Porsche halts NFT launch, phishing sites fill the void (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishers Trick Microsoft Into Granting Them 'Verified' Cloud Partner Status (darkreading.com)

• DocuSign Brand Impersonation Attack Bypasses Security Measures, Targets Over 10,000 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• BEC Group Uses Open Source Tactics in Hundreds of Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Rising ‘Firebrick Ostrich’ BEC Group Launches Industrial-Scale Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• New 'Pig Butchering' Scam in West Africa Impersonates US Financial Advisors - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Long Con Impersonates Financial Advisers to Target Victims (darkreading.com)

2FA/MFA

• Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram (darkreading.com)

Malware

• How Can Disrupting DNS Communications Thwart a Malware Attack? (darkreading.com)

• Hackers use new IceBreaker malware to breach gaming companies (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Threat: Stealthy HeadCrab Malware Compromised Over 1,200 Redis Servers (thehackernews.com)

• PoS malware can block contactless payments to steal credit cards (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts Uncover the Identity of Mastermind Behind Golden Chickens Malware Service (thehackernews.com)

• New APT34 Malware Targets The Middle East (trendmicro.com)

• HeadCrab malware targets Redis to mine cryptocurrency | TechTarget

• Malvertising attacks are distributing .NET malware loaders • The Register

• Hackers weaponize Microsoft Visual Studio add-ins to push malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Google Fi data breach let hackers carry out SIM swap attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Over 1,800 Android phishing forms for sale on cyber crime market (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Mobile phone fraud: 'They stole £22,500 using my banking app' - BBC News

Botnets

• New Threat: Stealthy HeadCrab Malware Compromised Over 1,200 Redis Servers (thehackernews.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Killnet Attackers DDoS US and Dutch Hospitals - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New DDoS-as-a-Service platform used in recent attacks on hospitals (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• IoT, connected devices biggest contributors to expanding application attack surface | CSO Online

• European IoT Manufacturers Lag in Vulnerability Disclosure (databreachtoday.co.uk)

• Realtek Vulnerability Under Attack: Over 134 Million Attempts to Hack IoT Devices (thehackernews.com)

• Anker finally comes clean about its Eufy security cameras - The Verge

Data Breaches/Leaks

• JD Sports warns data of 10mn customers put at risk in cyber attack | Financial Times (ft.com)

• New Survey Reveals 40% of Companies Experienced a Data Leak in the Past Year (darkreading.com)

• Planet Ice hacked! 240,000 skating fans' details stolen (bitdefender.com)

• If a locked filing cabinet is stolen along with its key, can you still say it’s locked? GoTo thinks you can • Graham Cluley

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cyber crime job ads on the dark web pay up to $20k per month (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Most criminal cryptocurrency is funneled through just 5 exchanges | Ars Technica

• How $6 Can Buy Hacked Social Media & Streaming Accounts From the Dark Web, Whizcase Study Reveals (darkreading.com)

• Cyber crime Ecosystem Spawns Lucrative Underground Gig Economy (darkreading.com)

• Cyber crime job ads on the dark web pay up to $20k per month (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Developers, Attackers Top List of Most In Demand Dark Web Jobs, Kaspersky Reports - MSSP Alert

• Report on hackers' salaries shows poor wages for developers • The Register

• 6 Examples of the Evolution of a Scam Site (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Insights 2023: Criminal Gangs - SecurityWeek

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• ‘Everything is fake’: how global crime gangs are using UK shell companies in multi-million pound crypto scams | Organised crime | The Guardian

• Most criminal cryptocurrency is funneled through just 5 exchanges | Ars Technica

• FBI: North Korea’s Lazarus Group behind $100m crypto attack • The Register

• Oxford student jailed for £2m crypto theft after PhD blunder | News | The Times

• Porsche halts NFT launch, phishing sites fill the void (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crypto theft: North Korea-linked hackers stole $1.7b in 2022 - BBC News

• HeadCrab malware targets Redis to mine cryptocurrency | TechTarget

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Insider attacks becoming more frequent, more difficult to detect - Help Net Security

• The Threat from Within: 71% of Business Leaders Surveyed Think Next Cyber security Breach Will Come from the Inside (darkreading.com)

• Are Your Employees Thinking Critically About Their Online Behaviours? (darkreading.com)

• The next cyber threat may come from within - Help Net Security

• Insider threats: The cyber risks lurking in the dark (betanews.com)

• Executives Worry Equally About Insider Cyber Errors, Outsider Threats: How MSSPs Can Help - MSSP Alert

• Former Ubiquiti dev pleads guilty to data theft, extortion • The Register

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• ‘Everything is fake’: how global crime gangs are using UK shell companies in multi-million pound crypto scams | Organised crime | The Guardian

• New 'Pig Butchering' Scam in West Africa Impersonates US Financial Advisors - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• FBI: North Korea’s Lazarus Group behind $100m crypto attack • The Register

• Oxford student jailed for £2m crypto theft after PhD blunder | News | The Times

• Porsche halts NFT launch, phishing sites fill the void (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian Millionaire on Trial in Hack, Insider Trade Scheme - SecurityWeek

• 6 Examples of the Evolution of a Scam Site (darkreading.com)

• Mobile phone fraud: 'They stole £22,500 using my banking app' - BBC News

• Crypto theft: North Korea-linked hackers stole $1.7b in 2022 - BBC News

• Romance fraud losses rose 91% during the pandemic, claims UK's TSB bank | Tripwire

• Romance Fraudsters Have Stolen £65m From Brits Since 2020 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Impersonation Attacks

• DocuSign Brand Impersonation Attack Bypasses Security Measures, Targets Over 10,000 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Why CISOs Should Care About Brand Impersonation Scam Sites (darkreading.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• As the anti-money laundering perimeter expands, who needs to be compliant, and how? - Help Net Security

Insurance

• 4 Cyber Insurance Requirement Predictions for 2023 (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

• There’s a Wild Scramble for Control of the Dark Web Taking Place in Russia (vice.com)

• How $6 Can Buy Hacked Social Media & Streaming Accounts From the Dark Web, Whizcase Study Reveals (darkreading.com)

• Cyber crime job ads on the dark web pay up to $20k per month (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Developers, Attackers Top List of Most In Demand Dark Web Jobs, Kaspersky Reports - MSSP Alert

• Report on hackers' salaries shows poor wages for developers • The Register

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• 98% of Firms Have a Supply Chain Relationship That Has Been Breached: Analysis - SecurityWeek

• Almost all Organisations are Working with Recently Breached Vendors - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 50% of organisations have indirect relationships with 200+ breached fourth-party vendors - Help Net Security

• Cyber attack Impact “Catastrophic” for Third Parties, New Study Finds MSSPs at Risk? - MSSP Alert

• New “MITRE ATT&CK-like” framework outlines software supply chain attack TTPs | CSO Online

• CISA to Open Supply Chain Risk Management Office (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Insights 2023 | Supply Chain Security - SecurityWeek

Cloud/SaaS

• Misconfiguration and vulnerabilities biggest risks in cloud security: Report | CSO Online

• Hybrid cloud storage security challenges - Help Net Security

• Short-staffed SOCs struggle to gain visibility into cloud activities - Help Net Security

Containers

• Researchers Claim High-Risk Vulnerabilities Found in 87% of All Container Images - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Encryption

• Serious Security: The Samba logon bug caused by outdated crypto – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Encryption Explained: At Rest, In Transit & End-To-End Encryption | Splunk

• Cyber Insights 2023 | Quantum Computing and the Coming Cryptopocalypse - SecurityWeek

API

• The emergence of trinity attacks on APIs - Help Net Security

• API management (APIM): What It Is and Where It’s Going security affairs

Open Source

• Microsoft upgrades Defender to lock down Linux devices • The Register

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Bitwarden Password Manager users are being targeted by phishing ads on Google- gHacks Tech News

• KeePass disputes vulnerability allowing stealthy password theft (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Inside TikTok’s proposal to address US national security concerns | CyberScoop

• Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram (darkreading.com)

Malvertising

• Malvertising attacks are distributing .NET malware loaders • The Register

Training, Education and Awareness

• Are Your Employees Thinking Critically About Their Online Behaviours? (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Regulators weigh in on ION attack as LockBit takes credit • The Register

• New UN cyber crime convention has a long way to go in a tight timeframe | CSO Online

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Business leaders need hands-on approach to stop cyber crime, says spy chief (telegraph.co.uk)

• New Survey Reveals 40% of Companies Experienced a Data Leak in the Past Year (darkreading.com)

• Financial Services Targeted in 28% of UK Cyber-Attacks Last Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 70% of CIOs anticipate their involvement in cyber security to increase - Help Net Security

• Cyber security Budgets Are Going Up. So Why Aren't Breaches Going Down? (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware conversations: Why the CFO is pivotal to discussing and preparing for risk - IT Security Guru

• You Don't Know Where Your Secrets Are (thehackernews.com)

• Inability to prevent bad things from happening seen as the worst part of a security job - Help Net Security

• The corporate world is losing its grip on cyber risk | Financial Times (ft.com)

• IT and Security Professionals Spend an Average of 4,300 Hours Annually Achieving or Maintaining Compliance (darkreading.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Inability to prevent bad things from happening seen as the worst part of a security job - Help Net Security

• Thriving Dark Web Trade in Fake Security Certifications - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The Effect of Cyber security Layoffs on Cyber security Recruitment - SecurityWeek

• Economic headwinds could deepen the cyber security skills shortage | CSO Online

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• 7 Ways Hive Ransomware Gang Caused Chaos Before FBI Hacked It (gizmodo.com)

• US puts a $10m bounty on Hive while Russia shuts down access • The Register

• Hacker accused of having stolen personal data of all Austrians security affairs

• Alleged ShinyHunters gang member in US court • The Register

• Risk & Repeat: The FBI's Hive ransomware takedown | TechTarget

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• On Data Privacy Day, Organisations Fail Data Privacy Expectations (darkreading.com)

• Hacker accused of having stolen personal data of all Austrians security affairs

• Enterprises Need to Do More to Assure Consumers About Privacy (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• Foreign states already using ChatGPT maliciously, UK IT leaders believe | CSO Online

• OpenAI releases tool to detect AI-written text (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Reality check: Is ChatGPT really the next big cyber security threat? | CyberScoop

• Cyber Insights 2023: Artificial Intelligence - SecurityWeek

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Google deletes 50,000 pro-China fake-news vids and blogs • The Register

• Google: Influence Operator Dragonbridge Floods Social Media in Sprawling Cyber Campaign (darkreading.com)

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

• Iranian APT Leaks Data From Saudi Arabia Government Under New Persona - SecurityWeek

• Ukraine Links Media Centre Attack to Russian Intelligence (govinfosecurity.com)

• Latvia confirms phishing attack on Ministry of Defence, linking it to Russian hacking group - The Record from Recorded Future News

• British Cyber Agency Warns of Russian and Iranian Hackers Targeting Key Industries (thehackernews.com)

• Russia-Linked APT29 Uses New Malware in Embassy Attacks - SecurityWeek

• Russia's Sandworm APT Launches Swarm of Wiper Attacks in Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• Russia-linked Hackers Launch DDoS Attacks on Germany and US. Hospitals, Threaten Canada - MSSP Alert

• Latvia says Russian hackers tried to phish its Ministry of Defence (bitdefender.com)

• Inside Killnet: Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group's Support and Influence Grows (darkreading.com)

• New APT34 Malware Targets The Middle East (trendmicro.com)

• Lazarus Group Attack Identified After Operational Security Fail - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Crypto theft: North Korea-linked hackers stole $1.7b in 2022 - BBC News

• North Korean hackers stole research data in two-month-long breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• APT groups use ransomware TTPs as cover for intelligence gathering and sabotage | CSO Online

• Cyber Insights 2023: The Geopolitical Effect - SecurityWeek

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russian Nuisance Hacking Group KillNet Targets Germany (govinfosecurity.com)

• Russian hackers launch cyber attack on Germany in Leopard retaliation | Euronews

• Ukraine Links Media Centre Attack to Russian Intelligence (govinfosecurity.com)

• Latvia confirms phishing attack on Ministry of Defence, linking it to Russian hacking group - The Record from Recorded Future News

• A Link to News Site Meduza Can (Technically) Land You in Russian Prison | WIRED

• British Cyber Agency Warns of Russian and Iranian Hackers Targeting Key Industries (thehackernews.com)

• Russia-Linked APT29 Uses New Malware in Embassy Attacks - SecurityWeek

• Russia's Sandworm APT Launches Swarm of Wiper Attacks in Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• Russia-linked Hackers Launch DDoS Attacks on Germany and US. Hospitals, Threaten Canada - MSSP Alert

• Latvia says Russian hackers tried to phish its Ministry of Defence (bitdefender.com)

• Killnet Attackers DDoS US and Dutch Hospitals - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• IT Army of Ukraine gained access to 1.5GB archive from Gazprom security affairs

• There’s a Wild Scramble for Control of the Dark Web Taking Place in Russia (vice.com)

• Inside Killnet: Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group's Support and Influence Grows (darkreading.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Google deletes 50,000 pro-China fake-news vids and blogs • The Register

• Google: Influence Operator Dragonbridge Floods Social Media in Sprawling Cyber Campaign (darkreading.com)

• TikTok CEO to testify before US. Congress over security concerns | Reuters

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• FBI: North Korea’s Lazarus Group behind $100m crypto attack • The Register

• Lazarus Group Attack Identified After Operational Security Fail - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Crypto theft: North Korea-linked hackers stole $1.7b in 2022 - BBC News

• North Korean hackers stole research data in two-month-long breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iranian APT Leaks Data From Saudi Arabia Government Under New Persona - SecurityWeek

• British Cyber Agency Warns of Russian and Iranian Hackers Targeting Key Industries (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Foreign states already using ChatGPT maliciously, UK IT leaders believe | CSO Online

• New APT34 Malware Targets The Middle East (trendmicro.com)

• APT groups use ransomware TTPs as cover for intelligence gathering and sabotage | CSO Online

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Vulnerability Management

• The future of vulnerability management and patch compliance - Help Net Security

• What is the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System)? (techtarget.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Researchers to release VMware vRealize Log RCE exploit, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Patch management is crucial to protect Exchange servers, Microsoft warns security affairs

• Realtek Vulnerability Under Attack: Over 134 Million Attempts to Hack IoT Devices (thehackernews.com)

• QNAP Fixes Critical Vulnerability in NAS Devices with Latest Security Updates (thehackernews.com)

• Over 29,000 QNAP devices unpatched against new critical flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Firmware Flaws Could Spell 'Lights Out' for Servers (darkreading.com)

• Why you might not be done with your January Microsoft security patches | CSO Online

• Researcher drops Lexmark RCE zero-day rather than sell vuln ‘for peanuts’ | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• HPE, NetApp warn of critical open-source bug | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• High-severity bug in F5 BIG-IP can lead to code execution and DoS security affairs

• Cisco fixes bug allowing backdoor persistence between reboots (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Atlassian's Jira Software Found Vulnerable to Critical Authentication Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• CISA Alert: Oracle E-Business Suite and SugarCRM Vulnerabilities Under Attack (thehackernews.com)

• Threat activity increasing around Fortinet VPN vulnerability | TechTarget

• Remote code execution exploit chain available for VMware vRealize Log Insight | CSO Online

Tools and Controls

• Gartner report shows zero trust isn’t a silver bullet | VentureBeat

Other News

• We can't rely on goodwill to protect our critical infrastructure - Help Net Security

• Playing Military Sim War Thunder May Get You Classed as a National Security Risk

• Cyber attacks in space: How safe are our satellites? | Metro News

• Threat Actors Use ClickFunnels to Bypass Security Services - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Massive Microsoft 365 outage caused by WAN router IP change (bleepingcomputer.com)

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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 27 January 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Supply Chain Attacks Caused More Data Compromises Than Malware

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, data compromises steadily increased in the second half of 2022 and cyber attacks remained the primary source of data breaches.

The number of data breaches resulting from supply chain attacks exceeded malware related compromises in 2022 by 40%. According to the report, more than 10 million people were impacted by supply chain attacks targeting 1,743 entities. By comparison, 70 malware-based cyber attacks affected 4.3 million people.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/26/data-compromises-2022/

• What Makes Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Vulnerable to BEC Attacks

According to the United States’ FBI’s 2021 Internet Crime Report, business email compromise (BEC) accounted for almost a third of the country’s $6.9 billion in cyber losses that year – around $2.4 billion. In surprisingly sharp contrast, ransomware attacks accounted for only $50 million of those losses.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are especially vulnerable to this form of attack and BEC’s contribution to annual cyber losses not only makes sense but is also likely underreported.

In stark contrast to highly disruptive ransomware attacks, BEC is subversive and is neither technically complicated nor expensive to deploy. In the case of large organisations, the financial fallout of BEC is almost negligible. That’s not the case for small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack the means to absorb similar financial losses.

BEC’s simplicity gives more credence for attackers to target smaller organisations, and because of that, it’s doubly essential for SMBs to be vigilant.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/25/what-makes-small-medium-sized-businesses-vulnerable-bec-attacks-video/

• Understanding Your Attack Surface Makes It Easier to Prioritise Technologies and Systems

It has been observed that attackers will attempt to start exploiting vulnerabilities within the first fifteen minutes of their disclosure. As the time to patch gets shorter, organisations need to be more pragmatic when it comes to remediating vulnerabilities, particularly when it comes to prioritisation.

Attack surfaces constantly evolve and change as new applications are developed, old systems are decommissioned, and new assets are registered. Also, more and more organisations are moving towards cloud-hosted infrastructure, which changes the risk and responsibility for securing those assets. Therefore, it is essential to carry out continuous or regular assessments to understand what systems are at risk, instead of just taking a point-in-time snapshot of how the attack surface looks at that moment.

The first step would be to map “traditional” asset types – those easily associated with an organisation and easy to monitor, such as domains and IP addresses. Ownership of these assets can be easily identified through available information (e.g., WHOIS data). The less traditional asset types (such as GitHub repositories) aren’t directly owned by the organisation but can also provide high-value targets or information for attackers.

It’s also important to understand which technologies are in use to make sound judgements based on the vulnerabilities relevant to the organisation. For example, out of one hundred vulnerabilities released within one month only 20% might affect the organisation’s technologies.

Once organisations have a good understanding of which assets might be at risk, context and prioritisation can be applied to the vulnerabilities affecting those assets. Threat intelligence can be utilised to determine which vulnerabilities are already being exploited in the wild.

What is then the correct answer for this conundrum? The answer is that there is no answer! Instead, organisations should consider a mindset shift and look towards preventing issues whilst adopting a defence-in-depth approach; focus on minimising impact and risk by prioritising assets that matter the most and reducing time spent on addressing those that don’t. This can be achieved by understanding your organisation’s attack surface and prioritising issues based on context and relevance.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/24/understanding-your-attack-surface/

• Cyber Security Pros Sound Alarm Over Insider Threats

Gurucul, a security information and event management (SIEM) solution provider, and Cyber security Insiders, a 600,000-plus member online community for information security professionals, found in their annual 2023 Insider Threat Report that only 3% of respondents surveyed are not concerned with insider risk.

Among all potential insiders, cyber security professionals are most concerned about IT users and admins with far-reaching access privileges (60%). This is followed by third-party contractors (such as MSPs and MSSPs) and service providers (57%), regular employees (55%), and privileged business users (53%).

The research also found that more than half of organisations in the study had been victimised by an insider threat in the past year. According to the data, 75% of the respondents believe they are moderately to extremely vulnerable to insider threats, an 8% spike from last year. That coincided with a similar percentage who said attacks have become more frequent, with 60% experiencing at least one attack and 25% getting hit by more than six attacks.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/research-report-cybersecurity-pros-sound-alarm-over-insider-threats/

• Ransomware Attack Hit KFC and Pizza Hut Stores in the UK

Nearly 300 fast food restaurants, including branches of KFC and Pizza Hut, were forced to close following a ransomware attack against parent company Yum! Brands. In a statement dated 18 January 2023, Yum! confirmed that unnamed ransomware had impacted some of its IT infrastructure, and that data had been exfiltrated by hackers from its servers. However, although an investigation into the security breach continues, the company said that it had seen no evidence that customer details had been exposed.

What has not yet been made public, and may not even be known to those investigating the breach, is how long hackers might have had access to the company's IT infrastructure, and how they might have been able to gain access to what should have been a secure system. Yum! has also not shared whether it has received a ransom demand from its attackers, and if it did how much ransom was demanded, and whether it would be prepared to negotiate with its extortionists.

https://www.bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/ransomware-attack-hit-kfc-and-pizza-hut-stores-in-the-uk/

• Forthcoming SEC Rules Will Trigger ‘Tectonic Shift’ in How Corporate Boards Treat Cyber Security

Under rules first proposed in 2022 but expected to be finalised as soon as April 2023, publicly traded companies in the US that determine a cyber incident has become “material”, meaning it could have a significant impact on the business, must disclose details to the SEC and investors within four business days. That requirement would also apply “when a series of previously undisclosed, individually immaterial cyber security incidents has become material in the aggregate.

The SEC’s rules will also require the boards of those companies to disclose significant information on their security governance, such as how and when it exercises oversight on cyber risks. That info includes identifying who on the board (or which subcommittee) is responsible for cyber security and their relevant expertise. Required disclosures will also include how often and by which processes board members are informed and discuss cyber risk. The former cyber adviser to the SEC commented that “The problem we have with the current cyber security ecosystem is that it’s very focused on technical mitigation measures and does not contemplate these business, operational, [or] financial factors.”

Whilst this only impacts US firms, we can expect other jurisdictions to follow suit.

https://www.itbrew.com/stories/2023/01/20/forthcoming-sec-rules-will-trigger-tectonic-shift-in-how-corporate-boards-treat-cybersecurity

• Why CISOs Make Great Board Members

Cyber security-related risk is a top concern, so boards need to know they have the proper oversight in place. The past three years created a perfect storm situation with lasting consequences for how we think about cyber security, and as a result cyber security technologies and teams have shifted from being viewed as a cost centre to a business enabler.

Gartner predicts that by 2025, 40% of companies will have a dedicated cyber security committee. Who is better suited than a CISO to lead that conversation? Cyber security-related risk is a top concern, so boards need to know they have the proper oversight in place. CISOs can provide advice on moving forward with digital change initiatives and help companies prepare for the future. They can explain the organisation’s risk posture, including exposure related to geopolitical conflict as well as to new business initiatives and emerging threats, and what can be done to mitigate risk.

Lastly, the role of the CISO has evolved from being a risk metrics presenter to a translator of risk to the business. Therefore, the expertise CISOs have developed in recent years in how to explain risk to the board makes them valuable contributors to these conversations. They can elevate the discussion to ensure deep understanding of the trade-offs between growth and risk, enable more informed decision-making, and serve as guardrails for total business alignment.

https://www.securityweek.com/why-cisos-make-great-board-members/

• View From Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber Crime

Cyber crime is a risk created by humans, driven by the economic conditions of high profit and easy opportunity. Ransomware is the most recent monetisation of these motives and opportunities, and it has evolved from simple malware to advanced exploits and double or triple extortion models.

The motive for cyber crime is clear: to steal money, but the digital nature of cyber crime makes the opportunity uniquely attractive, due to the following:

·       Cryptocurrency makes online extortion, trading illicit goods and services, and laundering fraudulent funds highly anonymous and usually beyond the reach of financial regulators or inspection

·       There isn't enough fear of getting caught for cyber crime.

·       With the explosion in spending on digital transformation, data is the new gold and it is incredibly easy to steal, due to lapses in basic hygiene like encrypting data-at-rest and in-transit or limiting access to only authorised users.

·       Paying extortion through extensive cyber insurance policies only feeds the ransomware epidemic by incentivising further crime, as noted by the FBI.

Fighting cyber crime is a team sport, and to succeed, we must adopt this framework of cyber resilience that integrates the technical, policy, behavioural, and economic elements necessary to manage the reality of ever-growing cyber crime as a predictable and manageable cyber risk.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/view-from-davos-the-changing-economics-of-cybercrime

• Cloud Based Networks Under Increasing Attack, Report Finds

As enterprises around the world continue to move to the cloud, cyber criminals are following right behind them. There was a 48 percent year-over-year jump in 2022 in cyber attacks on cloud-based networks, and it comes at a time when 98 percent of global organisations use cloud services, according to Check Point. The increases in cyber attacks were experienced in various regions, including Asia (with a 60 percent jump), Europe (50 percent), and North America (28 percent) according to a report by Checkpoint last week.

Check Point explained that "The rise in attacks on the cloud was driven both by an overall increase in cyber attacks globally (38 percent overall in 2022, compared to 48 percent in the cloud) and also by the fact that it holds much more data and incorporates infrastructure and services from large amounts of potential victims, so when exploited the attacks could have a larger impact,". Later, Checkpoint highlighted that human error is a significant factor in the vulnerability of cloud-based networks.

The report highlighted the need for defence capabilities in the cloud to improve. According to Check Point, this means adopting zero-trust cloud network security controls, incorporating security and compliance earlier in the development lifecycle, avoiding misconfigurations, and using tools such as an intrusion detection and prevention systems and next-generation web application firewalls. As  commented by Check Point “it is still up to the network and security admins to make sure all their infrastructure is not vulnerable.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/20/cloud_networks_under_attack/

• GoTo Admits: Customer Cloud Backups Stolen Together with Decryption Key

On 2022-11-30, GoTo informed customers that it had suffered “a security incident”, summarising the situation as follows:

“Based on the investigation to date, we have detected unusual activity within our development environment and third-party cloud storage service. The third-party cloud storage service is currently shared by both GoTo and its affiliate, LastPass.”

Two months later, GoTo has come back with an update, and the news isn’t great:

“[A] threat actor exfiltrated encrypted backups from a third-party cloud storage service related to the following products: Central, Pro, join.me, Hamachi, and RemotelyAnywhere. We also have evidence that a threat actor exfiltrated an encryption key for a portion of the encrypted backups. The affected information, which varies by product, may include account usernames, salted and hashed passwords, a portion of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings, as well as some product settings and licensing information.”

The company also noted that although MFA settings for some Rescue and GoToMyPC customers were stolen, their encrypted databases were not.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2023/01/25/goto-admits-customer-cloud-backups-stolen-together-with-decryption-key/

• State-Linked Hackers in Russia and Iran are Targeting UK Groups, NCSC Warns

Russian and Iranian state-linked hackers are increasingly targeting British politicians, journalists and researchers with sophisticated campaigns aimed at gaining access to a person’s email, Britain’s online security agency warned on Thursday. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an alert about two groups from Russia and Iran, warning those in government, defence, thinktanks and the media against clicking on malicious links from people posing as conference hosts, journalists or even colleagues.

Both groups have been active for some years, but it is understood they have recently stepped up their activities in the UK as the war in Ukraine continues, as well as operating in the US and other NATO countries.

The hackers typically seek to gain confidence of a target by impersonating somebody likely to make contact with them, such as by falsely impersonating a journalist, and ultimately luring them to click on a malicious link, sometimes over the course of several emails and other online interactions.

NCSC encourages people to use strong email passwords. One technique is to use three random words, and not replicate it as a login credential on other websites. It recommends people use two-factor authentication, using a mobile phone as part of the log on process, ideally by using a special authenticator app.

The cyber agency also advises people exercise particular caution when receiving plausible sounding messages from strangers who rely on Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook or other webmail accounts, sometimes impersonating “known contacts” of the target culled from social media.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/26/state-linked-hackers-in-russia-and-iran-are-targeting-uk-groups-ncsc-warns

• 3.7 Million Customers’ Data of Hilton Hotels Put Up For Sale

A member of a hacker forum going by the name IntelBroker, has offered a database allegedly containing the personal information of 3.7 million people participating in the Hilton Hotels Honors program. According to the actor, the data in question includes personally identifying information such as name, address and Honors IDs. According to the Hilton Hotel, no guest login credentials, contacts, or financial information have been leaked.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/3-7-millions-customers-data-hilton-hotel-up-for-sale/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Rebranded Ransomware Crews Spike Number of Hijacking Incidents in Q4 2022 - MSSP Alert

• The Unrelenting Menace of the LockBit Ransomware Gang | WIRED

• Ransomware access brokers use Google ads to breach your network (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FBI hacked into Hive ransomware gang, disrupted operations | TechTarget

• "Workarounds" Helped Royal Mail Resume Shipping After Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware victims are refusing to pay, tanking attackers’ profits | Ars Technica

• Vice Society Ransomware Group Targets Manufacturing Companies (trendmicro.com)

• New Mimic ransomware abuses ‘Everything’ Windows search tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BlackCat Ransomware gang stole secret military data from industrial explosives manufacturer - Security Affairs

• Contractor error led to Baltimore schools ransomware attack | TechTarget

• LAUSD says Vice Society ransomware gang stole contractors’ SSNs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Riot Games receives ransom demand from hackers, refuses to pay (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• ChatGPT is a bigger threat to cyber security than most realize - Help Net Security

• Phishers Use Blank Images to Disguise Malicious Attachments - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hackers often use this clever trick to take you to phishing sites — can you spot it? | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

• Yahoo Most Faked Brand Name in Phishing Attempts by Threat Actors in Q4 2022 - MSSP Alert

• Yahoo Overtakes DHL As Most Impersonated Brand in Q4 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ChatGPT could boost phishing scams | TechTarget

• SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New 'Blank Image' attack hides phishing scripts in SVG files (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers now use Microsoft OneNote attachments to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• What makes small and medium-sized businesses vulnerable to BEC attacks - Help Net Security

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Social Engineering Tactics are Changing. Awareness Training Must Change Too.| CSA (cloudsecurityalliance.org)

Malware                                                                                   

• BlackBerry: Threat Actors Launch A Unique Malware Sample Every Minute - MSSP Alert

• Linux malware hit a new high in 2022 | TechRadar

• Phishers Use Blank Images to Disguise Malicious Attachments - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Consumers Face Greater Risks from Malware but Many are Unprepared and Vulnerable - MSSP Alert

• New 'Blank Image' attack hides phishing scripts in SVG files (bleepingcomputer.com)

• ChatGPT Could Create Polymorphic Malware Wave, Researchers Warn (darkreading.com)

• Hackers now use Microsoft OneNote attachments to spread malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• ChatGPT Can Write Polymorphic Malware to Infect Your Computer (gizmodo.com)

• Microsoft plans to kill malware delivery via Excel XLL add-ins (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers use Golang source code interpreter to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Deploy Open-Source Tool Sliver C2, Replacing Cobalt Strike, Metasploit - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Emotet Malware Makes a Comeback with New Evasion Techniques (thehackernews.com)

• 'DragonSpark' Malware: East Asian Cyber Attackers Create an OSS Frankenstein (darkreading.com)

• Malware exploited critical Realtek SDK bug in millions of attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• ‘DragonSpark’ threat actor leverages open-source RAT, other Chinese-language tools | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Mobile

• Massive Ad Fraud Scheme Targeted Over 11 Million Devices with 1,700 Spoofed Apps (thehackernews.com)

• New 'Hook' Android malware lets hackers remotely control your phone (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Pair of Galaxy App Store Bugs Offer Cyber Attackers Mobile Device Access (darkreading.com)

• Google to phase out legacy apps with Android 14 to improve security - GSMArena.com news

Botnets

• How Does a Botnet Attack Work? - Cyber Defense Magazine

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Why a hybrid approach can help mitigate DDoS attacks | SC Media

• Russia’s largest ISP says 2022 broke all DDoS attack records (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Nice smart device – how long does it get software updates? • The Register

• Why British homes are at risk from ‘Trojan Horse’ smart devices (telegraph.co.uk)

• Why most IoT cyber security strategies give zero hope for zero trust - Help Net Security

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Companies impacted by Mailchimp breach warn their customers - Security Affairs

• LastPass owner GoTo says hackers stole customers’ backups | TechCrunch

• GoTo admits: Customer cloud backups stolen together with decryption key – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• GoTo warns customers of crypto key and backup heist • The Register

• 3.7 Million Customers Data Of Hilton Hotels Put Up For Sale (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• QUT confirms personal data of thousands of staff compromised in cyber attack - ABC News

• Riot Games hacked, now it faces problems to release content - Security Affairs

• ICE releases asylum seekers after exposing their data • The Register

• Hacker Gets Hands on No-Fly List of Alleged Terrorist Suspects (gizmodo.com)

• Risk & Repeat: Breaking down the LastPass breach | TechTarget

• After data breach put their lives at risk, US releases 3000 immigrants seeking asylum (bitdefender.com)

• TSA No-Fly List Snafu Highlights Risk of Keeping Sensitive Data in Dev Environments (darkreading.com)

• T-Mobile Cyber Attack Spurs Law Firm Investigation - MSSP Alert

• Risk & Repeat: Another T-Mobile data breach disclosed | TechTarget

• Entire US "No Fly List" Exposed Online Via Unsecured Server (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Near-Record Year for US Data Breaches in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Zacks data breach impacted hundreds of thousands of customers - Security Affairs

• French rugby club Stade Français leaks source code - Security Affairs

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• View from Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber crime (darkreading.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Inside the crypto ‘prisons’ scamming Britons out of their life savings (telegraph.co.uk)

• FBI Confirms Lazarus Group Was Behind $100m Harmony Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hackers Take Over Robinhood Twitter Account To Promote Scam - Decrypt

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Research Report: Cyber Security Pros Sound Alarm Over Insider Threats - MSSP Alert

• Hunting Insider Threats on the Dark Web (darkreading.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Inside the crypto ‘prisons’ scamming Britons out of their life savings (telegraph.co.uk)

• P-to-P fraud most concerning cyber threat in 2023: CSI | CSO Online

• Lloyds Bank Warns of 80% Surge in Advance Fee Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Dark Web Posts Advertising Counterfeit Cash Surge 90% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hackers Take Over Robinhood Twitter Account To Promote Scam - Decrypt

Insurance

• Regulator Stress Test Highlights Cyber Insurance Concerns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 4 tips to find cyber insurance coverage in 2023 | TechTarget

• Insurers in talks on adding state-backed cyber to UK reinsurance scheme | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Cyber Security Posture & Insurance Outlook with Advisen (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

• Hunting Insider Threats on the Dark Web (darkreading.com)

• Dark Web Posts Advertising Counterfeit Cash Surge 90% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Software Supply Chain

• Attacking The Supply Chain: Developer (trendmicro.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Report: Cloud-based networks under growing attack • The Register

• Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Microsoft Azure-Based Kerberos Attacks Crack Open Cloud Accounts (darkreading.com)

Attack Surface Management

• Understanding your attack surface makes it easier to prioritize technologies and systems - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Bitwarden responds to encryption design flaw criticism | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

API

• 9 API security tools on the frontlines of cyber security | CSO Online

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Popular password managers auto-filled credentials on untrusted websites | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Bitwarden responds to encryption design flaw criticism | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Password Dependency: How to Break the Cycle - SecurityWeek

Social Media

• The metaverse brings a new breed of threats to challenge privacy and security gatekeepers | CSO Online

Malvertising

• Massive Ad Fraud Scheme Targeted Over 11 Million Devices with 1,700 Spoofed Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Ad Fraud Scheme Tops 12 Billion Daily Bid Requests - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google Ads invites being abused to push spam, adult sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware access brokers use Google ads to breach your network (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Over 4,500 WordPress Sites Hacked to Redirect Visitors to Sketchy Ad Pages (thehackernews.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Social Engineering Tactics are Changing. Awareness Training Must Too.| CSA (cloudsecurityalliance.org)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Ireland’s data protection watchdog fines WhatsApp €5.5m • The Register

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Forthcoming SEC rules will trigger ‘tectonic shift’ in how corporate boards treat cyber security (itbrew.com)

• Just Half of Firms Have Sufficient Cyber Security Budget - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• View from Davos: The Changing Economics of Cyber Crime (darkreading.com)

• Why CISOs Make Great Board Members - SecurityWeek

• Awareness Training Must Change | CSA (cloudsecurityalliance.org)

• Despite Slowing Economy, Demand for Cyber Security Workers Remains Strong (darkreading.com)

• Organisations Must Brace for Privacy Impacts This Year (darkreading.com)

• The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Data Protection

• Ireland’s data protection watchdog fines WhatsApp €5.5m • The Register

• ICO Offers Data Protection Advice to SMBs - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Why CISOs Make Great Board Members - SecurityWeek

• Davos Debrief: Critical Shortage of Cyber Security Talent Requires Action on Several Fronts, CompTIA Executive Says (darkreading.com)

• Despite Slowing Economy, Demand for Cyber Security Workers Remains Strong (darkreading.com)

• 8 cyber security roles to consider | TechTarget

• How To Safeguard Your Business From Cyber Security Stress And Prevent IT Burnout (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Can't Fill Open Positions? Rewrite Your Minimum Requirements (darkreading.com)

• Veterans bring high-value, real-life experience as potential cyber security employees | CSO Online

• US is Short Nearly 530,000 Skilled Cyber Security Workers, IT Layoffs Not Slowing Demand - MSSP Alert

• Dozens of Cyber Security Companies Announced Layoffs in Past Year - SecurityWeek

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• FBI hacked into Hive ransomware gang, disrupted operations | TechTarget

• Dutchman Detained for Dealing Details of Tens of Millions of People (darkreading.com)

• Dutch suspect locked up for alleged personal data megathefts – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Organisations Must Brace for Privacy Impacts This Year (darkreading.com)

• The metaverse brings a new breed of threats to challenge privacy and security gatekeepers | CSO Online

• Scientists use Wi-Fi routers to see humans through walls | ZDNET

• Most consumers would share anonymised personal data to improve AI products - Help Net Security

Artificial Intelligence

• ChatGPT is a bigger threat to cyber security than most realize - Help Net Security

• Learning to Lie: AI Tools Adept at Creating Disinformation - SecurityWeek

• Rogue AI ‘could kill everyone’ | News | The Times

• ChatGPT could boost phishing scams | TechTarget

• FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com

• ChatGPT Can Write Polymorphic Malware to Infect Your Computer (gizmodo.com)

• Chat Cyber Security: AI Promises a Lot, but Can It Deliver? (darkreading.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Learning to Lie: AI Tools Adept at Creating Disinformation - SecurityWeek

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

• State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• UK authorities warn of phishing from Iran, Russia • The Register

• Armis State of Cyberwarfare and Trends Report - IT Security Guru

• North Korean Hackers Turn to Credential Harvesting in Latest Wave of Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Gamaredon Group Launches Cyber Attacks Against Ukraine Using Telegram (thehackernews.com)

• Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com

• “Pegasus” lifts the lid on a sophisticated piece of spyware | The Economist

• North Korean Group TA444 Shows 'Startup' Culture, Tries Numerous Infection Methods - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• North Korea-linked TA444 turns to credential harvesting activity - Security Affairs

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• UK authorities warn of phishing from Iran, Russia • The Register

• SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Gamaredon Group Launches Cyber Attacks Against Ukraine Using Telegram (thehackernews.com)

• Russia’s largest ISP says 2022 broke all DDoS attack records (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese 8220 Gang Aims For Public Clouds And Vulnerable Apps (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• FBI Chief Says He's 'Deeply concerned' by China's AI Program | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean Hackers Turn to Credential Harvesting in Latest Wave of Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• FBI Confirms Lazarus Group Was Behind $100m Harmony Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• North Korean Group TA444 Shows 'Startup' Culture, Tries Numerous Infection Methods - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• North Korea-linked TA444 turns to credential harvesting activity - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – Iran

• State-linked hackers in Russia and Iran are targeting UK groups, NCSC warns | Hacking | The Guardian

• UK authorities warn of phishing from Iran, Russia • The Register

• SEABORGIUM and TA453 continue their respective... - NCSC.GOV.UK

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Vulnerability Management

• Extent of reported CVEs overwhelms critical infrastructure asset owners - Help Net Security

• Security Navigator Research: Some Vulnerabilities Date Back to the Last Millennium (thehackernews.com)

• Log4j Vulnerabilities Are Here to Stay — Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)

• Trained developers get rid of more vulnerabilities than code scanning tools - Help Net Security

• New Open Source OT Security Tool Helps Address Impact of Upcoming Microsoft Patch  - SecurityWeek

• Halo Security unveils KEV feature to improve attack surface visibility - Help Net Security

Vulnerabilities

• Crims can still exploit this NSA-discovered Microsoft bug • The Register

• 75k WordPress sites impacted by critical online course plugin flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Security Navigator Research: Some Vulnerabilities Date Back to the Last Millennium (thehackernews.com)

• Log4j Vulnerabilities Are Here to Stay — Are You Prepared? (darkreading.com)

• Chrome 109 update addresses six security vulnerabilities - Security Affairs

• Microsoft urges admins to patch on-premises Exchange servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Drupal Patches Vulnerabilities Leading to Information Disclosure | SecurityWeek.Com

• Critical Vulnerabilities Patched in OpenText Enterprise Content Management System | SecurityWeek.Com

• Around 19,500 end-of-life Cisco routers exposed to hack - Security Affairs

• In-the-Wild Exploitation of Recent ManageEngine Vulnerability Commences | SecurityWeek.Com

• Apple patches are out – old iPhones get an old zero-day fix at last! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Apple Patches WebKit Code Execution in iPhones, MacBooks - SecurityWeek

• VMware Releases Patches for Critical vRealize Log Insight Software Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Crooks are already exploiting this bug in old iPhones • The Register

• Logfile nightmare deepens thanks to critical VMware flaws • The Register

• Malware exploited critical Realtek SDK bug in millions of attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Realtek SDK flaw CVE-2021-35394 actively exploited in the wild- Security Affairs

• Lexmark warns of RCE bug affecting 100 printer models, PoC released (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crims can still exploit this NSA-discovered Microsoft bug • The Register

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Tools and Controls

• Is Once-Yearly Pen Testing Enough for Your Organisation? (thehackernews.com)

• Just Half of Firms Have Sufficient Cyber Security Budget - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LastPass owner GoTo says hackers stole customers’ backups | TechCrunch

• Bitwarden password vaults targeted in Google ads phishing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bitwarden responds to encryption design flaw criticism | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Understanding your attack surface makes it easier to prioritize technologies and systems - Help Net Security

• Companies Struggle With Zero Trust as Attackers Adapt to Get Around It (darkreading.com)

• Federal Agencies Infested by Cyber Attackers via Legit Remote Management Systems (darkreading.com)

• Why a hybrid approach can help mitigate DDoS attacks | SC Media

• CISA Warns Against Malicious Use of Legitimate RMM Software - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Gartner Predicts 10% of Large Enterprises Will Have a Mature and Measurable Zero-Trust Program in Place by 2026 (darkreading.com)

• Steps To Planning And Implementation Of Endpoint Protection (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

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Other News

• Hackers can make computers destroy their own chips with electricity | New Scientist

• Scientists use Wi-Fi routers to see humans through walls | ZDNET

• Microsoft 365 outage takes down Teams, Exchange Online, Outlook (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lessons Learned from the Windows Remote Desktop Honeypot Report (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 20 January 2023

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Experts at Davos 2023 Call for a Global Response to the Gathering 'Cyber Storm'

As economic and geopolitical instability spills into the new year, experts predict that 2023 will be a consequential year for cyber security. The developments, they say, will include an expanded threat landscape and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.

"There's a gathering cyber storm," Sadie Creese, a Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Oxford, said during an interview at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland. "This storm is brewing, and it's really hard to anticipate just how bad that will be."

Already, cyber attacks such as phishing, ransomware and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise. Cloudflare, a major US cyber security firm that provides protection services for over 30% of Fortune 500 companies, found that DDoS attacks—which entail overwhelming a server with a flood of traffic to disrupt a network or webpage—increased last year by 79% year-over-year.

"There's been an enormous amount of insecurity around the world," Matthew Prince, the CEO of Cloudflare, stated during the Annual Meeting. "I think 2023 is going to be a busy year in terms of cyber attacks."

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/cybersecurity-storm-2023-experts-davos23/

• Cost of Data Breaches to Global Businesses at Five-Year High

Research from business insurer Hiscox shows that the cost of dealing with cyber events for businesses has more than tripled since 2018. The study, which collated data from the organisation’s previous five annual Cyber Readiness reports, has revealed that:

• Since 2018 the median IT budgets for cyber security more than tripled.

• Between 2020 and 2022 cyber-attacks increased by over a quarter.

• Businesses are increasing their cyber security budgets year-on-year.

In the Hiscox 2022 Cyber Readiness report, the financial toll of cyber incidents, including data breaches, was estimated to be $16,950 (£15,265) on average. As the cost of cyber crime grew, so did organisations’ cyber security budgets – average spending on cyber security tripled from 2018 to 2022, rocketing from $1,470,196 (£1,323,973) to $5,235,162 (£4,714,482).

Hiscox has also revealed that half of all companies surveyed suffered at least one cyber attack in 2022, up 11% from 2020. Financial Services, as well as Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) sectors even reported a minimum of one attack for three consecutive years. Financial Services firms, however, seemed to be hit the hardest, with 66% reporting being impacted by cyber attacks in 2021-2022.

Cyber risk has risen to the same strategic level as traditional financial and operational risks, thanks to a growing realisation by businesses that the impact can be just as severe.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/01/18/cost-of-data-breaches-to-global-businesses-at-five-year-high/

• European Data Protection Authorities Issue Record €2.92 Billion in GDPR Fines, an Increase of 168%

European data regulators issued a record €2.92 billion in fines last year, a 168% increase from 2021. That’s according to the latest GDPR and Data Breach survey from international law firm DLA Piper, which covers all 27 Member States of the European Union, plus the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This year’s biggest fine of €405 million was imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) against Meta Platforms Ireland Limited relating to Instagram for alleged failures to protect children’s personal data. The Irish DPC also fined Meta €265 million for failing to comply with the GDPR obligation for Data Protection by Design and Default. Both fines are currently under appeal.

Despite the overall increase in fines since January 28, 2022, the fine of €746 million that Luxembourg authorities levied against Amazon last year remains the biggest to be issued by an EU-based data regulator to date (though the retail giant is still believed to be appealing).

The report also revealed a notable increase in focus by supervisory authorities on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), while the volume of data breaches reported to regulators decreased slightly against the previous year’s total.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3685789/european-data-protection-authorities-issue-record-2-92-billion-in-gdpr-fines.html#tk.rss_news

• PayPal Accounts Breached in Large-Scale Credential Stuffing Attack

PayPal is sending out data breach notifications to thousands of users who had their accounts accessed through credential stuffing attacks that exposed some personal data.

Credential stuffing are attacks where hackers attempt to access an account by trying out username and password pairs sourced from data leaks on various websites. This type of attack relies on an automated approach with bots running lists of credentials to "stuff" into login portals for various services. Credential stuffing targets users that employ the same password for multiple online accounts, which is known as "password recycling."

PayPal explains that the credential stuffing attack occurred between December 6 and December 8, 2022. The company detected and mitigated it at the time but also started an internal investigation to find out how the hackers obtained access to the accounts. By December 20, 2022, PayPal concluded its investigation, confirming that unauthorised third parties logged into the accounts with valid credentials. The electronic payments platform claims that this was not due to a breach on its systems and has no evidence that the user credentials were obtained directly from them.

According to the data breach reporting from PayPal, 34,942 of its users have been impacted by the incident. During the two days, hackers had access to account holders' full names, dates of birth, postal addresses, social security numbers, and individual tax identification numbers. Transaction histories, connected credit or debit card details, and PayPal invoicing data are also accessible on PayPal accounts.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/paypal-accounts-breached-in-large-scale-credential-stuffing-attack/

• Royal Mail Boss to Face MPs’ Questions Over Russian Ransomware Attack

Royal Mail’s chief executive faced questions from MPs last week over the Russia-linked ransomware attack that caused international deliveries to grind to a halt.

Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, was asked about the recent cyber attack when he appeared before the Commons Business Select Committee to discuss Royal Mail’s response to the cyber attack at the evidence session on Tuesday Jan 17.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Royal Mail has been subject to a cyber incident that is affecting our international export service. We are focused on restoring this service as soon as we are able.”

Royal Mail was forced to suspend all outbound international post after machines used for printing customs dockets were disabled by the Russia-linked Lockbit cyber crime gang. Lockbit’s attackers used ransomware, malicious software that scrambles vital computer files before the gang demands payment to unlock them again. The software also took over printers at Royal Mail’s international sorting offices and caused ransom notes to “spout” from them, according to reports.

Cyber security industry sources cautioned that while Lockbit is known to be Russian in origin, it is not known whether a stolen copy of the gang’s signature ransomware had been deployed by rival hackers.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/01/13/royal-mail-boss-face-mps-questions-russian-ransomware-attack/

• Third-Party Risk Management: Why 2023 Could be the Perfect Time to Overhaul your TPRM Program

Ensuring risk caused by third parties does not occur to your organisation is becoming increasingly difficult. Every business outsources some aspects of its operations, and ensuring these external entities are a strength and not a weakness isn’t always a straightforward process.

In the coming years we’ll see organisations dedicate more time and resources to developing detailed standards and assessments for potential third-party vendors. Not only will this help to mitigate risk within their supply chain network, it will also provide better security.

As demand for third-party risk management (TPRM) grows, there are key reasons why we believe 2023 could be pivotal for the future of your organisation’s TPRM program, cyber risk being principal amongst them.

Forrester predicted that 60% of security incidents in 2022 would stem from third parties. In 2021 there was a 300% increase in supply chain attacks, a trend that has continued to increase over the past 12 months also. For example, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota was forced to completely shut down its operations due to a security breach with a third-party plastics supplier.

It’s not only the frequency of third-party attacks that has increased, but also the methods that cyber criminals are using are becoming increasingly sophisticated. For example, the SolarWinds cyber breach in 2020 was so advanced that Microsoft estimated it took over a thousand engineers to stop the impact of the attack.

As the sophistication and frequency of supply chain attacks increases, the impact they have on businesses reputations and valuations is also becoming apparent. There is a need for organisations to conduct thorough due diligence of the third parties they choose to work with, otherwise the consequences could be disastrous.

Remember always that cyber security should be a non-negotiable feature of all business transactions.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/third-party-risk-management-why-2023-could-be-the-perfect-time-to-overhaul-your-tprm-program/

• EU Cyber Resilience Regulation Could Translate into Millions in Fines

The EU Commission’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is intended to close the digital fragmentation problem surrounding devices and systems with network connections – from printers and routers to smart household appliances and industrial control systems. Industrial networks and critical infrastructures require special protection.

According to the European Union, there is currently a ransomware attack every eleven seconds. In the last few weeks alone, among others, a leading German children’s food manufacturer and a global Tier1 automotive supplier headquartered in Germany were hit, with the latter becoming the victim of a massive ransomware attack. Such an attack even led to insolvency at the German manufacturer Prophete in January 2023. To press manufacturers, distributors and importers into action, they face significant penalties if security vulnerabilities in devices are discovered and not properly reported and closed.

“The pressure on the industry – manufacturers, distributors and importers – is growing immensely. The EU will implement this regulation without compromise, even though there are still some work packages to be done, for example regarding local country authorities,” says Jan Wendenburg, CEO, ONEKEY.

The financial fines for affected manufacturers and distributors are therefore severe: up to 15 million euros or 2.5 percent of global annual revenues in the past fiscal year – the larger number counts. “This makes it absolutely clear: there will be substantial penalties on manufacturers if the requirements are not implemented,” Wendenburg continues.

Manufacturers, distributors and importers are required to notify ENISA – the European Union’s cyber security agency – within 24 hours if a security vulnerability in one of their products is exploited. Exceeding the notification deadlines is already subject to sanctions.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/19/eu-cyber-resilience-regulation-fines/

• Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions for Malicious Purposes

Russian cyber-criminals have been observed on dark web forums trying to bypass OpenAI’s API restrictions to gain access to the ChatGPT chatbot for nefarious purposes.

Various individuals have been observed, for instance, discussing how to use stolen payment cards to pay for upgraded users on OpenAI (thus circumventing the limitations of free accounts). Others have created blog posts on how to bypass the geo controls of OpenAI, and others still have created tutorials explaining how to use semi-legal online SMS services to register to ChatGPT.

“Generally, there are a lot of tutorials in Russian semi-legal online SMS services on how to use it to register to ChatGPT, and we have examples that it is already being used,” wrote Check Point Research (CPR). “It is not extremely difficult to bypass OpenAI’s restricting measures for specific countries to access ChatGPT,” said Check Point. “Right now, we are seeing Russian hackers already discussing and checking how to get past the geofencing to use ChatGPT for their malicious purposes.”

They added that they believe these hackers are most likely trying to implement and test ChatGPT in their day-to-day criminal operations. “Cyber-criminals are growing more and more interested in ChatGPT because the AI technology behind it can make a hacker more cost-efficient,” they explained.

Case in point, just last week, Check Point Research published a separate advisory highlighting how threat actors had already created malicious tools using ChatGPT. These included infostealers, multi-layer encryption tools and dark web marketplace scripts.

More generally, the cyber security firm is not the only one believing ChatGPT could democratise cyber crime, with various experts warning that the AI bot could be used by potential cyber-criminals to teach them how to create attacks and even write ransomware.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/russian-hackers-to-bypass-chatgpt/

• New Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence

Cyber security firm Coalfire this week unveiled its second annual State of CISO Influence report, which explores the expanding influence of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and other security leaders.

The report revealed that the CISO role is maturing quickly, and the position is experiencing more equity in the boardroom. In the last year alone, there was a 10-point uptick in CISOs doing monthly reporting to the board. These positive outcomes likely stem from the increasingly metrics-driven reporting CISOs provide, where data is more effectively leveraged to connect security outcomes to business objectives.

An especially promising development in this year's report is how security teams are being looped into corporate projects. Of the security leaders surveyed, 78% say they are consulted early in project development when business objectives are first identified, and two-thirds are now making presentations to the highest levels of enterprise authority. 56% of CISOs present security metrics to their CEOs, up from 43% in 2021.

Cloud migration was universally identified as one of those top business objectives. The move to the cloud saddles CISOs with many challenges. The top priorities listed by CISOs include dealing with an expanding attack surface, staffing, and new compliance requirements — all within constrained budgets. In fact, 43% of security leaders said their budgets remained static or were reduced following business migration to the cloud.

Given these challenges, leading CISOs are transforming their approaches. To address multiple cloud compliance requirements, security leaders are focusing on the most onerous set of rules and creating separate environments for different requirements. Risk assessments were identified as the key tool used to secure funding for these and other cyber initiatives and to set top priorities.

"Costs and risks are up, while at the same time, cyber budgets are trending flat or down," said Colefire. "Cyber security has historically been lower in priority for organisations, but we are witnessing a big shift in enterprise cyber expectations. CISOs are rising to meet those expectations, speaking to the business, and as a result, solidifying their role in the C-suite."

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/new-coalfire-report-reveals-cisos-rising-influence

• ChatGPT and its Perilous Use as a "Force Multiplier" for Cyber Attacks

As a form of OpenAI technology, ChatGPT has the ability to mimic natural language and human interaction with remarkable efficiency. However, from a cyber security perspective, this also means it can be used in a variety of ways to lower the bar for threat actors.

One key method is the ability for ChatGPT to draft cunning phishing emails en masse. By feeding ChatGPT with minimal information, it can create content and entire emails that will lure unsuspecting victims to provide their passwords. With the right API setup, thousands of unique, tailored, and sophisticated phishing emails can be sent almost simultaneously.

Another interesting capability of ChatGPT is the ability to write malicious code. While OpenAI has put some controls in place to prevent ChatGPT from creating malware, it is possible to convince ChatGPT to create ransomware and other forms of malware as code that can be copied and pasted into an integrated development environment (IDE) and used to compile actual malware. ChatGPT can also be used to identify vulnerabilities in code segments and reverse engineer applications.

ChatGPT will expedite a trend that is already wreaking havoc across sectors – lowering the bar for less sophisticated threat actors, enabling them to conduct attacks while evading security controls and bypassing advanced detection mechanisms. And currently, there is not much that organisations can do about it. ChatGPT represents a technological marvel that will usher in a new era, not just for the cyber security space.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sj0lfp11oi

• Mailchimp Discloses a New Security Breach, the Second One in 6 Months

The popular email marketing and newsletter platform Mailchimp was hacked twice in the past six months. The news of a new security breach was confirmed by the company; the incident exposed the data of 133 customers.

Threat actors targeted the company’s employees and contractors to gain access to an internal support and account admin tool.

“On January 11, the Mailchimp Security team identified an unauthorised actor accessing one of our tools used by Mailchimp customer-facing teams for customer support and account administration. The unauthorised actor conducted a social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees and contractors, and obtained access to select Mailchimp accounts using employee credentials compromised in that attack.” reads the notice published by the company. “Based on our investigation to date, this targeted incident has been limited to 133 Mailchimp accounts.”

The malicious activity was discovered on January 11, 2023; in response to the intrusion the company temporarily suspended access for impacted accounts. The company also notified the primary contacts for all affected accounts less than 24 hours after the initial discovery.

https://securityaffairs.com/140997/data-breach/mailchimp-security-breach.html

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Yum Brands says nearly 300 restaurants in UK impacted due to cyber attack | Reuters

• Royal Mail boss to face MPs’ questions over Russian ransomware attack (telegraph.co.uk)

• What is LockBit ransomware and how does it operate? | Royal Mail | The Guardian

• How cyber-attack on Royal Mail has left firms in limbo - BBC News

• Royal Mail restarts limited overseas post after cyber-attack - BBC News

• How Royal Mail’s hacker became the world’s most prolific ransomware group | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Ransomware Trends In Q4 2022: Key Findings And Recommendations (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Microsoft: Cuba ransomware hacking Exchange servers via OWASSRF flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft retracts its report on Mac ransomware (techrepublic.com)

• Royal Mail operations hub in Mallusk hit by ‘cyber attack’ as printer spurts out ransom demands - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

• Ransomware Dips During 2022: Are Cyber attacks Slowing or Just a Blip? - MSSP Alert

• Up to 1,000 ships affected by DNV ransomware attack - Splash247

• Avast releases free BianLian ransomware decryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society ransomware leaks University of Duisburg-Essen’s data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attack cuts 1,000 ships off from on-shore servers • The Register

• Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack | Computer Weekly

• Cyber-crime gangs' earnings slide as victims refuse to pay - BBC News

• Ransomware gang steals data from KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut brand owner (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• How AI chatbot ChatGPT changes the phishing game | CSO Online

• The big risk in the most-popular, and aging, big tech email programs (cnbc.com)

• Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security

• Is it your bank or a scam? How to deal with phishing attacks | Economy and Business | EL PAÍS English Edition

• Fake DHL emails allow hackers to breach Microsoft 365 accounts (msn.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Techniques that attackers use to trick victims into visiting malicious content - Help Net Security

• Mailchimp slips up again, suffers security breach after falling on social engineering banana skin • Graham Cluley

• As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)

2FA/MFA

• CircleCI's hack caused by malware stealing engineer's 2FA-backed session (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Importance of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - MSSP Alert

Malware

• Qbot Overtakes Emotet in December 2022's Most Wanted Malware List - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• IcedID Malware Strikes Again: Active Directory Domain Compromised in Under 24 Hours (thehackernews.com)

• New Backdoor Created Using Leaked CIA's Hive Malware Discovered in the Wild (thehackernews.com)

• CircleCI Confirms Data Breach Was Caused By Infostealer on Employee Laptop - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Experts spotted a backdoor that borrows code from CIA's Hive malware - Security Affairs

• ChatGPT Creates Polymorphic Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)

• New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Malicious ‘Lolip0p’ PyPi packages install info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers exploit Cacti critical bug to install malware, open reverse shells (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers can use GitHub Codespaces to host and deliver malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Batloader Malware Abuses Legitimate Tools Uses Obfuscated JavaScript Files in Q4 2022 Attacks (trendmicro.com)

• Hackers turn to Google search ads to push info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to spot a cyberbot – five tips to keep your device safe (theconversation.com)

Mobile

• New 'Hook' Android malware lets hackers remotely control your phone (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Roaming Mantis’ Android malware adds DNS changer to hack WiFi routers (bleepingcomputer.com)

Botnets

• How to spot a cyberbot – five tips to keep your device safe (theconversation.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Russian hacktivists NoName057 offer cash for DDoS attacks (techmonitor.ai)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Smart appliances could stop working after two years, says Which? - BBC News

Data Breaches/Leaks

• 6,000+ Customer Accounts Breached, NortonLifeLock Alert Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• 1.7 TB of data from digital intelligence firm Cellebrite leaked online - Security Affairs

• CircleCI Confirms Data Breach Was Caused By Infostealer on Employee Laptop - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LastPass faces mounting criticism over recent breach | TechTarget

• Mailchimp Suffers Another Security Breach Compromising Some Customers' Information (thehackernews.com)

• Mailchimp discloses a new incident, the second one in 6 months - Security Affairs

• Timeline of the latest LastPass data breaches | CSO Online

• PayPal Breach Exposed PII of Nearly 35K Accounts (darkreading.com)

• T-Mobile US says hacker accessed personal data of 37 million customers • TechCrunch

• Twitter says leaked emails not hacked from its systems - BBC News

• Hacked! My Twitter user data is out on the dark web -- now what? | ZDNET

• Twitter sued over data leak that it denied was caused by a flaw | Business

• Nissan North America data breach caused by vendor-exposed database (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 18k Nissan Customers Affected by Data Breach at Third-Party Software Developer | SecurityWeek.Com

• Third-party administrator hack leads to theft of patient data for over 251K | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russia's Ukraine War Drives 62% Slump in Stolen Cards - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Crypto exchanges freeze accounts tied to North Korea • The Register

• Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs

• FTX Says $415 Million Of Its Crypto Assets Was Hacked (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Google Ads-delivered malware drains NFT influencer’s entire crypto wallet (cointelegraph.com)

• Bitcoin is a ‘hyped-up fraud’, says JP Morgan chief (telegraph.co.uk)

• International Arrests Over 'Criminal' Crypto Exchange | SecurityWeek.Com

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• A $175 Million Dollar Blunder: How A 30-Year-Old Entrepreneur Allegedly Defrauded JP Morgan With 4 Million Fake Email Accounts | Celebrity Net Worth

• Opinion: These online scams to steal your money will shock you -- even if you think you've seen them all - MarketWatch

• Young people warned not to be exploited as ‘money mules’ for UK criminal gangs | Crime | The Guardian

• Hacker stole credit cards from Canada alcohol retailer LCBO - Security Affairs

• Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs

• New York man defrauded thousands using credit cards sold on dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FTX Says $415 Million Of Its Crypto Assets Was Hacked (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• The US Has a Massive Money Transfer Surveillance Apparatus (gizmodo.com)

• The threat of location spoofing and fraud - Help Net Security

• HUMAN Security Stops VASTFLUX Digital Ad Fraud Operation - MSSP Alert

• International Arrests Over 'Criminal' Crypto Exchange | SecurityWeek.Com

Insurance

• Millions of Insurance Customers Compromised Via Supplier - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Dark Web

• Russia's Ukraine War Drives 62% Slump in Stolen Cards - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New York man defrauded thousands using credit cards sold on dark web (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Illegal Solaris darknet market hijacked by competitor Kraken (bleepingcomputer.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• CircleCI, LastPass, Okta, and Slack: Cyber attackers Pivot to Target Core Enterprise Tools (darkreading.com)

• Third-Party Risk Management: Why 2023 Could Be The Perfect Time To Overhaul Your TPRM Program (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• The Dangers of Default Cloud Configurations (darkreading.com)

• Report: Cloud-based networks under growing attack • The Register

• Data Security in Multicloud: Limit Access, Increase Visibility (darkreading.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries found through modern fuzzing - Help Net Security

• teiss - Cyber Threats - Managing the treat from quantum computers

• Threats Of Quantum: The Solution Lies In Quantum Cryptography (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security

• TLS Connection Cryptographic Protocol Vulnerabilities (trendmicro.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Compromise of employee device, credentials led to CircleCI breach | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• PayPal accounts breached in large-scale credential stuffing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Timeline of the latest LastPass data breaches | CSO Online

• NortonLifeLock: threat actors breached Norton Password Manager accounts - Security Affairs

Social Media

• Twitter says leaked emails not hacked from its systems - BBC News

• Hacked! My Twitter user data is out on the dark web -- now what? | ZDNET

• French CNIL fined Tiktok $5.4 Million for violating cookie laws - Security Affairs

Malvertising

• Hackers turn to Google search ads to push info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Ads-delivered malware drains NFT influencer’s entire crypto wallet (cointelegraph.com)

• HUMAN Security Stops VASTFLUX Digital Ad Fraud Operation - MSSP Alert

Training, Education and Awareness

• Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security

• As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• GDPR Fines Surge 168% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• European data protection authorities issue record €2.92 billion in GDPR fines | CSO Online

• State of data privacy laws in 2023 | TechTarget

• How data protection is evolving in a digital world - Help Net Security

• EU cyber resilience regulation could translate into millions in fines - Help Net Security

• UN Hearing On Proposed Cyber Crime Treaty: Legal Measures To Tackle Cyber Crimes (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Online safety bill: Attempt to jail tech bosses ‘could backfire’ | News | The Times

• Culture secretary examines plans to punish tech bosses over online harms | Financial Times (ft.com)

• French CNIL fined Tiktok $5.4 Million for violating cookie laws - Security Affairs

• State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop

• How Would the FTC Rule on Noncompetes Affect Data Security? (darkreading.com)

• The US Has a Massive Money Transfer Surveillance Apparatus (gizmodo.com)

• What are International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations? (techtarget.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Technology is a fragile machine that seems to power everything | Android Central

• Third-Party Risk Management: Why 2023 Could Be The Perfect Time To Overhaul Your TPRM Program (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security

• New Coalfire Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence (darkreading.com)

• Cost of data breaches to global businesses at five-year high- IT Security Guru

• Experts at Davos 2023 sound the alarm on cyber security | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• Why Mean Time to Repair Is Not Always A Useful Security Metric (darkreading.com)

• Why are there so many cyber attacks lately? An explainer on the rising trend | Globalnews.ca

• How To Build A Network Of Security Champions In Your Organisation (forbes.com)

• EU cyber resilience regulation could translate into millions in fines - Help Net Security

• What is Business Attack Surface Management? (trendmicro.com)

• How to build a cyber-resilience culture in the enterprise | TechTarget

• Why Businesses Need to Think Like Hackers This Year (darkreading.com)

• How to prioritize resilience in the face of cyber-attacks | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

• #WEF23: Geopolitical Instability Means a Cyber “Catastrophe” is Imminent - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber-attack contributes to major Harrogate district firm posting £4.1m loss - The Stray Ferret

Data Protection

• GDPR Fines Surge 168% in a Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• European data protection authorities issue record €2.92 billion in GDPR fines | CSO Online

• How data protection is evolving in a digital world - Help Net Security

• State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop

• European Businesses Admit Major Privacy Skills Gap - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• New Coalfire Report Reveals CISOs Rising Influence (darkreading.com)

• IT Burnout may be Putting Your Organisation at Risk (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Sophos Joins List of Cyber security Companies Cutting Staff | SecurityWeek.Com

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Europol arrested cryptocurrency scammers that stole millions from victims - Security Affairs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• AI and privacy: Experts worry users may have already ‘traded a lot’ for services - National | Globalnews.ca

• State of data privacy laws in 2023 | TechTarget

• How data privacy and automation offer both challenges and opportunities in a fintech future | Kyndryl: The Heart of Progress | The Guardian

• UK supermarket uses facial recognition tech to track shoppers - Coda Story

• State legislators aren't waiting for Congress to regulate children's online privacy - CyberScoop

• European Businesses Admit Major Privacy Skills Gap - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions For Malicious Purposes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How AI chatbot ChatGPT changes the phishing game | CSO Online

• ChatGPT Opens New Opportunities for Cyber criminals: 5 Ways for Organisations to Get Ready (darkreading.com)

• ChatGPT and its perilous use as a "Force Multiplier" for cyber attacks | Ctech (calcalistech.com)

• AI and privacy: Experts worry users may have already ‘traded a lot’ for services - National | Globalnews.ca

• Potential threats and sinister implications of ChatGPT - Help Net Security

• Criminals seek OpenAI guardrail bypass, use ChatGPT for evil • The Register

• ChatGPT Creates Polymorphic Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Is ChatGPT a cyber security threat? | TechCrunch

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Over Four Billion People Affected By Internet Censorship in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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

• Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions For Malicious Purposes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Putin’s Russian cyber attacks could target UK’s infrastructure | News | The Times

• From phishing scams to propaganda: How Russia, rogue nations utilize cyber capabilities against the US | Fox News

• Industrial espionage: How China sneaks out America's technology secrets - BBC News

• Russia's Ukraine War Drives 62% Slump in Stolen Cards - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine blames Russia for most of over 2,000 cyber attacks in 2022 | Reuters

• Cyber  attacks have tripled in past year, says Ukraine’s cyber security agency | Ukraine | The Guardian

• Pro-Russian Hacktivist Group Targets Czech Presidential Election - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Beware: Tainted VPNs Being Used to Spread EyeSpy Surveillanceware (thehackernews.com)

• Is Elon Musk’s Starlink winning the war for Ukraine? | World | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

• Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group NoName057(16) Strikes Again (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Earth Bogle Group Targets Middle East With NjRAT, Geopolitical Lures - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russian hacktivists NoName057 offer cash for DDoS attacks (techmonitor.ai)

• Chinese APT Group Vixen Panda Targets Iranian Government Entities - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine links data-wiping attack on news agency to Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian hackers target Ukrainian press briefing about cyber attacks (axios.com)

• Chinese hackers targeted Iranian government entities for months: Report | CSO Online

• Myanmar Acquired Spyware From Israeli Cyber-intelligence Firm Cognyte, New Docs Reveal - National Security & Cyber - Haaretz.com

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russian Hackers Try to Bypass ChatGPT's Restrictions For Malicious Purposes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Putin’s Russian cyber attacks could target UK’s infrastructure | News | The Times

• From phishing scams to propaganda: How Russia, rogue nations utilize cyber capabilities against the US | Fox News

• Russia's Ukraine War Drives 62% Slump in Stolen Cards - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine blames Russia for most of over 2,000 cyber attacks in 2022 | Reuters

• Cyber attacks have tripled in past year, says Ukraine’s cyber security agency | Ukraine | The Guardian

• Pro-Russian Hacktivist Group Targets Czech Presidential Election - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Is Elon Musk’s Starlink winning the war for Ukraine? | World | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

• Pro-Russia Hacktivist Group NoName057(16) Strikes Again (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Russian hacktivists NoName057 offer cash for DDoS attacks (techmonitor.ai)

• Ukraine links data-wiping attack on news agency to Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian hackers target Ukrainian press briefing about cyber attacks (axios.com)

• Russians say they can download software from Intel again • The Register

• Nation State Actors – China

• Industrial espionage: How China sneaks out America's technology secrets - BBC News

• Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)

• New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• China wants 30 percent CAGR for its infosec industry • The Register

• Chinese APT Group Vixen Panda Targets Iranian Government Entities - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chinese hackers targeted Iranian government entities for months: Report | CSO Online

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Crypto exchanges freeze accounts tied to North Korea • The Register

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Chinese APT Group Vixen Panda Targets Iranian Government Entities - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chinese hackers targeted Iranian government entities for months: Report | CSO Online

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Earth Bogle Group Targets Middle East With NjRAT, Geopolitical Lures - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• The Top 10 Vulnerabilities of 2022: Mastering Vulnerability Management - Security Boulevard

• Why you don’t have to fix every vulnerability | CSO Online

• 3 Lessons Learned in Vulnerability Management (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Cisco won’t fix critical flaw in small business routers • The Register

• Unpatched Zoho ManageEngine Products Under Active Cyber attack (darkreading.com)

• Oracle's First Security Update for 2023 Includes 327 New Patches | SecurityWeek.Com

• Why it's time to review your on-premises Microsoft Exchange patch status | CSO Online

• Attackers Crafted Custom Malware for Fortinet Zero-Day (darkreading.com)

• New Chinese Malware Spotted Exploiting Recent Fortinet Firewall Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Cacti Servers Under Attack as Majority Fail to Patch Critical Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• PoC exploits released for critical bugs in popular WordPress plugins (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries found through modern fuzzing - Help Net Security

• Microsoft: Exchange Server 2013 reaches end of support in 90 days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• AMD Revealed 31 Vulnerabilities Within Its Processor Lines, Ryzen & EPYC CPUs Included (wccftech.com)

• Hackers are using this old trick to dodge security protections | ZDNET

• Attackers deploy sophisticated Linux implant on Fortinet network security devices | CSO Online

• Researchers to release PoC exploit for critical Zoho RCE bug, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MSI accidentally breaks Secure Boot for hundreds of motherboards (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Git security vulnerabilities announced | The GitHub Blog

• Microsoft fixes SSRF vulnerabilities found in Azure services | TechTarget

• Over 4,000 Sophos Firewall devices vulnerable to RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Mozilla Releases Security Updates for Firefox | CISA

• Critical Security Vulnerabilities Discovered in Netcomm and TP-Link Routers (thehackernews.com)

• Exploited Control Web Panel Flaw Added to CISA 'Must-Patch' List | SecurityWeek.Com

• Two critical flaws discovered in Git system - Security Affairs

• Vendors Actively Bypass Security Patch for Year-Old Magento Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cisco Patches High-Severity SQL Injection Vulnerability in Unified CM | SecurityWeek.Com

• CVE-2022-47966: Rapid7 Observed Exploitation of Critical ManageEngine Vulnerability | Rapid7 Blog

• Critical Microsoft Azure RCE flaw impacted multiple services - Security Affairs

• New Microsoft Azure Vulnerability Uncovered — EmojiDeploy for RCE Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Cross-site forgery bug would facilitate remote code execution in Microsoft Azure services | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

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Tools and Controls

• Training, endpoint management reduce remote working cyber security risks - Help Net Security

• Why encrypting emails isn't as simple as it sounds - Help Net Security

• As Social Engineering Tactics Change, So Must Your Security Training (darkreading.com)

• Zero trust network access for Desktop as a Service - Help Net Security

• How to prioritize resilience in the face of cyber-attacks | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 13 January 2023

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

• Quarter of UK SMBs Hit by Ransomware in 2022

Over one in four (26%) British SMBs have been targeted by ransomware over the past year, with half (47%) of those compromised paying their extorters, according to new data from anti-virus provider Avast. The security vendor polled 1000 IT decision makers from UK SMBs back in October, to better understand the risk landscape over the previous 12 months.

More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents said they are more concerned about being attacked since the start of the war in Ukraine, fuelling concerns that have led to half (50%) investing in cyber-insurance. They’re wise to do so, considering that 41% of those hit by ransomware lost data, while 34% lost access to devices, according to Avast.

Given that SMBs comprise over 99% of private sector businesses in the country, it’s reassuring that cyber is now being viewed as a major business risk. Nearly half (48%) ranked it as one of the biggest threats they currently face, versus 66% who cited financial risk stemming from surging operational cost. More respondents cited cyber as a top threat than did physical security (35%) and supply chain disruption (33%).

Avast argued that SMBs are among the groups most vulnerable to cyber-threats as they often have very limited budget and resources, and many don’t have somebody on staff managing security holistically. As a result, not only are SMB’s lacking in their defence, but they’re also slower and less able to react to incidents.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/quarter-of-uk-smbs-hit-ransomware/

• Global Cyber Attack Volume Surges 38% in 2022

The number of cyber attacks recorded last year was nearly two-fifths (38%) greater than the total volume observed in 2021, according to Check Point.

The security vendor claimed the increase was largely due to a surge in attacks on healthcare organisations, which saw the largest year-on-year (YoY) increase (74%), and the activities of smaller, more agile hacking groups.

Overall, attacks reached an all-time high in Q4 with an average of 1168 weekly attacks per organisation. The average weekly figures for the year were highest for education sector organisations (2314), government and military (1661) and healthcare (1463).

Threat actors appear to have capitalised on gaps in security created by the shift to remote working. The ransomware ecosystem is continuing to evolve and grow with smaller, more agile criminal groups that form to evade law enforcement. Hackers are also now increasingly widening their aim to target business collaboration tools such as Slack, Teams, OneDrive and Google Drive with phishing exploits. These make for a rich source of sensitive data given that most organisations’ employees continue to work remotely.

It is predicted that AI tools like ChatGPT would help to fuel a continued surge in attacks in 2023 by making it quicker and easier for bad actors to generate malicious code and emails.

Recorded cyber-attacks on US organisations grew 57% YoY in 2022, while the figure was even higher in the UK (77%). This chimes with data from UK ISP Beaming, which found that 2022 was the busiest year on record for attacks. It recorded 687,489 attempts to breach UK businesses in 2022 – the equivalent of one attack every 46 seconds.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-cyberattack-volume-surges/

• 1 in 3 Organisations Do Not Provide Any Cyber Security Training to Remote Workers Despite the Majority of Employees Having Access to Critical Data

New research from cyber security provider Hornetsecurity has found that 33% of companies are not providing any cyber security awareness training to users who work remotely.

The study also revealed nearly three-quarters (74%) of remote staff have access to critical data, which is creating more risk for companies in the new hybrid working world.

Despite the current lack of training and employees feeling ill-equipped, almost half (44%) of respondents said their organisation plans to increase the percentage of employees that work remotely. The popularity of hybrid work, and the associated risks, means that companies must prioritise training and education to make remote working safe.

Traditional methods of controlling and securing company data aren't as effective when employees are working in remote locations and greater responsibility falls on the individual. Companies must acknowledge the unique risks associated with remote work and activate relevant security management systems, as well as empower employees to deal with a certain level of risk.

The independent survey, which quizzed 925 IT professionals from a range of business types and sizes globally, highlighted the security management challenges and employee cyber security risk when working remotely. The research revealed two core problems causing risk: employees having access to critical data, and not enough training being provided on how to manage cyber security or how to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack or breach.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/1-in-3-organizations-do-not-provide-any-cybersecurity-training-to-remote-workers-despite-a-majority-of-employees-having-access-to-critical-data

• AI-Generated Phishing Attacks Are Becoming More Convincing

It's time for you and your colleagues to become more sceptical about what you read.

That's a takeaway from a series of experiments undertaken using GPT-3 AI text-generating interfaces to create malicious messages designed to spear-phish, scam, harass, and spread fake news.

Experts at WithSecure have described their investigations into just how easy it is to automate the creation of credible yet malicious content at incredible speed. Amongst the use cases explored by the research were the use of GPT-3 models to create:

• Phishing content – emails or messages designed to trick a user into opening a malicious attachment or visiting a malicious link

• Social opposition – social media messages designed to troll and harass individuals or to cause brand damage

• Social validation – social media messages designed to advertise or sell, or to legitimise a scam

• Fake news – research into how well GPT-3 can generate convincing fake news articles of events that weren’t part of its training set

All of these could, of course, be useful to cyber criminals hell-bent on scamming the unwary or spreading unrest.

https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/ai-generated-phishing-attacks-are-becoming-more-convincing

• Customer and Employee Data the Top Prize for Hackers

The theft of customer and employee data accounts for almost half (45%) of all stolen data between July 2021 and June 2022, according to a new report from cyber security solution provider Imperva.

The data is part of a 12-month analysis by Imperva Threat Research on the trends and threats related to data security in its report “More Lessons Learned from Analysing 100 Data Breaches”.

Their analysis found that theft of credit card information and password details dropped by 64% compared to 2021. The decline in stolen credit card and password data pointing to the uptake of basic security tactics like multi-factor authentication (MFA). However, in the long term, PII data is the most valuable data to cyber-criminals. With enough stolen PII, they can engage in full-on identity theft which is hugely profitable and very difficult to prevent. Credit cards and passwords can be changed the second there is a breach, but when PII is stolen, it can be years before it is weaponised by hackers.

The research also revealed the root causes of data breaches, with social engineering (17%) and unsecured databases (15%) two of the biggest culprits. Misconfigured applications were only responsible for 2% of data breaches, but Imperva said that businesses should expect this figure to rise in the near future, particularly with cloud-managed infrastructure where configuring for security requires significant expertise.

It’s really concerning that a third (32%) of data breaches are down to unsecured databases and social engineering attacks, since they’re both straightforward to mitigate. A publicly open database dramatically increases the risk of a breach and, all too often, they are left like this not out of a failure of security practices but rather the total absence of any security posture at all.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/customer-employee-data-hackers/

• Royal Mail hit by Ransomware Attack, Causes ‘Severe Disruption’ to Services

Royal Mail experienced “severe service disruption” to its international export services following a ransomware attack, the company has announced. A statement said it was temporarily unable to despatch export items including letters and parcels to overseas destinations.

Royal Mail said: “We have asked customers temporarily to stop submitting any export items into the network while we work hard to resolve the issue” and advising that “Some customers may experience delay or disruption to items already shipped for export.”

The attack was later attributed to LockBit, a prolific ransomware gang with close ties to Russia. Both the NCSC and the NCA were involved in responding to the incident.

https://www.independent.co.uk/business/royal-mail-cyber-attack-exports-b2260308.html

• The Guardian Confirms Personal Information Compromised in Ransomware Attack

British news organisation The Guardian has confirmed that personal information was compromised in a ransomware attack in December 2022.

The company fell victim to the attack just days before Christmas, when it instructed staff to work from home, announcing network disruptions that mostly impacted the print newspaper.

Right from the start, the Guardian said it suspected ransomware to have been involved in the incident, and this week the company confirmed that this was indeed the case. In an email to staff on Wednesday, The Guardian Media Group’s chief executive and the Guardian’s editor-in-chief said that the sophisticated cyber attack was likely the result of phishing.

They also announced that the personal information of UK staff members was compromised in the attack, but said that reader data and the information of US and Australia staff was not impacted. “We have seen no evidence that any data has been exposed online thus far and we continue to monitor this very closely,” the Guardian representatives said. While the attack forced the Guardian staff to work from home, online publishing has been unaffected, and production of daily newspapers has continued as well.

“We believe this was a criminal ransomware attack, and not the specific targeting of the Guardian as a media organisation,” the Guardian said.

The company continues to work on recovery and estimates that critical systems would be restored in the next two weeks. Staff, however, will continue to work from home until at least early February. “These attacks have become more frequent and sophisticated in the past three years, against organisations of all sizes, and kinds, in all countries,” the Guardian said.

https://www.securityweek.com/guardian-confirms-personal-information-compromised-ransomware-attack

• Ransomware Gang Releases Info Stolen from 14 UK Schools, Including Passport Scans

Another month, another release of personal information stolen from a school system. This time, it's a group of 14 schools in the United Kingdom.

Once again, the perpetrator appears to be Vice Society, which is well known for targeting educational systems in the US. As the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) pointed out in a bulletin from Sept. 6, "K-12 institutions may be seen as particularly lucrative targets due to the amount of sensitive student data accessible through school systems or their managed service providers."

The UK hack may have turned up even more confidential information than the Los Angeles school system breach last year. As the BBC reported on Jan. 6, "One folder marked 'passports' contains passport scans for pupils and parents on school trips going back to 2011, whereas another marked 'contract' contains contractual offers made to staff alongside teaching documents on muscle contractions."

Some prominent school cyber attacks in the US include public school districts in Chicago, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. A new study from digital learning platform Clever claims that one in four schools experienced a cyber-incident over the past year, and according to a new report from security software vendor Emsisoft, at least 45 school districts and 44 higher learning institutions suffered ransomware attacks in 2022.

Schools are an attractive target as they are typically data-rich and resource-poor. Without proper resources in terms of dedicated staffing and the necessary tools and training to protect against cyber-attacks, schools can be a soft target. Many of the 14 schools hit by this latest leak are colleges and universities, but primary and secondary schools were also hit, according to the BBC's list.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/vice-society-releases-info-stolen-uk-schools-passport-scans

• The Dark Web’s Criminal Minds See Internet of Things as Next Big Hacking Prize

Cyber security experts say 2022 may have marked an inflection point due to the rapid proliferation of IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

Criminal groups buy and sell services, and one hot idea — a business model for a crime — can take off quickly when they realise that it works to do damage or to get people to pay. Attacks are evolving from those that shut down computers or stole data, to include those that could more directly wreak havoc on everyday life. IoT devices can be the entry points for attacks on parts of countries’ critical infrastructure, like electrical grids or pipelines, or they can be the specific targets of criminals, as in the case of cars or medical devices that contain software.

For the past decade, manufacturers, software companies and consumers have been rushing to the promise of Internet of Things devices. Now there are an estimated 17 billion in the world, from printers to garage door openers, each one packed with software (some of it open-source software) that can be easily hacked.

What many experts are anticipating is the day enterprising criminals or hackers affiliated with a nation-state figure out an easy-to-replicate scheme using IoT devices at scale. A group of criminals, perhaps connected to a foreign government, could figure out how to take control of many things at once – like cars, or medical devices. There have already been large-scale attacks using IoT, in the form of IoT botnets. In that case, actors leveraging unpatched vulnerabilities in IoT devices used control of those devices to carry out denial of service attacks against many targets. Those vulnerabilities are found regularly in ubiquitous products that are rarely updated.

In other words, the possibility already exists. It’s only a question of when a criminal or a nation decides to act in a way that targets the physical world at a large scale. There are a handful of companies, new regulatory approaches, a growing focus on cars as a particularly important area, and a new movement within the software engineering world to do a better job of incorporating cyber security from the beginning.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/09/the-dark-webs-criminal-minds-see-iot-as-the-next-big-hacking-prize.html

• Corrupted File to Blame for Computer Glitch which Grounded Every US Flight

A corrupted file has been blamed for a glitch on the Federal Aviation Administration's computer system which saw every flight grounded across the US.

All outbound flights were grounded until around 9am Eastern Time (2pm GMT) on Wednesday as the FAA worked to restore its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which alerts pilots of potential hazards along a flight route.

On Wednesday 4,948 flights within, into or out of the US had been delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware.com, while 868 had been cancelled. Most delays were concentrated along the East Coast. Normal air traffic operations resumed gradually across the US following the outage to the NOTAM system that provides safety information to flight crews.

A corrupted file affected both the primary and the backup systems, a senior government official told NBC News on Wednesday night, adding that officials continue to investigate. Whilst Government officials said there was no evidence of a cyber attack, it shows the real world impacts that an outage or corrupted file can cause.

https://news.sky.com/story/all-flights-across-us-grounded-due-to-faa-computer-system-glitch-us-media-12784252

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Royal Mail unable to despatch items abroad after 'cyber incident' | UK News | Sky News

• Lorenz ransomware gang plants backdoors to use months later (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Quarter of UK SMBs Hit by Ransomware in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Worldwide Ransomware Attacks Trend (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• LastPass Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Password Vault Breach (pcmag.com)

• 10 of the biggest ransomware attacks of 2022 | TechTarget

• Rackspace: Ransomware actor accessed 27 customers' data | TechTarget

• Hackers demand £15 million ransom from Hull and Yorkshire schools after cyber attack - Hull Live (hulldailymail.co.uk)

• Rackspace Ransomware Incident Highlights Risks of Relying on Mitigation Alone (darkreading.com)

• Risk & Repeat: Analysing the Rackspace ransomware attack | TechTarget

• Guardian confirms it was hit by ransomware attack | The Guardian | The Guardian

• Post-ransomware attack, The Guardian warns staff their personal data was accessed • Graham Cluley

• The Guardian Confirms Personal Information Compromised in Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

• Royal Mail cyber attack linked to LockBit ransomware operation (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Guardian Confirms UK Members' Data Was Accessed in Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Hive Ransomware leaked 550 GB stolen from Consulate Health Care - Security Affairs

• Iowa’s largest school district cancels classes after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers leak sensitive files after attack on San Francisco transit police (nbcnews.com)

• Vice Society ransomware claims attack on Australian firefighting service (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attack at Hope Sentamu Learning Trust in York | York Press

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• AI-generated phishing emails just got much more convincing • The Register

• Better Phishing, Easy Malicious Implants: How AI Could Change Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• AI-generated phishing attacks are becoming more convincing | Tripwire

• Twitter Data Leak: What the Exposure of 200 Million User Emails Means for You | WIRED

• New APT Dark Pink Hits Asia-Pacific, Europe With Spear Phishing Tactics - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Telegram Bot Abuse For Phishing Increased By 800% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Phishing campaign targets government institution in Moldova - Security Affairs

Malware

• Better Phishing, Easy Malicious Implants: How AI Could Change Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• Turla, a Russian Espionage Group, Piggybacked on Other Hackers' USB Infections | WIRED

• ChatGPT Used to Develop New Malicious Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russia’s Turla falls back on old malware C2 domains to avoid detection | Computer Weekly

• Many of 13 New Mac Malware Families Discovered in 2022 Linked to China | SecurityWeek.Com

• Dridex Malware Now Attacking macOS Systems with Novel Infection Method (thehackernews.com)

• New Spyware Variant with RAT Capabilities Targeting Financial Institutions, Social Media - MSSP Alert

• Over 1,300 fake AnyDesk sites push Vidar info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Attackers abuse business-critical cloud apps to deliver malware - Help Net Security

• New Analysis Reveals Raspberry Robin Can be Repurposed by Other Threat Actors (thehackernews.com)

• 6 PyPI Packages Detour Firewall Using Cloudflare Tunnels (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Microsoft: Kubernetes clusters hacked in malware campaign via PostgreSQL (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Malicious PyPi packages create CloudFlare Tunnels to bypass firewalls (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Gootkit Loader Actively Targets Australian Healthcare Industry (trendmicro.com)

• Raspberry Robin's botnet second life - SEKOIA.IO Blog

• Telegram Bot Abuse For Phishing Increased By 800% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• IcedID Malware Strikes Again: Active Directory Domain Compromised in Under 24 Hours (thehackernews.com)

• Android TV box on Amazon came pre-installed with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• VLC media player is being hiajcked to send out malware | TechRadar

• RAT malware campaign tries to evade detection using polyglot files (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Italian Users Warned of Malware Attack Targeting Sensitive Information (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers push fake Pokemon NFT game to take over Windows devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to protect yourself from bot-driven account fraud - Help Net Security

Mobile

• Android spyware strikes again targeting financial institutions and your money | Fox News

• Messenger billed as better than Signal is riddled with vulnerabilities | Ars Technica

• StrongPity hackers target Android users via trojanized Telegram app (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Threema claims encryption flaws never had a real-world impact (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Latest Firmware Flaws in Qualcomm Snapdragon Need Attention (darkreading.com)

• Threat actors claim access to Telegram servers through insiders - Security Affairs

• $20K Buys Insider Access to Telegram Servers, Dark Web Ad Claims (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• How to Defend Against any Type of DNS Attack | A10 Networks

• The most significant DDoS attacks in the past year - Help Net Security

• Multiple Danish Banks Disrupted By DDoS Cyber-Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Big Prizes, Cash on Offer for Joining 'DDosia' Anti-Ukraine Cyber attack Project (darkreading.com)

• New Study Uncovers Text-to-SQL Model Vulnerabilities Allowing Data Theft and DoS Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Serbia Slammed With DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• The dark web's criminal minds see IoT as the next big hacking prize (cnbc.com)

• Android TV box on Amazon came pre-installed with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers can trick Wi-Fi devices into draining their own batteries | New Scientist

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Twitter Data Leak: What the Exposure of 200 Million User Emails Means for You | WIRED

• 14 UK schools hit by cyber attack and documents leaked - BBC News

• Air France and KLM notify customers of account hacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society Releases Info Stolen From 14 UK Schools, Including Passport Scans (darkreading.com)

• Twitter's mushrooming data breach crisis could prove costly | CSO Online

• Twitter Denies Hacking Claims, Assures Leaked User Data Not from its System (thehackernews.com)

• 6 oversights that enable data breaches - Help Net Security

• CircleCI – code-building service suffers total credential compromise – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Aflac's Japan says US partner leaked cancer customer info • The Register

• Data leak exposes information of 10,000 French social security beneficiaries | CSO Online

• Chick-fil-A investigates reports of hacked customer accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Oxford University dating website for staff and students shut down after ‘huge data breach’ | News | The Times

• SolarWinds shareholders appeal Orion breach lawsuit to Delaware Supreme Court | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• JP Morgan must face suit over $272m cybertheft • The Register

• Cyber criminals are already using ChatGPT to own you | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Russian Cyber Crew Targets Ukraine Financial Sector Via Infected USB Drives - MSSP Alert

• 2022 Was the Biggest Year Yet for Crypto, if You're a Crook (gizmodo.com)

• Researchers Find 'Digital Crime Haven' While Investigating Magecart Activity (darkreading.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• 2022 Was the Biggest Year Yet for Crypto, if You're a Crook (gizmodo.com)

• European police takes down call centres behind cryptocurrency scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

• European cops shut down fake crypto call centres • The Register

• Kinsing Crypto Malware Hits Kubernetes Clusters via Misconfigured PostgreSQL (thehackernews.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• European police takes down call centres behind cryptocurrency scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Nationwide warns ‘checking is important’ as thousands targeted in online scam | Personal Finance |

• How to protect yourself from bot-driven account fraud - Help Net Security

Insurance

• Insurance Co. Beazley Launches $45M 'Cyber Catastrophe Bond' (gizmodo.com)

• Insurer Beazley launches first catastrophe bond for cyber threats | Financial Times (ft.com)

• 4 Cyber Insurance Requirement Predictions for 2023 (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

• Threat actors claim access to Telegram servers through insiders - Security Affairs

• $20K Buys Insider Access to Telegram Servers, Dark Web Ad Claims (darkreading.com)

• Pakistan tells government agencies to avoid the dark web • The Register

Software Supply Chain

• Software Supply Chain Security Needs a Bigger Picture (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Attackers abuse business-critical cloud apps to deliver malware - Help Net Security

• Top SaaS Cyber security Threats in 2023: Are You Ready? (thehackernews.com)

• Why Do User Permissions Matter for SaaS Security? (thehackernews.com)

Attack Surface Management

• Why the atomized network is growing, and how to protect it - Help Net Security

• Web 3.0 Shifts Attack Surface and Highlights Need for Continuous Security (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• 4 identity security trends to watch in 2023 - Help Net Security

Encryption

• RSA crypto cracked? Or perhaps not! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• What is Triple DES and why is it being disallowed? | TechTarget

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• A fifth of passwords used by federal agency cracked in security audit | Ars Technica

• Why FIDO and passwordless authentication is the future - Help Net Security

• 'Copyright Infringement' Lure Used for Facebook Credential Harvesting (darkreading.com)

• Why it might be time to consider using FIDO-based authentication devices | CSO Online

Social Media

• Twitter Data Leak: What the Exposure of 200 Million User Emails Means for You | WIRED

• Twitter's mushrooming data breach crisis could prove costly | CSO Online

• New Spyware Variant with RAT Capabilities Targeting Financial Institutions, Social Media - MSSP Alert

• Twitter Denies Hacking Claims, Assures Leaked User Data Not from its System (thehackernews.com)

• If governments are banning TikTok, why is it still on your corporate devices? | CSO Online

• 'Copyright Infringement' Lure Used for Facebook Credential Harvesting (darkreading.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• 1 in 3 Organisations Do Not Provide Any Cyber Security Training to Remote Workers Despite a Majority of Employees Having Access to Critical Data (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Technical And Legal Risks Of ChatGPT: How Prepared Are We With Laws On AI? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• US cyber security director: The tech ecosystem has ‘become really unsafe’ (yahoo.com)

• Global Cyber-Attack Volume Surges 38% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Customer and Employee Data the Top Prize for Hackers – Imperva - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 1 in 3 Organisations Do Not Provide Any Cyber Security Training to Remote Workers Despite a Majority of Employees Having Access to Critical Data (darkreading.com)

• Global Risks Report: Understand the risk landscape in 2023 and beyond - Help Net Security

• 6 oversights that enable data breaches - Help Net Security

• Why Analysing Past Incidents Helps Teams More Than Usual Security Metrics (darkreading.com)

• Cyber security spending and economic headwinds in 2023 | CSO Online

• How to Ensure Cyber Security Investments Remain a Priority Across Your Organisation (darkreading.com)

• Practical Risk Management - Beyond Certification (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Vulnerable software, low incident reporting raises risks | TechTarget

• How Will a Recession Will Affect CISOs? | SecurityWeek.Com

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Cyber security staff are struggling. Here's how to support them better | ZDNET

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• European cops shut down fake crypto call centres • The Register

• European police takes down call centres behind cryptocurrency scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Hidden Chinese tracking device 'found in UK Government car' sparks national security fears (inews.co.uk)

Artificial Intelligence

• AI-generated phishing emails just got much more convincing • The Register

• ChatGPT: The infosec assistant that is jack of all trades, master of none - Help Net Security

• How hackers might be exploiting ChatGPT | Cybernews

• Better Phishing, Easy Malicious Implants: How AI Could Change Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• VALL-E AI can mimic a person’s voice from a 3-second snippet • The Register

• ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence: An Upcoming Cyber security Threat? (darkreading.com)

• Hackers Exploiting OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Deploy Malware (hackread.com)

• Cyber criminals are already using ChatGPT to own you | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Trojan Puzzle attack trains AI assistants into suggesting malicious code (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The ChatGPT bot is causing panic now – but it’ll soon be as mundane a tool as Excel | John Naughton | The Guardian

• How hackers might be exploiting ChatGPT | Cybernews

• ChatGPT Used to Develop New Malicious Tools - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Technical And Legal Risks Of ChatGPT: How Prepared Are We With Laws On AI? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• DHS, CISA plan AI-based cyber security analytics sandbox • The Register

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

• Turla, a Russian Espionage Group, Piggybacked on Other Hackers' USB Infections | WIRED

• Russia’s Turla falls back on old malware C2 domains to avoid detection | Computer Weekly

• Hidden Chinese tracking device 'found in UK Government car' sparks national security fears (inews.co.uk)

• Ukraine: Russian Cyber-Attacks Should Be Considered War Crimes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New APT Dark Pink Hits Asia-Pacific, Europe With Spear Phishing Tactics - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Exclusive: Russian hackers targeted U.S. nuclear scientists | Reuters

• Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine halved with help from Amazon and Microsoft (telegraph.co.uk)

• Dark Pink, a newly discovered hacking campaign, threatens Southeast Asian military, government organisations (cyberscoop.com)

• New Dark Pink APT group targets govt and military with custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Big Prizes, Cash on Offer for Joining 'DDosia' Anti-Ukraine Cyber attack Project (darkreading.com)

• Phishing campaign targets government institution in Moldova - Security Affairs

• Serbia Slammed With DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

• Russian and Belarusian men charged with spying for Russian GRU - Security Affairs

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Turla, a Russian Espionage Group, Piggybacked on Other Hackers' USB Infections | WIRED

• Russia’s Turla falls back on old malware C2 domains to avoid detection | Computer Weekly

• Ukraine: Russian Cyber-Attacks Should Be Considered War Crimes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Exclusive: Russian hackers targeted U.S. nuclear scientists | Reuters

• Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine halved with help from Amazon and Microsoft (telegraph.co.uk)

• How Elon Musk’s Starlink has changed warfare | The Economist

• Big Prizes, Cash on Offer for Joining 'DDosia' Anti-Ukraine Cyber attack Project (darkreading.com)

• Phishing campaign targets government institution in Moldova - Security Affairs

• Serbia Slammed With DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

• Russian and Belarusian men charged with spying for Russian GRU - Security Affairs

• Musk's Starlink Satellite's Role In Ukraine War Inspires Taiwan To Thwart Potential China Attack

Nation State Actors – China

• Hidden Chinese tracking device 'found in UK Government car' sparks national security fears (inews.co.uk)

• Many of 13 New Mac Malware Families Discovered in 2022 Linked to China | SecurityWeek.Com

• If governments are banning TikTok, why is it still on your corporate devices? | CSO Online

• Musk's Starlink Satellite's Role In Ukraine War Inspires Taiwan To Thwart Potential China Attack

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iran says it foiled cyber attack on central bank | Reuters

Nation State Actors – Misc

• New APT Dark Pink Hits Asia-Pacific, Europe With Spear Phishing Tactics - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Dark Pink, a newly discovered hacking campaign, threatens Southeast Asian military, government organisations (cyberscoop.com)

• New Dark Pink APT group targets govt and military with custom malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Vulnerability Management

Applications Five Years or Older Likely to have Security Flaws - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Patch Where it Hurts: Effective Vulnerability Management in 2023 (thehackernews.com)

70% of apps contain at least one security flaw after 5 years in production - Help Net Security

Rackspace Ransomware Incident Highlights Risks of Relying on Mitigation Alone (darkreading.com)

Does a hybrid model for vulnerability management make sense? • Graham Cluley

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Patch Tuesday: 97 Windows Vulns, 1 Exploited Zero-Day | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft plugs actively exploited zero-day hole (CVE-2023-21674) - Help Net Security

• The Roadmap to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) - MSSP Alert

• Hundreds of SugarCRM servers infected with critical in-the-wild exploit | Ars Technica

• Chrome 109 Patches 17 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cyber criminals bypass Windows security with driver-vulnerability exploit | CSO Online

• Google Chrome 'SymStealer' Vulnerability Could Affect 2.5 Billion Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Attackers target govt networks exploiting Fortinet SSL-VPN CVE-2022-42475 - Security Affairs

• Adobe Plugs Security Holes in Acrobat, Reader Software | SecurityWeek.Com

• Zoom Patches High Risk Flaws on Windows, MacOS Platforms | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cisco warns of auth bypass bug with public exploit in EoL routers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Swiss Threema messaging app found to have vulnerabilities • The Register

• Alert: Hackers Actively Exploiting Critical "Control Web Panel" RCE Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Fortinet says hackers exploited critical vulnerability to infect VPN customers | Ars Technica

• Critical bug in Cisco Small Business Routers will receive no patch - Security Affairs

• Severe Vulnerabilities Allow Hacking of Asus Gaming Router | SecurityWeek.Com

• JsonWebToken Security Bug Opens Servers to RCE (darkreading.com)

• Latest Firmware Flaws in Qualcomm Snapdragon Need Attention (darkreading.com)

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Tools and Controls

• How to prevent and detect lateral movement attacks | TechTarget

• 65% of Organisations Plan to Adopt a Security Service Edge Platform in Next 2 Years: Axis Security (darkreading.com)

• How Will a Recession Will Affect CISOs? | SecurityWeek.Com

• What is Red Teaming & How it Benefits Orgs (trendmicro.com)

• Data Loss Prevention Capability Guide (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• 4 key shifts in the breach and attack simulation (BAS) market - Help Net Security

• How to prioritize effectively with threat modeling • The Register

• XDR and the Age-old Problem of Alert Fatigue | SecurityWeek.Com

• 11 top XDR tools and how to evaluate them | CSO Online

• Why FIDO and passwordless authentication is the future - Help Net Security

• Why it might be time to consider using FIDO-based authentication devices | CSO Online

• How to Defend Against any Type of DNS Attack | A10 Networks

• DHS, CISA plan AI-based cyber security analytics sandbox • The Register

• ChatGPT: The infosec assistant that is jack of all trades, master of none - Help Net Security

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Other News

• Better Include Physical Security With Cyber security | T&D World

• 6 oversights that enable data breaches - Help Net Security

• It’s official: Digital trust really matters to everyone online - Help Net Security

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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

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Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 06 January 2023

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 War in Ukraine, Ransomware Fears Drive 2022 Surge in Demand for Threat Intelligence Tools

Amid the heightened fear of ransomware in 2022, threat intelligence emerged as a core requirement of doing business in a world gone mad.

A sizable amount of interest in the historically tech-centric discipline was fuelled in part by fear of cyber attacks tied to the war between Russia and Ukraine. In one example, the Ukrainian government warned the world that the Russian military was planning for multi-pronged attacks targeting the energy sector. Other nation-state cyber attack operations also contributed to the demand, including one June 2022 incident were Iran’s Cobalt Mirage exploited PowerShell vulnerabilities to launch ransomware attacks.

And of course, headlines of data breaches tied to vulnerabilities that organisations did not even know existed within their networks caught the attention not just of security teams, but the C-Suite and corporate board. A misconfigured Microsoft server, for example, wound up exposing years of sensitive data for tens of thousands of its customers, including personally identifiable information, user data, product and project details and intellectual property.

Indeed, according to 183 security pros surveyed by CyberRisk Alliance Business Intelligence in June 2022, threat intelligence has become critical in arming their security operations centres (SOCs) and incident response teams with operational data to help them make timely, informed decisions to prevent system downtime, thwart the theft of confidential data, and protect intellectual property.

Threat intelligence has emerged as a useful tool for educating executives. Many also credited threat intelligence for helping them protect their company and customer data — and potentially saving their organisation's reputation.

https://www.scmagazine.com/resource/threat-intelligence/2022-year-in-review-threat-intelligence-tools

• Cyber Premiums Holding Firms to Ransom

Soaring premiums for cyber security insurance are leaving businesses struggling to pay other bills, a key industry player has warned.

Mactavish, which buys insurance policies on behalf of companies, said that more than half of big businesses that had bought cyber security insurance had been forced to make cuts elsewhere to pay for it.

In a survey of 200 companies with a turnover above £10 million, Mactavish found that businesses were reducing office costs and staff bonuses and were cutting other types of insurance to meet the higher payments.

Last month Marsh, an insurance broker, revealed that costs for cyber insurance had increased by an average of 66 per cent in the third quarter compared with last year.

Meanwhile, the risk to businesses from hackers continues to rise. A government report on digital threats, published this month, showed the proportion of businesses experiencing cyber security incidents at least monthly had increased from 53 per cent to 60 per cent in the past year. Uber, Cisco and InterContinental Hotels Group were among high-profile targets this year.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyber-safety-premiums-hold-firms-to-ransom-tnrsz3vs2

• Ransomware Ecosystem Becoming More Diverse for 2023

The ransomware ecosystem has changed significantly in 2022, with attackers shifting from large groups that dominated the landscape toward smaller ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations in search of more flexibility and drawing less attention from law enforcement. This democratisation of ransomware is bad news for organisations because it also brought in a diversification of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), more indicators of compromise (IOCs) to track, and potentially more hurdles to jump through when trying to negotiate or pay ransoms.

Since 2019 the ransomware landscape has been dominated by big and professionalised ransomware operations that constantly made the news headlines and even looked for media attention to gain legitimacy with potential victims. We've seen ransomware groups with spokespeople who offered interviews to journalists or issued "press releases" on Twitter and their data leak websites in response to big breaches.

The DarkSide attack against Colonial Pipeline that led to a major fuel supply disruption along the US East Coast in 2021 highlighted the risk that ransomware attacks can have against critical infrastructure and led to increased efforts to combat this threat at the highest levels of government. This heightened attention from law enforcement made the owners of underground cyber crime forums reconsider their relationship with ransomware groups, with some forums banning the advertising of such threats. DarkSide ceased operations soon thereafter and was followed later in the year by REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, whose creators were indicted and one was even arrested. REvil was one of the most successful ransomware groups since 2019.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 quickly put a strain on the relationship between many ransomware groups who had members and affiliates in both Russia and Ukraine, or other former USSR countries. Some groups, such as Conti, rushed to take sides in the war, threatening to attack Western infrastructure in support of Russia. This was a departure from the usual business-like apolitical approach in which ransomware gangs had run their operations and drew criticism from other competing groups.

This was also followed by a leak of internal communications that exposed many of Conti's operational secrets and caused uneasiness with its affiliates. Following a major attack against the Costa Rican government the US State Department put up a reward of $10 million for information related to the identity or location of Conti's leaders, which likely contributed to the group's decision to shut down operations in May.

Conti's disappearance led to a drop in ransomware activity for a couple of months, but it didn't last long as the void was quickly filled by other groups, some of them newly set up and suspected to be the creation of former members of Conti, REvil and other groups that ceased operations over the past two years.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3684248/ransomware-ecosystem-becoming-more-diverse-for-2023.html#tk.rss_news

• Attackers Evolve Strategies to Outmanoeuvre Security Teams

Attackers are expected to broaden their targeting strategy beyond regulated verticals such as financial services and healthcare. Large corporations (41%) will be the top targeted sector for cyber attacks in 2023, favoured over financial institutions (36%), government (14%), healthcare (9%), and education (8%), according to cyber security solution provider Titaniam.

The fast pace of change has introduced new vulnerabilities into corporate networks, making them an increasingly attractive target for cyber attackers. To compete in the digital marketplace, large companies are adopting more cloud services, aggregating data, pushing code into production faster, and connecting applications and systems via APIs.

As a result, misconfigured services, unprotected databases, little-tested applications, and unknown and unsecured APIs abound, all of which can be exploited by attackers.

The top four threats in 2022 were malware (30%), ransomware and extortion (27%), insider threats (26%), and phishing (17%).

The study found that enterprises expected malware (40%) to be their biggest challenge in 2023, followed by insider threats (26%), ransomware and related extortion (21%), and phishing (16%).

Malware, however, has more enterprises worried for 2023 than it did for 2022. It is important to note that these threats can overlap, where insiders can have a hand in ransomware attacks, phishing can be a source of malware, etc.

Attackers are evolving their strategies to surprise and outmanoeuvre security teams, which have hardened ransomware defences and improved phishing detection. They’re using new malware, such as loaders, infostealers, and wipers to accelerate attacks, steal sensitive data and create mayhem.

They’re also buying and stealing employee credentials to walk in through the front door of corporate networks.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/04/attackers-evolve-strategies-outmaneuver-security-teams/

• Building a Security-First Culture: The Key to Cyber Success

Everyone has heard a car alarm go off in the middle of the night, but how often does that notification actually lead to action? Most people will hear the alarm, glance in its direction and then hope the owner will quickly remedy the situation.

Cars alarms often fail because they go off too often, leading to apathy and annoyance instead of being a cause for emergency. For many, cyber security has also become this way. While we see an increase in the noise surrounding the need for organisations to improve the security skillset and knowledge base of employees, there continues to be little proactive action on this front. Most organisations only provide employees with elementary-grade security training, often during their initial onboarding process or as part of a standard training requirement.

At the same time, many organisations also make the grave mistake of leaving all of their security responsibilities and obligations in the hands of IT and security teams. Time and time again, this approach has proven to be highly ineffective, especially as cyber criminals refine their social engineering tactics and target user accounts to execute their attacks.

Alarmingly, recent research found that 30% of employees do not think that they play a role in maintaining their company’s cyber security posture. The same report also revealed that only 39% of employees say they are likely to report a security incident.

As traditional boundaries of access disintegrate and more employees obtain permissions to sensitive company data and systems to carry out their tasks, business leaders must change the mindset of their employees when it comes to the role they play in keeping the organisation safe from cyber crime. The key is developing an integrated cyber security strategy that incorporates all aspects—including all stakeholders—of the organisation. This should be a strategy that breaks down departmental barriers and creates a culture of security responsibility where every team member plays a part.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/01/03/building-a-security-first-culture-the-key-to-cyber-success/

• Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue

Back in November 2021, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalogue to help federal agencies and critical infrastructure organisations identify and remediate vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited. CISA added 548 new vulnerabilities to the catalogue across 58 updates from January to end of November 2022, according to cyber security solution provider Grey Noise in its first-ever "GreyNoise Mass Exploits Report."

Including the approximately 300 vulnerabilities added in November and December 2021, CISA listed approximately 850 vulnerabilities in the first year of the catalogue's existence.

Actively exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Apple products accounted for over half of the updates to the KEV catalogue in 2022, Grey Noise found. Seventy-seven percent of the updates to the KEV catalogue were older vulnerabilities dating back to before 2022. Many of these vulnerabilities have been around for two decades.

Several of the vulnerabilities in the KEV catalogue are from products that have already entered end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-service-life (EOSL), according to an analysis by a team from cyber security solution provider Cyber Security Works. Even though Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 are EOSL products, the KEV catalogue lists 127 Server 2008 vulnerabilities and 117 Windows 7 vulnerabilities.

Even though the catalogue was originally intended for critical infrastructure and public-sector organisations, it has become the authoritative source on which vulnerabilities are – or have been – exploited by attackers. This is key because the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) assigned Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifiers for over 12,000 vulnerabilities in 2022, and it would be unwieldy for enterprise defenders to assess every single one to identify the ones relevant to their environments. Enterprise teams can use the catalogue's curated list of CVEs under active attack to create their priority lists.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-threat-monitor/adobe-apple-cisco-microsoft-flaws-make-up-half-of-kev-catalog

• First LastPass, Now Slack and CircleCI. The Hacks Go On (and will likely worsen)

In the past week, the world has learned of serious breaches hitting chat service Slack and software testing and delivery company CircleCI, though giving the companies' opaque wording—“security issue” and “security incident,” respectively—you'd be forgiven for thinking these events were minor.

The compromises—in Slack’s case, the theft of employee token credentials and for CircleCI, the possible exposure of all customer secrets it stores—come two weeks after password manager LastPass disclosed its own security failure: the theft of customers’ password vaults containing sensitive data in both encrypted and clear text form. It’s not clear if all three breaches are related, but that’s certainly a possibility.

The most concerning of the two new breaches is the one hitting CircleCI. The company reported a “security incident” that prompted it to advise customers to rotate “all secrets” they store on the service. The alert also informed customers that it had invalidated their Project API tokens, an event requiring them to go through the hassle of replacing them.

CircleCI says it’s used by more than 1 million developers in support of 30,000 organisations and runs nearly 1 million daily jobs. The potential exposure of all those secrets—which could be login credentials, access tokens, and who knows what else—could prove disastrous for the security of the entire Internet.

It’s possible that some or all of these breaches are related. The Internet relies on a massive ecosystem of content delivery networks, authentication services, software development tool makers, and other companies. Threat actors frequently hack one company and use the data or access they obtain to breach that company's customers or partners. That was the case with the August breach of security provider Twilio. The same threat actor targeted 136 other companies. Something similar played out in the last days of 2020 when hackers compromised Solar Winds, gained control of its software build system, and used it to infect roughly 40 Solar Winds customers.

For now, people should brace themselves for additional disclosures from companies they rely on. Checking internal system logs for suspicious entries, turning on multifactor authentication, and patching network systems are always good ideas, but given the current events, those precautions should be expedited. It’s also worth checking logs for any contact with the IP address 54.145.167.181, which one security practitioner said was connected to the CircleCI breach.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/01/first-lastpass-now-slack-and-circleci-the-hacks-go-on-and-will-likely-worsen/

• Data of 235 Million Twitter Users Leaked Online

A data leak containing email addresses for 235 million Twitter users has been published on a popular hacker forum. Many experts have immediately analysed it and confirmed the authenticity of many of the entries in the huge leaked archive.

In January 2022, a report claimed the discovery of a vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker to find a Twitter account by the associated phone number/email, even if the user has opted to prevent this in the privacy options. The vulnerability was exploited by multiple threat actors to scrape Twitter user profiles containing both private (phone numbers and email addresses) and public data, and was present within the social media platforms application programming interface (API) from June 2021 until January 2022.

At the end of July 2022, a threat actor leaked data of 5.4 million Twitter accounts that were obtained by exploiting the forementioned, now-fixed vulnerability in the popular social media platform. The scraped data was then put up for sale on various online cyber crime marketplaces. In August, Twitter confirmed that the data breach was caused by a now-patched zero-day flaw.

In December another Twitter data leak made the headlines, a threat actor obtained data of 400,000,000 Twitter users and attempted to sell it. The seller claimed the database is private, and he provided a sample of 1,000 accounts as proof of claims which included the private information of prominent users such as Donald Trump JR, Brian Krebs, and many more. The seller, who is a member of a popular data breach forum, claimed the data was scraped via a vulnerability. The database includes emails and phone numbers of celebrities, politicians, companies, normal users, and a lot of special usernames.

https://securityaffairs.com/140352/data-breach/twitter-data-leak-235m-users.html

• 16 Car Makers, including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota, and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, and Infrastructure

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car functions and start or stop the engine.

Multiple other security defects, the researchers say, allowed them to access a car maker’s internal applications and systems, leading to the exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to customers and employees, and account takeover, among others. The hacks targeted telematic systems, automotive APIs, and infrastructure.

Impacted car models include Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Toyota. The vulnerabilities were identified over the course of 2022. Car manufacturers were informed about the security holes and they released patches.

According to the researchers, they were able to send commands to Acura, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Infiniti, Nissan, and Porsche vehicles.

Using only the VIN (vehicle identification number), which is typically visible on the windshield, the researchers were able to start/stop the engine, remotely lock/unlock the vehicle, flash headlights, honk vehicles, and retrieve the precise location of Acura, Honda, Kia, Infiniti, and Nissan cars.

They could also lock users out of remote vehicle management and could change car ownership.

https://www.securityweek.com/16-car-makers-and-their-vehicles-hacked-telematics-apis-infrastructure

• Ransomware Gang Apologises, and Gives SickKids Hospital Free Decrypter

The LockBit ransomware gang has released a free decrypter for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), saying one of its members violated rules by attacking the healthcare organisation. SickKids is a teaching and research hospital in Toronto that focuses on providing healthcare to sick children.

On December 18th, the hospital suffered a ransomware attack that impacted internal and corporate systems, hospital phone lines, and the website. While the attack only encrypted a few systems, SickKids stated that the incident caused delays in receiving lab and imaging results and resulted in longer patient wait times.

On December 29th, SickKids announced that it had restored 50% of its priority systems, including those causing diagnostic or treatment delays. Two days after SickKids' latest announcement, the LockBit ransomware gang apologised for the attack on the hospital and released a decrypter for free.

“We formally apologise for the attack on sikkids.ca and give back the decrypter for free, the partner who attacked this hospital violated our rules, is blocked and is no longer in our affiliate programme," stated the ransomware gang.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ransomware-gang-apologizes-gives-sickkids-hospital-free-decryptor/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Rackspace: Ransomware Attack Bypassed ProxyNotShell Mitigations (darkreading.com)

• Hackers Leverage Compromised Fortinet Devices to Distribute Ransomware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Rackspace: Customer email data accessed in ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware gang cloned victim’s website to leak stolen data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Rackspace identifies hacking group responsible for early December ransomware attack | TPR

• Ransomware ecosystem becoming more diverse for 2023 | CSO Online

• Lockbit apologized for the attack on SickKids pediatric hospital and releases a free decryptor - Security Affairs

• The FBI's Perspective on Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Rackspace Sunsets Email Service Downed in Ransomware Attack (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware: The security debt collector - Help Net Security

• December ransomware disclosures reveal high-profile victims | TechTarget

• The Guardian ransomware attack hits week two as staff WFH • The Register

• Unraveling the techniques of Mac ransomware - Microsoft Security Blog

• Bitdefender releases free MegaCortex ransomware decryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Research: More than 200 US Infrastructure Organisations Attacked in 2022 - MSSP Alert

• Ransomware impacts over 200 govt, edu, healthcare orgs in 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Guardian ransomware attack: Staff told work from home to 23 Jan (pressgazette.co.uk)

• Rail giant Wabtec discloses data breach after Lockbit ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers target Arnold Clark in Christmas Eve cyber attack as bosses insist customer information is safe – Car Dealer Magazine

• Christmas Eve 'cyber attack' forced Arnold Clark's network down | STV News

• Royal ransomware claims attack on Queensland University of Technology (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LockBit: Sorry for SickKids, but not housing authority • The Register

• New Survey: 1 In 4 Schools Were Victims Of Cyber Attacks In the Last Year; Administrators To Increase Spending On Privacy and Security (darkreading.com)

• Canadian mining firm shuts down mill after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Data of 235 million Twitter users leaked online - Security Affairs

• Is NHS The Most Impersonated UK Government "Brand"? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)

• New Phishing Campaign Targets Cyber security Professionals Using Hacking Tool Flipper Zero - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ongoing Flipper Zero phishing attacks target infosec community (bleepingcomputer.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call Centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Inside a scammers’ lair: Ukraine busts 40 in fake bank call-centre raid – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Malware

• Raspberry Robin Worm Evolves to Attack Financial and Insurance Sectors in Europe (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers abuse Windows error reporting tool to deploy malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New SHC-compiled Linux malware installs cryptominers, DDoS bots (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bluebottle hackers used signed Windows driver in attacks on banks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dridex Returns, Targets MacOS Using New Entry Method (trendmicro.com)

• New Linux malware uses 30 plugin exploits to backdoor WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• PyTorch discloses malicious dependency chain compromise over holidays (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Using Stolen Bank Information to Trick Victims into Downloading BitRAT Malware (thehackernews.com)

• WordPress Sites Under Attack from Newly Found Linux Trojan (darkreading.com)

• Blind Eagle Hackers Return with Refined Tools and Sophisticated Infection Chain (thehackernews.com)

• Raspberry Robin Worm Hatches a Highly Complex Upgrade (darkreading.com)

• The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• War and Geopolitical Conflict: The New Battleground for DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Ongoing Flipper Zero phishing attacks target infosec community (bleepingcomputer.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Data of over 200 million Deezer users stolen, leaks on hacking forum • Graham Cluley

• Five Guys Data Breach Puts HR Data Under a Heat Lamp (darkreading.com)

• Analysis Of Top 10 Countries Mostly Targeted By Data Breaches (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Twitter said to have suffered data breach as hackers expose 235 million users' information (thenationalnews.com)

• I bought a $15 router at Goodwill — and found a millionaire's dirty secrets (nypost.com)

• Critical flaws found in Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, and other carmakers - Security Affairs

• Toyota, Mercedes, BMW API flaws exposed owners’ personal info (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Threat actors stole Slack private source code repositories - Security Affairs

• Data of over 200 million Deezer users stolen, leaks on hacking forum • Graham Cluley

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Threat Actors Evade Detection Through Geofencing & Fingerprinting (darkreading.com)

• A sneak peek into the dark web dealings | Nation

• Attackers create 130K fake accounts to abuse limited-time cloud computing resources | CSO Online

• Cyber criminals we lost to law in 2022

• Inside a scammers’ lair: Ukraine busts 40 in fake bank call-centre raid – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call Centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• New SHC-compiled Linux malware installs cryptominers, DDoS bots (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Software engineer busted after being inspired by Office Space scam | PC Gamer

• Are Meta and Twitter Ushering in a New Age of Insider Threats? (darkreading.com)

• Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Avast: Expect Cyber crime "Scamdemic" to Continue in 2023 - MSSP Alert

• Software engineer busted after being inspired by Office Space scam | PC Gamer

• US regulators warn banks over cryptocurrency risks - BBC News

• What Is a Pig Butchering Scam? | WIRED

• RedZei Chinese Scammers Targeting Chinese Students in the UK (thehackernews.com)

• Inside a scammers’ lair: Ukraine busts 40 in fake bank call-centre raid – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call Centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Impersonation Attacks

• Is NHS The Most Impersonated UK Government "Brand"? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Iran's Revolutionary Guards set to be labelled as terrorist group by UK - BBC News

Insurance

• Cyber safety premiums holding firms to ransom | Business | The Times

• How can businesses decrease cyber insurance premiums while maintaining coverage? - Help Net Security

Dark Web

• A sneak peek into the dark web dealings | Nation

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• First LastPass, now Slack and CircleCI. The hacks go on (and will likely worsen) | Ars Technica

Software Supply Chain

• There is no secure software supply-chain. - by John McBride (substack.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Attackers create 130K fake accounts to abuse limited-time cloud computing resources | CSO Online

Encryption

• Encryption Faces an Existential Threat in Europe | WIRED

• 2023 Will See Renewed Focus on Quantum Computing (darkreading.com)

• Chinese researchers claim to find way to break encryption using quantum computers | Financial Times (ft.com)

API

• API Security Is the New Black (darkreading.com)

• Car companies massively exposed to web vulnerabilities | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• 16 Car Makers and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, Infrastructure | SecurityWeek.Com

• What Are Some Ways to Make APIs More Secure? (darkreading.com)

• Critical flaws found in Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, and other carmakers - Security Affairs

Open Source

• New SHC-compiled Linux malware installs cryptominers, DDoS bots (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Linux malware uses 30 plugin exploits to backdoor WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Data of 235 million Twitter users leaked online - Security Affairs

• Twitter said to have suffered data breach as hackers expose 235 million users' information (thenationalnews.com)

• The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)

• Are Meta and Twitter Ushering in a New Age of Insider Threats? (darkreading.com)

• Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads - BBC News

• More Political Storms for TikTok After US Government Ban | SecurityWeek.Com

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Cops Catch Serial Child Abuser After Tech Breakthrough - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads - BBC News

• Google will pay $29.5M to settle two lawsuits over its location tracking practices - Security Affairs

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Cyber safety premiums holding firms to ransom | Business | The Times

• Cyber war in Ukraine, ransomware fears drive 2022 surge in demand for threat intelligence tools | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Attackers never let a critical vulnerability go to waste - Help Net Security

• Attackers evolve strategies to outmanoeuvre security teams - Help Net Security

• How to start planning for disaster recovery - Help Net Security

• Building A Security-First Culture: The Key To Cyber Success (forbes.com)

• Data backup is no longer just about operational fallback - Help Net Security

• Threat Actors Evade Detection Through Geofencing & Fingerprinting (darkreading.com)

• How can businesses decrease cyber insurance premiums while maintaining coverage? - Help Net Security

Secure Disposal

• I bought a $15 router at Goodwill — and found a millionaire's dirty secrets (nypost.com)

Backup and Recovery

• Data backup is no longer just about operational fallback - Help Net Security

Data Protection

• Getting data loss prevention right - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Cyber criminals we lost to law in 2022

• Cops Catch Serial Child Abuser After Tech Breakthrough - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Inside a scammers’ lair: Ukraine busts 40 in fake bank call-centre raid – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times

• Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads - BBC News

• Google will pay $29.5M to settle two lawsuits over its location tracking practices - Security Affairs

Artificial Intelligence

• ChatGPT: An Easy Cyber crime Target For Cyber attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• OpenAI's ChatGPT previews how AI can help hackers breach more networks (axios.com)

• How hackers might be exploiting ChatGPT - Security Affairs

• NATO tests AI’s ability to protect critical infrastructure against cyber attacks | CSO Online

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• It's time to focus on information warfare's hard questions (cyberscoop.com)

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

• War and Geopolitical Conflict: The New Battleground for DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

• Cyber attacks against governments jumped 95% in last half of 2022, CloudSek says | CSO Online

• It's time to focus on information warfare's hard questions (cyberscoop.com)

• National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times

• Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register

• Pro-Russia cyber attacks aim at destabilizing Poland - Security Affairs

• Poland warns of attacks by Russia-linked Ghostwriter hacking group (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russia Cyber attacks, China Covid Are Overlooked 2023 Threats - Bloomberg

Nation State Actors – China

• National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times

• Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iran's Revolutionary Guards set to be labelled as terrorist group by UK - BBC News

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Blind Eagle Hackers Return with Refined Tools and Sophisticated Infection Chain (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of KEV Catalog (darkreading.com)

• Attackers never let a critical vulnerability go to waste - Help Net Security

Vulnerabilities

• Over 60,000 Exchange servers vulnerable to ProxyNotShell attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of KEV Catalog (darkreading.com)

• Rackspace: Ransomware Attack Bypassed ProxyNotShell Mitigations (darkreading.com)

• Zoho urges admins to patch severe ManageEngine bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Android's First Security Updates for 2023 Patch 60 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fortinet and Zoho Urge Customers to Patch Enterprise Software Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Qualcomm, Lenovo flag multiple high impact firmware vulnerabilities | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Netgear Wi-Fi routers need to be patched immediately | TechRadar

• Synology Releases Patch for Critical RCE Vulnerability Affecting VPN Plus Servers (thehackernews.com)

• Fortinet Releases Security Updates for FortiADC | CISA

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Tools and Controls

• How Confidential Computing Can Change Cyber security (darkreading.com)

• Data backup is no longer just about operational fallback - Help Net Security

• Getting data loss prevention right - Help Net Security

• Things to know and do before you switch from VPN to ZTNA - Help Net Security

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Other News

• The cyber security industry will undergo significant changes in 2023 - Help Net Security

• SecurityAffairs Top 10 cybersecurity posts of 2022 - Security Affairs

• BleepingComputer's most popular cybersecurity stories of 2022

• WordPress Security: 22 Ways To Protect Your Website (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber attacks against governments jumped 95% in last half of 2022, CloudSek says | CSO Online

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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

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

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

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 December 2022

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Cyber Attacks Set to Become ‘Uninsurable’, Says Zurich Chief

The chief executive of one of Europe’s biggest insurance companies has warned that cyber attacks, rather than natural catastrophes, will become “uninsurable” as the disruption from hacks continues to grow.

Insurance executives have been increasingly vocal in recent years about systemic risks, such as pandemics and climate change, that test the sector’s ability to provide coverage. For the second year in a row, natural catastrophe-related claims are expected to top $100bn. 

But Mario Greco, chief executive at insurer Zurich, told the Financial Times that cyber was the risk to watch. “What will become uninsurable is going to be cyber,” he said. “What if someone takes control of vital parts of our infrastructure, the consequences of that?” Recent attacks that have disrupted hospitals, shut down pipelines and targeted government departments have all fed concern about this expanding risk among industry executives. Focusing on the privacy risk to individuals was missing the bigger picture, Greco added: “First off, there must be a perception that this is not just data . . . this is about civilisation. These people can severely disrupt our lives.” 

Spiralling cyber losses in recent years have prompted emergency measures by the sector’s underwriters to limit their exposure. As well as pushing up prices, some insurers have responded by tweaking policies so clients retain more losses. There are exemptions written into policies for certain types of attacks. In 2019, Zurich initially denied a $100mn claim from food company Mondelez, arising from the NotPetya attack, on the basis that the policy excluded a “warlike action”. The two sides later settled. In September, Lloyd’s of London defended a move to limit systemic risk from cyber attacks by requesting that insurance policies written in the market have an exemption for state-backed attacks.

https://www.ft.com/content/63ea94fa-c6fc-449f-b2b8-ea29cc83637d

Your Business Should Compensate for Modern Ransomware Capabilities Right Now

The “if, not when” mentality surrounding ransomware may be the biggest modern threat to business longevity. Companies of all sizes and across all industries are increasingly common targets for ransomware attacks, and we know that 94% of organisations experienced a cyber security incident last year alone. Yet, many enterprises continue to operate with decades-old security protocols that are unequipped to combat modern ransomware. Leaders have prioritised improving physical security measures in light of the pandemic — so why haven’t ransomware protections improved?

Maybe it’s the mistaken notion that ransomware attacks are declining. In reality, Q1 of 2022 saw a 200% YoY increase in ransomware incidents. Meanwhile, the rise in Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) offerings suggests that cyber threats have become a commodity for bad actors.

The RaaS market presents a new and troubling trend for business leaders and IT professionals. With RaaS — a subscription ransomware model that allows affiliates to deploy malware for a fee — the barrier to entry for hackers is lower than ever. The relatively unskilled nature of RaaS hackers may explain why the average ransomware downtime has plummeted to just 3.85 days (compared to an average attack duration of over two months in 2019).

While the decrease in attack duration is promising, the rise of RaaS still suggests an inconvenient truth for business leaders: All organisations are at risk. And in time, all organisations will become a target, which is why it’s time for IT and business leaders to implement tough cyber security protocols.

https://venturebeat.com/security/your-business-should-compensate-for-modern-ransomware-capabilities-right-now/

• Reported Phishing Attacks Have Quintupled

In the third quarter of 2022, the international Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) consortium observed 1,270,883 total phishing attacks; the worst quarter for phishing that APWG has ever observed. The total for August 2022 was 430,141 phishing sites, the highest monthly total ever reported to APWG.

Over recent years, reported phishing attacks submitted to APWG have more than quintupled since the first quarter of 2020, when APWG observed 230,554 attacks. The rise in Q3 2022 was attributable, in part, to increasing numbers of attacks reported against several specific targeted brands. These target companies and their customers suffered from large numbers of attacks from persistent phishers.

Threat researchers at the cyber security solution provider Fortra noted a 488 percent increase in response-based email attacks in Q3 2022 compared to the prior quarter. While every subtype of these attacks increased compared to Q2, the largest increase was in Advance Fee Fraud schemes, which rose by a staggering 1,074 percent.

In the third quarter of 2022, APWG founding member OpSec Security found that phishing attacks against the financial sector, which includes banks, remained the largest set of attacks, accounting for 23.2 percent of all phishing. Attacks against webmail and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers remained prevalent as well. Phishing against social media services fell to 11 percent of the total, down from 15.3 percent.

Phishing against cryptocurrency targets — such as cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers — fell from 4.5 percent of all phishing attacks in Q2 2022 to 2 percent in Q3. This mirrored the fall in value of many cryptocurrencies since mid-year.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/28/reported-phishing-attacks-quintupled/

• Ransomware, DDoS See Major Upsurge Led by Upstart Hacker Group

Cyber threat actors Cuba and Royal are driving a 41% boom in ransomware and other attacks hitting industry and consumer goods and services.

According to the Global Threat Intelligence team of information assurance firm NCC Group, November saw a 41% increase in ransomware attacks from 188 incidents to 265. In its most recent Monthly Threat Pulse, the group reported that the month was the most active for ransomware attacks since April this year.

Key takeaways from the study:

• Ransomware attacks rose by 41% in November.

• Threat group Royal (16%) was the most active, replacing LockBit as the worst offender for the first time since September 2021.

• Industrials (32%) and consumer cyclicals (44%) remain the top two most targeted sectors, but technology experienced a large 75% increase over the last month.

• Regional data remains consistent with last month — North America (45%), Europe (25%) and Asia (14%)

• DDoS attacks continue to increase.

Recent examples in the services sector include the Play ransomware group’s claimed attack of the German H-Hotels chain, resulting in communications outages. This attack reportedly uses a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange called ProxyNotShell, which as the name implies, has similarities to the ProxyShell zero-day vulnerability revealed in 2021.

Also, back on the scene is the TrueBot malware downloader (a.k.a., the silence.downloader), which is showing up in an increasing number of devices. TrueBot Windows malware, designed by a Russian-speaking hacking group identified as Silence, has resurfaced bearing Ransom.Clop, which first appeared in 2019. Clop ransomware encrypts systems and exfiltrates data with the threat that if no ransom is forthcoming, the data will show up on a leak site.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ransomware-ddos-major-upsurge-led-upstart-hacker-group/

• Videoconferencing Worries Grow, With SMBs in Cyber Attack Crosshairs

Securing videoconferencing solutions is just one of many IT security challenges small businesses are facing, often with limited financial and human resources.

It's no secret that the acceleration of work-from-home and distributed workforce trends — infamously spurred on by the pandemic — has occurred in tandem with the rise of video communications and collaboration platforms, led by Zoom, Microsoft, and Cisco.

But given that videoconferencing now plays a critical role in how businesses interact with their employees, customers, clients, vendors, and others, these platforms carry significant potential security risks, researchers say.

Organisations use videoconferencing to discuss M&A, legal, military, healthcare, intellectual property and other topics, and even corporate strategies. A loss of that data could be catastrophic for a company, its employees, its clients, and its customers.

However, a recent report on videoconferencing security showed that 93% of IT professionals surveyed acknowledged security vulnerabilities and gaping risks in their videoconferencing solutions.

Among the most relevant risks is the lack of controlled access to conversations that could result in disruption, sabotage, compromise, or exposure of sensitive information, while use of nonsecure, outdated, or unpatched videoconferencing applications can expose security flaws.

The risks include the potential for interruptions, unauthorised access, and perhaps most concerning, the opportunity for a bad actor to acquire sensitive information.

https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/videoconferencing-worries-grow-with-smbs-in-cyberattack-crosshairs

• Will the Crypto Crash Impact Cyber Security in 2023? Maybe.

With the implosion of the FTX exchange putting a punctuation mark on the cryptocurrency crash of 2022, one of the natural questions for those in the cyber security world is, how will this rapid decline of cryptocurrency valuations change the cyber crime economy?

Throughout the most recent crypto boom, and even before then, cyber criminals have used and abused cryptocurrency to build up their empires. The cryptocurrency market provides the extortionary medium for ransomware; it's a hotbed of scams against consumers to steal their wallets and accounts. Traditionally, it's provided a ton of anonymous cover for money laundering on the back end of a range of cyber criminal enterprises.

Even so, according to cyber security experts and intelligence analysts, while there certainly have been some shifts in trends and tactics that they believe are loosely tied to the crypto crash, the jury's still out on long-term impacts.

Regardless of crypto values, cyber criminals this year have definitely become more sophisticated in how they use cryptocurrencies to monetise their attacks including the use by some ransomware groups taking advantage of yield farming within decentralised finance (DeFi), as an example.

The concept of yield farming is the same as lending money, with a contract in place that clearly shows how much interest will need to be paid. The advantage for ransomware groups is that the 'interest' will be legitimate proceeds, so there will be no need to launder or hide it.

Threat actors are increasingly turning toward 'stablecoins,' which are usually tied to fiat currencies or gold to stem their volatility. In many ways, the downturn in crypto values has increased the risk appetite of cyber criminals and is spurring them into more investment fraud and cryptocurrency scams.

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/crypto-crash-impact-cybersecurity-2023-maybe

• The Worst Hacks of 2022

The year was marked by sinister new twists on cyber security classics, including phishing, breaches, and ransomware attacks.

With the pandemic evolving into an amorphous new phase and political polarisation on the rise around the world, 2022 was an uneasy and often perplexing year in digital security. And while hackers frequently leaned on old chestnuts like phishing and ransomware attacks, they still found vicious new variations to subvert defences.

Technology magazine Wired looked back on the year's worst breaches, leaks, ransomware attacks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, and digital takeovers. If the first years of the 2020s are any indication, the digital security field in 2023 will be more bizarre and unpredictable than ever. Stay alert, and stay safe out there.

Russia Hacking Ukraine

For years, Russia has pummelled Ukraine with brutal digital attacks causing blackouts, stealing and destroying data, meddling in elections, and releasing destructive malware to ravage the country's networks. Since invading Ukraine in February, though, times have changed for some of Russia's most prominent and most dangerous military hackers. Shrewd long-term campaigns and grimly ingenious hacks have largely given way to a stricter and more regimented clip of quick intrusions into Ukrainian institutions, reconnaissance, and widespread destruction on the network—and then repeated access over and over again, whether through a new breach or by maintaining the old access.

Twilio and the 0ktapus Phishing Spree

Over the summer, a group of researchers dubbed 0ktapus went on a massive phishing bender, compromising nearly 10,000 accounts within more than 130 organisations. The majority of the victim institutions were US-based, but there were dozens in other countries as well.

Ransomware Still Hitting the Most Vulnerable Targets

In recent years, countries around the world and the cyber security industry have increasingly focused on countering ransomware attacks. While there has been some progress on deterrence, ransomware gangs were still on a rampage in 2022 and continued to target vulnerable and vital social institutions, including health care providers and schools. The Russian-speaking group Vice Society, for example, has long specialised in targeting both categories, and it focused its attacks on the education sector this year.

The Lapsus$ Rampage Continues

The digital extortion gang Lapsus$ was on an intense hacking spree at the beginning of 2022, stealing source code and other sensitive information from companies like Nvidia, Samsung, Ubisoft, and Microsoft and then leaking samples as part of apparent extortion attempts. Lapsus$ has a sinister talent for phishing, and in March, it compromised a contractor with access to the ubiquitous authentication service Okta.

LastPass

The beleaguered password manager giant LastPass, which has repeatedly dealt with data breaches and security incidents over the years, said at the end of December that a breach of its cloud storage in August led to a further incident in which hackers targeted a LastPass employee to compromise credentials and cloud storage keys.

Vanuatu

At the beginning of November, Vanuatu, an island nation in the Pacific, was hit by a cyber attack that took down virtually all of the government's digital networks. Agencies had to move to conducting their work on paper because emergency systems, medical records, vehicle registrations, driver's license databases, and tax systems were all down.

Honourable Mention: Twitter-Related Bedlam

Twitter has been in chaos mode for months following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company earlier this year. Amidst the tumult, reports surfaced in July and then again in November of a trove of 5.4 million Twitter users' data that has been circulating on criminal forums since at least July, if not earlier. The data was stolen by exploiting a vulnerability in a Twitter application programming interface, or API.

https://www.wired.com/story/worst-hacks-2022/

• Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Further Impact Cyber Security in 2023

Geopolitics will continue to have an impact on cyber security and the security posture of organisations long into 2023.

The impact of global conflicts on cyber security was thrust into the spotlight when Russia made moves to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine’s Western allies were quick to recognise that with this came the threat of Russian-backed cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI), especially in retaliation to hefty sanctions. While this may not have materialised in the way many expected, geopolitics is still front of mind for many cyber security experts looking to 2023.

Russia has always been among a handful of states recognised for their cyber prowess and being the source of many cyber criminal gangs. As previously mentioned, we have failed to see a significant cyber-attack, at least one comparable to the Colonial Pipeline incident, in 2022. However the cyber security services provider, e2e-assure, warned: “We have underestimated Russia’s cyber capability. There is a wide view that Russian cyber activity leading up to and during their invasion of Ukraine indicated that they aren’t the cyber power we once thought. Patterns and evidence will emerge in 2023 that shows this wasn’t the case, instead Russia was directing its cyber efforts elsewhere, with non-military goals (financial and political).”

NordVPN, the virtual private network (VPN) provider, warns that the cyber-war is only just starting: “With China’s leader securing his third term and Russia’s war in Ukraine, many experts predict an increase in state-sponsored cyber-attacks. China may increase cyber-attacks on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other countries opposing the regime. Meanwhile, Russia is predicted to sponsor attacks on countries supporting Ukraine.”

We are used to seeing cyber-attacks that encrypt data and ask for ransom, but it is likely in this era of nation-state sponsored attacks we could experience attacks for the sake of disruption.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/geopolitical-tensions-impact/

• Fraudsters’ Working Patterns Have Changed in Recent Years

Less sophisticated fraud — in which doctored identity documents are readily spotted — has jumped 37% in 2022, according to the identify verfication provider Onfido. Fraudsters can scale these attacks on an organisation’s systems around the clock.

It is estimated that the current global financial cost of fraud is $5.38 trillion (£4.37 trillion), which is 6.4% of the world’s GDP. With most fraud now happening online (80% of reported fraud is cyber-enabled), Onfido’s Identity Fraud Report uncovers patterns of fraudster behaviour, attack techniques, and emerging tactics.

Over the last four years, fraudsters’ working patterns have dramatically changed. In 2019, attacks mirrored a typical working week, peaking Monday to Friday and dropping off during the weekends. Yet over the last three years, fraudulent activity started to shift so that levels of fraud span every day of the week.

In 2022, fraud levels were consistent across 24 hours, seven days a week. With technology, fraudsters are more connected across the globe and are able to traverse regions and time zones, and can easily take advantage of businesses’ closed hours when staff are likely offline. This hyperconnectivity means there are no more ‘business hours’ for fraudsters and sophisticated fraud rings — they will scam and defraud 24/7.

“As criminals look to take advantage of digitisation processes, they’re able to commit financial crimes with increasing efficiency and sophistication, to the extent that financial crime and cyber crime are now invariably linked,” said Interpol. “A significant amount of financial fraud takes place through digital technologies, and the pandemic has only hastened the emergence of digital money laundering tools and other cyber-enabled financial crimes.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/29/less-sophisticated-fraud/

• Hacktivism is Back and Messier Than Ever

Throughout 2022, geopolitics has given rise to a new wave of politically motivated attacks with an undercurrent of state-sponsored meddling.

During its brutal war in Ukraine, Russian troops have burnt cities to the ground, raped and tortured civilians, and committed scores of potential war crimes. On November 23, lawmakers across Europe overwhelmingly labelled Russia a “state sponsor” of terrorism and called for ties with the country to be reduced further. The response to the declaration was instant. The European Parliament’s website was knocked offline by a DDoS attack.

The unsophisticated attack—which involves flooding a website with traffic to make it inaccessible—disrupted the Parliament’s website offline for several hours. Pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet claimed responsibility for the attack. The hacktivist group has targeted hundreds of organisations around the world this year, having some limited small-scale successes knocking websites offline for short periods of time. It’s been one player in a bigger hacktivism surge.

Following years of sporadic hacktivist activity, 2022 has seen the re-emergence of hacktivism on a large scale. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine spawned scores of hacktivist groups on both sides of the conflict, while in Iran and Israel, so-called hacktivist groups are launching increasingly destructive attacks. This new wave of hacktivism, which varies between groups and countries, comes with new tactics and approaches and, increasingly, is blurring lines between hacktivism and government-sponsored attacks.

https://www.wired.com/story/hacktivism-russia-ukraine-ddos/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Custom-Branded Ransomware: The Vice Society Group and the Threat of Outsourced Development - SentinelOne

• Jersey school locked out of systems as hackers demand "ransom" | Bailiwick Express Jersey

• Vice Society Ransomware Attackers Adopt Robust Encryption Methods (thehackernews.com)

• Global counter-ransomware task force to become active in January - CyberScoop

• Fool Me Thrice? How to Avoid Double and Triple Ransomware Extortion (darkreading.com)

• Rackspace criticized for PR response to ransomware attack (expressnews.com)

• After ransomware hits Colombian energy firm, Moody’s says low patch rate suggests inadequacies in cyber practices | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Ransomware, DDoS see major upsurge led by upstart hacker group (techrepublic.com)

• 6 Ways to Protect Your Organisation Against LAPSUS$ (darkreading.com)

• Your business should compensate for modern ransomware capabilities right now | VentureBeat

• Vice Society Adds Custom-branded Payload PolyVice to its Arsenal | Cyware Alerts - Hacker News

• Hackers stole data from multiple electric utilities in recent ransomware attack | CNN Politics

• Ransomware attack at Louisiana hospital impacts 270,000 patients (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The mounting death toll of hospital cyber attacks - POLITICO

• Royal ransomware claims attack on Intrado telecom provider (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Healthcare Providers and Hospitals Under Ransomware's Siege (darkreading.com)

• 2023 Predictions: Expect More Supply Chain Attacks, Ransomware-as-a-Service Kits in 2023 - MSSP Alert

• Guardian Australia staff sent home after cyber attack takes out systems (theage.com.au)

• Queensland University hit by cyber attack | PerthNow

• Dumfries Arnold Clark garages hit by company-wide cyber attack - Daily Record

• Ransom Deadline Given By LockBit In Port Of Lisbon Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Reported phishing attacks have quintupled - Help Net Security

• 6 Ways to Protect Your Organisation Against LAPSUS$ (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Linkedin Is Full Of Job Scams – Be Careful Out There (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Malware

• GuLoader implements new evasion techniques - Security Affairs

• PrivateLoader PPI Service Found Distributing Info-Stealing RisePro Malware (thehackernews.com)

• 2022 sees over 5000 times new Windows malware vs macOS, over 60 times vs Linux - Neowin

• APT Hackers Turn to Malicious Excel Add-ins as Initial Intrusion Vector (thehackernews.com)

• New information-stealing malware is being spread by fake pirate sites | TechSpot

Mobile

• Hackers steal $8 million from users running trojanized BitKeep apps (bleepingcomputer.com)

• EarSpy: Spying on Phone Calls via Ear Speaker Vibrations Captured by Accelerometer | SecurityWeek.Com

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Cyber criminals create new methods to evade legacy DDoS defences - Help Net Security

Internet of Things – IoT

• Anker admits Eufy camera security issues | TechRadar

• Smart Home Cyber security Hubs: Protecting Endpoints in Your Smarthome (compuquip.com)

• Google Home speakers allowed hackers to snoop on conversations (bleepingcomputer.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• BetMGM discloses security breach impacting 1.5 Million customers - Security Affairs

• Massive Twitter data leak investigated by EU privacy watchdog (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LastPass finally admits: Those crooks who got in? They did steal your password vaults, after all… – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Massive EDiscovery Provider Shut Down Over 'Unauthorized Access' - Above the LawAbove the Law

• Data of 400 Million Twitter users up for sale - Security Affairs

• Ten significant data breaches from 2022 (smartermsp.com)

• It’s all in the (lack of) details: 2022’s badly handled data breaches | TechCrunch

• Military device with biometric database of 2K people sold on eBay for $68 | Ars Technica

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• 'Cyber crime has surpassed drug trafficking' - Rediff.com India News

• Labour attacks delays to online safety bill as it highlights Christmas scams | Cyber crime | The Guardian

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• FTX collapse shows crypto is 'too dangerous' not to regulate, Bank of England deputy governor says | Business News | Sky News

• How ‘brazen’ multibillion-dollar crypto fraud fell to pieces | Business | The Times

• BTC.com lost $3 million worth of cryptocurrency in cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers steal $8 million from users running trojanized BitKeep apps (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bitcoin Mining Pool Btc.com Suffers $3 Million Cyber attack – Mining Bitcoin News

• Crypto wallet BitKeep lost over $9M over a cyber attack - Security Affairs

• Case for blockchain in financial services dented by failures | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Digital Assets Of $9.9 Million Stolen In BitKeep Cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Crypto platform 3Commas admits hackers stole API keys (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Linkedin Is Full Of Job Scams – Be Careful Out There (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Scam complaints from Revolut users more than double since 2020 (telegraph.co.uk)

• Labour attacks delays to online safety bill as it highlights Christmas scams | Cyber crime | The Guardian

• Fraudsters’ working patterns have changed in recent years - Help Net Security

• Experts warn of attacks exploiting WordPress gift card plugin - Security Affairs

• North Korean Hackers Created 70 Fake Bank, Venture Capital Firm Domains | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ukraine shuts down fraudulent call center claiming 18,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insurance

• Zurich chief warned that cyber attacks will become uninsurable - Security Affairs

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• 2023 Predictions: Expect More Supply Chain Attacks, Ransomware-as-a-Service Kits in 2023 - MSSP Alert

Software Supply Chain

• Why Attackers Target GitHub, and How You Can Secure It (darkreading.com)

• Improving Software Supply Chain Cyber security (trendmicro.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Google: With Cloud Comes APIs & Security Headaches (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• Enterprises waste money on identity tools they don't use - Help Net Security

• Steps To Planning And Implementation Of PAM Solutions (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Encryption

• US passes the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act – and why not? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

API

• Crypto platform 3Commas admits hackers stole API keys (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google: With Cloud Comes APIs & Security Headaches (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Extracting Encrypted Credentials From Common Tools (darkreading.com)

Biometrics

• Military device with biometric database of 2K people sold on eBay for $68 | Ars Technica

Social Media

• TikTok User Data Has Been Compromised (giantfreakinrobot.com)

• Elon Musk ‘orders Twitter to remove suicide prevention feature’ | Twitter | The Guardian

• Massive Twitter data leak investigated by EU privacy watchdog (bleepingcomputer.com)

• TikTok parent company ByteDance revealed the use of TikTok data to track journalists - Security Affairs

• Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m - BBC News

• TikTok bans haven't really banned much of anything - The Washington Post

• Twitter restores suicide prevention feature | Twitter | The Guardian

• Data of 400 Million Twitter users up for sale - Security Affairs

• Hacker claims to be selling Twitter data of 400 million users (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Piers Morgan’s Twitter account abuses queen and Ed Sheeran in apparent hack | Piers Morgan | The Guardian

• US House boots TikTok from government phones • The Register

Malvertising

• Hackers abuse Google Ads to spread malware in legit software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals using search engine ads to direct users to sites with malware, FBI warns | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Privacy

• The Threat of Predictive Policing to Data Privacy and Personal Liberty (darkreading.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• FTX collapse shows crypto is 'too dangerous' not to regulate, Bank of England deputy governor says | Business News | Sky News

• US passes the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act – and why not? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• IBM and 70 Global Banks Co-Create New Cyber security, Risk Framework (accelerationeconomy.com)

• Economic uncertainty compels IT leaders to rethink their strategy - Help Net Security

• 3 important changes in how data will be used and treated - Help Net Security

• 2022 Top Five Immediate Threats in Geopolitical Context (thehackernews.com)

Secure Disposal

• For Sale on eBay: A Military Database of Fingerprints and Iris Scans - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• How to Get Your First Job in InfoSec (freecodecamp.org)

• IT Jobs: How To Become An Information Security Analyst (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• ‘There's a career in cyber security for everyone,’ Microsoft Security CVP says | Fortune

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Ukraine shuts down fraudulent call centre claiming 18,000 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Google Home speakers allowed hackers to snoop on conversations (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software | China | The Guardian

• The Threat of Predictive Policing to Data Privacy and Personal Liberty (darkreading.com)

• Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m - BBC News

• 78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You (entrepreneur.com)

• Germany: Police surveillance software a legal headache – DW – 12/22/2022

Artificial Intelligence

• Code-generating AI can introduce security vulnerabilities, study finds | TechCrunch

• AI cyber attacks are a ‘critical threat’. This is how NATO is countering them | Euronews

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

• 2022 Top Five Immediate Threats in Geopolitical Context (thehackernews.com)

• Ukraine marks a turning point for cyberwarfare – POLITICO

• Russia’s Cyberwar Foreshadowed Deadly Attacks on Civilians | WIRED

• Hacktivism Is Back and Messier Than Ever | WIRED

• Hundreds of Russian cyber attacks on CHPPs, regional power plants prevented - SBU

• Ukrainian Hackers Gather Data on Russian Soldiers, Minister Says - Bloomberg

• North Korean hackers targeted nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy experts

• German double agent ‘passed Ukraine intelligence to Russia’ (telegraph.co.uk)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Hundreds of Russian cyber attacks on CHPPs, regional power plants prevented - SBU

• Russian mobile calls, internet seen deteriorating after Nokia, Ericsson leave – EURACTIV.com

Nation State Actors – China

• US House boots TikTok from government phones • The Register

• Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software | China | The Guardian

• Chinese-backed company instructs US law firm after UK blocked microchip factory takeover (telegraph.co.uk)

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• BlueNoroff APT Hackers Using New Ways to Bypass Windows MotW Protection (thehackernews.com)

• North Korean Hackers Created 70 Fake Bank, Venture Capital Firm Domains | SecurityWeek.Com

• North Korean hacking outfit impersonating venture capital firms | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• North Korean hackers targeted nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy experts

Nation State Actors – Iran

• An Iranian group hacked Israeli CCTV cameras, defence was aware but didn’t block it - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – Misc

• APT Hackers Turn to Malicious Excel Add-ins as Initial Intrusion Vector (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Log4Shell remains a big threat and a common cause for security breaches | CSO Online

• After ransomware hits Colombian energy firm, Moody’s says low patch rate suggests inadequacies in cyber practices | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Patch now: Serious Linux kernel security hole uncovered | ZDNET

• Microsoft Patches Azure Cross-Tenant Data Access Flaw | SecurityWeek.Com

• Critical Linux Kernel flaw affects SMB servers with ksmbd enabled - Security Affairs

• Critical “10-out-of-10” Linux kernel SMB hole – should you worry? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Log4Shell remains a big threat and a common cause for security breaches | CSO Online

• Thousands of Citrix servers vulnerable to patched critical flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Netgear warns users to patch recently fixed WiFi router bug (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA Warns of Active exploitation of JasperReports Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Several DoS, Code Execution Vulnerabilities Found in Rockwell Automation Controllers | SecurityWeek.Com

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Tools and Controls

• Understanding current XDR elements and options | TechTarget

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Other News

• Cyber crime Top 10 Rankings: China is No. 1 While US Records Highest Rate of Security Breaches - MSSP Alert

• AI cyber attacks are a ‘critical threat’. This is how NATO is countering them | Euronews

• Review: 10 Biggest Hacks And Cyber Security Threats Of 2022 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Modern technology and cyber recovery will intersect in the next generation of attacks - Help Net Security

• New information-stealing malware is being spread by fake pirate sites | TechSpot

•  Ten significant data breaches from 2022 (smartermsp.com)

• Trend Micro: Expect 2023 to Bring Uncertainty to Cyber Attackers and Defenders - MSSP Alert

• After the Uber Breach: 3 Questions All CISOs Should Ask Themselves (darkreading.com)

• Top 10 Cyber Security Predictions For 2023 Based On Expert Responses (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• The Five Stories That Shaped Cyber security in 2022 | SecurityWeek.Com

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 23 December 2022

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

• LastPass Admits Attackers have an Encrypted Copy of Customers’ Password Vaults 

Password locker LastPass has warned customers that the August 2022 attack on its systems saw unknown parties copy encrypted files that contain the passwords to their accounts.

In a December 22nd update to its advice about the incident, LastPass brings customers up to date by explaining that in the August 2022 attack “some source code and technical information were stolen from our development environment and used to target another employee, obtaining credentials and keys which were used to access and decrypt some storage volumes within the cloud-based storage service.” Those creds allowed the attacker to copy information “that contained basic customer account information and related metadata including company names, end-user names, billing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and the IP addresses from which customers were accessing the LastPass service.”

The update reveals that the attacker also copied “customer vault” data, the file LastPass uses to let customers record their passwords. That file “is stored in a proprietary binary format that contains both unencrypted data, such as website URLs, as well as fully-encrypted sensitive fields such as website usernames and passwords, secure notes, and form-filled data.” The passwords are encrypted with “256-bit AES encryption and can only be decrypted with a unique encryption key derived from each user’s master password”.

LastPass’ advice is that even though attackers have that file, customers who use its default settings have nothing to do as a result of this update as “it would take millions of years to guess your master password using generally-available password-cracking technology.” One of those default settings is not to re-use the master password that is required to log into LastPass. The outfit suggests you make it a complex credential and use that password for just one thing: accessing LastPass.

LastPass therefore offered the following advice to individual and business users: If your master password does not make use of the defaults above, then it would significantly reduce the number of attempts needed to guess it correctly. In this case, as an extra security measure, you should consider minimising risk by changing passwords of websites you have stored.

LastPass’s update concludes with news it decommissioned the systems breached in August 2022 and has built new infrastructure that adds extra protections.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/23/lastpass_attack_update/

• Ransomware Attacks Increased 41% In November

Ransomware attacks rose 41% last month as groups shifted among the top spots and increasingly leveraged DDoS attacks, according to new research from NCC Group.

A common thread of NCC Group's November Threat Pulse was a "month full of surprises," particularly related to unexpected shifts in threat actor behaviour. The Cuba ransomware gang resurged with its highest number of attacks recorded by NCC Group. Royal replaced LockBit 3.0 as the most active strain, a first since September of last year.

These factors and more contributed to the significant jump in November attacks, which rose from 188 in October to 265.

"For 2022, this increase represents the most reported incidents in one month since that of April, when there were 289 incidents, and is also the largest month-on-month increase since June-July's marginally larger increase of 47%," NCC Group wrote in the report.

Operators behind Royal ransomware, a strain that emerged earlier this year that operates without affiliates and utilises intermittent encryption to evade detection, surpassed LockBit 3.0 for the number one spot, accounting for 16% of hack and leak incidents last month.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/252528505/NCC-Group-Ransomware-attacks-increased-41-in-November

• The Risk of Escalation from Cyber Attacks Has Never Been Greater

In 2022, an American dressed in his pyjamas took down North Korea’s Internet from his living room. Fortunately, there was no reprisal against the United States. But Kim Jong Un and his generals must have weighed retaliation and asked themselves whether the so-called independent hacker was a front for a planned and official American attack.

In 2023, the world might not get so lucky. There will almost certainly be a major cyber attack. It could shut down Taiwan’s airports and trains, paralyse British military computers, or swing a US election. This is terrifying, because each time this happens, there is a small risk that the aggrieved side will respond aggressively, maybe at the wrong party, and (worst of all) even if it carries the risk of nuclear escalation.

This is because cyber weapons are different from conventional ones. They are cheaper to design and wield. That means great powers, middle powers, and pariah states can all develop and use them.

More important, missiles come with a return address, but virtual attacks do not. Suppose in 2023, in the coldest weeks of winter, a virus shuts down American or European oil pipelines. It has all the markings of a Russian attack, but intelligence experts warn it could be a Chinese assault in disguise. Others see hints of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. No one knows for sure. Presidents Biden and Macron have to decide whether to retaliate at all, and if so, against whom … Russia? China? Iran? It's a gamble, and they could get unlucky.

Neither country wants to start a conventional war with one another, let alone a nuclear one. Conflict is so ruinous that most enemies prefer to loathe one another in peace. During the Cold War, the prospect of mutual destruction was a huge deterrent to any great power war. There were almost no circumstances in which it made sense to initiate an attack. But cyber warfare changes that conventional strategic calculus. The attribution problem introduces an immense amount of uncertainty, complicating the decision our leaders have to make.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/the-risk-of-escalation-from-cyberattacks-has-never-been-greater/

• FBI Recommends Ad Blockers as Cyber Criminals Impersonate Brands in Search Engine Ads

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week raised the alarm on cyber criminals impersonating brands in advertisements that appear in search engine results. The agency has advised consumers to use ad blockers to protect themselves from such threats.

The attackers register domains similar to those of legitimate businesses or services, and use those domains to purchase ads from search engine advertisement services, the FBI says in an alert. These nefarious ads are displayed at the top of the web page when the user searches for that business or service, and the user might mistake them for an actual search result.

Links included in these ads take users to pages that are identical to the official web pages of the impersonated businesses, the FBI explains. If the user searches for an application, they are taken to a fake web page that uses the real name of the program the user searches for, and which contains a link to download software that is, in fact, malware.

“These advertisements have also been used to impersonate websites involved in finances, particularly cryptocurrency exchange platforms,” the FBI notes. Seemingly legitimate exchange platforms, the malicious sites prompt users to provide their login and financial information, which the cyber criminals then use to steal the victim’s funds.

“While search engine advertisements are not malicious in nature, it is important to practice caution when accessing a web page through an advertised link,” the FBI says.

Businesses are advised to use domain protection services to be notified of domain spoofing, and to educate users about spoofed websites and on how to find legitimate downloads for the company’s software.

Users are advised to check URLs to make sure they access authentic websites, to type a business’ URL into the browser instead of searching for that business, and to use ad blockers when performing internet searches. Ad blockers can have a negative impact on the revenues of online businesses and advertisers, but they can be good for online security, and even the NSA and CIA are reportedly using them.

https://www.securityweek.com/fbi-recommends-ad-blockers-cybercriminals-impersonate-brands-search-engine-ads

• North Korea-Linked Hackers Stole $626 Million in Virtual Assets in 2022

South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, estimated that North Korea-linked threat actors have stolen an estimated 1.5 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets in the past five years.

According to the spy agency, more than half the crypto assets (about 800 billion won ($626 million)) have been stolen this year alone, reported the Associated Press. The Government of Pyongyang focuses on crypto hacking to fund its military program following harsh UN sanctions.

“South Korea’s main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said North Korea’s capacity to steal digital assets is considered among the best in the world because of the country’s focus on cyber crimes since UN economic sanctions were toughened in 2017 in response to its nuclear and missile tests.” reported the AP agency. North Korea cannot export its products due to the UN sanctions imposed in 2016 and 1017, and the impact on its economy is dramatic.

The NIS added that more than 100 billion won ($78 million) of the total stolen funds came from South Korea. Cyber security and intelligence experts believe that attacks aimed at the cryptocurrency industry will continue to increase next year. National Intelligence Service experts believe that North Korea-linked APT groups will focus on the theft of South Korean technologies and confidential information on South Korean foreign policy and national security.

Data published by the National Intelligence Service agency confirms a report published by South Korean media outlet Chosun early this year that revealed North Korean threat actors have stolen around $1.7 billion (2 trillion won) worth of cryptocurrency from multiple exchanges during the past five years.

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/139909/intelligence/north-korea-cryptocurrency-theft.html

• UK Security Agency Wants Fresh Approach to Combat Phishing

The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has called for a defence-in-depth approach to help mitigate the impact of phishing, combining technical controls with a strong reporting culture.

Writing in the agency’s blog, technical director and principal architect, “Dave C,” argued that many of the well-established tenets of anti-phishing advice simply don’t work. For example, advising users not to click on links in unsolicited emails is not helpful when many need to do exactly that as part of their job.

This is often combined with a culture where users are afraid to report that they’ve accidentally clicked, which can delay incident response, he said. It’s not the user’s responsibility to spot a phish – rather, it’s their organisation’s responsibility to protect them from such threats, Dave C argued.

As such, they should build layered technical defences, consisting of email scanning and DMARC/SPF policies to prevent phishing emails from arriving into inboxes. Then, organisations should consider the following to prevent code from executing:

• Allow-listing for executables

• Registry settings changes to ensure dangerous scripting or file types are opened in Notepad and not executed

• Disabling the mounting of .iso files on user endpoints

• Making sure macro settings are locked down

• Enabling attack surface reduction rules

• Ensuring third-party software is up to date

• Keeping up to date about current threats

Additionally, organisations should take steps such as DNS filtering to block suspicious connections and endpoint detection and response (EDR) to monitor for suspicious behaviour, the NCSC advised.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-security-agency-combat-phishing/

• GodFather Android malware targets 400 banks, crypto exchanges

An Android banking malware named 'Godfather' has been targeting users in 16 countries, attempting to steal account credentials for over 400 online banking sites and cryptocurrency exchanges.

The malware generates login screens overlaid on top of the banking and crypto exchange apps' login forms when victims attempt to log into the site, tricking the user into entering their credentials on well-crafted HTML phishing pages.

The Godfather trojan was discovered by Group-IB analysts, who believe it is the successor of Anubis, a once widely-used banking trojan that gradually fell out of use due to its inability to bypass newer Android defences. ThreatFabric first discovered Godfather in March 2021, but it has undergone massive code upgrades and improvements since then.

Also, Cyble published a report yesterday highlighting a rise in the activity of Godfather, pushing an app that mimics a popular music tool in Turkey, downloaded 10 million times via Google Play. Group-IB has found a limited distribution of the malware in apps on the Google Play Store; however, the main distribution channels haven't been discovered, so the initial infection method is largely unknown.

Almost half of all apps targeted by Godfather, 215, are banking apps, and most of them are in the United States (49), Turkey (31), Spain (30), Canada (22), France (20), Germany (19), and the UK (17).

Apart from banking apps, Godfather targets 110 cryptocurrency exchange platforms and 94 cryptocurrency wallet apps.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/godfather-android-malware-targets-400-banks-crypto-exchanges/

• Companies Overwhelmed by Available Tech Solutions

92% of executives reported challenges in acquiring new tech solutions, highlighting the complexities that go into the decision-making process, according to GlobalDots.

Moreover, some 34% of respondents said the overwhelming amount of options was a challenge when deciding on the right solutions, and 33% admitted the time needed to conduct research was another challenge in deciding.

Organisations of all varieties rely on technology more than ever before. The constant adoption of innovation is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity to stay on par in today’s fast-paced and competitive digital landscape. In this environment, IT and security leaders are coming under increased pressure to show ROIs from their investment in technology while balancing operational excellence with business innovation. Due to current market realities, IT teams are short-staffed and suffering from a lack of time and expertise, making navigating these challenges even more difficult.

The report investigated how organisations went about finding support for their purchasing decisions. Conferences, exhibitions, and online events served as companies’ top source of information for making purchasing decisions, at 52%. Third-party solutions, such as value-added resellers and consultancies, came in second place at 48%.

54% are already using third parties to purchase, implement, or support their solutions, highlighting the value that dedicated experts with in-depth knowledge of every solution across a wide range of IT fields provide.

We are living in an age of abundance when it comes to tech solutions for organisations, and this makes researching and purchasing the right solutions for your organisation extremely challenging.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/20/tech-purchasing-decisions/

• Nine in 10 Third-party Contractors, Freelancers Use Personal, Unmanaged Devices Likely to be Infected

Talon Cyber Security surveyed 258 third-party providers to better understand the state of third-party working conditions, including work models, types of devices and security technologies used, potentially risky actions taken, and how security and IT tools impact productivity.

Looking at recent high-profile breaches, third parties have consistently been at the epicenter, so they took a step back with their research to better understand the potential root causes. The findings paint a picture of a third-party work landscape where individuals are consistently working from personal, unmanaged devices, conducting risky activities, and having their productivity impacted by legacy security and IT solutions.

Here’s what Talon discovered:

• Most third parties (89%) work from personal, unmanaged devices, where organisations lack visibility and cannot enforce the enterprise’s security posture on. Talon pointed to a Microsoft data point that estimated users are 71% more likely to be infected on an unmanaged device.

• With third parties working from personal devices, they tend to carry out personal, potentially risky tasks. Respondents note that at least on occasion, they have used their devices to:

  • Browse the internet for personal needs (76%)

  • Indulge in online shopping (71%)

  • Check personal email (75%)

  • Save weak passwords in the web browser (61%)

  • Play games (53%)

  • Allow family members to browse (36%)

  • Share passwords with co-workers (24%)

• Legacy apps such as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solutions are prominent, with 45% of respondents using such technologies while working for organisations.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/nine-in-10-third-party-contractors-freelancers-use-personal-unmanaged-devices-likely-to-be-infected/

• UK Privacy Regulator Names and Shames Breached Firms

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken the unusual step of publishing details of personal data breaches, complaints and civil investigations on its website, according to legal experts.

The data, available from Q4 2021 onwards, includes the organisation’s name and sector, the relevant legislation and the type of issues involved, the date of completion and the outcome.

Given the significance of this development, it’s surprising that the ICO has (1) chosen to release it with limited fanfare, and (2) buried the data sets on its website. Indeed, it seems to have flown almost entirely under the radar.

Understanding whether their breach or complaint will be publicised by European regulators is one of – if not the – main concern that organisations have when working through an incident, and the answer has usually been no. That is particularly the understanding or assumption where the breach or complaint is closed without regulatory enforcement. Now, at least in the UK, the era of relative anonymity looks to be over.

Despite the lack of fanfare around the announcement, this naming and shaming approach could make the ICO one of the more aggressive privacy regulators in Europe. In the future, claimant firms in class action lawsuits may adopt “US-style practices” of scanning the ICO database to find evidence of repeat offending or possible new cases.

The news comes even as data reveals the value of ICO fines issued in the past year tripled from the previous 12 months. In the year ending October 31 2022, the regulator issued fines worth £15.2m, up from £4.8m the previous year. The sharp increase in the value of fines shows the ICO’s increasing willingness selectively to crack down on businesses – particularly those that the ICO perceives has not taken adequate measures to protect customer and employee data.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-privacy-regulator-names-and/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• 20 companies affected by major ransomware attacks in 2021 | TechTarget

• NCC Group: Ransomware attacks increased 41% in November | TechTarget

• Conti Team One Splinter Group Resurfaces as Royal Ransomware with Callback Phishing Attacks (trendmicro.com)

• Adversarial risk in the age of ransomware - Help Net Security

• Guardian newspaper hit by suspected ransomware attack, staff told not to come to office - The Record by Recorded Future

• FIN7 hackers create auto-attack platform to breach Exchange servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Agenda Ransomware Variant, Written in Rust, Aiming at Critical Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware Groups to Increase Zero-Day Exploit-Based Access Methods in the Future - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware Uses New Exploit to Bypass ProxyNotShell Mitigations | SecurityWeek.Com

• New Microsoft Exchange exploit chain lets ransomware attackers in (CVE-2022-41080) - Help Net Security

• British newspaper The Guardian says it’s been hit by ransomware | TechCrunch

• Play ransomware actors bypass ProxyNotShell mitigations | TechTarget

• Preventing Cryptocurrency Cyber Extortion (trendmicro.com)

• FIN7 Cyber crime Syndicate Emerges as Major Player in Ransomware Landscape (thehackernews.com)

• Vice Society ransomware gang is using a custom locker - Security Affairs

• NIO suffers user data breach, hacker demands $2.25 million worth of bitcoin - CnEVPost

• German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp targeted in a cyber attack - Security Affairs

• Paying Ransom: Why Manufacturers Shell Out to Cyber criminals (darkreading.com)

• France Seeks to Protect Hospitals After Series of Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fire and rescue service in Victoria, Australia, confirms cyber attack - Security Affairs

• Ransomware hits Leiden University - Techzine Europe

• Play Ransomware Gang Lay Claims For Cyber Attack On H-Hotels (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Evolving threats and broadening responses to Ransomware in the UAE - Security Boulevard

• Cyber Incident Causes System Failures at Canadian Children’s Hospital - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Five Best Practices for Consumers to Beat Phishing Campaigns This Holiday Season - CPO Magazine

• Hackers continue to exploit hijacked MailChimp accounts in cyber crime campaigns (bitdefender.com)

• Holiday Spam, Phishing Campaigns Challenge Retailers (darkreading.com)

• Email hijackers scam food out of businesses, not just money • The Register

• Telling users to ‘avoid clicking bad links’ still isn’t working - NCSC.GOV.UK

• UK Security Agency Calls for Fresh Approach to Combat Phishing - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• “Suspicious login” scammers up their game – take care at Christmas – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Simple Steps to Avoid Phishing Attacks During This Festive season | Tripwire

• Web3 IPFS Currently Used For Phishing (trendmicro.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Telling users to ‘avoid clicking bad links’ still isn’t working - NCSC.GOV.UK

• What happens once scammers receive funds from their victims - Help Net Security

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Amplified security trends to watch out for in 2023 - Help Net Security

2FA/MFA

• Why Security Teams Shouldn't Snooze on MFA Fatigue (darkreading.com)

• Comcast Xfinity accounts hacked in widespread 2FA bypass attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Malware

• DarkTortilla malware spreads on phishing sites masquerading as legitimate domains | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Malicious ‘SentinelOne’ PyPI package steals data from developers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Glupteba Botnet Continues to Thrive Despite Google's Attempts to Disrupt It (thehackernews.com)

• Ukraine's DELTA military system users targeted by info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Sophisticated DarkTortilla Malware Serves Imposter Cisco, Grammarly Pages (darkreading.com)

• Trojanized Windows 10 installers compromised the Ukrainian government | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Raspberry Robin Worm Targets Telcos & Governments (darkreading.com)

• Detecting Windows AMSI Bypass Techniques (trendmicro.com)

• Raspberry Robin worm drops fake malware to confuse researchers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Number of command-and-control servers spiked in 2022: report - The Record by Recorded Future

Mobile

• GodFather Android malware targets 400 banks, crypto exchanges (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Godfather makes banking apps an offer they can’t refuse • The Register

• Beware: Cyber criminals Launch New BrasDex Android Trojan Targeting Brazilian Banking Users (thehackernews.com)

• T-Mobile hacker gets 10 years for $25 million phone unlock scheme (bleepingcomputer.com)

Botnets

• Glupteba Botnet Continues to Thrive Despite Google's Attempts to Disrupt It (thehackernews.com)

• Zerobot malware now spreads by exploiting Apache vulnerabilities (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Flaws within IoT devices exploited by the Zerobot botnet (izoologic.com)

• Zerobot Adds Brute Force, DDoS to Its IoT Attack Arsenal (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• How AI/ML Can Thwart DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

• DDoS Attacks are Slowly Growing in the Technology Era (analyticsinsight.net)

• Zerobot Adds Brute Force, DDoS to Its IoT Attack Arsenal (darkreading.com)

BYOD

• Nine in 10 Third-party Contractors, Freelancers Use Personal, Unmanaged Devices Likely to be Infected - MSSP Alert

Internet of Things – IoT

• Millions of IP cameras around the world are unprotected | TechRadar

• Zerobot Adds Brute Force, DDoS to Its IoT Attack Arsenal (darkreading.com)

• Eufy has removed privacy-focused language from its website amid ongoing security camera fiasco (androidpolice.com)

• Throw away all your Eufy cameras right now | Android Central

• Read what Anker’s customer support is telling worried Eufy camera owners - The Verge

• Amazon Ring Cameras Used in Nationwide ‘Swatting’ Spree, US Says - Bloomberg

• Connected homes are expanding, so is attack volume - Help Net Security

• Security Risks, Serious Vulnerabilities Rampant Among XIoT Devices in the Workplace - CPO Magazine

• Researchers Develop AI-powered Malware Classification for 5G-enabled IIoT - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• LastPass users: Your info and password vault data are now in hackers’ hands | Ars Technica

• Okta's source code stolen after GitHub repositories hacked (bleepingcomputer.com)

• McGraw Hill's S3 buckets exposed 100,000 students' grades • The Register

• NIO suffers user data breach, hacker demands $2.25 million worth of bitcoin - CnEVPost

• Notice of Recent Security Incident - The LastPass Blog

• Shoemaker Ecco leaks over 60GB of sensitive data for 500+ days - Security Affairs

• Restaurant CRM platform ‘SevenRooms’ confirms breach after data for sale (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Leading sports betting firm BetMGM discloses data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MP blasts water firm over cyber attack that saw customers' details leaked to dark web - Staffordshire Live (staffordshire-live.co.uk)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• 'Russian hackers' help two New York men game JFK taxi system - CyberScoop

• Hackers Mined a Single Software Flaw for a Year in NY Cyber attack - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• What happens once scammers receive funds from their victims - Help Net Security

• [FIN7] Fin7 Unveiled: A deep dive into notorious cyber crime gang - PRODAFT

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Microsoft bans cryptomining in Azure | TechRadar

• FTX's alleged run-of-the-mill frauds depended entirely on crypto (yahoo.com)

• GodFather Android malware targets 400 banks, crypto exchanges (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Preventing Cryptocurrency Cyber Extortion (trendmicro.com)

• Two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried plead guilty to fraud charges in FTX fall | FTX | The Guardian

• North Korea-linked hackers stole $626M in virtual assets in 2022 - Security Affairs

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Amplified security trends to watch out for in 2023 - Help Net Security

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• FTX's alleged run-of-the-mill frauds depended entirely on crypto (yahoo.com)

• “Suspicious login” scammers up their game – take care at Christmas – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Fraudulent ‘popunder’ Google Ad campaign generated millions of dollars • The Register

• Over 67,000 DraftKings Betting Accounts Hit by Hackers (gizmodo.com)

• What happens once scammers receive funds from their victims - Help Net Security

• T-Mobile hacker gets 10 years for $25 million phone unlock scheme (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Ad fraud campaign used adult content to make millions (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried plead guilty to fraud charges in FTX fall | FTX | The Guardian

• Inside The Next-Level Fraud Ring Scamming Billions Off Holiday Retailers (darkreading.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• teiss - Supply Chain Security - Hacking the supply chain

• Supply Chain Risks Got You Down? Keep Calm and Get Strategic! (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Microsoft bans cryptomining in Azure | TechRadar

• McGraw Hill's S3 buckets exposed 100,000 students' grades • The Register

• AWS simplifies Simple Storage Service to prevent data leaks • The Register

• Organisations Warned of New Attack Vector in Amazon Web Services - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Brand of Security Threats Surface in the Cloud (darkreading.com)

• Google WordPress Plug-in Bug Allows AWS Metadata Theft (darkreading.com)

• Dealing with cloud security shortfalls - Help Net Security

• It’s time to fill those cloud security gaps • The Register

• Security on a Shoestring? Cloud, Consolidation Best Bets for Businesses (darkreading.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Remote Workers Are Blowing the Whistle, Employees Exposing Companies

Attack Surface Management

• Nine in 10 Third-party Contractors, Freelancers Use Personal, Unmanaged Devices Likely to be Infected - MSSP Alert

Encryption

• Biden Signs Post-Quantum Cyber security Guidelines Into Law (darkreading.com)

API

• APIs are placing your enterprise at risk - Help Net Security

Open Source

• Open source vulnerabilities add to security debt - Help Net Security

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• LastPass admits attackers copied password vaults • The Register

• LastPass users: Your info and password vault data are now in hackers’ hands | Ars Technica

• Notice of Recent Security Incident - The LastPass Blog

Social Media

• Meta Takes Down Over 200 Covert Influence Operations Since 2017 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Social media use can put companies at risk: Here are some ways to mitigate the danger | CSO Online

• Colleges Move To Ban TikTok on Campus (gizmodo.com)

Malvertising

• Fraudulent ‘popunder’ Google Ad campaign generated millions of dollars • The Register

• Don't click too quick! FBI warns of malicious search engine ads | Tripwire

• FBI Recommends Ad Blockers as Cyber criminals Impersonate Brands in Search Engine Ads | SecurityWeek.Com

• Google Ad fraud campaign used adult content to make millions (bleepingcomputer.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Buggy parental-control apps could allow device takeover • The Register

• Bfore.Ai Releases 'The King, The Knight & The Snowball' - Cyber security Book for Children (darkreading.com)

• Children And The Dangers Of The Virtual World (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• TSB fined nearly $60m for platform migration disaster • The Register

• FTC Fines Fortnite Maker Epic Games $275 Million for Violating Children's Privacy Law (thehackernews.com)

• UK Privacy Regulator Names and Shames Breached Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• FCC proposes record-breaking $300 million fine against robocaller (bleepingcomputer.com)

• France Fines Microsoft 60 Million Euros Over Advertising Cookies | SecurityWeek.Com

• The long, long reach of the UK’s national security laws | Financial Times

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Make sure your company is prepared for the holiday hacking season - Help Net Security

• Rethinking Risk After the FTX Debacle (darkreading.com)

• The benefit of adopting a hacker mindset for building security strategies - Help Net Security

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• CISO roles continue to expand beyond technical expertise - Help Net Security

• UK secret services wants ‘corkscrew thinkers’ for new cyber force | News | The Times

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Swatting spree suspects charged after compromising Ring cams • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Not Big Brother, but close: a surveillance expert explains some of the ways we’re all being watched, all the time (theconversation.com)

• France Fines Microsoft 60 Million Euros Over Advertising Cookies | SecurityWeek.Com

• What is surveillance capitalism? - Definition from WhatIs.com (techtarget.com)

• Google Maps: Important reason you should blur your house on Street View (ladbible.com)

• Blur Your House ASAP if It's on Google Maps. Here's Why - CNET

Artificial Intelligence

• Threat Modeling in the Age of OpenAI's Chatbot (darkreading.com)

• This is how OpenAI's ChatGPT can be used to launch cyber attacks (techmonitor.ai)

• How AI/ML Can Thwart DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)

• Bfore.Ai Releases 'The King, The Knight & The Snowball' - Cyber security Book for Children (darkreading.com)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Sophisticated DarkTortilla Malware Serves Imposter Cisco, Grammarly Pages (darkreading.com)

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

• Cyber Warfare Is Getting Real | WIRED

• State level cyber attacks – Why and how (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)

• The risk of escalation from cyber attacks has never been greater | Ars Technica

• Ukraine's DELTA military system users targeted by info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Trojanized Windows 10 installers compromised the Ukrainian government | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• NATO-Member Oil Refinery Targeted in Russian APT Blitz Against Ukraine (darkreading.com)

• Russian APT Gamaredon Changes Tactics in Attacks Targeting Ukraine | SecurityWeek.Com

• Kremlin-linked hackers tried to spy on oil firm in NATO country, researchers say | CNN Politics

• ‘Our weapons are computers’: Ukrainian coders aim to gain battlefield edge | Ukraine | The Guardian

• The long, long reach of the UK’s national security laws | Financial Times

• UK secret services wants ‘corkscrew thinkers’ for new cyber force | News | The Times

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• UK orders sale of Russian-backed broadband firm Upp over ‘security risk’ | Telecommunications industry | The Guardian

• Dark Web Profile: Killnet - Russian Hacktivist Group - SOCRadar

Nation State Actors – China

• Apple accused of censoring apps in Hong Kong and Russia • The Register

• The long, long reach of the UK’s national security laws | Financial Times

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea-linked hackers stole $626M in virtual assets in 2022 - Security Affairs

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Vulnerability Management

• Open source vulnerabilities add to security debt - Help Net Security

• Ransomware Groups to Increase Zero-Day Exploit-Based Access Methods in the Future - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Top 5 Vulnerabilities Routinely Exploited by Threat Actors in 2022 (socradar.io)

• Over 50 New CVE Numbering Authorities Announced in 2022 | SecurityWeek.Com

• A Guide to Efficient Patch Management with Action1 (thehackernews.com)

• Digging into the numbers one year after Log4Shell | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Critical Windows code-execution vulnerability went undetected until now | Ars Technica

• FoxIt Patches Code Execution Flaws in PDF Tools | SecurityWeek.Com

• Old vulnerabilities in Cisco products actively exploited in the wild - Security Affairs

• OWASSRF: CrowdStrike Identifies New Method for Bypassing ProxyNotShell Mitigations

• Microsoft reports macOS Gatekeeper has an 'Achilles' heel • The Register

• Microsoft will turn off Exchange Online basic auth in January (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco’s Talos security bods predict new wave of Excel Hell • The Register

• Microsoft pushes emergency fix for Windows Server Hyper-V VM issues (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Groups to Increase Zero-Day Exploit-Based Access Methods in the Future - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware Uses New Exploit to Bypass ProxyNotShell Mitigations | SecurityWeek.Com

• New Microsoft Exchange exploit chain lets ransomware attackers in (CVE-2022-41080) - Help Net Security

• Zerobot malware now spreads by exploiting Apache vulnerabilities (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Two New Security Flaws Reported in Ghost CMS Blogging Software (thehackernews.com)

• Critical Security Flaw Reported in Passwordstate Enterprise Password Manager (thehackernews.com)

• This critical Windows security flaw could be as serious as WannaCry, experts claim | TechRadar

• Google WordPress Plug-in Bug Allows AWS Metadata Theft (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft Details Gatekeeper Bypass Vulnerability in Apple macOS Systems (thehackernews.com)

Tools and Controls

• Companies overwhelmed by available tech solutions - Help Net Security

• Is Enterprise VPN on Life Support or Ripe for Reinvention? | SecurityWeek.Com

Reports Published in the Last Week

• National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Annual Review 2022: Highlights and Thoughts | Tripwire

Other News

• 'Sextortion,' Business Disruption, and a Massive Attack: What Could Be in Store for 2023 (darkreading.com)

• The Growing Risk Of Malicious QR Codes (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• NASA infosec again falls short of required standard • The Register

• US Joint Cyber Force Elevated to Newest Subordinate Unified Command - MSSP Alert

• The Rise of the Rookie Hacker - A New Trend to Reckon With (thehackernews.com)

• What enumeration attacks are and how to prevent them | TechTarget

• US consumers seriously concerned over their personal data | CSO Online

• The FBI is worried about wave of crime against small businesses (cnbc.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 16 December 2022

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

• Executives Take More Cyber Security Risks Than Office Workers

IT software company Ivanti worked with cyber security experts and surveyed 6,500 executive leaders, cybersecurity professionals, and office workers to understand the perception of today’s cybersecurity threats and to find out how companies are preparing for yet-unknown future threats.

The report revealed that despite 97% of leaders and security professionals reporting their organisation is as prepared, or more prepared, to defend against cybersecurity attacks than they were a year ago, one in five wouldn’t bet a chocolate bar that they could prevent a damaging breach.

In fact, the study finds that organisations are racing to fortify against cyber attacks, but the industry still struggles with a reactive, checklist mentality. This is most pronounced in how security teams are prioritising patches. While 92% of security professionals reported they have a method to prioritise patches, they also indicated that all types of patches rank high – meaning none do.

“Patching is not nearly as simple as it sounds,” said Ivanti. “Even well-staffed, well-funded IT and security teams experience prioritisation challenges amidst other pressing demands. To reduce risk without increasing workload, organisations must implement a risk-based patch management solution and leverage automation to identify, prioritise, and even address vulnerabilities without excess manual intervention”.

Cyber security insiders view phishing, ransomware, and software vulnerabilities as top industry-level threats for 2023. Approximately half of respondents indicated they are “very prepared” to meet the growing threat landscape including ransomware, poor encryption, and malicious employees, but the expected safeguards such as deprovisioning credentials is ignored a third of a time and nearly half of those surveyed say they suspect a former employee or contractor still has active access to company systems and files.

The report also revealed that leaders engage in more dangerous behaviour and are four times more likely to be victims of phishing compared to office workers.

Additionally:

• More than 1 in 3 leaders have clicked on a phishing link

• Nearly 1 in 4 use easy-to-remember birthdays as part of their password

• They are much more likely to hang on to passwords for years

• And they are 5x more likely to share their password with people outside the company.

One survey taker shared, “We’ve experienced a few advanced phishing attempts and the employees were totally unaware they were being targeted. These types of attacks have become so much more sophisticated over the last two years – even our most experienced staff are falling prey to it.”

To cope with a rapidly expanding threat landscape, organisations must move beyond a reactive, rules-based approach.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/16/executives-take-more-cybersecurity-risks-than-office-workers/

• CISO Role is Diversifying from Technology to Leadership & Communication Skills

The role of chief information security officer (CISO), a relatively new executive position, is undergoing some significant changes and an archetype has yet to emerge, a new global report from Marlin Hawk, an executive recruiting and leadership consultant, said.

CISOs are still more likely to serve on advisory boards or industry bodies than on the board of directors. Only 13% of the global CISOs analysed are women; approximately 20% are non-white. Each diversity dimension analysed is down one percentage point year-on-year.

According to James Larkin, managing partner at Marlin Hawk, “Today’s CISOs are taking up the mantle of responsibilities that have traditionally fallen solely to the chief information officer (CIO), which is to act as the primary gateway from the tech department into the wider business and the outside marketplace. This widening scope requires CISOs to be adept communicators to the board, the broader business, as well as the marketplace of shareholders and customers. By thriving in the ‘softer’ skill sets of communication, leadership, and strategy, CISOs are now setting the new industry standards of today and, I predict, will be progressing into the board directors of tomorrow.”

The job does not come without its downsides. For one, according to the search firm, many CISOs change roles and leave their jobs. Their skillset may not be adequate or new leaders get appointed to the job, they lack the necessary internal support, or their company may not have the required commitment to cyber security to make the job effective.

Key findings from the report include:

• 45% of global CISOs have been in their current role for two years or less, down from 53% in 2021, with 18% turnover year-on-year. While there is still a lot of movement in the CISO seat, there is potentially some stabilisation emerging.

• Approximately 62% of global CISOs were hired from another company, indicating a slight increase in the number of CISOs hired internally (38% were hired internally compared to 36% in 2021) but a large gap remains in appropriate successors.

• 36% of CISOs analysed with a graduate degree received a higher degree in business administration or management. This is down 10% from last year (46% in 2021). Conversely, there has been an increase to 61% of CISOs receiving a higher degree in STEM subjects (up from 46% in 2021).

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/ciso-role-is-diversifying-from-technology-to-leadership-communication-skills/

• How Emerging AIs, Like ChatGPT, Can Turn Anyone into a Ransomware and Malware Threat Actor

Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT at the end of November, commentators on all sides have been concerned about the impact AI-driven content-creation will have, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. In fact, many researchers are concerned that generative AI solutions will democratise cyber crime.

With ChatGPT, any user can enter a query and generate malicious code and convincing phishing emails without any technical expertise or coding knowledge.

While security teams can also leverage ChatGPT for defensive purposes such as testing code, by lowering the barrier for entry for cyber attacks, the solution has complicated the threat landscape significantly. From a cyber security perspective, the central challenge created by OpenAI’s creation is that anyone, regardless of technical expertise, can create code to generate malware and ransomware on-demand.

Whilst it can be used for good to assist developers in writing code for good, it can (and already has) been used for malicious purposes. Examples including asking the bot to create convincing phishing emails or assist in reverse engineering code to find zero-day exploits that could be used maliciously instead of reporting them to a vendor.

ChatGPT does have inbuilt guardrails designed to prevent the solution from being used for criminal activity. For instance, it will decline to create shell code or provide specific instructions on how to create shellcode or establish a reverse shell and flag malicious keywords like phishing to block the requests.

The problem with these protections is that they’re reliant on the AI recognising that the user is attempting to write malicious code (which users can obfuscate by rephrasing queries), while there’s no immediate consequences for violating OpenAI’s content policy.

https://venturebeat.com/security/chatgpt-ransomware-malware/

• Cyber Security Drives Improvements in Business Goals

Cyber threats should no longer be viewed as just an IT problem, but also a business problem, Deloitte said in its latest Future of Cyber study. Operational disruption, loss of revenue, and loss of customer trust are the top three significant impacts of cyber incidents. More than half, or 56%, of respondents told Deloitte they suffered related consequences to a moderate or large extent.

In 2021, the top three negative consequences from cyber incidents and breaches were operational disruption, which includes supply chain and the partner ecosystem, intellectual property theft, and a drop in share price. While operational disruption remained the top concern in 2022, loss of revenue and loss of customer trust and negative brand impact moved up in importance. Intellectual property theft and drop in share price dropped to eighth and ninth (out of ten) in ranking. Losing funding for a strategic initiative, loss of confidence in the integrity of the technology, and impact on employee recruitment and retention moved up in ranking in 2022. Respondents were also asked to mark two consequences they felt would be most important in 2023: Operational disruption and loss of revenue topped the list.

"Today, cyber means business, and it is difficult to overstate the importance of cyber as a foundational and integral business imperative," Deloitte noted in its report. "It [cyber] should be included in every functional area, as an essential ingredient for success—to drive continuous business value, not simply mitigate risks to IT."

Deloitte categorised organisations' cyber security maturity based on their adoption of cyber planning, risk management, and board engagement. Risk management included activities such as industry benchmarking, incident response, scenario planning, and qualitative and quantitative risk assessment.

Whether or not the organisation adopted any of these three practices hinged on stakeholders recognising the importance of cyber responsibility and engagement across the whole organisation, Deloitte said in its report. Examples included having a governing body that comprises IT and senior business leaders to oversee the cyber program, conducting incident-response scenario planning and simulation at the organisational and/or board level, regularly providing cyber updates to the board to secure funding, and conducting regular cyber awareness training for all employees.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-threat-monitor/cybersecurity-drives-improvements-in-business-goals

• Incoming FCA Chair Says Crypto Firms Facilitate Money Laundering

The man who will lead UK efforts to regulate cryptocurrency firms issued a stark condemnation of the sector on Wednesday, telling MPs that in his experience crypto platforms were “deliberately evasive”, facilitated money laundering at scale and created “massively untoward risk”.

The comments from Ashley Alder, the incoming chair of the Financial Conduct Authority, suggest that crypto firms hoping to build businesses in the UK will face an uphill battle when the FCA assumes new powers to regulate broad swaths of the sector.

They also put Alder, who will become FCA chair in February, on a potential collision course with the government’s aspiration to create a high quality crypto hub that fosters innovation, a vision ministers have remained loyal to even as the global crypto market lurches from crisis to crisis, epitomised by the collapse of FTX. The FCA declined to comment on whether their incoming chair’s views were at odds with those of the government.

Alder comments came during a sometimes terse appointment hearing with the cross-party Treasury select committee, where he faced sustained criticism for appearing virtually from Hong Kong and for his lack of familiarity with some parts of the UK market place and its accountability structures.

https://www.ft.com/content/7bf0a760-5fb5-4146-b757-1acc5fc1dee5

• Managing Cyber Risk in 2023: The People Element

2022 has had many challenges from cyber war between Russia and Ukraine, continuing ransomware attacks, and a number of high-profile vulnerabilities and zero day attacks.  With the attack surface constantly expanding, CISOs and security leaders are acutely aware of the need to minimise risk across people, processes, and technology.

Top infrastructure risk: people

It’s common knowledge that it’s not if, but when, your organisation will be the target of a cyber attack. CISOs and security leaders seem to share the same opinion—according to Trend Micro’s latest Cyber Risk Index (CRI) (1H’2022), 85% of 4,100 respondents across four global regions said its somewhat to very likely they will experience a cyber attack in the next 12 months.  More concerning was 90% of respondents had at least one successful cyber attack in the past 12 months.

The CRI (1H’2022) also found that CISOs, IT practitioners, and managers identified that most organisations’ IT security objectives are not aligned with the business objectives, which could cause challenges when trying to implement a sound cyber security strategy.

It’s important to note that while ideal, avoiding a cyber attack isn’t the main goal—companies need to address critical challenges across their growing digital attack surface to enable faster detection and response, therefore minimising cyber risk.

While it's commonly assumed that security efforts should be largely focused on protecting critical servers and infrastructure, the human attack vector shouldn’t be so quickly forgotten.

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/ciso/22/e/managing-cyber-risk.html

• What We Can't See Can Hurt Us

In speaking with security and fraud professionals, visibility remains a top priority. This is no surprise, since visibility into the network, application, and user layers is one of the fundamental building blocks of both successful security programs and successful fraud programs. This visibility is required across all environments — whether on-premises, private cloud, public cloud, multicloud, hybrid, or otherwise.

Given this, it is perhaps a bit surprising that visibility in the cloud has lagged behind the move to those environments. This occurred partially because few options for decent visibility were available to businesses as they moved to the cloud. But it also partially happened because higher priority was placed on deploying to the cloud than on protecting those deployments from security and fraud threats.

This is unfortunate, since what we can't see can hurt us. That being said, cloud visibility is becoming a top priority for many businesses. There are a few areas where many businesses are looking for visibility to play a key role, including Compliance, Monitoring, Investigation, Response, API Discovery, Application Breaches, and Malicious User Detection.

Organisation have been a bit behind in terms of ensuring the requisite visibility into cloud environments. Whilst time has been lost, it does seem that gaining visibility into the network, application, and user layers is now a priority for many businesses. This is a positive development, as it enables those businesses to better mitigate the risks that operating blindly creates.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/what-we-can-t-see-can-hurt-us

• Uber Suffers New Data Breach After Attack on Vendor, Info Leaked Online

Uber has suffered a new data breach after a threat actor leaked employee email addresses, corporate reports, and IT asset information stolen from a third-party vendor in a cyber security incident.

On Saturday last week, a threat actor named 'UberLeaks' began leaking data they claimed was stolen from Uber and Uber Eats on a hacking forum known for publishing data breaches. The leaked data includes numerous archives claiming to be source code associated with mobile device management platforms (MDM) used by Uber and Uber Eats and third-party vendor services.

The threat actor created four separate topics, allegedly for Uber MDM at uberhub.uberinternal.com and Uber Eats MDM, and the third-party Teqtivity MDM and TripActions MDM platforms. Each post refers to a member of the Lapsus$ hacking group who is believed to be responsible for numerous high-profile attacks, including a September cyber attack on Uber where threat actors gained access to the internal network and the company's Slack server.

News outlet BleepingComputer has been told that the newly leaked data consists of source code, IT asset management reports, data destruction reports, Windows domain login names and email addresses, and other corporate information. One of the documents seen by BleepingComputer includes email addresses and Windows Active Directory information for over 77,000 Uber employees.

While BleepingComputer initially thought this data was stolen during the September attack, Uber told BleepingComputer it believes it is related to a security breach on a third-party vendor.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/uber-suffers-new-data-breach-after-attack-on-vendor-info-leaked-online/

• When Companies Compensate the Hackers, We All Foot the Bill

Companies are always absorbing costs that are seen as par for the course of budget planning: maintenance, upgrades, office supplies, wastage, shrinkage, etc. These costs ratchet up the price of a company's products and are then passed on to the consumer. Breaches in cyber security and paying out ransoms to hackers should be outside of this remit, and yet more than half of all companies admit to transferring the costs of data breaches on to consumers. Careless or ill-informed employees and other weaknesses in a company's protections lead to catastrophic losses to businesses of around $1,797,945 per minute — and the consumers are paying it off.

If a company estimates the recovery costs from a ransomware attack to exceed the requested payment from the hacker, then it feels like a no-brainer — they're better off just cutting their losses and giving in to the cyber criminal's demands. The issue is that this creates an unvirtuous circle of paying the hacker, which enforces nefarious behaviour and empowers hackers to increase the number and volume of ransoms.

When it comes to ransomware, 32% of companies pay off hackers, and, of that percentage, the average company only retrieves about 65% of its data. Giving in to hackers is counterintuitive. On an even more disturbing note, one study found that 80% of companies that paid a ransom were targeted a second time, with about 40% paying again and a majority of that 40% paying a higher ransom the second time round. This is ludicrous. With 33% of companies suspending operations following an attack, and nearly 40% resorting to laying off staff, it comes as no surprise that the downstream costs are picked up to some extent by the consumer.

As for smaller companies, about 50% of US small businesses don't have a cyber security plan in place, despite the fact that small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted by cyber criminals than larger companies. An average breach costs these companies around $200,000 and has put many out of business. It isn't simply the cost passed on to consumers, it's also the intangible assets, such as brand reputation.

When data is leaked and a site goes down, customers become rightly anxious when their information is sold to the highest bidder on the Dark Web. To safeguard against this, companies of all sizes should exploit automated solutions while training every single member of staff to recognise and report online threats. Paying a ransom does not guarantee the return of data, and for a smaller business, losing valuable customer information could cause long-term damage way beyond the initial attack.

Cyber security professionals, governments, and law enforcement agencies all advise companies to avoid paying the hackers' ransoms. This strategy is affirmed by the success businesses have had in retrieving the stolen data and turning the lights back on — 78% of organisations who say they did not pay a ransom were able to fully restore systems and data without the decryption key. This evidently is not enough to reassure companies who, at the click of a dangerous email being opened, have lost sensitive information and access to their systems and are desperate to get back online. There are many preventative techniques businesses can take advantage of before it even gets to that stage.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/when-companies-compensate-the-hackers-we-all-foot-the-bill

• HSE Cyber-Attack Costs Ireland $83m So Far

The cost of the cyber-attack that hit the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) last year has officially reached €80m ($83.75m).

The figures come from a letter from HSE’s chief information officer, seen by The Irish Times. This comes months after the Department of Health suggested in February the attack could end up costing up to €100m ($104m). The letter confirmed that the costs reached €42m ($43.97m) in 2021 and almost €39m ($40.83m) until October of this year.

Ireland has a very capable national cyber security centre and a well-oiled CSIRT team that engages the public/private sector. If the cost does continue to escalate to €100m, that is the equivalent to everyone in the Republic of Ireland having been defrauded by €20. According to The Irish Times, the costs were said to be “enormous,” and the government has been asked to complete a comprehensive assessment of the impact caused by the breach.

The cyber-attack, believed to have been conducted by Russia-based state actors, was reportedly caused by a malicious Microsoft Excel file delivered via a phishing email. According to a December 2021 report, the file was opened at an HSE workstation in March 2021. The malware would have been latent for two months before the breach, which was reportedly discovered in May, two months later. A total of roughly 100,000 people had their personal data stolen during the cyber-attack.

Healthcare continues to be a target of attacks given their enormous attack surface across critical applications, cloud environments and IoT devices.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hse-cyber-attack-ireland-dollar83m/

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• HSE Cyber-Attack Costs Ireland $83m So Far - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware-hit Rackspace email outage enters 12th day • The Register

• The Dark Web is Getting Darker - Ransomware Thrives on Illegal Markets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Rash of New Ransomware Variants Springs Up in the Wild (darkreading.com)

• Patch Tuesday: Microsoft Plugs Windows Hole Exploited in Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Preventing a ransomware attack with intelligence: Strategies for CISOs - Help Net Security

• Agenda Ransomware Switches to Rust to Attack Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit ransomware crew claims attack on California Department of Finance - CyberScoop

• When Companies Compensate the Hackers, We All Foot the Bill (darkreading.com)

• Clop ransomware uses TrueBot malware for access to networks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• TrueBot infections were observed in Clop ransomware attacks - Security Affairs

• Pulling the Curtains on Azov Ransomware: Not a Skidsware but Polymorphic Wiper - Check Point Research

• Play ransomware claims attack on Belgium city of Antwerp (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Brooklyn hospital network victim of cyber hack crash (msn.com)

• Ransomware Group Threatens to Publish Data Stolen From California Department of Finance | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cyber security Experts Uncover Inner Workings of Destructive Azov Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Cybereason warns of rapid increase in Royal ransomware | TechTarget

• New Royal ransomware group evades detection with partial encryption | CSO Online

• How ChatGPT can turn anyone into a ransomware and malware threat actor   | VentureBeat

• Check Point classifies Azov as wiper, not ransomware | TechTarget

• The Future of Ransomware - Security News (trendmicro.com)

• Hive ransomware gang claims responsibility for attack on Intersport that left cash registers disabled (bitdefender.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Open-source repositories flooded by 144,000 phishing packages (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishing attack uses Facebook posts to evade email security (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• US Food Companies Warned of BEC Attacks Stealing Food Product Shipments | SecurityWeek.Com

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• North Korean Hackers Use Impersonation to Steal Intel - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• Microsoft digital certificates have once again been abused to sign malware | Ars Technica

• Hackers target Japanese politicians with new MirrorStealer malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Zscaler: Nearly 90% of Cyber attacks Now Use Encrypted Channels, Malware Tops - MSSP Alert

• This Linux-targeting malware just got more powerful | ZDNET

• Crooks use HTML smuggling to spread QBot malware via SVG files - Security Affairs

• A clever trick turns antivirus software into unstoppable data wiping scourges | TechSpot

• How ChatGPT can turn anyone into a ransomware and malware threat actor   | VentureBeat

Mobile

• Android Malware Campaign Leverages Money-Lending Apps to Blackmail Victims (thehackernews.com)

• Why You Should Enable Apple’s New iOS 16.2 Security Feature | Reviews by Wirecutter (nytimes.com)

• NSA Slices Up 5G Mobile Security Risks (darkreading.com)

• Xnspy stalkerware spied on thousands of iPhones and Android devices | TechCrunch

Internet of Things – IoT

• Critical Infrastructure Attacks: Convergence of IoT and OT Gives Hackers a Huge Attack Surface - SSP Alert

• 3.5m IP cameras exposed, with US in the lead - Security Affairs

• Are robots too insecure for lethal use by law enforcement? | CSO Online

• 10 Ways Doorbell Cameras Pose a Threat to Privacy and Security - Listverse

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Uber suffers new data breach after attack on vendor, info leaked online (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Twitter confirms recent user data leak is from 2021 breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• HR platform Sequoia says hackers accessed customer SSNs and COVID-19 data | TechCrunch

• Parsing LastPass’ data breach notice | TechCrunch

• Social Blade discloses security breach - Security Affairs

• Australia's Telstra suffers privacy breach, 132,000 customers impacted | Reuters

• Unauthorised server access caused AirAsia data leak: Fahmi | Malaysia | The Vibes

• FBI's InfraGard Cyber security Program Breached by Hackers (gizmodo.com)

• Database of the FBI's InfraGard US Critical Infrastructure Intelligence portal available for sale - Security Affairs

• Aussie Data Breaches Surge 489% in Q4 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Uber staff information leaks after IT supply chain attack • The Register

• TPG reveals emails of 15,000 iiNet and Westnet customers exposed in hack | Telecommunications industry | The Guardian

• TPG Telecom joins list of hacked Australian companies, shares slide | Reuters

• How companies can avoid costly data breaches - Help Net Security

• Hackers leak personal info allegedly stolen from 5.7M Gemini users (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• ‘Booter’ sites taken down in global cyber crime bust (gbnews.uk)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Incoming FCA chair says crypto firms facilitate money laundering | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Britons lose life savings to ‘Ali Baba and the cryptocurrency scammers’ | News | The Times

• Bitcoin miners took on billions in debt to ‘pump their stock’—leading to a crypto catastrophe | Fortune

• Chaos RAT Used to Enhance Linux Cryptomining Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DOJ divided over charging Binance for alleged crypto crimes, report says | Ars Technica

• Crypto was meant to solve financial corruption. The FTX scandal shows it’s got worse | David A Banks | The Guardian

• Facebook Asks Lawmakers Not to Regulate Crypto Too Harshly Just Because of All the Fraud (vice.com)

• The amateur sleuths who helped to bring down Sam Bankman-Fried - New Statesman

• Hackers leak personal info allegedly stolen from 5.7M Gemini users (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Executives take more cyber security risks than office workers - Help Net Security

• Managing Cyber Risk in 2023: The People Element (trendmicro.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Loan Fee Fraud Surges by a Fifth as Christmas Approaches - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Fraudsters Flooding Retail Markets with Bad Bots, Preying on Unsuspecting Retailers, Consumers - MSSP Alert

• Britons lose life savings to ‘Ali Baba and the cryptocurrency scammers’ | News | The Times

• Australians have lost at least $7.2 million to the 'Hi Mum' scam. How does it work and why is it so lucrative for cyber criminals? - ABC News

• Restaurant closes after fraudsters posing as officials steal thousands | News | The Times

• Woman gets 66 months in prison for role in $3.3 million ID fraud op (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Patrick Giblin conned women all over the US. Now he's going to prison for 5 years | CNN

• UK arrests five for selling dodgy point of sale software • The Register

• The amateur sleuths who helped to bring down Sam Bankman-Fried - New Statesman

• Scammers are pretending to be striking paramedics to trick people into giving donations, ambulance service warns | UK News | Sky News

• 8 charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud • The Register

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Incoming FCA chair says crypto firms facilitate money laundering | Financial Times (ft.com)

Insurance

• Most startups have cyber insurance but are uncertain about how much risk is covered - Help Net Security

• Cyber Insurer Cowbell Launches Cyber security Advisory Board - MSSP Alert

Dark Web

• The Dark Web is Getting Darker - Ransomware Thrives on Illegal Markets (bleepingcomputer.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Uber staff information leaks after IT supply chain attack • The Register

• Report highlights serious cyber security issues with US defence contractors | CSO Online

Software Supply Chain

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

• Microsoft digital certificates have once again been abused to sign malware | Ars Technica

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• FBI Charges 6, Seizes 48 Domains Linked to DDoS-for-Hire Service Platforms (thehackernews.com)

• Prosecutors charge 6 people for allegedly waging massive DDoS attacks | Ars Technica

• teiss - Cyber Threats - DDoS attacks on the rise

• How My Startup Survived a DDoS Attack - Bannerbear

• DDoS is not back; it never went away; and PAM is on hand to fight the ‘unstoppable’ menace (techxmedia.com)

• ‘Booter’ sites taken down in global cyber crime bust (gbnews.uk)

• Microsoft discovers Windows/Linux botnet used in DDoS attacks | Ars Technica

Cloud/SaaS

• Top 4 SaaS Security Threats for 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft launches EU 'data boundary' from next year • The Register

• What We Can't See Can Hurt Us (darkreading.com)

• HR platform Sequoia says hackers accessed customer SSNs and COVID-19 data | TechCrunch

• Parsing LastPass’ data breach notice | TechCrunch

• Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service | TechTarget (computerweekly.com)

• Data Destruction Policies in the Age of Cloud Computing (darkreading.com)

Hybrid/Remote Working

• Remote Work Cyber security Requires a Change in Mindset (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Encryption

• Zscaler: Nearly 90% of Cyber attacks Now Use Encrypted Channels, Malware Tops - MSSP Alert

• The FBI Says Apple’s New Encryption Is “Deeply Concerning” (futurism.com)

• NIST Retires SHA-1 Cryptographic Algorithm | NIST

• Over 85% of Attacks Hide in Encrypted Channels - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• WhatsApp is getting closer to a total UK shutdown | indy100

• Privacy advocates are aghast at UK’s anti-encryption plans (thenextweb.com)

API

• Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service | TechTarget (computerweekly.com)

Open Source

• This Linux-targeting malware just got more powerful | ZDNET

• Chaos RAT Used to Enhance Linux Cryptomining Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Google Launches OSV-Scanner Tool to Identify Open Source Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Open-source repositories flooded by 144,000 phishing packages (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• New GoTrim botnet brute forces WordPress site admin accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Fleeing Twitter users face uncertain privacy, security features on alternative platforms - CyberScoop

• Elon Musk's Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council - just days after its members speak out | Science & Tech News | Sky News

• TikTok may push potentially harmful content to teens within minutes, study finds | CNN Business

• Meta warns spyware still being used to target people on social media | Meta | The Guardian

• Elon Musk Bans Journalists From Twitter After Reinstating Nazis (gizmodo.com)

• Russian disinformation rampant on far-right social media platforms - CyberScoop

• HowTo: Fight Cyber-Threats in the Metaverse - Infosecurity Magazine

• US politicians propose TikTok ban over China security concerns (telegraph.co.uk)

• Social Blade discloses security breach - Security Affairs

• Twitter suspends Mastodon’s official account | The Hill

Training, Education and Awareness

• Keep Your Grinch at Bay: Here's How to Stay Safe Online this Holiday Season (thehackernews.com)

• Remote Work Cyber security Requires a Change in Mindset (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Most apps used in US classrooms share students' personal data with advertisers, researchers find - CyberScoop

• TikTok may push potentially harmful content to teens within minutes, study finds | CNN Business

• Microsoft Teams is a vector for child sexual abuse material • The Register

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

• Xnspy stalkerware spied on thousands of iPhones and Android devices | TechCrunch

• Proposed law offers support to tech-enabled abuse survivors • The Register

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Privacy concerns are limiting data usage abilities - Help Net Security

• European Commission takes step toward approving EU-US data privacy pact | Computerworld

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Managing Cyber Risk in 2023: The People Element (trendmicro.com)

• Executives take more cyber security risks than office workers - Help Net Security

• Cyber security Drives Improvements in Business Goals (darkreading.com)

• Compliance Is Not Enough: How to Manage Your Customer Data (darkreading.com)

• 5 tips for building a culture of cyber security accountability - Help Net Security

• How acceptable is your acceptable use policy? | CSO Online

• Data Destruction Policies in the Age of Cloud Computing (darkreading.com)

• What CISOs consider when building up security resilience - Help Net Security

• CISO Role is Diversifying From Technology to Leadership & Communication Skills - MSSP Alert

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• Why PCI DSS 4.0 Should Be on Your Radar in 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• PCI Secure Software Standard version 1.2 sets out new payment security requirements | CSO Online

Backup and Recovery

• Why Your MSSP Should Offer Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) - MSSP Alert

• CISA Warns Veeam Backup & Replication Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Protection

• OECD Signs "Landmark" Privacy Agreement - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Top Reasons Not to Become a Self-Taught Ethical Hacker in 2023 (analyticsinsight.net)

• The Cyber security Industry Doesn't Have a Stress Problem — It Has a Leadership Problem (darkreading.com)

• Two-Thirds of Security Pros Have Burnt Out in Past Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• FBI Charges 6, Seizes 48 Domains Linked to DDoS-for-Hire Service Platforms (thehackernews.com)

• Prosecutors charge 6 people for allegedly waging massive DDoS attacks | Ars Technica

• 8 charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Privacy advocates are aghast at UK’s anti-encryption plans (thenextweb.com)

• WhatsApp is getting closer to a total UK shutdown | indy100

• Most apps used in US classrooms share students' personal data with advertisers, researchers find - CyberScoop

• Apple should pay €6m for tracking users – French official • The Register

• European Commission takes step toward approving EU-US data privacy pact | Computerworld

• Privacy concerns are limiting data usage abilities - Help Net Security

Artificial Intelligence

• Are robots too insecure for lethal use by law enforcement? | CSO Online

• How ChatGPT can turn anyone into a ransomware and malware threat actor   | VentureBeat

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Russian disinformation rampant on far-right social media platforms - Cyberscoop

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

• Trojanized Windows 10 Operating System Installers Targeted Ukrainian Government | Mandiant

• Meta takes down surveillance-for-hire firms, calls for government action against the industry - CyberScoop

• Reassessing cyberwarfare. Lessons learned in 2022 | Securelist

• As Wiretap Claims Rattle Government, Greece Bans Spyware | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ex-Twitter Worker Gets Prison Time in Saudi 'Spy' Case | SecurityWeek.Com

• Reassessing cyberwarfare. Lessons learned in 2022 | Securelist

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Seven accused of smuggling out US military tech for Moscow • The Register

• Neo-Nazi Russian militia appeals for intelligence on Nato member states | Ukraine | The Guardian

• GPS Signals Are Being Disrupted in Russian Cities | WIRED

• NSA cyber director warns of Russian digital assaults on global energy sector - CyberScoop

• Russian disinformation rampant on far-right social media platforms - CyberScoop

Nation State Actors – China

• NSA Outs Chinese Hackers Exploiting Citrix Zero-Day | SecurityWeek.Com

• US politicians propose TikTok ban over China security concerns (telegraph.co.uk)

• Hackers target Japanese politicians with new MirrorStealer malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US to add Chinese chipmaker to trade blacklist | Financial Times (ft.com)

• AIIMS cyber attack suspected to have originated in China, Hong Kong - Rediff.com India News

• Spies and Lies by Alex Joske — inside China’s intelligence operation | Financial Times (ft.com)

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean cyber spies deploy new tactic: tricking foreign experts into writing research for them | Reuters

• North Korean Hackers Use Impersonation to Steal Intel - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• MuddyWater APT group is back with updated TTPs - Security Affairs

• Iran-Backed Charming Kitten APT Eyes Kinetic Ops, Kidnapping (darkreading.com)

• Not-so-Charming Kitten targets orgs for espionage and worse • The Register

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Vulnerability Management

• Transitive Dependencies Account for 95% of Bugs - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 24% of technology applications contain high-risk security flaws - Help Net Security

Vulnerabilities

• Hackers exploit critical Citrix ADC and Gateway zero day, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA Warns Veeam Backup & Replication Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Adobe Patches 38 Flaws in Enterprise Software Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• VMware fixed critical VM Escape bug demonstrated at Geekpwn hacking contest - Security Affairs

• Samba Issues Security Updates to Patch Multiple High-Severity Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Fortinet says SSL-VPN pre-auth RCE bug is exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Transitive Dependencies Account for 95% of Bugs - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Citrix Releases Security Updates for Citrix ADC, Citrix Gateway | CISA

• Security Flaw in Atlassian Products Affecting Multiple Companies (darkreading.com)

• Serious Attacks Could Have Been Staged Through This Amazon ECR Public Gallery Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Patch Tuesday: 0-days, RCE bugs, and a curious tale of signed malware – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Patch Tuesday: Microsoft Plugs Windows Hole Exploited in Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• New Actively Exploited Zero-Day Vulnerability Discovered in Apple Products (thehackernews.com)

• Apple patches everything, finally reveals mystery of iOS 16.1.2 – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Apple fixed the tenth actively exploited zero-day this year - Security Affairs

• High-Severity Memory Safety Bugs Patched With Latest Chrome 108 Update | SecurityWeek.Com

• Top 5 Web App Vulnerabilities and How to Find Them (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Reclassifies SPNEGO Extended Negotiation Security Vulnerability as 'Critical' (thehackernews.com)

• Severe vulnerabilities found in most industrial controllers - The Washington Post

• Akamai WAF bypassed via Spring Boot to trigger RCE | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

Tools and Controls

• CISA Warns Veeam Backup & Replication Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Why Your MSSP Should Offer Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) - MSSP Alert

• How My Startup Survived a DDoS Attack - Bannerbear

• Data Destruction Policies in the Age of Cloud Computing (darkreading.com)

• 8 Firewall Best Practices | Enterprise Networking Planet

• Zero Trust Shouldn’t Be The New Normal (darkreading.com)

Other News

• Cyber Threats Loom as 5B People Prepare to Watch World Cup Final (darkreading.com)

• Tech companies must start sharing intelligence to avert global conflicts | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Japan, Australia, to bolster cyber-defences • The Register

• Microsoft Defender, Avast, AVG turned against Windows to permanently delete files - Neowin

• Analysis Shows Attackers Favour PowerShell, File Obfuscation (darkreading.com)

• Automated Cyber campaign Creates Masses of Bogus Software Building Blocks (darkreading.com)

• 12 types of wireless network attacks and how to prevent them | TechTarget

• Windows: Still insecure after all these years | ZDNET

• FuboTV says World Cup streaming outage caused by a cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• MTTR “not a viable metric” for complex software system reliability and security | CSO Online

• Low-code/no-code security risks climb as tools gain traction | TechTarget

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 09 December 2022

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

• Economic Uncertainty Will Greatly Impact the Spread of Cyber Crime

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Cyber Security Should Focus on Managing Risk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Fearful of cyber attacks, US businesses rate security as a top motivator for software purchases

• Implementation concerns are SMBs’ biggest purchase barrier

• Most SMB software purchases are solely handled by IT, disregarding other important stakeholders

• Customer reviews sway purchase decisions, and verified reviews are critical

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Emails from Rackspace will be sent from @rackspace.com emails (although attackers might still use a spoofed email address and redirect their targets to a landing phishing page)

• Rackspace support will not ask for login credentials or personal information (e.g., social security number, driver's license) during phone calls

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

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

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

• Security Concerns Scupper Deals for Two-Thirds of Firms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• Rackspace customers rage following ransomware attack, as class-action lawsuits filed (bitdefender.com)

• Ransomware Professionalization Grows as RaaS Takes Hold (darkreading.com)

• Rackspace Admits Security Incident, Helps Customers Migrate to Microsoft 365 Accounts - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Medibank share price slumps ahead of major shutdown and cyber security overhaul (fool.com.au)

• Rackspace confirms ransomware behind days-long email outage • The Register

• Vice Society: Profiling a Persistent Threat to the Education Sector (paloaltonetworks.com)

• Wiper, Disguised as Fake Ransomware, Targets Russian Orgs (darkreading.com)

• Never-before-seen malware is nuking data in Russia’s courts and mayors’ offices | Ars Technica

• Rackspace rocked by ‘security incident’ in hosted Exchange • The Register

• Open Source Ransomware Toolkit Cryptonite Turns Into Accidental Wiper Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Understanding NIST CSF to assess your organisation's Ransomware readiness (thehackernews.com)

• New Ransom Payment Schemes Target Executives, Telemedicine – Krebs on Security

• South Pacific vacations may be wrecked by ransomware • The Register

• Gartner: 5 Considerations for I&O Leaders Planning Against Ransomware Attacks - IT Security Guru

• Intersport Data Posted On Hive Dark Web Blog - Information Security Buzz

• NZ Privacy Commissioner Investigates Mercury IT Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Vice Society Ransomware Attackers Targeted Dozens of Schools in 2022 (thehackernews.com)

• Education sector hit by Hive ransomware in November | TechTarget

• Ransomware attack forces French hospital to transfer patients (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CommonSpirit Health ransomware attack exposed data of 623,000 patients (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Gang Steals Employee and Customer Data From LJ Hooker (vice.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Rackspace warns of phishing risks following ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishing in the Cloud: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat (darkreading.com)

• Phishing scammers impersonate WhatsApp by buying a top ad spot on Google | PC Gamer

• Man who lost $149k after clicking on phishing e-mail among at least 10 victims in Case cyber attack | The Straits Times

• How to Recognize Phishing Emails: Cyber security Experts Give Advice - WSJ

• Investment Fraud Gang May Have Made $500m - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

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

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Christmas Warning: Threat Actors Impersonate your Favourite Brands to Attack, Finds CSC - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Infostealer Malware Market Booms, as MFA Fatigue Sets In (darkreading.com)

• Hardening Identities With Phish-Resistant MFA (darkreading.com)

• 'I had £8,000 stolen but Revolut won't refund it' - BBC News

Malware

• Hack-for-Hire Group Targets Travel and Financial Entities with New Janicab Malware Variant (thehackernews.com)

• Infostealer Malware Market Booms, as MFA Fatigue Sets In (darkreading.com)

• Malware Authors Inadvertently Take Down Own Botnet (darkreading.com)

• New TrueBot Malware Variant Leveraging Netwrix Auditor Bug and Raspberry Robin Worm (thehackernews.com)

• Truebot Malware Activity Increases With Possible Evil Corp Connections - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Newly Discovered Trojan Steals 300,000 Facebook Users Details In 4 Year-Long Campaign - Information Security Buzz

• Artifact Poisoning in GitHub Actions Imports Malware via Software Pipelines (darkreading.com)

Mobile

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

• 'Scattered Spider' Cyber crime Group Targets Mobile Carriers via Telecom, BPO Firms | SecurityWeek.Com

• Code of practice for app store operators and app developers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• Android malware apps with 2 million installs spotted on Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Privacy changes set Apple at odds with UK government over online safety bill | Apple | The Guardian

• Android malware infected 300,000 devices to steal Facebook accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Researchers Uncover Darknet Service Allowing Hackers to Trojanize Legit Android Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Android December 2022 security updates fix 81 vulnerabilities (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Telcom and BPO Companies Under Attack by SIM Swapping Hackers (thehackernews.com)

• Darknet's Largest Mobile Malware Marketplace Threatens Users Worldwide (thehackernews.com)

• Eight Questions to Ask Your Aging Parents (and Yourself) to Keep Their Phones Safe From Hackers - WSJ

• SIM swapper gets 18-months for involvement in $22 million crypto heist (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Compromised Android keys used to sign info-stealing malware • The Register

• Largest mobile malware marketplace identified by Resecurity in the Dark Web - Security Affairs

Internet of Things – IoT

• How IoT is changing the threat landscape for businesses - Help Net Security

• What's the Matter with digital trust in smart home devices? - Help Net Security

• Security Risks Found in Millions of XIoT Devices - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Self-Propagating 'Zerobot' Botnet Targeting Spring4Shell, IoT Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Eufy responds to camera security concerns | ZDNET

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Popular HR and Payroll Company Sequoia Discloses a Data Breach | WIRED

• Personal data of 10,000 Australians found for sale online | 7NEWS

• Stolen data of 600,000 Indians sold on bot markets so far - study | Reuters

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Of Exploits and Experts: The Professionalization of Cyber Crime (darkreading.com)

• Economic uncertainty will greatly impact the spread of cyber crime - Help Net Security

• Automated dark web markets sell corporate email accounts for $2 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DHS Cyber Safety Board to review Lapsus$ gang’s hacking tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BlackProxies proxy service increasingly popular among hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Gen Z Internet Users "Normalize" Cyber crime - Report - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Chart: Cyber crime Expected To Skyrocket in Coming Years | Statista

• Metaparasites: The cyber criminals who rip each other off • Graham Cluley

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Bitcoin ‘rarely’ used for legal transactions, on ‘road to irrelevance’, say European Central Bank officials | TechCrunch

• North Korean Hackers Spread AppleJeus Malware Disguised as Cryptocurrency Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Warns Cryptocurrency Firms Against Complex Cyber-Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Threat Actors Use Malicious File Systems to Scale Crypto-Mining Operations - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft: Hackers target cryptocurrency firms over Telegram (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK finalises plans for regulation of ‘wild west’ crypto sector | Financial Times (ft.com)

• North Korean Lazarus Group Linked to New Cryptocurrency Hacking Scheme – Security Bitcoin News

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Even cyber criminals fall for online scams: $2.5m last year • The Register

• Why are Monzo, Revolut and Starling becoming scam targets? — Startup Europe, The Sifted Podcast | Sifted

• 'I had £8,000 stolen but Revolut won't refund it' - BBC News

• Suspects arrested for hacking US networks to steal employee data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Credit card skimming – the long and winding road of supply chain failure – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Australia arrests 'Pig Butchering' suspects for stealing $100 million (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber criminals are scamming each other, tipping off law enforcement - Help Net Security

• Elon Musk "Freedom Giveaway" crypto scam promoted via Twitter lists (bleepingcomputer.com)

• SIM swapper gets 18-months for involvement in $22 million crypto heist (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Metaparasites: The cyber criminals who rip each other off • Graham Cluley

• Investment Fraud Gang May Have Made $500m - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Deepfakes

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

AML/CFT/Sanctions

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

Insurance

• What you should know when considering cyber insurance in 2023 | CSO Online

• Cyber Insurance Policy Underwriting Explained (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

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

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Iranian Hackers Strike Diamond Industry with Data-Wiping Malware in Supply-Chain Attack (thehackernews.com)

• Antwerp's city services down after hackers attack digital partner (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Credit card skimming – the long and winding road of supply chain failure – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Transport And Shipping Beware – Supply Chains Under Attack - Information Security Buzz

• Popular HR and Payroll Company Sequoia Discloses a Data Breach | WIRED

Software Supply Chain

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

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• 3 Types Of DDoS Attack Types You Should Care About - Information Security Buzz

• Microsoft warning after DDoS attack disrupts Russian bank • The Register

Cloud/SaaS

• Phishing in the Cloud: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat (darkreading.com)

• How to get cloud migration right - Help Net Security

• 3 Ways Attackers Bypass Cloud Security (darkreading.com)

• How to implement least privilege access in the cloud | TechTarget

Hybrid/Remote Working

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

Encryption

• WhatsApp raises threat of UK shutdown in encryption row (telegraph.co.uk)

• Governments want to avert quantum's encryption apocalypse (axios.com)

API

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

Open Source

• Ping of death! FreeBSD fixes crashtastic bug in network tool – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Research reveals where 95% of open source vulnerabilities lie - Help Net Security

• Critical Ping Vulnerability Allows Remote Attackers to Take Over FreeBSD Systems (thehackernews.com)

• Threat Actors Use Malicious File Systems to Scale Crypto-Mining Operations - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

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

Social Media

• Taiwan bans state-owned devices from running TikTok • The Register

• Critical Vulnerabilities Force Twitter Alternative Hive Social Offline | SecurityWeek.Com

• Does Hive's Security Problem Make It Unsafe to Use? (lifehacker.com)

• Elon Musk "Freedom Giveaway" crypto scam promoted via Twitter lists (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US States label TikTok a malicious and menacing threat • The Register

Training, Education and Awareness

• Making Cyber-awareness Training And Spoofing Protection Mandatory In The Digital Workplace - Information Security Buzz

• Engage your employees with better cyber security training - Help Net Security

• Lack of Cyber security Expertise Poses Threat for Public-Safety Orgs (darkreading.com)

• 4 cyber security predictions for 2023 --- SANS analysts look ahead | VentureBeat

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• US Sues TikTok Over Child Safety and Data Security Claims - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Are Parents Feeding Kids’ Data To Threat Actors? Expert Comments - Information Security Buzz

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Five companies fined over £400,000 for targeting over-60s with illegal marketing calls | UK News | Sky News

• UK finalises plans for regulation of ‘wild west’ crypto sector | Financial Times (ft.com)

• What Stricter Data Privacy Laws Mean for Your Cyber security Policies (thehackernews.com)

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Cyber security Risk Management In The Real World - Information Security Buzz

• Economic uncertainty will greatly impact the spread of cyber crime - Help Net Security

• Cyber security Plan: 3 Keys for CISOs (trendmicro.com)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• Understanding NIST CSF to assess your organisation's Ransomware readiness (thehackernews.com)

• PCI Secure Software Standard 1.2 released - Help Net Security

• How compliance leaders can encourage employees to report misconduct - Help Net Security

• The changing role of the MITRE ATT@CK framework | CSO Online

• Don't Wait to Become CMMC Compliant - Information Security Buzz

• Three Ways to Improve Defence Readiness Using MITRE D3FEND | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Protection

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

• How companies time data leak disclosures - Help Net Security

• What Stricter Data Privacy Laws Mean for Your Cyber security Policies (thehackernews.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

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

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Suspects arrested for hacking US networks to steal employee data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Australia arrests 'Pig Butchering' suspects for stealing $100 million (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• The Privacy War Is Coming (darkreading.com)

• Apple Faces Critics Over Its Privacy Policies | SecurityWeek.Com

• Privacy changes set Apple at odds with UK government over online safety bill | Apple | The Guardian

• Apple announces new security and privacy measures amid surge in cyber-attacks | Apple | The Guardian

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

• NATO Readies for Cyber War: Simulation Shows Unified Front Against Attack - MSSP Alert

• Microsoft warns of Russian cyber attacks throughout the winter (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft warning after DDoS attack disrupts Russian bank • The Register

• Lessons from Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine | The Economist

• Russian Espionage APT Callisto Focuses on Ukraine War Support Organisations | SecurityWeek.Com

• Russian Actors Use Compromised Healthcare Networks Against Ukrainian Orgs (darkreading.com)

• Security Firms Aiding Ukraine During War Could Be Considered Participants in Conflict (substack.com)

• Russian Hackers Use Western Networks to Attack Ukraine - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Pegasus spyware was used to hack reporters’ phones. I’m suing its creators | Nelson Rauda Zablah | The Guardian

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Microsoft encourages 'strong cyber hygiene' in light of increasing Russian cyber attacks | PC Gamer

• Russian Hackers Spotted Targeting US Military Weapons and Hardware Supplier (thehackernews.com)

• The surprising ineffectiveness of Russia’s cyber-war | The Economist

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese Government Linked Hackers Swiped $20M in Targeted Pandemic Funds, Secret Service Says - MSSP Alert

• Chinese Hackers Using Russo-Ukrainian War Decoys to Target APAC and European Entities (thehackernews.com)

• Chinese Hackers Target Middle East Telecoms in Latest Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Chinese hackers stole millions worth of US COVID relief money, Secret Service says | Reuters

• Amnesty International Canada breached by suspected Chinese hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• China Operates More Than 100 Secret 'Police Stations' Globally: Report (businessinsider.com)

• US Congress rolls back proposal to restrict use of Chinese chips | Computerworld

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean tech freelancers' earnings fund nukes, missiles • The Register

• North Korean Hackers Spread AppleJesus Malware Disguised as Cryptocurrency Apps (thehackernews.com)

• Google Documents IE Browser Zero-Day Exploited by North Korean Hackers | SecurityWeek.Com

• APT37 Uses Internet Explorer Zero-Day to Spread Malware (darkreading.com)

• Google: State hackers still exploiting Internet Explorer zero-days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Lazarus Group Linked to New Cryptocurrency Hacking Scheme – Security Bitcoin News

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iranian APT Targets US With Drokbk Spyware via GitHub (darkreading.com)

• Iranian Hackers Strike Diamond Industry with Data-Wiping Malware in Supply-Chain Attack (thehackernews.com)

• Iranian State Hackers Targeting Key Figures in Activism, Journalism, and Politics (thehackernews.com)

• UK lawmakers warned of cyber-attacks and possible harassment from Iranian operatives | CNN

• Iran Arrests News Agency Deputy After Reported Cyber attack | SecurityWeek.Com

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Vulnerabilities

• Attackers take over expired domain to deliver web skimming scripts - Help Net Security

• Google discovers Windows exploit framework used to deploy spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco discloses high-severity IP phone bug with exploit code (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Chrome emergency update fixes 9th zero-day of the year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Documents IE Browser Zero-Day Exploited by North Korean Hackers | SecurityWeek.Com

• For Cyber attackers, Popular EDR Tools Can Turn into Destructive Data Wipers (darkreading.com)

• A new Linux flaw can be chained with other two bugs to gain full root privileges - Security Affairs

• Self-Propagating 'Zerobot' Botnet Targeting Spring4Shell, IoT Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Google Chrome Flaw Added to CISA Patch List (darkreading.com)

• Fortinet Patches High-Severity Authentication Bypass Vulnerability in FortiOS | SecurityWeek.Com

• Research reveals where 95% of open source vulnerabilities lie - Help Net Security

• Critical Ping Vulnerability Allows Remote Attackers to Take Over FreeBSD Systems (thehackernews.com)

• Google: State hackers still exploiting Internet Explorer zero-days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Multiple Zero Days Discovered In Leading Antivirus And Endpoint Solutions (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• APT37 Uses Internet Explorer Zero-Day to Spread Malware (darkreading.com)

• WAFs of Several Major Vendors Bypassed With Generic Attack Method | SecurityWeek.Com

• Google Chrome zero-day exploited in the wild (CVE-2022-4262) - Help Net Security

• Sophos fixed a critical flaw in its Sophos Firewall version 19.5 - Security Affairs

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Tools and Controls

• Security pros feel threat detection and response workloads have increased - Help Net Security

• Single Sign-on: It's Only as Good as Your Ability to Use It (darkreading.com)

• Leveraging the full potential of zero trust - Help Net Security

• Understanding malware analysis and its challenges | TechTarget

• Using XDR to Consolidate and Optimize Cyber security Technology (thehackernews.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• The promise of Open Everything (axway.com)

• Security Outcomes Report, Volume 3 - Cisco

• ENISA Threat Landscape 2022 — ENISA (europa.eu)

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Other News

• Over 4,000 Vulnerable Pulse Connect Secure Hosts Exposed to Internet | SecurityWeek.Com

• Where Advanced Cyber attackers Are Heading Next: Disruptive Hits, New Tech (darkreading.com)

• 43 Trillion Security Data Points Illuminate Our Most Pressing Threats (darkreading.com)

• 7 reasons why you must embed trust into the core of your business - Help Net Security

• Most convicted terrorists radicalised online, finds MoJ-backed study | UK security and counter-terrorism | The Guardian

• Risky online behaviour ‘almost normalised’ among young people, says study | Internet | The Guardian

• Top 7 factors boosting enterprise cyber security resilience - Help Net Security

• Machine Learning Models: A Dangerous New Attack Vector (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft's rough 2022 security year in review | CSO Online

• Consumers want convenience without sacrificing security - Help Net Security

• 4 cyber security predictions for 2023 --- SANS analysts look ahead | VentureBeat

• 3 of the Worst Data Breaches in the World That Could Have Been Prevented  - Security Affairs

• Removing the Barriers to Security Automation Implementation | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cyber security Should Focus on Managing Risk (darkreading.com)

• Deal with sophisticated bot attacks: Learn, adapt, improve - Help Net Security

• Want to detect Cobalt Strike? Look to process memory • The Register

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 25 November 2022

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

• Hackers Hit One Third of Organisations Worldwide Multiple Times

Hackers have stolen customer records multiple times from nearly a third of organisations worldwide in the past 12 months, security provider Trend Micro said in its newly released, twice-yearly Cyber Risk Index (CRI) report.

The report features interviews with some 4,100 organisations across North America, Europe, Latin/South America and Asia-Pacific. Respondents stressed that customer records are at increased risk as organisations struggle to profile and defend an expanding attack surface.

Overall, respondents rated the following as the top cyber threats in 1H 2022:

• Business Email Compromise (BEC)

• Clickjacking

• Fileless attacks

• Ransomware

• Login attacks (Credential Theft)

Here are some key findings from the study:

• The CRI calculates the gap between organisational preparedness and the likelihood of being attacked, with -10 representing the highest level of risk. The global CRI index moved from –0.04 in 2H 2021 to –0.15 in 1H 2022, indicating a surging level of risk over the past six months.

• This is a slight increase in risk from the second half of 2021, when it was -0.04. Organisations in North America and Asia-Pacific saw an increase in their cyber risk from that period while Europe and Latin/South America’s risk decreased in comparison.

• The number of global organisations experiencing a “successful” cyber-attack increased from 84% to 90% over the same period.

• The number now expected to be compromised over the coming year has also increased from 76% to 85%.

From the business perspective, the biggest concern is the misalignment between CISOs and business executives, Trend Micro said. The answers given by respondents to the question: “My organisation’s IT security objectives are aligned with business objectives,” only made a score of 4.79 out of 10.0

By addressing the shortage of cyber security professionals and improving security processes and technology, organisations will significantly reduce their vulnerability to attacks.

You can’t protect what you can’t see. But with hybrid working ushering in a new era of complex, distributed IT environments, many organisations are finding it difficult to eradicate growing security coverage and visibility gaps. To avoid the attack surface spiraling out of control, they need to combine asset discovery and monitoring with threat detection and response on a single platform.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/hackers-hit-one-third-of-organizations-worldwide-multiple-times/

• Firms Spend $1,197 Per Employee Yearly to Address Cyber Attacks

Companies pay an average of $1,197 per employee yearly to address successful cyber incidents against email services, cloud collaboration apps or services and browsers.

Security researchers at Perception Point shared the findings with Infosecurity before publishing them in a new white paper this month.

According to the new data, the above figures exclude compliance fines, ransomware mitigation costs and losses from non-operational processes, all of which can cause further spending.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with Osterman Research in June, considers the responses of 250 security and IT decision-makers at various enterprises and reveals additional discoveries regarding today’s enterprise threat landscape.

These findings demonstrate the urgent need for organisations to find the most accurate and efficient cyber security solutions which provide the necessary protection with streamlined processes and managed services.

Among the findings is that malicious incidents against new cloud-based apps and services occur at 60% of the frequency with which they take place on email-based services.

Additionally, some attacks, like those involving malware installed on an endpoint, happen on cloud collaboration apps at a much higher rate (87%) when compared to email-based services.

The Perception Point report also shows that a successful email-based cyber incident takes security staff an average of 86 hours to address.

In light of these figures, the security company added that one security professional with no additional support can only handle 23 email incidents annually, representing a direct cost of $6452 per incident alone.

Conversely, incidents detected on cloud collaboration apps or services take, on average, 71 hours to resolve. In these cases, one professional can handle just 28 incidents yearly at an average cost of $5305 per incident.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/firms-dollar1197-per-employee/

• 90% of Organisations have Microsoft 365 Security Gaps

A recently published study evaluated 1.6 million Microsoft 365 users across three continents, finding that 90% of organisations had gaps in essential security protections. Managing Microsoft 365 (M365) is complicated. How can IT teams avoid management headaches, stay 100% compliant, and truly take control of their M365 instance?

Research from the study reveals that many common security procedures are not being followed 100% of the time. This leaves gaping holes in most organisations’ security defences. While most companies have strong documented security policies, the research uncovered that most aren’t being implemented consistently due to difficulties in reporting and limited IT resources:

• 90% of companies had gaps across all four key areas studied – multi-factor authentication (MFA), email security, password policies, and failed logins

• 87% of companies have MFA disabled for some or all their admins (which are the most critical accounts to protect, due to their higher access levels)

• Only 17% of companies had strong password requirements that were being consistently followed.

Overall, nearly every organisation is leaving the door open for cyber security threats due to weak credentials, particularly for administrator accounts.

In addition to security challenges, the study identified key areas for improvement in managing Microsoft 365 licences as well, such as:

• The average company had 21.6% of their licenses unassigned or “sitting on the shelf.” Another 10.2% of licenses were inactive, for an average of 31.9% unused licenses.

• 17% of companies had over 10,000 licenses unassigned or inactive. These cases represent big opportunities to optimise licence spend with better tools.

Overall, the study reveals that reporting challenges make security and licence management incredibly difficult, leading to unnecessary risks and costs.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/22/microsoft-365-security-protections/

• Luna Moth Phishing Extortion Campaign Targets Businesses in Multiple Sectors

A callback phishing extortion campaign by Luna Moth (aka Silent Ransom Group) has targeted businesses in multiple sectors, including legal and retail.

The findings come from Palo Alto Network’s security team Unit 42, which described the campaign in a new advisory.

“This campaign leverages extortion without encryption, has cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars and is expanding in scope,” reads the technical write-up. At the same time, Unit 42 said that this type of social engineering attack leaves very few artifacts because it relies on legitimate technology tools to carry out attacks. In fact, callback phishing, also known as telephone-oriented attack delivery (TOAD), is a social engineering method that requires a threat actor to interact with the victim to accomplish their goals.

“This attack style is more resource intensive but less complex than script-based attacks, and it tends to have a much higher success rate,” reads the advisory. According to Unit 42, threat actors associated with the Conti group have extensively used this attack style in BazarCall campaigns. “Early iterations of this attack focused on tricking the victim into downloading the BazarLoader malware using documents with malicious macros,” explained the researchers.

As for the new campaign, which Sygnia security researchers first unveiled in July, it removes the malware portion of the attack. “In this campaign, attackers use legitimate and trusted systems management tools to interact directly with a victim’s computer to manually exfiltrate data [...] As these tools are not malicious, they’re not likely to be flagged by traditional antivirus products,” Unit 42 wrote.

The researchers also said that they expect callback phishing attacks to increase in popularity because of low per-target cost, low risk of detection and fast monetisation factors.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/luna-moth-phishing-target-multiple/

• The Real Cost of Cyber Attacks: What Organisations Should Be Prepared For

With each passing year, hackers and cyber criminals of all kinds are becoming more sophisticated, malicious, and greedy conducting brazen and often destructive cyber-attacks that can severely disrupt a company’s business operations. And this is a big problem, because, first and foremost, customers rely on a company’s ability to deliver services or products in a timely manner. Cyber-attacks not only can affect customers’ data, but they can impact service delivery.

In one of the recent incidents, the UK’s discount retailer The Works has been forced to temporarily shut down some of its stores after a ransomware attack. While the tech team quickly shut down the company’s computers after being alerted to the security breach by the firewall system, the attack caused disruption to deliveries and store functionality including till operations.

A cyber security incident can greatly affect a business due to the consequences associated with cyber-attacks like potential lawsuits, hefty fines and damage payments, insurance rate hikes, criminal investigations and bad publicity. For example, shares of Okta, a major provider of authentication services, fell 9% after the company revealed it was a victim of a major supply chain incident via an attack on a third-party contractor’s laptop, which affected some of its customers.

Another glaring example is a 2021 cyber-attack launched by the Russian-speaking ransomware gang called DarkSide against the operator of one of the US’ largest fuel pipelines Colonial Pipeline, which crippled fuel delivery across the Southeastern United States impacting lives of millions due to supply shortages. Colonial paid the DarkSide hackers a $4.4 million ransom soon after the incident. The attackers also stole nearly 100GB of data from Colonial Pipeline and threatened to leak it if the ransom wasn’t paid. It’s also worth noting that the company is now facing a nearly $1 million penalty for failure “to plan and prepare for a manual restart and shutdown operation, which contributed to the national impacts after the cyber-attack.”

Data breaches and costs associated with them have been on the rise for the past few years, but, according to a 2021 report, the average cost per breach increased from $3.86 million in 2020 to $4.24 million in 2021. The report also identified four categories contributing most global data breach costs – Lost business cost (38%), Detection and escalation (29%), Post breach response (27%), and Notification (6%).

Ransomware attacks cost an average of $4.62 million (the cost of a ransom is not included), and destructive wiper-style attacks cost an average of $4.69 million, the report said.

For a business, a data breach is not just a loss of data, it can also have a long-lasting impact on operations and undermine customers’ trust in the company. In fact, a survey revealed that 87% of consumers are willing to take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust a company is handling their data responsibly. Therefore, the reputational damage might be detrimental to a business’ ability to attract new customers.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/the-real-cost-of-cyber-attacks-what-organizations-should-be-prepared-for-2/

• 34 Russian Cyber Crime Groups Stole Over 50 Million Passwords with Stealer Malware

As many as 34 Russian-speaking gangs, distributing information-stealing malware under the stealer-as-a-service model, stole no fewer than 50 million passwords in the first seven months of 2022.

"The underground market value of stolen logs and compromised card details is estimated around $5.8 million" Singapore-headquartered Group-IB said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

Aside from looting passwords, the stealers also harvested 2.11 billion cookie files, 113,204 crypto wallets, and 103,150 payment cards.

A majority of the victims were located in the US, followed by Brazil, India, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, France, Turkey, Vietnam, and Italy. In total, over 890,000 devices in 111 countries were infected during the time frame.

Group-IB said the members of several scam groups who are propagating the information stealers previously participated in the Classiscam operation. These groups, which are active on Telegram and have around 200 members on average, are hierarchical, consisting of administrators and workers (or traffers), the latter of whom are responsible for driving unsuspecting users to info-stealers like RedLine and Raccoon. This is achieved by setting up bait websites that impersonate well-known companies and luring victims into downloading malicious files. Links to such websites are, in turn, embedded into YouTube video reviews for popular games and lotteries on social media, or shared directly with non-fungible token (NFT) artists.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/34-russian-hacker-groups-stole-over-50.html

• “Password” Continues to Be the Most Common Password in 2022

You would think the time spent working from home in the last two years or so helped netizens across the planet figure out how to master the world of WWW in a more efficient manner.

But new research from NordPass shows that despite so many people relying on an Internet connection for their daily activities, few actually care about the security of their data when they go online.

As a result, “password” continues to be the number one password out there, with the aforementioned company claiming that this particular keyword was detected close to 5 million times in a 3TB database. It takes less than one second to crack this password, the company says.

“123456” is currently the second most-used password worldwide, followed by its longer sibling known as “123456789” because, you know, hackers don’t know how to count to 10.

“There’s more than one way to get swindled on Tinder: using “tinder” as your password is more risky than swiping right on a billionaire. In total, this password was used 36,384 times” NordPass says. “The glitziest film industry event of the year – the Oscars ceremony – inspired many to use not-so-glitzy passwords: the password “Oscars” was used 62,983 times.”

Of course, it’s no surprise that Internet users out there turn to movies to get inspiration for their passwords, so unfortunately, “batman” is currently one of the most used keywords supposed to secure Internet accounts.

“Films and shows like Batman, Euphoria, and Encanto were among the most popular releases in 2021/2022. All are also popular passwords: “batman” was used 2,562,776 times, “euphoria” 53,993, and “encanto” 10,808 times,” the company says.

The most common password in the United States is “guest,” while in the United Kingdom, quite a lot of people go for “liverpool” (despite hackers needing just 1 second to crack it).

https://news.softpedia.com/news/password-continues-to-be-the-most-common-password-in-2022-as-well-536503.shtml

• Lasts Year’s Massive Twitter Data Breach Was Far Worse Than Reported, Reveal Security Researchers

A massive Twitter data breach last year, exposing more than five million phone numbers and email addresses, was worse than initially reported. The same security vulnerability appears to have been exploited by multiple bad actors, and the hacked data has been offered for sale on the dark web by several sources.

It had previously been thought that only one hacker gained access to the data, and Twitter’s belated admission reinforced this impression. HackerOne first reported the vulnerability back in January, which allowed anyone to enter a phone number or email address, and then find the associated twitterID. This is an internal identifier used by Twitter, but can be readily converted to a Twitter handle. A bad actor would be able to put together a single database which combined Twitter handles, email addresses, and phone numbers.

At the time, Twitter admitted that the vulnerability had existed, and subsequently been patched, but said nothing about anyone exploiting it. Restore Privacy subsequently reported that a hacker had indeed used the vulnerability to obtain personal data from millions of accounts.

https://9to5mac.com/2022/11/25/massive-twitter-data-breach/

• European Parliament Declares Russia to be a State Sponsor of Terrorism – Then Gets Attacked

On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the latest developments in Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. MEPs highlight that the deliberate attacks and atrocities committed by Russian forces and their proxies against civilians in Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of international and humanitarian law amount to acts of terror and constitute war crimes. In light of this, they recognise Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state that “uses means of terrorism”.

As the EU currently cannot officially designate states as sponsors of terrorism, the European Parliament calls on the EU and its member states to put in place the proper legal framework and consider adding Russia to such a list. This would trigger a number of significant restrictive measures against Moscow and have profound restrictive implications for EU relations with Russia.

In the meantime, MEPs call on the Council to include the Russian paramilitary organisation ‘the Wagner Group’, the 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the “Kadyrovites”, and other Russian-funded armed groups, militias and proxies, on the EU’s terrorist list.

Almost immediately after the vote the European Parliament suffered a sustained denial of service attack that shut down email services and disrupted internet access for more than an hour. A pro-Russian group called KILLNET then claimed responsibility in a Telegram post.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20221118IPR55707/european-parliament-declares-russia-to-be-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/comment-european-parliament-hit-by-cyberattack-after-vote-on-russia/

• The Changing Nature of Nation-State Cyber Warfare

Military conflict is ever shifting from beyond the battlefield and into cyber space. Ever more sophisticated and ruthless groups of nation-state actors and their proxies continue to target critical systems and infrastructure for political and ideological leverage. These criminals’ far-reaching objectives include intelligence gathering, financial gain, destabilising other nations, hindering communications, and the theft of intellectual property.

The risks to individuals and society are clear. Due to its importance to daily life and the economy, the UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) is a natural target for malicious nation-state cyber-attacks. We only need look at the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in the US – at the hands of the Russia-affiliated DarkSide group – to appreciate the potential for one criminal act to escalate and cause large-scale societal impact: panic and disruption. Even though the pipeline was shut down for less than a week, the havoc caused by suspending fuel supplies gave CNI operators everywhere a worrying taste of things to come.

Closer to home, the recent cyber attack on South Staffordshire Water highlights the need for all utilities providers to take proactive measures and precautions to better secure essential human sustenance supplies. With the risk of coordinated attacks by criminals backed by nation states rising, the potential for human casualties if attacks against CNI go unchecked is becoming starkly clear.

The Russia-Ukraine war has heightened awareness of the cyber threats posed by all nation-state adversaries. Unsurprisingly, challenges and conflicts in the physical world tend to bleed through into the cyber domain. And with relations between Western nations and Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea more fraught than ever, UK organisations can expect to see further increases in cyber threats at the hands of hostile nation-state actors.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/the-changing-nature-of-nation-state-cyber-warfare/

• Is Your Company Covered for a Cyber Security Attack? That’s the £2 Million Question

Cyber crime continues to be a persistent and pressing issue for all sized businesses, particularly smaller organisations. In fact, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, nearly 60% of small businesses that experience a cyber attack shut their doors within six months.

Despite the continuing rise in risk, many small businesses remain vulnerable to cyber attacks due to a lack of resources and – surprisingly – a lack of knowledge of the existing threats. Moreover, companies are now being exposed to cyber risks even further as they struggle to get appropriate cyber insurance, which, if needed, can be devastating should bad actors circumvent your company’s defences.

Cyber insurance is a policy that helps an organisation pay for any financial losses incurred following a data breach or cyber attack. It also helps cover any costs related to the remediation process, such as paying for the investigation, crisis communication, legal services, and customer refunds.

With the constant – and ever-increasing – threat of potential cyber attacks and the need to protect their assets, many companies are applying for cyber insurance, which generally covers a variety of different types of cyber-attacks, including data breaches; business email compromises; cyber extortion demands; malware infections and ransomware.

But, despite the benefits of cyber insurance, it remains surprisingly undervalued. The UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 found that only 43% of businesses have a cyber insurance policy in place.

Organisations must always seek cost-effective ways to address the cyber security risks they face – as no business is safe in the modern security landscape from a cyber threat. One of the most common ways to mitigate the risk of a cyber security incident is cyber insurance.  While all-sized businesses can benefit from having cyber insurance, small businesses frequently lack the knowledge and importance of securing it. This is usually because of the cost, the time involved in finding a provider, and a lack of understanding of the importance of a cyber insurance policy.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/is-your-company-covered-for-a-cybersecurity-attack-thats-the-2-million-question/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Yanluowang Ransomware's Russian Links Laid Bare - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Medibank hackers release 1,500 more patient records on dark web, including mental health data | Medibank | The Guardian

• Fake subscription invoices lead to corporate data theft and extortion - Help Net Security

• Ouch! Ransomware gang says it won’t attack AirAsia again due to the “chaotic organisation” and sloppy security of hacked airline’s network • Graham Cluley

• Ransomware gang targets Belgian municipality, hits police instead (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New ransomware encrypts files, then steals your Discord account (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Donut extortion group also targets victims with ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Daixin Ransomware Gang Steals 5 Million AirAsia Passengers' and Employees' Data (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware attacks: Making cyber ransom payments unlawful would help boards (afr.com)

• An aggressive Black Basta Ransomware campaign targets US-based companies - Security Affairs

• Luna Moth ransomware group invests in call centres to target individual victims - SiliconANGLE

• New ransomware attacks in Ukraine linked to Russian Sandworm hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cybereason warns of fast-moving Black Basta campaign (techtarget.com)

• Spate Of Ransomware Targeting Healthcare Cost $92 Billion In Downtime Since 2018, Experts Weigh In - Information Security Buzz

• RansomExx Upgrades to Rust (securityintelligence.com)

• Enterprise healthcare providers warned of Lorenz ransomware threat | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Montreal-area city hit by ransomware: Report | IT World Canada News

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Google Blocks 231B Spam, Phishing Emails in Past 2 Weeks (darkreading.com)

• World Cup phishing emails spike in Middle Eastern countries • The Register

• Microsoft Email Security Bypasses Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks - IT Security Guru

• Researcher warns that Cisco Secure Email Gateways can easily be circumvented - Security Affairs

• SocGholish finds success through novel email techniques | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Ten Charged in $11m Healthcare BEC Plots - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Malware

• Cyber criminals are increasingly using info-stealing malware to target victims | CSO Online

• A security firm hacked malware operators, locking them out of their own C&C servers | TechSpot

• Emotet is back and delivers payloads like IcedID and Bumblebee - Security Affairs

• All You Need to Know About Emotet in 2022 (thehackernews.com)

• New attacks use Windows security bypass zero-day to drop malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Multi-Purpose Botnet and Infostealer 'Aurora' Rising to Fame | SecurityWeek.Com

• DUCKTAIL malware campaign targeting Facebook business and ads accounts is back | CSO Online

• Aurora infostealer malware increasingly adopted by cybergangs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• This new malware is able to bypass all of Microsoft's security warnings | TechRadar

• Backdoored Chrome extension installed by 200,000 Roblox players (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• 'Patch Lag' Leaves Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable (darkreading.com)

• Millions of Android Devices Still Don't Have Patches for Mali GPU Flaws (thehackernews.com)

• Your iPhone may be collecting more personal data than you think | Digital Trends

• This Android File Manager App Infected Thousands of Devices with SharkBot Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Bahamut cybermercenary group targets Android users with fake VPN apps | WeLiveSecurity

• WhatsApp data leak: 500 million user records for sale | Cybernews

Internet of Things – IoT

• Vulnerable SDK components lead to supply chain risks in IoT and OT environments - Microsoft Security Blog

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Data from 5.4M Twitter users obtained from multiple threat actors and combined with data from other breaches - Security Affairs

• WhatsApp data leak: 500 million user records for sale - Security Affairs

• California County Says Personal Information Compromised in Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com

• Personal data of AirAsia Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand passengers allegedly leaked due to ransomware - SoyaCincau

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Russian cyber gangs stole over 50 million passwords this year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How social media scammers buy time to steal your 2FA codes – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• DEV-0569 Group Switches Tactics, Abuses Google Ads to Deliver Payloads | Cyware Alerts - Hacker News

• Hackers are locking out Mars Stealer operators from their own servers | TechCrunch

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Bank Of England Says Crypto Needs Regulation Now - Information Security Buzz

• Two Estonians arrested for running $575M crypto Ponzi scheme (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber crooks to ditch BTC as regulation and tracking improves: Kaspersky (cointelegraph.com)

• Google Chrome extension used to steal cryptocurrency, passwords (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crypto exchanges’ bundling of services threatens stability, says Bank of England official | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Bahamas SEC Or Hacker? Stolen Funds From FTX Keep On Moving (bitcoinist.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• 'iSpoof' service dismantled, main operator and 145 users arrested (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Operation Elaborate - UK police text 70,000 suspected victims of iSpoof bank fraudsters | Tripwire

• UK Cops Lead Action Against Fraud Site that Made £100m - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DUCKTAIL malware campaign targeting Facebook business and ads accounts is back | CSO Online

• Beware - Black Friday online shopping scams are here now | TechRadar

• Online retailers should prepare for a holiday season spike in bot-operated attacks | CSO Online

• Pig butchering domains seized and slaughtered by the Feds • The Register

• Experts Warn Remote Workers of Black Friday Security Threats - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insurance

• What cyber insurance really covers - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• CISA, NSA, ODNI Publish Software Supply Chain Guidelines For Customers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com) 

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Out of the blue: Surviving an 18-hour, 39M-request DDoS attack - Help Net Security

Cloud/SaaS

• The impact of inadequate SaaS management - Help Net Security

Hybrid/Remote Working

• How remote working impacts security incident reporting | CSO Online

Identity and Access Management

• Access Rights – Bridging the Gap Between Current and Desired States - Information Security Buzz

Encryption

• Mathematical theorem used to crack US government encryption algorithm (phys.org)

API

• 5 API Vulnerabilities That Get Exploited by Criminals - Security Affairs

• The API Timebomb - Information Security Buzz

• What are different types of APIs? - IT Security Guru

• Three security design principles for public REST APIs - Help Net Security

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Russian cyber gangs stole over 50 million passwords this year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Guess the most common password. Hint: We just told you • The Register

• World Cup Players Among Most Breached Passwords - IT Security Guru

• Google Chrome extension used to steal cryptocurrency, passwords (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Email Security Bypasses Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks - IT Security Guru

• Hackers steal $300,000 in DraftKings credential stuffing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Data from 5.4M Twitter users obtained from multiple threat actors and combined with data from other breaches - Security Affairs

• Ducktail hackers now use WhatsApp to phish for Facebook Ad accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber security Pros Put Mastodon Flaws Under the Microscope (darkreading.com)

• Musk to abused Twitter users: Your tormentors will return • The Register

• Facebook sued for collecting personal data to sell adverts | News | The Times

• DUCKTAIL malware campaign targeting Facebook business and ads accounts is back | CSO Online

• Meta Takes Down Fake Facebook and Instagram Accounts Linked to Pro-US Influence Operation (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Email Security Bypasses Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks - IT Security Guru

• Beyond Trump, Twitter welcomes back purveyors of far-right disinformation - CyberScoop

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

• Musk to abused Twitter users: Your tormentors will return • The Register

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Bank Of England Says Crypto Needs Regulation Now - Information Security Buzz

• UK’s Privacy Tsar Defends Controversial Enforcement Strategy - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How US cyber incident reporting law could finally fix the information sharing problem - CyberScoop

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• UK Cops Lead Action Against Fraud Site that Made £100m - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Operation Elaborate - UK police text 70,000 suspected victims of iSpoof bank fraudsters | Tripwire

• Interpol Seized $130 Million from Cyber criminals in Global "HAECHI-III" Crackdown Operation (thehackernews.com)

• 'iSpoof' service dismantled, main operator and 145 users arrested (bleepingcomputer.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• iPhones are not as privacy-focused as Apple claims, researchers point out - India Today

• Thinking about taking your computer to the repair shop? Be very afraid | Ars Technica

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Beyond Trump, Twitter welcomes back purveyors of far-right disinformation - CyberScoop

• Meta Takes Down Fake Facebook and Instagram Accounts Linked to Pro-US Influence Operation (thehackernews.com)

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

• Ukraine shows how space is now central to warfare | Financial Times (ft.com)

• New ransomware attacks in Ukraine linked to Russian Sandworm hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• EU Parliament Putin things back together after cyber attack • The Register

• Opinion | Democracies flirting with spyware like Pegasus raises dangers - The Washington Post

• Scotland's broadband builder linked to Israeli spyware | HeraldScotland

• Bahamut Spyware Group Compromises Android Devices Via Fake VPN Apps - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russia-based RansomBoggs Ransomware Targeted Several Ukrainian Organisations (thehackernews.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russian Tech Giant Wants Out of the Country As Ukraine War Rages on (insider.com)

• Yanluowang Ransomware's Russian Links Laid Bare - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• US Bans Chinese Telecom Equipment and Surveillance Cameras Over National Security Risk (thehackernews.com)

• UK bans Chinese CCTV cameras on ‘sensitive’ government sites • The Register

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Vulnerability Management

• EPSS explained: How does it compare to CVSS? | CSO Online

Vulnerabilities

• 73 Percent of Retail Applications Contain Security Flaws, but Only a Quarter Are Fixed (yahoo.com)

• ConnectWise Fixes XSS Vulnerability that Could Lead to Remote Code Execution - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Researcher warns that Cisco Secure Email Gateways can easily be circumvented - Security Affairs

• Vulnerability in AWS AppSync allowed unauthorized access to cloud resources | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• AWS fixes 'confused deputy' vulnerability in AppSync • The Register

• How to hack an unpatched Exchange server with rogue PowerShell code – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Google pushes emergency Chrome update to fix 8th zero-day in 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Upgrade to Apache Commons Text 1.10 to Avoid New Exploit (infoq.com)

• Security experts are laying Mastodon's flaws bare | TechRadar

• Devices from Dell, HP, and Lenovo used outdated OpenSSL versions - Security Affairs

• PoC Code Published for High-Severity macOS Sandbox Escape Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com

• 5 API Vulnerabilities That Get Exploited by Criminals - Security Affairs

• Vulnerable SDK components lead to supply chain risks in IoT and OT environments - Microsoft Security Blog

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Tools and Controls

• Does Zero Trust mean Defence in Depth is dead? - Information Security Buzz

• Charting the Path to Zero Trust: Where to Begin (darkreading.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Threat actors extend attack techniques to new enterprise apps and services - Help Net Security

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Other News

• Know thy enemy: thinking like a hacker can boost cyber security strategy | CSO Online

• 'Quiet quitting' poses a cyber security risk that calls for a shift in workplace culture  | VentureBeat

• Nighthawk Likely to Become Hackers' New Post-Exploitation Tool After Cobalt Strike (thehackernews.com)

• Security Culture Matters when IT is Decentralized (trendmicro.com)

• Legacy IT system modernization largely driven by security concerns - Help Net Security

• Been Doing It The Same Way For Years? Think Again. (thehackernews.com)

• Here's how to make sure your incident response strategy is ready for holiday hackers - Help Net Security

• Docker Hub repositories hide over 1,650 malicious containers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hacked digital billboard in Brisbane displays pornography for several minutes | Queensland | The Guardian

• The Case For A Security Program - Information Security Buzz

• How Tech Companies Can Slow Down Spike in Breaches (darkreading.com)

• Inventor of the Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee wants to save your data from Big Tech with Web3.0 | Euronews

• Deloitte reveals 10 strategic cyber security predictions for 2023  | VentureBeat

• The Biden administration has racked up a host of cyber security accomplishments | CSO Online

• US Navy Forced to Pay Software Company for Licensing Breach (gizmodo.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 November 2022

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

• Amid Legal Fallout, Cyber Insurers Redefine State-Sponsored Attacks as Act of War

As carriers rewrite their act-of-war exclusions following the NotPetya settlement between Mondelez and Zurich, organisations should read their cyber insurance policies carefully to see what is still covered.

The consequences from NotPetya, which the US government said was caused by a Russian cyber attack on Ukraine in 2017, continue to be felt as cyber insurers modify coverage exclusions, expanding the definition of an "act of war." Indeed, the 5-year-old cyber attack appears to be turning the cyber insurance market on its head.

Mondelez International, parent of such popular brands as Cadbury, Oreo, Ritz, and Triscuit, was hit hard by NotPetya, with factories and production disrupted. It took days for the company's staff to regain control of its computer systems. The company filed a claim with its property and casualty insurer, Zurich American, for $100 million in losses. After initially approving a fraction of the claim — $10 million — Zurich declined to pay, stating the attack was an act of war and thus excluded from the coverage. Mondelez filed a lawsuit.

Late last month Mondelez and Zurich American reportedly agreed to the original $100 million claim, but that wasn't until after Merck won its $1.4 billion lawsuit against Ace American Insurance Company in January 2022 for its NotPetya-related losses. Merck's claims also were against its property and casualty policy, not a cyber insurance policy.

Back in 2017, cyber insurance policies were still nascent, and so many large corporations filed claims for damages related to NotPetya — the scourge that caused an estimated $10 billion in damage worldwide — against corporate property and casualty policies.

What's Changed? The significance of these settlements illustrates an ongoing maturation of the cyber insurance market, says Forrester Research.

Until 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber insurance policies were sold in a fashion akin to traditional home or auto policies, with little concern for a company's cyber security profile, the tools it had in place to defend its networks and data, or its general cyber hygiene.

Once a large number of ransomware attacks occurred that built off of the lax cyber security many organisations demonstrated, insurance carriers began tightening the requirements for obtaining such policies.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/amid-notpetya-fallout-cyber-insurers-define-state-sponsored-attacks-as-act-of-war

• Is Your Board Prepared For New Cyber Security Regulations?

Boards are now paying attention to the need to participate in cyber security oversight. Not only are the consequences sparking concern, but the new regulations are upping the ante and changing the game.

Boards have a particularly important role to ensure appropriate management of cyber risk as part of their fiduciary and oversight role. As cyber threats increase and companies worldwide bolster their cyber security budgets, the regulatory community, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is advancing new requirements that companies will need to know about as they reinforce their cyber strategy.

Most organisations focus on cyber protection rather than cyber resilience, and that could be a mistake. Resiliency is more than just protection; it’s a plan for recovery and business continuation. Being resilient means that you’ve done as much as you can to protect and detect a cyber incident, and you have also done as much as you can to make sure you can continue to operate when an incident occurs. A company who invests only in protection is not managing the risk associated with getting up and running again in the event of a cyber incident.

Research indicates that most board members believe it is not a matter of if, but when, their company will experience a cyber event. The ultimate goal of a cyber-resilient organisation would be zero disruption from a cyber breach. That makes the focus on resilience more important.

In March 2022, the SEC issued a proposed rule titled Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure.  In it, the SEC describes its intention to require public companies to disclose whether their boards have members with cyber security expertise: “Cyber security is already among the top priorities of many boards of directors and cyber security incidents and other risks are considered one of the largest threats to companies. Accordingly, investors may find disclosure of whether any board members have cyber security expertise to be important as they consider their investment in the registrant as well as their votes on the election of directors of the registrant.”

The SEC will soon require companies to disclose their cyber security governance capabilities, including the board’s oversight of cyber risk, a description of management’s role in assessing and managing cyber risks, the relevant expertise of such management, and management’s role in implementing the registrant’s cyber security policies, procedures, and strategies. Specifically, where pertinent to board oversight, registrants will be required to disclose:

• whether the entire board, a specific board member, or a board committee is responsible for the oversight of cyber risks,

• the processes by which the board is informed about cyber risks, and the frequency of its discussions on this topic,

• whether and how the board or specified board committee considers cyber risks as part of its business strategy, risk management, and financial oversight.

https://hbr.org/2022/11/is-your-board-prepared-for-new-cybersecurity-regulations

• Unwanted Emails Steadily Creeping into Inboxes

A research from cloud security provider Hornetsecurity has revealed that 40.5% of work emails are unwanted. The Cyber Security Report 2023, which analysed more than 25 billion work emails, also reveals significant changes to the nature of cyber attacks in 2022 – indicating the constant, growing threats to email security, and need for caution in digital workplace communications.

Phishing remains the most common style of email attack, representing 39.6% of detected threats. Threat actors used the following file types sent via email to deliver payloads: Archive files (Zip, 7z, etc.) sent via email make up 28% of threats, down slightly from last year’s 33.6%, with HTML files increasing from 15.3% to 21%, and DOC(X) from 4.8% to 12.7%.

This year’s cyber security report shows the steady creep of threats into inboxes around the world. The rise in unwanted emails, now found to be nearly 41%, is putting email users and businesses at significant risk.

HornetSecurity’s analysis identified both the enduring risk and changing landscape of ransomware attacks – highlighting the need for businesses and their employees to be more vigilant than ever.

New cyber security trends and techniques for organisations to watch out for were also tracked. Since Microsoft disabled macros settings in Office 365, there has been a significant increase in HTML smuggling attacks using embedded LNK or ZIP files to deliver malware. Microsoft 365 makes it easy to share documents, and end users often overlook the ramifications of how files are shared, as well as the security implications. Hornetsecurity found 25% of respondents were either unsure or assumed that Microsoft 365 was immune to ransomware threats.

For these attackers, every industry is a target. Companies must therefore ensure comprehensive security awareness training while implementing next-generation preventative measures to ward off threats.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/14/email-security-threats/

• People Are Still Using the Dumbest Passwords Available

If you were thinking that most people would have learned by now not to use “password” as the password for their sensitive systems, then you would be giving too much credit to the general scrolling public.

Cyber security researchers from Cybernews and password manager company NordPass both independently reported this week on data surrounding the most commonly-used passwords. Trying to discern the frequently used words, phrases, and numbers among the general public wouldn’t be simple if it weren’t for the troves of leaked passwords being sold on the dark web.

Cybernews said it based its data on a list of 56 million breached or leaked passwords in 2022 found via databases in darknet and clearnet hacker forums. Some of the most-used passwords were exactly what you expect, easy-to-remember junk passwords for company accounts, including “123456,” “root,” and “guest” all looking pretty in the top three.

NordPass, on the other hand, listed its top passwords by country and the supposed gender of the user. In their case, “password” sat in the number one spot for most-used password throughout the globe. Some countries had very specific passwords that were commonly used, such as “liverpool” being the number 4 most-used password in the UK despite it being 197 in the world. The number 2 most-used password for Brazil accounts is “Brasil” while in Germany, number 5 is “hallo.”

NordPass said the list of passwords was built by a team of independent researchers who compiled 3TB of data from listings on the dark web, including some data that was leaked in data breaches that occurred in 2022. The company noted that some data might be from late 2021, though the passwords were listed on the dark web in the new year.

https://gizmodo.com/passwords-hacker-best-passwords-cybersecurity-1849792818

• Zero-Trust Initiatives Stall, as Cyber Attack Costs Rocket to $1M per Incident

Researchers find current data protection strategies are failing to get the job done, and IT leaders are concerned, while a lack of qualified IT security talent hampers cyber-defence initiatives.

Organisations are struggling with mounting data losses, increased downtime, and rising recovery costs due to cyber attacks — to the tune of $1.06 million in costs per incident. Meanwhile, IT security teams are stalled on getting defences up to speed.

That's according to the 2022 Dell Global Data Protection Index (GDPI) survey of 1,000 IT decision-makers across 15 countries and 14 industries, which found that organisations that experienced disruption have also suffered an average of 2TB data loss and 19 hours of downtime.

Most respondents (67%) said they lack confidence that their existing data protection measures are sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats. A full 63% said they are not very confident that all business-critical data can be reliably recovered in the event of a destructive cyber attack.

Their fears seem founded: Nearly half of respondents (48%) experienced a cyber attack in the past 12 months that prevented access to their data (a 23% increase from 2021) — and that's a trend that will likely continue.

The growth and increased distribution of data across edge, core data centre and multiple public cloud environments are making it exceedingly difficult for IT admins to protect their data.

On the protection front, most organisations are falling behind; for instance, 91% are aware of or planning to deploy a zero-trust architecture, but only 12% are fully deployed.

And it's not just advanced defence that's lacking: Keegan points out that 69% of respondents stated they simply cannot meet their backup windows to be prepared for a ransomware attack.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/zero-trust-initiatives-stall-cyberattack-costs-1m-per-incident

• 44% of Financial Institutions Believe Their Own IT Teams Are the Main Risk to Cloud Security

Netwrix, a cyber security vendor, today announced additional findings for the financial and banking sector from its global 2022 Cloud Security Report.

Compared to other industries surveyed, financial institutions are much more concerned about users who have legitimate access to their cloud infrastructure. Indeed, 44% of respondents in this sector say their own IT staff poses the biggest risk to data security in the cloud and 47% worry about contractors and partners, compared to 30% and 36% respectively in other verticals surveyed.

Financial organisations experience accidental data leakage more often than companies in other verticals: 32% of them reported this type of security incident within the last 12 months, compared to the average of 25%. This is a good reason for them to be concerned about users who might unintentionally expose sensitive information. To address this threat, organisations need to implement a zero-standing privilege approach in which elevated access rights are granted only when they are needed and only for as long as needed. Cloud misconfigurations are another common reason for accidental data leakage. Therefore, security teams must continually monitor the integrity of their cloud configurations, ideally with a dedicated solution that automates the process.

All sectors say phishing is the most common type of attack they experience. However, 91% of financial institutions say they can spot phishing within minutes or hours, compared to 82% of respondents in other verticals.

Even though mature financial organisations detect phishing quickly, it is still crucial for them to keep educating their personnel on this threat because attacks are becoming more sophisticated. To increase the likelihood of a user clicking a malicious link, attackers are crafting custom spear phishing messages that are directed at the person responsible for a certain task in the organisation and that appear to come from an authority figure. Regular staff training, along with continuous activity monitoring, will help reduce the risk of infiltration.

https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/44-of-financial-institutions-believe-their-own-it-teams-are-the-main-risk-to-cloud-security

• MFA Fatigue Attacks Are Putting Your Organisation at Risk

The rapid advancement of technology in all industries has led to the threat of ever-increasing cyber attacks that target businesses, governments, and individuals alike. A common threat targeting businesses is MFA Fatigue attacks—a technique where a cyber criminal attempts to gain access to a corporate network by bombarding a user with MFA prompts until they finally accept one.

MFA refers to multi-factor authentication, a layered end-user verification strategy to secure data and applications. For a user to log in, an MFA system needs them to submit various combinations of two or more credentials.

Using MFA Fatigue attacks, cyber criminals bombard their victims with repeated 2FA (two-factor authentication) push notifications to trick them into authenticating their login attempts, to increase their chances of gaining access to sensitive information. This attempt can be successful, especially when the target victim is distracted or overwhelmed by the notifications or misinterprets them as legitimate authentication requests.

One major MFA Fatigue attack, also known as MFA bombing, targeted the ride-sharing giant Uber in September 2022. Uber attributed the attack to Lapsus$, a hacking group that started by compromising an external contractor’s credentials.

Cyber criminals increasingly use social engineering attacks to access their targets’ sensitive credentials. Social engineering is a manipulative technique used by hackers to exploit human error to gain private information.

MFA Fatigue is a technique that has gained popularity among hackers in recent years as part of their social engineering attacks. This is a simple yet effective technique with destructive consequences as the hackers are banking on their targets’ lack of training and understanding of attack vectors. Since many MFA users are unfamiliar with this style of attack, they would not understand that they are approving a fraudulent notification.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mfa-fatigue-attacks-are-putting-your-organization-at-risk/

• Cyber Security Training Boosts Risk Posture, Research Finds

Business executives worldwide see the economic advantages of continuing professional cyber security education and the steep downside from a workforce of under-trained individuals, Cybrary, a training platform provider, said in a new report.

The survey of 275 executives, directors and security professionals in North America and the UK who either procure or influence professional cyber security training, was conducted by consultancy Omdia. The results showed that the benefits of professional training boost an employee’s impact on the organisation, the overall risk posture of the organisation, and in the costs associated with finding and retaining highly skilled employees, the analyst said.

The study’s key findings include:

• 73% of respondents said their team’s cyber security performance was more efficient because of ongoing professional cyber security training.

• 62% of respondents said that training improved their organisation’s cyber security effectiveness (which encompasses decreases in the number of breach attempts and overall security events).

• 79% of respondents ranked professional cyber security training at the top or near the top of importance for the organisation’s ability to prevent and rapidly remediate breaches and ensuing consequences such as reputational damage.

• 70% of companies reported a relationship between an incident and training, and two-thirds of respondents reported increased investments in ongoing cyber security training after a security incident.

• Large enterprises are the least likely to delay upskilling until after an incident, indicating that companies with larger cyber security teams firmly understand the importance of ongoing professional training.

• 67% of surveyed SMBs invested in cyber security training after a security incident, which served as a call to action.

• 53% invested in professional cyber security training due to a cyber security insurance audit.

• 48% of organisations said that cyber security training drives retention and decreases the likelihood that a cyber security professional will leave the organisation that trains them.

• 41% said that ongoing cyber security training has no significant impact on if a cyber security professional leaves.

Cybrary said the research shows the rewards that organisations enjoy by investing in training and upskilling their security professionals. The data “codifies the fiscal and reputational paybacks in proactively improving cyber security defences versus responding to attacks. It also codifies an often-underrecognised benefit of cyber security upskilling: helping the organisation retain invaluable security talent despite market and organisational uncertainty”.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cybersecurity-training-boosts-risk-posture-research-finds/

• MI5 Chief: UK Will Have to Tackle Russian Aggression ‘for Years to Come’

Britain will have to tackle Russian aggression for years to come, said the MI5’s chief on Wednesday, adding that his agency had blocked more than 100 attempts by the Kremlin to insert suspected spies into the UK since the Salisbury poisonings.

Ken McCallum, giving an annual threat update, said state-based threats were increasing and said the UK also faced a heightened direct threat from Iran, which had threatened “to kidnap or even kill” 10 people based in Britain in the past year.

The spy chief said Russia had suffered a “strategic blow” after 400 spies were expelled from around Europe following the start of the war in Ukraine, but he said the Kremlin was actively trying to rebuild its espionage network.

Britain had expelled 23 Russian spies posing as diplomats after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2018, yet since then “over 100 Russian diplomatic visa applications” had been rejected on national security grounds.

McCallum accused Russia of making “silly claims” about British activities without evidence, such as that UK was involved in attacking the Nord Stream gas pipelines. But the head of MI5 said “the serious point” was that “the UK must be ready for Russian aggression for years to come”.

Iran’s “aggressive intelligence services” were actively targeting Britain and had made “at least 10” attempts to “kidnap or even kill” British or UK-based individuals since January as the regime felt greater pressure than ever before.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/16/mi5-chief-uk-will-have-to-tackle-russian-aggression-for-years-to-come

• Offboarding Processes Pose Security Risks as Job Turnover Increases: Report

Research from YouGov finds that poor offboarding practices across industries including healthcare and tech are putting companies at risk, including for loss of end-user devices and unauthorised SaaS application use.

Organisations across multiple industries are struggling to mitigate potential risks, including loss of end-user and storage devices as well as unauthorised use of SaaS applications, during their offboarding process, according to new research conducted by YouGov in partnership with Enterprise Technology Management (ETM) firm Oomnitza.

Over the last 18 months, employee turnover has increased, with the US Department of Labor estimating that by the end of 2021, a total of 69 million people, more than 20% of Americans, had either lost or changed their job. Although these figures could initially be attributed to the so-called Great Resignation, this figure is likely to increase due to the numerous job cuts that are now being reported, including layoffs at major technology companies, as organisations look to reduce operational costs.

Although the circumstances of an employee’s departure can sometimes make the offboarding process more complex, ultimately offboarding should aim to prevent disruption and mitigate any potential risks.

However, in YouGov’s 2022 State of Corporate Offboarding Process Automation report, the research found that although implementing a secure offboarding processes is now seen as a business imperative for enterprises, 48% of the survey’s respondents expressed deficiencies in or lack of automated workflows across departments and IT tools to facilitate the secure offboarding of employees.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3680368/offboarding-processes-pose-security-risks-as-job-turnover-increases-report.html#tk.rss_news

• Supply Chains Need Shoring Up Against Cyber Attacks, C-Suite Executives Say

Nearly every organisation (98%) in a new survey of some 2,100 C-suite executives has been hit by a supply chain cyber attack in the last year, security provider BlueVoyant said in a newly released study.

The study gleaned data from interviews with chief technology officers (CTOs), chief security officers (CSOs), chief operating officers (COOs), chief information officers (CIOs), chief information security officers (CISOs), and chief procurement officers (CPOs) responsible for supply chain and cyber risk management in organisations of more than 1,000 employees across business services, financial services, healthcare and pharmaceutical, manufacturing, utilities and energy, and defence industries.

While the number of companies experiencing digital supply chain attacks has stayed relatively static year-over-year, the attention paid by organisations to that attack vector has increased, BlueVoyant said. Still, the New York-based cyber defender said, there’s a lot of room for organisations to better monitor suppliers and “work with them to remediate issues to reduce their supply chain risks.”

Here are some macro highlights from the survey:

• 40% of respondents rely on the third-party vendor or supplier to ensure adequate security.

• In 2021, 53% of companies said they audited or reported on supplier security more than twice per year. That number has improved to 67% in 2022. These numbers include enterprises monitoring in real time.

• Budgets for supply chain defence are increasing, with 84% of respondents saying their budget has increased in the past 12 months.

• The top pain points reported are internal understanding across the enterprise that suppliers are part of their cyber security posture, meeting regulatory requirements, and working with suppliers to improve their security.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/supply-chains-need-shoring-up-against-cyberattacks-c-suite-executives-say/

• Do Companies Need Cyber Insurance?

Companies are increasingly seeking to transfer risk with cyber insurance. This trend has been influenced by a greater severity in cyber attacks and the resulting skyrocketing costs of incident response, business disruption and recovery.

Companies struggle to afford the high prices of cyber insurance, however. One market index reported the price of cyber insurance increased 79% in the second quarter of 2022. Without it, however, companies risk shouldering the full cost of any resulting harm. Furthermore, insurance companies that lack traditional decades of actuarial data must consider whether to provide cyber insurance to clients unable or unwilling to show their cyber security maturity through independent risk analysis.

This combination of circumstances leaves businesses vulnerable, financially drained and facing potential reputational damage. But does it have to be this way? And is cyber insurance truly necessary? For the majority of organisations, the answer is that cyber insurance is a worthwhile investment as part of their overall risk treatment plans. There are a number of activities, however, that should be undertaken to optimise the benefits and reduce the costs of cyber-risk insurance.

A rise in high-profile attacks, in tandem with increased regulation and compliance surrounding cyber security and privacy, has shifted the conversation around digital safety. No longer is cyber security an optional aspect of the business model with a fixed, stagnant cost. Businesses today have become too digitally dependent to ignore cyber security, with classified, internal information stored online; communication largely conducted via email or another platform; and the workforce transitioned to hybrid and remote work environments. Effective cyber security and privacy, as well as mitigating financial and operational risks, can be strategic enablers to modern digital business.

Cyber insurance is not a solution -- it's a piece of the puzzle. Regardless of industry or company size, all businesses should conduct an independent cyber audit prior to committing to cyber insurance. In doing so, organisations can determine the need for cyber insurance and better understand their organisations' risk posture and weak points.

Even if insurance is needed, the audit further adds value as it lets insurance companies support the company specific to its digital landscape and help it become more digitally strong. Additionally, the existence of an independent audit and risk review may indeed enable the insurance company to offer higher levels of coverage without the need for excessive premiums.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/post/Do-companies-need-cyber-insurance

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Ransomware incidents now make up majority of British government’s crisis management COBRA meetings - The Record by Recorded Future

• Ransomware is a global problem that needs a global solution | TechCrunch

• FBI: Hive ransomware extorted $100M from over 1,300 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The psychological fallout of a ransomware crisis - Help Net Security

• New extortion scam threatens to damage sites’ reputation, leak data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thales Denies Getting Hacked as Ransomware Gang Releases Gigabytes of Data | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Warns of Cyber crime Group Delivering Royal Ransomware, Other Malware | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hive Ransomware Has Made $100m to Date - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit Remains Most Prolific Ransomware in Q3 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DEV-0569 finds new ways to deliver Royal ransomware, various payloads - Microsoft Security Blog

• Transportation sector targeted by both ransomware and APTs - Help Net Security

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware on Healthcare Organisations cost Global Economy $92 bn - IT Security Guru

• Russian hacktivists hit Ukrainian orgs with ransomware - but no ransom demands - Help Net Security

• Australia to ‘stand up and punch back’ against cyber crims • The Register

• LockBit ransomware activity nose-dived in October (techtarget.com)

• Medibank data breach update: Details of almost 1000 employees also included in cyber attack (9news.com.au)

• How to deal with the trauma of the Medibank cyber breach | Andrea Szasz | The Guardian

• Australia is considering a ban on cyber ransom payments, but it could backfire. Here's another idea (theconversation.com)

• Researchers secretly helped decrypt Zeppelin ransomware for 2 years (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vanuatu: Hackers strand Pacific island government for over a week - BBC News

• Cape Town scrambles after cyber attacks (iol.co.za)

• Canadian Supermarket Chain Sobeys Hit by Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

• Two public schools in Michigan hit by a ransomware attack - Security Affairs

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Top enterprise email threats and how to counter them - Help Net Security

• China-Based Sophisticated Phishing Campaign Uses 42,000 Domains - Information Security Buzz

• Mass Email Extortion Campaign Claims Server Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Netflix Phishing Emails Surge 78% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks Bypass Microsoft Email Security, Target Thousands - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• More Than Half of Black Friday Spam Emails Are Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Earth Preta Spear-Phishing Governments Worldwide (trendmicro.com)

• Email Security Best Practices for Phishing Prevention (trendmicro.com)

Malware

• Wipermania: Malware Remains a Potent Threat, 10 Years Since 'Shamoon' (darkreading.com)

• QBot phishing abuses Windows Control Panel EXE to infect devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Researchers Sound Alarm on Dangerous BatLoader Malware Dropper (darkreading.com)

• Study: Almost 50% of macOS malware only comes from one app - Neowin

• Notorious Emotet botnet returns after a few months off • The Register

• Chinese hackers use Google Drive to drop malware on govt networks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Cyber crime Group Delivering Royal Ransomware, Other Malware | SecurityWeek.Com

• LodaRAT Malware Resurfaces with New Variants Employing Updated Functionalities (thehackernews.com)

• New attacks use Windows security bypass zero-day to drop malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Updated RapperBot malware targets game servers in DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Hackers Targeting Europe and Latin America with Updated DTrack Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

• Google Wins Lawsuit Against Glupteba Botnet Operators | SecurityWeek.Com

Mobile

• Android malware: A million people downloaded these malicious apps before they were finally removed from Google Play | ZDNET

Internet of Things – IoT

• Shocker: EV charging infrastructure is seriously insecure • The Register

• Aiphone Intercom System Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Open Doors | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Police published sexual assault victims' names and addresses on its website (bitdefender.com)

• Here’s How Bad a Twitter Mega-Breach Would Be | WIRED

• Whoosh confirms data breach after hackers sell 7.2M user records (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Long-Standing Chinese Cyber crime Campaign Spoofs Over 400 Brands | SecurityWeek.Com

• Suspected Zeus cyber crime ring leader ‘Tank’ arrested by Swiss police (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Australia's Hack-Back Plan Against Cyber attackers Raises Familiar Concerns (darkreading.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Banks ban crypto to fight fraudsters | Money | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

• 'Three quarters' of retail Bitcoin investors are in the red • The Register

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts (thehackernews.com)

• Meta Employees Were Fired for Selling Account Info to Hackers (gizmodo.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Massive adware campaign spoofs top brands to trick users | TechRadar

• More Than Half of Black Friday Spam Emails Are Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Police Celebrate Arrest of 59 Suspected Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber Monday Will Be the Most Fraudulent Day of the Season, Says SEON (darkreading.com)

• UK Shoppers Lost £15m+ to Scammers Last Winter - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How scammers are now exploiting cashless parking (telegraph.co.uk)

• Experts Advice On International Fraud Awareness Week - Information Security Buzz

• Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes jailed for conning investors over multibillion-dollar blood-testing scam | US News | Sky News

• Banks ban crypto to fight fraudsters | Money | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

Impersonation Attacks

• 42,000 sites used to trap users in brand impersonation scheme (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Instagram Impersonators Target Thousands, Slipping by Microsoft's Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Dark Web

• Andy Greenberg on how 'Tracers in the Dark' found the dark web's worst criminals - CyberScoop

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Where Can Third-Party Governance and Risk Management Take Us? (darkreading.com)

Software Supply Chain

• The Next Generation of Supply Chain Attacks Is Here to Stay (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• 2022 holiday DDoS protection guide - Microsoft Security Blog

• Updated RapperBot malware targets game servers in DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud data protection trends you need to be aware of - Help Net Security

• Cyber security implications of using public cloud platforms - Help Net Security

• Evolving Security for Government Multiclouds (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• Why companies can no longer hide keys under the doormat - Help Net Security

• Quantum Cryptography Apocalypse: A Timeline and Action Plan (darkreading.com)

Open Source

• It's official - open source software has never been more important | TechRadar

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Top passwords used in RDP brute-force attacks - Help Net Security

Social Media

• Advertising giant warns clients to stay off Twitter (telegraph.co.uk)

• It’s time. Delete your Twitter DMs • Graham Cluley

• Stop using Twitter to log in to other websites | ZDNET

• Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks Bypass Microsoft Email Security, Target Thousands - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Meta keeps booting small-business owners for being hacked on Facebook | Ars Technica

• Guinness, Cadbury’s and Nissan told to avoid ‘toxic’ and ‘dangerous’ Twitter (telegraph.co.uk)

• Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts (thehackernews.com)

• FBI director says he's 'extremely concerned' about China's ability to weaponize TikTok - CyberScoop

• Here’s How Bad a Twitter Mega-Breach Would Be | WIRED

• Instagram Impersonators Target Thousands, Slipping by Microsoft's Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Electronics repair technicians snoop on your data - Help Net Security

• Google to Pay $391 Million Privacy Fine for Secretly Tracking Users' Location (thehackernews.com)

• Security firms hijack New York trees to monitor workers • The Register

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Have board directors any liability for a cyber attack against their company? - Security Affairs

• Data sovereignty and compliance need help • The Register

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Cyber security jobs: Five ways to help you build your career | ZDNET

• The Future of Cyber security Recruiting: Lessons on What Employers Want and What Students Need (darkreading.com)

• Google cloud wants CISOs to do more about diversity • The Register

• Amazon poaches top National Cyber Security Centre exec Levy | Business News | Sky News

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Zeus Botnet Suspected Leader Arrested in Geneva - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Police Celebrate Arrest of 59 Suspected Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Suspected Zeus cyber crime ring leader ‘Tank’ arrested by Swiss police (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Police dismantle pirated TV streaming network with 500,000 users (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

• Chinese hackers target government agencies and defence orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese Spy Gets 20 Years for Aviation Espionage Plot - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russian hacktivists hit Ukrainian orgs with ransomware - but no ransom demands - Help Net Security

• Botnets, Trojans, DDoS From Ukraine and Russia Have Increased Since Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• COP27 Delegates Given Burner Phones To Combat Spying - Information Security Buzz

• Avast details Worok espionage group's compromise chain - Security Affairs

• New "Earth Longzhi" APT Targets Ukraine and Asian Countries with Custom Cobalt Strike Loaders (thehackernews.com)

• 'Even if we go into nuclear winter, I know I tried to help': A volunteer hacker on waging cyber war | Euronews

• Biden set to approve expansive authorities for Pentagon to carry out cyber operations - CyberScoop

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Europe’s spyware scandal is a global wakeup call. (slate.com)

• Internal Documents Show How Close the F.B.I. Came to Deploying Spyware - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• Koch-funded group sues US state over mobile 'spyware' • The Register

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• UK Banks Bolstering Defences As Russian Cyber Threat Rises - Information Security Buzz

• EXCLUSIVE Russian software disguised as American finds its way into U.S. Army, CDC apps | Reuters

• Pro-Russian hackers claim cyber attack on FBI website: Report | Fox News

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• China playing ‘long game’ as it co-opts UK assets, warns MI5 chief | Financial Times (ft.com)

• FBI director says he's 'extremely concerned' about China's ability to weaponize TikTok - CyberScoop

• Chinese Cyber espionage Group 'Billbug' Targets Certificate Authority | SecurityWeek.Com

• Previously undetected Earth Longzhi APT is a subgroup of APT41 - Security Affairs

• Rishi Sunak to hold surprise meeting with Chinese president at G20 | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Chinese hackers use Google Drive to drop malware on govt networks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• State-sponsored hackers in China compromise certificate authority | Ars Technica

• Chinese 'Mustang Panda' Hackers Actively Targeting Governments Worldwide (thehackernews.com)

• Reports of Chinese police stations in US worry FBI - BBC News

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean hackers target European orgs with updated malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Hackers Targeting Europe and Latin America with Updated DTrack Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• US govt: Iranian hackers breached federal agency using Log4Shell exploit (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA: Iranian APT actors compromised federal network (techtarget.com)

• US Gov Warning: Start Hunting for Iranian APTs That Exploited Log4j | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – Misc

• State-Backed APT Group Activity Continuing Apace - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The challenges of tracking APT attacks - Help Net Security

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Vulnerability Management

• Misconfigurations, Vulnerabilities Found in 95% of Applications (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Office lets hackers execute arbitrary code, update now | TechRadar

• Unpatched Zimbra Platforms Are Probably Compromised, CISA Says (darkreading.com)

• All Day DevOps: Third of Log4j downloads still pull vulnerable version despite threat of supply chain attacks | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Exploit released for actively abused ProxyNotShell Exchange bug (bleepingcomputer.com)

• F5 fixes two remote code execution flaws in BIG-IP, BIG-IQ (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Samba Patches Vulnerability That Can Lead to DoS, Remote Code Execution | SecurityWeek.Com

• Firefox 107 Patches High-Impact Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Atlassian Releases Patches for Critical Flaws Affecting Crowd and Bitbucket Products (thehackernews.com)

• Windows Kerberos authentication breaks after November updates (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Nasty SQL Injection Bug in Zendesk Endangers Sensitive Customer Data (darkreading.com)

• Mastodon users vulnerable to password-stealing attacks | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• High Severity Vulnerabilities Reported in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Devices (thehackernews.com)

Tools and Controls

• XDR: Still confusing after all these years | CSO Online

• What is an External Penetration Test? (thehackernews.com)

• MITRE Engenuity Launches Evaluations for Security Service Providers (darkreading.com)

• How Routine Pen Testing Can Reveal the Unseen Flaws in Your Cyber security Posture (darkreading.com)

• How Browser Innovations Are Taking On New Cyber Threats | WIRED UK

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 Global Threat Report | Elastic

• Cyber Risk Index 1H'22 Snapshot (trendmicro.com)

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Other News

• Cyber security Industry Must Maintain Public Faith in Technology, Says NCSC Founder - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber Resilience: The New Strategy to Cope With Increased Threats | SecurityWeek.Com

• The 4 horsemen of the cyber security apocalypse | Security Magazine

• The Top Five Cyber security Trends of 2023: KnowBe4 Makes Its Predictions - MSSP Alert

• Build a mature approach for better cyber security vendor evaluation | CSO Online

• Almost half of customers have left a vendor due to poor digital trust: Report | CSO Online

• Global 2000 companies failing to adopt key domain security measures | CSO Online

• Research: Most North American SMBs Outsource Cyber security Management to Third Parties - MSSP Alert

• Majority of Companies Reduce Cyber security Staff Over Holidays - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Over 12,000 Cyber Incidents at US DoD Since 2015, But Incident Management Still Lacking | SecurityWeek.Com

• Repair technicians caught snooping on customer data • The Register

• Research: Most North American SMBs Outsource Cyber security Management to Third Parties - MSSP Alert

• 'No guns, no guards, no gates.' NSA opens up to outsiders in fight for cyber security (cyberscoop.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 11 November 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It found the top challenges listed by respondents were:

• Awareness internally that third-party suppliers are part of their cyber security posture

• Meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring third-party cyber security compliance

• Working with third-party suppliers to improve their posture.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Ransomware: 60% of affected organisations may have paid ransom demands

• Malware: 66 disclosures of zero-day vulnerabilities observed in 2021

• Social engineering: Phishing remains a popular technique but we see new forms of phishing arising such as spear-phishing, whaling, smishing and vishing

• Threats against data: Increasing in proportionally to the total of data produced

• Disinformation – misinformation: Escalating AI-enabled disinformation, deepfakes and disinformation-as-a-service

• Supply chain targeting: Third-party incidents account for 17% of the intrusions in 2021 compared to less than 1% in 2020

• Threats against availability:

  • Largest denial of service (DDoS) attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022

  • Internet: destruction of infrastructure, outages and rerouting of internet traffic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low

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

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

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

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

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

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

• The ability to fully recover encrypted or deleted data without paying a ransom.

• Zero data loss in the process of recovering the data.

• Rapid recovery as defined by applicable service-level requirements.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Medibank: Hackers release abortion data after stealing Australian medical records - BBC News

• Medical data hacked from 10m Australians begins to appear on dark web | World news | The Guardian

• HSE cyber attack: More than 100,000 people whose personal data stolen to be contacted – The Irish Times

• How ransomware gangs and malware campaigns are changing - Help Net Security

• Thales confirms hackers have released its data on the dark web | Reuters

• More NHS dentists could be forced to close after major cyber attack leaves some nearing financial ruin (inews.co.uk)

• Most SMBs Fear Ransomware Attack Amid Heightened Geopolitical Tensions - MSSP Alert

• Australia to consider banning paying of ransoms to cyber criminals | Reuters

• LockBit gang claims to have stolen data from Kearney & Company - Security Affairs

• Azov Ransomware is a wiper, destroying data 666 bytes at a time (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Gang Offers to Sell Files Stolen From Continental for $50 Million | SecurityWeek.Com

• Canadian food retail giant Sobeys hit by Black Basta ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LockBit affiliate uses Amadey Bot malware to deploy ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Man Arrested in Ontario For Alleged LockBit Ransomware Involvement - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

• Conti Affiliates Black Basta, BlackByte Continue to Attack Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US Health Dept warns of Venus ransomware targeting healthcare orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attacks on hospitals take toll on patients (nbcnews.com)

• Hackers post Hereford schoolchildren's data records on dark web | Hereford Times

• CISA and Spain Partnership to Develop Tool to Help Countries Combat Ransomware - MSSP Alert

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• What is no-hook phishing? | IT PRO

• Phishing threats are increasingly convincing and evasive - Help Net Security

• Robin Banks phishing-as-a-service platform continues to evolve - Security Affairs

• Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Massive Phishing Campaigns Target India Banks’ Clients (trendmicro.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

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

Malware

• Advanced RAT AgentTesla Most Prolific Malware in October - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cloud9 Malware Offers a Paradise of Cyber attack Methods (darkreading.com)

• More malware is being hidden in PNG images, so watch out | TechRadar

• Attackers Using IPFS for Distributed, Bulletproof Malware Hosting | SecurityWeek.Com

• Malicious extension lets attackers control Google Chrome remotely (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New hacking group uses custom 'Symatic' Cobalt Strike loaders (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New StrelaStealer malware steals your Outlook, Thunderbird accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• 5 Common Smartphone Security Myths, Debunked (makeuseof.com)

• Oh, look: More malware in the Google Play store • The Register

• Malicious app in the Play Store spotted distributing Xenomorph Banking Trojan - Security Affairs

• Malicious droppers on Google Play deliver banking malware to victims - Help Net Security

• Samsung phones are being targeted by some seriously shady zero-days | TechRadar

• Vultur Android Banking Trojan Reaches 100,000+ Downloads on Google Play Store - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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

• Worok hackers hide new malware in PNGs using steganography (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Cyber security 'Nutrition' Labels Still a Work in Progress (darkreading.com)

• Knock, Knock: Aiphone Bug Allows Cyber attackers to Literally Open (Physical) Doors (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cyberwar and Cyber crime Go Hand in Hand (darkreading.com)

• An initial access broker claims to have hacked Deutsche Bank - Security Affairs

• Cyber crime costs to hit $10.5tn by 2025 hears Saudi forum - Arabian Business

• 4 Types of Cyber Crime Groups (trendmicro.com)

• Cyber crime Group OPERA1ER Stole $11M From 16 African Businesses (darkreading.com)

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

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• FTX says it is probing ‘abnormal transactions’ after potential hack | Financial Times

• Kraken's CSO Claims To Have Identified The $600 Million FTX Hacker (coingape.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Fifth Of 18 To 34-year-olds Have Fallen Victim To Financial Scams – Information Security Buzz

• Ukrainian Cyber Cops Bust $200m Fraud Ring - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Retail Sector Prepares for Annual Holiday Cyber crime Onslaught (darkreading.com)

• Online payment fraud is evolving - Help Net Security

• US seized 18 web domains used for recruiting money mules (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insurance

• Rising cost of cyber attacks sends insurance policy charges soaring | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Just 25% of businesses are insured against cyber attacks. Here's why (theconversation.com)

• Re-Focusing Cyber Insurance with Security Validation (thehackernews.com)

• Swiss Re: Cyber-Insurance Industry Must Reform - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Dark Web

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

• Silk Road drugs market hacker pleads guilty, faces 20 years inside – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Evolving From Third-Party Risk Management To The Extended Enterprise – Information Security Buzz

Hybrid Working

• Remote work pushes video conferencing security to the fore - Help Net Security

Attack Surface Management

• Managing and Mitigating Risk From Unknown Unknowns (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• A Better Way to Resist Identity-Based Cyber Threats (darkreading.com)

API

• Top 5 API Security Myths That Are Crushing Your Business (thehackernews.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Microsoft Password Hacking Increase – Information Security Buzz

• False sense of safety undermines good password hygiene - Help Net Security

• Password-hacking attacks are on the rise. Here's how to stop your accounts from being stolen | ZDNET

Social Media

• Twitter C-Level Resignations Continue As Blue Program Creates New Cyber-Risks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Twitter blue check unavailable after impostor accounts erupt on platform | Twitter | The Guardian

• Twitter chief information security officer Lea Kissner departs | TechCrunch

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• World Cup apps pose a data security and privacy nightmare • The Register

• Surveillance 'Existential' Danger of Tech: Signal Boss | SecurityWeek.Com

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• SEC Announces 'Enforcement Action' For SolarWinds Over 2020 Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Experian, T-Mobile fined $16m for spilling 18m people's data • The Register

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Three million empty seats: What can we do about the cyber skills shortage? (computerweekly.com)

• Cyber security, cloud and coding: Why these three skills will lead demand in 2023 | ZDNET

• Cyber security leaders want to quit. Here's what is pushing them to leave | ZDNET

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

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

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

• Cyberwar and Cyber crime Go Hand in Hand (darkreading.com)

• Red Cross seeks digital equivalent of its emblems • The Register

• Russia’s New Cyberwarfare in Ukraine Is Fast, Dirty, and Relentless | WIRED

• EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register

• Nation-State Hacker Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Soar: Microsoft | SecurityWeek.Com

• What Ukraine’s cyber defence tactics can teach other nations | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

• APT29 abused Windows Credential Roaming in attacks - Security Affairs

• Android RAT Group Targets Indian Defence Personnel - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Dutch MEP says illegal spyware ‘a grave threat to democracy’ | European Commission | The Guardian

• Greece Is Banning Spyware After Predator Phone-Tapping Scandal (gizmodo.com)

• British embassy security guard David Smith admits spying for Russia - BBC News

Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register

• Ukraine war: Russians kept in the dark by internet search - BBC News

• Microsoft links Russia’s military to cyber attacks in Poland and Ukraine | Ars Technica

• Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin admits interfering in US elections | Russia | The Guardian

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – China

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

Nation State Actors – Misc

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

Vulnerability Management

• Why CVE Management as a Primary Strategy Doesn't Work (darkreading.com)

• Why it's time to review your Microsoft patch management options | CSO Online

• Risk-Based Vulnerability Management: Understanding the RBVM Trend (darkreading.com)

• How can CISOs catch up with the security demands of their ever-growing networks? - Help Net Security

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

• Types of vulnerability scanning and when to use each (techtarget.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft November 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes 6 exploited zero-days, 68 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• VMware fixes three critical auth bypass bugs in remote access tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway are affected by a critical auth bypass - Security Affairs

• Cisco Patches 33 Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Firewall Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Patches MotW Zero-Day Exploited for Malware Delivery | SecurityWeek.Com

• Apple out-of-band patches fix RCE bugs in iOS and macOS - Security Affairs

• Microsoft fixes ProxyNotShell Exchange zero-days exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in BusinessObjects, SAPUI5 | SecurityWeek.Com

• Lenovo driver goof poses security risk for users of 25 notebook models | Ars Technica

• Foxit Patches Several Code Execution Vulnerabilities in PDF Reader | SecurityWeek.Com

• LiteSpeed Vulnerabilities Can Lead to Complete Web Server Takeover | SecurityWeek.Com

Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 Cloud Data Security Report - Help Net Security

• Report on DDoS attacks in Q3 2022 | Securelist

• Cyber security Trends Report: Check Point Software Predicts Hikes in Hacking and Exploits - MSSP Alert

• Data Security Trust is Down, Anxiety is Up, Rubrik Zero Labs Reports - MSSP Alert

Other News

• Majority of Security Managers Lack Threat Intelligence Skills - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• What Is Threat Hunting? A Definition for MSPs and Channel Partners - MSSP Alert

• Cyber security: These are the new things to worry about in 2023 | ZDNET

• Cyber Professionals Now Tasked with Securing Society, Says Mikko Hyppönen - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Corporations Confident in Data Protection Programs but Scrutiny is Lacking, New Report Finds - MSSP Alert

• What We Really Mean When We Talk About ‘Cyber security’ (darkreading.com)

• Personal cyber security is now a company problem - Help Net Security

• History of Computer Viruses & Malware | What Was Their Impact? (esecurityplanet.com)

• 5 Reasons to Consolidate Your Tech Stack (thehackernews.com)

• Attacks on Microsoft SQL have seen a huge rise | TechRadar

• Cookies for MFA Bypass Gain Traction Among Cyber attackers (darkreading.com)

• 2FA, 3FA, MFA… What does it all mean? - Help Net Security

• Qatar World Cup Firms Urged to Upgrade Cyber-Threat Model - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Common lateral movement techniques and how to prevent them (techtarget.com)

• Beyond the Pen Test: How to Protect Against Sophisticated Cyber criminals (darkreading.com)

• Red, purple, or blue? When it comes to offensive security operations, it’s not just about picking one colour - Help Net Security

• 5 ways to overcome multifactor authentication vulnerabilities (techtarget.com)

• The security dilemma of data sprawl - Help Net Security

• 15,000 sites hacked for massive Google SEO poisoning campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Unencrypted Traffic Still Undermining Wi-Fi Security (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Devise Wi-Peep Drone That Can 'See Through Walls' (gizmodo.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 04 November 2022

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

• NCSC Looks Back on Year Of ‘Profound Change’ for Cyber

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provided support for 18 nationally significant ransomware attacks; removed 2.1 million cyber-enabled commodity campaigns; issued 34 million early warning alerts about attacks, compromises, vulnerabilities or open ports; and received 6.5 million reports of suspicious emails in the past 12 months – but in a year of “profound change” in the cyber security landscape, it was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that dominated the agenda.

Reflecting on the past 12 months as she launched the NCSC’s latest annual report on 1 November at an event in London, NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron said that the return of war to Europe with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presented a unique set of challenges in cyber space for the NCSC and its partners and allies.

Cameron added that while the cyber threat from Russia has perhaps been the most visible security issue of 2022, it was also important not to forget that when it comes to nation-state actors, it will likely be the technical development and evolution of China that ultimately has the more lasting impact on the UK’s national cyber security.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252526766/NCSC-looks-back-on-year-of-profound-change-for-cyber

• LastPass Research Finds False Sense of Cyber Security Running Rampant

LastPass released findings from its fifth annual Psychology of Password findings, which revealed even with cyber security education on the rise, password hygiene has not improved. Regardless of generational differences across Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z, the research shows a false sense of password security given current behaviours across the board. In addition, LastPass found that while 65% of all respondents have some form of cyber security education — through school, work, social media, books or via online courses — the reality is that 62% almost always or mostly use the same or variation of a password.

The survey, which explored the password security behaviours of 3,750 professionals across seven countries, asked about respondents’ mindset and behaviours surrounding their online security. The findings highlighted a clear disconnect between high confidence when it comes to their password management and their unsafe actions. While the majority of professionals surveyed claimed to be confident in their current password management, this doesn’t translate to safer online behaviour and can create a detrimental false sense of safety.

Key findings from the research include:

• Gen Z is confident when it comes to their password management, while also being the biggest offenders of poor password hygiene.

• Cyber security education doesn’t necessarily translate to action.

• Confidence creates a false sense of password security.

The latest research showcases that even in the face of a pandemic, where we spent more time online amid rising cyber attacks, there continues to be a disconnect for people when it comes to protecting their digital lives. Even though nearly two-thirds of respondents had some form of cyber security education, it is not being put into practice for varying reasons.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/untitled

• Insurance Giant Settles NotPetya ‘Act of War’ Lawsuit, Signaling Cyber Insurance Shakeup

The settlement last week in a $100 million lawsuit over whether insurance giant Zurich should cover losses Mondelez International suffered from NotPetya may very well reshape the entire cyber insurance marketplace.

Zurich initially denied claims from Mondelez after the malware, which experts estimate caused some $10 billion in damages globally, wreaked havoc on its computer networks. The insurance provider claimed an act of war exemption since it’s widely believed Russian military hackers unleashed NotPetya on a Ukrainian company before it spread around the world.

Now, however, it’s increasingly clear insurers aren’t off the hook for NotPetya payouts or from covering losses from other attacks with clear links to nation-state hackers.

That’s because in this case, what Mondelez and many other corporations endured was not an act of war, but “collateral damage” in a much larger cyber conflict that had nothing to do with them, said the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

There needs to be a rethink what act of war means in cyber space when it comes to insurance. The current definitions come out of the 19th century when we had pirates, navies and privateers.

Last week’s ruling in favour of Mondelez follows a January ruling in a New Jersey court that sided with global pharmaceutical company Merck in a similar case. Its insurance companies initially refused to pay for damages from NotPetya. Merck claimed losses that amounted to $1.4 billion. The insurers are appealing the ruling.

Insurers seized on the NotPetya episode to test how courts would rule on cyber coverage questions, particularly when there’s so much evidence pointing to one particular nation-state actor. Since NotPetya was widely attributed to the Russian government it gave the industry a “really strong opportunity” to set legal precedent limiting their responsibility in these instances.

Insurers will start to be much more upfront about the fact that they aren’t going to cover acts of cyber war or limit payouts for NotPetya type incidents in the future.

https://www.cyberscoop.com/insurance-giant-settles-notpetya-lawsuit/

• Microsoft Warns of Uptick in Hackers Leveraging Publicly-Disclosed 0-Day Vulnerabilities

Microsoft is warning of an uptick among nation-state and criminal actors increasingly leveraging publicly-disclosed zero-day vulnerabilities for breaching target environments.

The tech giant, in its 114-page Digital Defense Report, said it has "observed a reduction in the time between the announcement of a vulnerability and the commoditisation of that vulnerability," making it imperative that organisations patch such exploits in a timely manner.

This also corroborates with an April 2022 advisory from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which found that bad actors are "aggressively" targeting newly disclosed software bugs against broad targets globally.

Microsoft noted that it only takes 14 days on average for an exploit to be available in the wild after public disclosure of a flaw, stating that while zero-day attacks are initially limited in scope, they tend to be swiftly adopted by other threat actors, leading to indiscriminate probing events before the patches are installed.

It further accused Chinese state-sponsored groups of being "particularly proficient" at discovering and developing zero-day exploits. This has been compounded by the fact that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) enacted a new vulnerability reporting regulation in September 2021 that requires security flaws to be reported to the government prior to them being shared with the product developers.

Redmond further said the law could enable government-backed elements to stockpile and weaponise the reported bugs, resulting in the increased use of zero-days for espionage activities designed to advance China's economic and military interests.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/microsoft-warns-of-uptick-in-hackers.html

• Chinese Mob Has 100K Slaves Working in Cambodian Cyber Crime Mills

Up to 100,000 people from across Asia have been lured to Cambodia by Chinese crime syndicates with the promise of good jobs. When they arrive, their passports are seized and they are put to work in modern-day sweatshops, running cyber crime campaigns.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Cambodia, which was hit hard economically by the pandemic, has allowed Chinese mobsters to set up enormous cyber crime operations using human trafficked labour without consequence, because of the revenue it generates for the country. The campaigns they carry out run the gamut from romance scams to fake sports betting.

Although the Cambodian government acknowledges that as many as 100,000 workers are involved in these activities, it denies anyone is being held against their will. However, the stories from traumatised victims rescued from cyber crime mills include tales of beatings and torture for failing to meet quotas, and of being sold and passed around from gang to gang.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/chinese-mob-100k-slaves-cambodian-cybercrime-mills

• Ransomware Research: 17 Leaked Databases Operated by Threat Actors Threaten Third Party Organisations

Ransomware remains a serious threat to organisations, Deep Instinct, a New York-based deep learning cyber security specialist, said in its recently released 2022 Interim Cyber Threat Report.

It’s no surprise, the company said, as there are currently 17 leaked databases operated by threat actors who are leveraging the data for attacks on third-party companies, most notably social engineering, credential theft, and triple-extortion attacks.

Here are the report’s key findings:

• Changes in ransomware gangs, including LockBit, Hive, BlackCat, and Conti. The latter has spawned “Conti Splinters” made up of former affiliates Quantum, BlackBasta, and BlackByte.

• Significant changes to tactics by Emotet, Agent Tesla, NanoCore, and others. For example, Emotet uses highly obfuscated VBA macros to avoid detection.

• The use of documents for malware has decreased as the top attack vector, following Microsoft’s move to disable macros by default in Microsoft Office files. Threat actors have already pivoted to other methods such as LNK, HTML, and archive email attachments.

• Vulnerabilities such as SpoolFool, Follina and DirtyPipe highlighted the exploitability of both Windows and Linux systems despite efforts to enhance their security.

• The number of exploited in-the-wild vulnerabilities spikes every 3-4 months. The next spike is expected to occur by the end of the year.

• Threat actor groups are extending data exfiltration attacks to demand ransoms from third-party companies if the leaked data contains their sensitive information.

The report also makes three predictions:

• More inside jobs. Malicious threat actors look for the weakest link, which is often in the supply chain. Groups like Lapsus$ do not rely on exploits but instead look for insiders who are willing to sell access to data within their organisation.

• Rise of protestware. Look for a spike in protestware, which is self-sabotaging one’s software and weaponising it with malware capabilities in an effort to harm all or some of its users. The war between Russia and Ukraine has caused a surge in protestware.

• End of year attacks. While no major vulnerability in 2022 has emerged similar to the Log4J or the Exchange cases in 2021, there is an increase year-over-year in the number of publicly assigned CVEs for reported vulnerabilities. For now, threat actors are still exploiting old vulnerabilities during 2022 simply because there is a plethora of unpatched systems for 2021 CVEs but that will change.

Organisations are warned to be on their guard. 2022 has been another record year for cyber criminals and ransomware gangs. It’s no secret that these threat actors are constantly upping their game with new and improved tactics designed to evade traditional cyber defences. Defenders must continue to be vigilant and find new approaches to prevent these attacks from happening.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/ransomware-research-17-leaked-databases-operated-by-threat-actors-threaten-third-party-organizations/

• Ransomware: Not Enough Victims Are Reporting Attacks, And That's a Problem for Everyone

Ransomware continues to be a significant cyber threat to businesses and the general public – but it's difficult to know the true impact of attacks because many victims aren't coming forward to report them.

The warning comes in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Annual Review for 2022, which looks back at key developments and incidents in cyber crime over the last year, with ransomware described as an "ever present" threat and a "major challenge" to businesses and public services.

That's demonstrated by how the review details how in the 12-month period between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 there were 18 ransomware incidents that needed a "nationally coordinated" response. These included attacks on a supplier to the National Health Service (NHS) and a ransomware attack against South Staffordshire Water.

However, the true impact of ransomware remains unclear, because the NCSC says that many organisations that fall prey to ransomware attacks aren't disclosing them.

That lack of reporting is despite the significant and disruptive consequences ransomware attacks can have, not only for organisations that fall victim, but for wider society – which is why it's vital that cyber security is taken seriously and incidents are reported.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-not-enough-victims-are-reporting-attacks-and-that-increases-the-threat-for-everyone/

• Hackers Selling Access to 576 Corporate Networks for $4 Million

A new report shows that hackers are selling access to 576 corporate networks worldwide for a total cumulative sales price of $4,000,000, fuelling attacks on the enterprise.

The research comes from Israeli cyber-intelligence firm KELA which published its Q3 2022 ransomware report, reflecting stable activity in the sector of initial access sales but a steep rise in the value of the offerings.

Although the number of sales for network access remained about the same as in the previous two quarters, the cumulative requested price has now reached $4,000,000. For comparison, the total value of initial access listings in Q2 2022 was $660,000, recording a drop in value that coincided with the summer ransomware hiatus that hurt demand.

Initial access brokers (IABs) are hackers who sell access to corporate networks, usually achieved through credential theft, webshells, or exploiting vulnerabilities in publicly exposed hardware. After establishing a foothold on the network, the threat actors sell this corporate access to other hackers who use it to steal valuable data, deploy ransomware, or conduct other malicious activity. The reasons IABs choose not to leverage network access vary, ranging from lacking diverse intrusion skills to preferring not to risk increased legal trouble.

IABs still play a crucial role in the ransomware infection chain, even if they got sidelined last year when big ransomware gangs that operated as crime syndicates operated their own IAB departments.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-selling-access-to-576-corporate-networks-for-4-million/

• Cyber Security Recovery is a Process That Starts Long Before a Cyber Attack Occurs

Organisations are racing to stay ahead of cyber criminals, and as a result, we see businesses investing a lot of money on identifying and detecting attacks, on preventing attacks in the first place, and in responding to live attacks. But they are not spending the same amounts on attack recovery. They may have followed all the relevant guidelines, and even implemented the ISO 27000 standard, but none of that helps them to understand how to build the business back after a serious cyber attack.

Until recent years, this cyber security recovery investment would be spent on an annual tabletop exercise or disaster recovery test and auditing recovery plans. While this should be done, it isn’t enough on its own.

Cyber security insurance is also critical, of course, but it only covers some of the losses. It won’t cover future loss. The reality is most organisations find it very difficult to fully recover from an attack. Those that invest more in disaster recovery and business continuity recover from these attacks far more swiftly than their less-prepared competitors.

The four core components of an effective cyber security recovery program

1. Pre-emptive action

2. Responsibilities and accountability

3. Having the right IT architecture, security and recovery process in place

4. Learning lessons and implementing changes.

Once these factors are understood, and any weak spots identified, the organisation can focus on re-designing or updating architecture and procedures, and on retraining employees (something that should happen regularly).

Recovery is a process that starts long before a cyber attack occurs. It concludes not when the data is secured, but when the organisation can say that it’s learned everything it can from the event and has made the changes necessary to avoid it happening again.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/03/cybersecurity-recovery/

• Geopolitics Plays Major Role in Cyber Attacks, Says EU Cyber Security Agency

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in an increase in hacktivist activity in the past year, with state-sponsored threat actors targeting 128 governmental organisations in 42 countries that support Ukraine, according to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).

In addition, some threat actors targeted Ukrainian and Russian entities during the early days of the conflict, likely for the collection of intelligence, according to the 10th edition of the ENISA threat landscape report. The report, this year titled Volatile Geopolitics Shake the Trends of the 2022 Cybersecurity Threat Landscape, notes that in general geopolitical situations continue to have a high impact on cyber security.

This year's report identified several attack types frequently used by state-sponsored attackers. These include zero-day and critical vulnerability exploitation; attacks on operational technology (OT) networks; wiper attacks to destroy and disrupt networks of governmental agencies and critical infrastructure entities; and supply chain attacks. Attacks also featured social engineering, disinformation, and threats against data.

State-sponsored threat actors have also been observed targeting entities from countries in Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, and Taiwan. Due to increased tensions between specific countries in Asia, state-sponsored threat actors have targeted countries (including EU member states) that had established closer ties with Taiwan.

Ransomware remains the top cyber crime attack type this year as well. More than 10 terabytes of data were stolen monthly during the period studied, with phishing identified as the most common initial vector of such attacks. The report also noted that 60% of affected organisations likely have paid the ransom demanded.

The second most used form of attack was DDoS. The largest DDoS attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022 against a European customer of Akamai. The attack hit a peak at 853.7Gbps and 659.6Mpps (megapackets per second) over 14 hours.

While all sectors fell victim to attacks, public administration and government entities were the most affected, making up 24% of all cyber attack victims. This was followed by digital service providers at 13% and the general public at 12%. These three sectors alone accounted for 50% of all the attacks during this year.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3678771/geopolitics-plays-major-role-in-cyberattacks-says-eu-cybersecurity-agency.html#tk.rss_news

• Russian Hackers Account for Most 2021 Ransomware Schemes, US Says

Payment-seeking software made by Russian hackers was used in three quarters of all the ransomware schemes reported to a US financial crime agency in the second half of 2021, a Treasury Department analysis released on Tuesday showed.

In an analysis issued in response to the increase in number and severity of ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure in the United States since late 2020, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it had received 1,489 ransomware-related filings worth nearly $1.2 billion in 2021, a 188% jump from the year before.

Out of 793 ransomware incidents reported to FinCEN in the second half of 2021, 75% "had a nexus to Russia, its proxies, or persons acting on its behalf," the report said.

Washington last week hosted a meeting with officials from 36 countries and the European Union, as well as 13 global companies to address the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, including the illicit use of cryptocurrencies.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-says-many-ransomware-attacks-late-2021-were-connected-russian-actors-2022-11-01/

• Exposed: The Global Hacking Network That Targets VIPs

Private investigators linked to the City of London are using an India-based computer hacking gang to target British businesses, government officials and journalists.

The Sunday Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have been given access to the gang’s database, which reveals the extraordinary scale of the attacks. It shows the criminals targeted the private email accounts of more than 100 victims on behalf of investigators working for autocratic states, British lawyers and their wealthy clients. Critics of Qatar who threatened to expose wrongdoing by the Gulf state in the run-up to this month’s World Cup were among those hacked.

It is the first time the inner workings of a major “hack-for-hire” gang have been leaked to the media and it reveals multiple criminal conspiracies. Some of the hackers’ clients are private investigators used by major law firms with bases in the City of London.

The investigation — based on the leaked documents and undercover work in India — reveals:

• Orders went out to the gang to target the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason in May, three weeks after his appointment was announced.

• The president of Switzerland and his deputy were targeted just days after he met Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in Downing Street to discuss Russian sanctions.

• Philip Hammond, then chancellor, was hacked as he was dealing with the fallout of Russia’s novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

• A private investigator hired by a London law firm acting for the Russian state ordered the gang to target a British-based oligarch fleeing President Putin.

• Michel Platini, the former head of European football, was hacked shortly before he was due to talk to French police about corruption allegations relating to this year’s World Cup.

• The hackers broke into the email inboxes of the Formula One motor racing bosses Ruth Buscombe, the British head of race strategy at the Alfa Romeo team, and Otmar Szafnauer, who was chief executive of the Aston Martin team.

• The gang seized control of computers owned by Pakistan’s politicians, generals and diplomats and eavesdropped on their private conversations apparently at the behest of the Indian secret services.

The commissioning of hacking is a criminal offence punishable with a maximum sentence of ten years in jail in Britain. The Metropolitan Police was tipped off about the allegations regarding Qatar in October last year, yet chose not to take any action. David Davis, the former cabinet minister, said that the force should reopen its investigation into the cyber attacks against British citizens. Davis said the investigation exposed how London has become “the global centre of hacking”.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/exposed-the-global-hacking-network-that-targets-vips-nff67j67z

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Wannacry, the hybrid malware that brought the world to its knees. Let’s not forget! - Security Affairs

• International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2022 Joint Statement | The White House

• Oreo Giant Mondelez Settles NotPetya 'Act of War' Insurance Suit (darkreading.com)

• Extortion fears after hacker stole patient files from Dutch mental health clinics (bitdefender.com)

• Ransomware activity and network access sales in Q3 2022 - Security Affairs

• Ransomware costs top $1 billion as White House inks new threat-sharing initiative - CyberScoop

• Stopping C2 communications in human-operated ransomware through network protection - Microsoft Security Blog

• FIN7 Cyber crime Group Likely Behind Black Basta Ransomware Campaign (darkreading.com)

• Everything You Need to Know About LockBit (darkreading.com)

• Yanluowang ransomware gang goes dark after leaks (techtarget.com)

• LockBit 3.0 gang claims to have stolen data from Thales - Security Affairs

• Ransomware cost US banks $1.2 billion last year • The Register

• Australia sees rise in cyber crimes on back of 'destructive' ransomware, state actors | ZDNET

• Listed car dealer Pendragon has ‘contained’ cyber attack – but new deadline for data release issued by hackers – Car Dealer Magazine

• Hackers Target Australian Defense Communications Platform With Ransomware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit Dominates Ransomware Campaigns in 2022: Deep Instinct - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• BlackByte ransomware group hit Asahi Group Holdings, a precision metal manufacturing and metal solution provider - Security Affairs

• Australian Defence Department Impacted In Ransomware Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• LockBit ransomware gang claims the hack of the Continental automotive group - Security Affairs

• Cyber attack Strikes Global Copper Conglomerate (darkreading.com)

• ALMA Observatory shuts down operations due to a cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Osaka Hospital Halts Services After Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Outmanoeuvring cyber criminals by recognizing mobile phishing threats’ telltale markers - Help Net Security

• Robin Banks phishing service returns to steal banking accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Attackers leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 to phish users - Help Net Security

• Phishers Abuse Microsoft Voicemail Service to Trick Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CISA Urges Organisations to Implement Phishing-Resistant MFA | SecurityWeek.Com

• 130 private Dropbox GitHub repos copied after phish attack • The Register

• As Twitter brings on $8 fee, phishing emails target verified accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• New Crimson Kingsnake gang impersonates law firms in BEC attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Double-check those demand-payment emails from law firms • The Register

Malware

• RomCom RAT malware campaign impersonates KeePass, SolarWinds NPM, Veeam (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Emotet botnet has returned with a vengeance | TechRadar

• Emotet botnet starts blasting malware again after 4 month break (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Drinik banking malware returns: Things you can do to keep your data safe | Mint (livemint.com)

• Hacking group abuses antivirus software to launch LODEINFO malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• This stealthy hacking campaign uses a new trick to deliver its malware | ZDNET

• Cranefly threat group uses innocent-looking info-stealer • The Register

• 250+ US news sites spotted spreading FakeUpdates malware in a supply-chain attack - Security Affairs

• New Azov data wiper tries to frame researchers and BleepingComputer

• Dozens of PyPI packages caught dropping 'W4SP' info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Inside Raccoon Stealer V2 (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• Android Apps With a Million Downloads Led Users to Phishing Sites - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US govt employees exposed to mobile attacks from outdated Android, iOS (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Samsung Galaxy Bug Secretly Let Hackers Install Apps on Targeted Devices (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber-Threat Actor Uses Booby-Trapped VPN App to Deploy Android Spyware (darkreading.com)

• Malicious dropper apps on Play Store totaled 30.000+ installations - Security Affairs

• New SandStrike spyware infects Android devices via malicious VPN app (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• IoT devices can undermine your security. Here are four ways to boost your defences | ZDNET

• Understanding The Importance Of Cyber Resilience In Smart Buildings - IT Security Guru

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Royal Mail customer data leak shutters online Click and Drop • The Register

• Vodafone Italy discloses data breach after reseller hacked (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LockBit 3.0 gang claims to have stolen data from Thales - Security Affairs

• Dropbox discloses breach after hacker stole 130 GitHub repositories (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Data Breach of Missile Maker MBDA May Have Been Real: CloudSEK - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Experian tool exposed partial Social Security numbers, putting customers at risk - CyberScoop

• Label Giant Multi-Color Corporation Discloses Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com

• Bed Bath & Beyond Discloses Data Breach to SEC (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• US Hacker Group Indicted For Million-Dollar RICO Conspiracy - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Four-year cyber crime campaign targeting African banks netted $30 million - CyberScoop

• French-speaking crooks stole $30m in bank cyber-heist spree • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• New clipboard hijacker replaces crypto wallet addresses with lookalikes (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Fraudulent Instruction Losses Spike in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Former Apple worker pleads guilty to $17m fraud charges • The Register

Insurance

• Mondelez, Zurich settle $100m+ NotPetya insurance lawsuit • The Register

Dark Web

• German cops arrest student in dark-web marketplace bust • The Register

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• NCSC issues fresh guidance following recent rise in supply chain cyber attacks – Intelligent CISO

• Hundreds of US news sites push malware in supply-chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• You can up software supply chain security by implementing these measures - Help Net Security

• W4SP Stealer Stings Python Developers in Supply Chain Attack (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• FBI: Hacktivist DDoS attacks had minor impact on critical orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA, FBI, MS-ISAC Publish Guidelines For Federal Agencies on DDoS Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DDoS Attacks are Upgrading 70% with The Help of CLDAP (analyticsinsight.net)

Cloud/SaaS

• Why Identity & Access Management Governance is a Core Part of Your SaaS Security (thehackernews.com)

• Top 4 priorities for cloud data protection - Help Net Security

• Zscaler's Cloud-Based Cyber security Outages Showcase Redundancy Problem (darkreading.com)

API

• Why Are Zombie APIs and Shadow APIs So Scary? (darkreading.com)

Open Source

• Last Years Open Source - Tomorrow's Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Air New Zealand warns of an ongoing credential stuffing attack - Security Affairs

Social Media

• As Twitter brings on $8 fee, phishing emails target verified accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Can You Nudge Employees Toward Better Cyber security? New Research Says Yes (darkreading.com)

Travel

• Data capture by border agencies can and will happen – are your on-the-road employees prepared? | CSO Online

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• ICO Slashes Government Data Breach Fine - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• SolarWinds reaches $26m settlement, expects SEC action • The Register

• How to Prepare for New SEC Cyber security Disclosure Requirements | SecurityWeek.Com

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• How Microsoft works to grow the next generation of cyber defenders - Microsoft Security Blog

• Economic Uncertainty Isn't Stopping Cyber crime Recruitment — It's Fueling It (darkreading.com)

• How to Narrow the Talent Gap in Cyber security (darkreading.com)

• Is there a problem with stress and burnout in cyber security? - IT Security Guru

• A Third of Security Leaders Considering Quitting Their Current Role - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• German cops arrest student in dark-web marketplace bust • The Register

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

• Russia has declared hybrid war on Britain (telegraph.co.uk)

• Will cyber saber-rattling drive us to destruction? - Help Net Security

• British cyber warriors defend Ukraine | News | The Times

• No.10 WhatsApp Use Is Critical Danger To Security (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Oreo Giant Mondelez Settles NotPetya 'Act of War' Insurance Suit (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Threat Actor Uses Booby-Trapped VPN App to Deploy Android Spyware (darkreading.com)

• New SandStrike spyware infects Android devices via malicious VPN app (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian missile strikes overshadow cyber attacks as Ukraine reels from blackouts | CNN Politics

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Liz Truss 's phone was allegedly hacked by Russian spies - Security Affairs

• MPs 'constantly' warned their phones are national security risk (telegraph.co.uk)

• US Treasury thwarted attack by Russian hacker group last month-official | Reuters

• Russia tries to impose switch to Linux from Windows (freethink.com)

• Ukraine war: British spies playing key role in defending Kyiv from Russian cyber attacks | UK News | Sky News

Nation State Actors – China

• China-Backed APT10 Supercharges Spy Game With Custom Fileless Backdoor (darkreading.com)

• Chinese Hackers Using New Stealthy Infection Chain to Deploy LODEINFO Malware (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Microsoft Warns on Zero-Day Spike as Nation-State Groups Shift Tactics (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• The most frequently reported vulnerability types and severities - Help Net Security

• Last Years Open Source - Tomorrow's Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Warns on Zero-Day Spike as Nation-State Groups Shift Tactics (darkreading.com)

---

Vulnerabilities

• The OpenSSL security update story – how can you tell what needs fixing? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Critical ConnectWise Vulnerability Affects Thousands of Internet-Exposed Servers | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fortinet fixed 16 vulnerabilities, 6 rated as high severity - Security Affairs

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Bugs in Email, Identity, Web Security Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• You Need to Update Google Chrome, Windows, and Zoom Right Now | WIRED UK

• The Sky Is Not Falling: Disclosed OpenSSL Bugs Are Serious but Not Critical (darkreading.com)

• Splunk Patches 9 High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Product | SecurityWeek.Com

• OpenSSL downgrades horror bug after week of speculation • The Register

• Follina Exploit Leads to Domain Compromise (thedfirreport.com)

• Patch Now: Dangerous RCE Bug Lays Open ConnectWise Server Backup Managers (darkreading.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• NCSC Annual Review 2022 - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2022 | Microsoft Security

• Psychology of Passwords 2022: Proactive Cyber security - LastPass

• APT trends report Q3 2022 | Securelist

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 3 (trendmicro.com)

• 2022 Cyber Threat Report Details Growing Trends | TechRepublic

• Volatile Geopolitics Shake the Trends of the 2022 Cyber security Threat Landscape — ENISA (europa.eu)

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Other News

• Meet fundamental cyber security needs before aiming for more - Help Net Security

• NCSC Issued 34 Million Cyber Alerts in Past Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Multi-factor authentication fatigue can blow open security • The Register

• WiFi security flaw lets a drone track devices through walls | Engadget

• Now That EDR Is Obvious, What Comes Next? (darkreading.com)

• The Art of Calculating the Cost of Risk (darkreading.com)

• Build Security Around Users: A Human-First Approach to Cyber Resilience (darkreading.com)

• The Role of Ethical Hacking in Cyber security (bolton.ac.uk)

• Top 10 Ethical Hacking Trends and Predictions for 2023 (analyticsinsight.net)

• British govt is scanning all Internet devices hosted in UK (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Red Cross Eyes Digital Emblem for Cyber space Protection | SecurityWeek.Com

• CISA releases cyber security performance goals to reduce risk and impact of adversarial threats | CSO Online

• Security hygiene and posture management requires new tools (techtarget.com)

• Most Online Shoppers Would Leave Retailer Following Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Offense Gets the Glory, but Defence Wins the Game | SecurityWeek.Com

• The 7 Core Pillars of a Zero-Trust Architecture (techtarget.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 28 October 2022

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

• ‘Biggest Cyber Risk Is Complacency, Not Hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner Issues Warning as Construction Company Fined £4.4 Million

The UK Information Commissioner has warned that companies are leaving themselves open to cyber attack by ignoring crucial measures like updating software and training staff.

The warning comes as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a fine of £4,400,000 to Interserve Group Ltd, a Berkshire based construction company, for failing to keep personal information of its staff secure. This is a breach of data protection law.

The ICO found that the company failed to put appropriate security measures in place to prevent a cyber attack, which enabled hackers to access the personal data of up to 113,000 employees through a phishing email.

The compromised data included personal information such as contact details, national insurance numbers, and bank account details, as well as special category data including ethnic origin, religion, details of any disabilities, sexual orientation, and health information.

John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, said:

 “The biggest cyber risk businesses face is not from hackers outside of their company, but from complacency within their company. If your business doesn't regularly monitor for suspicious activity in its systems and fails to act on warnings, or doesn't update software and fails to provide training to staff, you can expect a similar fine from my office.

 “Leaving the door open to cyber attackers is never acceptable, especially when dealing with people’s most sensitive information. This data breach had the potential to cause real harm to Interserve’s staff, as it left them vulnerable to the possibility of identity theft and financial fraud.

 “Cyber attacks are a global concern, and businesses around the world need to take steps to guard against complacency. The ICO and NCSC already work together to offer advice and support to businesses, and this week I will be meeting with regulators from around the world, to work towards consistent international cyber guidance so that people’s data is protected wherever a company is based.”

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2022/10/biggest-cyber-risk-is-complacency-not-hackers/

• Ransomware Threat Shifts from US to EMEA and APAC

The volume of ransomware detections in Q3 2022 was the lowest in two years, but certain geographical regions have become bigger targets as attacks on US organisations wane, according to SonicWall. The security vendor used its own threat detection network, including over one million security sensors in more than 200 countries, to reveal the current landscape.

The good news is that global malware volumes have remained flat for the past three quarters, amounting to a total of over four billion detections in the year to date. Of these, ransomware is also trending down after a record-breaking 2021. Even so, SonicWall detected 338 million compromise attempts in the first three quarters of the year.

Year-to-date ransomware attempts in 2022 have already exceeded the full-year totals from four of the past five years, the vendor claimed. While attacks on US organisations dipped by 51% year-on-year during the period, they increased significantly in the UK (20%), EMEA (38%) and APAC (56%).

The cyber-warfare battlefront continues to shift, posing dangerous threats to organisations of all sizes. With expanding attack surfaces, growing numbers of threats and the current geopolitical landscape, it should be no surprise that even the most seasoned IT professional can feel overwhelmed.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-threat-shifts-from-us/

• Phishing Attacks Increase by Over 31% In Third Quarter

Email security and threat detection company Vade has found that phishing emails in the third quarter this year increased by more than 31% quarter on quarter, with the number of emails containing malware in the first three quarters surpassing the 2021 level by 55.8 million.

Malware emails in the third quarter of 2022 alone increased by 217% compared to same period in 2021. Malware email volume peaked in July, reaching 19.2 million, before month-over-month declines in August and September, with numbers dropping to 16.8 million and 16.5 million respectively.

According to the report, email is the preferred attack vector for phishing and malware, as it gives hackers a direct channel to users, the weakest link in an organisation’s attack surface. The report analyses phishing and malware data captured by Vade, which does business internationally.

As attacks become more sophisticated, Vade said, they also become increasingly capable of evading the basic security offered by email providers, which almost eight in 10 businesses still rely on, according to Vade’s research.

While the activity of threat actors fluctuates, Vade’s research found that impersonating trusted and established brands remains the most popular strategy for hackers. In the third quarter of 2022, Facebook was the most impersonated brand for the second consecutive quarter, followed by Google, MTB, PayPal, and Microsoft.

The financial services sector remains the most impersonated industry, representing 32% of phishing emails detected by Vade, followed by cloud at 25%, social media at 22%, and internet/telco at 13%.

As phishing attacks increase, the techniques used by threat actors continue to evolve. While phishing campaigns were traditionally large scale and random, more recent campaigns seen by Vade suggest that hackers have pivoted to using more targeted campaigns.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3678311/phishing-attacks-increase-by-over-31-in-third-quarter-report.html#tk.rss_news

• UK Urged to Watch for Fraud as People Aim to Make Extra Cash in Cost of Living Crisis

Brits have been warned to “stay alert for fraud” as more people are out to make extra cash as the cost of living rises across the country.

UK Finance said that more than half (56%) of people admitted that they are likely to look for opportunities to make extra money in the coming months, which could leave some people more susceptible to fraud.

According to the trade association’s Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign, one in six, or 16%, of people said the rising cost of living means they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone offering an investment opportunity or a loan.

Young people were more likely to be at risk, the data suggested, which surveyed 2,000 people across the UK. More than a third (34%) of 18 to 34-year-olds said they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone, with three in 10 (30%) also more likely to provide their personal or financial details to secure the arrangement.

Overall, three in five people (60%) said they are concerned about falling victim to financial fraud or a scam. It comes as recent figures from UK Finance showed that £609.8m was lost due to fraud and scams in the first half of this year.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-watch-for-fraud-extra-cash-cost-of-living-crisis-230154352.html

• HR Departments Play a Key Role in Cyber Security

A common shortcoming of human resources (HR) departments is that — despite being an operation designed to put humans at the centre of how an organisation is run — they often fail to adequately align with their IT counterparts and the core technology systems that define how a business is run and protected from cyber-risk.

Insufficient coordination between HR and IT processes and procedures remains common and gives rise to security gaps that can represent some of the most dangerous vulnerabilities on a company's attack surface. Let's examine the scope of the challenge and some key cyber-asset management priorities that can close the schism for a more robust cyber security posture.

Gone are the days when HR's role in securing the enterprise relied on basic tutorials for employees about protecting passwords on company equipment. Today's threat environment intersects with the workforce in more ways than ever — from bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and authentication gaps to user vulnerabilities that make spear-phishing seem quaint. Traditional social engineering attacks are now being augmented by zero-click exploits that compromise employee devices without the user ever having to click a link or take any action at all.

Beyond malicious threats, even routine HR processes can introduce risk to the organisation when they're not adequately aligned with the IT processes in an organisation. As just one example, when an employee leaves a company, the offboarding goes far beyond just the exit interview to also include removing access to multiple enterprise systems, accounts, and devices — all of which require close coordination between HR and IT personnel and systems.

To better secure the enterprise, it's mission-critical to get HR and IT more united in a common and advanced understanding of cyber hygiene and risk mitigation. This relies on enhanced awareness of the impact that HR processes have on cyber assets in other parts of the organisation, as well as the HR role in access management for employees and contractors. This requires asset visibility that must be ongoing and in real time, since our roles, devices, and access to data and systems may change multiple times over the course of our employment.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/hr-departments-play-a-key-role-in-cybersecurity

• The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Ransomware Attacks

Northwave has conducted scientific research into the psychological effects of a ransomware crisis on both organisations and individuals. The findings reveal the deep marks that a ransomware crisis leaves on all those affected. It also shows how their IT and security teams can turn in disarray long after the crisis itself has passed.

The research reveals how the psychological impact of ransomware attacks can persist on people in affected organisations for a very long time. It shows that crisis team members may develop serious symptoms far later. Top management and HR need to take measures against this, in fact right from the very beginning of the crisis. They are the ones bearing responsibility for the well-being of their staff.

They also discovered how teams have fallen apart some time after the crisis, with members leaving or staying home on sick-leave. The study reveals that effects can linger throughout the organisation. All in all the investigation shows that this invisible impact of a cyber crisis is an issue for the general business management, and certainly also for HR.

Northwave regards the response to a cyber attack as occurring in three phases. First comes the actual crisis situation, which evolves into an incident phase after about a week. A plan of action is then in place, and recovery measures are launched. The fire has been largely extinguished after a month or so, with the first (basic) functionalities available again.

Full recovery can take one to two years. Each phase has its specific effects on the minds and bodies of those involved, and by extension, on the organisation or parts of it. “On average a company is down for three weeks following a malware attack,” notes Van der Beijl. “But it surprised us that the impact persists for so long afterwards. Psychological issues are still surfacing a year after the actual crisis.”

One of every seven employees involved in the attack, either directly or indirectly, exhibits severe enough symptoms several months later, at a level considered to be above the clinical threshold at which professional trauma treatment help is needed. One in five employees say they would actually have needed more professional help subsequently in coming to terms with the attack. One in three liked to have more knowledge and concrete tools to deal with the psychological effects of the attack.

A ransomware attack has enduring psychological effects on the way employees view the world. Two-thirds of employees, including those not actually involved in the attack, now believe the world is less safe. As one IT manager pointed out, “I’ve become far more suspicious. The outside world is a dangerous place.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/25/psychological-effects-ransomware/

• 7 Hidden Social Media Cyber Risks for Enterprises

Whether they use it to amplify the brand, recruit new employees, advertise new products, or even sell directly to consumers, corporate brands love social media.

According to recent figures, brand advertising on social media is up by 53% in the last year, and that's not accounting for further investments that brands are making in developing and distributing content. They're pushing viral videos, funny memes, podcasts, written material, and more to increase engagement with their customers.

And brands are doing it across not only the old reliable social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but also emerging platforms like TikTok. In fact, according to another recent study, in 2022 marketers are expanding their horizons, with their increased content investments focused on areas like live streaming, long-form and short-form video content, virtual reality and augmented reality content, experimental content, and live audio chat rooms. The top platforms they're focused on most for increasing spending are now TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

With the broadening of these social-media marketing strategies comes more risk. Whether an organisation uses social media to amplify its brand, or its executives and employees leverage social channels to bolster their professional and personal brands, these marketing platforms are a breeding ground for a wide range of cyber attacks and scams, including in the areas of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and biometrics.

Cyber criminals, fraudsters, spies, and activists work around the clock to take advantage of emerging attack surfaces that arise from enterprise use of social media. The article below presents just a few avenues that organisations may overlook when they double-down on their social media investments.

https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/7-hidden-social-media-cyber-risks-enterprises

• 54% of Staff Would Reconsider Working for a Firm That Had Experienced a Cyber Breach, Research Finds

Over half (54%) of office workers would reconsider working for a company that had recently experienced a cyber breach. That's according to a new study by cyber security technology provider, Encore.

An independent study of 100 C-level executives, 100 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and 500 office workers in the US and the UK, conducted by Censuswide, sought to uncover the gap that remains between boards and security teams when it comes to addressing cyber demands.

Only a third (33%) of staff said they would be "completely unphased" if their employer suffered a cyber break-in. The majority (57%) of C-level executives polled said they have been breached in the last 12 months alone. Most office workers, however, were unaware, with only 39% believing their organisation had been the victim of a successful attack.

The immediate financial cost of a cyber-attack remains the number one concern for businesses, but security teams are learning that there is a long tail to these breaches, with employees at risk of losing faith in their company, its ethics and values and its overarching responsibilities to the general public. In a competitive market, this is a stark warning to businesses across the world. Keeping your staff in the dark about cyber risk is a fundamental error, not to mention the additional impact of delayed disclosure to customers.

41% of C-level executives polled named reputational damage as one of the biggest costs to their business following a cyber-attack, with 34% agreeing that loss of clientele or their trust was a significant cost.

Despite many admitting to suffering a cyber breach in the last year, the overwhelming majority (92%) of CISOs and C-level executives polled believe their business is secure at any given moment. Encore believes that a mindset shift is needed at an organisational level, treating cyber incidents and the security of employee and customer data as a fundamental part of normal business operations, not a function that sits on the outside, looking in.

https://www.darkreading.com/careers-and-people/54-of-staff-would-reconsider-working-for-a-firm-that-had-experienced-a-cyber-breach-research-finds

• Evolve as Fast as the Cyber Criminals: Protect Your Business Now, Before It’s Too Late

According to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report, 2021 saw a global average increase of 105% in the number of ransomware attacks. Proofpoint's 2022 State of the Phish report said that a staggering 82% of UK businesses that experienced a ransomware attack sent payment to the cyber criminals – believing this was the cheapest and easiest way to regain access to their data. However, in many cases criminals simply took the payment without restoring access and the organisation finds itself on criminal target lists as it has demonstrated that attacks pay off. Even when decryption keys are handed over it can take an extended period of time to restore data.

One attack, on a hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany, was implicated in the death of a patient who had to be diverted to an alternative site as the A&E department had been forced to close due to the loss of core computer systems. It appears that the attack had been misdirected, and the hackers – who were quickly apprehended by the police – handed over the encryption keys immediately when they realised what had happened. Nevertheless, the decryption process was slow. It began in the early hours of September 11 and by September 20 the hospital was still unable to add or retrieve information, or even send emails. 30 servers had been corrupted.

The methods and techniques required to conduct a cyber-attack have never been more accessible. Whether it is on the darknet or through open-source content, the ability to purchase material that allows a malicious user to conduct a cyber-attack is readily available. Conducting a ransomware attack and using it to extort money from companies and government services alike, is now viewed as a viable business model by organised criminals.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/28/evolve-as-fast-as-the-cybercriminals-protect-your-business-now-before-its-too-late/

• Enterprise Ransomware Preparedness Improving but Still Lacking

The majority of organisations have made ransomware preparedness a top-five business priority, yet only half believe their preparedness is stronger than it was two years ago. That is according to a recent survey, "The Long Road Ahead to Ransomware Preparedness" by Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget.

Despite warnings and available preparedness resources, ransomware continues to distress companies. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they suffered a successful attack within the last year, and 73% reported they had one or more attacks that caused negative financial impact or disrupted business operations in the same time period.

The good news is the board and the C-suite are finally getting the message that more needs to be done to address impending ransomware attempts. In fact, 79% of respondents said business leaders made ransomware preparedness a top business priority, and 82% of organisations plan to invest more in ransomware preparedness over the next 12 to 18 months.

With preparedness investments expected to grow, the survey asked how organisations currently tackle ransomware. Respondents said the most important prevention tactics involve efforts in the following:

• network security (43%)

• backup infrastructure security (40%)

• endpoint security (39%)

• email security (36%)

• data encryption (36%)

Ongoing activities cited included data recovery testing, employee security awareness training, response readiness assessments, incident response functional exercises, penetration testing, incident planning and playbook development, phishing simulation programs, tabletop exercises, and blue/red/purple team engagements.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/Enterprise-ransomware-preparedness-improving-but-still-lacking

• Why Are There So Many Data Breaches? A Growing Industry of Criminals is Brokering in Stolen Data

New details have emerged on the severity of the Australian Medibank hack, which has now affected all users. Optus, Medibank, Woolworths, and, last Friday, electricity provider Energy Australia are all now among the Australian household names that have fallen victim to a data breach.

If it seems like barely a week goes by without news of another incident like this, you would be right. Cyber crime is on the rise – seven major Australian businesses were affected by data breaches in the past month alone.

But why now? And who is responsible for this latest wave of cyber attacks?

In large part, the increasing number of data breaches is being driven by the growth of a global illicit industry that trades in your data. In particular, hackers known as “initial access brokers” specialise in illegally gaining access to victim networks and then selling this access to other cyber criminals.

Hackers and initial access brokers are just one part of a complex and diversifying cyber crime ecosystem. This ecosystem contains various cyber criminal groups who increasingly specialise in one particular aspect of online crime and then work together to carry out the attacks.

Ransomware attacks are complex, involving up to nine different stages. These include gaining access to a victim’s network, stealing data, encrypting a victim’s network, and issuing a ransom demand. Increasingly, these attacks are carried out not by lone cyber criminal groups, but rather by networks of different cyber crime groups, each of which specialises in a different stage of the attack.

Initial access brokers will often carry out the first stage of a ransomware attack. Described by Google’s Threat Analysis Group as “the opportunistic locksmiths of the security world”, it’s their job to gain access to a victim’s network.

https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-data-breaches-a-growing-industry-of-criminals-is-brokering-in-stolen-data-193015

• How The "pizza123" Password Could Take Down an Organisation

Criminal hackers took responsibility for a recent FastCompany breach, saying they exploited an easily guessed default password, "pizza123." The business magazine reused the weak password across a dozen WordPress accounts, according to the hackers, who described the attack in their own article on FastCompany.com before the publication took the site down.

The breach, the bitter taste of pizza123, and the plight of malicious push notifications, demand caution when selecting and managing passwords.

The hackers claimed to have used the vulnerable password pizza123 to access authentication tokens, Apple News API keys, and Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) tokens. Then they sent offensive push notifications to the home screens of subscribers of the FastCompany channel on the Apple News service.

After decades of investment in sculpting the organisation's brand image, a business can watch its reputation flounder in the face of an obscene push notification. The sentiment of millions of faithful customers can turn sour in an instant. By the time organisations block the messages and make public apologies, the harm is done.

Customers can swap to a competitor, or even sue for the offence when they have entrusted a publisher to provide safe content. Regulatory bodies can fine organisations. The company can spend time and money defending itself in court and restoring its image. But malicious push notifications can do a lot worse than offend customers—criminal hackers can load messages with malware and infect consumer devices, leading to privacy violations and consumer financial fraud.

People often build passwords using the first word that comes to mind and a brief series of numbers. Pizza123 is a perfect example of an easy-to-guess password. Employees will create passwords already appearing on breached password lists. Criminal hackers use brute force attacks to confirm working passwords from the same lists.

Nearly two-thirds of employees reuse their passwords. The more they reuse them across business and personal accounts, the more likely criminal hackers will breach them and test them on the organisation. Hackers know to try the same passwords on different companies they hack because of password reuse.

Robust password management enables fine-grained password policies and policy customisation. With a custom password policy, organisations can increase complexity requirements, like length and previous-password change minimums. A custom password policy with increased complexity requirements will block 95% of weak and breached passwords.

Password length is a particularly critical component of strong passwords. Ninety-three percent of the passwords used in brute force attacks include eight or more characters. A custom password policy can require a minimum password length, decreasing password entropy.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/how-the-pizza123-password-could-take-down-an-organization/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• SonicWall: Ransomware down this year, but there’s a catch • The Register

• Medibank cyber-attack: should the health insurer pay a ransom for its customers’ data? | Health | The Guardian

• Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register

• Microsoft links Raspberry Robin worm to Clop ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to detect Windows worm that now distributes ransomware • The Register

• Ransomware Barrage Aimed at US Healthcare Sector, Feds Warn (darkreading.com)

• BlackByte ransomware affiliate also steals victims' data • The Register

• Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs

• OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• CISA warns of ransomware attacks on healthcare providers (techtarget.com)

• Industrial Ransomware Attacks: New Groups Emerge, Manufacturing Pays Highest Ransom | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ransom Cartel - REvil Rebrand? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Addressing Ransomware in Hospitals & Medical Devices (trendmicro.com)

• Australian Clinical Labs says patient data stolen in ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society Hackers Confess To Education Sector Ransomware Attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why Ransomware in Education on the Rise and What That Means for 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• Largest EU copper producer Aurubis suffers cyber attack, IT outage (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hive Ransomware Hackers Begin Leaking Data Stolen from Tata Power Energy Company (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware Gangs Ramp Up Industrial Attacks in US (darkreading.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• DHL Replaces LinkedIn As Most Imitated Brand in Phishing Attempts - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Social engineering attacks anybody could fall victim to - Help Net Security

• Twilio Says Employees Targeted in Separate Smishing, Vishing Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

Malware

• Threat Groups Repurpose Banking Trojans into Backdoors (darkreading.com)

• Types of cloud malware and how to defend against them (techtarget.com)

• Cranefly Hackers Use Stealthy Techniques to Deliver and Control Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Thousands Of Fake PoC Exploits In GitHub Repositories Deliver Malware – (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Chrome extensions with 1 million installs hijack targets’ browsers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers use Microsoft IIS web server logs to control malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Apple Releases Patch for New Actively Exploited iOS and iPadOS Zero-Day Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• These Dropper Apps On Play Store Targeting Over 200 Banking and Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)

• Android Hacking Warning As Criminals Target TikTok And PayPal For (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• IoT Fingerprinting Helps Authenticate and Secure All Those Devices (darkreading.com)

• IoT security strategy from enterprises using connected devices | Network World

• Security by design vital to protecting IoT, smart cities around the world, says CEO of UK NCSC | CSO Online

• Your CCTV devices can be hacked and weaponized - Help Net Security

• Critical Flaws in Abode Home Security Kit Allow Hackers to Hijack, Disable Cameras | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data | Cybernews

• See Tickets discloses 2.5 years-long credit card theft breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Twilio discloses another hack from June, blames voice phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Seven months after it found out, FamilySearch tells users their personal data has been breached • Graham Cluley

• Bed Bath & Beyond reviewing possible data breach | Reuters

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Ukrainian charged for operating Raccoon Stealer malware service (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Interpol says metaverse opens up new world of cyber crime | Reuters

• From Bounty to Exploit Observations About Cyber criminal Contests (trendmicro.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Researchers uncover cryptojacking campaign targeting Docker, Kubernetes cloud servers | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Purpleurchin: Cryptocurrency miners scour GitHub, Heroku • The Register

• Cryptomining campaign abused free GitHub account trials (techtarget.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• New York Post hacked? No, the culprit is an employee - Security Affairs

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• UK Anti-fraud Efforts Failing (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Dealers Report Dramatic Increase in Identity Fraud: Most Lack Effective Protection (darkreading.com)

• Economic strife fuels cyber anxiety - Help Net Security

• LinkedIn Releases New Security Features To Combat Fraud (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Beware Of SCAMS As Cost Of Living Bites Finances, Expert Comments (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Insurance

• Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register

• Cyber Insurance Market 2022: FAQs & Updates with iBynd (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

• Notorious ‘BestBuy’ hacker arraigned for running dark web market (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Student arrested for running one of Germany’s largest dark web markets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dark Web Forum Busts Come Days Apart (darkreading.com)

• British hacker arraigned for running The Real Deal dark web marketplace - Security Affairs

Software Supply Chain

• Supply Chain Attacks Or Vulnerabilities Experienced By 80% Of Organisations (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How the Software Supply Chain Security is Threatened by Hackers (thehackernews.com)

• Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)

• Consumer behaviours are the root of open source risk - Help Net Security

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Key observations on DDoS attacks in H1 2022 - Help Net Security

• Meet the Windows servers that have been fuelling massive DDoSes for months | Ars Technica

Cloud/SaaS

• Everything you Need to Know about Cloud Hacking and its Methodologies (analyticsinsight.net)

• It’s time to prioritize SaaS security | InfoWorld

• Top Cloud Security Challenges & How to Beat Them (trendmicro.com)

• Atlassian Vulnerabilities Highlight Criticality of Cloud Services (darkreading.com)

• Threat Actors Target AWS EC2 Workloads to Steal Credentials (trendmicro.com)

• Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)

• Cloud Providers Throw Their Weight Behind Confidential Computing (darkreading.com)

Hybrid Working

• Balancing remote work privacy vs. productivity monitoring (techtarget.com)

• Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Attack Surface Management

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 2 (trendmicro.com)

• Asset risk management: Getting the basics right - Help Net Security

Encryption

• New Critical Vuln In Component That Allow Encryption Across Internet - (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Can a new form of cryptography solve the internet’s privacy problem? | Data protection | The Guardian

API

• Thousands Of Publicly Exposed API Tokens Could Threaten Software Integrity (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Key API Security Principles And How To Implement Them (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Open Source

• Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)

• 4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Why it's time to expire mandatory password expiration policies (techtarget.com)

• Feds say Ukrainian man running malware service amassed 50M unique credentials | Ars Technica

Biometrics

• ICO Warns of "Immature" Biometric Tech - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Social Media

• LinkedIn Phishing Spoof Bypasses Google Workspace Security (darkreading.com)

• LinkedIn's new security features combat fake profiles, threat actors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber security event cancelled after scammers disrupt LinkedIn live chat (bitdefender.com)

• Expert Opinion: What Does Musk's Takeover Mean For Cyber security? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber attackers Target Instagram Users With Threats of Copyright Infringement (darkreading.com)

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

• Ex-cop abused police tool in Snapshot sextortion plot that stole sexually explicit photos and videos (bitdefender.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• UK Construction Biz Fined £4.4m for Serious Security Failings - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Australia Flags New Corporate Penalties for Privacy Breaches | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Protection

• What consumers expect from organisations that handle their personal data - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Criminals are starting to exploit the metaverse, says Interpol. So police are heading there too | ZDNET

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

• Ukraine: Russian cyber attacks aimless and opportunistic (techtarget.com)

• Unknown Actors are Deploying RomCom RAT to Target Ukrainian Military (thehackernews.com)

• Slovak, Polish Parliaments Hit by Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Norway arrests man accused of being Russian spy - BBC News

• Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs

• Ukraine Warns of Cuba Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russia says Starlink satellites could become military target • The Register

• Calls for inquiry mount after reports that Truss’s phone was hacked | Financial Times

• OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese spy duo charged in Huawei case as US condemns ‘egregious’ interference | China | The Guardian

• Chinese Connected Cyber Crew Unleashes Disinformation Campaign Ahead of US Elections - MSSP Alert

• Federal bans don't stop US states from buying Chinese kit • The Register

• Chinese Spies Indicted for Coercing Nationals Living in US to Return as Agents of the PRC - MSSP Alert

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Kimsuky Hackers Spotted Using 3 New Android Malware to Target South Koreans (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iranian government blames 'foreign country' for hack-and-leak of nuclear information - CyberScoop

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Vulnerability Management

• Outpost24: How Pentesting-as-a-Service finds vulnerabilities before they're exploited (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Protecting organisations by understanding end-of-life software risks - Help Net Security

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Vulnerabilities

• OpenSSL to fix the second critical flaw ever - Security Affairs

• Urgent: Google Issues Emergency Patch for Chrome Zero-Day (darkreading.com)

• Multiple RCE Vulnerabilities Discovered in Veeam Backup & Replication App - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ConnectWise fixes RCE bug exposing thousands of servers to attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical authentication bug in Fortinet products actively exploited in the wild | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Apple megaupdate: Ventura out, iOS and iPad kernel zero-day – act now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Windows Mark of the Web Zero-Days Remain Patchless, Under Exploit (darkreading.com)

• 22-Year-Old Vulnerability Reported in Widely Used SQLite Database Library (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco warns admins to patch AnyConnect flaws exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exploit released for critical VMware RCE vulnerability, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco Confirms In-the-Wild Exploitation of Two VPN Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Incoming OpenSSL critical fix: Organisations, users, get ready! - Help Net Security

• Cisco Users Informed of Vulnerabilities in Identity Services Engine | SecurityWeek.Com

• VMware fixes critical RCE in VMware Cloud Foundation - Security Affairs

• VMware Patches Critical Vulnerability in End-of-Life Product | SecurityWeek.Com

• Multiple vulnerabilities affect the Juniper Junos OS - Security Affairs

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Q3 2022 Phishing and Malware Report: Phishing Volumes Increase 31% (vadesecure.com)

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 2 (trendmicro.com)

• Justice response inadequate to meet scale of fraud epidemic - Committees - UK Parliament

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Other News

• Cyber Security Risks & Stats This Spooky Season (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Certification Skills Are For Life, Not Just For Linkedin (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• 8 hallmarks of a proactive security strategy | CSO Online

• Implementing Defence in Depth to Prevent and Mitigate Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber security’s importance and impact reaches all levels of the tech workforce - Help Net Security

• Stress Is Driving Cyber Security Professionals to Rethink Roles (darkreading.com)

• Equifax's Lessons Are Still Relevant, 5 Years Later (darkreading.com)

• Why dark data is a growing danger for corporations - Help Net Security

• Know the dangers you're facing: 4 notable TTPs used by cyber criminals worldwide - Help Net Security

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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 21 October 2022

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

• Gen Z, Millennials Really Don’t Care About Workplace Cyber Security

When it comes to cyber security in the workplace, younger employees don’t really seem to care that much, which is putting their organisations in serious harm’s way, new research has claimed.

Surveying approximately 1,000 workers using devices issued by their employers, professional services firm EY found Gen Z enterprise employees were more apathetic about cyber security than their Boomer counterparts in adhering to their employer's safety policies.

This is despite the fact that four in five (83%) of all those surveyed claimed to understand their employer’s security protocol.

When it comes to implementing mandatory IT updates, for example, 58% of Gen Z’ers and 42% of millennials would disregard them for as long as possible. Less than a third (31%) of Gen X’ers, and just 15% of baby boomers said they do the same.

Apathy in the young extends to password reuse between private and business accounts. A third of Gen Z and millennial workers surveyed admitted to this, compared to less than a quarter of all Gen X’ers and baby boomers.

Some say the apathy of young people towards technology is down to their over-familiarity with technology, and never having been without it. Being too comfortable with tech undoubtedly makes an enterprise's younger employees a major target for cyber criminals looking to exploit any hole in security. 

If an organisation's cyber security practices aren't upheld strongly, threat actors can compromise huge networks with simple social engineering attacks.

https://www.techradar.com/news/younger-workers-dont-care-about-workplace-cybersecurity

• Supply Chain Attacks Increased Over 600% This Year and Companies Are Falling Behind

The number of documented supply chain attacks involving malicious third-party components has increased 633% over the past year, now sitting at over 88,000 known instances, according to a new report from software supply chain management company Sonatype. Meanwhile, instances of transitive vulnerabilities that software components inherit from their own dependencies have also reached unprecedented levels and plague two-thirds of open-source libraries.

“The networked nature of dependencies highlights the importance of having visibility and awareness about these complex supply chains” Sonatype said in its newly released State of the Software Supply Chain report. “These dependencies impact our software, so having an understanding of their origins is critical to vulnerability response. Many organisations did not have the needed visibility and continued their incident response procedures for Log4Shell well beyond the summer of 2022 as a result.”

Log4Shell is a critical vulnerability discovered in November 2021 in Log4j, a widely popular open-source Java library used for logging and bundled in millions of enterprise applications and software products, often as an indirect dependency. According to Sonatype’s monitoring, as of August 2022, the adoption rate for fixed versions of Log4j sits at around 65%. Moreover, this doesn’t even account for the fact that the Log4Shell vulnerability originated in a Java class called JndiManager that is part of Log4j-core, but which has also been borrowed by 783 other projects and is now found in over 19,000 software components.

Log4Shell served as a watershed moment, highlighting the inherent risks that exist in the open-source software ecosystem – which sits at the core of modern software development – and the need to manage them properly. It also led to several initiatives to secure the software supply chain by private organisations, software repository managers, the Linux Foundation, and government bodies. Yet, most organisations are far from where they need to be in terms of open-source supply chain management.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3677228/supply-chain-attacks-increased-over-600-this-year-and-companies-are-falling-behind.html#tk.rss_news

• Cyber-Enabled Crimes Are Biggest Police Concerns

Cyber-related crimes such as money laundering, ransomware and phishing pose the biggest threat to society, according to the first ever Interpol Global Crime Trend report.

The inaugural study was compiled from data received from the policing organisation’s 195 member countries, as well as information and analysis from external sources.

Money laundering was ranked the number one threat, with 67% of respondents claiming it to be a “high” or “very high” risk. Ransomware came second (66%) but was the crime type that most (72%) expected to increase in the next 3–5 years.

Of the nine top crime trends identified in the report, six are directly cyber-enabled, including money laundering, ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, computer intrusion and child sexual exploitation.

Interpol warned that the pandemic had fomented new underground offerings like “financial crime-as-a-service,” including digital money laundering tools which help to lower the barrier to entry for criminal gangs. It also claimed that demand for online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) content surged during the pandemic. Some 62% of respondents expect it to increase or significantly increase in the coming years.

The findings represent something of a turnaround from pre-pandemic times, when drug trafficking regularly topped the list of police concerns. Thanks to a surge in corporate digitalisation, home working and online shopping, there are now rich pickings to be had from targeting consumers and business users with cyber-scams and attacks, Interpol claimed.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberenabled-crimes-are-biggest/

• List of Common Passwords Accounts for Nearly All Cyber Attacks

Half of a million passwords from the RockYou2021 list account for 99.997% of all credential attacks against a variety of honeypots, suggesting attackers are just taking the easy road.

Tens of millions of credential-based attacks targeting two common types of servers boiled down to a small fraction of the passwords that formed a list of leaked credentials, known as the RockYou2021 list.

Vulnerability management firm Rapid7, via its network of honeypots, recorded every attempt to compromise those servers over a 12-month period, finding that the attempted credential attacks resulted in 512,000 permutations. Almost all of those passwords (99.997%) are included in a common password list — the RockYou2021 file, which has 8.4 billion entries — suggesting that attackers, or the subset of threat actors attacking Rapid7's honeypots, are sticking to a common playbook.

The overlap in all the attacks also suggest attackers are taking the easy road, said Rapid7. "We know now, in a provable and demonstrable way, that nobody — 0% of attackers — is trying to be creative when it comes to unfocused, untargeted attacks across the Internet," they said. "Therefore, it's very easy to avoid this kind of opportunistic attack, and it takes very little effort to take this threat off the table entirely, with modern password managers and configuration controls."

Every year, security firms present research suggesting users are continuing to pick bad passwords. In 2019, an evaluation of passwords leaked to the Internet found that the top password was "123456," followed by "123456789" and "qwerty," and unfortunately things have not got much better since then.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/a-common-password-list-accounts-for-nearly-all-cyberattacks

• Shared Responsibility or Shared Fate? Decentralised IT Means We Are All Cyber Defenders

Does your organisation truly understand the shared responsibility model? Shared responsibility emerged from the early days of cloud computing as a way to delineate responsibilities between cloud providers and their customers, but often there's a gap between what shared responsibility means and how it is interpreted. With the decentralisation of IT, this gap is getting worse.

Applications, servers, and overall technology used to be under the purview and control of the IT department, yet with the shift to cloud, and specifically software-as-a-service (SaaS), this dynamic has changed. Whether it's the sales team bringing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system like Salesforce, or the HR department operating a human resources information system (HRIS) like Workday, there's a clear "expanding universe" of IT that no longer sits where it used to. Critical business workflows exist in separate business units far from IT and security and are managed as such. Our corporate IT footprints have become decentralised.

This is not some minor, temporary trend. With the ease and speed of adopting new SaaS applications and the desire to "lift and shift" code into cloud-based environments, this is the future. The future is decentralised.

The shift to business-owned and -operated applications puts security teams in a position where risk management is their responsibility; they are not even able to log into some of these critical systems. It's like asking your doctor to keep you healthy but not giving her access to your information or having regular check-ups. It doesn't work that way.

Beyond the challenging human skills gap, there's technical entropy and diversity everywhere, with different configuration settings, event logs, threat vectors, and data sensitivities. On the access side, there are different admins, users, integrations, and APIs. If you think managing security on Windows and Mac is a lot, try it across many huge applications.

With this reality, how can the security team be expected to combat a growing amount of decentralised business technology risk?

We must operate our technology with the understanding that shared responsibility is the vertical view between cloud provider and customer, but that enterprise-owned piece of shared responsibility is the burden of multiple teams horizontally across an organisation. Too often the mentality is us versus them, availability versus security, too busy to care about risk, too concerned with risk to understand "the business."

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/shared-responsibility-or-shared-fate-decentralized-it-means-we-are-all-cyber-defenders

• Ukraine War Cuts Ransomware as Kremlin Co-Opts Hackers

The Ukraine war has helped reduce global ransomware attacks by 10pc in the last few months, a British cyber security company has said.

Criminal hacking gangs, usually engaged in corporate ransomware activities, are increasingly being co-opted by the Russian military to launch cyber attacks on Ukraine, according to Digital Shadows. “The war is likely to continue to motivate ransomware actors to target government and critical infrastructure entities,” according to the firm. Such attacks partly contributed to a 10pc drop in the number of ransomware threats launched during the three months to September, said the London-based company.

The drop in ransomware may also partly be caused by tit-for-tat digital attacks between rival hacking gangs. Researchers said the Lockbit gang, who recently targeted LSE-listed car retailer Pendragon with a $60m (£53.85m) ransom demand, were the target of attacks from their underworld rivals. The group is increasingly inviting resentment from competing threat groups and possibly former members.

Some cyber criminals’ servers went offline in September after what appeared to be an attack from competitors. In the world of cyber criminality, it is not uncommon for tensions to flare among rival groups.

Officials from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre have said ransomware is one of the biggest cyber threats facing the UK. Figures published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport this year revealed the average costs to businesses caused by ransomware attacks is around £19,000 per incident.

US-based cyber security company Palo Alto Networks, however, warned that the average ransom payment it saw in the early part of this year was $925,000 (£829,000).

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/10/23/ukraine-war-cuts-ransomware-kremlin-co-opts-hackers/

• 96% Of Companies Report Insufficient Security for Sensitive Cloud Data

The vast majority of organisations lack confidence in securing their data in cloud, while many companies acknowledge they lack sufficient security even for their most sensitive data, according to a new report by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).

The CSA report surveyed 1,663 IT and security professionals from organisations of various sizes and in various locations. "Only 4% report sufficient security for 100% of their data in the cloud. This means that 96% of organisations have insufficient security for at least some of their sensitive data," according to the report, which was sponsored by data intelligence firm BigID.

Apart from struggling with securing sensitive data, organisations are also having trouble tracking data in the cloud. Over a quarter of organisations polled aren’t tracking regulated data, nearly a third aren’t tracking confidential or internal data, and 45% aren’t tracking unclassified data, the report said.

“This suggests that organisations’ current methods of classifying data aren’t sufficient for their needs. However, if the tracking is this low, it could be a contributing factor to the issue of dark data. Organisations need to utilise data discovery and classification tools to properly understand the data they have and how to protect it,” the CSA study noted.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3677491/96-of-companies-report-insufficient-security-for-sensitive-cloud-data.html#tk.rss_news

• Your Microsoft Exchange Server Is a Security Liability

With endless vulnerabilities, widespread hacking campaigns, slow and technically tough patching, it's time to say goodbye to on-premise Exchange.

Once, reasonable people who cared about security, privacy, and reliability ran their own email servers. Today, the vast majority host their personal email in the cloud, handing off that substantial burden to the capable security and engineering teams at companies like Google and Microsoft. Now, cyber security experts argue that a similar switch is due - or long overdue - for corporate and government networks. For enterprises that use on-premise Microsoft Exchange, still running their own email machine somewhere in a closet or data centre, the time has come to move to a cloud service, if only to avoid the years-long plague of bugs in Exchange servers that has made it nearly impossible to keep determined hackers out.

The latest reminder of that struggle arrived earlier this week, when Taiwanese security researcher Orange Tsai published a blog post laying out the details of a security vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange. Tsai warned Microsoft about this vulnerability as early as June of 2021, and while the company responded by releasing some partial fixes, it took Microsoft 14 months to fully resolve the underlying security problem. Tsai had earlier reported a related vulnerability in Exchange that was massively exploited by a group of Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Hafnium, which last year penetrated more than 30,000 targets by some counts. Yet according to the timeline described in Tsai’s post this week, Microsoft repeatedly delayed fixing the newer variation of that same vulnerability, assuring Tsai no fewer than four times that it would patch the bug before pushing off a full patch for months longer. When Microsoft finally released a fix, Tsai wrote, it still required manual activation and lacked any documentation for four more months.

Meanwhile, another pair of actively exploited vulnerabilities in Exchange that were revealed last month still remain unpatched after researchers showed that Microsoft’s initial attempts to fix the flaws had failed. Those vulnerabilities were just the latest in a years-long pattern of security bugs in Exchange’s code. And even when Microsoft does release Exchange patches, they’re often not widely implemented, due to the time-consuming technical process of installing them.

The result of those compounding problems, for many who have watched the hacker-induced headaches of running an Exchange server pile up, is a clear message: An Exchange server is itself a security vulnerability, and the fix is to get rid of it.

“You need to move off of on-premise Exchange forever. That’s the bottom line,” says Dustin Childs, the head of threat awareness at security firm Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), which pays researchers for finding and reporting vulnerabilities in commonly used software and runs the Pwn2Own hacking competition. “You’re not getting the support, as far as security fixes, that you would expect from a really mission-critical component of your infrastructure.”

https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-exchange-server-vulnerabilities/

• Are Cyber Security Vendors Pushing Snake Oil?

Survey: 96 percent of cyber security decision makers confused by vendor marketing.

The availability of new security products increases, the amount of budget spent on cyber security grows, and the number of security breaches seems to outpace both. This basic lack of correlation between increasing cyber security spend and any clear increase in cyber security effectiveness is the subject of a new analytical survey from Egress.

With 52 million data breaches in Q2 2022 alone (Statista), Egress questioned 800 cyber security and IT leaders on why vendor claims and reality aren’t aligned. The headline response in the survey is that 91% of decision makers have difficulty in selecting cyber security vendors due to unclear marketing about their specific offerings.

The financial investment cycle doesn’t help in this. For many investors, the strength of the management team is more important than the product. The argument is not whether this product is a cyber security silver bullet, but whether this management can take the company to a point where it can exit with serious profits.

If investment is achieved, much of it will go into marketing. That marketing must compete against existing, established vendors – so it tends to be louder, more aggressive, and replete with hyperbole. Marketing noise can lead to increased valuation, which can lead to a successful and profitable exit by the investors.

Of course, this is an oversimplification and doesn’t always happen. The point, however, is that it does happen and has no relevance to the real effectiveness of the product in question. Without any doubt, there are many products that have been over-hyped by marketing funds provided by profit-driven investors.

https://www.securityweek.com/are-cybersecurity-vendors-pushing-snake-oil

• Ransomware Preparedness: What Are You Doing Wrong?

Axio released its 2022 State of Ransomware Preparedness research report, revealing that although notable improvements have been made since Axio’s 2021 report, organisational ransomware preparedness continues to be insufficient to keep pace with new attack vectors.

The report reveals that the lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, including critical vulnerability patching and employee cyber security training, continues to undermine organisational attempts to improve ransomware defences.

“Ransomware continues to wreak havoc on global organisations, regardless of size or industry,” remarked the report’s co-author David White, President of Axio. “As the number of attacks will most likely continue on an exponential trajectory, it’s more important than ever for companies to re-evaluate their cyber security practices and make the needed improvements to help combat these attacks.”

The report identifies several emerging patterns that yield insights into why organisations are increasingly susceptible to ransomware attacks. In 2021, seven key areas where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices were identified, and these patterns dominated the 2022 study results as well:

• Managing privileged access

• Improving basic cyber hygiene

• Reducing exposure to supply chain and third-party risk

• Monitoring and defending networks

• Managing ransomware incidents

• Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner

• Improving cyber security training and awareness

Overall, most organisations surveyed are not adequately prepared to manage the risk associated with a ransomware attack. Key data findings include:

• The number of organisations with a functional privileged access management solution in place increased by 10% but remains low at 33% overall.

• Limitations on the use of service and local administrator accounts remain average overall, with nearly 50% of organisations reporting implementing these practices.

• Approximately 40% of organisations monitor third-party network access, evaluate third-party cyber security posture, and limit the use of third-party software.

• Less than 50% of respondents implement basic network segmentation and only 40% monitor for anomalous connections.

• Critical vulnerability patching within 24 hours was reported by only 24% of organisations.

• A ransomware-specific playbook for incident management is in place for only 30% of organisations.

• Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/20/insufficient-ransomware-preparedness/

• NSA Cybersecurity Director's Six Takeaways from the War in Ukraine

From the warning banner ‘Be afraid and expect the worst’ that was shown on several Ukrainian government websites on January 13, 2022, after a cyber-attack took them down, the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) cybersecurity director, Rob Joyce, knew that something was going to be different, and very aggressive, between Ukraine and Russia, and that it would be happening in the cyber space as well.

Ten months on, he was invited to speak at one of Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange's (mWISE) opening keynotes on October 18, 2022. Joyce shared six takeaways from the Russia-Ukraine cyber-conflict in terms of what we learned from it and its impact on how nations should protect their organisations.

1. Both espionage and destructive attacks will occur in conflict

2. The cyber security industry has unique insight into these conflicts

3. Sensitive intelligence can make a decisive difference

4. You can develop resiliency skills

5. Don’t try to go it alone

6. You have not planned enough yet for the contingencies

Toward the end of the keynote, Joyce suggested the audience simulate a scenario based on what happened in Ukraine with the China-Taiwan conflict escalating and see what they should put in place to better prepare for such an event.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nsa-6-takeaways-war-ukraine/

• Microsoft Confirms Server Misconfiguration Led to 65,000+ Companies' Data Leak

Microsoft this week confirmed that it inadvertently exposed information related to thousands of customers following a security lapse that left an endpoint publicly accessible over the internet sans any authentication.

"This misconfiguration resulted in the potential for unauthenticated access to some business transaction data corresponding to interactions between Microsoft and prospective customers, such as the planning or potential implementation and provisioning of Microsoft services," Microsoft said in an alert.

Microsoft also emphasised that the B2B leak was "caused by an unintentional misconfiguration on an endpoint that is not in use across the Microsoft ecosystem and was not the result of a security vulnerability."

The misconfiguration of the Azure Blob Storage was spotted on September 24, 2022, by cyber security company SOCRadar, which termed the leak BlueBleed. Microsoft said it's in the process of directly notifying impacted customers.

The Windows maker did not reveal the scale of the data leak, but according to SOCRadar, it affects more than 65,000 entities in 111 countries. The exposure amounts to 2.4 terabytes of data that consists of invoices, product orders, signed customer documents, partner ecosystem details, among others.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/10/microsoft-confirms-server.html

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Сryptocurrency and Ransomware — The Ultimate Friendship (thehackernews.com)

• Venus Ransomware targets publicly exposed Remote Desktop services (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Pendragon being held to $60m ransom by dark web hackers – Car Dealer Magazine

• Magniber Ransomware Is Targeting Home PC (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert

• TommyLeaks and SchoolBoys: Two sides of the same ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)

• With Conti gone, LockBit takes lead of the ransomware threat landscape | CSO Online

• Tactics Tie Ransom Cartel Group to Defunct REvil Ransomware (darkreading.com)

• Wholesale giant METRO hit by IT outage after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The link between Ransom Cartel and REvil ransomware gangs - Security Affairs

• Deadbolt Ransomware Targets NAS Devices - IT Security Guru

• Black Basta Ransomware Hackers Infiltrate Networks via Qakbot to Deploy Brute Ratel C4 (thehackernews.com)

• How Vice Society Got Away With a Global Ransomware Spree | WIRED

• Microsoft warns over unusual ransomware attacks | ZDNET

• Defenders beware: A case for post-ransomware investigations - Microsoft Security Blog

• Ransomware crews regrouping as LockBit rise continues (computerweekly.com)

• Singapore Creates Counter Ransomware Task Force to Tackle Threats - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransom Cartel linked to notorious REvil ransomware operation (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackney Council Ransomware Attack £12m+ Recovery - IT Security Guru

• Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert

• Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register

• New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Japanese tech firm Oomiya hit by LockBit 3.0 - Security Affairs

• Ransomware attack halts circulation of some German newspapers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Insurance Security Requirement Strategies (trendmicro.com)

• Australian insurance firm Medibank confirms ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attack impacted some CommonSpirit sites, but few details released | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• BlackByte ransomware uses new data theft tool for double-extortion (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register

• Phishing Mitigation Can Cost Businesses More Than $1M Annually (darkreading.com)

• Securing your organisation against phishing can cost up to $85 per email | CSO Online

• How phishing campaigns abuse Google Ad click tracking redirects - Help Net Security

• Attackers switch to self-extracting password-protected archives to distribute email malware | CSO Online

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Amazon customers warned about text message scam that is trying to steal personal details | The Northern Echo

Malware

• VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica

• Microsoft’s out-of-date driver list left Windows PCs open to malware attacks for years - The Verge

• Ursnif malware switches from bank account theft to initial access (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts spotted a new undetectable PowerShell Backdoor - Security Affairs

• Emotet Botnet Distributing Self-Unlocking Password-Protected RAR Files to Drop Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Typosquat campaign mimics 27 brands to push Windows, Android malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thousands of GitHub repositories deliver fake PoC exploits with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers use new stealthy PowerShell backdoor to target 60+ victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hijacking of Popular Minecraft Launcher by Rogue Developer Raises Malware Fears - IGN

• URSNIF (aka Gozi) banking trojan morphs into backdoor • The Register

• What is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan)? | Definition from TechTarget

Mobile

• QR codes could unlock phone to hackers, security expert warns (nypost.com)

• These 16 Clicker Malware Infected Android Apps Were Downloaded Over 20 Million Times (thehackernews.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Riskiest IoT Devices - Cameras, VoIP And Video Conferencing (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• NCSC CEO Calls for International Standards on IoT Security - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Securing IoT devices against attacks that target critical infrastructure - Microsoft Security Blog

• 74% say connected cars and EV chargers need cyber security ratings | Ars Technica

Data Breaches/Leaks

• The companies most likely to lose your data - Help Net Security

• Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security

• Medibank hack turned into a data breach: The attackers are demanding money - Help Net Security

• Mormon Church Hit By Cyber attack, Personal Data Exposed (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Keystone Health Data Breach Impacts 235,000 Patients | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Client Data Exfiltrated In Advanced NHS cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Optus tells customers affected by data breach they can no longer use passports as online ID | Optus | The Guardian

• Australian Wine Dealer Suffers Data Breach, 500,000 Customers May Be (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Advocate Aurora Health in potential 3 million patient leak • The Register

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cyber criminals jailed for cryptocurrency theft, death threats (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Israeli cyber intel firm shines bright light on new, shadowy cyber crime collective | The Times of Israel

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Why Crypto Winter is No Excuse to Let Your Cyber Defences Falter (thehackernews.com)

• North Korea’s Lazarus Group Attacks Japanese Crypto Firms - Decrypt

• Coinbase users scammed out of $21M in crypto sue company for negligence | Ars Technica

• SIM Swappers Sentenced to Prison for Hacking Accounts, Stealing Cryptocurrency | SecurityWeek.Com

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Financial losses to synthetic identity-based fraud to double by 2024 | CSO Online

• AI is Key to Tackling Money Mules and Disrupting Fraud: Industry Group | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cops Arrest Suspected Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Mastermind - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Deepfakes

• Deepfakes: What they are and how to spot them - Help Net Security

• Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register

Insurance

• Ransomware Insurance Security Requirement Strategies (trendmicro.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• How supply chain threats will evolve in 2023 - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• Software Supply Chain Attacks Soar 742% In Three Years (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• SBOMs: An Overhyped Concept That Won't Secure Your Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Pro-Russia Hackers DDoS Bulgarian Government - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Microsoft Data-Exposure Incident Highlights Risk of Cloud Storage Misconfiguration (darkreading.com)

• 3 cloud security posture questions CISOs should answer (techtarget.com)

• 10 Steps to Securing the Cloud - MSSP Alert

Attack Surface Management

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 1 (trendmicro.com)

Identity and Access Management

• What Is the Difference Between Identity Verification and Authentication? (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• The quantum computing threat is real. Now we need to act. - CyberScoop

API

• Thousands of Publicly Exposed API Tokens Could Threaten Software Integrity - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Open banking API security: Best practices to ensure a safe journey - Help Net Security

Open Source

• New security concerns for the open-source software supply chain - Help Net Security

• Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)

• Researchers find 633% increase in cyber-attacks aimed at open source repositories | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• 3 Ways to Help Customers Defend Against Linux-Based Cyber attacks - MSSP Alert

• OldGremlin hackers use Linux ransomware to attack Russian orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Most People Still Reuse Their Passwords Despite Years Of Hacking (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Password Report: Honeypot Data Shows Bot Attack Trends Against RDP, SSH | SecurityWeek.Com

• Eight RTX 4090s Can Break Passwords in Under an Hour | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Security Awareness Urged to Grow Beyond Compliance (darkreading.com)

• Raising cyber security awareness is good for everyone - but it needs to be done better | ZDNET

• Millennials, Gen Z blamed for poor company security • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Amazon and the Rise of ‘Luxury Surveillance’ - The Atlantic

• Google sued over biometric data collection without consent (bleepingcomputer.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security

• Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• New York fines EyeMed $4.5 million for 2020 email hack, data breach | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Health insurer pays out $4.5m over bungled data security • The Register

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• INTERPOL-led Operation Takes Down 'Black Axe' Cyber Crime Organisation (thehackernews.com)

• Law enforcement arrested 31 suspects for stealing cars by hacking key fobs - Security Affairs

• Cops Arrest Suspected Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Mastermind - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Interpol is setting up its own metaverse to learn how to police the virtual world | Euronews

• Brazilian Police Nab Suspected Member of Lapsus$ Group (darkreading.com)

• Interpol Report: "Financial Crime-as-a-Service" an Emerging Threat - MSSP Alert

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

• Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert

• US, China, Russia, more meet at Singapore infosec event • The Register

• NSA cyber chief says Ukraine war is compelling more intelligence sharing with industry - CyberScoop

• China-Linked Cyber-Espionage Team Homes In on Hong Kong Government Orgs (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert

• Hackers target Asian casinos in lengthy cyber espionage campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register

• Pro-Russia Hackers DDoS Bulgarian Government - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• OldGremlin Ransomware Targeted Over a Dozen Russian Entities in Multi-Million Scheme (thehackernews.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Ukraine war: Life appears normal in Moscow... but a sinister undercurrent exists as Putin's conflict drags on | World News | Sky News

• Ukraine's cyber chief calls for global anti-fake news fight • The Register

• German Cyber security Boss Sacked Over Kremlin Connection (darkreading.com)

• Killing Starlink! Russian Media Says Over 4000 Missiles Required To Destroy Starlink Service; Experts Say 'Mission Impossible' (eurasiantimes.com)

• New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Bulgaria hit by a cyber attack originating from Russia - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – China

• As China-Taiwan tensions mount, how's your cyber defence? • The Register

• Chinese 'Spyder Loader' Malware Spotted Targeting Organisations in Hong Kong (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers compromised Hong Kong govt agency network for a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• WIP19 Threat Group Cyber attacks Target IT Service Providers, Telcos - MSSP Alert

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea’s Lazarus Group Attacks Japanese Crypto Firms - Decrypt

Nation State Actors – Iran

• FBI Warns of Iranian Cyber Firm's Hack-and-Leak Operations | SecurityWeek.Com

• 'FurBall' Spyware Being Used Against Iranian Citizens (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Compare vulnerability assessment vs. vulnerability management (techtarget.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• 45,654 VMware ESXi servers reached End of Life on Oct. 15 - Security Affairs

• VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica

• Hackers Started Exploiting Critical "Text4Shell" Apache Commons Text Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Text message verification flaws in your Windows Active Directory (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Apache Commons Vulnerability: Patch but Don't Panic (darkreading.com)

• Zoom for Mac patches sneaky “spy-on-me” bug – update now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• ProxyLogon researcher details new Exchange Server flaws (techtarget.com)

• Over 17000 Fortinet devices exposed online are very likely vulnerable to CVE-2022-40684 - Security Affairs

• Exploited Windows zero-day lets JavaScript files bypass security warnings (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dozen High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in F5 Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Oracle Releases 370 New Security Patches With October 2022 CPU | SecurityWeek.Com

• Palo Alto Networks fixed a high-severity flaw in PAN-OS - Security Affairs

• Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Zimbra Patches Under-Attack Code Execution Bug | SecurityWeek.Com

• WordPress Security Update 6.0.3 Patches 16 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)

• Critical Flaw Reported in Move Virtual Machine Powering the Aptos Blockchain Network (thehackernews.com)

• Analysis of a Remote Code Execution (RCE) Vulnerability in Cobalt Strike 4.7.1 (securityintelligence.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Financial and cyber crimes top global police concerns, says new INTERPOL report

• Post-Quantum Cryptography: Anticipating Threats and Preparing the Future — ENISA (europa.eu)

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 1 (trendmicro.com)

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Other News

• Zero trust is misused in security, say Cloudflare, Zscaler - Protocol

• How to manage and reduce secret sprawl (techtarget.com)

• Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million (computerweekly.com)

• Infosec still (mostly) a boys club • The Register

• Cyber security Workforce Gap Grows by 26% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• VPN use prevails despite interest in VPN alternatives (techtarget.com)

• JP Morgan Bans Staff From Working Remotely In Hotels and Coffee Shops-But Not Airbnbs | Inc.com

• Experts discovered millions of .git folders exposed to public - Security Affairs

• Microsoft Defender is lacking in offline detection capabilities, says AV-Comparatives | TechSpot

• Internet connectivity worldwide impacted by severed fiber cables in France (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK's Remote Shetland Mysteriously Lose Phone, Internet After Cable Cut (businessinsider.com)

• CISOs, rejoice! Security spending is increasing - Help Net Security

• Equifax surveilled 1,000 remote workers, fired 24 found juggling two jobs | Ars Technica

• Do You Think Businesses Must Do More To Boost Cyber Defences, Says Nadhim (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• NATO Just Deployed Its First Killer Ground Robot (futurism.com)

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

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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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