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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 29 March 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 29 March 2024:
-Only 3% of Organisations Globally are Fully Prepared for Cyber Threats
-China Cyber Attacks a Reminder Beijing Poses ‘Constant and Sophisticated’ Threat to Western Cyber Security
-Companies With Advanced Cyber Security Performance Deliver Nearly Four Times’ Higher Shareholder Return Than Their Peers
-Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals’ Personal Accounts
-Cyber Security Threats in International Relations: Are We Prepared for a Digital Pearl Harbour?
-High Net Worths Urged to Improve Digital Hygiene in Fight Against Cyber Crime
-Key Lessons from Microsoft’s Password Spray Hack: Secure Every Account
-Mitigating Third-Party Risk Requires a Collaborative, Thorough Approach
-IT Leaders Struggle to Keep up With Emerging Threats, as 92% of IT Leaders Say Cyber Threats Are on the Rise, 51% See AI Attacks for the First Time
-Only 5% of Boards Have Cyber Security Expertise
-Google’s New AI Search Results Promotes Sites Pushing Malware and Scams
-Report Calls Out Cyber Risks to Financial Sector Fuelled by AI
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
Only 3% of Organisations Globally are Fully Prepared for Cyber Threats
A new report released by Cisco found that only 3% of organisations globally are considered to be at a “mature” level of readiness that is needed to be resilient against today’s cyber threats. In contrast, 80% of the companies surveyed felt moderately to very confident in their ability to defend against a threat.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents expect a cyber incident to disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months. For many, this was based on past experience, with more than half of respondents saying that they had experienced a cyber security incident in the last 12 months, and of those, more than half of said it cost them at least $300,000. To address this, 97% of companies expect to increase their cyber security budgets in the next 12 months.
Sources: [PR Newswire] [SiliconANGLE]
China Cyber Attacks a Reminder Beijing Poses ‘Constant and Sophisticated’ Threat to Western Cyber Security
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has now implicated a Chinese-backed hacking group, APT31, in attempts to target a group of MPs. Whilst this shows how advanced the threat from China has become, it should not be a surprise. It has been alleged that the hacking campaign targeted a broad swathe of private individuals, as well as strategically important companies and government officials. Geopolitical tensions are at an all-time high, as Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, one of those targeted by the campaign says, “we must now enter a new era of relations with China, dealing with the contemporary Chinese Communist party as it really is, not as we would wish it to be.”
Sources: [Sky News] [GovInfoSecurity] [The Guardian]
Companies With Advanced Cyber Security Performance Deliver Nearly Four Times’ Higher Shareholder Return Than Their Peers
A recent report underscores the pivotal role of cyber security in financial performance, revealing that companies with genuinely advanced levels of cyber security maturity generate a 372% higher shareholder return compared to those with lower levels of maturity, as observed over a five-year period. Notably, companies with engaged board members and specialised risk committees achieve superior cyber security performance. Despite regulatory requirements, only 3% of UK organisations have a cyber security expert on their board, emphasising the need for greater board-level engagement in cyber risk management. Industries like healthcare and financial services lead in cyber security ratings, underscoring the correlation between regulatory environments and cyber security performance.
Source: [Business Wire] [Computer Weekly]
Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals’ Personal Accounts
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning that attackers faced with well-managed corporate cyber security defences, are instead turning their efforts to compromise high-risk individuals’ devices and accounts.
A high-risk individual is anyone who has access to or influence over sensitive information. For an attacker, these individuals can present a less complex route. They already know the individual has access to the data they want, it is just a case of compromising that individual.
Source: [Gov Info Security]
Cyber Security Threats in International Relations: Are We Prepared for a Digital Pearl Harbour?
Cyber security threats have reached unprecedented levels, posing significant risks to organisations and nations worldwide, with global costs predicted to soar to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, a significant increase from $6 trillion in 2021. Recent reports from IBM Security X-Force reveal that organisations face an average of 270 cyber attacks per year, equivalent to an attack every business day, underlining the persistent nature of the threat and reinforcing the old question of ‘when’ not 'if' an organisation will get hit.
The report warns of the possibility of large-scale, coordinated attacks, akin to a “Digital Pearl Harbor,” on vital infrastructure such as power grids and financial markets, with ransomware-based attacks being identified as a major risk. The emergence of cyber warfare blurs the distinction between espionage and acts of war, underscoring the need for international standards and agreements. Despite the focus on cyber threats, many organisations have risk management gaps.
Source: [Eurasia Review]
High Net Worths Urged to Improve Digital Hygiene in Fight Against Cyber Crime
High net worth individuals and their families are often targets for cyber criminals who seek to steal their money, identity, intellectual property and corporate data, and attacks are increasing. With the current state of the world, there is significant information that is publicly available. This, added to the fact that many high-net-worth individuals have lesser security controls than corporations, makes them a more lucrative target.
As these types of attacks continue to increase, it is important for individuals to ensure they are demonstrating good cyber hygiene through actions including the adoption of multi-factor authentication, limiting unnecessary social media from themselves and their family (including holidays) and understanding current tactics to be able to spot and mitigate them.
Source: [Financial Times]
Key Lessons from Microsoft’s Password Spray Hack: Secure Every Account
Earlier this year, Microsoft discovered they had been the victim of a hack orchestrated by Russian-state hackers. The attack was not highly sophisticated; in fact, it involved simply spraying passwords into an old, inactive account. Password spraying is a simple brute force technique, which has the attacker trying the same password against multiple accounts. In this case, it was enough to be able to allow attackers to commit further exfiltration.
Picture your organisation: can you guarantee that no account is using the password “Password123”? Whilst organisations may focus on protecting privileged accounts, the attack shows that every account needs to be secured, as they are all entry points to your organisation. To combat this, organisations should look to implement robust password policies and multi-factor authentication.
Source: [The Hacker News]
Mitigating Third-Party Risk Requires a Collaborative, Thorough Approach
Mitigating third-party risk may seem daunting when considering the slew of incoming regulations coupled with the increasingly advanced tactics of cyber criminals. However, most organisations have more agency and flexibility than they think they do. Third-party risk management can be built on top of existing risk governance practices and security controls that are currently implemented in the organisation. Understanding the vendor landscape, categorising vendors based on criticality, and developing tailored governance plans are crucial steps. Contractual obligations, tailored to industry standards, play a pivotal role in ensuring security measures are upheld. Additionally, establishing a robust exit strategy is imperative to safeguard data integrity post-partnership. By fostering a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement, organisations can navigate the complexities of third-party risk management effectively.
Source: [Dark Reading]
IT Leaders Struggle to Keep up With Emerging Threats, as 92% of IT Leaders Say Cyber Threats Are on the Rise, 51% See AI Attacks for the First Time
A recent survey of over 800 IT and security leaders highlights the escalating threat landscape fuelled by emerging technologies, with AI-powered attacks identified as the most serious and challenging. 92% of respondents report a year-over-year increase in cyber attacks with 95% noting heightened sophistication.
Organisations reported facing AI-powered attacks (51%), deepfake technology and supply chain attacks (both 36%), cloud jacking (35%), Internet of Things (IoT) attacks and 5G network exploits (both 34%), and fileless attacks (24%). But it is not just newer attacks; organisations are still contending with prevalent attacks like phishing, malware, and ransomware. The survey found that 84% of respondents say that phishing and smishing have become more difficult to detect with the rise in popularity of AI-powered tools, revealing that AI-powered phishing is their top concern (42%) when it comes to AI security.
With so many constantly evolving threats, and with new ones being added to the mix all the time, it is becoming more and more difficult for IT leaders to keep on top of these emerging threats.
Source: [Beta News] [The Fast Mode]
Only 5% of Boards Have Cyber Security Expertise
There is a concerning gap in cyber expertise on corporate boards, with only 5% of businesses having a cyber expert onboard, despite a direct correlation between strong cyber security and higher financial performance. Countries like France have 10% representation while Canada lags behind at just 1%. Integration of cyber experts into specialised risk committees significantly boosts cyber security performance. Furthermore, advanced security ratings translate to significantly better financial returns over three and five-year periods, underlining the pivotal role of cyber security in overall business health.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Google’s New AI Search Results Promotes Sites Pushing Malware and Scams
Earlier this month, Google began rolling out a feature called Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) in its search results, which provides AI-generated quick summaries, including site recommendations. These results, however, are pushing scams and malware. BleepingComputer found that the listed sites promoted by SGE tend to use the .online top level domain, the same HTML templates, and the same sites to perform redirects, stating “This similarity indicates that they are all part of the same SEO [search engine optimisation] poisoning campaign that allowed them to be part of the Google index.” When clicking on the site in the Google search results, visitors will go through a series of redirects until they reach a scam site. This matter highlights the need for users to stay cognisant, even when using AI to improve quality of life.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Report Calls Out Cyber Risks to Financial Sector Fuelled by AI
A recent report by the US Department of the Treasury has identified AI-driven cyber fraud as the primary concern for financial institutions. Smaller firms, in particular, struggle with AI development, which intensifies security concerns. Despite a focus on cyber security, risk management lapses are common across institutions. The report further notes that nearly a third of these institutions are yet to address the evolving tactics of threat actors, including social engineering, malvertising, and QR code phishing. More than 2 in 5 have pointed to the increasing use of generative AI for scaling and automating attacks as a lingering risk factor. The report emphasises that, even without mandates, there’s an urgent need for financial institutions to bolster their risk management and cyber security practices to counter these AI-driven threats.
Source: [CyberScoop]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals' Personal Accounts (govinfosecurity.com)
Only 5% of Boards Have Cyber Security Expertise - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Wealthy urged to improve digital hygiene in fight against cyber crime (ft.com)
How threat intelligence data maximizes business operations - Help Net Security
IT leaders struggle to keep up with emerging threats (betanews.com)
More than half of organisations fall victim to cyber attacks (betanews.com)
Microsoft: 87% of UK Businesses Are Unprepared for Cyber Attacks (techrepublic.com)
Shareholders win when businesses do better at cyber | Computer Weekly
Getting Security Remediation on the Boardroom Agenda (darkreading.com)
New Cyber Threats to Challenge Financial Services Sector in 2024 (darkreading.com)
The cyber security skills shortage: A CISO perspective | CSO Online
Cyber security essentials during M&A surge - Help Net Security
Companies told cyber security has to be cross business concern (emergingrisks.co.uk)
It's Time to Stop Measuring Security in Absolutes (darkreading.com)
True Cost of a Cyber Security Breach for Your Business - Converge
35 cyber security statistics to lose sleep over in 2024 (techtarget.com)
3 Challenges CISOs Face in 2024 as Cyber Threats Explode | Corporate Counsel (law.com)
Cyber security plans should centre on resilience | MIT Sloan
Debunking compliance myths in the digital era - Help Net Security
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransomware: lessons all companies can learn from the British Library attack - Exponential-e Blog
78% of organisations plan to increase ransomware protection | Security Magazine
Rising ransomware attacks amplify World Backup Day's importance (securitybrief.co.nz)
Building Resiliency in the Face of Ransomware - Security Boulevard
Worldwide Agenda Ransomware Wave Targets VMware ESXi Servers (darkreading.com)
US offers $10 million bounty for info on 'Blackcat' hackers who hit UnitedHealth (yahoo.com)
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 1: BlackCat/AlphV - VMRay
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 2: LockBit - VMRay
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 3: Rhysida - VMRay
Ransomware Victims
Hackers threaten to publish huge cache of NHS Scotland data - BBC News
Alleged sale of Communication Workers Union’s users data (marcoramilli.com)
Scullion LAW becomes victim of cyber attack | Scottish Legal News
Panera Bread experiencing nationwide IT outage since Saturday (bleepingcomputer.com)
Clorox audit flagged systemic flaws in cyber security at manufacturing plants (detroitnews.com)
Big Issue working with NCSC, NCA and Met Police to investigate cyber incident - IT Security Guru
Western Isles council tax bills delayed due to cyber attack - BBC News
Vietnam Securities Broker Suffered Cyber Attack That Suspended Trading (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
'Darcula' Phishing-as-a-Service Operation Bleeds Victims Worldwide (darkreading.com)
New StrelaStealer Phishing Attacks Hit Over 100 Organisations in EU. and US (thehackernews.com)
New MFA-bypassing phishing kit targets Microsoft 365, Gmail accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
US organisations targeted with emails delivering NetSupport RAT - Help Net Security
Scammers steal millions from FTX, BlockFi claimants - Help Net Security
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Alert: New Phishing Attack Delivers Keylogger Disguised as Bank Payment Notice (thehackernews.com)
Russia's Cozy Bear tries to phish Germans with party invites • The Register
Iran-Linked MuddyWater Deploys Atera for Surveillance in Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Treasury report calls out cyber risks to financial sector fuelled by AI | CyberScoop
Google's new AI search results promotes sites pushing malware, scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Four generative AI cyber risks that keep CISOs up at night — and how to combat them - SiliconANGLE
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Artificial intelligence now the biggest cyber threat - study (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Microsoft: 87% of UK Businesses Are Unprepared for Cyber Attacks (techrepublic.com)
Scammers exploit tax season anxiety with AI tools - Help Net Security
Experts Warn of Cyber Risk Due to Rapid AI Tool Evolution (govinfosecurity.com)
Over A Third of IT Leaders Are Ill-Equipped to Cope With AI-Powered Attacks - IT Security Guru
Beware of rogue chatbot hacking incidents (securityintelligence.com)
The Unique AI Cyber Security Challenges in the Financial Sector | Decipher (duo.com)
AI weaponisation becomes a hot topic on underground forums - Help Net Security
AI bots hallucinate software packages and devs download them • The Register
Threat Report: Examining the Use of AI in Attack Techniques (darkreading.com)
Hackers exploit Ray framework flaw to breach servers, hijack resources (bleepingcomputer.com)AWS CISO: Pay Attention to How AI Uses Your Data (darkreading.com)
2FA/MFA
New MFA-bypassing phishing kit targets Microsoft 365, Gmail accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple customers are being targeted by "MFA Bombing" password reset attack (xda-developers.com)
Malware
New StrelaStealer Phishing Attacks Hit Over 100 Organisations in E.U. and US. (thehackernews.com)
Google's new AI search results promotes sites pushing malware, scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
39,000 Websites Infected in 'Sign1' Malware Campaign - SecurityWeek
ConnectWise ScreenConnect attacks deliver malware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
US organisations targeted with emails delivering NetSupport RAT - Help Net Security
Python devs are being targeted by this massive infostealing malware campaign | TechRadar
TheMoon bot infected 40,000 devices in January and February (securityaffairs.com)
Viruses are the most popular type of malware - and Apple devices are most at risk | TechRadar
New Phishing Attack Delivers Keylogger Disguised as Bank Payment Notice (thehackernews.com)
SpyCloud Report: 61% of Data Breaches in 2023 Were Malware Related | Business Wire
DarkGate Malware Campaign Exploits Patched Microsoft Flaw - Security Boulevard
Iran-Linked MuddyWater Deploys Atera for Surveillance in Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
AI bots hallucinate software packages and devs download them • The Register
Mobile
In-app browsers still a privacy, security, and choice issue • The Register
Thousands of phones and routers swept into proxy service, unbeknownst to users | Ars Technica
Apple lawsuit: US officials say iPhone ‘monopoly’ undermines security | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Hackers Reveal Method to Bypass Hotel Keycard Locks in Seconds • iPhone in Canada Blog
Pump the brakes: National security concerns surround connected cars - Nextgov/FCW
Insurer unveils policy covering drivers from connected car hacks and data leaks (therecord.media)
Data Breaches/Leaks
AT&T won’t say how its customers’ data spilled online | TechCrunch
SpyCloud Report: 61% of Data Breaches in 2023 Were Malware Related | Business Wire
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
UN probing 58 alleged crypto heists by North Korea worth $3 billion (therecord.media)
Scammers steal millions from FTX, BlockFi claimants - Help Net Security
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
Key Lesson from Microsoft's Password Spray Hack: Secure Every Account (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft to shut down 50 cloud services for Russian businesses (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud Account Hijacking: How it Works and How to Prevent It (techtarget.com)
67% of businesses sync on-premises passwords to cloud environments | Security Magazine
Identity and Access Management
Tackling DORA Compliance With a Focus on PAM - IT Security Guru
Organisations Grapple With Identity Pain Points | Decipher (duo.com)
Encryption
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Apple users targeted by annoying 'Reset Password' attack | Mashable
67% of businesses sync on-premises passwords to cloud environments | Security Magazine
Social Media
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber security training costs surge as firms battle skills gaps | ITPro
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Cyber security shake-up: How to prepare for EU's NIS2 and DORA (siliconrepublic.com)
techUK Raise Internet Snooping Concerns Over UK IP Act Amendments - ISPreview UK
Cyber security Agency Proposes First Incident-Reporting Rules (2) (bloomberglaw.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
US and UK accuse China of cyber operations targeting domestic politics | CyberScoop
UK ‘turning up to a gunfight with a wooden spoon’ over China cyber-attacks (scotsman.com)
China hack on MPs worse than Government admitted, with at least 30 targeted (inews.co.uk)
New Zealand follows UK in accusing China of hacking its parliament | The Independent
Finland confirms APT31 hackers behind 2021 parliament breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
China linked to UK cyber-attacks on voter data, Dowden to say - BBC News
Dowden guarantees UK elections will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks | Evening Standard
After '10,000 malicious emails,' US sanctions 7 Chinese nationals in alleged cyber crimes - UPI.com
SNP MP claims Scottish universities 'overdependent' on Chinese money | The National
China-Linked Group Breaches Networks via Connectwise, F5 Software Flaws (thehackernews.com)
Fake reporters and death threats: China spy tactics from Hong Kong dissidents (inews.co.uk)
Is Cyber Warfare Heating Up? Biden Administration, UK Take Aim At Chinese Hackers | IBTimes
What to make of China’s massive cyber-espionage campaign (economist.com)
Pump the brakes: National security concerns surround connected cars - Nextgov/FCW
UK says Chinese cyber attacks ‘part of large-scale espionage campaign’ (thenextweb.com)
Why cyber indictments and sanctions matter | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
Chinese hackers target family members to surveil hard targets | CyberScoop
Russia
Microsoft to shut down 50 cloud services for Russian businesses (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia's Cozy Bear tries to phish Germans with party invites • The Register
Iran
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Spyware vendors behind 75% of zero-days targeting Google | TechTarget
On the Increase: Zero-Days Being Exploited in the Wild (databreachtoday.co.uk)
NVD slowdown leaves thousands of vulns without analysis data • The Register
Can Compensating Controls Be the Answer in a Sea of Vulnerabilities? - Security Boulevard
Vulnerabilities
Patch Now: Critical Fortinet RCE Bug Under Active Attack (darkreading.com)
SQL injection vulnerability in Fortinet software under attack | TechTarget
GitHub Developers Hit in Complex Supply Chain Cyber Attack (darkreading.com)
MacOS 14.4.1 makes it once again safe to update your Mac | ZDNET
Apple Security Bug Opens iPhone, iPad to RCE (darkreading.com)
Apple finally reveals the serious security issues it patched in iOS 17.4.1 - PhoneArena
Mozilla fixes two Firefox zero-day bugs exploited at Pwn2Own (bleepingcomputer.com)
China-Linked Group Breaches Networks via Connectwise, F5 Software Flaws (thehackernews.com)
Double trouble for DNSSEC though the devil is in the details • The Register
Worldwide Agenda Ransomware Wave Targets VMware ESXi Servers (darkreading.com)
Tools and Controls
How threat intelligence data maximises business operations - Help Net Security
IT leaders struggle to keep up with emerging threats (betanews.com)
78% of organisations plan to increase ransomware protection | Security Magazine
Rising ransomware attacks amplify World Backup Day's importance (securitybrief.co.nz)
Why Endpoint Security Tools Are Still Such a Challenge (inforisktoday.com)
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber security training costs surge as firms battle skills gaps | ITPro
Organisations Grapple with Identity Pain Points | Decipher (duo.com)
Enterprise cyber security's lateral movement 'blind spot' [Q&A] (betanews.com)
Cyber security plans should center on resilience | MIT Sloan
Cyber Security Agency Proposes First Incident-Reporting Rules (2) (bloomberglaw.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Wealthy urged to improve digital hygiene in fight against cyber crime (ft.com)
Security experts raise questions about UK cyber funding in wake of Electoral Commission hack | ITPro
8 cyber security predictions shaping the future of cyber defence - Help Net Security
Active adversary dwell time: The good (and bad) news | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber Threat to US Power Grids Escalating as Election Approaches (yahoo.com)
Are We Ignoring the Cyber Security Risks of Undersea Internet Cables? | HackerNoon
How to Prevent Your Company from Being Hacked in 2024 - DevX
Pentagon Looks to Finalise Cyber Security Rules for Defence Industrial Base - ClearanceJobs
US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
Finland to host NATO tech centers, revamp cyber security strategy (defensenews.com)
French cyber defence chief warns Paris Olympics a 'target' (techxplore.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.
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Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 August 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 11 August 2023:
-75% of Organisations Worldwide Set to Ban ChatGPT and Generative AI Apps on Work Devices
-How an Eight-Character Password Could be Cracked in Just a Few Minutes
-Ransomware Victims Surge 143% as Threat Actors Pivot to Zero-Day Exploits
-How Executives’ Personal Devices Threaten Business Security
-77% of Financial Firms Saw an Increase in Cyber Attack Frequency
-Protecting Against Sophisticated Cyber Attacks Requires Layered Defences
-Managing Human Cyber Risks Matters Now More Than Ever
-Hackers are Targeting Top Executives’ Microsoft 365 Accounts to Steal Work Logins
-UK Shaken by Major Data Breaches
-Threat of Cyber Attacks to UK National Security Upgraded: Compared to Chemical Weapons or Nuclear Attack
-Mac Users are Facing More Dangerous Security Threats Than Ever Before
-Cyber Attack to Cost Outsourcing Firm Capita up to £25m
-Government and Public Services Face 40% More Cyber Attacks and Struggle to Protect Due to Lack of Resources
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
75% of Organisations Worldwide Set to Ban ChatGPT and Generative AI Apps on Work Devices
Newly released research found that 75% of organisations worldwide are currently implementing or considering bans on ChatGPT and other generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications within the workplace, with 61% stating that it will be a long term or permanent solution. Despite this, the majority recognised the opportunity such applications bring to the workplace, with 55% believing it would increase efficiency. All in all, 81% remained in favour of AI, highlighting that whilst organisations see the benefit, they are not ready to take the plunge for fear of being caught flat-footed.
Many organisations may simply not have the expertise-in house or confidence to employ AI effectively. These organisations lack an effective AI management plan, which governs the usage of AI in the corporate environment, rather than banning it outright. By having a clear-set AI plan, organisations can use AI to improve their efficiency, whilst maintaining cyber resilience. An increasing number of organisations have approached us at Black Arrow to discuss how to embrace AI securely; contact us to see how we can help you.
Source: [Dark Reading]
How an Eight-Character Password Could be Cracked in Just a Few Minutes
Strong and complex passwords are necessary to protect online accounts and data from cyber criminals. Complex passwords typically use lowercase and uppercase characters, numbers, and special characters. But complexity by itself can still open your password to cracking if it doesn’t contain enough characters, according to research by security firm Hive Systems. The report found that a complex password of eight characters can be cracked in only five minutes, and other weaker or shorter passwords are cracked instantly. However, passwords that have a greater number of characters are less vulnerable: for example an 18 character password, even if only lowercase letters, would take 481,000 years for a computer to crack.
Since creating and remembering multiple complex and lengthy passwords on your own is impossible, a password manager is your best bet. By using a password manager for yourself or within your organisation, you can generate, store and apply strong passwords for websites and online accounts.
Source: [Techrepublic]
Ransomware Victims Surge 143% as Threat Actors Pivot to Zero-Day Exploits
The number of organisations that became victims of ransomware attacks surged 143% between the first quarter of 2022 and first quarter of this year, as attackers increasingly leveraged zero-day vulnerabilities to break into target networks.
In many of these attacks, threat actors did not bother to encrypt data belonging to victim organisations. Instead, they focused solely on stealing their sensitive data and extorting victims by threatening to sell or leak the data to others. The tactic left even those with otherwise robust backup and restoration processes backed into a corner; this highlights the need for organisations to be able to detect and ideally block anomalous exfiltration of data, and have effective and rehearsed incident response plans to address the concept of pure exfiltration, because having backups is not enough.
The costs of these types of controls continue to fall making them viable for even smaller businesses. Without tools like Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), attacks of this nature cannot be detected until it is too late to do anything to stop them.
Source: [Dark Reading]
How Executives’ Personal Devices Threaten Business Security
Individuals, including executives, are considered a major target for cyber attacks. Motivated attackers know the right individual people they want to go after to achieve their larger organisational goal, and they’ll use any means necessary to be successful.
A recent report found that most executives are using their personal devices for work, creating a “backdoor” for cyber criminals to access large organisations. 50% of executive respondents reported receiving work-related scams in their personal emails.
Personal device use can be effective for organisations, however they need to implement an effective bring-your-own-device (BYOD) procedure and provide employees, including executives, with frequent user awareness and education training. All users at all levels within an organisation need to understand the risks, and importantly the role they play in keeping the organisation secure.
Sources: [Help Net Security] [Security Affairs]
77% of Financial Firms Saw an Increase in Cyber Attack Frequency
According a recent report on the financial services sector, 77% of firms reported an increase in attack frequency, and 87% said attacks were more severe. These firms unanimously said they would look to outsource their cyber security programs to third-party providers to shore up their cyber defences. Among the respondents, firms need to protect hybrid work environments (62%), consolidate cyber security and managed IT services (41%) and tap industry-specific and regulatory expertise (33%).
Source: [SecurityMagazine]
Protecting Against Sophisticated Cyber Attacks Requires Layered Defences
Faced with an influx of sophisticated cyber threats, including usage of AI to further enhance the efficacy of social engineering attacks, and the growth of both malware-as-a-service (MaaS) and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), it is critical for organisations to invest in layered security defences.
Services like managed detection and response (MDR) are integral to monitoring, investigating and responding to threats in real time. But without a strong and comprehensive foundational cyber security posture, managed services alone cannot effectively mitigate threats. To ensure comprehensive defences against emerging threats, organisations must prioritise proactive measures that can stop attacks before they even start. As adversaries continue to refine their attack techniques, layered protection that covers every stage in the attack chain becomes imperative.
Source: [Forbes]
Managing Human Cyber Risks Matters Now More Than Ever
As artificial intelligence (AI) amplifies the sophistication and reach of phishing, vishing, and smishing attacks, understanding and managing human cyber risks has become increasingly vital, according to the SANS Institute. It makes sense as no matter the technological advancement, the human element has always been a point of entry for attackers.
A recent study found that mature security programs, marked by robust teams and leadership support, are characterised by having at least three full-time employees in their security awareness teams. In some cases, this isn’t feasible for an organisation and this is where outsourcing comes in. By outsourcing security awareness, organisations can ensure that they have access to security awareness experts, to keep their organisation educated. Here at Black Arrow we offer regular security and awareness training, bespoke to your organisation, for your employees and leadership team.
Source: [Help Net Security]
Hackers are Targeting Top Executives’ Microsoft 365 Accounts to Steal Work Logins
Cyber security provider Proofpoint reported that high-level execs at some of the world’s leading companies are repeatedly targeted with credential-stealing attacks. More alarmingly, according to Proofpoint, around one-third (35%) of the compromised users had multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled.
The attacks come amid a rise in cases of EvilProxy, a phishing tool that allows attackers to steal even MFA-protected credentials. In the three months to June 2023, around 120,000 EvilProxy phishing emails were observed being sent to hundreds of targeted organisations globally, with many targeting Microsoft 365 user accounts in particular. Approximately 39% of the victims were C-level executives of which 17% were Chief Financial Officers, and 9% were Presidents and CEOs. Users must be trained effectively, to help mitigate the chance of them suffering a phishing attack. The C-suite is no exception.
Sources: [Help Net Security] [Security Affairs]
UK Shaken by Major Data Breaches
Recent major data breaches impacting crucial institutions like the UK Electoral Commission (which exposed the data of 40 million UK voters) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, have brought attention to potential risks. Following a recent freedom of information request 10,000 police officers and staff details where published including details such as first name and surname, their rank or grade and the unit and where they are based. This breach occurred when a junior member of staff forgot to remove the master spreadsheet containing sensitive data when responding to the request.
Sources: [Telegraph] [Tech Crunch]
Threat of Cyber Attacks to UK National Security Upgraded: Compared to Chemical Weapons or Nuclear Attack
The UK government has raised the threat level posed by cyber attacks, now deeming the risk of cyber attacks to be more severe than that presented by small-scale chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attacks according to the latest National Risk Register (NRR) report for 2023. The report also highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) as a “chronic risk” – that is, one that poses “continuous challenges that erode our economy, community, way of life, and/or national security”.
Sources: [ITPro] [Infosecurity Magazine]
Mac Users are Facing More Dangerous Security Threats Than Ever Before
Apple’s MacBook Pro or iPhone devices are often perceived as safer, from a cyber security standpoint, compared to those from Microsoft or Google, mostly because of its “walled garden” approach. However, another key reason why hackers were not historically as interested in Apple was the smaller market share Apple held. That is no longer the case and as attacks are rising against Apple devices, this is something we expect to see continuing to accelerate.
In the last 10 years, Apple’s market share on desktop has increased from less than 7.5% to just over 20% today. Apple frequently patches actively exploited vulnerabilities, with overall 261 security vulnerabilities addressed so far this year. A recent report found that Mac users are targeted by three key threats: Trojans, Adware, and Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA). Of the three, Trojans are the biggest single threat, making up more than half of all threat detections. Of all those detections, around half (52.7%) were for the EvilQuest encryption malicious software.
Source: [Techradar]
Cyber Attack to Cost Outsourcing Firm Capita up to £25m
Capita expects to take a financial hit of as much as £25m as a result of a cyber attack that began in March, pushing the outsourcing group to a pre-tax loss of almost £68m for the first half of the year. The group is still recovering from the attack by the Black Basta ransomware group, which hacked its Microsoft Office 365 software and accessed the personal data of staff working for the company and dozens of clients. Capita, which runs crucial services for local councils, the military, and the NHS, estimated that the financial costs associated with what it called the “cyber incident” would be between £20m and £25m. Previous estimates had put the cost at £15m to £20m.
The group said this new figure reflected the complexities of analysing the “exfiltrated” data, as well as costs of recovery and remediation and new investment to improve its cyber security. However, Capita said it was not currently able to estimate the level of any potential fine related to the incident and had not yet made any provision to cover any future costs. The company’s shares fell by more than 12% in morning trading on Friday after the release of its results, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 250.
Source: [Guardian]
Government and Public Services Face 40% More Cyber Attacks and Struggle to Protect Due to Lack of Resources
A report published by BlackBerry noted a 40% rise in cyber attacks against public sector organisations and government institutions. One of the reasons is the limited resources and resistance that these government and public have; this makes it much easier for an attacker. An easy target is an attractive target.
Source: [Financial Express]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Protecting Against Sophisticated Cyber attacks Requires Layered Defense (forbes.com)
Managing human cyber risks matters now more than ever - Help Net Security
Executives 'sleepwalking into cyber catastrophe', warns cyber security boss (cityam.com)
How To Deal With the Vagueness in New Cyber Regulations (darkreading.com)
Digital skills gap is challenging the cyber security of UK businesses - IT Security Guru
Cyber attack to cost outsourcing firm Capita up to £25m | Capita | The Guardian
9 common risk management failures and how to avoid them | TechTarget
Alarming survey: Many tech experts fail a test of their cyber security knowledge - SiliconANGLE
Safeguarding Businesses From Data Privacy And Cyber security Risk (forbes.com)
How Do Some Companies Get Compromised Again and Again? (securityintelligence.com)
What happens if cyber insurance becomes unviable? - Raconteur
NIST announces rare overhaul of security framework, focusing on organisational leadership | ITPro
Cyber Security Must Focus on the Goals of Criminals (informationweek.com)
Going Up! How to Handle Rising Cyber Security Costs (securityintelligence.com)
Maintaining Data Security Amidst Rising Concerns of Cyber attacks (techreport.com)
Why it’s time for everyone to reorient their thinking about cyber security | Federal News Network
It's Time for Cyber security to Talk About Climate Change (darkreading.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Healthcare and Finance Firms Ranked as Leading Targets for Cyber Attacks - MSSP Alert
Ransomware victim numbers surge as attackers target zero-day vulnerabilities | CSO Online
Definitive Guide to Ransomware 2023 | IBM whitepaper | ITPro | ITPro
Data exfiltration is now the go-to cyber extortion strategy - Help Net Security
Clop ransomware now uses torrents to leak data and evade takedowns (bleepingcomputer.com)
Spot Fake Extortion Attacks Without Wasting Time and Money (securityintelligence.com)
New Yashma Ransomware Variant Targets Multiple English-Speaking Countries (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware Victims Surge as Threat Actors Pivot to Zero-Day Exploits (darkreading.com)
Recent ransomware attacks share curiously similar tactics - Help Net Security
Ransomware Attacks: 20 Essential Considerations For Prep And Response (forbes.com)
Navigating the gray zone of ransomware payment practices - Help Net Security
Anatomy of a Black Basta Ransomware Attack on BankCard USA - MSSP Alert
Mallox Ransomware Group Revamps Malware Variants, Evasion Tactics (darkreading.com)
Clop Gang Offers Data Downloads Via Torrents - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
New Report Exposes Vice Society's Collaboration with Rhysida Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Dallas pays millions for ransomware expenses after May attack – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)
Strong authentication best defence against Ransomware: Yubico (securitybrief.co.nz)
Best practices for reporting ransomware attacks | TechTarget
Ransomware, healthcare and incident response: Lessons from the Allscripts attack | CSO Online
Microsoft OneDrive is a willing 'ransomware double agent' • The Register
Threat Report: Ransomware Down, Targeted Attacks on the Rise (inforisktoday.com)
Rasnake: Ransomware Now Threatens All, Not Just Elites | Newsmax.com
Ransomware Victims
Hospital System Goes Back To Paper Following Ransomware Attack (forbes.com)
Cyber attack forces hospitals to divert ambulances in Connecticut and Pennsylvania | CNN Politics
Dallas pays millions for ransomware expenses after May attack – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)
Colorado Department of Higher Education warns of massive data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bnei Brak hospital hit by cyber attack, bringing down computers | The Times of Israel
LockBit posts Siemens company Varian to its victim blog (techmonitor.ai)
Hacker stole more than $6 million from New Haven Public Schools (wfsb.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Hackers are targeting top executives to steal their work logins | TechRadar
Microsoft 365 accounts of execs, managers hijacked through EvilProxy - Help Net Security
9 of 10 Cyber attacks Start with a Phish, Comcast Study Shows - MSSP Alert
Microsoft Teams used in phishing campaign to bypass multi-factor authentication (malwarebytes.com)
AI tools like ChatGPT increasingly used by cyber criminals for phishing, experts warn | NL Times
First quarter of 2023 saw 88% rise in phishing attacks: Kaspersky | The Peninsula Qatar
RTL Today - Up to 80% of all cyber attacks: Phishing attempts surge in post-pandemic age
100K+ VIP Microsoft 365 users got targeted by phishers - OnMSFT.com
Microsoft’s Role in Email Breach to Be Part of US Cyber Inquiry - BNN Bloomberg
Interpol takes down phishing-as-a-service platform used by 70,000 people (therecord.media)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Artificial Intelligence
When your teammate is a machine: 8 questions CISOs should be asking about AI | CSO Online
Generative AI In Cyber Should Worry Us, Here’s Why (forbes.com)
How to Prepare for ChatGPT's Risk Management Challenges (darkreading.com)
Experience: scammers used AI to fake my daughter’s kidnap | Family | The Guardian
White House offers prize money for hacker-thwarting AI (techxplore.com)
AI tools like ChatGPT increasingly used by cyber criminals for phishing, experts warn | NL Times
Data attacks set to enter new era under 'FraudGPT', warn cyber security execs (cityam.com)
Hackers Released New Black Hat AI Tool Evil-GPT (cybersecuritynews.com)
In the age of ChatGPT, Macs are under malware assault | Digital Trends
AI can now steal your passwords with almost 100% accuracy | Digital Trends
Microsoft AI Red Team building future of safer AI | Microsoft Security Blog
ChatGPT Security Concerns: Credentials on the Dark Web and More (techrepublic.com)
AI hacking gets White House backing; some already go rogue (9to5mac.com)
OpenAI to Unleash New Web Crawler to Devour More of the Open Web - Decrypt
5 Pitfalls and Possibilities AI Brings to Cyber Insurance (informationweek.com)
2FA/MFA
Microsoft Teams used in phishing campaign to bypass multi-factor authentication (malwarebytes.com)
Microsoft Authenticator will soon provide codes via WhatsApp - gHacks Tech News
Malware
In the age of ChatGPT, Macs are under malware assault | Digital Trends
Mac users are facing more dangerous security threats than ever before | TechRadar
Threat intelligence's key role in mitigating malware threats - Help Net Security
This PowerPoint could help hackers empty your bank account | Digital Trends
Latest Batloader Campaigns Use Pyarmor Pro for Evasion (trendmicro.com)
Reptile Rootkit: Advanced Linux Malware Targeting South Korean Systems (thehackernews.com)
Malicious npm Packages Found Exfiltrating Sensitive Data from Developers (thehackernews.com)
Fake VMware vConnector package on PyPI targets IT pros (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukrainian state agencies targeted with open-source malware MerlinAgent (therecord.media)
QakBot Malware Operators Expand C2 Network with 15 New Servers (thehackernews.com)
Hackers use open source Merlin post-exploitation toolkit in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Statc Stealer Malware Emerges: Your Sensitive Data at Risk (thehackernews.com)
Gafgyt malware exploits five-years-old flaw in EoL Zyxel router (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA: New Whirlpool backdoor used in Barracuda ESG hacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Google explains how Android malware slips onto Google Play Store (bleepingcomputer.com)
Czech cyber security experts warn against BaiRBIE.me app | Radio Prague International
Removing Spyware From Your Android Phone: A How-To Guide (slashgear.com)
How executives' personal devices threaten business security - Help Net Security
Invisible Ad Fraud Targets Korean Android Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Google Play apps with 2.5M installs load ads when screen's off (bleepingcomputer.com)
40 Vulnerabilities Patched in Android With August 2023 Security Updates - Security Week
Android 14 to let you block connections to unencrypted cellular networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets
QakBot Malware Operators Expand C2 Network with 15 New Servers (thehackernews.com)
Two-Thirds of UK Sites Vulnerable to Bad Bots - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Analysing Network Chaos Leads to Better DDoS Detection (darkreading.com)
How to accelerate and access DDoS protection services using GRE - Help Net Security
Researchers Strengthen Defences Against Common Cyber attack - CleanTechnica
Internet of Things – IoT
Panasonic Warns That IoT Malware Attack Cycles Are Accelerating | WIRED
Disposed-of Gadgets Can Lead to Wi-Fi Network Hacks, Kaspersky Says (darkreading.com)
The new technology that is making cars easier for criminals to steal, or crash (techxplore.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Executives 'sleepwalking into cyber catastrophe', warns cyber security boss (cityam.com)
The Top 10 Countries Being Bombarded by Data Breaches (gizmodo.com)
UK Electoral Commission hacked by 'hostile actors' | Reuters
PSNI officers who work with MI5 face relocation after ‘humongous’ security breach (telegraph.co.uk)
Burger King Serves Up Sensitive Data, No Mayo (darkreading.com)
Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August | Meta | The Guardian
TunnelCrack attack may cause vulnerable VPNs to leak traffic • The Register
Phishing-resistant authentication a key to breach prevention (securitybrief.co.nz)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cloud Company Assisted 17 Different Government Hacking Groups: US Researchers | NTD
IRS confirms takedown of bulletproof hosting provider Lolek (therecord.media)
Interpol Shuts Down African Cyber crime Group, Seizes $2 Million (darkreading.com)
Cyber security Must Focus on the Goals of Criminals (informationweek.com)
How fame-seeking teenagers hacked some of the world’s biggest targets | Ars Technica
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
BlackBerry Discloses Major Crypto-Based Malware - The Tech Report
FBI warns of phishing scams and social media account hijackers (cointelegraph.com)
Only 6 out of 45 crypto wallet brands have undergone penetration testing: Report (cointelegraph.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Managing human cyber risks matters now more than ever - Help Net Security
US Navy sailors charged with stealing secret info for China • The Register
Get consent before you monitor your staff, UK MPs suggest • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Rise in fraudsters spoofing the websites of leading UK banks | Computer Weekly
Extended warranty robocallers fined $300 million after 5 billion scam calls (bleepingcomputer.com)
Experience: scammers used AI to fake my daughter’s kidnap | Family | The Guardian
Data attacks set to enter new era under 'FraudGPT', warn cyber security execs (cityam.com)
Impersonation Attacks
Insurance
What happens if cyber insurance becomes unviable? - Raconteur
Cyber Insurance Experts Make a Case for Coverage, Protection (darkreading.com)
5 Pitfalls and Possibilities AI Brings to Cyber Insurance (informationweek.com)
10 Key Controls to Show Your Organisation Is Worthy of Cyber Insurance (darkreading.com)
Lower Data Breach Insurance Costs with These Tips (trendmicro.com)
Dark Web
Dark web activity targeting the financial sector - Help Net Security
ChatGPT Security Concerns: Credentials on the Dark Web and More (techrepublic.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Government contractor plunges after £25m cyber attack - The Mail (mailplus.co.uk)
37% of third-party applications have high-risk permissions - Help Net Security
Software Supply Chain
Unravelling the importance of software supply chain security - Help Net Security
OWASP Lead Flags Gaping Hole in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)
37% of third-party applications have high-risk permissions - Help Net Security
Cloud/SaaS
Attackers Use EvilProxy to target C-suite Executives (inforisktoday.com)
100K+ VIP Microsoft 365 users got targeted by phishers - OnMSFT.com
Cloud Company Assisted 17 Different Government Hacking Groups: US Researchers | NTD
Microsoft OneDrive is a willing 'ransomware double agent' • The Register
Managing and Securing Distributed Cloud Environments - Security Week
Microsoft 365 guests + Power Apps = security nightmare • The Register
Containers
Identity and Access Management
CrowdStrike observes massive spike in identity-based attacks | TechTarget
Keeper Security reveals SMBs at risk due to lack of PAM (securitybrief.co.nz)
Understanding Active Directory Attack Paths to Improve Security (thehackernews.com)
91% of IT leaders better protected with PAM but want more affordable solutions - IT Security Guru
Strong authentication best defence against Ransomware: Yubico (securitybrief.co.nz)
WhatsApp is working on phishing-proof passkey authentication (androidpolice.com)
Phishing-resistant authentication a key to breach prevention (securitybrief.co.nz)
Encryption
UK minister defends plan to demand access to encrypted messages | Privacy | The Guardian
Quantum computing: A threat to asymmetric encryption. (thecyberwire.com)
Open Source
Is Open Source Security a Ticking Cyber Time Bomb? (securityintelligence.com)
Reptile Rootkit: Advanced Linux Malware Targeting South Korean Systems (thehackernews.com)
Kemba Walden: We need to secure open source software | TechTarget
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
How an 8-character password could be cracked in just a few minutes (techrepublic.com)
AI can now steal your passwords with almost 100% accuracy | Digital Trends
US Dept. of the Interior Employees Use Accounts That Are Easily Hacked (businessinsider.com)
Biometrics
Social Media
Malvertising
Invisible Ad Fraud Targets Korean Android Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Google Play apps with 2.5M installs load ads when screen's off (bleepingcomputer.com)
Not so fast: Don’t click that fake Amazon or Microsoft ad. Here’s why | Fox News
Training, Education and Awareness
Managing human cyber risks matters now more than ever - Help Net Security
Why Do Cyber security Awareness Programs Often Fail? (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Travel
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
How To Deal With the Vagueness in New Cyber Regulations (darkreading.com)
What does the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPID) Bill mean for small businesses? | ITPro
The Problem With Cyber security (and AI Security) Regulation (darkreading.com)
CISA Unveils Cyber security Strategic Plan for Next 3 Years - Security Week
The 5 Ways The SEC Failed Investors On Cyber security (forbes.com)
America’s messy cyber regulations are no match for its adversaries | Financial Times (ft.com)
Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August | Meta | The Guardian
Banks hit with $549 million in fines for using Signal and WhatsApp to evade regulators (nbcnews.com)
ICO threatens enforcement action against websites with 'harmful' cookie banners | ITPro
UK minister defends plan to demand access to encrypted messages | Privacy | The Guardian
Models, Frameworks and Standards
NIST Drafts Major Update to Its Widely Used Cyber security Framework | NIST
Understanding NIST CSF and MITRE ATT&CK Security Frameworks - The New Stack
OWASP Lead Flags Gaping Hole in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)
Understanding Changes in the OWASP API Security Top 10 List - IT Security Guru
5 steps to ensure HIPAA compliance on mobile devices | TechTarget
Data Protection
Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August | Meta | The Guardian
ICO threatens enforcement action against websites with 'harmful' cookie banners | ITPro
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Digital skills gap is challenging the cyber security of UK businesses - IT Security Guru
Alarming survey: Many tech experts fail a test of their cyber security knowledge - SiliconANGLE
6 Essential Strategies for Enterprise Cyber security Workforce Development (govinfosecurity.com)
Seasoned cyber pros are more complacent in their skills than junior staff - Help Net Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
IRS confirms takedown of bulletproof hosting provider Lolek (therecord.media)
Interpol takes down phishing-as-a-service platform used by 70,000 people (therecord.media)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Missing persons NGO alliance kicks off global facial recognition initiative | Biometric Update
China drafts rules for using facial recognition data - Japan Today
Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August | Meta | The Guardian
ICO threatens enforcement action against websites with 'harmful' cookie banners | ITPro
Woman Falsely Arrested Sues Detroit Over Facial Recognition (govtech.com)
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
BlueCharlie changes attack infrastructure in response to reports on its activity - Security Affairs
Microsoft Teams used in phishing campaign to bypass multi-factor authentication (malwarebytes.com)
SpaceX's private control of satellite internet concerns military leaders | Space
Analysts Say Use of Spyware During Conflict Is Chilling (voanews.com)
Ukrainian state agencies targeted with open-source malware MerlinAgent (therecord.media)
Cyber security experts discuss wins, losses and lessons at western Ukraine gathering : NPR
Ukrainian official: Russian hackers change tactics from disruptive attacks | CyberScoop
Ukraine Fends Off Sandworm Battlefield Espionage Ploy (govinfosecurity.com)
Satellite hack on eve of Ukraine war was a coordinated, multi-pronged assault | CyberScoop
US, Ukraine cyber leaders talk resilience, collaboration | TechTarget
Kyiv Cyber Defenders Spot Open-Source RAT in Phishing Emails (govinfosecurity.com)
North Korea compromised Russian missile engineering firm NPO Mashinostroyeniya - Security Affairs
LockBit posts Siemens company Varian to its victim blog (techmonitor.ai)
China
China-Linked Hackers Strike Worldwide: 17 Nations Hit in 3-Year Cyber Campaign (thehackernews.com)
Electric vehicle threat: China will use its EV dominance to spy: UK warning (afr.com)
UK security must not be sacrificed to net zero (telegraph.co.uk)
Chinese cyber attacks on Japan prompts US push for stronger defences - Nikkei Asia
China reportedly had ‘deep, persistent access’ to Japanese networks for months | Engadget
Why the China cyber threat demands an airtight public-private response (federaltimes.com)
China not ahead of US in cyber and surveillance, NSA head says - Nextgov/FCW
China drafts rules for using facial recognition data - Japan Today
US Navy sailors charged with stealing secret info for China • The Register
RedHotel Checks in as Dominant China-Backed Cyber Spy Group (darkreading.com)
US Navy sailors charged with stealing secret info for China • The Register
Microsoft’s Role in Email Breach to Be Part of US Cyber Inquiry - BNN Bloomberg
Iran
North Korea
Reptile Rootkit: Advanced Linux Malware Targeting South Korean Systems (thehackernews.com)
North Korea compromised Russian missile engineering firm NPO Mashinostroyeniya - Security Affairs
Misc/Other/Unknown
Vulnerability Management
Five Eyes Agencies Call Attention to Most Frequently Exploited Vulnerabilities - Security Week
Will CVSS 4.0 be a vulnerability-scoring breakthrough or is it broken? | CSO Online
Microsoft hits back at Tenable’s criticism of its infosec • The Register
The Four Pillars of Vulnerability Management - GovInfoSecurity
Has Microsoft cut security corners once too often? | Computerworld
Why Shellshock Remains a Cyber security Threat After 9 Years (darkreading.com)
The 7 Worst Software Vulnerabilities of All Time (makeuseof.com)
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Patch Tuesday for August 2023 fixed 2 actively exploited flaws - Security Affairs
Microsoft, Intel lead this month's security fix emissions • The Register
Raft of TETRA Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Endanger Industrial Communications (darkreading.com)
Nearly every AMD CPU since 2017 vulnerable to Inception bug • The Register
Microsoft fixes flaw after being called irresponsible by Tenable CEO (bleepingcomputer.com)
New PaperCut critical bug exposes unpatched servers to RCE attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Chrome will get weekly security updates - gHacks Tech News
Downfall: New Intel CPU Attack Exposing Sensitive Information - Security Week
Adobe Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products | CISA
New 'Inception' Side-Channel Attack Targets AMD Processors - Security Week
Dell Credentials Bug Opens VMWare Environments to Takeover (darkreading.com)
Tools and Controls
Managing human cyber risks matters now more than ever - Help Net Security
Windows Defender-Pretender Attack Dismantles Flagship Microsoft EDR (darkreading.com)
MDR: Empowering Organisations with Enhanced Security (thehackernews.com)
9 common risk management failures and how to avoid them | TechTarget
Why Do Cyber security Awareness Programs Often Fail? (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Here’s Why You Need Identity, Privacy, and Device Protection (finextra.com)
Attacker Breakout Time Shrinks Again, Underscoring Need for Automation (darkreading.com)
Managing and Securing Distributed Cloud Environments - Security Week
How to handle API sprawl and the security threat it poses - Help Net Security
Threat intelligence's key role in mitigating malware threats - Help Net Security
Phishing-resistant authentication a key to breach prevention (securitybrief.co.nz)
10 Key Controls to Show Your Organisation Is Worthy of Cyber Insurance (darkreading.com)
Lower Data Breach Insurance Costs with These Tips (trendmicro.com)
AI Risk Database Tackles AI Supply Chain Risks (darkreading.com)
Other News
UK Sounds Warning Over Targeted Healthcare Attack (databreachtoday.co.uk)
Budget constraints threaten cybersecurity in government bodies - Help Net Security
Threat of cyber attacks to national security compared to that of chemical weapons | ITPro
Cyber Security A Major Vulnerability In The Not For Profit Sector | Scoop News
Hacker attacks on Mac users are 10x as high as they were in 2019, report says | iMore
Cyber Security Threats From Online Gaming – Analysis – Eurasia Review
Cyber attack cost Interserve more than £11m | News | Building
Environmental Regulations, OT & the Maritime Industry's New Challenges (darkreading.com)
Sector Specific
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Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 June 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 June 2023:
-Zurich Insurance Group Secures Data Leak After Leaving Sensitive Data Publicly Accessible
-Employees Worry Less About Cyber Security Best Practices in the Summer
-Businesses are Ignoring Third-Party Security Risks
-Fear Trumps Anger When It Comes to Data Breaches – Angry Customers Vent, But Fearful Customers Don’t Come Back
-Over 130 Organisations and Millions of Individuals Believed to Be Impacted by MOVEit Hack, it Keeps Growing
-Widespread BEC Attacks Threaten European Organisations
-Lloyd’s Syndicates Sued Over Cyber Insurance
-95% Fear Inadequate Cloud Security Detection and Response
-The Growing Use of Generative AI and the Security Risks They Pose
-The CISO’s Toolkit Must Include Political Capital Within The C-Suite
-Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers as War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime
-SMBs Plagued by Exploits, Trojans and Backdoors
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
Zurich Insurance Group Secures Data Leak After Leaving Sensitive Data Publicly Accessible
Zurich Insurance Group is a major player in the insurance game, with over 55 million clients. They have recently just fixed a sensitive file that they had left publicly accessible. The file in question contained a range of credentials including database credentials, admin credentials, credentials for the actively exploited MOVEit software, credentials for their HR system and more. All of which could be utilised by threat actors to inflict serious damage. This was not the only vulnerability stemming from the insurance group; researchers found that Zurich were also running an outdated website, which contained a large number of vulnerabilities.
The case is alarming as Zurich Insurance Group provides cyber insurance and the instance above reinforces the need for organisations to be proactive in identifying cyber risks in their environment; it is simply not enough to rely on having insurance or meeting insurance requirements.
https://cybernews.com/zurich-insurance-data-leak/
Employees Worry Less About Cyber Security Best Practices in the Summer
IT teams are struggling to monitor and enforce BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies during summer months according to a new report. The report found that 55% of employees admitted to relying solely on their mobile devices while working remotely in the summer. 25% of all respondents claim that they aren’t concerned about ensuring network connections are secure when accessing their company’s data.
In the same report, 45% of employees in the US and UK said no specific measures to educate and remind employees on security best practices are taken during the summer, with only 24% of UK respondents receiving access to online cyber security training and guides and even less (17%) in the US. This comes as a separate report found that the number of phishing sites targeting mobile devices increased from 75% to 80% year-on-year in 2022, and this is likely to continue rising. Worryingly, it was also found that the average user is between six and ten times more likely to fall for an SMS phishing attack than email.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/30/summer-byod-policies/
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/mobile-malware-and-phishing-surge/
Businesses are Ignoring Third-Party Security Risks
With 58% of companies managing over 100 vendors, 8% of which manage over 1,000, the need for a robust Third-Party Security Risk Management process becomes abundantly clear. Despite this, only 13% of organisations continuously monitor the security risks of their third parties. This is worrying, when considering the knock-on effects of third party breaches from the likes of Capita, SolarWinds and 3CX, and the recent MOVEit attack, impacting organisations whose only relationship with MOVEit was that their supplier used it.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/30/third-party-relationships-risks/
Fear Trumps Anger When It Comes to Data Breaches – Angry Customers Vent, But Fearful Customers Don’t Come Back
When a person is notified of a data breach involving their personal information, if they react with a feeling of fear, as opposed to anger, they’re more likely to stop using the site. A report found that positive attitudes toward the website before the breach did not meaningfully affect whether consumers reengaged with the website after the breach, as some prior research has indicated. Instead, the emotional response of fear weighed heavily on customers and outweighed any earlier positive sentiment towards the organisation.
When a company has been breached in the past they have dealt with angry customers and negative press. To do so, companies may engage crisis managers to contain the damage, partner with identity protection services, pay fines or settlements, or try to lure back customers with free services. However, the study shows that companies need to address fearful customers differently after a data breach has occurred if they want to avoid customer loss. To do this, companies can work with their IT departments to identify customers who are no longer active after a breach and then reach out to them directly to assuage their fears.
Over 130 Organisations and Millions of Individuals Believed to be Impacted by MOVEit Hack, it Keeps Growing
The dramatic fallout continues in the mass exploitation of a critical vulnerability in a widely used file-transfer program, with at least three new victims coming to light in the past few days. They include the New York City Department of Education and energy companies Schneider Electric and Siemens Electric. These join others, including PwC, Sony and EY. If the attack has shown us one thing, it’s that any organisation can be a victim.
Widespread BEC Attacks Threaten European Organisations
Based on an analysis of email attack trends between June 2022 and May 2023, total email attacks in Europe increased by 7 times and the US 5 times. For business email compromise (BEC) specifically, Europe saw an alarming 10 times the amount it had previously and the US saw a 2 times increase.
BEC continues to remain a high priority threat for many organisations and if someone already has a legitimate business email which they have compromised to use for BEC attacks on your organisation, it is very likely that your technical processes will be ineffective, leaving your people and operational processes to stop an attack. Is your organisation cyber aware? Are they undergoing regular awareness training?
This is one of many areas that Black Arrow can help improve your organisation’s security through robust employee cyber security Awareness Behaviour and Culture training.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/27/bec-attacks-frequency/
Lloyd’s Syndicates Sued Over Cyber Insurance
The University of California (UCLA) is suing a number of insurance firms for refusing to pay out on cyber policies nearly 10 years after hackers breached data on millions of patients at its health system. The dispute is over a cyber attack from 2014 through 2015 that exposed personal information of patients at UCLA Health.
UCLA Health allege that the syndicates refused to engage in dispute resolution by asserting that the statue of limitations applying to the claims had expired. The insurers, who could not be named, are said to have refused every claim saying that UCLA Health failed to satisfy cyber security requirements under the contract terms. It’s important for organisations with cyber insurance to understand their insurance in detail and to know where they stand in the event of a cyber incident.
95% Fear Inadequate Cloud Security Detection and Response
A recent report found 95% of respondents expressed concern in their organisation’s ability to detect and respond to a security event in their cloud environment. The same study also found that 50% of total respondents had reported a data breach due to unauthorised access to their cloud environment.
It is often the case that issues in the cloud come from the perception of the responsibility of the cloud environment. Organisations must realise that they share responsibility for securing their cloud environment, including its configuration. The report found that, despite the number of breaches and concerns in their organisation’s ability, more than 80% of respondents still felt their existing tooling and configuration would sufficiently cover their organisation from an attack. Organisations must ask themselves what they are doing to protect their cloud environment.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/27/cloud-environment-security/
The Growing Use of Generative AI and the Security Risks They Pose
A recent survey by Malwarebytes revealed 81% of people are concerned about the security risks posed by ChatGPT and generative AI, and 52% of respondents are calling for a pause on ChatGPT for regulations to catch up, while 7% think it will improve internet security. A key concern about the data produced by generative AI platforms is the risk of "hallucinations" whereby machine learning models produce untruths. This becomes a serious issue for organisations if its content is heavily relied upon to make decisions, particularly those relating to threat detection and response.
Another recent report on the risks brought by Large Language Model AIs showed that the rise in opensource AI adoption is developed insecurely; this results in an increased threat with substantial security risks to organisation.
The CISO’s Toolkit Must Include Political Capital Within The C-Suite
Over the past 18 months, there has been a sea change in the chief information security officer (CISO) role. Fundamentally, the CISO is responsible for the protection of an entity's information. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a proposed rule change on cyber security risk management, strategy, governance, and incident response disclosure by public companies that requires publicly traded companies to provide evidence of the board's oversight of cyber security risk. Couple this with the former CISO of Uber being found guilty on charges of "obstruction of the proceedings of the Federal Trade Commission" and it is clear that the hand at the helm must be able to navigate all types of seas in their entity's political milieu. In this regard, the CISO needs to acquire political capital. CISO’s should have the capability to talk in understandable terms and clearly demonstrate value to the other board members.
Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers as War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime
Russia's diminishing position on the world stage has limited its physical options on the ground, leaving Putin's regime increasingly reliant on cyber crime to carry out its oppositional activities against Ukraine and Europe. Microsoft has disclosed that it has detected a spike in credential-stealing attacks conducted by the Russian state-affiliated hacker group known as Midnight Blizzard.
This comes as Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) released its 2023 security assessment, predicting that Russia will increasingly launch cyber attacks as part of its war strategy not just in Ukraine, but against NATO member states as well.
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/russia-reliant-on-cybercrime-as-international-pariah
https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/microsoft-warns-of-widescale-credential.html
SMB’s Plagued as Cyber Attackers Still Rely on Decades Old Security Weaknesses and Tactics
Despite best cyber security efforts, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to struggle to thwart attacks and harden defences in response to remote working and other newer challenges.
This future focus can lead to a neglection of older weaknesses. Cyber attackers are typically relying on tried-and-tested tactics and old security weaknesses to target organisations, a recent Barracuda threat spotlight found. Hackers are returning to proven methods to gain remote control of systems, install malware, steal information and disrupt or disable business operations through denial-of-service attacks, Barracuda reports. The report found that between February to April 2023, the top malicious tactics found to be used were vulnerabilities from 2008.
The report highlights the fact that there are no cutoff dates for vulnerabilities and attackers will use whatever is at their disposal to try and infiltrate your organisation. This can be protected by having strong policies and controls in place alongside frequent penetration testing to ensure these vulnerabilities are being patched.
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/malware/smbs-plagued-by-exploits-trojans-and-backdoors
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Businesses are ignoring third-party security risks - Help Net Security
Employees worry less about cyber security best practices in the summer - Help Net Security
Digital-First Economy Has Transformed Role of CISO- IT Security Guru
SEC Alleges SolarWinds CFO, CISO Violated US Securities Laws (bankinfosecurity.com)
The CISO’s toolkit must include political capital within the C-suite | CSO Online
NCSC Launches Cyber Risk Management Toolbox - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
MOVEit hackers may have found simpler business model beyond ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Dozens of Businesses Hit Recently by '8Base' Ransomware Gang - SecurityWeek
UK cyber spies warn ransomware criminals targeting law firms • The Register
Cl0p in Your Network? Here's How to Find Out (darkreading.com)
July is Ransomware Month: Reminder to Prepare, Defend Against Hijackers - MSSP Alert
The Trickbot/Conti Crypters: Where Are They Now? (securityintelligence.com)
Linux version of Akira ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Victims
Casualties keep growing in this month’s mass exploitation of MOVEit 0-day | Ars Technica
8 Tech And IT Companies Targeted In The MOVEit Attacks | CRN
MOVEIt breach impacts Genworth, CalPERS as data for 3.2 million exposed (bleepingcomputer.com)
Clop names PWC, Ernst & Young, and Sony in MOVEit hack | Cybernews
UCLA, Siemens Among Latest Victims of Relentless MOVEit Attacks (darkreading.com)
Siemens Energy, Schneider Electric Targeted by Ransomware Group in MOVEit Attack - SecurityWeek
10 banks alleged victims of ransomware attacks on file transfer software | American Banker
Almost 770,000 Calpers members hit by cyber attack | Financial Times (ft.com)
Ransomware and phishing attacks continue to plague businesses in Singapore | ZDNET
K-12 schools are revisiting their cyber strategies after year of ransomware attacks (axios.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Mobile Malware and Phishing Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How a Layered Security Approach Can Minimise Email Threats - MSSP Alert
Less than half of UK banks implement most secure DMARC level | CSO Online
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Widespread BEC attacks threaten European organisations - Help Net Security
The Current State of Business Email Compromise Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Unmasking Pig-Butchering Scams and Protecting Your Financial Future - Security News (trendmicro.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Sharing Your Business’ Data With ChatGPT: How Risky Is It? - MSSP Alert
OpenAI lawsuit: Maker of ChatGPT sued over alleged data usage | CNN Business
Lawyers who cited fake cases invented by ChatGPT must pay • The Register
Generative AI Projects Pose Major Cyber security Risk to Enterprises (darkreading.com)
How to Deploy Generative AI Safely and Responsibly (trendmicro.com)
Generative-AI apps & ChatGPT: Potential risks and mitigation strategies (thehackernews.com)
Does the world need an arms control treaty for AI? | CyberScoop
When It Comes to Secure Coding, ChatGPT Is Quintessentially Human (darkreading.com)
AI-Enabled Voice Cloning Anchors Deepfaked Kidnapping (darkreading.com)
2FA/MFA
Malware
SMBs plagued by exploits, trojans and backdoors | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers Use Weaponized PDF Files to Attack Organisations (cybersecuritynews.com)
New Mockingjay Process Injection Technique Could Let Malware Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
Fileless attacks surge as cyber Criminals evade cloud security defences | CSO Online
NSA warns of ‘false sense of security’ against BlackLotus malware (therecord.media)
Trojanized Super Mario Bros game spreads malware- - Security Affairs
New PindOS JavaScript dropper deploys Bumblebee, IcedID malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
NPM Plagued with ‘Manifest Confusion’ Malware-Hiding Weakness (darkreading.com)
Newly Uncovered ThirdEye Windows-Based Malware Steals Sensitive Data (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Andariel APT used a new malware named EarlyRat - Security Affairs
Mobile
Mobile Malware and Phishing Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Apple says proposed UK law ‘poses a serious threat’ to end-to-end encryption - The Verge
Anatsa Android trojan now steals banking info from users in US, UK (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fluhorse: Flutter-Based Android Malware Targets Credit Cards and 2FA Codes (thehackernews.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Global rise in DDoS attacks threatens digital infrastructure - Help Net Security
Pro-Russia DDoSia hacktivist project sees 2,400% membership increase (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Someone sent mysterious smartwatches to US Military personnel - Security Affairs
The tech flaw that lets hackers control surveillance cameras - BBC News
Data Breaches/Leaks
Latitude hit with $1 million lawsuit over data breach (9news.com.au)
Recruitment portal exposes data of US pilot candidates • The Register
3 Steps to Successfully & Ethically Navigate a Data Breach (darkreading.com)
Sensitive Information Stolen in LetMeSpy Stalkerware Hack - SecurityWeek
US Patent Office Data Spill Exposes Trademark Applications (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
2,700 People Tricked Into Working for Cyber Crime Syndicates Rescued in Philippines - SecurityWeek
Security analyst wanted by both Russia and the US • The Register
Former Group-IB manager has been arrested in Kazahstan - Security Affairs
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Twitter Hacker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for $120,000 Crypto Scam (thehackernews.com)
JOKERSPY used to target a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan - Security Affairs
Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Falls Victim to JokerSpy macOS Backdoor Attack (thehackernews.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Twitter Hacker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for $120,000 Crypto Scam (thehackernews.com)
Unmasking Pig-Butchering Scams and Protecting Your Financial Future - Security News (trendmicro.com)
This Chatbot Gives Phone Call Scammers a Taste of Their Own Medicine (pcmag.com)
The robotic falcon maker who was targeted by cyber criminals - BBC News
Deepfakes
Insurance
University of California Sues Lloyd’s Syndicates Over Cyber Insurance - WSJ
Insurance companies using AI for underwriting and due diligence amid cyber threats | Fox Business
How Big Is the Cyber Insurance Market? Can It Keep Growing? | Lawfare (lawfaremedia.org)
Dark Web
Citizen of Croatia charged with running the Monopoly Market drug marketplace - Security Affairs
Inside Threat Actors: Dark Web Forums vs. Illicit Telegram Communities (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
95% fear inadequate cloud security detection and response - Help Net Security
Fileless attacks surge as cyber Criminals evade cloud security defences | CSO Online
5 Pitfalls in Cloud Cyber security’s Shared Responsibility Model - MSSP Alert
Uncovering attacker tactics through cloud honeypots - Help Net Security
How hardening Microsoft 365 tenants mitigates potential cloud attacks - Help Net Security
Outlook for the web outage impacts users across America (bleepingcomputer.com)
3 Tips to Increase Hybrid and Multicloud Security (darkreading.com)
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
Apple says proposed UK law ‘poses a serious threat’ to end-to-end encryption - The Verge
Iran finally admits its 'quantum processor' was in fact not quantum at all | PC Gamer
How to stop quantum computers from breaking the internet’s encryption (sciencenews.org)
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
Travel
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
SEC Alleges SolarWinds CFO, CISO Violated US Securities Laws (bankinfosecurity.com)
US firm 'breached GDPR' by reputation-scoring EU citizens • The Register
JP Morgan accidentally deletes 47 million comms records • The Register
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
SEC notice to SolarWinds CISO and CFO roils cyber security industry | CSO Online
Skill gap plagues cyber security industry as jobs go unfilled | Mint (livemint.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Hacker responsible for 2020 Twitter breach sentenced to prison | TechCrunch
Citizen of Croatia charged with running the Monopoly Market drug marketplace - Security Affairs
2,700 People Tricked Into Working for Cyber Crime Syndicates Rescued in Philippines - SecurityWeek
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Russian Spies, War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime in Pariah State (darkreading.com)
Pro-Russia DDoSia hacktivist project sees 2,400% membership increase (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft hackers say they work for Sudan, not Russia | Fortune
'Chinese spy balloon' was 'crammed' with US hardware • The Register
Hackers attack Russian satellite telecom provider, claim affiliation with Wagner Group | CyberScoop
China
China's 'Volt Typhoon' APT Now Exploits Zoho ManageEngine (darkreading.com)
'Chinese spy balloon' was 'crammed' with US hardware • The Register
Iran
The potent cyber adversary threatening to further inflame Iranian politics | CyberScoop
From MuddyC3 to PhonyC2: Iran's MuddyWater Evolves with a New Cyber Weapon (thehackernews.com)
Iran finally admits its 'quantum processor' was in fact not quantum at all | PC Gamer
North Korea
Misc/Other/Unknown
Vulnerability Management
SMBs plagued by exploits, trojans and backdoors | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Remediation Ballet Is a Pas de Deux of Patch and Performance (darkreading.com)
Micropatches: What they are and how they work - Help Net Security
When It Comes to Secure Coding, ChatGPT Is Quintessentially Human (darkreading.com)
It's 2023 and out-of-bounds write bugs are still number one • The Register
Vulnerabilities
VMware fixed five memory corruption issues in vCenter Server - Security Affairs
US Cyber security Agency Adds 6 Flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (thehackernews.com)
CISA Says Critical Zyxel NAS Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks - SecurityWeek
Serious IDOR Vulnerability Found In Microsoft Teams (latesthackingnews.com)
Fortinet fixes critical FortiNAC RCE, install updates asap - Security Affairs
Details Disclosed for Critical SAP Vulnerabilities, Including Wormable Exploit Chain - SecurityWeek
Critical flaw in VMware Aria Operations for Networks sees mass exploitation | CSO Online
Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) fixed three DoS flaw in BIND - Security Affairs
Chrome 114 Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek
Grafana warns of critical auth bypass due to Azure AD integration (bleepingcomputer.com)
The tech flaw that lets hackers control surveillance cameras - BBC News
Exploit released for new Arcserve UDP auth bypass vulnerability (bleepingcomputer.com)
Tools and Controls
95% fear inadequate cloud security detection and response - Help Net Security
How a Layered Security Approach Can Minimize Email Threats - MSSP Alert
ITDR Combines and Refines Familiar Cyber security Approaches (darkreading.com)
Uncovering attacker tactics through cloud honeypots - Help Net Security
10 things every CISO needs to know about identity and access management (IAM) | VentureBeat
FIDO Alliance Publishes Guidance for Deploying Passkeys in the Enterprise (darkreading.com)
3 Tips to Increase Hybrid and Multicloud Security (darkreading.com)
Other News
Businesses count the cost of network downtime - Help Net Security
Exploring the persistent threat of cyber attacks on healthcare - Help Net Security
How Can Manufacturers Stop Being The Top Target For Cyber Crime? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Ex-FBI employee jailed for mishandling classified material • The Register
Rapid7: Japan Threat Landscape Takes on Global Significance - SecurityWeek
Over 1500 gas stations disrupted in Canada, after energy giant hacked (bitdefender.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 26 May 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 26 May 2023:
-50% of UK CEOs See Cyber as a Bigger Business Risk than the Economy
-Report Finds 78% of Organisations Felt Prepared for Ransomware Attacks, Yet Half Still Fell Victim
-SMBs and Regional MSPs are Increasingly Targeted by State-Sponsored APT Groups
-IT Employee Piggybacked on Cyber Attack for Personal Gain
-Ransomware Threats Are Growing, and Targeting Microsoft Devices More and More
-Microsoft Reports Jump in Business Email Compromise (BEC) Activity
-Forrester Predicts 2023’s Top Cyber security Threats: From Generative AI to Geopolitical Tensions
-Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022
-Today’s Cyber Defence Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security
-Almost All Ransomware Attacks Target Backups, Says Veeam
-NCSC Warns Against Chinese Cyber Attacks on Critical Infrastructure
-Half of all Companies were Impacted by Spearphishing in 2022
-Google's .zip, .mov Domains Give Social Engineers a Shiny New Tool
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
50% of UK CEOs see Cyber as a Bigger Business Risk than the Economy
Half of UK CEOs consider cyber security as a bigger risk to their organisation than economic uncertainty, a new study by Palo Alto Networks has found. The findings came from a survey of 2500 CEOs from the UK, Germany, France, Brazil and the UAE at large organisations (500+ employees).
Despite the recognition of the business threats posed by cyber attacks, UK CEOs have a lower level of understanding of cyber security risks than their international counterparts, with just 16% saying they have a complete understanding. This compares to 21% in Brazil, 21% in the UAE, 22% in France and 39% in Germany. Additionally, many UK CEOs feel detached from responsibility for cyber security at their organisations, instead leaving it to the responsibility of IT, although IT is only part of the solution.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-ceo-cyber-risk-economy/
Report Finds 78% of Organisations Felt Prepared for Ransomware Attacks, Yet Half Still Fell Victim
Fortinet has unveiled its 2023 Global Ransomware Report based on a recent global survey and explores cyber security leaders’ perspectives on ransomware, particularly how it impacted their organisations in the last year and their strategies to mitigate an attack. The report found that the global threat of ransomware remains at peak levels, with half of organisations across all sizes, regions and industries falling victim in the last year.
The top challenges to stopping a ransomware attack were people and process related, with many organisations lacking clarity on how to secure against the threat. Specifically, four out of the five top challenges to stopping ransomware were people or process related. The second largest challenge was a lack of clarity on how to secure against the threat as a result of a lack of user awareness and training and no clear chain-of-command strategy to deal with attacks.
Despite the global macroeconomic environment, security budgets will have to increase in the next year with a focus on AI/ML technologies to speed detection, centralised monitoring tools to speed response and better preparation of people and processes.
https://www.itweb.co.za/content/mYZRX79g8gRqOgA8
SMBs and Regional MSPs are Increasingly Targeted by State-Sponsored APT Groups
Advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks were once mainly a concern for large corporations in industries that presented cyber espionage interest. That's no longer the case and over the past year in particular, the number of such state-sponsored attacks against small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) has increased significantly.
Cyber security firm Proofpoint analysed its telemetry data more than 200,000 SMB customers over the past year and saw a rise in phishing campaigns originating from APT groups, particularly those serving Russian, Iranian, and North Korean interests.
SMBs are also targeted by APT groups indirectly, through the managed services providers (MSPs) that maintain their infrastructure. Proofpoint has seen an increase in attacks against regional MSPs because their cyber security defences could be weaker than larger MSPs yet they still serve hundreds of SMBs in local geographies.
IT Employee Piggybacked on Cyber Attack for Personal Gain
A 28-year-old former IT employee of an Oxford-based company has been convicted of blackmailing his employer and unauthorised access to a computer with intent to commit other offences.
The convicted employee was the one who began to investigate the incident and, along with colleagues and the police, tried to mitigate it and its fallout. But he also realized that he could take advantage of the breach to line his own pockets.
“He accessed a board member’s private emails over 300 times as well as altering the original blackmail email and changing the payment address provided by the original attacker. This was in the hope that if payment was made, it would be made to him rather than the original attacker,” the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) revealed. He went as far as creating an almost identical email address to that of the original attacker, using it to pressure his employer into making the payment.
While some insider threats may stem from negligence or ignorance, this case highlights a more sinister scenario involving a malicious, opportunistic individual. Malicious insiders exploit their authorized access and privileges to engage in harmful, unethical, or illegal activities.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/24/it-employee-blackmailing-company/
Ransomware Threats Are Growing, and Targeting Microsoft Devices More and More
Ransomware attacks have never been this popular, a new report from cyber security researchers Securin, Ivanti, and Cyware has stated. New ransomware groups are emerging constantly, and new vulnerabilities being exploited are being discovered almost daily, but out of all the different hardware and software, Microsoft’s products are being targeted the most.
Attackers are now targeting more than 7,000 products built by 121 vendors, all used by businesses in their day-to-day operations. Most products belong to Microsoft, which has 135 vulnerabilities associated with ransomware. In just March 2023, there had been more breaches reported, than in all three previous years combined. Even though most cyber security incidents never get reported, too. In the first quarter of the year, the researchers discovered 12 new vulnerabilities used in ransomware attacks, three-quarters of which (73%) were trending in the dark web.
Microsoft Reports Jump in Business Email Compromise (BEC) Activity
Thirty-five million business email compromise (BEC) attempts were detected in the last year, according to the latest Microsoft Cyber Signals report. Activity around BEC spiked between April 2022 and April 2023, with over 150,000 daily attempts, on average, detected by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.
Rather than targeting unpatched devices for vulnerabilities, BEC operators focus on leveraging the vast volume of daily email and other message traffic to trick victims into sharing financial information or unknowingly transferring funds to money mule accounts. Their goal is to exploit the constant flow of communication to carry out fraudulent money transfers.
Using secure email applications, securing identities to block lateral movement, adopting a secure payment platform and training employees are a few effective methods, according to the report.
Forrester Predicts 2023’s Top Cyber security Threats: From Generative AI to Geopolitical Tensions
The nature of cyber attacks is changing fast. Generative AI, cloud complexity and geopolitical tensions are among the latest weapons and facilitators in attackers’ arsenals. Three-quarters (74%) of security decision-makers say their organisations’ sensitive data was “potentially compromised or breached in the past 12 months” alone. Forrester’s Top Cyber security Threats in 2023 report provides a stark warning about the top cyber security threats this year, along with prescriptive advice to CISOs and their teams on countering them. By weaponising generative AI and using ChatGPT, attackers are fine-tuning their ransomware and social engineering techniques.
Perimeter-based legacy systems not designed with an AI-based upgrade path are the most vulnerable. With a new wave of cyber attacks coming that seek to capitalise on any given business’ weakest links, including complex cloud configurations, the gap between reported and actual breaches will grow.
Forrester cites Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its relentless cyber attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure as examples of geopolitical cyber attacks with immediate global implications. Forrester advises that nation-state actors continue to use cyber attacks on private companies for geopolitical purposes like espionage, negotiation leverage, resource control and intellectual property theft to gain technological superiority.
Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022
A new report published this week observed a 356% growth in the number of advanced phishing attacks attempted by threat actors in 2022, with the total number of attacks having increased by 87%. Among the reasons behind this growth is the fact that malicious actors continue to gain widespread access to new tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-powered tools. These have automated the process of generating sophisticated attacks, including those characterized by social engineering as well as evasion techniques.
The global threat landscape continues to evolve with a meteoric rise in the number of attacks, combined with increasingly sophisticated attack techniques designed to breach and damage organisations.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the changing threat landscape has resulted from the swift adoption of new cloud collaboration apps, cloud storage and productivity services for external collaboration.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/advanced-phishing-attacks-surge/
Today’s Cyber Defence Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security
Organisations can mistakenly believe that deploying more security solutions will result in greater protection against threats. However, the truth of the matter can be very different. Gartner estimates that global spending on IT security and risk management solutions will exceed $189.7 billion annually in 2023, yet the breaches keep on coming. Blindly purchasing more security tools can add to complexity in enterprise environments and creates a false sense of security that contributes to today’s cyber security challenges.
To add to the dilemma, the new work-from-anywhere model is putting a strain on IT and security teams. Employees shifting between corporate and off-corporate networks are creating visibility and control challenges, which are impacting those teams’ ability to diagnose and remediate end user issues and minimize cyber security risks. In addition, they have to deal with a broad mix of networks, hardware, business and security applications, operating system (OS) versions, and patches.
Almost All Ransomware Attacks Target Backups
Data stored in backups is the most common target for ransomware attackers. Almost all intrusions (93%) target backups and in 75% of cases succeed in taking out victims’ ability to recover. In addition, 85% of global organisations suffered at least one cyber attack in the past year according to the Veeam 2023 Ransomware trends report. Only 16% of organisations avoided paying ransom because they were able to recover from backups, down from 19% in last year’s survey.
According to the survey, criminals attempt to attack backup repositories in almost all (93%) cyber events in EMEA, with 75% losing at least some of their backups and more than one-third (39%) of backup repositories being completely lost.
Other key findings included that 21% said ransomware is now specifically excluded from insurance policies; and of those with cyber insurance, 74% saw increased premiums since their last policy renewal.
With most ransomware actors moving to double and triple extortion the days of a backup being all you need to keep you safe are far behind and firms should do more to prevent being the victim of ransomware in the first place.
NCSC Warns Against Chinese Cyber Attacks on Critical Infrastructure
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and several other international security agencies have issued a new advisory warning the public against Chinese cyber activity targeting critical national infrastructure networks. According to the document, the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s associated threat actors employed sophisticated tactics to evade detection while conducting malicious activities against targets in the US and Guam. These tactics are expected to be used on critical infrastructure targets outside the US, including the UK.
The document further added that the threat actors mainly focused on credential access theft via brute force and password spraying techniques. The NCSC advisory provides network defenders with technical indicators and examples of techniques used by the attacker to help identify any malicious activity.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-warns-chinese-cyber-attacks/
Half of All Companies were Impacted by Spearphishing in 2022
Spearphishing is a sliver of all email exploits but the extent to which it succeeds is revealed in a new study from cyber security firm Barracuda Networks, which analysed 50 billion emails across 3.5 million mailboxes in 2022, unearthing around 30 million spearphishing emails and affecting 50% of all companies.
The report identified the top prevalent spearphishing emails were Scamming (47%) used to trick victims into disclosing sensitive information and the other being brand impersonation (42%) attacks mimicking a brand familiar with the victim to harvest credentials.
The report found that remote work is increasing risks. Users at companies with more than a 50% remote workforce report higher levels of suspicious emails — 12 per day on average, compared to 9 per day for those with less than a 50% remote workforce.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/barracuda-networks-spearphishing-study/
Google's .zip, .mov Domains Give Social Engineers a Shiny New Tool
Two new top-level domain names (.zip and .mov) have caused concern among security researchers, who say they allow for the construction of malicious URLs that even tech-savvy users are likely to miss. While a top-level domain (TLD) that mimics a file extension is only one component in the lookalike attack, the overall combination is much more effective with the .zip or .mov extension.
There's no question that phishing links that involve these TLDs can be used to lure unsuspecting users into accidentally downloading malware. Unlike other kinds of phishing URLs that are intended to lure the user to enter credentials into a phony login page, the lures with the .zip or .mov domains are more suited to drive-by download types of attacks.
https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/google-zip-mov-domains-social-engineers-shiny-new-tool
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Security Pros: Before You Do Anything, Understand Your Threat Landscape - SecurityWeek
The Rising Threat of Secrets Sprawl and the Need for Action (thehackernews.com)
Mass resignations, layoffs seen as major threat to corporate cyber security - The Korea Times
Improving Cyber security Requires Building Better Public-Private Cooperation (darkreading.com)
5 Cyber security Woes That Threaten Digital Growth (analyticsinsight.net)
Cyber Warfare Lessons From the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (darkreading.com)
What Security Professionals Need to Know About Aggregate Cyber Risk (darkreading.com)
Where to Focus Your Company’s Limited Cyber security Budget (hbr.org)
Former Uber CSO Joe Sullivan and lessons learned from the infamous 2016 Uber breach | CSO Online
CISO Criminalization, Vague Cyber Disclosure Rules Create Angst for Security Teams (darkreading.com)
Today’s Cyber Defence Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security - SecurityWeek
The biggest threats are always those we fail to predict - Big Think
How continuous security monitoring is changing the compliance game - Help Net Security
Defining CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs' Roles in Cyber security (analyticsinsight.net)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
3 Common Initial Attack Vectors Account for Most Ransomware Campaigns (darkreading.com)
12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security
IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware threats are growing, and targeting Microsoft devices more and more | TechRadar
Microsoft: Notorious FIN7 hackers return in Clop ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
FIN7 gang returned and was spotted delivering Clop ransomware - Security Affairs
Bridgestone CISO: Lessons From Ransomware Attack Include Acting, Not Thinking (darkreading.com)
Cyble — New Ransomware Wave Engulfs over 200 Corporate Victims
Updated 'StopRansomware Guide' warns of shifting tactics | TechTarget
The Week in Ransomware - May 19th 2023 - A Shifting Landscape (bleepingcomputer.com)
US saw 45% fewer ransomware victims posted on the dark web | Security Magazine
Judge Throws Out Ransomware Class-Action Suit Against Rackspace - MSSP Alert
Ransomware tales: The MitM attack that really had a Man in the Middle – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar
Inside Qilin Ransomware: Affiliates Take Home 85% of Ransom Payouts (thehackernews.com)
Buhti Ransomware Gang Switches Tactics, Utilizes Leaked LockBit and Babuk Code (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware Victims
Food Distributor Sysco Says Cyber Attack Exposed 126,000 Individuals - SecurityWeek
Suzuki motorcycle plant shut down by cyber attack (bitdefender.com)
Iowa hospital discloses breach following Royal ransomware leak | TechTarget
Arms maker Rheinmetall confirms BlackBasta ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dish Network says February ransomware attack impacted +300K - Security Affairs
Philly Inquirer disputes Cuba ransomware gang's leak claims • The Register
Dorchester school IT system held to ransom in cyber attack - BBC News
BlackByte lists city of Augusta after cyber 'incident' • The Register
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
50% of companies had spearphishing puncture wounds in 2022 (techrepublic.com)
Microsoft 365 phishing attacks use encrypted RPMSG messages (bleepingcomputer.com)
Threat actors exploit new channels for advanced phishing attacks - Help Net Security
Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security
CopperStealer Malware Crew Resurfaces with New Rootkit and Phishing Kit Modules (thehackernews.com)
Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Cyber Signals: Shifting tactics show surge in business email compromise | Microsoft Security Blog
Microsoft reports jump in business email compromise activity | CSO Online
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Artificial Intelligence
Employees are banned from using ChatGPT at these companies | Fortune
BatLoader campaign impersonates ChatGPT and Midjourney to deliver Redline Stealer - Security Affairs
6 ChatGPT risks for legal and compliance leaders - Help Net Security
5 Ways Hackers Will Use ChatGPT For Cyber attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Simple OSINT techniques to spot AI-fueled disinformation, fake reviews - Help Net Security
Microsoft urges lawmakers to adopt new guidelines for responsible AI | CyberScoop
AI Used to Create Malware, WithSecure Observes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
The Security Hole at the Heart of ChatGPT and Bing | WIRED UK
2FA/MFA
Malware
New PowerExchange malware backdoors Microsoft Exchange servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers Use Weaponised DOCX File to Deploy Stealthy Malware (gbhackers.com)
Meet 'Jack' from Romania! Mastermind Behind Golden Chickens Malware (thehackernews.com)
Developer Alert: NPM Packages for Node.js Hiding Dangerous TurkoRat Malware (thehackernews.com)
CopperStealer Malware Crew Resurfaces with New Rootkit and Phishing Kit Modules (thehackernews.com)
Threat actors leverage kernel drivers in new attacks | TechTarget
BatLoader campaign impersonates ChatGPT and Midjourney to deliver Redline Stealer - Security Affairs
Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security
Potentially millions of Android TVs and phones come with malware preinstalled | Ars Technica
New AhRat Android malware hidden in app with 50,000 installs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica
PyPI open-source code repository deals with manic malware maelstrom – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Legion Malware Upgraded to Target SSH Servers and AWS Credentials (thehackernews.com)
AI Used to Create Malware, WithSecure Observes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Mobile
Warning: Samsung Devices Under Attack! New Security Flaw Exposed (thehackernews.com)
Android phones are vulnerable to fingerprint brute-force attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New AhRat Android malware hidden in app with 50,000 installs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Predator: Looking under the hood of Intellexa’s Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Botnets
How smart bots are infecting and exploiting the internet - Help Net Security
The Dark Frost Enigma: An Unexpectedly Prevalent Botnet Author Profile | Akamai
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Potentially millions of Android TVs and phones come with malware preinstalled | Ars Technica
Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica
Data Breaches/Leaks
Capita under fire after ‘confidential’ files published online (thetimes.co.uk)
Luxottica confirms 2021 data breach after info of 70M leaks online (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers steal the SSN of nearly 6 million people (pandasecurity.com)
Food Distributor Sysco Says Cyber attack Exposed 126,000 Individuals - SecurityWeek
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
IT employee piggybacked on cyber attack for personal gain - Help Net Security
Child hackers: How are kids becoming sophisticated cyber criminals? | Euronews
UK Fraudster Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13-Year Jail Term for Cyber Crimes (thehackernews.com)
The Strange Story of the Teens Behind the Mirai Botnet - IEEE Spectrum
FBI: Human Trafficking Rings Force Job Seekers Into Cryptojacking Schemes (darkreading.com)
'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)
Cyber criminals masquerading as MFA vendors - Help Net Security
The Dark Frost Enigma: An Unexpectedly Prevalent Botnet Author Profile | Akamai
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
Forex boss Anthony Constantinou guilty of £70m ‘Ponzi’ fraud (thetimes.co.uk)
FBI: Human Trafficking Rings Force Job Seekers Into Cryptojacking Schemes (darkreading.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
How to prevent against the 5 main types of insider threats - IT Security Guru
IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Get-rich-quick schemes, pyramids and ponzis: five signs you're being scammed (theconversation.com)
Scammers Using ChatGPT "Fleeceware" Apps to Cash In on AI Hype, Sophos Report - MSSP Alert
Online scams target bargain-hunting holiday travelers - Help Net Security
Ads for lucrative jobs in Asia may be tech slavery scams • The Register
Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
79-year-old woman tricks German scammers into getting arrested (iamexpat.de)
Forex boss Anthony Constantinou guilty of £70m ‘Ponzi’ fraud (thetimes.co.uk)
IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Capita under fire after ‘confidential’ files published online (thetimes.co.uk)
UK councils caught in Capita unsecured AWS bucket data leak • The Register
New Cyber Security Training Packages Launched to Manage Supply Chain Risk - NCSC
Software Supply Chain
GUAC 0.1 Beta: Google's Breakthrough Framework for Secure Software Supply Chains (thehackernews.com)
Cloud/SaaS
UK councils caught in Capita unsecured AWS bucket data leak • The Register
CISO-level tips for securing corporate data in the cloud - Help Net Security
Google Cloud Bug Allows Server Takeover From CloudSQL Service (darkreading.com)
Attack Surface Management
Identity and Access Management
7 access management challenges during M&A - Help Net Security
Think security first when switching from traditional Active Directory to Azure AD | CSO Online
Encryption
API
API bug in OAuth dev tool opened websites, apps to account hijacking | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
The fragmented nature of API security ownership - Help Net Security
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Inactive accounts pose significant account takeover security risks | CSO Online
What’s a Double-Blind Password Strategy and When Should It Be Used (bleepingcomputer.com)
Netflix's Password-Sharing Ban Offers Security Upsides (darkreading.com)
Biometrics
Social Media
Meta Hit With $1.3B Record-Breaking Fine for GDPR Violations (darkreading.com)
Pentagon explosion hoax goes viral after verified Twitter accounts push (bleepingcomputer.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Travel
Online scams target bargain-hunting holiday travelers - Help Net Security
Four ways your devices can be hacked in hotels and how to stay safe | This is Money
Tips to Protect Against Holiday and Airline Scams - IT Security Guru
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Meta Hit With $1.3B Record-Breaking Fine for GDPR Violations (darkreading.com)
Microsoft urges lawmakers to adopt new guidelines for responsible AI | CyberScoop
Models, Frameworks and Standards
NIST Launches Cyber security Initiative for Small Businesses (securityintelligence.com)
New security model launched to eliminate 95% of cyber breaches - IT Security Guru
Backup and Recovery
Almost all ransomware attacks target backups, says Veeam | Computer Weekly
'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)
Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
UK Fraudster Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13-Year Jail Term for Cyber Crimes (thehackernews.com)
79-year-old woman tricks German scammers into getting arrested (iamexpat.de)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
UK police to 'embed' facial recog but oversight is at risk • The Register
Abuse of government spying powers: What's to worry about? • The Register
Reflections on Ten Years Past The Snowden Revelations (ietf.org)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Cyber Warfare Lessons From the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (darkreading.com)
Russia's War in Ukraine Shows Cyber attacks Can Be War Crimes (darkreading.com)
The Underground History of Turla, Russia's Most Ingenious Hacker Group | WIRED
Bad Magic's Extended Reign in Cyber Espionage Goes Back Over a Decade (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Kimsuky Hackers Strike Again with Advanced Reconnaissance Malware (thehackernews.com)
Cyber Attacks Strike Ukraine's State Bodies in Espionage Operation (thehackernews.com)
Mysterious malware designed to cripple industrial systems linked to Russia | CyberScoop
New Russian-linked CosmicEnergy malware targets industrial systems (bleepingcomputer.com)
United Nations official and others in Armenia hacked by NSO Group spyware | Hacking | The Guardian
Predator: Looking under the hood of Intellexa’s Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors
APT attacks: Exploring Advanced Persistent Threats and their evasive techniques (malwarebytes.com)
SMBs and regional MSPs are increasingly targeted by state-sponsored APT groups | CSO Online
The Underground History of Turla, Russia's Most Ingenious Hacker Group | WIRED
Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica
North Korean Kimsuky Hackers Strike Again with Advanced Reconnaissance Malware (thehackernews.com)
Five Eyes and Microsoft accuse China US infrastructure raids • The Register
Iranian hackers use new Moneybird ransomware to attack Israeli orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mysterious malware designed to cripple industrial systems linked to Russia | CyberScoop
GCHQ warns of fresh threat from Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Hacking | The Guardian
New Russian-linked CosmicEnergy malware targets industrial systems (bleepingcomputer.com)
Five Eyes agencies detail how Chinese hackers breached US infrastructure - Help Net Security
Lazarus Group Striking Vulnerable Windows IIS Web Servers (darkreading.com)
'Volt Typhoon' Breaks Fresh Ground for China-Backed Cyber Campaigns (darkreading.com)
Vulnerability Management
12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security
Fresh perspectives needed to manage growing vulnerabilities - Help Net Security
Judge Throws Out Ransomware Class-Action Suit Against Rackspace - MSSP Alert
How to check for new exploits in real time? VulnCheck has an answer | CSO Online
Vulnerabilities
12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security
Hackers target 1.5M WordPress sites with cookie consent plugin exploit (bleepingcomputer.com)
Barracuda Alerts Of Breaches In Email Gateways From Zero-Day Flaws (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Threat Actors Compromise Barracuda Email Security Appliances (darkreading.com)
Microsoft: Windows issue causes file copying, saving failures (bleepingcomputer.com)
GitLab 'strongly recommends' patching max severity flaw ASAP (bleepingcomputer.com)
83C0000B: The error code that means a software update bricked your HP printer (bitdefender.com)
CISA adds iPhone bugs to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog - Security Affairs
Vulnerability in Zyxel firewalls may soon be widely exploited (CVE-2023-28771) - Help Net Security
Zyxel warns of critical vulnerabilities in firewall and VPN devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Warning: Samsung Devices Under Attack! New Security Flaw Exposed (thehackernews.com)
Tools and Controls
Security Pros: Before You Do Anything, Understand Your Threat Landscape - SecurityWeek
Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security
Making The Most Of A Penetration Test: The Organisational Perspective (forbes.com)
Against the Clock: Cyber Incident Response Plan (trendmicro.com)
Investigating Risks Through Threat Hunting Capability Guide (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Almost all ransomware attacks target backups, says Veeam | Computer Weekly
How continuous security monitoring is changing the compliance game - Help Net Security
Blacklist untrustworthy apps that peek behind your firewall - Help Net Security
How generative AI is reshaping the identity verification landscape - Help Net Security
The fragmented nature of API security ownership - Help Net Security
Enterprises Must Prepare Now for Shorter TLS Certificate Lifespans (darkreading.com)
Cutting Through the Noise: What is Zero Trust Security? - SecurityWeek
CISO-level tips for securing corporate data in the cloud - Help Net Security
6 ways generative AI chatbots and LLMs can enhance cyber security | CSO Online
'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)
Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar
Attributes of a mature cyber-threat intelligence program | CSO Online
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 November 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 November 2022:
-Hackers Hit One Third of Organisations Worldwide Multiple Times
-Firms Spend $1,197 Per Employee Yearly to Address Cyber Attacks
-90% of Organisations have Microsoft 365 Security Gaps
-Luna Moth Phishing Extortion Campaign Targets Businesses in Multiple Sectors
-The Real Cost of Cyber Attacks: What Organisations Should Be Prepared For
-34 Russian Cyber Crime Groups Stole Over 50 Million Passwords with Stealer Malware
-“Password” Continues to Be the Most Common Password in 2022
-Lasts Year’s Massive Twitter Data Breach Was Far Worse Than Reported, Reveal Security Researchers
-European Parliament Declares Russia to be a State Sponsor of Terrorism – then Gets Attacked
-The Changing Nature of Nation-State Cyber Warfare
-Is Your Company Covered for a Cyber Security Attack? That’s the £2 Million Question
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Yanluowang Ransomware's Russian Links Laid Bare - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Fake subscription invoices lead to corporate data theft and extortion - Help Net Security
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)
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
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
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
Data Breaches/Leaks
WhatsApp data leak: 500 million user records for sale - Security Affairs
California County Says Personal Information Compromised in Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com
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)
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
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
Insurance
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud/SaaS
Hybrid/Remote Working
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
5 API Vulnerabilities That Get Exploited by Criminals - Security Affairs
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
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
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
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Bank Of England Says Crypto Needs Regulation Now - Information Security Buzz
How US cyber incident reporting law could finally fix the information sharing problem - CyberScoop
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Operation Elaborate - UK police text 70,000 suspected victims of iSpoof bank fraudsters | Tripwire
'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
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
Russia-based RansomBoggs Ransomware Targeted Several Ukrainian Organisations (thehackernews.com)
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
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
73 Percent of Retail Applications Contain Security Flaws, but Only a Quarter Are Fixed (yahoo.com)
Researcher warns that Cisco Secure Email Gateways can easily be circumvented - Security Affairs
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
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Know thy enemy: thinking like a hacker can boost cyber security strategy | CSO Online
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)
Docker Hub repositories hide over 1,650 malicious containers (bleepingcomputer.com)
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)
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 14 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 October 2022:
-Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds
-LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs
-Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks
-Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets
-UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security
-For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks
-EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet
-Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise
-Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies
-Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy
-Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm
-Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds
Some organisations have made significant improvements to their ransomware readiness profile in the last year, Axio said in a newly released report. However, a lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, inadequate vulnerability patching and employee training continues to leave ransomware defences lacking in potency.
Axio’s report reveals that only 30% of organisations have a ransomware-specific playbook for incident management in place. In 2021’s report Axio, maker of a cloud-based cyber management software platform, identified seven key areas emerged where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices.
The same patterns showed up in the 2022 report:
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.
Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.
LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs
Business owners with public social media accounts are easy targets for scammers who lift information to create fake accounts. The arduous process for removing fraudulent accounts leaves victims frustrated and vulnerable to further data privacy issues. Victims say platform providers, particularly Facebook and Instagram, must improve their responses to reports of fraud.
Impersonation of a brand or executive contributed to more than 40% of all phishing and social media incidents in the second quarter, according to the Agari and Phish Labs Quarterly Threat Trends and Intelligence Report released in August. Q2 marks the second quarter that impersonation attacks have represented the majority of threats, despite a 6.1% decrease from Q1.
Executive impersonation has been on the rise over the past four quarters — representing more than 15% of attacks, according to the report — as impersonating a corporate figure or company on social media is simple and effective for threat actors.
Thom Singer, CEO for the Austin Technology Council and a public speaker, was recently impersonated on Instagram. A scammer created a fake Instagram account with his name and photos, creating a handle with an extra "r" at the end of Singer. That account appeared to amass over 2,300 followers – nearly as many as Singer's own account – lending to its appearance of authenticity.
He learned of the fake account from a contact who texted to ask if he'd reached out on Instagram, which wasn't a channel Singer typically uses to communicate. Singer reported the fraudulent account using the platform's report button and asked his followers to do the same.
"You can't reach anyone at these platforms, so it takes days to get a fake account removed," Singer said. "These social media sites have no liability, nothing to lose when fraud is happening. They need to up their game and have a better process to get [fraud] handled in a timely manner."
Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks
A new study from behavioural risk firm CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) has been launched and it highlights an alarming surge in phishing and identity theft attacks.
The report, titled ‘Oh, Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors report’, studied the opinions of 3,000 individuals across the US, the UK and Canada towards cyber security and revealed that nearly half (45%) of users are connected to the internet all the time, however, this has led to a surge in identity theft with almost 1 in 4 people being affected by the attack.
Furthermore, 1 in 3 (36%) respondents revealed they have lost money or data due to a phishing attack. Yet the study also revealed that 70% of respondents feel confident in their ability to identify a malicious email, but only 45% will confirm the authenticity of a suspicious email by reaching out to the apparent sender.
When it comes to implementing cyber security best practices, only 33% of respondents revealed they use a unique password for important online accounts, while only 16% utilise passwords of over 12 characters in length. Furthermore, only 18% of participants have downloaded a stand-alone password manager, while 43% of respondents have not even heard of multi-factor authentication.
Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets
A cyber insurer, Acuity Insurance, is reporting an increased need for cyber liability insurance across both personal and business policyholders. From June 2021 to June 2022, the insurer saw cyber liability insurance claims on its commercial insurance policies increase by more than 50%. For personal policies, they saw more than a 90% increase in cyber claims being reported in 2021 compared with 2020.
Our lives, homes and businesses are more connected than ever before. Being connected leads to a greater risk of cyber attacks, which aren't covered under standard homeowners or business insurance policies.
The insurance experts caution that everyone is at risk — whether you are a small business owner or an individual — as cyber attacks continue to pose a serious financial threat. From 2019 to 2021, cyber attacks were up 50% from the previous year, according to recent research. Wire fraud and gift card scams are two of the most common types of cyber attacks impacting both businesses and individuals.
Scams involving social engineering are some of the easiest to fall for, as fraudsters exploit a person's trust to obtain money or personal information, which can then be used for unauthorised withdrawals of money. Cyber insurance can protect you from financial loss caused by wire transfer fraud, phishing attacks, cyber extortion, cyberbullying and more, Acuity reported.
While all cyber crimes have a financial impact, fraudulent wire transfers often come with greater losses. Banks are typically not responsible for funds lost as a result of a fraudulent wire transfer inadvertently authorised by the customer. Whether it's a wrongful money transfer by a business or an individual, cyber insurance can help mitigate some of the financial loss caused by these scams.
UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security
The UK government has warned organisations to take steps to strengthen their supply chain security.
New National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance has been issued amid a significant increase in supply chain attacks in recent years, such as the SolarWinds incident in 2020. The NCSC cited official government data showing that just over one in 10 businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers (13%), while the proportion covering the wider supply chain is just 7%.
Aimed at medium-to-large organisations, the document sets out practical steps to better assess cyber security across increasingly complex supply chains. This includes a description of typical supplier relationships and ways that organisations are exposed to vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks via the supply chain, and the expected outcomes and key steps needed to assess suppliers’ approaches to security.
The new guidance followed a government response to a call for views last year which highlighted the need for further advice. Supply chain attacks are a major cyber threat facing organisations and incidents can have a profound, long-lasting impact on businesses and customers. With incidents on the rise, it is vital organisations work with their suppliers to identify supply chain risks and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-government-supply-chain-security/
For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks
SonicWall released the 2022 SonicWall Threat Mindset Survey which found that 66% of customers are more concerned about cyber attacks in 2022, with the main threat being focused on financially motivated attacks like ransomware.
“No one is safe from cyber attacks — businesses or individuals,” said SonicWall Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Conner. “Today’s business landscape requires persistent digital trust to exist. Supply-chain attacks have dramatically changed the attack surface of the typical enterprise in the past few years, with more suppliers and service providers touching sensitive data than ever before.
“It’s likely we’ll see continued acceleration and evolution of ransomware tactics, as well as other advanced persistent threats (APTs), as cyber crime continues to scale the globe seeking both valuable and weak targets.”
Companies are not only losing millions of dollars to unending malware and ransomware strikes, but cyber attacks on essential infrastructure are impacting real-world services. Despite the growing concern of cyber attacks, organisations are struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving threat landscape as they orient their business, networks, data and employees against unwavering cyber attacks.
“The evolving cyber threat landscape has made us train our staff significantly more,” said Stafford Fields, IT Director, Cavett Turner & Wyble. “It’s made us spend more on cyber security. And what scares me is that an end-user can click on something and bring all our systems down — despite being well protected.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/12/customers-concerned-ransomware/
EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet
Old lore held that shooting a werewolf, vampire, or even just your average nasty villain with a silver bullet was a sure-fire takedown: one hit, no more bad guy.
As cyber security professionals, we understand – much like folks in the Old West knew – that there are no panaceas, no actual silver bullets. Yet humans gravitate towards simple solutions to complex challenges, and we are constantly (if unconsciously) seeking silver bullet technology.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools have become Standard Operating Procedures for cyber security regimes. They are every CIO’s starting point, and there’s nothing wrong with this. In a recent study by Cymulate of over one million tests conducted by customers in 2021, the most popular testing vector was EDR.
Yet cyber security stakeholders should not assume that EDR is a silver bullet. The fact is that EDR’s efficacy and protective prowess as a standalone solution has been slowly diminished over the decade since the term was first coined by Gartner. Even as it became a mainstay of enterprise and SMB/SME security posture – attacks have skyrocketed in frequency, severity, and success. Today, EDR is facing some of its greatest challenges, including threats laser-targeting EDR systems like the highly-successful Grandoiero banking trojan.
While EDR should not be your only line of defence against advanced threats, including it in a defence solution array is paramount. It should be installed on all organisational servers – including Linux-based ones. Yet installation is not enough. Your organisation is at significant risk if the underlying OS and EDR are not both implemented and fine-tuned.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/11/edr-is-not-a-silver-bullet/
Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise
A report from Laceworks examines the cloud security threat landscape over the past three months and unveils the new techniques and avenues cyber criminals are exploiting for profit at the expense of businesses. In this latest edition, the Lacework Labs team found a significantly more sophisticated attacker landscape, with an increase in attacks against core networking and virtualisation software, and an unprecedented increase in the speed of attacks following a compromise. Key trends and threats identified include:
Increased speed from exposure to compromise: Attackers are advancing to keep pace with cloud adoption and response time. Many classes of attacks are now fully automated to capitalise on timing. Additionally, one of the most common targets is credential leakage. In a specific example from the report, a leaked AWS access key was caught and flagged by AWS in record time. Despite the limited exposure, an unknown adversary was able to log in and launch tens of GPU EC2 instances, underscoring just how quickly attackers can take advantage of a single simple mistake.
Increased focus on infrastructure, specifically attacks against core networking and virtualisation software: Commonly deployed core networking and related infrastructure consistently remains a key target for adversaries. Core flaws in infrastructure often appear suddenly and are shared openly online, creating opportunities for attackers of all kinds to exploit these potential targets.
Continued Log4j reconnaissance and exploitation: Nearly a year after the initial exploit, the Lacework Labs team is still commonly observing vulnerable software targeted via OAST requests. Analysis of Project Discovery (interact.sh) activity revealed Cloudflare and DigitalOcean as the top originators.
Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies
Among the many consequences of the rising number of costly data breaches, ransomware, and other security attacks are pricier premiums for cyber security insurance. The rise in costs could put many organisations out of the running for this essential coverage, a risky proposition given the current threat landscape.
Cyber insurance is a type of specialty insurance that protects organisations against a variety of risks related to information security attacks such as ransomware and data breaches. Ordinarily, these types of risks aren’t included with traditional commercial general liability policies or are not specifically defined in these insurance plans.
Given the rise in attacks, the growing sophistication of these incidents and the potential financial impact, having cyber insurance coverage has become critical for many organisations. Premiums for these plans have been on the rise because of the increase in security-related losses and rising demand for coverage.
Cyber insurance premiums increased by an average of 28% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), an association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries.
Among the primary drivers for the continued price increases were a reduced carrier appetite for the risk and high demand for coverage, CIAB said. The high demand for cyber coverage is in part fueled by greater awareness among companies of the threat cyber risk poses for businesses of all sizes, it said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/companies-are-finding-it-harder-to-get-cyber-insurance-.html
Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy
Listening and communicating to both the technical and business sides is critical to successfully leading IT teams and business leaders to the same end-goal.
Of all the crazy postings that advertise for CISO jobs, the one asking for a CISO to code in Python was probably the most outrageous example of the disconnect about a CISO’s role, says Joe Head, CISO search director at UK-based search firm, Intaso. This was a few years ago, and one can only guess that the role had been created by a technologist who didn’t care about or didn’t understand the business — or, inversely by a businessperson who didn’t understand enough about technology.
In either case, the disconnect is real. However, Head and other experts say that when it comes to achieving the true, executive role and reporting to the CEO and board, business skills rule. That doesn’t mean, however, that most CISOs know nothing about technology, because most still start out with technology backgrounds.
In the 2022 CISO survey by executive placement firm, Heidrick & Struggles, most CISOs come from a functional IT background that reflects the issues of the time. For example, in 2022 10% of CISOs came from software engineering backgrounds, which tracks with the White House directive to protect the software supply chain. The report notes that the majority of CISOs have experience in the financial services industry, which has a low risk tolerance and where more money is spent on security.
The survey also indicates that only a small core of CISOs (working primarily for the Fortune 500) rise to the executive level with the combination of business and technical responsibilities that come with the role. In it, more than two-thirds of CISOs responding to the survey worked for companies worth over $5 billion. So, instead of bashing a CISO’s lack of IT skills, the real need lies in developing business skills for the technologists coming up the ranks.
Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm
Modified off-the-shelf drones have been found carrying wireless network-intrusion kit in a very unlikely place.
The idea of using consumer-oriented drones for hacking has been explored over the past decade at security conferences like Black Hat 2016, in both the US and in Europe, but now these sort of attacks are actually taking place. A security researcher recently recounted an incident that occurred over the summer at a US East Coast financial firm focused on private investment.
The hacking incident was discovered when the financial firm spotted unusual activity on its internal Atlassian Confluence page that originated from within the company's network. The company's security team responded and found that the user whose MAC address was used to gain partial access to the company Wi-Fi network was also logged in at home several miles away. That is to say, the user was active off-site but someone within Wi-Fi range of the building was trying to wirelessly use that user's MAC address, which is a red flag. The team then took steps to trace the Wi-Fi signal and used a Fluke system to identify the Wi-Fi device.
This led the team to the roof, where two modified commercially available consumer drones series were discovered. One drone was in fine condition and had a modified Wi-Fi Pineapple device, used for network penetration testing. The second drone was carrying a case that contained a Raspberry Pi, several batteries, a GPD mini laptop, a 4G modem, and another Wi-Fi device. It had landed near the building's heating and ventilation system and appeared to be damaged but still operable.
During their investigation, they determined that the first drone had originally been used a few days prior to intercept a worker's credentials and Wi-Fi, and this data was then hard coded into the tools that were deployed on the second drone.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/drone-roof-attack/
Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users
A recent analysis shows that Magniber ransomware has been targeting home users by masquerading as software updates.
Reports have shown a ransomware campaign isolated by HP Wolf Security in September 2022 saw Magniber ransomware spread. The malware is known as a single-client ransomware family that demands $2,500 from victims. Magniber was previously primarily spread through MSI and EXE files, but in September 2022 HP Wolf Security began seeing campaigns distributing the ransomware in JavaScript files.
HP Wolf Security reported that some malware families rely exclusively on JavaScript, but have done so for some time. Currently, analysts are also seeing more HTML smuggling, such as with Qakbot and IcedID. This technique also makes use of JavaScript to decode malicious content. The only difference is that the HTML file is executed in the context of the browser and therefore usually requires further user interaction.
Remarkably, HP Wolf Security said, the attackers used clever techniques to evade detection, such as running the ransomware in memory, bypassing User Account Control (UAC) in Windows, and bypassing detection techniques that monitor user-mode hooks by using syscalls instead of standard Windows API libraries.
It appears that with the UAC bypass, the malware deletes the infected system’s shadow copy files and disables backup and recovery features, preventing the victim from recovering their data using Windows tools.
Having recently described the ransomware campaign in a recent interview, HP Wolf noted that the infection chain starts with a web download from an attacker-controlled website.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
More and more ransomware is just data theft, no encryption • The Register
Magniber ransomware now infects Windows users via JavaScript files (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fake adult sites push data wipers disguised as ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
It was LockBit that forced NHS tech supplier to shut down • The Register
Ransomware posing as Windows antivirus update will just empty your wallet | TechRadar
Microsoft: New Prestige ransomware targets orgs in Ukraine, Poland (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackByte ransomware uses new EDR evasion technique (techtarget.com)
Prevent Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure (trendmicro.com)
Microsoft Exchange servers hacked to deploy LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Harvard Business Publishing licensee hit by ransomware - Security Affairs
LockBit affiliates compromise Microsoft Exchange servers to deploy ransomware - Security Affairs
Police tricks DeadBolt ransomware out of 155 decryption keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Caffeine service lets anyone launch Microsoft 365 phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
A whole load of phishing emails make it past Microsoft Defender, researchers say | TechRadar
Google Forms abused in new COVID-19 phishing wave in the U.S. (bleepingcomputer.com)
US election workers hit with phishing, malware emails • The Register
Cyber criminals are having it easy with phishing-as-a-service - Help Net Security
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
How a Microsoft blunder opened millions of PCs to potent malware attacks | Ars Technica
Banks face their 'darkest hour' as crimeware powers up • The Register
Emotet Rises Again With More Sophistication, Evasion (darkreading.com)
QAKBOT Attacks Spike Amid Concerning Cyber Criminal Collaborations (darkreading.com)
Hackers behind IcedID malware attacks diversify delivery tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
Eternity threat group’s LilithBot: A criminal multitool • The Register
Here's another excellent reason not to browse adult websites at work | TechRadar
Experts analysed the evolution of the Emotet supply chain - Security Affairs
Mobile
Modified WhatsApp App Caught Infecting Android Devices with Malware (thehackernews.com)
Meta uncovers 400 malicious apps on Android and iOS apps | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg
Mullvad: Android may leak information when connected to a VPN - gHacks Tech News
Android Security Updates Patch Critical Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Hackers Using Vishing to Trick Victims into Installing Android Banking Malware (thehackernews.com)
Mystery iPhone update patches against iOS 16 mail crash-attack – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Client data exfiltrated in Advanced NHS cyber attack (digitalhealth.net)
Mormon Church data stolen in 'state-sponsored' cyber attack • The Register
2K Customer Data Stolen, Sold Online After Support Desk Scam (kotaku.com)
Toyota discloses data leak after access key exposed on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fast Company says Executive Board member info was not stolen in attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
State Bar of Georgia Confirms Data Breach Following Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com
Singtel's second unit faces cyber attack weeks after Optus data breach | Reuters
Zoetop pays $1.9m to settle customer data theft case • The Register
CommonSpirit Health IT still suffering after cyber attack • The Register
Over 80,000 DJI drone IDs exposed in data leak: Report (dronedj.com)
High-Value Targets: String of Aussie Telco Breaches Continues (darkreading.com)
Data of 380K patients compromised in hack of 13 anesthesia practices | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Australian police secret agents exposed in Colombian data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)
Toyota Reveals Data Leak of 300,000 Customers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
INTERPOL arrests ‘Black Axe’ cyber crime syndicate members (bleepingcomputer.com)
Caffeine Phishing-as-a-Service toolkit available in the underground - Security Affairs
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
North Korea's Crypto Hackers Are Paving the Road to Nuclear Armageddon - CNET
Fake Solana Phantom security updates push crypto-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Baby Al Capone' to pay $22m to SIM-swap crypto-heist victim • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Alternative payment methods are creating new fraud risks - Help Net Security
Prison inmate charged with $11m fraud via cell phone • The Register
Mastercard moves to protect ‘risky and frisky’ transactions • The Register
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
US airports' sites taken down in DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Encryption
Microsoft Office 365 uses insecure block ciphers • The Register
Microsoft Office 365 email encryption could expose message content (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
Training, Education and Awareness
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Backup and Recovery
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war has begun and the West must be ready | Evening Standard
Internet outages hit Ukraine following Russian missile strikes (bitdefender.com)
Seven 'Creepy' Backdoors Used by Lebanese Cyberspy Group in Israel Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Researchers Uncover Custom Backdoors and Spying Tools Used by Polonium Hackers (thehackernews.com)
We must tackle Europe’s winter cyber threats head-on – POLITICO
Researchers Detail Malicious Tools Used by Cyber Espionage Group Earth Aughisky (thehackernews.com)
‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg
SpaceX’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine back online after outages | Financial Times
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
German Cyber security Chief Accused of Russian Contact Faces Sacking - IT Security Guru
Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)
Extreme Networks admits sales to banned Russian arms maker • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
UK Spy Chief to Warn of 'Huge' China Tech Threat | SecurityWeek.Com
China’s attack motivations, tactics, and how CISOs can mitigate threats | CSO Online
China will manipulate new tech for global influence, warns GCHQ boss | Metro News
UK telcos legally required to remove Huawei equipment • The Register
Chinese-linked hackers targeted U.S. state legislature, researchers say - CyberScoop
New Chinese Malware Attack Framework Targets Windows, macOS, and Linux Systems (thehackernews.com)
UK to designate China a ‘threat’ in hawkish foreign policy shift | Foreign policy | The Guardian
WIP19, a new Chinese APT targets IT Service Providers and Telcos - Security Affairs
China-linked Budworm APT returns to target a US entity - Security Affairs
We must tackle China’s satellite-busting technology, says GCHQ chief | News | The Times
GCHQ boss: China could use Digital Yuan to swerve sanctions • The Register
Young people using TikTok is no problem, GCHQ chief says | TikTok | The Guardian
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Concerns Over Fortinet Flaw Mount; PoC Released, Exploit Activity Grows (darkreading.com)
Microsoft October 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used in attacks, 84 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Addresses Zero-Days, but Exchange Server Exploit Chain Remains Unpatched (darkreading.com)
Auth bypass bug in FortiOS, FortiProxy is exploited in the wild (CVE-2022-40684) - Help Net Security
Chrome 106 Update Patches Several High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Researchers Detail Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability Patched Last Month (thehackernews.com)
Almost 900 servers hacked using Zimbra zero-day flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Patch Tuesday: Critical Flaws in ColdFusion, Adobe Commerce | SecurityWeek.Com
Aruba fixes critical RCE and auth bypass flaws in EdgeConnect (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Vulnerability In Shortcodes Ultimate Impacts 700,000 Sites (searchenginejournal.com)
Critical Open Source vm2 Sandbox Escape Bug Affects Millions (darkreading.com)
VMware vCenter Server bug disclosed last year still not patched (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other News
Board members should make CISOs their strategic partners - Help Net Security
5 Attack Elements Every Organisations Should Be Monitoring (darkreading.com)
Ukraine’s Starlink problems show the dangers of digital dependency | Financial Times (ft.com)
Here's 5 of the world's riskiest connected devices - Help Net Security
Older, Stored Data Is Cyber Security Risk, Report Warns - MSSP Alert
What the Uber Breach Verdict Means for CISOs in the US (darkreading.com)
Increasing network visibility is critical to improving security posture - Help Net Security
What the Uber Hack can teach us about navigating IT Security (bleepingcomputer.com)
Consumers want more transparency on how companies manage their data - Help Net Security
Gaming Is Booming. That’s Catnip for Cyber criminals. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Fear of cyber criminals drives cyber security improvements - Help Net Security
The next Ford Mustang won’t be easy to tune; blame cyber security | Ars Technica
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 07 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 07 October 2022:
-Russian Sanctions Instigator Lloyd's Possibly Hit by Cyber Attack
-Former Uber Security Chief Convicted of Covering Up Data Breach
-First 72 Hours of Incident Response Critical to Taming Cyber Attack Chaos
-Email Defences Under Siege: Phishing Attacks Dramatically Improve
-Remote Services Are Becoming an Attractive Target for Ransomware
-Growing Reliance on Cloud Brings New Security Challenges
-Many IT Pros Don’t Think a Ransomware Attack Can Impact Microsoft 365 Data
-Ransomware Group Bypasses "Enormous" Range of EDR Tools
-MS Exchange Zero-Days: The Calm Before the Storm?
-Average Company with Data in the Cloud Faces $28 Million in Data-Breach Risk
-Secureworks Finds Network Intruders See Little Resistance
-Regulations, Laws and Accountability are Changing the Cyber Security Landscape
-This Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Russian Sanctions Instigator Lloyd's Possibly Hit by Cyber Attack
Lloyd’s of London, the London-based insurance market heavily involved in implementing sanctions against Russia, may have been hit by a cyber-attack. On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the British insurance market revealed it had detected “unusual activity” on its systems and has turned off all external connectivity “as a precautionary measure.”
“We have informed market participants and relevant parties, and we will provide more information once our investigations have concluded,” said a Lloyd’s spokesperson.
The company did not comment on whether or not it has been contacted by hackers, if a ransom demand has been issued, or on the possible source of the attack.
However, the insurance market has been closely involved with the design and implementation of sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine – a potential motive for the attack. Lloyd’s itself has confirmed it was working closely with British and international governments to implement such sanctions.
Around 100 insurance syndicates operate at Lloyd's.
Earlier in 2022, Lloyd’s instructed its 76 insurance syndicates to remove “nation-state-backed cyber attacks” from insurance policies by March 2023, as well as losses “arising from a war.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/lloyds-possibly-hit-by-cyberattack/
Former Uber Security Chief Convicted of Covering Up Data Breach
Uber’s former head of security has been convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the rideshare giant, hiding details from US regulators and paying off a pair of hackers in return for their discretion.
The trial, closely watched in cyber security circles, is believed to be the first criminal prosecution of a company executive over the handling of a data breach.
Joe Sullivan, who was fired in 2017 over the incident, was found guilty by a San Francisco jury of obstructing an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. At the time of the 2016 breach, the regulator had been investigating the car-booking service over a different cyber security lapse that had occurred two years earlier.
Jurors also convicted Sullivan of a second count related to having knowledge of but failing to report the 2016 breach to the appropriate government authorities. The incident eventually became public in 2017 when Dara Khosrowshahi, who had just taken over as chief executive, disclosed details of the attack.
Prosecutors said Sullivan had taken steps to make sure data compromised in the attack would not be revealed. According to court documents, two hackers approached Sullivan’s team to notify Uber of a security flaw that exposed the personal information of almost 60mn drivers and riders on the platform.
https://www.ft.com/content/051af6a1-41d1-4a6c-9e5a-d23d46b2a9c9
First 72 Hours of Incident Response Critical to Taming Cyber Attack Chaos
Cyber security professionals tasked with responding to attacks experience stress, burnout, and mental health issues that are exacerbated by a lack of breach preparedness and sufficient incident response practice in their organisations.
A new IBM Security-sponsored survey published this week found that two-thirds (67%) of incident responders suffer stress and anxiety during at least some of their engagements, while 44% have sacrificed the well-being of their relationships, and 42% have suffered burnout, according to the survey conducted by Morning Consult. In addition, 68% of incidents responders often have to work on two or more incidents at the same time, increasing their stress, according to the survey's results.
Companies that plan and practice responding to a variety of incidents can lower the stress levels of their incident responders, employees, and executives, says John Dwyer, head of research for IBM Security's X-Force response team.
"Organisations are not effectively establishing their response strategies with the responders in mind — it does not need to be as stressful as it is," he says. "There is a lot of time when the responders are managing organisations during an incident, because those organisations were not prepared for the crisis that occurs. These attacks happen every day."
The IBM Security-funded study underscores why the cyber security community has focused increasingly on the mental health of its members. About half (51%) of cyber security defenders have suffered burnout or extreme stress in the past year, according to a VMware survey released in August 2021. Cyber security executives have also spotlighted the issue as one that affects the community and companies' ability to retain skilled workers.
Email Defences Under Siege: Phishing Attacks Dramatically Improve
This week's report that cyber attackers are laser-focused on crafting attacks specialised to bypass Microsoft's default security showcases an alarming evolution in phishing tactics, security experts said this week.
Threat actors are getting better at slipping phishing attacks through the weak spots in platform email defences, using a variety of techniques, such as zero-point font obfuscation, hiding behind cloud-messaging services, and delaying payload activation, for instance. They're also doing more targeting and research on victims.
As a result, nearly 1 in 5 phishing emails (18.8%) bypassed Microsoft's platform defences and landed in workers' inboxes in 2022, a rate that increased 74% compared to 2020, according to research published by cyber security firm Check Point Software. Attackers increasingly used techniques to pass security checks, such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and obfuscate functional components of an e-mail, such as using zero-size fonts or hiding malicious URLs from analysis.
The increasing capabilities of attackers is due to the better understanding of current defences, says Avanan, an email security firm acquired by Check Point in August 2021.
"It is a family of 10 to 20 techniques, but they all lead to the objective of deceiving a company's security layers," he says. "The end result is always an email that looks genuine to the recipient but looks different to the algorithm that analyses the content."
Microsoft declined to comment on the research. However, the company has warned of advanced techniques, such as adversary-in-the-middle phishing (AiTM), which uses a custom URL to place a proxy server between a victim and their desired site, allowing the attacker to capture sensitive data, such as usernames and passwords. In July, the company warned that more than 10,000 organisations had been targeted during one AiTM campaign.
Remote Services Are Becoming an Attractive Target for Ransomware
Stolen credentials are no longer the number one initial access vector for ransomware operators looking to infect a target network and its endpoints - instead, they’ve become more interested in exploiting vulnerabilities found in internet-facing systems.
A report from Secureworks claims ransomware-as-a-service developers are quick to add newly discovered vulnerabilities into their arsenals, allowing even less competent hackers to exploit them swiftly, and with relative ease.
In fact, the company's annual State of the Threat Report reveals that flaw exploitation in remote services accounted for 52% of all ransomware incidents the company analysed over the last 12 months.
Besides remote services, Secureworks also spotted a 150% increase in the use of infostealers, which became a “key precursor” to ransomware. Both these factors, the report stresses, kept ransomware as the number one threat for businesses of all sizes, “who must fight to stay abreast of the demands of new vulnerability prioritisation and patching”.
All things considered, ransomware is still the biggest threat for businesses. It takes up almost a quarter of all attacks that were reported in the last 12 months, Secureworks says, and despite law enforcement being actively involved, operators remained highly active.
https://www.techradar.com/news/remote-services-are-becoming-an-attractive-target-for-ransomware
Growing Reliance on Cloud Brings New Security Challenges
There was a time when cloud was just a small subset of IT infrastructure, and cloud security referred to a very specific set of tasks. The current reality is very different, organisations are heavily dependent on cloud technologies and cloud security has become a much more complex endeavour.
Organisations increasingly rely on the cloud to deliver new applications, reduce costs, and support business operations. One in every four organisations already have majority workloads in the cloud, and 44% of workloads currently run in some form of public cloud, says Omdia, a research and advisory group.
Practically every midsize and large organisation now operates in some kind of a hybrid cloud environment, with a mix of cloud and on-premises systems. For most organisations, software-as-a-service constitute the bulk (80%) of their cloud environments, followed by infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service deployments.
In the past, cloud security conversations tended to focus on making sure cloud environments are being configured properly, but cloud security nowadays goes far beyond just configuration management. The sprawling cloud environment means security management has to be centralised, Omdia said. Security functions also need to be integrated into existing application deployment workflows.
On top of all of this, multicloud is becoming more common among organisations as they shift their workloads to avoid being dependent on a single platform. The three major cloud providers – Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform – account for 65% of the cloud market.
https://www.darkreading.com/dr-tech/growing-reliance-on-cloud-brings-new-security-challenges
Many IT Pros Don’t Think a Ransomware Attack Can Impact Microsoft 365 Data
The 2022 Ransomware Report, which surveyed over 2,000 IT leaders, revealed that 24% have been victims of a ransomware attack, with 20% of attacks happening in the last year.
Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year’s ransomware survey revealed that 21% of companies experienced an attack. This year it rose by three percent to 24%.
“Attacks on businesses are increasing, and there is a shocking lack of awareness and preparation by IT pros. Our survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security. As bad actors develop new techniques, companies like ours have to do what it takes to come out ahead and protect businesses around the world,” said Hornetsecurity.
The report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. 25% of IT professionals either don’t know or don’t think that Microsoft 365 data can be impacted by a ransomware attack.
Just as worryingly, 40% of IT professionals that use Microsoft 365 in their organisation admitted they do not have a recovery plan in case their Microsoft 365 data was compromised by a ransomware attack.
“Microsoft 365 is vulnerable to phishing attacks and ransomware attacks, but with the help of third-party tools, IT admins can backup their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks,” said Hofmann.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ransomware-attack-impact-microsoft-365-data/
Ransomware Group Bypasses "Enormous" Range of EDR Tools
A notorious ransomware group has been spotted leveraging sophisticated techniques to bypass endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools.
BlackByte, which the US government has said poses a serious threat to critical infrastructure, used a “Bring Your Own Driver” technique to circumvent over 1000 drivers used by commercially available EDR products, according to Sophos. The UK cyber security vendor explained in a new report that the group had exploited a known vulnerability, CVE-2019-16098, in Windows graphics utility driver RTCorec6.sys. This enabled it to communicate directly with a victim system’s kernel and issue commands to disable callback routines used by EDR tools.
The group also used EDR bypass techniques borrowed from open source tool EDRSandblast to deactivate the Microsoft-Windows-Threat-Intelligence ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) provider. This is a Windows feature “that provides logs about the use of commonly maliciously abused API calls such as NtReadVirtualMemory to inject into another process’s memory,” explained Sophos. Neutralising it in this way renders any security tool relying on the feature also useless, the firm argued.
“If you think of computers as a fortress, for many EDR providers, ETW is the guard at the front gate,” said Sophos. “If the guard goes down, then that leaves the rest of the system extremely vulnerable. And, because ETW is used by so many different providers, BlackByte’s pool of potential targets for deploying this EDR bypass is enormous.”
BlackByte is not the only ransomware group using these advanced techniques to get around existing detection tools, illustrating the continued arms race between attackers and defenders. AvosLocker used a similar method in May, Sophos said. “Anecdotally, from what we’re seeing in the field, it does appear that EDR bypass is becoming a more popular technique for ransomware threat groups,” the firm confirmed. “This is not surprising. Threat actors often leverage tools and techniques developed by the ‘offensive security’ industry to launch attacks faster and with minimal effort.”
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-bypasses-enormous-range/
MS Exchange Zero-Days: The Calm Before the Storm?
Two exploited MS Exchange zero-days that still have no official fix, have been added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog.
But mitigating the risk of exploitation until patches are ready will require patience and doggedness, as Microsoft is still revising its advice to admins and network defenders, and still working on the patches.
The two vulnerabilities were publicly documented last Wednesday, by researchers with Vietnamese company GTSC, and Microsoft soon after sprung into (discernible) action by offering customer guidance, followed by an analysis of the attacks exploiting the two vulnerabilities. Several changes have been made to the documents since then, after the company found and other researchers pointed out several shortcomings.
Microsoft says its threat analysts observed “activity related to a single activity group in August 2022 that achieved initial access and compromised Exchange servers by chaining CVE-2022-41040 and CVE-2022-41082 in a small number of targeted attacks,” and that the attackers breached fewer than 10 organisations globally. “MSTIC assesses with medium confidence that the single activity group is likely to be a state-sponsored organisation,” they added.
The other good news is there are still no public exploits for the two vulnerabilities. But, Microsoft says, “Prior Exchange vulnerabilities that require authentication have been adopted into the toolkits of attackers who deploy ransomware, and these vulnerabilities are likely to be included in similar attacks due to the highly privileged access Exchange systems confer onto an attacker.”
Enterprise defenders should expect trouble via this attack path in the near future, it seems, so keeping abreast of the changing situation and springing into action as quickly as possible once the patches are made available is advised. Scammers have since started impersonating security researchers and offering non-existing PoC exploits for CVE-2022-41082 for sale via GitHub
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ms-exchange-cve-2022-41040-cve-2022-41082/
Average Company with Data in the Cloud Faces $28 Million in Data-Breach Risk
Hard-to-control collaboration, complex SaaS permissions, and risky misconfigurations — such as admin accounts without multi-factor authentication (MFA) — have left a dangerous amount of cloud data exposed to insider threats and cyber attacks, according to Varonis.
For the report, researchers analysed nearly 10 billion cloud objects (more than 15 petabytes of data) across a random sample of data risk assessments performed at more than 700 companies worldwide. In the average company, 157,000 sensitive records are exposed to everyone on the internet by SaaS sharing features, representing $28 million in data-breach risk, Varonis researchers have found.
One out of every 10 records in the cloud is exposed to all employees — creating an impossibly large internal blast radius, which maximises damage during a ransomware attack. The average company has 4,468 user accounts without MFA enabled, making it easier for attackers to compromise internally exposed data.
Out of 33 super admin accounts in the average organisation, more than half did not have MFA enabled. This makes it easier for attackers to compromise these powerful accounts, steal more data, and create backdoors. Companies have more than 40 million unique permissions across SaaS applications, creating a nightmare for IT and security teams responsible for managing and reducing cloud data risk.
“Cloud security shouldn’t be taken for granted. When security teams lack critical visibility to manage and protect SaaS and IaaS apps and services, it’s nearly impossible to ensure your data isn’t walking out the door,” said Varonis. “This report is a true-to-life picture of over 700 real-world risk assessments of production SaaS environments. The results underscore the urgent need for CISOs to uncover and remediate their cloud risk as quickly as possible.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/05/company-data-breach-risk/
Secureworks Finds Network Intruders See Little Resistance
Attackers who break into networks only need to take a few basic measures in order to avoid detection.
Security vendor Secureworks said in its annual State of the Threat report that it observed several data breaches between June 2021 and June 2022 and found that, by and large, once network intruders gained a foothold on the targets' environment, they had to do relatively little to stay concealed.
"One thing that is notable about them is that none of these techniques are particularly sophisticated," the vendor said. "That is because threat actors do not need them to be; the adversary will only innovate enough to achieve their objectives. So there is a direct relationship between the maturity of the controls in a target environment and the techniques they employ to bypass those controls."
Among the more basic measures taken by the attackers was coding their tools in newer languages such as Go or Rust. This tweak created enough of a difference in the software to evade signature-checking tools, according to Secureworks' report. In other cases, the network intruders hid their activity by packing their malware within a trusted Windows installer or by sneaking it into the Authenticode signature of a trusted DLL. In another case, a malware infection was seen moving data out of the victim's network via TOR nodes. While effective, Secureworks said the techniques are hardly innovative. Rather, they indicate that threat actors find themselves only needing to do the bare minimum to conceal themselves from detection.
Regulations, Laws and Accountability are Changing the Cyber Security Landscape
As cyber criminals continue to develop new ways to wreak havoc, regulators have been working to catch up. They aim to protect data and consumers while avoiding nation-state attacks that are a risk to national and economic security. But some of these regulations may provide an opportunity for MSSPs.
Some of these regulations are a response to what’s generally been a hands-off approach to telling organisations what to do. Unfortunately, cyber security isn’t always prioritised when budgets and resources are allocated. The result is a steadily rising tide of breaches and exploits that have held organisations hostage and made private information available on the dark web.
The new regulations are coming from all directions: at the state and federal levels in the US and around the world. While many of these regulations aren’t yet final, there’s no reason not to start aligning with where trends will ease the impact of changing rules. At the same time, many organisations want to hold the government responsible for some kinds of attacks. It will be interesting to see how regulating works, as most politicians and bureaucrats aren’t known for their technological savvy.
In the US, for example, new regulations are in development in the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Thirty-six states have enacted cyber security legislation, and the count increases as other countries join.
One of the motivating factors for all these new regulations is that most cyber attacks aren’t reported. Lawmakers realise cyber security threats continue to be one of the top national security and economic risks. In the last year and a half (2020-2022), there have been attacks on America’s gas supply, meat supply, and various other companies, courts, and government agencies. One FBI cyber security official estimated the government only learns about 20% to 25% of intrusions at US business and academic institutions.
In March, Congress passed legislation requiring critical infrastructure operators to report significant cyber attacks to CISA within 72 hours of learning about the attack. It also required them to report a ransomware payment within 24 hours. These regulations will also consider reporting “near misses” so that this data can also be studied and tracked. The problem is, how does one define a “near miss”?
This Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats
OpenText announced the Nastiest Malware of 2022, a ranking of the year’s biggest cyber threats. For the fifth year running, experts combed through the data, analysed different behaviours, and determined which malicious payloads are the nastiest.
Emotet regained its place at the top, reminding the world that while affiliates may be taken down, the masterminds are resilient. LockBit evolved its tactics into something never seen before: triple extortion. Analysis also revealed an almost 1100% increase in phishing during the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, indicating a possible end to the “hacker holiday,” a hacker rest period following the busy holiday season.
“The key takeaway from this year’s findings is that malware remains centre stage in the threats posed towards individuals, businesses, and governments,” said OpenText.
“Cyber criminals continue to evolve their tactics, leaving the infosec community in a constant state of catch-up. With the mainstream adoption of ransomware payloads and cryptocurrency facilitating payments, the battle will continue. No person, no business—regardless of size—is immune to these threats.”
While this year’s list may designate payloads into different categories of malware, it’s important to note many of these bad actor groups contract work from others. This allows each group to specialise in their respective payload and perfect it.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/06/2022-nastiest-malware/
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Ransomware Attacks On The Rise, Secureworks Reveals in its State of the Threat Report - MSSP Alert
Ransomware: This is how half of attacks begin, and this is how you can stop them | ZDNET
Fake adult sites push data wipers disguised as ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackByte ransomware abuses legit driver to disable security products (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware attacks ravage schools, municipal governments (techtarget.com)
More and more ransomware is just data theft, no encryption • The Register
Netwalker ransomware affiliate sentenced to 20 years in prison (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs
ADATA denies RansomHouse cyber attack, says leaked data from 2021 breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Avast releases a free decryptor for some Hades ransomware variants - Security Affairs
Cyber criminals Leak LA School Data After It Refuses to Ransom (vice.com)
How Ransomware Is Causing Chaos in American Schools (vice.com)
Ransomware hunters: the self-taught tech geniuses fighting cyber crime | Cyber crime | The Guardian
BEC – Business Email Compromise
BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Callback phishing attacks evolve their social engineering tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
3 ways enterprises can mitigate social engineering risks - Help Net Security
Malware
OpenText Releases List Of The Year’s “Nastiest” Malware - MSSP Alert
This devious malware is able to disable your antivirus | TechRadar
Bumblebee Malware Loader's Payloads Significantly Vary by Victim System (darkreading.com)
Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
NullMixer Dropper Delivers a Multimalware Code Bomb (darkreading.com)
Maggie malware already infected over 250 Microsoft SQL servers - Security Affairs
Mobile
Internet of Things – IoT
7 IoT Devices That Make Security Pros Cringe (darkreading.com)
Ikea Smart Light System Flaw Lets Attackers Turn Bulbs on Full Blast (darkreading.com)
Acronis founder is afraid of his own vacuum cleaner • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
“Egypt Leaks” – Hacktivists are Leaking Financial Data - Security Affairs
No Shangri-La for you: Top hotel chain confirms data leak • The Register
NSA: Someone hacked military contractor and stole data • The Register
City of Tucson discloses data breach affecting over 123,000 people (bleepingcomputer.com)
Optus Says ID Numbers of 2.1 Million Compromised in Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com
Aussie Telco Telstra Breached, Reportedly Exposing 30,000 Employees' Data (darkreading.com)
2K warns users their info has been stolen following breach of its help desk | Ars Technica
Russian retail chain 'DNS' confirms hack after data leaked online (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Breaking: Scams Linked To Crypto Soared By 335% (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Hacker steals $566 million worth of crypto from Binance Bridge (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Binance Says $100 Million Stolen in Latest Crypto Hack (gizmodo.com)
Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Meta sues app dev for stealing over 1 million WhatsApp accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft publishes report on holistic insider risk management - Microsoft Security Blog
Unearth offboarding risks before your employees say goodbye - Help Net Security
Splunk alleges source code theft by former employee • The Register
Ex-NSA Employee Arrested for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to a Foreign Government (thehackernews.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Consumers Feel Hopeless in Protecting Themselves Against Cyber crime, ISACA Reports - MSSP Alert
BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg
Russians dodging mobilization behind flourishing scam market (bleepingcomputer.com)
Scammers and rogue callers – can anything ever stop them? – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Online romance scam boss netted $9.5m, jailed for 25 years • The Register
Deepfakes
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain Attack Targets Customer Engagement Firm Comm100 | SecurityWeek.Com
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud/SaaS
Encryption
API
More Than 30% of All Malicious Attacks Target Shadow APIs (darkreading.com)
APIs are quickly becoming the most popular attack vector - Help Net Security
The Problem of API Security and How To Fix It (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
API authentication failures demonstrate the need for zero trust - Help Net Security
Shadow APIs hit with 5 billion malicious requests - Help Net Security
Open Source
When transparency is also obscurity: The conundrum that is open-source security - Help Net Security
How Secure is Using Open Source Components? - IT Security Guru
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Microsoft warns Basic Auth users over password spray attacks • The Register
Is mandatory password expiration helping or hurting your password security? - Help Net Security
Detecting and preventing LSASS credential dumping attacks - Microsoft Security Blog
Meta Says It Has Busted More Than 400 Login-Stealing Apps This Year | WIRED
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Secure Disposal
Backup and Recovery
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Relentless Russian Cyber attacks on Ukraine Raise Important Policy Questions (darkreading.com)
Finnish intelligence warns of Russia's cyber espionage activities - Security Affairs
Kazakhstan Pins Wave Of Cyber attacks On Foreign Actors | OilPrice.com
Albania weighed invoking NATO’s Article 5 over Iranian cyber attack - POLITICO
We breached Russian satellite network, say pro-Ukraine partisans | Cybernews
Ukrainian forces report Starlink outages during push against Russia | Financial Times (ft.com)
Report: Mexico Continued to Use Spyware Against Activists | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – China
US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register
Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Vulnerabilities
Fortinet warns admins to patch critical auth bypass bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)
Atlassian, Microsoft bugs make CISA’s must-patch list • The Register
US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register
October 2022 Patch Tuesday forecast: Looking for treats, not more tricks - Help Net Security
Fake Microsoft Exchange ProxyNotShell exploits for sale on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Warns of Attacks Exploiting Recent Atlassian Bitbucket Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com
No fix in sight for mile-wide loophole plaguing a key Windows defence for years | Ars Technica
Hackers Exploiting Unpatched RCE Flaw in Zimbra Collaboration Suite (thehackernews.com)
Lazarus employed an exploit in a Dell firmware driver in recent attacks - Security Affairs
Unpatched Zimbra flaw under attack is letting hackers backdoor servers | Ars Technica
macOS Archive Utility Bug Lets Malicious Apps Bypass Security Checks (darkreading.com)
Fortinet Warns of New Auth Bypass Flaw Affecting FortiGate and FortiProxy (thehackernews.com)
VMware fixed a high-severity bug in vCenter Server - Security Affairs
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Guilty verdict in the Uber breach case makes personal liability real for CISOs | CSO Online
Cyber attackers view smaller organisations as easier targets - Help Net Security
Moody's turns up the heat on 'riskiest' sectors for attacks • The Register
5 reasons why security operations are getting harder | CSO Online
Former NSA Employee Faces Death Penalty for Selling Secrets (darkreading.com)
Fast Company Is Back From the Dead After Being Hacked (gizmodo.com)
Ready Or Not, Web 3 Is Coming And With It Comes Cybersquatting 2.0 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Cyber Hygiene: 5 Best Practices for Company Buy-In (trendmicro.com)
School Is in Session: 5 Lessons for Future Cyber Security Pros (darkreading.com)
Want More Secure Software? Start Recognizing Security-Skilled Developers (thehackernews.com)
Incident responders increasingly seek out mental health assistance - Help Net Security
You Are Not Alone If You're Unclear About Extended Detection and Response (XDR) - MSSP Alert
Why digital trust is the bedrock of business relationships - Help Net Security
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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 12 August 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 August 2022
-Three Ransomware Gangs Consecutively Attacked the Same Network
-As The Cost of Cyber Insurance Rises, The Number of Organisations Who Can’t Afford It Is Set to Double
-Identity Cyber Attacks, Microsoft 365 Dominate Cybersecurity Incidents, Expel Research Finds
-Exploit Activity Surges 150% in Q2 Thanks to Log4Shell
-Ransomware Is Not Going Anywhere: Attacks Are Up 24%
-Email Is the Single Biggest Threat to Businesses, And Here’s What You Can Do About It
-Realtek SDK Vulnerability Exposes Routers from Many Vendors to Remote Attacks
-Most Companies Are at An Entry-Level When It Comes to Cloud Security
-The Impact of Exploitable Misconfigurations on Network Security
-Industrial Spy Ransomware: New Threat Group Emerges to Exfiltrate Data, Extort Victims
-UK NHS Service Recovery May Take a Month After MSP Ransomware Attack
-A Single Flaw Broke Every Layer of Security in MacOS
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
Three Ransomware Gangs Consecutively Attacked the Same Network
Hive, LockBit and BlackCat, three prominent ransomware gangs, consecutively attacked the same network, according to Sophos. The first two attacks took place within two hours, and the third attack took place two weeks later. Each ransomware gang left its own ransom demand, and some of the files were triple encrypted.
It’s bad enough to get one ransomware note, let alone three. Multiple attackers create a whole new level of complexity for recovery, particularly when network files are triple encrypted. Cyber security that includes prevention, detection and response is critical for organisations of any size and type—no business is immune.
The “Multiple Attackers: A Clear and Present Danger” whitepaper further outlines additional cases of overlapping cyber attacks, including cryptominers, remote access trojans (RATs) and bots. In the past, when multiple attackers have targeted the same system, the attacks usually occurred across many months or multiple years. The attacks described in Sophos’ whitepaper took place within days or weeks of each other—and, in one case, simultaneously—often with the different attackers accessing a target’s network through the same vulnerable entry point.
Typically, criminal groups compete for resources, making it more difficult for multiple attackers to operate simultaneously. Cryptominers normally kill their competitors on the same system, and today’s RATs often highlight bot killing as a feature on criminal forums. However, in the attack involving the three ransomware groups, for example, BlackCat—the last ransomware group on the system—not only deleted traces of its own activity, but also deleted the activity of LockBit and Hive.
In another case, a system was infected by LockBit ransomware. Then, about three months later, members of Karakurt Team, a group with reported ties to Conti, was able to leverage the backdoor LockBit created to steal data and hold it for ransom.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/09/ransomware-gangs-attacks/
As The Cost of Cyber Insurance Rises, The Number of Organisations Who Can’t Afford It Is Set to Double
The number of organisations that will be either unable to afford cyber insurance, be declined cover, or experience significant coverage limitations is set to double in 2023, according to Huntsman Security.
Even for those insured, the perfect storm of ongoing attacks, tightening regulations and growing financial pressures is making it more likely that any attack on an organisation will leave it exposed.
Factors like the supply chain crisis, inflation and skill shortages are all adding to the difficulty for organisations trying to execute on their cyber security strategy. At the same time, increases in insurance premiums, limits on coverage, increasing underwriting rigour, and capacity constraints are all limiting the accessibility of cyber insurance, for many.
Loss ratios will not improve until premium incomes better match the current level of pay-outs. With this reduced insurance access alongside increasing cyber threats and tightening regulations, many organisations are losing cyber insurance as an important risk management tool. Even those who can still get insurance are paying a prohibitively high cost.
With a third of UK firms subject to cyber attacks at least once a week, cyber insurance as part of overall risk management is crucial. To bridge this accessibility gap insurers are seeking to improve the quality of risk information, so premiums better reflect the true cost of that risk. Unless organisations can demonstrate they have insurers’ specified controls in place to manage their security risks, insurers will continue to have difficulty quantifying that risk. It’s for these reasons that insurers have changed the basis upon which their products are offered to reflect the risk being underwritten more accurately.
In this environment, improving and demonstrating the effectiveness of security controls will now be essential: both for organisations looking to improve their cyber resilience and oversight while enhancing their eligibility for insurers, and for insurers who need to minimise their own exposure by ensuring the accuracy of their risk pricing process.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/11/afford-cyber-insurance/
Identity Cyber Attacks, Microsoft 365 Dominate Cyber Security Incidents, Expel Research Finds
Identity-based cyber attacks (including credential theft, credential abuse and long-term access key theft) accounted for 56% of all incidents in Q2 of 2022, and Microsoft 365 remained the prime target for SaaS attacks, according to Expel’s Quarterly Threat Report.
Among the key findings:
Business email compromise (BEC) and business application compromise (BAC) access to application data represented 51% of all incidents.
Identity-based attacks in popular cloud environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounted for 5%.
Ransomware groups change tactics, with threat groups and their affiliates all but abandoning the use of Visual Basic for Application (VBA) macros and Excel 4.0 macros to gain initial entry to Windows-based environments. In Q1, a macro-enabled Microsoft Word document (VBA macro) or Excel 4.0 macro was the initial attack vector in 55% of all pre-ransomware incidents. In Q2, that figure fell sharply to 9%. Instead, ransomware operators opted to use disk image (ISO), short-cut (LNK) and HTML application (HTA) files to gain initial entry.
Cloud attacks are becoming more sophisticated, with 14% of identity attacks against cloud identity providers tackling the multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirement by continuously sending push notifications.
Microsoft 365 is a common threat target, with BEC in Microsoft Office 365 (O365) remaining the top threat to organisations in Q2. 45% of all Q2 incidents were BEC attempts in O365. No BEC attempts were identified in Google Workspaces. 19% of BEC attempts bypassed MFA in O365 using legacy protocols, a 16% increase of compared to Q1.
Exploit Activity Surges 150% in Q2 Thanks to Log4Shell
Detections of malware events, botnet activity and exploits all increased significantly in the second quarter of 2022, according to new data from Nuspire.
The managed security services provider (MSSP) gathered the data from its endpoint detection and response (EDR) and managed detection and response (MDR) tools to produce its Q2 2022 Quarterly Threat Report.
The company recorded an increase in malware events of over 25%, a doubling of botnet detections and a rise in exploit activity of 150% versus the first quarter.
Botnet activity in particular surged towards the end of Q2, thanks to the Torpig Mebroot botnet – a banking trojan designed to scrape credit card and payment information from infected devices, the report revealed. Nuspire claimed it is particularly difficult to detect and remove, because it targets a machine’s master boot record.
It attributed much of the surge in exploit activity to the persistent threat posed by the Log4j bugs discovered at the end of December 2021. At the time, experts warned that the ubiquity of the utility, and the difficulty many organisations have in finding all instances of the CVE due to complex Java dependencies, means it may be exploited for years.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/exploit-activity-150-q2-log4shell/
Ransomware Is Not Going Anywhere: Attacks Are Up 24%
Avast released a report revealing a significant increase in global ransomware attacks, up 24% from Q1/2022. Researchers also uncovered a new zero-day exploit in Chrome, as well as signals of how cyber criminals are preparing to move away from macros as an infection vector.
After months of decline, global ransomware attacks increased significantly in Q2/2022, up 24% from the previous quarter. The highest quarter-on-quarter increases in ransomware risk ratio occurred in Argentina (+56%), UK (+55%), Brazil (+50%), France (+42%), and India (+37%).
Businesses and consumers should be on guard and prepared for encounters with ransomware, as the threat is not going anywhere anytime soon.
The decline in ransomware attacks observed in Q4/2021 and Q1/2022 were thanks to law enforcement agencies busting ransomware group members, and caused by the war in Ukraine, which also led to disagreements within the Conti ransomware group, halting their operations. Things dramatically changed in Q2/2022. Conti members have now branched off to create new ransomware groups, like Black Basta and Karakurt, or may join other existing groups, like Hive, BlackCat, or Quantum, causing an uptick in activity.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/12/increase-ransomware-attacks/
Email Is the Single Biggest Threat to Businesses, And Here’s What You Can Do About It
Email remains one of the most popular methods of communication, particularly for business communications. There were 316.9 billion emails sent and received every day in 2021, and this is set to increase to 376.4 billion by 2025. But despite the scale of its use and how much people exchange confidential information over email, it is not a secure system by design.
Consequently, email is a major attack vector for organisations of all sizes. Deloitte found that 91% of all cyber attacks originate from a phishing email (an email that attempts to steal money, identity or personal information through a spoof website link that looks legitimate). The cost to organisations can be catastrophic with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reporting in August 2021 that phishing email attacks had cost UK organisations more than £5 million in the past 13 months.
It’s not enough for individuals to create complex passwords or rely on the security services of their email provider. Spam filters are not enough to stop malicious emails creeping into inboxes. Fortunately, safeguarding your emails with enterprise-grade email security doesn’t have to cost the earth or be hard to integrate so businesses of any size can protect themselves.
Realtek SDK Vulnerability Exposes Routers from Many Vendors to Remote Attacks
A serious vulnerability affecting the embedded Configurable Operating System (eCos) software development kit (SDK) made by Taiwanese semiconductor company Realtek could expose the networking devices of many vendors to remote attacks.
The security hole, tracked as CVE-2022-27255 and rated ‘high severity’, has been described as a stack-based buffer overflow that can allow a remote attacker to cause a crash or achieve arbitrary code execution on devices that use the SDK. An attack can be carried out through the wide area network (WAN) interface using specially crafted session initiation protocol (SIP) packets.
The Realtek eCos SDK is provided to companies that manufacture routers, access points and repeaters powered by RTL819x family SoCs. The SDK implements the base functionalities of the router, including the web administration interface and the networking stack. Vendors can build on top of this SDK to add custom functionality and their branding to the device.
Realtek informed customers about the eCos SDK vulnerability in March, when it announced the availability of a patch. However, it’s up to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) using the SDK to ensure that the patch is distributed to end-user devices.
The vulnerability can be exploited remotely — directly from the internet — to hack affected routers running with default settings. No user interaction is required for successful exploitation.
https://www.securityweek.com/realtek-sdk-vulnerability-exposes-routers-many-vendors-remote-attacks
Most Companies Are at An Entry-Level When It Comes to Cloud Security
Ermetic released a study by Osterman Research that found 84% of respondents were at an entry-level (one or two rating, with four being the highest) in terms of their cloud security capabilities.
The study found that only 16% ranked on the Ermetic Cloud Security Model at the top two levels, and 80% of companies said they lack a dedicated security team responsible for protecting cloud resources from threats.
“One of the most unexpected findings that emerged from this study was the lack of cloud security maturity among the largest enterprises surveyed,” said the author of the report. “Less than 10% of companies with more than 10,000 employees reported being at the top two maturity levels, while nearly 20% of smaller enterprises have achieved repeatable or automated & integrated cloud security capabilities.”
The report shows why new cloud data breaches are being reported all the time. Multi-cloud deployments, plus low investment in security, does not make for a good combination.
The new frontiers of cyber security, such as cloud security or internet of things (IoT) security are often at early stages of maturity. Organisations that are mature in their IT and data centre security are already overwhelmed and stretched thin and that’s why automation and simplification will help organisations accelerate their maturity in areas like cloud security.
There’s a mistaken belief that cloud computing environments inherently have security built-in — they don’t.
The Impact of Exploitable Misconfigurations on Network Security
Network professionals feel confident with their security and compliance practices but data suggests that they also leave their organisations open to risk, which is costing a significant amount of revenue, according to Titania.
In addition, some businesses are not minimising their attack surface effectively. Companies are prioritising firewall security and chronicle a fast time to respond to misconfigurations when detected in annual audits. However, switches and routers are only included in 4% of audits and these devices play a vital role in reducing an organisation’s attack surface and preventing lateral movement across the network.
Respondents also indicated that financial resources allocated to mitigating network configuration, which currently stands around 3.4% of the total IT budget, and a lack of accurate automation are limiting factors in misconfiguration risk management.
The study, which surveyed 160 senior cyber security decision-makers revealed:
Misconfigurations cost organisations millions, up to 9% of their annual revenue but the true cost is likely to be higher.
Compliance is a top priority, with 75% of organisations across all sectors saying their business relies on compliance to deliver security. Whilst almost every organisation reported that it is meeting its security and compliance requirements, this is at odds with a number of the other findings from the survey and other reports that show a decline in organisations maintaining full compliance with regulated data security standards.
Remediation prioritisation is a challenge. 75% said their network security tools meant they could categorise and prioritise compliance risks ‘very effectively’. However, 70% report difficulties prioritising remediation based on risk and also claim inaccurate automation as the top challenges when meeting security and compliance requirements.
Routers and switches are mostly overlooked. 96% of organisations prioritise the configuration and auditing of firewalls, but not routers or switches. This leaves these devices exposed to potentially significant and unidentified risks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/08/12/impact-exploitable-misconfigurations-network-security/
Industrial Spy Ransomware: New Threat Group Emerges to Exfiltrate Data, Extort Victims
A new ransomware group dubbed Industrial Spy that first emerged in April 2022 is specialising in exfiltration and double extortion tactics and has the potential to do significant damage, Zscaler’s threat tracking team said.
The threat crew has shown that it possesses the capability to breach organisations and have been “actively adding unencrypted data from two or three victims every month,” Zscaler said. In some instances, the threat group appears to only exfiltrate and ransom data. In other cases, they encrypt, exfiltrate and ransom the data, the cloud security provider said.
At this point, it’s not clear who’s behind the threat entry or if it’s nation-state affiliated. The group started as a data extortion marketplace where criminals could buy large companies’ internal data, promoting the marketplace through Readme.txt files downloaded using malware downloaders.
In May, 2022, the threat group introduced their own ransomware to create double extortion attacks that combine data theft with file encryption.
What you need to know:
Industrial Spy started by ransoming stolen data and more recently has combined these attacks with ransomware.
The threat group exfiltrates and sells data on their dark web marketplace, but does not always encrypt a victim’s files.
The ransomware utilises a combination of RSA and 3DES to encrypt files.
Industrial Spy lacks many common features present in modern ransomware families.
The Industrial Spy ransomware family is relatively basic, and parts of the code appear to be in development.
UK NHS Service Recovery May Take a Month After MSP Ransomware Attack
Managed service provider (MSP) Advanced confirmed that a ransomware attack on its systems disrupted emergency services (111) from the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). Customers of seven solutions from the British MSP have been impacted either directly or indirectly, the company said. The first has stated it could take a month to recover systems to full service.
The ransomware attack started to disrupt Advanced systems on Thursday, August 4 and was identified around 7 AM. It caused a major outage to NHS emergency services across the UK.
Advanced did not disclose the ransomware group behind the attack but said that it took immediate action to mitigate the risk and isolated Health and Care environments where the incident was detected. The company is working with forensic experts from Microsoft (DART) and Mandiant, who are also helping bring the affected systems back online securely and with added defences:
Implementing additional blocking rules and further restricting privileged accounts for Advanced staff
Scanning all impacted systems and ensuring they are fully patched
Resetting credentials
Deploying additional endpoint detection and response agents
Conducting 24/7 monitoring
After implementing the security measures above, Advanced said it would restore connectivity to its environments and assist customers to gradually reconnect safely and securely.
A Single Flaw Broke Every Layer of Security in MacOS
Every time you shut down your Mac, a pop-up appears: “Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?” Nestled under the prompt is another option most of us likely overlook: the choice to reopen the apps and windows you have open now when your machine is turned back on. Researchers have now found a way to exploit a vulnerability in this “saved state” feature—and it can be used to break the key layers of Apple’s security protections.
The vulnerability, which is susceptible to a process injection attack to break macOS security, could allow an attacker to read every file on a Mac or take control of the webcam. It's basically one vulnerability that could be applied to three different locations.
https://www.wired.com/story/a-single-flaw-broke-every-layer-of-security-in-macos/
Threats
Ransomware
Cisco hacked by Yanluowang ransomware gang, 2.8GB allegedly stolen (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware, email compromise are top security threats, but deepfakes increase | CSO Online
Feds: Zeppelin Ransomware Resurfaces with New Compromise, Encryption Tactics | Threatpost
Black Basta: New ransomware threat aiming for the big league | CSO Online
Could criminalizing ransomware payments put a stop to the current crime wave? - Help Net Security
7-Eleven Denmark confirms ransomware attack behind store closures (bleepingcomputer.com)
Update: Colosseum Dental Benelux pays ransom to threat actors (databreaches.net)
SolidBit Ransomware Group Recruiting New Affiliates on Dark Web - Infosecurity Magazine
Fears for patient data after ransomware attack on NHS software supplier | NHS | The Guardian
US reveals 'Target' pic of Conti man with $10m reward offer • The Register
Organisations would like the government to help with ransomware demand costs - Help Net Security
Hacker uses new RAT malware in Cuba Ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Maui ransomware linked to North Korean group Andariel • The Register
How to Stop Zeppelin Ransomware Attacks: CISA, FBI Mitigation Guidance - MSSP Alert
Novel Ransomware Comes to the Sophisticated SOVA Android Banking Trojan (darkreading.com)
US govt will pay you $10 million for info on Conti ransomware members (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Other Social Engineering; SMishing, Vishing, etc
Hackers Behind Twilio Breach Also Targeted Cloudflare Employees (thehackernews.com)
SMS phishing nabs Twilio employee credentials, allowed access customer data (scmagazine.com)
Malware
Emotet Tops List of July's Most Widely Used Malware - Infosecurity Magazine
Microsoft blocks UEFI bootloaders enabling Windows Secure Boot bypass (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Google researchers dissect Android spyware, zero days (techtarget.com)
Novel Ransomware Comes to the Sophisticated SOVA Android Banking Trojan (darkreading.com)
Xiaomi Phones with MediaTek Chips Found Vulnerable to Forged Payments (thehackernews.com)
Hackers install Dracarys Android malware using modified Signal app (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
The Time Is Now for IoT Security Standards (darkreading.com)
Introducing the book: If It's Smart, It's Vulnerable - Help Net Security
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cisco hacked by access broker with Lapsus$ ties (techtarget.com)
New dark web markets claim association with criminal cartels (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dark Utilities C2 service draws thousands of cyber criminals • The Register
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Email marketing firm hacked to steal crypto-focused mailing lists (bleepingcomputer.com)
Swan Bitcoin Discloses Data Leak Due to Phishing Attack on Newsletter Provider - Decrypt
Phishers Swim Around 2FA in Coinbase Account Heists | Threatpost
Crypto and the US government are headed for a decisive showdown | Ars Technica
Cameo’s CEO fell victim to the latest Bored Ape NFT heist - The Verge
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
“Hi Mum” Phishing Scam Swindles Unsuspecting Parents (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
How hackers are stealing credit cards from classifieds sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
AML/CFT/Sanctions
US Sanctions Crypto 'Laundering' Service Tornado | SecurityWeek.Com
Virtual Currency Platform ‘Tornado Cash’ Accused of Aiding APTs | Threatpost
Greece Flies Russian Money Launderer to US: Lawyer | SecurityWeek.Com
Insurance
BlackBerry Study: Most SMBs Have Less Than $600K in Ransomware Coverage - MSSP Alert
Number Of Firms Unable To Access Cyber-Insurance Set To Double (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Australian court finds insurer not liable for ransomware clean-up costs - Security - iTnews
Cloud/SaaS
Implementing zero trust for a secure hybrid working enterprise - Help Net Security
How to Clear Security Obstacles and Achieve Cloud Nirvana (darkreading.com)
Why SAP systems need to be brought into the cyber security fold - Help Net Security
Open Source
Social Media
Facebook's Metaverse is Expanding the Attack Surface (trendmicro.com)
Meta's chatbot says the company 'exploits people' - BBC News
Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’ | Threatpost
Training, Education and Awareness
Privacy
Travel
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Predator Pleads Guilty After Targeting Thousands of Young Girls Online - Infosecurity Magazine
Online sexual blackmail of primary school children surges since lockdown (telegraph.co.uk)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Russia's digital attacks are haphazard, chaotic, says top Ukrainian cyber official - CyberScoop
Cyberspying Aimed at Industrial Enterprises in Russia and Ukraine Linked to China | SecurityWeek.Com
Killnet Releases 'Proof' of its Attack Against Lockheed Martin | SecurityWeek.Com
Meta Cracks Down on Cyber Espionage Operations in South Asia Abusing Facebook (thehackernews.com)
Ex Twitter employee found guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia - Security Affairs
Ex-CIA security boss predicts coming crackdown on spyware • The Register
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russia Is Escalating Ukraine Hacking, Black Hat Research Says (gizmodo.com)
Russian invasion has destabilized cyber security norms • The Register
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Holds Cyberwar Lessons (darkreading.com)
Industroyer2: How Ukraine avoided another blackout attack (techtarget.com)
Nation State Actors – China
China-linked spies used six backdoors to steal defence info • The Register
Mandiant researchers uncover significant new disinformation campaign (securitybrief.co.nz)
Stats say Chinese researchers are not deterred by China's vulnerability law (scmagazine.com)
Chinese scammers target kids with promise of extra gaming • The Register
Chinese hackers backdoor chat app with new Linux, macOS malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Patches ‘Dogwalk’ Zero-Day and 17 Critical Flaws | Threatpost
Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerability Affecting ASA and Firepower Solutions (thehackernews.com)
Yet another Microsoft RCE bug under active exploit • The Register
Palo Alto Networks: New PAN-OS DDoS flaw exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA adds UnRAR and Windows flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog - Security Affairs
Zimbra auth bypass bug exploited to breach over 1,000 servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Debut Fresh RCE Vector for Common Google API Tool (darkreading.com)
Surge in CVEs as Microsoft Fixes Exploited Zero Day Bugs - Infosecurity Magazine
Risky Business: Enterprises Can’t Shake Log4j flaw - Security Affairs
Three flaws allow attackers to bypass UEFI Secure Boot feature - Security Affairs
Windows devices with newest CPUs are susceptible to data damage (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical Flaws Disclosed in Device42 IT Asset Management Software (thehackernews.com)
Cisco fixed a flaw in ASA, FTD devices that can give access to RSA private key - Security Affairs
Organisations Warned of Critical Vulnerabilities in NetModule Routers | SecurityWeek.Com
4 Flaws, Other Weaknesses Undermine Cisco ASA Firewalls (darkreading.com)
New vulnerability in AMD Ryzen CPUs could seriously jeopardize performance | TechRadar
ÆPIC Leak: Architectural Bug in Intel CPUs Exposes Protected Data | SecurityWeek.Com
Microsoft Paid $13.7 Million via Bug Bounty Programs Over Past Year | SecurityWeek.Com
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
Other News
Microsoft 365 outage triggered by Meraki firewall false positive (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why VPN no longer has a place in a secure work environment | TechRadar
VMware: The threat of lateral movement is growing (techtarget.com)
5 key things learned from CISOs of smaller enterprises survey - Help Net Security
Stolen credentials are the most common attack vector companies face - Help Net Security
Your cyber security staff are burned out - and many have thought about quitting | ZDNet
Researchers Use ‘Invisible Finger’ to Remotely Control Touchscreens (vice.com)
Businesses are struggling to balance security and end-user experience - Help Net Security
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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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 June 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 June 2022:
-The NCSC Sets Out the UK’s Cyber Threat Landscape
-We're Now Truly in The Era of Ransomware as Pure Extortion Without the Encryption
-5 Social Engineering Assumptions That Are Wrong
-Gartner: Regulation, Human Costs Will Create Stormy Cyber Security Weather Ahead
-Ransomware Attacks - This Is the Data That Cyber Criminals Really Want to Steal
-Cloud Email Threats Soar 101% in a Year
-80% of Firms Suffered Identity-Related Breaches in Last 12 Months
-After Being Breached Once, Many Companies Are Likely to Be Hit Again
-Do You Have Ransomware Insurance? Look at the Fine Print
-The Price of Stolen Info: Everything on Sale On The Dark Web
-How Companies Are Prioritizing Infosec and Compliance
-Businesses Risk ‘Catastrophic Financial Loss’ from Cyber Attacks, US Watchdog Warns
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
The NCSC Sets Out the UK’s Cyber Threat Landscape
The current state of the UK’s cyber threat landscape was outlined by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), during a keynote address on the final day of Infosecurity Europe 2022.
They described the cyber threats posed by nation-states, particularly Russia and China. Russia remains “one of the world’s most prolific cyber actors and dedicates significant resources to conducting cyber operations across the globe.” The NCSC and international partner organisations have attributed a number of high-profile attacks related to the conflict to Russian state actors, including the Viasat incident on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Therefore, the NCSC recommends that organisations prepare for a dynamic situation that is liable to change rapidly.
The NCSC emphasised that a more significant long-term threat comes from China, citing GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming’s assertion that “Russia is affecting the weather, but China is shaping the climate.” She described the nation’s “highly sophisticated” activities in cyberspace, born out of its “increasing ambitions to project its influence beyond its borders.” This includes a keen interest in the UK’s commercial secrets.
In addition to nation-state attacks, the NCSC noted that cyber crime is continuing to rise, with ransomware a continuing concern. Attacks are expected to grow in scale, with threat actors likely to increasingly target managed service providers (MSPs) to gain access to a wider range of targets. More generally, cyber capabilities will become more commoditised over the next few years, meaning they are increasingly available to a larger group of would-be attackers who are willing to pay.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-uk-cyber-threat-landscape/
We're Now Truly in The Era of Ransomware as Pure Extortion Without the Encryption
Increasingly cyber crime rings tracked as ransomware operators are turning toward primarily data theft and extortion – and skipping the encryption step altogether. Rather than scramble files and demand payment for the decryption keys, and all the faff in between in facilitating that, simply exfiltrating the data and demanding a fee to not leak it all is just as effective. This shift has been ongoing for many months, and is now virtually unavoidable.
The FBI and CISA this month warned about a lesser-known extortion gang called Karakurt, which demands ransoms as high as $13 million. Karakurt doesn't target any specific sectors or industries, and the gang's victims haven't had any of their documents encrypted and held to ransom. Instead, the crooks claim to have stolen data, with screenshots or copies of exfiltrated files as proof, and they threaten to sell it or leak it publicly if they don't receive a payment.
Some of these thieves offer discounted ransoms to corporations to encourage them to pay sooner, with the demanded payment getting larger the longer it takes to cough up the cash (or Bitcoin, as the case may be).
Additionally, some crime groups offer sliding-scale payment systems. So you pay for what you get, and depending on the amount of ransom paid you get a control panel, you get customer support, you get all of the tools you need."
https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/25/ransomware_gangs_extortion_feature/
5 Social Engineering Assumptions That Are Wrong
Social engineering is involved in the vast majority of cyber attacks, but a new report from Proofpoint has revealed five common social engineering assumptions that are not only wrong but are repeatedly subverted by malicious actors in their attacks.
Threat actors don’t have conversations with targets.
Legitimate services are safe from social engineering abuse.
Attackers only use computers, not telephones.
Replying to existing email conversations is safe.
Fraudsters only use business-related content as lures.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Sherrod DeGrippo, Proofpoint’s Vice-President Threat Research and Detection, stated that the vendor has attempted to debunk faulty assumptions made by organisations and security teams so they can better protect employees against cyber crime. “Despite defenders’ best efforts, cyber criminals continue to defraud, extort and ransom companies for billions of dollars annually. Security-focused decision makers have prioritised bolstering defences around physical and cloud-based infrastructure, which has led to human beings becoming the most relied upon entry point for compromise. As a result, a wide array of content and techniques continue to be developed to exploit human behaviours and interests.”
Indeed, cyber criminals will go to creative and occasionally unusual lengths to carry out social engineering campaigns, making it more difficult for users to avoid falling victim to them.
Gartner: Regulation, Human Costs Will Create Stormy Cyber Security Weather Ahead
Security teams should prepare for what researchers say will be a challenging environment through 2023, with increased pressure from government regulators, partners, and threat actors.
Gartner kicked off its Security & Risk Management Summit with the release of its analysts' assessments of the work ahead, which Richard Addiscott, the company's senior director analyst, discussed during his opening keynote address.
“We can’t fall into old habits and try to treat everything the same as we did in the past,” Addiscott said. “Most security and risk leaders now recognise that major disruption is only one crisis away. We can’t control it, but we can evolve our thinking, our philosophy, our program, and our architecture.”
Topping Gartner's list of eight predictions is a rise in the government regulation of consumer privacy rights and ransomware response, a widespread shift by enterprises to unify security platforms, more zero trust, and, troublingly, the prediction that by 2025 threat actors will likely have figured out how to "weaponise operational technology environments successfully to cause human casualties”, the cyber security report said.
Ransomware Attacks - This Is the Data That Cyber Criminals Really Want to Steal
There are certain types of data that criminals target the most, according to an analysis of attacks.
Data theft and extortion has become a common – and unfortunately effective – part of ransomware attacks, where in addition to encrypting data and demanding a ransom payment for the decryption key, gangs steal information and threaten to publish it if a payment isn't received.
These so-called double extortion attacks have become an effective tool in the arsenal of ransomware gangs, who leverage them to force victims to pay up, even in cases where data could be restored from offline backups, because the threat of sensitive information being published is too great.
Any stolen data is potentially useful to ransomware gangs, but according to analysis by researchers at cyber security company Rapid7, of 161 disclosed ransomware incidents where data was published, some data is seen as more valuable than others.
According to the report, financial services is the sector that is most likely to have customer data exposed, with 82% of incidents involving ransomware gangs accessing and making threats to release this data. Stealing and publishing sensitive customer information would undermine consumer trust in financial services organisations: while being hacked in the first place would be damaging enough, some business leaders might view paying a ransom to avoid further damage caused by data leaks to be worth it.
The second most-leaked type of file in ransomware attacks against financial services firms, featuring in 59% of disclosures from victims, is employee personally identifiable information (PII) and data related to human resources.
Cloud Email Threats Soar 101% in a Year
The number of email-borne cyber-threats blocked by Trend Micro surged by triple digits last year, highlighting the continued risk from conventional attack vectors.
The vendor stopped over 33.6 million such threats reaching customers via cloud-based email in 2021, a 101% increase. This included 16.5 million phishing emails, a 138% year-on-year increase, of which 6.5 million were credential phishing attempts.
Trend Micro also blocked 3.3 million malicious files in cloud-based emails, including a 134% increase in known threats and a 221% increase in unknown malware.
The news comes as Proofpoint warned in a new report of the continued dangers posed by social engineering, and the mistaken assumptions many users make.
Many users don’t realise that threat actors may spend considerable time and effort building a rapport over email with their victims, especially if they’re trying to conduct a business email compromise (BEC) attack, it said.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cloud-email-threats-soar-101-in-a/
80% of Firms Suffered Identity-Related Breaches in Last 12 Months
Rapidly growing employee identities, third-party partners, and machine nodes have companies scrambling to secure credential information, software secrets, and cloud identities, according to researchers.
In a survey of IT and identity professionals from Dimensional Research, almost every organisation — 98% — experienced rapid growth in the number of identities that have to be managed, with that growth driven by expanding cloud usage, more third-party partners, and machine identities. Furthermore, businesses are also seeing an increase in breaches because of this, with 84% of firms suffering an identity-related breach in the past 12 months, compared with 79% in a previous study covering two years.
The number and complexity of identities organisations are having to manage and secure is increasing. Whenever there is an increase in identities, there is a corresponding heightened risk of identity-related breaches due to them not being properly managed and secured, and with the attack surfaces also growing exponentially, these breaches can occur on multiple fronts.
For the most part, organisations focus on employee identities, which 70% consider to be the most likely to be breached and 58% believe to have the greatest impact, according to the 2022 "Trends in Securing Digital Identities" report based on the survey. Yet third-party partners and business customers are significant sources of risk as well, with 35% and 25% of respondents considering those to be a major source of breaches, respectively.
https://www.darkreading.com/operations/identity-related-breaches-last-12-months
After Being Breached Once, Many Companies Are Likely to Be Hit Again
Cymulate announced the results of a survey, revealing that two-thirds of companies who have been hit by cyber crime in the past year have been hit more than once, with almost 10% experiencing 10 or so more attacks a year.
Research taken from 858 security professionals surveyed across North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM across a wide range of industries including technology, banking, finance and government, also highlighted larger companies hit by cyber crime are experiencing shorter disruption time and damage to business with 40% reported low damage compared with medium-size businesses (less than 2,500 employees) which had longer recovery times and more business affecting damage.
Other highlights
40% of respondents admitted to being breached over the past 12 months.
After being breached once, statistics showed they were more likely to be hit again than not (66%).
Malware (55%), and more specifically ransomware (40%) and DDoS (32%) were the main forms of cyber attacks experienced by those surveyed.
Attacks primarily occurred via end-user phishing (56%), via third parties connected to the enterprise (37%) or direct attacks on enterprise networks (34%).
22% of companies publicly disclosed cyber attacks in the worst-case breaches, with 35% needing to hire security consultants, 12% dismissing their current security professionals and 12% hiring public relations consultants to deal with the repercussions to their reputations. Top three best practices for cyber attack prevention, mitigation and remediation include multi-factor authentication (67%), proactive corporate phishing and awareness campaigns (53%), and well-planned and practiced incident response plans (44%). Least privilege also ranked highly, at 43%.
29% of attacks come from insider threats – intentionally or unintentionally.
Leadership and cyber security teams who meet regularly to discuss risk reduction are more cyber security-ready – those who met 15 times a year incurred zero breaches whereas those who suffered six or more breaches met under nine times on average.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/21/companies-hit-by-cybercrime/
Do You Have Ransomware Insurance? Look at the Fine Print
Insurance exists to protect the insured party against catastrophe, but the insurer needs protection so that its policies are not abused – and that's where the fine print comes in. However, in the case of ransomware insurance, the fine print is becoming contentious and arguably undermining the usefulness of ransomware insurance.
In recent years, ransomware insurance has grown as a product field because organisations are trying to buy protection against the catastrophic effects of a successful ransomware attack. Why try to buy insurance? Well, a single, successful attack can just about wipe out a large organisation, or lead to crippling costs – NotPetya alone led to a total of $10bn in damages.
Ransomware attacks are notoriously difficult to protect against completely. Like any other potentially catastrophic event, insurers stepped in to offer an insurance product. In exchange for a premium, insurers promise to cover many of the damages resulting from a ransomware attack.
Depending on the policy, a ransomware policy could cover loss of income if the attack disrupts operations, or loss of valuable data, if data is erased due to the ransomware event. A policy may also cover you for extortion – in others, it will refund the ransom demanded by the criminal.
The exact payout and terms will of course be defined in the policy document, also called the "fine print." Critically, fine print also contains exclusions, in other words circumstances under which the policy won't pay out. And therein lies the problem.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/06/do-you-have-ransomware-insurance-look.html
The Price of Stolen Info: Everything on Sale on The Dark Web
What is the price for personal information, including credit cards and bank accounts, on the dark web?
Privacy Affairs researchers concluded that criminals using the dark web need only spend $1,115 for a complete set of a person’s account details, enabling them to create fake IDs and forge private documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses.
Access to other information is becoming even cheaper. The Dark Web Price Index 2022 – based on data scanning dark web marketplaces, forums, and websites, revealed:
Credit card details and associated information cost between $17-$120
Online banking login information costs $45
Hacked Facebook accounts cost $45
Cloned VISA with PIN cost $20
Stolen PayPal account details, with minimum $1000 balances, cost $20.
In December 2021, about 4.5 million credit cards went up for sale on the dark web, the study found. The average price ranged from $1-$20.
Scammers can buy full credit card details, including CVV number, card number, associated dates, and even the email, physical address and phone number. This enables them to penetrate the credit card processing chain, overriding any security countermeasures.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/22/stolen-info-sale-dark-web/
How Companies Are Prioritising Infosec and Compliance
New research conducted by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), examines the impact of the compliance budget on security strategy and priorities. It describes areas for which companies prioritise information security and compliance, which leaders control information security spending, how compliance has shifted the overall security strategy of the organisation, and the solutions and tools on which organisations are focusing their technology spending.
The findings cover three critical areas of an organisation’s security and compliance posture: information security and IT audit and compliance, data security and data privacy, and security and compliance spending.
One key takeaway is that merging security and compliance priorities addresses regulatory control gaps while improving the organisation’s security posture. Respondents revealed insights on how they handle compliance, who is responsible for compliance and security responsibilities, and what compliance-related security challenges organisations face.
Additional findings:
Companies found the need to shift their information security strategy to address compliance priorities (93%).
Information security and IT compliance priorities are generally aligned (89%).
Existing security tools have to address data privacy considerations going forward (76%).
Managing an organisation’s multiple IT environments and the controls that govern those environments is the greatest challenge in the IT audit and compliance space (39%).
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/06/24/companies-infosec-compliance-priorities/
Businesses Risk ‘Catastrophic Financial Loss’ from Cyber Attacks, US Watchdog Warns
A US Government watchdog has warned that private insurance companies are increasingly backing out of covering damages from major cyber attacks — leaving businesses facing “catastrophic financial loss” unless another insurance model can be found.
The growing challenge of covering cyber risk is outlined in a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which calls for a government assessment of whether a federal cyber insurance option is needed.
The report draws on threat assessments from the National Security Agency (NSA), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Department of Justice, to quantify the risk of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, identifying vulnerable technologies that might be attacked and a range of threat actors capable of exploiting them.
Citing an annual threat assessment released by the ODNI, the report finds that hacking groups linked to Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea pose the greatest threat to US infrastructure — along with certain non-state actors like organised cyber criminal gangs.
Given the wide and increasingly skilled range of actors willing to target US entities, the number of cyber incidents is rising at an alarming rate.
Threats
Ransomware
Attackers exploited a Mitel VOIP zero-day to compromise a network Security Affairs
Chinese hackers use ransomware as decoy for cyber espionage (bleepingcomputer.com)
If you don't store valuable data, ransomware is impotent • The Register
Ransomware-as-a-Service: Learn to Enhance Cyber security Approaches (analyticsinsight.net)
Mitigate Ransomware in a Remote-First World (thehackernews.com)
Delivery Firm Yodel Scrambling to Restore Operations Following Cyber attack | SecurityWeek.Com
Black Basta Ransomware Becomes Major Threat in Two Months | SecurityWeek.Com
These hackers are spreading ransomware as a distraction - to hide their cyber spying | ZDNet
Conti ransomware hacking spree breaches over 40 orgs in a month (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti effectively created an extortion-oriented IT company, says Group-IB - Help Net Security
Conti ransomware finally shuts down data leak, negotiation sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti ransomware group's pulse stops, but did it fake its own death? | Malwarebytes Labs
Without Conti on the Scene, LockBit 2.0 Leads Ransomware Attacks (darkreading.com)
Cyber attack: Gloucester council services still not back to normal - BBC News
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Your email is a major source of security risks and it's getting worse | ZDNet
New Phishing Attack Infects Devices with Cobalt Strike- IT Security Guru
Voicemail phishing emails steal Microsoft credentials • The Register
The Risk of Multichannel Phishing Is on the Horizon (darkreading.com)
Cops arrests nine suspected of stealing millions via email • The Register
Cyber criminals Use Azure Front Door in Phishing Attacks - Security Affairs
Microsoft Exchange servers hacked by new ToddyCat APT gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber attackers Abuse QuickBooks Cloud Service in 'Double-Spear' Campaign (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering
Proofpoint: Social engineering attacks slipping past users (techtarget.com)
Inside a large-scale phishing campaign targeting millions of Facebook users - Help Net Security
Malware
RIG Exploit Kit Now Infects Victims' PCs With Dridex Instead of Raccoon Stealer (thehackernews.com)
Organisations Battling Phishing Malware, Viruses the Most (darkreading.com)
This Linux botnet has found a novel way of spreading to new devices | ZDNet
New 'Quantum' Builder Lets Attackers Easily Create Malicious Windows Shortcuts (thehackernews.com)
NSA warns against silly mistake in the fight against Windows malware | TechRadar
Mobile
This Android malware is so dangerous, even Google is worried | TechRadar
Google is notifying Android users targeted by Hermit government-grade spyware | TechCrunch
This phone-wiping Android banking trojan is getting nastier | ZDNet
BRATA Android Malware Group Now Classified As Advanced Persistent Threat - Infosecurity Magazine
Spurred by Roe overturn, senators seek FTC probe of iOS and Android tracking | Ars Technica
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
US Bank Data Breach Impacts Over 1.5 Million Customers - Infosecurity Magazine
CafePress fined $500,000 for breach affecting 23 million users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Hackers steal $100 million from California cryptocurrency firm - CNN
DARPA study finds blockchain not as decentralised as assumed • The Register
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
Microsoft 365 Users in US Face Raging Spate of Attacks (darkreading.com)
Getting a Better Handle on Identity Management in the Cloud (darkreading.com)
Researchers Uncover Ways to Break the Encryption of 'MEGA' Cloud Storage Service (thehackernews.com)
Identity and Access Management
Risky behaviour reduced when executives put focus on identity security - Help Net Security
Access management issues may create security holes (techtarget.com)
IAM Research: Inadequate Programs Leave Organisations Open to Cyber Attacks - MSSP Alert
Why 84% Of US Firms Hit With Identity-Related Breaches In 2021 – Information Security Buzz
Open Source
Open-source software risks persist, according to new reports | CSO Online
Less Than Half of Organisations Have Open Source Security Policy - Infosecurity Magazine
Blind trust in open source security is hurting us: Report | ZDNet
Training, Education and Awareness
Privacy
Privacy-focused Brave Search grew by 5,000% in a year (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade reversal sparks calls for strengthening privacy - CyberScoop
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Do Privacy and Data Protection Regulations Create as Many Problems as They Solve? | SecurityWeek.Com
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Phishing gang behind millions in losses dismantled by police (bleepingcomputer.com)
Euro Police Target Crime Groups Grooming Ukrainian Refugees Online - Infosecurity Magazine
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Microsoft: Russian Cyber Spying Targets 42 Ukraine Allies | SecurityWeek.Com
Italian spyware firm is hacking into iOS and Android devices, Google says | Computerworld
NSO claims 'more than 5' EU states used its Pegasus spyware • The Register
#InfosecurityEurope2022: Geopolitical Tensions a “Danger” to Cyber security - Infosecurity Magazine
Examples of Cyber Warfare #TrendTalksBizSec (trendmicro.com)
Ukraine deploys a DDoS protection service to survive the cyberwar | VentureBeat
Lithuania warns of rise in DDoS attacks against government sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia's APT28 Launches Nuke-Themed Follina Exploit Campaign (darkreading.com)
Ukrainian cyber security officials disclose two new hacking campaigns - IT Security Guru
Scalper bots out of control in Israel, selling state appointments (bleepingcomputer.com)
Research questions potentially dangerous implications of Ukraine's IT Army - CyberScoop
Lithuania under cyber-attack after ban on Russian railway goodsSecurity Affairs
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russia Steps Up Cyber-Espionage Against Ukraine Allies - Infosecurity Magazine
Fancy Bear Uses Nuke Threat Lure to Exploit 1-Click Bug | Threatpost
Russian APT28 hacker accused of the NATO think tank hack in Germany - Security Affairs
Russia fines Google for spreading ‘unreliable’ info defaming its army (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese APT 'Bronze Starlight' Uses Ransomware to Disguise Cyberespionage | SecurityWeek.Com
Chinese Tropic Trooper APT spreads a hacking tool laced with a backdoor - Security Affairs
Chinese hackers target script kiddies with info-stealer trojan (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc APT
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Cisco warns of security holes in its security appliances • The Register
Google Patches 14 Vulnerabilities With Release of Chrome 103 | SecurityWeek.Com
Cisco will not address critical RCE in end-of-life Small Business RV routers - Security Affairs
Google expert detailed a 5-Year-Old flaw in Apple Safari exploited in the wild - Security Affairs
Oracle spent 6 months to fix 'Mega' flaws in the Fusion Middleware - Security Affairs
Researchers criticize Oracle's vulnerability disclosure process (techtarget.com)
Critical PHP Vulnerability Exposes QNAP NAS Devices to Remote Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Flagstar Bank discloses data breach impacting 1.5 million customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
7 Cyber security Best Practices for Financial Services Firms - MSSP Alert
Why Financial Institutions Must Double Down on Open Source Investments (darkreading.com)
SMBs – Small and Medium Businesses
How tool sprawl is becoming a common issue for SMEs - Help Net Security
Middle market companies under attack: Threats coming from all directions - Help Net Security
#InfosecurityEurope2022: How Should SMEs Defend Against Cyber-Risks? - Infosecurity Magazine
Legal
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Retail/eCommerce
Magecart attacks are still around. And they are becoming more stealthy | ZDNet
Newly Discovered Magecart Infrastructure Reveals the Scale of Ongoing Campaign- IT Security Guru
Manufacturing
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Threat Intelligence Services Are Universally Valued by IT Staff (darkreading.com)
Security pros increasingly plan to adopt MDR services in the next 12 months - Help Net Security
Board members and the C-suite need secure communication tools - Help Net Security
Adobe Acrobat may block antivirus tools from monitoring PDF files (bleepingcomputer.com)
7 Ways to Avoid Worst-Case Cyber Scenarios (darkreading.com)
3 threats dirty data poses to the enterprise (techtarget.com)
Data recovery depends on how good your backup strategy is - Help Net Security
Unsecured APIs Could Be Costing Firms $75bn Per Year - Infosecurity Magazine
The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Presumption of Compromise (darkreading.com)
#InfosecurityEurope2022: Are You Prepared For The Next Big Crisis? - Infosecurity Magazine
Ongoing PowerShell security threats prompt a call to action (techtarget.com)
Despite known security issues, VPN usage continues to thrive - Help Net Security
Space-based assets aren’t immune to cyber attacks | CSO Online
Cyber security expert on how $13K of fuel was stolen from station (wtvr.com)
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 August 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 August 2021:
-Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds
-Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyberattack Tools
-60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts
-LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally
-Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online
-Phishing Costs Quadruple Over 6 Years
-Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk
-Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
A Third of Global Companies Have Experienced Ransomware Attack, Survey Finds
Roughly a third of large international companies have faced a ransomware attack or other data breach in the last 12 months, according to a new survey.
Analysts surveyed almost 800 companies and found 37% of international companies experienced ransomware attacks this past year. The survey focused on companies with more than 500 employees.
Company Size Is A Nonissue With Automated Cyber Attack Tools
Even with plenty of old problems to contend with, firms need to get ready for new and more powerful automated ransomware tools.
Cyber criminals are constantly looking for the best return on their investment and solutions that lower the chance of being caught. Sadly, that appears to mean small businesses are their current target of opportunity.
Tech media and cyber pundits have been sounding the alarm and offering small businesses specific cybersecurity solutions for a few years now, but it seems to no avail.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/company-size-is-a-nonissue-with-automated-cyberattack-tools/
Over 60% Of Employees Reuse Passwords Across Business And Personal Accounts
Nearly two thirds of employees are using personal passwords to protect corporate data, and vice versa, with even more business leaders concerned about this very issue. Surprisingly, 97% of employees know what constitutes a strong password, yet over half (53%) admit to not always using one.
http://hrnews.co.uk/over-60-of-employees-reuse-passwords-across-business-and-personal/
LockBit 2.0 Ransomware Proliferates Globally
Fresh attacks target companies’ employees, promising millions of dollars in exchange for valid account credentials for initial access.
The LockBit ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang has ramped up its targeted attacks, researchers said, with attempts against organizations in Chile, Italy, Taiwan and the U.K. using version 2.0 of its malware.
https://threatpost.com/lockbit-ransomware-proliferates-globally/168746/
Secret Terrorist Watchlist With 2 Million Records Exposed Online
A secret terrorist watchlist with 1.9 million records, including classified "no-fly" records was exposed on the internet.
The list was left accessible on an Elasticsearch cluster that had no password on it.
Phishing Costs Nearly Quadrupled Over 6 Years
Lost productivity & mopping up after the costly attacks that follow phishing – BEC & ransomware in particular – eat up most costs, not pay-outs to crooks.
Research shows that the cost of phishing attacks has nearly quadrupled over the past six years: Large US companies are now losing, on average, $14.8 million annually, or $1,500 per employee.
That’s up sharply from 2015’s figure of $3.8 million, according to a new study from Ponemon Institute that was sponsored by Proofpoint.
According to the study, released Tuesday, phishing leads to some of the costliest cyber attacks.
https://threatpost.com/phishing-costs-quadrupled/168716/
Security Teams Report Rise In Cyber Risk
A recent report shows declining confidence in many organisations’ security function to address today’s threats.
80% of respondents to the Trend Micro’s biannual Cyber Risk Index (CRI) report said they expect to experience a data breach that compromises customer data in the next 12 months.
The report surveyed more than 3,600 businesses of all sizes and industries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America for their thoughts on cyber risk. Despite an increased focus on security due to high-profile ransomware and other attacks in the past year, respondents reported a rise in risk due to inadequate security processes like backing up key assets.
Organisations are overwhelmed as they pivot from traditional to distributed networks. Pandemic-driven work-from-home growth is potentially how businesses will be run going forward. That distributed network means that it’s harder for IT staff to know what assets are under their control and what security controls should be in place. With the line blurring between corporate and personal assets, organizations are overwhelmed with the pace of change.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3629477/security-teams-report-rise-in-cyber-risk.html
Organisations Aware Of The Importance Of Zero Trust, Yet Still Relying On Passwords
Organisations have become more security conscious over the course of the pandemic, leading them to invest heavily in zero trust, according to a new study.
The report surveyed over 600 global security leaders about their initiatives and found that remote work has led to a change in how organizations view the importance of zero trust, with financial services, healthcare organisations and the software industry seeing the most significant progress.
78% of companies globally say that zero trust has increased in priority and nearly 90% are currently working on a zero trust initiative, up from just 41% a year ago.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/11/importance-of-zero-trust/
Reliance On Third Party Workers Making Companies More Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks
A new survey revealed 83% of respondents agree that because organisations increasingly rely on contractors, freelancers, and other third party workers, their data systems have become more vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Further, 88% of people say organisations and government entities must have better data security systems in place to protect them from the increase in third party remote attacks.
Recent high-profile breaches, including SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, and JBS Foods, have exposed how vulnerable organisations are to cyber crime and in particular ransomware attacks. Of note with recent attacks is how data breaches can quickly affect aspects of everyday life, such as the ability to fill a car with petrol or buy meat at the supermarket.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/16/reliance-on-third-party-workers/
The Cyber Security Skills Gap Persists For The Fifth Year Running
Most organisations are still lacking talent, according to a new report, but experts think expanding the definition of a cybersecurity professional can help.
T-Mobile Hack Is A Return To The Roots Of Cyber Crime
In the world of cyber crime, ransomware attacks might be the sophisticated bank heists. The hack of T-Mobile is more akin to smashing a window, grabbing merchandise, and running.
The attack that exposed the personal information of millions of T-Mobile customers spotlights a common type of cyber threat that can inflict significant damage to consumers, much like the recent rash of ransomware attacks hitting companies.
The breach exposed the data of more than 40 million people, T-Mobile confirmed Wednesday, including customer’s full names and driver’s license information. A hacker posted about the stolen information on a cyber crime forum late last week, offering to sell the information to buyers for the price of six bitcoin, or about $270,000.
This type of attack, in which hackers worm their way into companies’ systems, steal data and try to sell it online, has been a common tactic for years, cyber security experts say. Unlike the high-profile ransomware attacks that have disrupted fuel supplies, hospital systems and food production in recent months, these data exfiltration hacks do not lock down computer systems.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/19/tmobile-breach-data-hacks/
Phishing Attacks Increase In H1 2021, Sharp Jump In Crypto Attacks
The first half of 2021 shows a 22 percent increase in the volume of phishing attacks over the same time period last year, a new report reveals. Notably, however, phishing volume in June dipped dramatically for the first time in six months, immediately following a very high-volume in May.
Bad actors continue to utilise phishing to fleece proprietary information, and are developing more sophisticated ways to do so based on growth in areas such as cryptocurrency and sites that use single-sign-on.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/19/phishing-attacks-h1-2021/
Connected Devices Increasingly At Risk As New Ransomware Attacks Are Reported Almost Daily
A new report has shined a light on the state of connected devices. The number of agentless and un-agentable devices increased to 42% in this year’s report (compared to 32% of agentless or un-agentable devices in 2020). These devices include medical and manufacturing devices that are critical to business operations along with network devices, IP phones, video surveillance cameras and facility devices (such as badge readers) that are not designed with security in mind, cannot be patched, and cannot support endpoint security agents.
With almost half of devices in the network that are either agentless or un-agentable, organisations need to complement their endpoint security strategy with a network-based security approach to discover and secure these devices.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/08/12/connected-devices-risks/
Threats
Ransomware
John Oliver On Ransomware Attacks: ‘It’s In Everyone’s Interest To Tet This Under Control’
Device Complexity Leaving Schools At Heightened Risk Of Ransomware Attacks
This Ransomware Has Returned With New Techniques To Make Attacks More Effective
Diavol Ransomware Sample Shows Stronger Connection To TrickBot Gang
Ransomware Criminals' Demands Rise As Aggressive Tactics Pay Off
BEC
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Malware Campaign Uses Clever 'Captcha' To Bypass Browser Warning
Malware Dev Infects Own PC And Data Ends Up On Intel Platform
Researchers Discover New AdLoad Malware Campaigns Targeting Macs And Apple Products
Mobile
IOT
Vulnerabilities
Multiple Flaws Affecting Realtek Wi-Fi SDKs Impact Nearly A Million IoT Devices
Unpatched Remote Hacking Flaw Disclosed In Fortinet's FortiWeb WAF
65 Vendors Affected By Severe Vulnerabilities In Realtek Chips
Eight-Year-Old Bug In Microsoft's 64-Bit VBA Prompts Complaints Of Neglect
Cisco Won’t Fix Zero-Day RCE Vulnerability In End-Of-Life VPN Routers
Data Breaches/Leaks
Chase Bank Accidentally Leaked Customer Info To Other Customers
Colonial Pipeline Reports Data Breach After May Ransomware Attack
Ford Bug Exposed Customer And Employee Records From Internal Systems
Dark Web
Dark Web Blockchain Analysis Tool Suspended After Flurry Of Media Coverage
Dark Web Drug Dealer Indicted For Laundering $137 Million In Bitcoin From Prison
Dark Web Criminals Have Built A Tool That Checks For Dirty Bitcoin
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Nation State Actors
Cloud
Other News
Threat Actors Hacked US Census Bureau In 2020 By Exploiting A Citrix Flaw
Cyber Security Is Top Priority For Enterprises As They Shift To Digital-First Operating Models
SMEs Awareness Of GDPR Is High, But Few Adhere To Its Legal Requirements
Hacker Finds A Way To Steal Windows 365 User Names And Passwords
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 June 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 June 2021: Cyber Insurers Recoil As Ransomware Attacks ‘Skyrocket’; US Puts Cyber Crime On Par With Terror After Ransomware Attacks; Cyber Attack Leaves 7,000 Out Of Work; Irish Health Service Patient Data Leaked Online; Enterprise Networks Vulnerable To 20-Year-Old Exploits; US Seize Domains Used By SolarWinds Intruders For Spear-Phishing; Hacker Group DarkSide Operates Like A Franchise; Interpol Intercepts $83M Fighting Financial Cyber Crime
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Cyber Insurers Recoil As Ransomware Attacks ‘Skyrocket’
The Great Fire of London helped forge the property insurance market, as residents feared a repeat of the savage destruction of 1666. In the absence of a state-backed fire service, some insurers even employed their own brigades, betting that limiting the damage to a property would be cheaper than rebuilding it. After a wave of high-profile cyber assaults, Graeme Newman, chief innovation officer at London-based insurance provider CFC, draws a parallel with today’s rapidly evolving market for cyber coverage. Insurance companies now provide emergency support services as well as financial compensation, so “the insurers own the digital fire trucks”, he said.
https://www.ft.com/content/4f91c4e7-973b-4c1a-91c2-7742c3aa9922
US Puts Cyber Crime On Par With Terror After Ransomware Attacks
The US government is raising the fight against cyber criminals to the same level as the battle against terrorists after a surge of ransomware attacks on large corporations. Internal guidance circulated by the Department of Justice instructs prosecutors to pool their information about hackers. The idea, said John Carlin, of the attorney-general’s office, is to “make the connections between actors and work your way up to disrupt the whole chain”.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-cybercrime-terror-ransomware-attacks-joe-biden-pzrqbkfwt
Russia Under Fire As Cyber Attack Leaves 7,000 Out Of Work
An attack this week on JBS meatworks in North America and Australia brought the firm to a standstill, and now threatens to turn into a diplomatic row with Russia. JBS are reported to supply 20% of the world meat market and the ransomware attack has left 7,000 workers unable to do their jobs.
Irish Health Service Confirms Data Of Nearly 520 Patients Is Online After Cyber Attack
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed the data of nearly 520 patients is online after media reports of their publication. In a statement, the HSE said the data contains correspondence with patients, minutes of meetings and includes sensitive patient data. The HSE also confirmed corporate documents are among the HSE data illegally accessed. Confirmation of the authenticity of this data follows an analysis carried out by the agency and comments from the Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, that reports of patient data being shared online are "very credible".
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40301054.html
Enterprise Networks Vulnerable To 20-Year-Old Exploits
While the industry focuses on exotic attacks – like the SolarWinds incident — the real risk to enterprises comes from older exploits, some as much as 20-years old. “While organisations always need to keep up with the latest security patches, it is also vital to ensure older system and well-known vulnerabilities from years past are monitored and patched as well,” says Etay Maor, senior director of security strategy at Cato Networks. “Threat actors are attempting to take advantage of overlooked, vulnerable systems.” Our research showed that attackers often scanned for end-of-life and unsupported systems. Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) identified were exploits targeting software, namely vSphere, Oracle WebLogic, and Big-IP, as well as routers with remote administration vulnerabilities.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/05/27/enterprise-networks-vulnerable/
US Authorities Seize Two Domains Used By SolarWinds Intruders For Malware Spear-Phishing Operation
Uncle Sam on Tuesday said it had seized two web domains used to foist malware on victims using spoofed emails from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The domain takeovers, which occurred on Friday, followed a court order issued in the wake of a Microsoft report warning about the spear-phishing campaign. The phishing effort relied on malware-laden messages sent via marketing service Constant Contact. "Cyber intrusions and spear-phishing email attacks can cause widespread damage throughout affected computer networks, and can result in significant harm to individual victims, government agencies, NGOs, and private businesses,” said Acting US Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement. "As demonstrated by the court-authorized seizure of these malicious domains, we are committed to using all available tools to protect the public and our government from these worldwide hacking threats."
https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/02/feds_seize_nobelium/
Hacker Group DarkSide Operates In A Similar Way To A Franchise
DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, has a business model that’s more familiar than people think, according to New York Times correspondent Andrew Kramer, “It operates something like a franchise, where individual hackers can come and receive the ransomware software and use it, as well as, use DarkSide’s reputation, as it were, to extract money from their targets, mostly in the United States,” Kramer said in an interview that aired Wednesday night.
Interpol Intercepts $83 Million Fighting Financial Cyber Crime
The Interpol (short for International Criminal Police Organisation) has intercepted $83 million belonging to victims of online financial crime from being transferred to the accounts of their attackers. Over 40 law enforcement officers specialized in fighting cyber crime across the Asia Pacific region took part in the Interpol-coordinated Operation HAECHI-I spanning more than six months. Between September 2020 and March 2021, law enforcement focused on battling five types of online financial crimes: investment fraud, romance scams, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, online sextortion, and voice phishing.
Is It Really The Wild West In Cyber Crime? Why We Need To Re-Examine Our Approach To Ransomware
Once again, cyber security has become a headline topic within and well outside technology circles, along with the little-known operator of a significant fuel pipeline: Colonial Pipeline. A ransomware attack, and ensuing panic buying of gasoline, resulted in widespread fuel shortages on the east coast, thrusting the issue of cyber security into the lives of everyday Americans. Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount later acknowledged that his company ultimately paid the cybercriminals $4.4 million to unlock company systems, generating a great deal of controversy around the simple question (and associated complex potential answers), of whether companies should pay when their systems are held hostage by ransomware.
Threats
Ransomware
White House Contacts Russia After Hack Of World’s Largest Meatpacking Company
This New Ransomware Is Targeting Unpatched Microsoft Exchange Servers
Fujifilm Becomes Latest Ransomware Victim As White House Urges Business Leaders To Take Action
Cyber Crime Forum Advertises Alleged Database, Source Code From Russian Firm That Helped Parler
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Mobile
IOT
Vulnerabilities
Huawei USB LTE Dongles Are Vulnerable To Privilege Escalation Attacks
Hackers Actively Exploiting 0-Day In WordPress Plugin Installed On Over 17,000 Sites
EPUB Vulnerabilities: Electronic Reading Systems Riddled With Browser-Like Flaws
SonicWall Urges Customers To 'Immediately' Patch NSM On-Prem Bug
Data Breaches
Supply Chain
Nation State Actors
Chinese Cyber Criminals Spent Three Years Creating A New Backdoor To Spy On Governments
Kimsuky APT Continues To Target South Korean Government Using Appleseed Backdoor
Russian Hacker Pavel Sitnikov Arrested For Sharing Malware Source Code
Privacy
Other News
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Cyber Weekly Flash Briefing 19 June 2020: Widespread Office 365 phishing attacks, new cyber storm as businesses reopen, cyber spies use LinkedIn, largest ever DDoS attack, Ripple20 IoT vulns
Cyber Weekly Flash Briefing 19 June 2020: Widespread Office 365 phishing attacks, new cyber storm as businesses reopen, cyber spies use LinkedIn, largest ever DDoS attack, Ripple20 IoT vulns
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.
If you’re pressed for time watch the 60 second quick fire video summary of the top Cyber and InfoSec stories from the last week:
Office 365 Phishing Campaign Exploits Samsung, Adobe and Oxford Servers
Over the last few years, the adoption of Office 365 in the corporate sector has significantly increased. Its popularity has attracted the attention of cyber criminals who launch phishing campaigns specifically to attack the platform. As 90% of cyber-attacks start with a phishing campaign, Office 365 is an attractive target for threat actors who work to evade the continuously introduced security solutions.
Recently, a seemingly unsophisticated Office 365 phishing campaign caught our attention. The attackers abused an Adobe Campaign redirection mechanism, using a Samsung domain to redirect victims to an O365 themed phishing website. The hackers took advantage of the fact that access to a reputable domain, such as Samsung’s, would not be blocked by security software.
To expand their campaign, the attackers also compromised several websites to inject a script that imitates the same mechanism offered by the Adobe redirection service. Further investigation revealed that the actors behind the campaign implemented a few other interesting tricks to hide the phishing kit and avoid detection at each stage of the attack.
Read more here: https://research.checkpoint.com/2020/phishing-campaign-exploits-samsung-adobe-and-oxford-servers/
Guernsey Police warn businesses in Guernsey using Office 365 also targeted by scammers
Guernsey Police are warning local businesses about an online scam targeting users of Office 365.
Officers have been in contact with several businesses using the service who have fallen victim to phishing scams which have allowed hackers access to their email inbox.
The hackers then distribute malicious links to their contacts.
Police say using multi-factor authentication can help keep personal data safe.
Anyone who receives an unexpected email from someone they trust containing a link should contact them directly to make sure they sent it.
As Businesses Reopen, A New Storm Of Cybercrime Activity Looms
There is nothing ordinary about the amount of disruption that will impact our lives moving forward as countries and states reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. In the context of the cloud, disruptions caused by COVID-19 have opened the door to another type of virus: cybersecurity threats. Today we are witnessing a rapid rise of opportunistic cybercriminal activity taking advantage of the chaos created by COVID-19.
Focal concerns about economic recovery and a potential second wave of human infection are abounding. Still, the concern for many companies should also include heightened cybersecurity threats that can easily break companies before they have a chance to relaunch. For the many companies that are already fighting to remain afloat due to challenges faced during COVID-19, a cybersecurity breach could quickly mean the end. As businesses navigate this “new normal,” they must address weaknesses in their IT strategies exposed by COVID-19 and consider implementing a better preparedness plan to avoid long-term damage.
Microsoft: COVID-19 malware attacks were barely a blip in total malware volume
Microsoft says that despite all the media headlines over the past few months, malware attacks that abused the coronavirus (COVID-19) theme have barely been a blip in the total volume of threats the company sees each month.
These COVID-19 attacks included emails carrying malicious file attachments (also referred to as malspam) and emails containing malicious links that redirect users to phishing sites or malware downloads.
According to Microsoft's Threat Protection Intelligence Team, the first attacks abusing a COVID-19 lure started after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on January 30.
As the world yearned to learn more about this new disease, attacks intensified, and they peaked in March when most of the world's countries enforced stay-at-home measures.
"The week following [the WHO] declaration saw these attacks increase eleven-fold," Microsoft said. "By the end of March, every country in the world had seen at least one COVID-19 themed attack."
Cyber spies use LinkedIn to hack European defence firms
LONDON (Reuters) - Hackers posed as recruiters working for U.S. defence giants Collins Aerospace and General Dynamics (GD.N) on LinkedIn to break into the networks of military contractors in Europe, cyber security researchers said on Wednesday.
The cyber spies were able to compromise the systems of at least two defence and aerospace firms in Central Europe last year by approaching employees with pseudo job offers from the U.S. firms.
The attackers then used LinkedIn’s private messaging feature to send documents containing malicious code which the employees were tricked into opening.
The researcher declined to name the victims, citing client confidentiality, and said it was unclear if any information was stolen. General Dynamics and Collins Aerospace, which is owned by Raytheon Technologies RTX.N, declined immediate comment.
The researchers were unable to determine the identity of the hackers but said the attacks had some links to a North Korean group known as Lazarus, which has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of orchestrating a string of high-profile cyber heists on victims including Sony Pictures and the Central Bank of Bangladesh.
Read more here: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-linkedin-hacks/cyber-spies-use-linkedin-to-hack-european-defence-firms-idUKKBN23O2L7
Australian PM says nation under serious state-run 'cyber attack' – Microsoft, Citrix, Telerik UI bugs 'exploited'
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called a snap press conference to reveal that the nation is under cyber-attack by a state-based actor, but the nation’s infosec advice agency says that while the attacker has gained access to some systems it has not conducted “any disruptive or destructive activities within victim environments.”
Morrison said the attack has targeted government, key infrastructure and the private sector, and was sufficiently serious that he took the courteous-in-a-crisis, but not-compulsory step, of informing the leader of the opposition about the incident. He also said that the primary purpose of the snap press conference was to inform and educate Australians about the incident.
But Morrison declined to state whether Australian defence agencies have identified the source of the attack and said evidence gathered to date does not meet the government’s threshold of certainty to name the attacker.
Read more here: https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/19/australia_state_cyberattack/
Google removes 106 Chrome extensions for collecting sensitive user data
Google has removed 106 malicious Chrome extensions that have been caught collecting sensitive user data.
The 106 extensions are part of a batch of 111 Chrome extensions that have been identified as malicious in a report published this week.
These extensions posed as tools to improve web searches, convert files between different formats, as security scanners, and more.
But in reality the extensions contained code to bypass Google's Chrome Web Store security scans, take screenshots, read the clipboard, harvest authentication cookies, or grab user keystrokes (such as passwords).
Read more here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-removes-106-chrome-extensions-for-collecting-sensitive-user-data/
AWS stops largest DDoS attack ever
Amazon has revealed that its AWS Shield service was able to mitigate the largest DDoS attack ever recorded at 2.3 Tbps back in February of this year.
The company's new AWS Shield Threat Landscape report provided details on this attack and others mitigated by its AWS Shield protection service.
While the report did not identify the AWS customer targeted in the DDoS attack, it did say that the attack itself was carried out using hijacked CLDAP (Connection-less Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) web servers and lasted for three days.
https://www.techradar.com/news/aws-stops-largest-ddos-attack-ever
Ripple20 Vulnerabilities Affect Hundreds of Millions of IoT Devices
Zero-day vulnerabilities have been discovered that could impact millions of IoT devices found in data centres, power grids, and elsewhere.
The flaws, dubbed Ripple20, includes multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities and affects "hundreds of millions of devices (or more)."
Researchers named the vulnerabilities Ripple20 to reflect the widespread impact they have had as a natural consequence of the supply chain "ripple-effect" that has seen the widespread dissemination of the software library and its internal flaws.
"A single vulnerable component, though it may be relatively small in and of itself, can ripple outward to impact a wide range of industries, applications, companies, and people," wrote researchers.
Ripple20 reached critical IoT devices involving a diverse group of vendors from a wide range of industries. Affected vendors range from one-person boutique shops to Fortune 500 multinational corporations, including HP, Schneider Electric, Intel, Rockwell Automation, Caterpillar, and Baxter.
Read more: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ripple20-vulnerabilities-discovered/
Unpatched vulnerability identified in 79 Netgear router models
A whopping 79 Netgear router models are vulnerable to a severe security flaw that can let hackers take over devices remotely.
The vulnerability has been discovered by two security researchers independently, namely Adam Nichols from cyber-security GRIMM and a security researcher going by the nickname of d4rkn3ss, working for Vietnamese internet service provider VNPT.
According to Nichols, the vulnerability impacts 758 different firmware versions that have been used on 79 Netgear routers across the years, with some firmware versions being first deployed on devices released as far back as 2007.
This lack of proper security protections opens the door for an attacker to craft malicious HTTP requests that can be used to take over the router.
More here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/unpatched-vulnerability-identified-in-79-netgear-router-models/
New Mac malware uses 'novel' tactic to bypass macOS Catalina security
Security researchers have discovered a new Mac malware in the wild that tricks users into bypassing modern macOS app security protections.
In macOS Catalina, Apple introduced new app notarization requirements. The features, baked in Gatekeeper, discourage users from opening unverified apps — requiring malware authors to get more creative with their tactics.
As an example, researchers have discovered a new Trojan horse malware actively spreading in the wild via poisoned Google search results that tricks users into bypassing those protections themselves.
The malware is delivered as a .dmg disk image masquerading as an Adobe Flash installer. But once it's mounted on a user's machine, it displays instructions guiding users through the malicious installation process.