Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 February 2022

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Britain Warns of Cyber Attacks as Russia-Ukraine Crisis Escalates

Britain warned of potential cyber attacks with "international consequences" this week after Russian President Vladimir Puitin ordered troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, called on British organisations to "bolster their online defences" following the developments.

"While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been an historical pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine with international consequences," it said in a statement.

Last week, Ukranian banking and government websites were briefly knocked offline by a spate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks which the United States and Britain said were carried out by Russian military hackers.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/britain-warns-cyberattacks-russia-ukraine-crisis-escalates-2022-02-22/

Ransomware Extortion Doesn't Stop After Paying The Ransom

A global survey that looked into the experience of ransomware victims highlights the lack of trustworthiness of ransomware actors, as in most cases of paying the ransom, the extortion simply continues.

This is not a surprising or new discovery, but when seeing it reflected in actual statistics, one can appreciate the scale of the problem in full.

The survey was conducted by cyber security specialist Venafi, and the most important findings that emerge from the respondents are the following:

• 18% of victims who paid the ransom still had their data exposed on the dark web.

• 8% refused to pay the ransom, and the attackers tried to extort their customers.

• 35% of victims paid the ransom but were still unable to retrieve their data.

As for the ransomware actor extortion tactics, these are summarized as follows:

• 83% of all successful ransomware attacks featured double and triple extortion.

• 38% of ransomware attacks threatened to use stolen data to extort customers.

• 35% of ransomware attacks threatened to expose stolen data on the dark web.

• 32% of attacks threatened to directly inform the victim's customers of the data breach incident.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ransomware-extortion-doesnt-stop-after-paying-the-ransom/

Ukraine Calls For Volunteer Hackers To Protect Its Critical Infrastructure And Spy On Russian Forces

The government of Ukraine is calling on the hacking community to volunteer its expertise and capabilities, following the invasion of the country by Russian forces.

Reuters reports that Yegor Aushev, the CEO of Kyiv-based Cyber Unit Technologies which has worked with Ukraine's government on the defence of critical infrastructure, claims to have been asked to post a digital call-to-arms after being asked by "a senior Defence Ministry official."

The message, which was posted on hacking forums by Aushev on Thursday, begins "Ukrainian cybercommunity! It’s time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country," and calls for cybersecurity experts and hackers to apply as a volunteer via a Google Docs link.  The page volunteers are directed to asks applicants to list their specialities, such as if they have developed malware, and professional references.

According to Aushev, volunteers will be divided into two groups - tasked with offensive and defensive cyber operations.

https://www.bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/ukraine-calls-for-volunteer-hackers-to-protect-its-critical-infrastructure-and-spy-on-russian-forces/

Study: UK Firms Most Likely To Pay Ransomware Hackers

Some 82% of British firms which have been victims of ransomware attacks paid the hackers in order to get back their data, a new report suggests.

The global average was 58%, making the UK the most likely country to pay cyber-criminals.

Security firm Proofpoint's research also found that more than three-quarters of UK businesses were affected by ransomware in 2021.

Phishing attacks remain the key way criminals access networks, it found.

Phishing happens when someone in a firm is lured into clicking on a link in an email that contains malware, which in turn can help cyber-criminals access company networks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60478725

Conti Ransomware Group Announces Support of Russia, Threatens Retaliatory Attacks

An infamous ransomware group with potential ties to Russian intelligence and known for attacking health care providers and hundreds of other targets posted a warning Friday saying it was “officially announcing a full support of Russian government.”

The gang said that it would use “all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures” of any entity that organises a cyberattack “or any war activities against Russia.” The message appeared Friday on the dark-web site used by ransomware group Conti to post threats and its victims’ data. Security researchers believe the gang to be Russia-based.

Conti ransomware was part of more than 400 attacks against mostly U.S. targets between spring 2020 and spring 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI reported in September.

https://www.cyberscoop.com/conti-ransomware-russia-ukraine-critical-infrastructure/

91% of UK Organisations Compromised by an Email Phishing Attack in 2021

More than nine in 10 (91%) UK organizations were successfully compromised by an email phishing attack last year, according to Proofpoint’s 2022 State of the Phish report.

The study observed a significant rise in email-based attacks globally in 2021 compared to 2020. Over three-quarters (78%) of organizations were targeted by email-based ransomware attacks last year and 77% faced business email compromise (BEC) attacks, the latter an 18% year-on-year increase from 2020.

The survey of 600 information and IT security professionals and 3500 workers in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK also found that attacks in 2021 were more likely to be successful than in 2020. More than four in five (83%) respondents said their organization experienced at least one successful email-based phishing attack last year, up from 57% in 2020. In addition, 68% of organizations admitted they had to deal with at least one ransomware infection stemming from a direct email payload, second-stage malware delivery or other exploit.

Worryingly, 60% of organizations infected with ransomware admitted to paying a ransom, with around a third (32%) paying additional sums to regain access to data and systems.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-organizations-email-phishing/

Almost 100,000 New Mobile Banking Trojan Strains Detected In 2021

Researchers have found almost 100,000 new variants of mobile banking Trojans in just a year.

As our digital lives have begun to centre more on handsets rather than just desktop PCs, many malware developers have shifted part of their focus to the creation of mobile threats.

Many of the traditional infection routes are still workable -- including phishing and the download and execution of suspicious software -- but cyber attackers are also known to infiltrate official app stores, including Google Play, to lure handset owners into downloading software that appears to be trustworthy.

This technique is often associated with the distribution of Remote Access Trojans (RATs). While Google maintains security barriers to stop malicious apps from being hosted in its store, there are methods to circumvent these controls quietly.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/almost-100000-new-mobile-banking-trojans-detected-in-2021/

Anonymous Collective Has Hacked The Russian Defence Ministry And Leaked The Data Of Its Employees In Response To The Ukraine Invasion

A few hours after the Anonymous collective has called to action against Russia following the illegitimate invasion of Ukraine its members have taken down the website of the Russian propaganda station RT News and news of the day is the attack against the servers of the Russian Defense Ministry.

“Anonymous, a group of hacktivists, successfully hacked and leaked the database of the website of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.” reported the Pravda agency.

The website of the Kremlin (Kremlin.ru) is also unreachable, but it is unclear if it is the result of the Anonymous attack or if the government has taken offline it to prevent disruptive attacks.

The Russian Government’s portal, and the websites of other ministries are running very slow.

The collective is also threatening the Russian Federation and private organizations of attacks, it is a retaliation against Putin’s tyranny.

Anonymous pointed out that it is not targeting Russian citizens, but only their government.

“We want the Russian people to understand that we know it’s hard for them to speak out against their dictator for fear of reprisals.”

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/128428/hacking/anonymous-russian-defense-ministry.html

Email Remains Go-To Method for Cyber Attacks, Phishing Research Report Finds

If you don’t know what it is, if you can’t identify it and if you can’t make sure you don’t topple into its traps, then you can’t fight it, suggests a new report by security provider Proofpoint in its eighth annual State of the Phish report.

The “it” is email-based malware attacks, the kingpin of all hacking methods, that victims often fall for out of a lack of awareness, inadequate training or risky behaviours, such as using a company mobile device for home use.

Proofpoint’s report takes an in-depth look at user phishing awareness, vulnerability and resilience and comes away with some startling numbers: More than three-quarters of organizations associated with the 4,100 IT security professionals and staffers in the worldwide study were hit by email-based ransomware attacks in 2021 and an equal number were victimized by business email compromise attacks, an 18 percent spike from 2020.

What explains the year-over-year climb? Answer: Cyber criminals continue to focus on compromising people, not necessarily systems, Proofpoint said. Email remains cyber criminals’ go-to attack strategy, said Alan Lefort, Proofpoint security awareness training senior vice president and general manager. “Infosec and IT survey participants experienced an increase in targeted attacks in 2021 compared to 2020, yet our analysis showed the recognition of key security terminology such as phishing, malware, smishing (text-based ruse), and vishing (telephone trickery) dropped significantly,” said Lefort. “The awareness gaps and lax security behaviors demonstrated by workers creates substantial risk for organizations and their bottom line.”

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/email-remains-go-to-method-for-cyberattacks-phishing-research-report-finds/

The Future of Cyber Insurance

In 2016, just 26% of insurance clients had cyber coverage. That number rose to 47% in 2020, according to a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. But the demand for cyber coverage isn't the only thing soaring.

At the end of 2020, insurance prices jumped anywhere from 10% to 30%. In the third quarter of 2021, the average cost of cyber insurance premiums climbed a record 27.6%.

If the rates continue to rise, companies might decide it's not worth the cost. That is, if insurers continue to cover their industry.

https://www.darkreading.com/risk/the-future-of-cyber-insurance

Businesses Are at Significant Risk of Cyber Security Breaches Due to Immature Security Hygiene and Posture Management Practices

Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), a leading IT analyst, research, and strategy firm, and a division of TechTarget, Inc., today announced new research into security hygiene and posture management – a foundational part of a strong security program. The study reveals that many aspects of cyber security are managed independently and with antiquated tools, leaving organisations with limited visibility and weak defenses against an ever-evolving threat landscape. Since strong cybersecurity starts with the basics, like knowing about all IT assets deployed, this situation makes organisations vulnerable to advanced threats among strategic, yet often hurried, cloud and digital transformation initiatives.

The new report, Security Hygiene and Posture Management, summarizes a survey of 398 IT and cyber security professionals responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and utilizing products and services for security hygiene and posture management, including vulnerability management, asset management, attack surface management, and security testing tools. The data reveals that organisations must aim to further assess security posture management processes, examine vendor risk management requirements, and test security tool and processes more frequently.

https://www.darkreading.com/risk/businesses-are-at-significant-risk-of-cybersecurity-breaches-due-to-immature-security-hygiene-and-posture-management-practices

Microsoft Teams Is The New Frontier For Phishing Attacks

Even with email-based phishing attacks proving to be more successful than ever, cyberattackers are ramping up their efforts to target employees on additional platforms, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack.

One advantage is that in those applications, most employees still assume that they’re actually talking to their boss or coworker when they receive a message.

“The scary part is that we trust these programs implicitly — unlike our email inboxes, where we’ve learned to be suspicious of messages where we don’t recognize the sender’s address,” said anti-fraud technology firm Outseer.

Notably, traditional phishing has seen no slowdown: Proofpoint reported that 83% of organizations experienced a successful email-based phishing attack in 2021 — a massive jump from 57% in 2020. And outside of email, SMS attacks (smishing) and voice-based attacks (vishing) both grew in 2021, as well, according to the email security vendor.

However, it appears that attackers now view widely used collaboration platforms, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, as another growing opportunity for targeting workers, security researchers and executives say. For some threat actors, it’s also a chance to leverage the additional capabilities of collaboration apps as part of the trickery.

https://venturebeat.com/2022/02/23/microsoft-teams-is-the-new-frontier-for-phishing-attacks/

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Threats

Ransomware

• Russia-Based Ransomware Group Conti Issues Warning To Kremlin Foes | Reuters

• Conti Ransomware 'Acquires' TrickBot as It Thrives Amid Crackdowns | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ransomware Is Top Attack Vector On Critical Infrastructure | CSO Online

• TrickBot Malware Operation Shuts Down, Devs Move To Stealthier Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Exchange Servers Hacked To Deploy Cuba Ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Attackers Used Dridex To Deliver Entropy Ransomware, Code Resemblance Uncovered - Help Net Security

• Expeditors Shuts Down Global Operations After Likely Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chipmaker Giant Nvidia Hit By A Ransomware Attack - Security Affairs

• Backups ‘No Longer Effective’ For Stopping Ransomware Attacks (computerweekly.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• BEC-as-a-Service Campaigns Drive Surge in Email Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine

Phishing & Email

• Cyber Attackers Leverage DocuSign to Steal Microsoft Outlook Logins | Threatpost

• New Phishing Campaign Targets Monzo Online-Banking Customers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Devious Phishing Method Bypasses MFA Using Remote Access Software (bleepingcomputer.com)

Other Social Engineering

• Social Media Attacks Surged In 2021, Financial Institutions Targeted The Most - Help Net Security

Malware

• Over 2.7 Million Cases Of Emotet Malware Detected Globally - Japan Today

• Jester Stealer Malware Adds More Capabilities To Entice Hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Beware: New Kraken Botnet Easily Fools Windows Defender And Steals Crypto Wallet Data - Neowin

• Threat Actors Target Poorly Protected Microsoft SQL Servers - Security Affairs

• New Golang Botnet Empties Windows Users’ Cryptocurrency Wallets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Revamped CryptBot Malware Spread By Pirated Software Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Social Media Hijacking Malware Spreading Through Gaming Apps on Microsoft Store (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• New Xenomorph Android Malware Targets Customers Of 56 Banks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Gaming, Banking Trojans Dominate Mobile Malware Scene | Threatpost

• Beware of ‘Zero-Click’ Hacks That Exploit Security Flaws in Phones’ Operating Systems (insurancejournal.com)

• Samsung Shipped '100m' Android Phones With Flawed Encryption • The Register

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Revealed: Credit Suisse Leak Unmasks Criminals, Fraudsters And Corrupt Politicians | Credit Suisse | The Guardian

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Police Dismantled Gang That Used Phishing Sites To Steal Credit Cards - Security Affairs

• Nigerian Hacker Pleads Guilty To Stealing Payroll Deposits (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking

• North Korean Hackers Launder Crypto Using Sophisticated Techniques: Report (cryptopotato.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Employees Are Often Using Devices In Seriously Risky Ways - Help Net Security

• Insider Threats Are More Than Just Malicious Employees (darkreading.com)

• 83% Of Employees Continue Accessing Old Employer's Accounts - Help Net Security

• Motorola Case Shows Importance Of Detecting Insider IP Theft Quickly | CSO Online

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Think You Couldn't Be Duped By a Con Artist? Think Again | Psychology Today

• Sextortion Rears Its Ugly Head Again | Threatpost

• French Speakers Blasted By Sextortion Scams With No Text Or Links – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Digital Ad Fraud Set to Hit $68bn in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine

Supply Chain

• Hackers Tried To Shatter The Spine Of Global Supply Chains In 2021 | ZDNet

Nation State Actors

• NCSC Advises Organisations to Act Following Russia’s Further Violation of Ukraine’s Territorial Integrity - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Russia-Backed Hackers Behind Powerful New Malware, UK and US Say | Russia | The Guardian

• Ransomware Used as Decoy in Destructive Cyber Attacks on Ukraine | SecurityWeek.Com

• Data Wiper Attacks On Ukraine Were Planned At Least In November - Security Affairs

• Russia’s Sandworm Hackers Have Built a Botnet of Firewalls | WIRED

• China-linked APT10 Target Taiwan's Financial Trading Industry - Security Affairs

• Iran's Hackers Are Using These Tools To Steal Passwords And Deliver Ransomware, say FBI and CISA | ZDNet

• US and UK Details a New Python Backdoor Used by MuddyWater APT - Security Affairs

Privacy

• What Is Browser Fingerprinting and How Does It Track You? | WIRED

Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare

• CISOs, Beware Of Spyware Tools For Illicit Competitive Intelligence | CSO Online

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Vulnerabilities

• Cisco Firewall Customers Warned Of Need For Rapid Updates • The Register

• New Flaws Discovered in Cisco's Network Operating System for Switches (thehackernews.com)

• CISA Alerts on Actively Exploited Flaws in Zabbix Network Monitoring Platform (thehackernews.com)

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Sector Specific

Financial Services Sector

• CrowdStrike CEO: Bank Execs ‘Very Concerned’ About Russia Cyber Attacks (cnbc.com)

Defence

• New "SockDetour" Fileless, Socketless Backdoor Targets US Defense Contractors (thehackernews.com)

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Massive Ransomware Attack Could Cost Irish Health Exec €100m - Infosecurity Magazine

Construction

• Construction Companies Receive Cyber Security Guidance - IT Security Guru

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 State of the Phish Report - Stats, Trends & More | Proofpoint

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Other News

• The Threat of Cyber War Has Finally Arrived - The Atlantic

• War in Ukraine Risks Scrambling the Logic of Cyber Security | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Russia-Ukraine War: Phishing, Malware and Hacker Groups Taking Sides (thehackernews.com)

• 22 Very Bad Stats On The Growth Of Phishing, Ransomware | VentureBeat

• Data Leaks And Shadow Assets Greatly Exposing Organisations To Cyber Attacks - Help Net Security

• 50% of Websites Vulnerable to Hacking All Year in 2021, New Report Says - MSSP Alert

• ‘Betamax’ Police Forces Failing To Recognise The Digital ‘Crime Challenges Of Today’ (telegraph.co.uk)

• How Much Can You Trust Your Printer? - Help Net Security

• Is Multifactor Authentication Less Effective Than It Used To Be? (slate.com)

• How To Keep Pace With Rising Data Protection Demands - Help Net Security

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

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Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 26 November 2021

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

70% Of IT Pros Say Security Hygiene Has Got Harder Over Past Two Years

A new report from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and JupiterOne warns of inadequate security hygiene and posture management practices at many organizations. The research found that 86% of organizations believe they follow best practices for security hygiene and posture management. However, 70% of organizations said they use more than ten security tools to manage security hygiene and posture management, which raises concerns about data management and operations overhead.

In addition, 73% of security professionals admitted that they still depend on spreadsheets to manage security hygiene and posture at their organizations. As a result, 70% of respondents said that security hygiene and posture management had become more difficult over the past two years as their attack surfaces have grown.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/11/19/report-70-of-it-pros-say-security-hygiene-has-gotten-harder-over-past-two-years/

As Digital Shopping Surges, Researchers Predict 8 Million Daily Attacks

Arkose Labs released new data on the latest fraud trends, revealing increased threats during the holidays, rising bot attacks, and a resurgence in attacks on travel companies. As shoppers fill their online carts, account takeover (ATO) attacks and gift-card fraud remain persistent.

The report shares the top six fraud-fighting trends from the previous 3 months and provides data highlighting that no digital business is immune from attack. Financial industries saw 32 percent more attacks than in the first half of 2021.

Retail and travel attacks increased 63 percent in Q3, and gaming saw a spate of fake new accounts being set up for fraudulent purposes. Media and streaming businesses saw 60 percent of malicious activity targeting logins, and 20 percent of these attacks originating from human fraud farms.

Technology platforms see 91 percent of all attacks powered by bots. Overall, attacks are increasing in every industry, and they are growing more sophisticated.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/22/threats-during-holidays/

More Ransomware Attacks Up to September Than Whole of 2020

Most UK business leaders expect cyber-threats to surge next year, with ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), cloud and supply chain attacks all predicted to increase, according to PwC.

The findings come from the consulting giant’s 2022 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey and were distilled from interviews with 257 business and technology executives in the UK.

Although most (63%) respondents said they expect security budgets to increase next year, even more (66%) predicted cyber-threats would rise. Ransomware (61%), BEC (61%), malware via software updates (63%), and cloud compromise (64%) were among the most notable.

Bobbie Ramsden-Knowles, crisis and resilience partner at PwC UK, claimed the firm’s threat intelligence team has tracked more ransomware incidents globally up to September this year than for the whole of 2020.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/more-ransomware-attacks-september/

Ransomware Warning: Hackers See Holidays And Weekends As A Great Time To Attack

Just because you're taking a break, that doesn't mean hackers will be too.

Ahead of the holidays cyber agencies have released a warning to stay vigilant on holidays and weekends, because hackers don't plan on taking a holiday break.

Warnings remind organisations that ransomware attackers often choose to launch attacks on holidays and weekends, specifically when businesses are likely to be closed.

Recent history tells us that this could be a time when these persistent cyber actors halfway across the world are looking for ways—big and small—to disrupt the critical networks and systems belonging to organizations, businesses, and critical infrastructure.

Some of the worst ransomware attacks happened on holidays and weekends.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/security-warning-ransomware-attackers-are-working-on-the-holidays-even-if-you-arent/

Suspect Arrested In 'Ransom Your Employer' Criminal Scheme

A Nigerian man has been arrested in connection to a scheme attempting to lure insiders to deploy ransomware on employer systems.

On November 22, security expert Brian Krebs reported that the man, Oluwaseun Medayedupin, was arrested by Nigerian authorities on Friday.

The suspect is allegedly linked to a 'ransom your employer' scheme investigated by Abnormal Security in August.

Customers of the cybersecurity firm were sent emails with the subject "Partnership affiliate offer," requesting that the recipient considered becoming an accomplice in a cyberattack.

The emails offered a 40% cut of an anticipated $2.5 million ransomware payment in Bitcoin (BTC), made after the recipients installed the DemonWare ransomware on their employer's systems.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/suspect-arrested-in-ransom-your-employer-criminal-scheme/

The Newer Cyber Crime Triad: Trickbot-Emotet-Conti

Advanced Intelligence researchers argue that the restarting of the Emotet botnet was driven by Conti ransomware gang.

Early this year, law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide conducted a joint operation, named Operation Ladybird, which disrupted the EMOTET botnet. At the time the investigators have taken control of its infrastructure in an international coordinated action.

This operation was the result of a joint effort between authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Canada and Ukraine, with international activity coordinated by Europol and Eurojust.

The law enforcement agency was able to take over at least 700 servers used as part of the Emotet botnet’s infrastructure. The FBI collected millions of email addresses used by Emotet operators in their malware campaigns as part of the cleanup operation.

The Emotet banking trojan has been active at least since 2014, the botnet is operated by a threat actor tracked as TA542. The infamous banking trojan was also used to deliver other malicious code, such as Trickbot and QBot trojans, or ransomware such as Conti, ProLock, Ryuk, and Egregor.

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/124807/cyber-crime/trickbot-emotet-conti-triad.html

Threat Actors Find And Compromise Exposed Services In 24 Hours

Researchers set up 320 honeypots to see how quickly threat actors would target exposed cloud services and report that 80% of them were compromised in under 24 hours.

Malicious actors are constantly scanning the Internet for exposed services that could be exploited to access internal networks or perform other malicious activity.

To track what software and services are targeted by threat actors, researchers create publicly accessible honeypots. Honeypots are servers configured to appear as if they are running various software as lures to monitor threat actors' tactics.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/threat-actors-find-and-compromise-exposed-services-in-24-hours/

Does Your Company Employ A CISO? Many Are Operating Without Security Leadership

45% of companies do not employ a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), a Navisite research found. Of this group, 58% think their company should hire a CISO.

Only 40% of respondents stated their cybersecurity strategy was developed by a CISO or member of the security team, with 60% relying on other parts of their organization, including IT, executive leadership and compliance.

130 security, IT and compliance professionals were polled in the US to determine their perceptions on the state of cybersecurity leadership and readiness within their organizations. More than 80% of respondents described their job title as either executive leadership or management, with more than 60% of respondents coming from mid-sized organizations between 100-5,000 employees.

Why you should employ a CISO?

·       21% of respondents admit their company does not have a dedicated person or staff whose sole responsibility is security/cybersecurity.

·       75% of respondents said their company experienced an increase in overall cybersecurity threat volume in the last year.

·       80% of respondents felt their company exhibited strong cybersecurity leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

·       70% of respondents expressed confidence in the effectiveness of their cybersecurity program—but that confidence dropped to 58% for companies without a CISO.

·       47% of survey takers believe their company spends too little on cybersecurity.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/23/employ-ciso/

New Malware Is Capable Of Evading Almost All Antivirus Products

There’s a new JavaScript downloader on the prowl that not only distributes eight different Remote Access Trojans (RATs), keyloggers and information stealers, but is also able to bypass detection by a majority of security tools, experts have warned.

Cyber security researchers at HP Wolf Security named the malware RATDispenser, noting that while JavaScript downloaders typically have a lower detection rate than other downloaders, this particular malware is more dangerous since it employs several techniques to evade detection.

“It’s particularly concerning to see RATDispenser only being detected by about 11% of antivirus systems, resulting in this stealthy malware successfully deploying on victims’ endpoints in most cases,” noted Patrick Schlapfer, Malware Analyst at HP.

https://www.techradar.com/news/new-malware-is-capable-of-evading-almost-all-antivirus-products

Interpol Arrests Over 1,000 Suspects Linked To Cyber Crime

Interpol has coordinated the arrest of 1,003 individuals linked to various cyber-crimes such as romance scams, investment frauds, online money laundering, and illegal online gambling.

This crackdown results from a four-month action codenamed ‘Operation HAEICHI-II,’ which took place in twenty countries between June and September 2021.

These were Angola, Brunei, Cambodia, Colombia, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea (Rep. of), Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam.

On the financial aspect of the operation, the authorities have also intercepted nearly $27,000,000 and froze 2,350 banking accounts linked to various online crimes.

As the Interpol announcement details, at least ten new criminal modus operandi were identified in HAEICHI-II, indicative of the evolving nature of cyber-crime.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/legal/interpol-arrests-over-1-000-suspects-linked-to-cyber-crime/

Researchers Warn Of Severe Risks From ‘Printjack’ Printer Attacks

A team of Italian researchers has compiled a set of three attacks called 'Printjack,' warning users of the significant consequences of over-trusting their printer.

The attacks include recruiting the printers in DDoS swarms, imposing a paper DoS state, and performing privacy breaches.

As the researchers point out, modern printers are still vulnerable to elementary flaws and lag behind other IoT and electronic devices that are starting to conform with cybersecurity and data privacy requirements.

By evaluating the attack potential and the risk levels, the researchers found non-compliance with GDPR requirements and the ISO/IEC 27005:2018 (framework for managing cyber-risks).

This lack of in-built security is particularly problematic when considering how omnipresent printers are, being deployed in critical environments, companies, and organizations of all sizes.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/researchers-warn-of-severe-risks-from-printjack-printer-attacks/

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Threats

Ransomware

• New Memento Ransomware Uses Password-Protected WinRAR Archives To Block Access To The Files - Security Affairs

• Defense Contractors Are Highly Susceptible To Ransomware Attacks - Help Net Security

• Holidays Don't Mean Much To Ransomware Attackers - Help Net Security

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Two Nigerians Sentenced to Prison in US for Role in BEC Scams | SecurityWeek.Com

Phishing

• TrickBot Phishing Checks Screen Resolution To Evade Researchers (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Malware

• Crooks Compromise Microsoft Exchange Servers To Hijack Internal Email Chains - Security Affairs

• Hackers Using Microsoft MSHTML Flaw to Spy on Targeted PCs with Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Malicious Python Packages Employ Advanced Detection Evasion Techniques - Help Net Security

• Stealthy New JavaScript Malware Infects Windows PCs with RATs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New Golang-based Linux Malware Targeting eCommerce Websites (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• Spyware Alert! 23 Apps Found Spying On Android Users Via Mobile Camera | techgig

• MediaTek Chip Flaw Could Have Let Attackers Spy on Android Phones (darkreading.com)

• Over 9 Million Android Phones Running Malware Apps from Huawei's AppGallery (thehackernews.com)

IOT

• Hikvision Security Cameras Potentially Exposed to Remote Code Execution (sans.edu)

• Some Tesla Owners Unable To Unlock Cars Due To Server Errors (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Vulnerabilities

• All Versions of Windows Are Vulnerable to a New Zero-Day Exploit (pcmag.com)

• Attackers Hijack Email Using Proxy Logon/Proxyshell Flaws | Threatpost

• Cisco Flaw Affects Firewalls - Infosecurity Magazine

• Expert Discloses Details Of Flaws In Oracle VirtualBox - Security Affairs

• VMware Warns of Newly Discovered Vulnerabilities in vSphere Web Client (thehackernews.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• GoDaddy Hack Exposes Accounts Of 1.2 Million Customers (Bitdefender.Com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Hackers Accused Of Stealing $100m Live Openly In Russia | World | The Times

Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking

• Teen Accused of Stealing Bitcoin Worth $36.5M - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Fraud & Financial Crime

• Fraud Fighters Aren't Prepared For The Multi-Billion Dollar Threat Of Global Insurance Fraud - Help Net Security

Insurance

• Work From Home, Digital Shift During Covid Drives Cyber Insurance Prices (bloombergquint.com)

Nation State Actors

• NCSC Warns Industry, Academia Of Foreign Threats To Their Intellectual Property | CSO Online

• North Korean Hackers Found Behind a Range of Credential Theft Campaigns (thehackernews.com)

• US Bans Chinese Firms For Feeding Tech To The Military • The Register

Cloud

• Observing Attacks Against Hundreds of Exposed Services in Public Clouds (paloaltonetworks.com)

Passwords

• Attackers Don't Bother Brute-Forcing Long Passwords, Microsoft Engineer Says - The Record By Recorded Future

• Less than Half of Consumers Change Password Post-Breach - Infosecurity Magazine

Parental Controls

• Products Used By Children Are Not Nearly As Privacy-Protecting As They Should Be - Help Net Security

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Sector Specific

Financial Services Sector

• Credentials Exposed For Majority Of US Financial Firm Employees | Sc Media (Scmagazine.Com)

• US Government Securities Watchdog Spoofed By Investment Scammers – Don’t Fall For It! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

SMBs – Small and Medium Businesses

• UK Govt Warns Thousands Of SMBs Their Online Stores Were Hacked (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Defence

• Defence Contractors Are Highly Susceptible To Ransomware Attacks - Help Net Security

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Devious ‘Tardigrade’ Malware Hits Biomanufacturing Facilities | WIRED

• Preventing a Cyber Pandemic in Healthcare | SecurityWeek.Com

• Healthcare Organisations At Risk: The Attack Surface Is Expanding - Help Net Security

• ENISA - The Need For Incident Response Capabilities In The Health Sector - Security Affairs

• Philips Working on Patches for Vulnerabilities Found in Medical Products | SecurityWeek.Com

Transport and Aviation

• Hackers Hit Iran's Mahan Airline, Claim Confidential Data Theft (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Maritime

• Marine Services Provider Swire Pacific Offshore Hit By Ransomware (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• The Evolving Threat of Ransomware | The State of Security (tripwire.com)

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Other News

• As Digital Shopping Surges, Researchers Predict 8 Million Daily Attacks - Help Net Security

• Rising Cyber Crime Demands Laws And Users Keep Up | The Seattle Times

• IKEA Email Systems Hit By Ongoing Cyber Attack (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• UK and German Police Take Down 21 Jihadist Websites - Infosecurity Magazine

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

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