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Black Arrow Admin 13/08/2023 Black Arrow Admin 13/08/2023

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

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

BEC – Business Email Compromise

37% of third-party applications have high-risk permissions - Help Net Security

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

Social engineering biggest threat to online safety - Avast (securitybrief.co.nz)

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Botnets

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

Impersonation Attacks

Rise in fraudsters spoofing the websites of leading UK banks | Computer Weekly

Insurance

Dark Web

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Software Supply Chain

Cloud/SaaS

Containers

Kubernetes clusters under attack in hundreds of organisations | CSO Online

Identity and Access Management

Encryption

Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Biometrics

Social Media

Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August | Meta | The Guardian

Malvertising

Training, Education and Awareness

Travel

Parental Controls and Child Safety

Cyber security expert warns parents of online predators, social media usage (wptv.com)

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Russia

China

Iran

North Korea

Misc/Other/Unknown

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls

Other News

Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

· Automotive

· Construction

· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

· Defence & Space

· Education & Academia

· Energy & Utilities

· Estate Agencies

· Financial Services

· FinTech

· Food & Agriculture

· Gaming & Gambling

· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

· Health/Medical/Pharma

· Hotels & Hospitality

· Insurance

· Legal

· Manufacturing

· Maritime

· Oil, Gas & Mining

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

· Retail & eCommerce

· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

· Startups

· Telecoms

· Third Sector & Charities

· Transport & Aviation

· Web3

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

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

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

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 Admin 05/12/2021 Black Arrow Admin 05/12/2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 December 2021

-Double Extortion Ransomware Victims Soar 935%

-MI6 Boss: Digital Attack Surface Growing "Exponentially"

-How Phishing Kits Are Enabling A New Legion Of Pro Phishers

-Crooks Are Selling Access To Hacked Networks. Ransomware Gangs Are Their Biggest Customers

-Omicron Phishing Scam Already Spotted in UK

-Phishing Remains the Most Common Cause of Data Breaches, Survey Says

-Ransomware Victims Increase Security Budgets Due To Surge In Attacks

-Control Failures Are Behind A Growing Number Of Cyber Security Incidents

-MI6 Spy Chief Says China, Russia, Iran Top UK Threat List

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Double Extortion Ransomware Victims Soar 935%

Researchers have recorded a 935% year-on-year increase in double extortion attacks, with data from over 2300 companies posted onto ransomware extortion sites.

Group-IB’s Hi-Tech Crime Trends 2021/2022 report covers the period from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021.

During that time, an “unholy alliance” of initial access brokers and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) affiliate programs has led to a surge in breaches, it claimed.

In total, the number of breach victims on ransomware data leak sites surged from 229 in the previous reporting period to 2371, Group-IB noted. During the same period, the number of leak sites more than doubled to 28, and the number of RaaS affiliates increased 19%, with 21 new groups discovered.

Group-IB warned that, even if victim organisations pay the ransom, their data often end up on these sites.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/double-extortion-ransomware-soar/

MI6 Boss: Digital Attack Surface Growing "Exponentially"

Head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Richard Moore, explained in a rare speech this week that, unlike the character Q from the James Bond films, even MI6 cannot source all of its tech capabilities in-house.

New partners and tech capabilities will help address MI6’s four key priorities: Russia, China, Iran and global terrorism. It’s a challenge made more acute as technology rapidly advances, he said.

“The ‘digital attack surface’ that criminals, terrorists and hostile states threats seek to exploit against us is growing exponentially. We may experience more technological progress in the next ten years than in the last century, with a disruptive impact equal to the industrial revolution,” Moore argued.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/mi6-digital-attack-surface-growing/

How Phishing Kits Are Enabling A New Legion Of Pro Phishers

Some cybercriminals are motivated by political ideals, others by malice or mischief, but most are only interested in cold, hard cash. To ensure their criminal endeavours are profitable, they need to balance the potential payday against the time, resources and risk required.

It’s no wonder then that so many use phishing as their default attack method. Malicious emails can be used to reach many targets with relative ease, and criminals can purchase ready-made phishing kits that bundle together everything they need for a lucrative campaign.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/02/phishing-kits-pro/

Crooks Are Selling Access To Hacked Networks. Ransomware Gangs Are Their Biggest Customers

Dark web forum posts offering compromised VPN, RDP credentials and other ways into networks have tripled in the last year.

There's been a surge in cyber criminals selling access to compromised corporate networks as hackers look to cash in on the demand for vulnerable networks from gangs looking to initiate ransomware attacks.

Researchers at cybersecurity company Group-IB analysed activity on underground forums and said there's been a sharp increase in the number of offers to sell access to compromised corporate networks, with the number of posts offering access tripling between 2020 and 2021

https://www.zdnet.com/article/theres-been-a-big-jump-in-crooks-selling-access-to-hacked-networks-ransomware-gangs-are-their-best-customers/

Omicron Phishing Scam Already Spotted in UK

The global pandemic has provided cover for all sorts of phishing scams over the past couple of years, and the rise in alarm over the spread of the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, is no exception.

As public health professionals across the globe grapple with what they fear could be an even more dangerous COVID-19 variant than Delta, threat actors have grabbed the opportunity to turn uncertainty into cash.

UK consumer watchdog “Which?” has raised the alarm that a new phishing scam, doctored up to look like official communications from the National Health Service (NHS), is targeting people with fraud offers for free PCR tests for the COVID-19 Omicron variant

https://threatpost.com/omicron-phishing-scam-uk/176771/

Phishing Remains the Most Common Cause of Data Breaches, Survey Says

Phishing, malware, and denial-of-service attacks remained the most common causes for data breaches in 2021. Data from Dark Reading’s latest Strategic Security Survey shows that more companies experienced a data breach over the past year due to phishing than any other cause. The percentage of organisations reporting a phishing-related breach is slightly higher in the 2021 survey (53%) than in the 2020 survey (51%). The survey found that malware was the second biggest cause of data breaches over the past year, as 41% of the respondents said they experienced a data breach where malware was the primary vector.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-threat-monitor/phishing-remains-the-most-common-cause-of-data-breaches-survey-says

Ransomware Victims Increase Security Budgets Due To Surge In Attacks

As the end of 2021 approaches, there’s no doubt ransomware became a top cybersecurity concern across multiple industries.  Successful ransomware attacks like the Colonial Pipeline, which took down critical US infrastructure, and Kaseya, which hit over 1,500 companies in a single attack, became a popular topic in the news.

Research conducted by Cymulate, however, shows that despite the increase in the number of attacks this past year, overall victims suffered limited damage in both severity and duration. Potential victims have improved their level of preparedness, with 70% reporting an increase of awareness at the boardroom and business management level. The majority (55%) undertook proactive measures to prevent ransomware attacks before they could cause any significant damage, and many of those respondents (38%) prevented attacks even before they could cause any serious downtime. Only 14% of respondents that experienced an attack were down for a week or more.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/12/03/report-ransomware-victims-increase-security-budgets-due-to-surge-in-attacks/

Control Failures Are Behind A Growing Number Of Cyber Security Incidents

Data from a survey of 1,200 enterprise security leaders reveals that an increase in tools and manual reporting combined with control failures are contributing to the success of threats such as ransomware, which costs organisations an average of $1.85 million in recovery, according to Panaseer.

Currently, only 36% of security leaders feel very confident in their ability to prove controls were working as intended. This is despite 99% of respondents believing it’s valuable to know that all controls are fully deployed and operating within policy, and cybersecurity control failures are currently being listed as the top emerging risk in the latest Gartner Emerging Risks Monitor Report. Attacks only succeed when they hit systems that haven’t been patched or don’t have security controls monitoring them.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/01/control-failures-cybersecurity/

MI6 Spy Chief Says China, Russia, Iran Top UK Threat List

China, Russia and Iran pose three of the biggest threats to the U.K. in a fast-changing, unstable world, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency said Tuesday.

MI6 chief Richard Moore said the three countries and international terrorism make up the “big four” security issues confronting Britain’s spies.

In his first public speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, in October 2020, Moore said China is the intelligence agency’s “single greatest priority” as the country’s leadership increasingly backs “bold and decisive action” to further its interests.

Calling China “an authoritarian state with different values than ours,” he said Beijing conducts “large-scale espionage operations” against the U.K. and its allies, tries to ”distort public discourse and political decision-making” and exports technology that enables a “web of authoritarian control” around the world.

Moore said the U.K. also continues “to face an acute threat from Russia.” He said Moscow has sponsored killing attempts, such as the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in England in 2018, mounts cyber attacks and attempts to interfere in other countries’ democratic processes.

https://www.securityweek.com/mi6-spy-chief-says-china-russia-iran-top-uk-threat-list