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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 10 May 2024

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 10 May 2024:

-China Suspected of Hacking MoD, Through Its Payroll Provider

-Security Tools Fail to Translate Risks for Executives

-Gang Accused of MGM Hack Shifts Attacks to Finance Sector

-Are SMEs Paving the Way for Cyber Attacks on Larger Companies?

-Misconfigurations Drive 80% of Security Exposure, Report Finds

-Only 45% of Organisations Employ MFA Protections

-You Cannot Protect What You Do Not Know You Have, as Criminals are Exploiting Vulnerabilities Faster Than Ever

-The Rise and Stealth of The Socially Engineered Insider

-Over 70% of Staff Use AI At Work, But Only 30% of European Organisations Provide AI Training

-Don't Be the Weakest Link – You and Your Team's Crucial Role in Cyber Security

-Ransomware Activity Thrives, Despite Law enforcement Efforts

-NATO Warns of Russian Hybrid Warfare

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

China Suspected of Hacking UK Ministry of Defence, Through Its Payroll Provider

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that over 270,000 personal details have been leaked after the MoD was hacked through its third-party payroll provider, SSCL. The affected systems have been pulled offline since the attack. SSCL’s website describes that it manages HR for the armed forces, the Metropolitan Police and other areas of British government. The commercial supply chain, and in particular HR and payroll providers, is increasing being used as the soft underbelly to attack larger and better protected organisations.

Sources: [LBC] [The Register] [Sky News]

Security Tools Fail to Translate Risks for Executives

Organisations are struggling with internal communication barriers, hindering their ability to address and mitigate cyber security threats, according to a report which found that seven out of 10 C-suite executives said their security teams talk in technical terms without providing business context. However, in contrast, 75% of CISO’s highlight the issue is rooted in security tools that cannot generate the insights C-level executives and boards can use to understand business implications. The role of a good CISO should be to take the output of these tools and turn that data into metrics the Boards can understand.

The issues highlight the necessity for organisations to have someone in their organisation, whether an employee or a third-party, who is able to ingest technical results and translate them into a style that the C-suite can understand for business risk management.

Source: [Help Net Security]

Gang Accused of MGM Hack Shifts Attacks to Finance Sector

The hacking group responsible for the infamous hack on MGM and Caesar’s Palace resorts is engaged in a new campaign targeting the financial sector. The group known as Scattered Spider has targeted 29 companies since 20 April this year, compromising at least 2 insurance companies so far. The research has stated that the attackers are purchasing lookalike domains that match the name of target companies, hosting fake log-in pages. Links to these are sent to employees, in an attempt to direct them there. The most recent attack took place just days ago, with more expected.

Sources: [Bloomberg Law] [Claims Journal]

Are SMEs Paving the Way for Cyber Attacks on Larger Companies?

A recent study highlights the escalating cyber threats facing businesses, particularly SMEs and supply chains. The study found that 32% of UK businesses, including 69% of large and 59% of mid-sized organisations, suffered a cyber attack last year. The situation is worse for SMEs, with weaker security systems and 77% lacking in-house cyber security. SMEs can become entry points for hackers targeting larger partners through interconnected supply chains. Meanwhile, Verizon’s latest data breaches report revealed a 68% increase in supply chain breaches, accounting for 15% of all breaches in 2023, up from 9% in 2022. These breaches are primarily driven by third-party software vulnerabilities exploited in ransomware and extortion attacks. Experts emphasise proactive cyber policies, vulnerability scans, and employee education for SMEs to bolster defences. They also urge organisations to consider third-party bugs as both vulnerability and vendor management problems, make better vendor choices, and use external signals like SEC disclosures in the United States to guide decisions. These measures can help prevent SMEs from becoming gateways for larger attacks and manage the rising threat of supply chain breaches.

Sources: [Insurance Times] [Dark Reading]

Misconfigurations Drive 80% of Security Exposure, Report Finds

A recent report has found that 80% of security exposures are caused by identity and credential misconfigurations, with a third of these putting critical assets at risk of a breach. According to the report, the majority of this is within an organisation’s network user management (Active Directory) and 56% of breaches that impact critical assets are within cloud platforms. There is often the misconception that cloud-based environments are secure by default, but misconfigurations can undo any security benefits and still leave you exposed. Just because someone else built and maintains your house, it is still your responsibility to lock the doors and windows.

Sources: [Security Magazine]

Only 45% of Organisations Employ MFA Protections

A recent report of IT decision-makers has found that 97% are facing challenges with identity verification and 52% are very concerned about credential compromise, followed by account takeover (50%). When it comes to reinforcing identity verification, only 45% used multi-factor authentication (MFA). By using MFA, organisations are forcing two identification verifications: simply knowing a username and password is not enough, especially given the speeds with which attackers can crack passwords, with average 8 character passwords able to be cracked in less than a minute. Whilst no control is 100% impenetrable, enabling MFA will aid in increasing your organisation's cyber resilience.

Source: [Help Net Security]

You Cannot Protect What You Do Not Know You Have, as Criminals are Exploiting Vulnerabilities Faster Than Ever

For many organisations, visibility of their information assets can be incredibly hard to obtain and maintain, with different tools, under-reporting and shadow IT contributing to the problem. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are getting faster at exploiting vulnerabilities, and if you do not know you have the vulnerability in your estate then you cannot patch against it. In their recent report, Fortinet found that attacks started on average 4.76 days after new exploits were publicly disclosed.

Interestingly though, while zero-day threats garner much attention (these are ‘new’ vulnerabilities that are being exploited by attackers but for which there are no security patches yet available), one third of all exploits are for older vulnerabilities. This highlights the need for a comprehensive and robust approach to network security and vulnerability management, beyond simply patching what Microsoft puts out once a month. To have effective patch management, organisations must know what they need to patch and therefore must have visibility of the corporate environment. A good starting block is the creation of a robust information asset register.

Sources: [Security Brief] [Help Net Security] [IT Security Guru]

The Rise and Stealth of The Socially Engineered Insider

Social engineering has become increasingly prevalent as the preferred tactic for foreign adversaries. Insiders are prime targets due to their privileged access to sensitive data. This is particularly affecting the technology, pharma, and critical infrastructure sectors. Advances in AI and social platforms have made it easier to exploit these vulnerabilities. These advances allow threat actors to tailor attacks with unprecedented speed and realism. Using methods like coercion or deception, these actors exploit employees to gain high-value data that can be weaponised. As a result, the threat landscape has become more complex, blurring the lines between internal and external risks. To bolster their defences, organisations are now investing in insider risk management and AI. They are also emphasising employee education and cross-sector collaboration.

Source: [Forbes]

Over 70% of Staff Use AI At Work, But Only 30% of European Organisations Provide AI Training

An ISACA study and the AI Security & Governance Report reveal a complex landscape of AI adoption and security. 73% of European organisations and 54% of global organisations use AI, with 79% increasing their AI budgets, however training and policy development lag behind. Only 30% offer limited training, 40% provide none, and a mere 17% have a comprehensive AI policy. Despite AI’s potential, 80% of data experts find it complicates security, with concerns high around generative AI exploitation (61% of respondents) and AI-powered attacks (over 50% of business leaders). Data poisoning and privacy issues persist, yet 85% of leaders express confidence in their data security strategies, with 83% revising privacy and governance guidelines. With 86% recognising a need for AI training within two years, the call for dynamic governance strategies and formal education is clear to manage evolving threats.

Sources: [Help Net Security] [IT Security Guru]

Don't Be the Weakest Link – You and Your Team's Crucial Role in Cyber Security

Cyber security success depends on more than just technology. Bad actors are always looking for the easiest entry point, meaning that employees’ everyday actions are crucial, when even one careless click or a weak password can be an open door for hackers. However, empowered with the right knowledge and tools, staff can become a robust defence. Nearly 80% of organisations have reported an increase in phishing attacks, but training programs like role-playing exercises and phishing simulations significantly reduce these risks. Effective cyber security also hinges on C-suite leaders promoting a security-first culture, ensuring all employees understand the risks and follow strict protocols like MFA and strong password policies. Consistent training and open communication are vital in fostering a resilient, security-aware workforce.

Source: [JDSupra]

Ransomware Activity Thrives, Despite Law enforcement Efforts

Despite the recent law enforcement takedowns on ransomware groups, ransomware remains rife. Whilst the takedown of a group can come as an initial relief in that the group has gone, it simply forces ransomware affiliates to diversify. This is reflected in ransomware continuing its growth in the first quarter of 2024, with 18 new leak sites, the largest number in a single quarter, emerging over this period. When comes to those at risk, both financial services and healthcare remain a prominent target.

Sources: [Help Net Security ] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Help Net Security]

NATO Warns of Russian Hybrid Warfare

NATO has issued a statement in which it describes it is “deeply concerned about Russia's hybrid actions and the threat that they constitute to NATO security”.  The actions are described to include sabotage, acts of violence, cyber and electronic interference, and disinformation campaigns. This comes as many countries including the UK and US are due to have elections this year.

Sources: [EU Reporter] [Financial Times]

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Other Social Engineering

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Cloud/SaaS

Encryption

Linux and Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Training, Education and Awareness

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

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

Russia

Iran

North Korea

Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence

Tools and Controls

Reports Published in the Last Week

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.

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It’s World Password Day today; if you are protecting your systems access using a password, then you need to know this

It’s World Password Day today; if you are protecting your systems access using a password, then you need to know this

Passwords are one of the basic ways that we confirm our identity when we access systems on our company network, or our own person email account for example. Although many organisations have a policy that requires users to create passwords of a certain length and complexity, the challenge is that the user can fulfil those criteria even if they create a weak password that can be easily guessed or cracked by an attacker. This is yet another intersection of technology and human behaviours that can make or break cyber security.

Did you know that attackers exchange lists of passwords from previous attacks, which they use at high speed in combination with a user’s email address for example, to try to break into a system?

If you are told that you need to create a password that uses upper and lower case letters, with numbers and special characters, the chances are you will use a word that starts with a capital letter, then add a number and use an exclamation point or similar at the end. The attackers know this, and they have millions of examples of them in their password listing. Equally, passwords like querty12345 are, sadly, still frequently used.

The trick is for us all to avoid using ‘weak’ passwords that are likely to feature on the password listing, which means we need to avoid falling into predictable human behaviour patterns. Equally, users need to avoid obvious passwords, like the name of their town or their pet dog, which can be guessed or cracked by a dedicated attacker.

As a solution consider using a passphrase such as “BananaHippoCyclist” and if you want it even more complex, trying adding a few numbers and special characters. And make sure every access you have uses a different password. We all live in the real world, and it can be hard to manage multiple passwords, so you could consider a password manager application to store your passwords, providing you use a very strong master password to access it.

Even strong passwords need extra security, which is why they should be used in conjunction with other multi-factor authentication methods such as facial recognition or biometrics (something you are) or verification codes received on your mobile phone (something you have). Utilising multiple methods of authentication makes it significantly harder for attackers to compromise your accounts.

If you are wondering how to implement this in your organisation, then reach out to us for a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your specific needs and proportionate options. We love discussing this and other aspects of cyber security, so contact us through our website page www.blackarrowcyber.com/contact, and we will get back to you shortly.

In the meantime, Happy World Password Day!

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 April 2024

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 12 April 2024:

-UK Cyber Breaches Survey Finds Business Falling Short on Cyber, as Half Suffer Breach and Many Fail to Report

-The Cyber Attack Stopped by a Microsoft Engineer Was Scarier Than We Realise

-UK Government Urged to Get on ‘Front Foot’ with Ransomware Instead of ‘Absorbing the Punches’

-74% of Employees Falling Victim to Phishing Attacks Hit with Disciplinary Actions; Egress Reveals

-Why Are Many Businesses Turning to Third-Party Security Partners?

-60% of SMBs and 74% of Businesses with up to 500 Employees are Concerned About Cyber Security as Attacks Rise

-Cyber Attacks Cost Financial Firms $12bn Says IMF

-LastPass: Hackers Targeted Employee in Failed Deepfake CEO Call

-Most Cyber Criminal Threats are Concentrated in Just a Few Countries

-Why Incident Response is the Best Cyber Security ROI

-Ransomware Attacks are the Canaries in the Cyber Coal Mine

-Cyber Security is Crucial, but What is Risk and How do You Assess it?

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

UK Cyber Breaches Survey Finds Business Falling Short on Cyber, as Half Suffer Breach and Many Fail to Report

Half of UK businesses experienced a cyber breach last year, according to a survey by the UK Government. The figure could be much higher however, as the survey found only 34% report breaches externally.

It is said that a cyber incident is a matter of when, not if. Nonetheless, 78% of organisations lack a dedicated response plan outlining actions to be taken in the event of a cyber incident and only 11% review their immediate suppliers for risks. To improve cyber resilience, there needs to be a paradigm shift.

Sources: [Computer Weekly] [Computing] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Info Risk Today]

Cyber Attacks Cost Financial Firms $12bn Says IMF

A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has highlighted significant financial losses in the financial services sector, totalling $12 billion over the last two decades due to cyber attacks, with losses accelerating post-pandemic. The number of incidents and the scale of extreme losses have sharply increased, prompting the IMF to urge enhanced cross-border cooperation to uphold the stability of the global financial system.

The report underscores the critical threat that cyber attacks pose to financial stability, particularly for banks in advanced economies which are more exposed to such risks. With major institutions like JP Morgan facing up to 45 billion cyber threats daily, the IMF emphasises the need for international collaboration to effectively manage and mitigate these risks.

Source: [Finextra]

The Cyber Attack Stopped by a Microsoft Engineer Was Scarier Than We Realise

A critical security breach was narrowly avoided when a Microsoft developer detected suspicious activity in XZ Utils, an open-source library crucial to internet infrastructure. This discovery revealed that a new developer had implanted a sophisticated backdoor in the software, potentially giving unauthorised access to millions of servers worldwide. This incident has intensified scrutiny on the vulnerabilities of open-source software, which is largely maintained by unpaid or underfunded volunteers and serves as a backbone for the internet economy. The situation has prompted discussions among government officials and cyber security experts about enhancing the protection of open-source environments. This close call, described by some as a moment of "unreasonable luck," underscores the pressing need for sustainable support and rigorous security measures in the open-source community.

Source: [Inc.com]

UK Government Urged to Get on ‘Front Foot’ with Ransomware Instead of ‘Absorbing the Punches’

Amidst a rising tide of ransomware attacks affecting wide range of UK services, officials in Westminster are being pressured to enhance funding for operations aimed at disrupting ransomware gangs. The current strategy focuses on bolstering organisational cyber security and recovery preparedness, a stance under the second pillar of the UK's National Cyber Strategy known as resilience. However, this approach has not curbed the frequency of incidents, which have steadily increased over the past five years, impacting sectors including the NHS and local governments. In contrast to the proactive disruption efforts seen in the US, the UK has yet to allocate new funds for such measures, despite successful disruptions like the recent takedown of the LockBit gang by the US National Crime Agency, which underscored the potential benefits of increased resources for cyber crime disruption.

Source: [The Record Media]

74% of Employees Falling Victim to Phishing Attacks Hit with Disciplinary Actions

The Egress 'Email Threat Landscape 2024' report reveals a surge in phishing attacks, with 94% of companies falling victim to this type of crime in this past year alone, leading to increasingly complex cyber security challenges. According to the report, 96% of these companies suffered significant repercussions, including operational disruption and data breaches, with common attack vectors being malicious URLs, and malware or ransomware attachments.

The human cost is also notable, with 74 per cent of employees involved in attacks having faced disciplinary actions, dismissals, or voluntary departures, underscoring the severity of the issue and the heightened vigilance among companies in addressing the phishing threat. Financial losses primarily stem from customer churn, which accounts for nearly half of the total impact. Amidst rising attacks through compromised third-party accounts, Egress advocates for stronger monitoring and defence strategies to protect critical data and reduce organisational and individual hardships.

Source: [The Fintech Times]

Why Are Many Businesses Turning to Third-Party Security Partners?

In 2023, 71% of organisations reported being impacted by a cyber security skills shortage, leading many to scale back their cyber security initiatives amid escalating threats. To bridge the gap, businesses are increasingly turning to third-party security partnerships, reflecting a shift towards outsourcing crucial cyber security operations to handle complex challenges more efficiently. This approach is driven by the need to fill technical and resource gaps in the face of a severe workforce shortfall, with an estimated 600,000 unfilled security positions in the US alone. Moreover, these strategic partnerships allow organisations to leverage external expertise for scalable and effective security solutions, alleviating the burden of staying updated with the rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Source: [Help Net Security]

74% of Businesses with up to 500 Employees are Concerned About Cyber Security as Attacks Rise

According to a recent poll by the US Chamber of Commerce, 60% of small businesses expressed concerns about threats, with 58% concerned about a supply chain breakdown. The highest concern came from businesses with 20-500 employees (74%). Despite such concern, only 49% had trained staff on cyber security. When it came to the impact of a cyber event, 27% of respondents say they are one disaster or threat away from shutting down their business.

Sources: [Malwcv arebytes][Marketplace] [US Chamber]

LastPass: Hackers Targeted Employee in Failed Deepfake CEO Call

LastPass recently reported a thwarted voice phishing attack targeting one of its employees using deepfake audio technology to impersonate CEO Karim Toubba. The attack, conducted via WhatsApp, was identified by the employee as suspicious due to the unusual communication channel and clear signs of social engineering, such as forced urgency. Despite the failure of this particular attempt, LastPass has shared the incident publicly to highlight the growing use of AI-generated deepfakes in executive impersonation schemes. This incident underscores a broader trend, as indicated by alerts from both the US Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, pointing to an increase in sophisticated cyber attacks employing deepfake technology for fraud, social engineering, and potential influence operations.

Source: [Bleepingcomputer]

Most Cyber Criminal Threats are Concentrated in Just a Few Countries

Oxford researchers have developed the world's first cyber crime index to identify global hotspots of cyber criminal activity, ranking countries based on the prevalence and sophistication of cyber threats. The index reveals that a significant portion of cyber threats is concentrated in a few countries, with Russia and Ukraine positioned at the top, with the USA and the UK also ranking prominently. The results indicate that countries like China, Russia, Ukraine, the US, Romania, and Nigeria are among the top hubs for activities ranging from technical services to money laundering. This tool aims to refine the focus for cyber crime research and prevention efforts, although the study acknowledges the need for a broader and more representative sample of expert opinions to enhance the accuracy and applicability of the findings. The index underscores that while cyber crime may appear globally fluid, it has pronounced local concentrations.

Sources: [ThisisOxfordshire] [Phys Org]

Why Incident Response is the Best Cyber Security ROI

The Microsoft Incident Response Reference Guide predicts that most organisations will encounter one or more major security incidents where attackers gain administrative control over crucial IT systems and data. While complete prevention of cyber attacks may not be feasible, prompt and effective incident response is essential to mitigate damage and protect reputations. However, many organisations may not be adequately budgeting for incident response, and the recent UK Government report found that 78% of organisations do not have formalised incident response plans, risking prolonged recovery and increased costs. Cyber crime damages hit $23b in 2023, but the true costs of incidents includes non-financial damage such as reputational harm. If a cyber incident is a matter of when, not if, then a prepared incident response plan is the best cyber security ROI.

Black Arrow works with organisations of all sizes and sectors to design and prepare for managing a cyber security incident; this can include an Incident Response Plan and an educational tabletop exercise for the leadership team that highlights the proportionate controls to help the organisation prevent and mitigate an incident.

Source: [CSO Online]

Ransomware Attacks are the Canaries in the Cyber Coal Mine

A recent report has found that ransomware attacks were up 110% compared to the prior month, stating that unreported attacks were up to 6 times higher. The report found that tactics are increasingly using data extortion, with 92% of attacks utilising this method.

Sources: [Silicon Republic] [The Hill]

Cyber Security is Crucial, but What is Risk and How do You Assess it?

Cyber security is an increasingly sophisticated game of cat and mouse, where the landscape is constantly shifting. Your cyber risk is the probability of negative impacts stemming from a cyber incident, but how do you assess risk?

One thing to understand is that there are a multitude of risks: risks from phishing, risks from insiders, risks from network attacks, risks of supply chain compromise, and of course, nation states. To understand risk, an organisation must first identify the information that it needs to protect, to avoid only learning of the information asset’s existence from a successful attacker. Once all assets are identified, then organisations should conduct risk assessments to identify threats and an evaluation the potential damage that can be done.

Sources: [Security Boulevard] [International Banker]

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Other Social Engineering

Artificial Intelligence

2FA/MFA

Malware

Mobile

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

Insurance

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Encryption

Linux and Open Source

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Backup and Recovery

Data Protection

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

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

Nation State Actors

China

Russia

Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence

Vulnerability Management

Vulnerabilities

Other News

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.

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Black Arrow Cyber Advisory 29 September 2023 – Billions of Usernames and Passwords Leaked Online And Major Charities Hit by Cyber Attack

Black Arrow Cyber Advisory 29 September 2023 – Billions of Usernames and Passwords Leaked Online And Major Charities Hit by Cyber Attack

Executive Summary

The usernames and passwords of billions of users have been exposed online after a company, DarkBeam left an online database unprotected. It’s worth noting that all of the leaked email addresses and passwords in this database actually came from previous data breaches. It appears DarkBeam had been collecting this information to alert its customers in regards to future data breaches.

This comes as a number of major charities have been impacted by a cyber attack on in which the supply chain of About Loyalty, who work with a number of charities, had been breached. As a result, a significant amount of donor information had been exfiltrated.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

The leaked usernames and passwords can be used by threat actors as attempts to perform account compromise or to conduct phishing campaigns. Similarly, the donor information related to the charity attacks can be used to perform phishing attacks. In both cases, the confidentiality and integrity of data can be impacted.

What can I do?

As always, Black Arrow recommend users stay vigilant and scrutinise anything that comes into their inbox.

To find out if your email address or password has featured in a data breach, you can visit:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

More information on the leaked passwords can be found here:

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/billions-of-usernames-and-passwords-leaked-online-how-to-see-if-youre-affected

More information on the charity breach can be found here:

https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/major-charities-affected-cyber-attack/digital/article/1838552

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

#threatadvisory #threatintelligence #cybersecurity

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Black Arrow Cyber Alert 22/12/2022 – ACTION REQUIRED: LastPass Security Incident Update

Black Arrow Cyber Alert 22/12/2022 – ACTION REQUIRED: LastPass Security Incident Update

Executive Summary

LastPass has today provided an update to investigations of its security incident described in our Advisory of 02 December 2022. LastPass has now confirmed that customer data, including encrypted copies of password vaults, has been accessed and downloaded by malicious actors. While LastPass is still stating that the protected data should be secure if its best practice guidance was followed, we recommend, as advised by LastPass, that all users should reset the master password for their account and ensure that multi-factor authentication is enabled wherever possible. Given our focus on reducing risk, we also recommend that users should change the passwords stored within the service at the earliest opportunity, and prioritise those in the most critical accounts.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

LastPass has confirmed that the following un-encrypted data has been accessed during the data breach: “company names, end-user names, billing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and the IP addresses from which customers were accessing the LastPass service.” LastPass has also confirmed that website URLs for end user accounts were also copied, along with encrypted fields such as “website usernames and passwords, secure notes, and form-filled data”, but noted that these fields remain 256-bit AES encrypted, and should be protected from brute force attack.

LastPass also notes that customers may be targeted with phishing attacks, credential stuffing and other brute force attacks against online accounts associated with the LastPass Vault.

Although the latest information provided by LastPass is troubling, Black Arrow continues to recommend the use of password managers such as LastPass as part of a defence in depth approach to cyber security. Password managers can reduce the overall risks caused by practices such as using weak passwords, re-using passwords and writing down passwords.

What can I do?

LastPass notes that if the master password exceed 12 characters (as per LastPass’ default settings post-2018) and best practices, then end user master passwords should remain secure. However, LastPass notes that if the password did not meet its defaults then the number of attempts needed to brute force the password could be significantly reduced.

As above we recommend that all users should reset the master password for their account, and ensure that multi-factor authentication is enabled wherever possible. We also recommend that users should change the passwords stored within the service at the earliest opportunity, and prioritise those in the most critical accounts.

Further information on this security incident be found here: Notice of Recent Security Incident - The LastPass Blog

 Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

#threatadvisory #threatintelligence #cybersecurity

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 31 December 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 31 December 2021

-The Log4j Flaw Will Take Years to be Fully Addressed

-Copycat And Fad Hackers Will Be The Bane Of Supply Chain Security In 2022

-This Nightmare Incident Shows Why You Really Shouldn't Store Passwords In Your Browser

-Kaspersky Research: 47% of Incident Response Requests Linked to Ransomware

-Global Cyber Attacks from Nation-State Actors Posing Greater Threats

-Y2k22 Bug Is Causing Microsoft Exchange Server To Fail Worldwide: FIP-FS Scan Engine Failed To Load

-External Attackers Can Penetrate Most Local Company Networks

-The Have I Been Pwned Service Now Includes 441K Accounts Stolen By RedLine Malware

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 Log4j Flaw Will Take Years to be Fully Addressed

More than 80% of Java packages affected by the vulnerability in the Apache Log4j library cannot be updated directly, and will require coordination between different project teams to address the flaw.

Shortly after the first vulnerability in the Apache Log4j library (CVE-2021-44228) was disclosed, Google's Open Source Insights Team surveyed all the Java packages in the Maven Central Repository "to determine the scope of the issue in the open source ecosystem of JVM based languages, and to track the ongoing efforts to mitigate the affected packages," say team members James Wetter and Nicky Ringland. The team estimates it could take years before the vulnerability is fully addressed within the Java ecosystem.

A significant part of the problem has to do with indirect dependencies. Direct dependencies, or the cases where package explicitly pulls log4j into the code, are relatively straightforward to fix, as the developer or project owner just has to update log4j to the latest version.

https://www.darkreading.com/tech-trends/the-log4j-flaw-will-take-years-to-be-fully-addressed

Copycat And Fad Hackers Will Be The Bane Of Supply Chain Security In 2022

Replicable attacks and a low barrier to entry will ensure the rate of supply chain attacks increases next year, cyber security researchers have warned.

The supply chain is a consistent attack vector for threat actors today. By compromising a centralized service, platform, or software, attackers can then either conduct widespread infiltration of the customers and clients of the original -- singular -- victim or may choose to cherry-pick from the most valuable potential targets.

This can save cyber criminals time and money, as one successful attack can open the door to potentially thousands of victims at once.

A ransomware attack levied against Kaseya in 2021 highlighted the disruption a supply chain-based attack can cause. Ransomware was deployed by exploiting a vulnerability in Kaseya's VSA software, leading to the compromise of multiple managed service providers (MSP) in Kaseya's customer base.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/copycat-and-fad-hackers-will-be-the-bane-of-supply-chain-security-in-2022/

This Nightmare Incident Shows Why You Really Shouldn't Store Passwords In Your Browser

An infostealer is scooping up passwords stored in browsers, experts warn

An unnamed company was recently breached after an employee stored their corporate account password in their web browser, a new report suggests.

According to research from security company AhnLab, the employee was working from home on a device shared with other household members, which was already infected with Redline Stealer, an infostealing malware.

Although the computer was equipped with antivirus software, the malware was able to evade detection, before stealing the passwords stored in the victim's browser.

https://www.techradar.com/news/this-simple-malware-shows-why-you-really-shouldnt-store-passwords-in-your-browser

Kaspersky Research: 47% of Incident Response Requests Linked to Ransomware

This year — 2021 — marked a “new era of ransomware,” said Vladimir Kuskov, head of threat exploration at Russian cyber security company Kaspersky. This is reflected in security incident requests handled by Kaspersky’s Global Emergency Response Team (GERT) between January and November 2021.

Kaspersky reported 46.7 percent of the security incidents that GERT handled in the first 11 months of 2021 were related to ransomware. Comparatively, Kaspersky attributed ransomware to 37.9 percent of security incidents that GERT handled for all of 2020 and 34 percent for 2019.

In addition, the government and industrial sectors have been the most common targets for ransomware attacks in 2021 to date, Kaspersky indicated. These industries accounted for nearly 50 percent of ransomware-related incident response requests that GERT has handled.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/kaspersky-research-47-of-incident-response-requests-linked-to-ransomware/

Global Cyber Attacks from Nation-State Actors Posing Greater Threats

Casey Ellis, CTO at Bugcrowd, outlines how international relations have deteriorated into a new sort of Cold War, with espionage playing out in the cyber-domain.

The macro-trend I’m most alarmed by today is the fact that attackers don’t seem to care about getting caught anymore. We have seen an increase in temerity of attacks by nation-states, such as the Russian attack on SolarWinds, and seen their attack tactics shift from targeted, stealthy operations into opportunistic hacks for potential future uses, such as the attacks attributed to Hafnium.

Such a brazen approach hasn’t been a common tactic of nation-states in the past, but now seems to be the status quo. In part, this trend may also be due to a destabilization of the international relations climate stemming from COVID-19, as well as work-from-home forcing core business services out onto the internet to facilitate employee access.

Broadly speaking, we should see China as a rising cyber security threat on the international stage. That has been the case for some time in terms of their economic, defense and military posture, but 2021 has quite clearly demonstrated that the relationship has deteriorated into a sort of Cold War, with espionage playing out in the cyber-domain.

https://threatpost.com/global-cyberattacks-nation-state-threats/177253/

Y2k22 Bug Is Causing Microsoft Exchange Server To Fail Worldwide: FIP-FS Scan Engine Failed To Load

Company admins are having their New Year’s celebrations interrupted by reports that their Exchange Servers are failing with the error “FIP-FS Scan Engine failed to load – Can’t Convert “2201010001” to long (2022/01/01 00:00 UTC)“.

The issue appears to be due to Microsoft using the first two numbers of the update version to denote the year of the update, which caused the “long” version of the date to overflow.

At present, it seems the main workaround is to disable the anti-malware scanner on the Exchange Server by using Set-MalwareFilteringServer -BypassFiltering $True -identity <server name> and restarting the Microsoft Exchange Transport service.

It appears Microsoft has not acknowledged the issue yet, but if you are affected some peer support is available at Reddit here.

Update: Microsoft has now acknowledged the issue and is working on a fix

https://mspoweruser.com/y2k22-bug-is-causing-microsoft-exchange-server-to-fail-worldwide/

External Attackers Can Penetrate Most Local Company Networks

In 93% of cases, external attackers can breach the organisation’s network perimeter and gain access to local network resources, and it takes an average of two days to penetrate the company’s internal network. In 100% of companies analysed, an insider can gain full control over the infrastructure.

These are the results of a new research report by Positive Technologies, analyzing results of the company’s penetration testing projects carried out in the second half of 2020 and first half of 2021.

The study was conducted among financial organizations (29%), fuel and energy organizations (18%), government (16%), industrial (16%), IT companies (13%), and other sectors.

During the assessment of protection against external attacks, Positive Technologies experts managed to breach the network perimeter in 93% of cases. According to the company’s researchers, this figure has remained high for many years, confirming that criminals are able to breach almost any corporate infrastructure.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/28/external-attackers-local-company-networks/

The Have I Been Pwned Service Now Includes 441K Accounts Stolen By RedLine Malware

The Have I Been Pwned data breach notification service now allows victims of the RedLine malware to check if their credentials have been stolen. The service now includes credentials for 441K accounts stolen by the popular info-stealer.

The RedLine malware allows operators to steal several information, including credentials, credit card data, cookies, autocomplete information stored in browsers, cryptocurrency wallets, credentials stored in VPN clients and FTP clients. The malicious code can also act as a first-stage malware.

Stolen data are stored in an archive (logs) before being uploaded to a server under the control of the attackers.

A few days ago the data breach hunter Bob Diachenko discovered an unsecured server exposing over 6 million RedLine logs containing data harvested between August and September 2021. The server is still accessible, but the researchers pointed out that threat actors abandoned it because the the number of logs is not increasing.

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/126186/malware/redline-malware-hibp.html

Threats

Ransomware

Malware

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Scams, Fraud & Financial Crime

Nation State Actors

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.

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 19 November 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 19 November 2021

-Insurers Run From Ransomware Cover As Losses Mount

-The Ransomware Threat Is Getting Worse. But Businesses Still Aren't Taking It Seriously

-Ransomware Is Now A Giant Black Hole That Is Sucking In All Other Forms Of Cyber Crime

-52% Of SMBs Have Experienced A Cyber Attack In The Last Year

-Ransomware Phishing Emails Sneak Through SEGs

-Reality Check: Your Security Hygiene Is Worse Than You Think It Is

-The Covid-19 Crisis Has Fueled The Increase Of Cyber Crime In All Its Forms

-Ransomware Attacks Are Getting More Complex And Even Harder To Prevent

-Most Ransomware Attacks Rely On Exploiting Older, Unpatched Vulnerabilities

-Out-Of-Hours Ransomware Attacks Have A Greater Impact On Revenue

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

Insurers Run From Ransomware Cover As Losses Mount

Insurers have halved the amount of cyber cover they provide to customers after the pandemic and home-working drove a surge in ransomware attacks that left them smarting from hefty payouts.

Faced with increased demand, major European and US insurers and syndicates operating in the Lloyd's of London market have been able to charge higher premium rates to cover ransoms, the repair of hacked networks, business interruption losses and even PR fees to mend reputational damage.

But the increase in ransomware attacks and the growing sophistication of attackers have made insurers wary. Insurers say some attackers may even check whether potential victims have policies that would make them more likely to pay out.

"Insurers are changing their appetites, limits, coverage and pricing," Caspar Stops, head of cyber at insurance firm Optio, said. "Limits have halved – where people were offering 10 million pounds ($13.50 million), nearly everyone has reduced to five."

Lloyd's of London, which has around a fifth of the global cyber market, has discouraged its 100-odd syndicate members from taking on cyber business next year, industry sources say on condition of anonymity. Lloyd's declined to comment.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/insurers-run-ransomware-cover-losses-mount-2021-11-19/

The Ransomware Threat Is Getting Worse. But Businesses Still Aren't Taking It Seriously

Ransomware is the most significant cybersecurity threat facing the country today, but many businesses still aren't taking the threat as seriously as they should be, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned.

In its newly published annual review, the NCSC – the cybersecurity arm of intelligence agency GCHQ – details the incidents and threats the UK has faced during the past 12 months, including cyberattacks against the health service and vaccine developers during the coronavirus pandemic, state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaigns, phishing scams and more.

But, because of the likely impact a successful attack could have on essential services or critical national infrastructure, it's ransomware that is viewed as the most dangerous cyber threat – and one that more leadership teams need to think about.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-ransomware-threat-is-getting-worse-but-businesses-still-arent-taking-it-seriously/

Ransomware Is Now A Giant Black Hole That Is Sucking In All Other Forms Of Cyber Crime

File-encrypting malware is where the money is -- and that's changing the whole online crime ecosystem.

Ransomware is so lucrative for the gangs involved that other parts of the cybercrime ecosystem are being repurposed into a system for delivering potential victims.

"The gravitational force of ransomware's black hole is pulling in other cyberthreats to form one massive, interconnected ransomware delivery system -- with significant implications for IT security," said security company Sophos in a report.

Ransomware is considered by many experts to be most pressing security risk facing businesses -- and its extremely lucrative for the gangs involved, with ransom payouts increasing significantly.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-is-now-a-giant-black-hole-that-is-sucking-in-all-other-forms-of-cybercrime/

52% Of SMBs Have Experienced A Cyber Attack In The Last Year

The consequences of a breach have never been more severe, with global cybercrime collectively totalling $16.4 billion each day, a Devolutions survey reveals.

A recent study by IBM revealed that organizations with fewer than 500 employees had an average data breach cost of $2.98 million per incident in 2021. As has been reported, approximately 60% of SMBs go out of business within six months of getting hacked.

Smaller companies are not exempt from cyberattacks; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Yet many of the tools and resources that larger companies have at their disposal to protect them from cyber attacks are not befitting for smaller companies. There is a gap in the market.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/19/smbs-cyberattack/

Ransomware Phishing Emails Sneak Through SEGs

Secure email gateway (SEG) protections aren’t necessarily enough to stop phishing emails from delivering ransomware to employees, especially if the cybercrooks are using legitimate cloud services to host malicious pages.

Researchers are raising the alarm over a phishing email kicking off a Halloween-themed MICROP ransomware offensive, which they observed making its way to a target’s inbox despite its being secured by an SEG.

https://threatpost.com/ransomware-phishing-emails-segs/176470/

Reality Check: Your Security Hygiene Is Worse Than You Think It Is

Sevco Security published a report which explores the gap between perceptions and realities of security hygiene and asset management. Leveraging findings from ESG’s “Security Hygiene and Posture Management Survey,” Sevco’s report addresses five unfounded perceptions that many security teams assume to be true and the realities that unveil alarming security risks.

The report reveals that the perception of good security hygiene often leads to gaps in asset inventory that leave organizations open to security incidents. One such gap is the assumption that organizations have an accurate understanding of asset inventory. The reality is that on average, organizations discover 20-30% previously unknown devices once various inventory sources have been analysed and reconciled.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/18/perception-good-security-hygiene/

The Covid-19 Crisis Has Fueled The Increase Of Cyber Crime In All Its Forms

The accelerated digitalization related to the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the development of a number of cyber threats, according to the new edition of Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment.

Criminals have been quick to abuse the current circumstances to increase profits, spreading their tentacles to various areas and exposing vulnerabilities, connected to systems, hospitals or individuals.

While ransomware groups have taken advantage of widespread teleworking, scammers have abused COVID-19 fears and the fruitless search for cures online to defraud victims or gain access to their bank accounts. The increase of online shopping in general has attracted more fraudsters. With children spending a lot more time online, especially during lockdowns, grooming and dissemination of self-produced explicit material have increased significantly.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/18/covid-19-cybercrime/

Ransomware Attacks Are Getting More Complex And Even Harder To Prevent

Ransomware attackers are probing known common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) for weaknesses and quickly capitalizing on them, launching attacks faster than vendor teams can patch them. Unfortunately, ransomware attackers are also making attacks more complex, costly, and challenging to identify and stop, acting on potential targets’ weaknesses faster than enterprises can react.

Two recent research studies — Ivanti’s latest ransomware report, conducted with Cyber Security Works and Cyware, and a second study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Cyware — show there’s a widening gap between how quickly enterprises can identify a ransomware threat versus the quickness of a cyberattack. Both studies provide a stark assessment of how far behind enterprises are on identifying and stopping ransomware attacks.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/11/13/ransomware-attacks-are-getting-more-complex-and-even-harder-to-prevent/

Most Ransomware Attacks Rely On Exploiting Older, Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Ransomware attackers exploited a dozen new vulnerabilities in campaigns in Q3 2021, bringing the total number of vulnerabilities associated with ransomware to 278, claims a new report.

Compiled by cybersecurity vendor Ivanti, the report reveals that ransomware groups are continuing to grow in sophistication, boldness, and volume, with numbers up across the board since Q2 2021.

It tracked a 4.5% increase in CVEs associated with ransomware in Q3 2021, along with a similar increase in actively exploited and trending vulnerabilities, along with a 3.4% increase in ransomware families, as compared to Q2 2021.

https://www.techradar.com/news/most-ransomware-attacks-rely-on-exploiting-older-unpatched-vulnerabilities

Out-Of-Hours Ransomware Attacks Have A Greater Impact On Revenue

Ransomware attacks at weekends and holidays are throwing victims into disarray, according to a study released by security company Cybereason.

The report, “Organizations at Risk: Ransomware Attackers Don’t Take Holidays,” surveyed security professionals whose organizations suffered a ransomware attack during a holiday or weekend in the last 12 months. It found 86% of them reported missing holiday or weekend activities with friends and family when responding to these attacks.

Of those surveyed, 60% take longer to assess the scope of an attack that happened over the weekend or on a holiday. Half said out-of-hours attacks led to a slower response overall.

One problem was assembling the right team, with just over a third reporting difficulties in getting the necessary people together. When those people do clock in unexpectedly, they might not be fully fit for duty. In fact, 70% were intoxicated when called in to address the attack, the report added.

https://www.itpro.co.uk/security/ransomware/361591/out-of-hours-ransomware-attacks-have-a-greater-impact-on-revenue

Threats

Ransomware

BEC - Business Email Compromise

Phishing

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking

Supply Chain

DoS/DDoS

Nation State Actors

Cloud

Financial Services Sector

Health Sector

Reports Published in the Last Week

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.

Read More
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 November 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 November 2021

-500 Million Attempted Ransomware Attacks (So Far) in 2021, With No Sign Of Slowing

-Top 10 Ways Attackers Are Increasing Pressure On Their Ransomware Victims To Pay

-40% Of Organisations Suffered A Cloud-Based Data Breach In The Past 12 Months

-Midsize Business Cyber Attacks: A Security Reality Check

-70% Of Dev Teams Admit To Skipping Security Steps

-79% Of IT Teams Have Seen Increase In Endpoint Security Breaches

-Enterprises With Subsidiaries More Prone To Cyber Attacks, Study Says

-Cisco Talos Reports New Variant Of Babuk Ransomware Targeting Exchange Servers

-Ransomware Gangs Target Corporate Financial Activities

-Web Of Deceit: The Rising Threat Of Ransomware

-While Businesses Are Ramping Up Their Risk Mitigation Efforts, They Could Be Doing More

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

500 Million Attempted Ransomware Attacks (So Far) in 2021, With No Sign Of Slowing

So far, 2021 is stacking up to be the most costly and dangerous year on record for the volume of ransomware attacks, SonicWall said in a new report.

The security provider has logged nearly 500 million attempted ransomware attacks through September, 2021, with 1,748 attempts per customer in that nine-month period. The overall total of 495 million to date amounts to a 148 percent surge as compared to the same period last year. SonicWall expects to record 714 million attempted ransomware attacks by the close of 2021, a 134 percent skyrocket over last year’s totals. https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/500-million-attempted-ransomware-attacks-so-far-in-2021/

Top 10 Ways Attackers Are Increasing Pressure On Their Ransomware Victims To Pay

Sophos researchers have detailed how ransomware attackers are implementing a wide range of ruthless pressure tactics to persuade victims to pay the ransom.

Their research is based on evidence and insight from a team of 24/7 incident responders who help organisations under active cyberattack. It highlights the shift in ransomware pressure techniques from solely encrypting data to including other pain points, such as harassing employees.

Since organisations have become better at backing up their data and restoring encrypted files from backups, attackers are supplementing their ransom demands with additional extortion measures that increase the pressure to pay.

For example, the Sophos Rapid Response team has seen cases where attackers email or phone a victim’s employees, calling them by their name and sharing personal details they’ve stolen – such as any disciplinary actions or passport information – with the aim of scaring them into demanding their employer pays the ransom. This kind of behavior shows how ransomware has shifted from a purely technical attack targeting systems and data into one that also targets people. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/04/attackers-pressure-ransomware-victims/

40% Of Organisations Suffered A Cloud-Based Data Breach In The Past 12 Months

Despite increasing cyber attacks targeting data in the cloud, 83% of businesses are still failing to encrypt half of the sensitive data they store in the cloud, raising even greater concerns as to the impact cyber criminals can have. 40% of organisations have experienced a cloud-based data breach in the past 12 months, according to a study conducted by 451 Research.

Cloud adoption is on the rise and businesses are continuing to diversify the way they use cloud solutions. Globally, 57% of respondents reported they make use of two or more cloud infrastructure providers, whilst 24% of organisations flagged that the majority of their workloads and data now reside in the cloud. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/02/experienced-cloud-based-data-breach/

Midsize Business Cyber Attacks: A Security Reality Check

Ransomware bombshells hit large enterprises. Carpet-bomb cyberattacks target MSP software supply chains and their small business customers. But what’s the state of cybersecurity among midsize businesses?

Actually, that landscape also faces its share of digital bombshells. Indeed, nearly two in three midsize organisations have suffered a ransomware attack in the past 18 months and 20 percent of them spent at least $250,000 to recover from it, according to research by UncommonX, an MSSP that leans heavily on its own SaaS-based solutions..

The Chicago-based MSSP’s newly released State of Cybersecurity for Midsize Organisations found that smaller companies are often not properly prepared to fend off a cyber attack nor do they engage in adequate network monitoring. In short, cybersecurity is often not enough of a priority within midsize companies. https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/midsize-business-cyberattacks-a-security-reality-check/

70% Of Dev Teams Admit To Skipping Security Steps

According to a new study by Invicti Security, 70% of development teams always or frequently skip security steps due to time pressures when completing projects. This explains why, in the average organisation, 33% of security issues in remediation at any given time come from production code.

Security and development teams spend every day inside a catch-22: relentless demand for continued digital innovation amid increasing security threats to a sprawling attack surface. While there are some bright spots emerging on the road to secure innovation, these professionals are stressed — and too often make bad choices. https://venturebeat.com/2021/10/27/report-70-of-dev-teams-admit-to-skipping-security-steps/

79% Of IT Teams Have Seen Increase In Endpoint Security Breaches

According to a new report by HP Wolf Security, 79% of IT teams have seen an increase in rebuild rates, indicating that hackers are becoming more successful at breaching the endpoint and compromising organisations’ devices and data.

This sudden increase in rebuild rates is particularly affecting enterprises with 1,000 employees or more — organisations of this kind have the highest average number of rebuilds per month at 67.3. The study also highlights that employees are clicking on more malicious emails. Whether this is because people are less vigilant working from home or because they find it harder to determine what is safe to open, the rising number of rebuilds suggests that hackers have become more successful at breaching the endpoint through malicious links. https://venturebeat.com/2021/10/28/report-79-of-it-teams-have-seen-increase-in-endpoint-security-breaches/

Enterprises With Subsidiaries More Prone To Cyber Attacks, Study Says

Global enterprises with multiple subsidiaries are more exposed to cybersecurity threats and have more difficulty managing risk than companies with no, or fewer, subsidiaries, according to an Osterman Research report commissioned by CyCognito.

The study surveyed 201 organisations with at least 10 subsidiaries and at least 3,000 employees or $1 billion in annual revenue.

Despite being extremely confident about running effective subsidiary risk management, about 67% of respondents said their organisations had either experienced a cyberattack where the attack chain included a subsidiary, or that they lacked the ability or information to rule out the possibility.

About half of the respondents acknowledged that they wouldn't be surprised if a cyberbreach were to occur "tomorrow." https://www.csoonline.com/article/3639014/enterprises-with-subsidiaries-more-prone-to-cyberattacks-study-says.html

Cisco Talos Reports New Variant Of Babuk Ransomware Targeting Exchange Servers

Cisco Talos has a warning out for companies about a new variant of the Babuk ransomware. The security researchers discovered the campaign in mid-October and think that the variant has been active since July 2021. The new element in this attack is an unusual infection chain technique.

The researchers think that the initial infection vector is an exploitation of ProxyShell vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server through the deployment of China Chopper web shell.

Babuk can affect several hardware and software platforms but this version is targeting Windows. The ransomware encrypts the target's machine, interrupts the system backup process and deletes the volume shadow copies. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/cisco-talos-reports-new-variant-of-babuk-ransomware-targeting-exchange-servers/

Ransomware Gangs Target Corporate Financial Activities

The FBI is warning about a fresh extortion tactic: threatening to tank share prices for publicly held companies.

Ransomware gangs are zeroing in on publicly held companies with the threat of financial exposure in an effort to encourage ransom payments, the FBI is warning.

In an alert issued this week the Bureau said that activity over the course of the past year shows a trend toward targeting companies when they’re coming up to “significant, time-sensitive financial events,” such as quarterly earnings reports and mandated SEC filings, initial public offerings, M&A activity, and so on. The idea is to ratchet up the extortion thumb-screws by threatening to leak stolen information relevant to these events if the target doesn’t pay up.

Impending events that could affect a victim’s stock value, such as announcements [or] mergers and acquisitions, encourage ransomware actors to target a network or adjust their timeline for extortion. https://threatpost.com/ransomware-corporate-financial/175940/

Web Of Deceit: The Rising Threat Of Ransomware

With payouts of almost £260m last year alone, it has become the biggest – and easiest – money-earner available to hackers.

Heists at famous jewellers usually involve masked men, guns, shouting and terrified staff and customers. That was indeed the scene in August 2009 at the London branch of Graff, the famous diamond merchants, when a gang stole around £40million worth of jewels. They were caught not long after.

But the latest heist on Graff, revealed recently, was quieter. No guns, no masks, no shouting. Instead the company – which supplies a dizzying parade of top-name stars such as the Beckhams, Tom Hanks and Tamara Ecclestone – faced a demand, displayed on a computer screen, for millions of pounds, payable to a group of Russian hackers.

Graff, like hundreds of companies around the world, had been hit by “ransomware”: an attachment to an email delivered a malicious program which let in hackers, who scrambled all the files on its computer systems using an uncrackable computer code, for which they had the digital “key”.

They’d hand it over in exchange for a payment worth millions of pounds in untraceable cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, where transactions are made between digital “wallets” that do not pass through any bank and are not tied to any identity.

Without the key, the systems are useless. The option is to restore the system from backups – but frequently the hackers will have targeted those too. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/06/web-deceit-rising-threat-ransomware/

While Businesses Are Ramping Up Their Risk Mitigation Efforts, They Could Be Doing More

Zurich North America and Advisen have released a survey of corporate risk managers and insurance buyers revealing current views about information security and cyber risk management.

The survey results indicate that risk professionals are increasingly aware of their intensifying cyber risks and the need to manage them using risk mitigation and risk transfer. However, a deeper dive into the numbers found that there is much room for improvement in building cyber resilience.

Sixty-five percent of respondents have invested in cyber security solutions to mitigate risk, which means that 35 percent of respondents still have not. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/03/gaps-risk-mitigation-efforts/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Privacy

Parental Controls

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 September 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 September 2021

-Ransomware Attacks Soar 288% in H1 2021

-Ransomware Costs Expected To Reach $265 Billion By 2031

-Brute Force Email Attacks and Account Takeover Attempts Rise 671%, Reaching Unprecedented Levels, Causing Financial And Reputational Damage

-Investigation Into Hacked "Map" Of UK Gun Owners

-Eight US Financial Services Firms Given Six-Figure Fines Over BEC Data Breaches

-Ransomware Has Been A ‘Game Changer’ For Cyber Insurance

-WhatsApp hit with $267 million GDPR fine for bungling user privacy disclosure

-Microsoft Warns About Open Redirect Phishing Campaign

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 Attacks Soar 288% in First Half of 2021

The number of ransomware attacks surged by 288% between the first and second quarters of 2021 as double extortion attempts grew, according to the latest data.

Nearly a quarter (22%) of data leaks in the second quarter came from the Conti ransomware group, who typically gain initial network access to victim organisations via phishing emails.

It’s an unfortunate fact that no organisation in any sector is safe from ransomware today.

Targets range from IT companies and suppliers to financial institutions and critical national infrastructure providers, with ransomware-as-a-service increasingly being sold by ransomware gangs in a subscription model. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-attacks-soar-half-2021/  

Ransomware Costs Expected To Reach $265 Billion By 2031

Think ransomware is expensive now? It’s not predicted to get any cheaper over the next decade. Ransoms could cost victims a collective total of $265 billion by 2031. The estimate is based on the prediction that the price tag will increase 30% every year over the next 10 years. https://securityintelligence.com/news/ransomware-costs-expected-265-billion-2031/ 

Brute Force Email Attacks and Account Takeover Attempts Rise 671%, Reaching Unprecedented Levels, Causing Financial And Reputational Damage

A new Email Threat Report for Q3 2021 examines the escalating adverse impact of socially-engineered and never-seen-before email attacks, and other advanced email threats—both financial and reputational—to organisations worldwide. The report surveyed advanced email attacks across eight major industry sectors, including retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, technology, energy and infrastructure services, medical, media and television, finance, and hospitality.

The report also finds 61% of organisations experienced a vendor email compromise/supply chain attack in Q2 2021.

Key report findings include:

  • 32.5% of all companies were targeted by brute force attacks in early June 2021

  • 137 account takeovers occurred per 100,000 mailboxes for members of the C-suite

  • 61% of organisations experienced a vendor email compromise attack this quarter

  • 22% more business email compromise attacks since Q4 2020

  • 60% chance of a successful account takeover each week for organisations with 50,000+ employees

  • 73% of all advanced threats were credential phishing attacks

  • 80% probability of attack every week for retail and consumer goods, technology, and media and television companies

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brute-force-email-attacks-account-120100299.html  

Investigation Into Hacked "Map" Of UK Gun Owners

Gun-selling site Guntrader announced a data breach affecting more than 100,000 customers in July. This week, reports emerged that an animal rights activist blog had published the information. The group had formatted the data so it could be easily imported into mapping software to show individual homes. The National Crime Agency, which has been investigating the data breach and its fallout, said it "is aware that information has been published online as a result of a recent data breach which impacted Guntrader". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58413847 

Eight US Financial Services Firms Given Six-Figure Fines Over BEC Data Breaches

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned multiple financial services firms for cyber security failures that led to the compromise of corporate email accounts and the personal data of thousands of individuals. The case was brought after the unauthorised takeover of cloud-based email accounts at Seattle-based KMS Financial Services, and subsidiaries of California-headquartered Cetera Financial Group and Iowa-based Cambridge Investment Group. https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/eight-us-financial-services-firms-given-six-figure-fines-over-bec-data-breaches

Ransomware Has Been A ‘Game Changer’ For Cyber Insurance

Ransomware attacks accounted for nearly one quarter of all cyber incidents globally last year, according to a software company. The researchers “think of December 2019 as the tipping point for when we started to see ransomware take hold”. The U.S. was hit by a barrage of ransomware attacks in 2019 that impacted at least 966 government agencies, educational establishments, and healthcare providers at a potential cost in excess of $7.5 billion. All of this has a massive knock-on affect for the Insurance firms. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2021/08/30/628672.htm 

Getting Ahead Of A Major Blind Spot For CISOs: Third-Party Risk

For many CISOs and security leaders, it was not long ago that their remit focused on the networks and digital ecosystems for their organisation alone. In today’s digital world, those days are a thing of the past with a growing number of businesses relying on third-party vendors to scale, save time and outsource expertise to stay ahead. With this change, new security risks affiliated with third-party vendors are more prevalent than ever before. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/09/01/getting-ahead-of-a-major-blind-spot-for-cisos-third-party-risk/ 

WhatsApp Hit With $267 Million GDPR Fine For Bungling User Privacy Disclosure

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Facebook-owned messenger WhatsApp for $225 million for failing to provide users enough information about the data it shared with other Facebook companies.

The fine is the largest penalty that the Irish regulator has waged since the European Union data protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, went into effect in 2018. https://www.cyberscoop.com/whatsapp-hit-with-267-million-gdpr-fine-for-bungling-user-privacy-disclosure/  

Microsoft Warns About Open Redirect Phishing Campaign

Microsoft’s Security Intelligence team is warning over phishing campaigns using open redirector links, links crafted to subvert normal inspection efforts. Smart users know to hover over links to see where they're going to lead, but these links are prepared for that type of user and display a safe destination designed to lure targets into a false sense of security. Click the link and you'll be redirected to a domain that appears legit (such as a Microsoft 365 login page, for example) and sets the stage for you to voluntarily hand over credentials to bad actors without even realising it until it's too late. https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-warns-about-open-redirect-phishing-campaign

Previous Employees With Access To Corporate Data Remain A Threat To Businesses

Offboarding employees securely is a key problem for business leaders, with 40% concerned that employees who leave a company retain knowledge of passwords that grant access to corporate data. This is according to a report, which found few organisations are implementing access management solutions that work with all applications, meaning most lack the ability to revoke access to all corporate data as soon as an employee leaves. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/09/02/previous-employees-access-data/

BEC Scammers Seek Native English Speakers On Underground

Looking for work? Speak fluent English? Capable of convincingly portraying a professional – as in, somebody a highly ranked corporate leader would talk to? If you lack scruples and disregard those pesky things called “laws,” it could be your lucky day: Cyber Crooks are putting up help-wanted ads, looking for native English speakers to carry out the social-engineering elements of business email compromise (BEC) attacks. https://threatpost.com/bec-scammers-native-english-speakers/169092/

Half Of Businesses Can't Spot These Signs Of Insider Cyber Security Threats

Most businesses are struggling to identify and detect early indicators that could suggest an insider is plotting to steal data or carry out other cyber attacks. Research suggests that over half of companies find it impossible or very difficult to prevent insider attacks. These businesses are missing indicators that something might be wrong. Those include unusual amounts of files being opened, attempts to use USB devices, staff purposefully circumventing security controls, masking their online activities, or moving and saving files to unusual locations. All these and more might suggest that a user is planning malicious activity, including the theft of company data. https://www.zdnet.com/article/half-of-businesses-cant-spot-these-signs-of-insider-cybersecurity-threats/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Dark Web

DoS/DDoS

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Cloud

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.

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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.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg84q3/a-third-of-global-companies-have-experienced-ransomware-attack-survey-finds

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.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/secret-terrorist-watchlist-with-2-million-records-exposed-online/

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.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-cybersecurity-skills-gap-persists-for-the-fifth-year-running/

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

BEC

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

IOT

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches/Leaks

Dark Web

Supply Chain

DoS/DDoS

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Nation State Actors

Cloud

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.

Read More
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 23 July 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 23 July 2021: 40% Fell Victim To A Phishing Attack In The Past Month; Traditional Ransomware Defences Are Failing Businesses; The Number Of Employees Going Around IT Security May Surprise You; 740 Ransomware Victims Named On Data Leak Sites In Q2 2021; A More Dynamic Approach Is Needed To Tackle Today’s Evolving Cyber Security Threats; Law Firm For Ford, Boeing, Exxon, Marriott, Walgreens, And More Hacked In Ransomware Attack; UK And Allies Accuse China Of 'Reckless' Cyber Extortion And Microsoft Hack; Even after Emotet takedown, Office docs deliver 43% of all malware downloads now; Gun owners' fears after firearms dealer data breach

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

40% Fell Victim To A Phishing Attack In The Past Month

The global shift to remote work has exacerbated the onslaught, sophistication, and impact of phishing attacks, according to Ivanti. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents said their organisations have fallen victim to a phishing attack in the last year, with 40% confirming they have experienced one in the last month.

Eighty percent of respondents said they have witnessed an increase in volume of phishing attempts and 85% said those attempts are getting more sophisticated. In fact, 73% of respondents said that their IT staff had been targeted by phishing attempts, and 47% of those attempts were successful.

Smishing and vishing scams are the latest variants to gain traction and target mobile users. According to recent research by Aberdeen, attackers have a higher success rate on mobile endpoints than on servers – a pattern that is trending dramatically worse. Meanwhile, the annualized risk of a data breach resulting from mobile phishing attacks has a median value of about $1.7M, and a long tail of value of about $90M.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/07/23/risk-phishing-attacks/

Traditional Ransomware Defences Are Failing Businesses

Traditional cyber security strategies are failing to protect organisations from ransomware attacks, new research suggests. Based on a poll of 200 IT decision-makers whose businesses recently suffered ransomware attacks, 54 percent of all victims had their employees go through anti-phishing training. Furthermore, almost half (49 percent) had perimeter defences set up at the time of the attack. However, attack methods have grown too sophisticated for traditional security measures to keep up. Many attacks (24 percent) still start with a successful phishing attempt, while almost a third (31 percent) see attacker enter the network through public cloud.

https://www.itproportal.com/news/traditional-ransomware-defenses-are-failing-businesses/

Cyber Security Risk: The Number Of Employees Going Around IT Security May Surprise You

Last month, a report was published highlighting challenges associated with enabling IT freedoms while ensuring tight security procedures. The findings detail a complex balancing act between IT teams and network users. Calibrating this equilibrium is particularly challenging in the age of remote work as employees log on and virtually collaborate via a host of digital solutions. Overall, the survey found that virtually all employees (93%) "are working around IT restrictions," and a mere 7% said they were "satisfied with their corporate IT restrictions." Interestingly, this information about IT workarounds does not match security leaders' and IT expectations.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/cybersecurity-risk-the-number-of-employees-going-around-it-security-may-surprise-you/

740 ransomware victims named on data leak sites in Q2 2021: report

More than 700 organizations were attacked with ransomware and had their data posted to data leak sites in Q2 of 2021, according to a new research report from cyber security firm Digital Shadows.

Out of the almost 2,600 victims listed on ransomware data leak sites, 740 of them were named in Q2 2021, representing a 47% increase compared to Q1.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/740-ransomware-victims-named-on-data-leak-sites-in-q2-2021-report/

A More Dynamic Approach Is Needed To Tackle Today’s Evolving Cyber Security Threats

For decades, the cyber security industry has followed a defense-in-depth strategy, which allowed organisations to designate the battlefield against bad actors at their edge firewall. Nowadays, cyber criminals have become as creative as ever. New cyber threats are emerging every day, and with the constantly increasing rate of Ransomware, Phishing, etc. We’re forced to take a more dynamic approach when tackling these cyber threats on a day to day basis. Recent statistics demonstrate the scale of the cyber security issues faced by companies. In 2020, malware attacks increased by 358% and ransomware increased by 435%, and the average cost of recovering from a ransomware attack has doubled in the last 12 months, reaching almost $2 million in 2021.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/07/13/dynamic-approach-cybersecurity-threats/

Law Firm For Ford, Boeing, Exxon, Marriott, Walgreens, And More Hacked In Ransomware Attack

Campbell Conroy & O'Neil, P.C., a law firm handling hundreds of cases for the world's leading companies, has announced a large data breach that resulted from a ransomware attack in February.  In a statement, the law firm said it noticed unusual activity on its network on February 27. The firm later realized it was being hit with a ransomware attack and contacted the FBI as well as cyber security companies for help.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/law-firm-for-ford-boeing-exxon-marriott-walgreens-and-more-hacked-in-ransomware-attack/

UK And Allies Accuse China Of 'Reckless' Cyber Extortion And Microsoft Hack

The Government was hinting yet again at covertly using Britain’s own offensive cyber capabilities – hitting back at cyber attacks with cyber attacks of our own. This approach goes all the way back to 2013, when then defence secretary told the Conservative Party conference that the UK would “build a dedicated capability to counter-attack in cyber space and, if necessary, to strike in cyber space”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/19/uk-allies-accuse-china-reckless-cyber-extortion-microsoft-hack/

Even after Emotet takedown, Office docs deliver 43% of all malware downloads now

Malware delivered over the cloud increased by 68% in Q2, according to data from cyber security firm Netskope.

The company released the fifth edition of its Cloud and Threat Report that covers the cloud data risks, threats and trends they see throughout the quarter.

The report noted that cloud storage apps account for more than 66% of cloud malware delivery.

"In Q2 2021, 43% of all malware downloads were malicious Office docs, compared to just 20% at the beginning of 2020. This increase comes even after the Emotet takedown, indicating that other groups observed the success of the Emotet crew and have adopted similar techniques," the report said.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/even-after-emotet-takedown-office-docs-deliver-43-of-all-malware-downloads-now/

Gun Owners' Fears After Firearms Dealer Data Breach

Thousands of names and addresses belonging to UK customers of a leading website for buying and selling shotguns and rifles have been published to the dark web following a "security breach".

Guntrader.uk told the BBC it learned of the breach on Monday and had notified the Information Commissioner's Office.

Police, including the National Crime Agency, are investigating.

One affected gun owner said he was afraid the breach could lead to his family being targeted by criminals.

Gun ownership is tightly controlled in the UK, making guns difficult to acquire, and potentially valuable on the black market.

The individual, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC the breach "seriously compromises my security arrangements for my firearms and puts me in a situation where me and my family could be targeted and in danger".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57932823  

Threats

Ransomware

BEC

Phishing

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Supply Chain

DoS/DDoS

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Nation State Actors

Cloud

Privacy

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

LinkedIn breach reportedly exposes data of 92% of users, including inferred salaries

LinkedIn breach reportedly exposes data of 92% of users, including inferred salaries

A second massive LinkedIn breach reportedly exposes the data of 700M users, which is more than 92% of the total 756M users. The database is for sale on the dark web, with records including phone numbers, physical addresses, geolocation data, and inferred salaries.

A second massive LinkedIn breach reportedly exposes the data of 700M users, which is more than 92% of the total 756M users. The database is for sale on the dark web, with records including phone numbers, physical addresses, geolocation data, and inferred salaries.

The hacker who obtained the data has posted a sample of 1M records, and checks confirm that the data is both genuine and up-to-date.

Reports indicate that the hacker appears to have misused the official LinkedIn API to download the data, the same method used in a similar breach back in April.

On June 22nd, a user of a popular hacker advertised data from 700 Million LinkedIn users for sale. The user of the forum posted up a sample of the data that includes 1 million LinkedIn users. The sample was examined and found to contain the following information:

·      Email Addresses

·      Full names

·      Phone numbers

·      Physical addresses

·      Geolocation records

·      LinkedIn username and profile URL

·      Personal and professional experience/background

·      Genders

·      Other social media accounts and usernames

Based on analysis by researchers and cross-checking data from the sample with other publicly available information, it appears all data is authentic and tied to real users. Additionally, the data does appear to be up to date, with samples from 2020 to 2021.

No passwords are included, but as the site notes, this is still valuable data that can be used for identity theft and convincing-looking phishing attempts that can themselves be used to obtain login credentials for LinkedIn and other sites.

Although passwords were not included we still recommend you change your LinkedIn password and enable MFA (we strongly recommend MFA on any and all accounts you access online). We also recommend vigilance against social engineering attempts using information gleaned from this breach.

Original post: LinkedIn breach reportedly exposes data of 92% of users

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Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 June 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 June 2021: Ransomware Now Ranks As UK’s Top Cyber Security Danger; 54% of all employees reuse passwords across accounts; Most Firms Face Second Ransomware Attack After Paying Off First; Bad Cyber Security Behaviours Plaguing The Remote Workforce; VPN Attacks Up Nearly 2000% As Companies Embrace A Hybrid Workplace; Over 65,000 Ransomware Attacks Expected In 2021; Business Leaders Now Feel More Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Ransomware Now Ranks As UK’s Top Cyber Security Danger

Ransomware hackers are now the biggest cyber security threat in the UK for the majority of individuals and businesses in the region, Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said in a speech. “For the vast majority of UK citizens and businesses, and indeed for the vast majority of critical national infrastructure providers and government service providers, the primary key threat is not state actors but cyber criminals,” Cameron said in the speech at the second annual cyber security meeting at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the oldest independent defense and security think tank worldwide.

https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2021/ransomware-now-ranks-as-uks-top-cybersecurity-danger/

54% of all employees reuse passwords across multiple work accounts

Results of a study into current attitudes and adaptability to at-home corporate cyber security, employee training, and support in the current global hybrid working era revealed some interesting results. The report surveyed 3,006 employees, business owners, and C-suite executives at large organisations (250+ employees), who have worked from home and use work issued devices in the UK, France and Germany.

According to the findings 54% of all employees use the same passwords across multiple work accounts. 22% of respondents still keep track of passwords by writing them down, including 41% of business owners and 32% of C-level executives.

42% of respondents admit to using work-issued devices for personal reasons daily while working from home. Of these, 29% are using work devices for banking and shopping, and 7% admit to watching illegal streaming services. Senior workers are among the biggest offenders, as 44% of business owners and 39% of C-level executives admit to performing personal tasks on work-issued devices every day since working from home, with 23% of business owners and 15% of C-level respondents using them for illegal streaming/watching TV.

A year after the pandemic began and work-from-home policies were implemented, 37% of all employees across all sectors are yet to receive cyber security training to work from home, leaving businesses largely exposed to evolving risks. 43% of all employees suggest that cyber security isn’t the responsibility of the workforce, with 60% believing this should be handled by IT teams.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/10/employees-reuse-passwords-across-multiple-work-accounts/

VPN Attacks Up Nearly 2000% As Companies Embrace A Hybrid Workplace

In Q1 2021, there was a 1,916% increase in attacks against Fortinet’s SSL-VPN and a 1,527% increase in Pulse Connect Secure VPN. These vulnerabilities allow a threat actor to gain access to a network. Once they are in, they can exfiltrate information and deploy ransomware. “2020 was the era of remote work and as the workforce adjusted, information technology professionals scrambled to support this level of remote activity by enabling a wide variety of remote connectivity methods,” said J.R. Cunningham, CSO at Nuspire. “This added multiple new attack vectors that enabled threat actors to prey on organisations, which is what we started to see in Q1 and are continuing to see today.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/15/vpn-attacks-up/

Most Firms Face Second Ransomware Attack After Paying Off First

Most businesses that choose to pay to regain access to their encrypted systems experience a subsequent ransomware attack. And almost half of those that pay up say some or all their data retrieved were corrupted. Some 80% of organisations that paid ransom demands experienced a second attack, of which 46% believed the subsequent ransomware to be caused by the same hackers. Amongst those that paid to regain access to their systems, 46% said at least some of their data was corrupted, according to a survey released Wednesday. The study polled 1,263 security professionals in seven markets worldwide, including 100 in Singapore, as well as respondents in Germany, France, the US, and UK.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/most-firms-face-second-ransomware-attack-after-paying-off-first/

Over 65,000 Ransomware Attacks Expected In 2021: Former Cisco CEO

U.S. companies are expected to endure over 65,000 ransomware attacks this year — and that's “a conservative number,” according to John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco Systems. With McDonald’s, JBS, and Colonial Pipeline Co. all recently coming under cyber attacks, Chambers does not foresee an end to the onslaught of cyber security threats anytime soon. He estimated that the number of ransomware attacks in 2021 could end up being as high as 100,000, with each one costing companies an average of $170,000. In the case of Colonial, just one password was needed for hackers to compromise the entire company’s IT infrastructure. This led to Colonial and JBS paying a combined $15 million in ransom against FBI advice.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/over-65000-ransomware-attacks-expected-in-2021-former-cisco-ceo-125100793.html

Business Leaders Now Feel More Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

Geographically speaking, 55% of US and 49% of UK respondents have experienced the most severe impact to their network security due to these attacks (suggesting that their businesses are more of a target than those in continental Europe) which, in turn, has resulted in a clear majority of respondents (60%) increasing their investment in this area. A sizeable 68% of leaders said their company has experienced a DDoS attack in the last 12 months with the UK (76%) and the US (73%) experiencing a significantly higher proportion compared to 59% of their German and 56% French counterparts. Additionally, over half of the leaders who participated in the survey confirmed that they specifically experienced a DDoS ransom or extortion attack in that time, with a large number of them (65%) targeted at UK companies, compared with the relatively low number in France (38%).

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/14/business-leaders-feel-vulnerable-cyber-attacks/

Ransomware Gang Turns To Revenge Porn

At least one ransomware gang has taken a rare and highly invasive step in order to convince its victims to pay: leaking nude images allegedly uncovered as part of their hack of a target company. The news presents an escalation in the world of ransomware and digital extortion, and comes as the U.S. government and other countries discuss new measures to curb the spike in ransomware incidents. Ransomware groups have recently targeted, and in some cases extracted payment from, the Colonial Pipeline Company, meat producer JBS, and the Irish healthcare system. Locking down computers with ransomware can already have a substantial impact on business operations; leaking information on top of that can present victims with another risk. But posting nude images publicly on the internet threatens to make extortion of organisations a much more personal matter.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xzby/ransomware-gang-revenge-porn-leaks-nude-images

Bank Of America Spends Over $1 Billion Per Year On Cyber Security

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Monday that the company has ramped its cyber security spending to over $1 billion a year. “I became CEO 11 and a half years ago, and we probably spent three to $400 million [per year] and we’re up over a billion now,” Moynihan said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “The institutions around us, other institutions and my peers, spend like amounts, and our contracting parties spend like amounts,” he added. “In other words, we cause spending in third parties that provide services to us to protect us in the same way. So there’s a lot of money being spend on this, and I think one of the things our industry has done a great job of is work together.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/14/bank-of-america-spends-over-1-billion-per-year-on-cybersecurity.html

Bad Cyber Security Behaviours Plaguing The Remote Workforce

According to the report, younger employees are most likely to admit they cut cyber security corners, with 51% of 16-24 year olds and 46% of 25-34 year olds reporting they’ve used security workarounds. In addition, 39% say the cyber security behaviours they practice while working from home differ from those practiced in the office, with half admitting it’s because they feel they were being watched by IT departments. IT leaders are optimistic about the return to office, with 70% believing staff will more likely follow company security policies around data protection and privacy. However, only 57% of employees think the same.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/16/cybersecurity-behaviors/

Threats

Ransomware

BEC

Phishing

Malware

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency

Supply Chain

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

Nation State Actors

Denial of Service

Cloud

Privacy

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 June 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 June 2021: World’s Biggest Meat Producer JBS Pays $11m Ransom; New Type Of Ransomware Could Be 10 Times As Dangerous; Lewd Phishing Lures Aimed At Business Explode; UK Schools Forced To Shut Following Ransomware; COVID-19 Has Transformed Work, But Cyber Security Is Not Keeping Pace; Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack Stemmed From Old VPN Password; Evil Corp Rebrands Ransomware To Escape Sanctions; Billions Of Passwords Leaked Online From Past Data Breaches

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

World’s Biggest Meat Producer JBS Pays $11m Cyber Crime Ransom

JBS, the world’s biggest meat processor, has paid an $11m (£7.8m) ransom after a cyber attack shut down operations, including abattoirs in the US, Australia and Canada. While most of its operations have been restored, the Brazilian-headquartered company said it hoped the payment would head off any further complications including data theft. JBS, which supplies more than a fifth of all beef in the US, reportedly made the payment in bitcoin.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/worlds-biggest-meat-producer-jbs-pays-11m-cybercrime-ransom

Jackware: A New Type Of Ransomware Could Be 10 Times As Dangerous

Between the attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, which disrupted nearly half of the East Coast’s gasoline supply for a week and threatened 20% of the U.S. meat market, respectively, consumers are finally experiencing the first physical impacts to their daily lives from cyber attacks. As bad as these attacks are, they could get a lot worse. Cyber criminals are constantly evolving, and what is keeping many security professionals up at night is the growing risk of “jackware” — a new type of ransomware that could be 10 times more dangerous because instead of encrypting Windows computers and servers. Jackware hijacks the actual physical devices and machines that make modern life possible. It’s only a matter of when we will see these attacks happen

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ransomware-jackware-115229732.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Lewd Phishing Lures Aimed At Business Explode

Attackers have amped up their use of X-rated phishing lures in business email compromise (BEC) attacks. A new report found a stunning 974-percent spike in social-engineering scams involving suggestive materials, usually aimed at male-sounding names within a company. The Threat Intelligence team with GreatHorn made the discovery and explained it’s not simply libido driving users to click on these suggestive scams. Instead, these emails popping up on people’s screens at work are intended to shock the user, opening the door for them to make a reckless decision to click. It’s a tactic GreatHorn called “dynamite phishing.”

https://threatpost.com/lewd-phishing-lures-business-explode/166734/

UK Schools Forced To Shut Following Critical Ransomware Attack

Two schools in the south of England have been forced to temporarily close their doors after a ransomware attack that encrypted and stole sensitive data. The Skinners' Kent Academy and Skinners' Kent Primary School were attacked on June 2, according to a statement on the trust’s website which said it is currently working with third-party security experts, the police, and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). It revealed that on-premises servers were targeted at the Tunbridge Well-based schools. As student and staff emergency contact details, medical records, timetables, and registers were encrypted by the attackers, the decision was taken to close on Monday.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/schools-shut-ransomware-attacl/

Emerging Ransomware Targets Dozens Of Businesses Worldwide

An emerging ransomware strain in the threat landscape claims to have breached 30 organisations in just four months since it went operational by riding on the coattails of a notorious ransomware syndicate. First observed in February 2021, "Prometheus" is an offshoot of another well-known ransomware variant called Thanos, which was previously deployed against state-run organisations in the Middle East and North Africa last year. The affected entities are believed to be government, financial services, manufacturing, logistics, consulting, agriculture, healthcare services, insurance agencies, energy and law firms in the U.S., U.K., and a dozen more countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America.

https://thehackernews.com/2021/06/emerging-ransomware-targets-dozens-of.html

COVID-19 Has Transformed Work, But Cyber Security Is Not Keeping Pace, Report Finds

An international survey of tech professionals from the Thales Group finds some bleak news for the current state of data security: the COVID-19 pandemic has upended cyber security norms, and security teams are struggling to keep up. The problems appear to be snowballing; lack of preparation has led to a scramble resulting in poor data protection practices, outdated security infrastructure not receiving needed overhauls, a jumble of new systems that only make matters worse and priority misalignment between security teams and leadership.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/covid-19-has-transformed-work-but-cybersecurity-isnt-keeping-pace-report-finds/

Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack Was The Result Of An Old VPN Password

It took only one dusty, no-longer-used password for the DarkSide cyber criminals to breach the network of Colonial Pipeline Co. last month, resulting in a ransomware attack that caused significant disruption and remains under investigation by the U.S. government and cyber security experts. Attackers used the password to a VPN account that was no longer in use but still allowed them to remotely access Colonial Pipeline’s network, Charles Carmakal, senior vice president at FireEye’s cyber security consulting firm Mandiant, told Bloomberg in an interview, according to a published report on the news outlet’s website.

https://threatpost.com/darkside-pwned-colonial-with-old-vpn-password/166743/

Evil Corp Rebrands Ransomware To Escape Sanctions

Threat actors behind a notorious Russian cyber crime group appear to have rebranded their ransomware once again in a bid to escape US sanctions prohibiting victims from paying them. Experts took to Twitter to point out that a leak site previously run by the Babuk group, which famously attacked Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), had rebranded to “PayloadBin.” The Babuk group claimed that it was shutting down its affiliate model for encrypting victims and moving to a new model back in April. A ‘new’ ransomware variant with the same name has also been doing the rounds of late, but according to CTO of Emsisoft, Fabian Wosar, it’s nothing more than a copycat effort by Evil Corp.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/evil-corp-rebrands-ransomware/

Billions Of Passwords Leaked Online From Past Data Breaches

A list of leaked passwords discovered on a hacker forum may be one of the largest such collections of all time. A 100GB text file leaked by a user on a popular hacker forum contains 8.4 billion passwords, likely gathered from past data breaches.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/billions-of-passwords-leaked-online-from-past-data-breaches/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency

Nation State Actors

Denial of Service

Charities

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 April 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 April 2021: 61% Of Employees Fail Basic Cyber Security Quiz; More Than 1,900 Hacking Groups Active Today; Ransomware Crisis Worsens; Enterprise Security Attackers Are One Password Away From Your Worst Day; Microsoft’s April Update Patches 114 Bugs; Nation-State Attacks Targeting Businesses Rise; Criminals Installing Cryptojacking Malware On Unpatched Exchange Servers; Network Vulns Affect Over 100 Million Devices; Brits Still Confused By Multi-Factor Authentication

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

61 Percent Of Employees Fail Basic Cyber Security Quiz

Nearly 70% of employees polled in a new survey said they recently received cyber security training from their employers, yet 61% nevertheless failed when asked to take a basic quiz on the topic. This was one of the leading findings of a research study that sought to understand the cyber security habits of some 1,200 workers, as well as their knowledge of best practices and ability to recognize security threats.

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/61-percent-of-employees-fail-basic-cybersecurity-quiz/

More Than 1,900 Distinct Hacking Groups Are Active Today

There are currently more than 1,900 distinct hacking groups that are active today, a number that grew from 1,800 groups recorded at the end of 2019. In its yearly cyber crime report, the company said it discovered 650 new threat actors during 2020, but new evidence also allowed it to remove 500 groups from its threat actor tracker due to overlaps in activity and hacking infrastructure with previously known clusters.

https://therecord.media/fireeye-more-than-1900-distinct-hacking-groups-are-active-today/

Ransomware: The Internet's Biggest Security Crisis Is Getting Worse

Organisations continue to fall victim to ransomware, and yet progress on tackling these attacks, which now constitute one of the biggest security problems on the internet, remains slow. From small companies to councils, government agencies and big business, the number and range of organisations hit by ransomware is rising. One recent example; schools with 36,000 students have been hit, leaving pupils without access to email as attempts were made to get systems back online. That is at least four chains of schools attacked in the last month.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-the-internets-biggest-security-crisis-is-getting-worse-we-need-a-way-out/?&web_view=true

Enterprise Security Attackers Are One Password Away From Your Worst Day

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, then one might say the cyber security industry is insane.

Criminals continue to innovate with highly sophisticated attack methods, but many security organisations still use the same technological approaches they did 10 years ago. The world has changed, but cyber security hasn’t kept pace.

Distributed systems, with people and data everywhere, mean the perimeter has disappeared. And the hackers couldn’t be more excited. The same technology approaches, like correlation rules, manual processes and reviewing alerts in isolation, do little more than remedy symptoms while hardly addressing the underlying problem.

Credentials are supposed to be the front gates of the castle, but as the SOC is failing to change, it is failing to detect. The cyber security industry must rethink its strategy to analyse how credentials are used and stop breaches before they become bigger problems.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/16/enterprise-security-attackers-are-one-password-away-from-your-worst-day/

Microsoft’s April Update Patches 114 Bugs—Half Of Which Allow Remote Code Execution

The fourth Patch Tuesday of 2021 is another big one. Today, Microsoft revealed 114 vulnerabilities fixed in the monthly security, over half of which could potentially be exploited for remote code execution by attackers. Of the 55 remote execution bugs, over half were tied to Windows’ Remote Procedure Call (RPC) interface. Four more were Microsoft Exchange bugs (all urgent fixes) reported to Microsoft by the National Security Agency. In addition, six Chrome vulnerabilities that were previously addressed by Google are included in the roll-up.

https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2021/04/13/microsofts-april-update-patches-114-bugs-more-than-half-of-which-allow-remote-code-execution/

Nation-State Cyber Attacks Targeting Businesses Are On The Rise

Businesses are increasingly coming under fire from nation state-backed hackers as governments around the world engage in attacks to steal secrets or lay the foundations for future attacks. Nation States, Cyberconflict and the Web of Profit, a study by cyber security researchers at HP and criminologists at the University of Surrey, warns that the number of key nation-state attacks has risen significantly over the past three years – and that enterprises and businesses are increasingly being targeted. An analysis of nation-state cyber attacks between 2017 and 2020 reveals that just over a third of organisations targeted were businesses: cyber defence, media, government, and critical infrastructure are all also common targets in these attacks, but enterprise has risen to the top of the list.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/nation-state-cyber-attacks-targeting-businesses-are-on-the-rise/

Cyber Criminals Are Installing Cryptojacking Malware On Unpatched Microsoft Exchange Servers

Cyber criminals are targeting vulnerable Microsoft Exchange servers with cryptocurrency mining malware in a campaign designed to secretly use the processing power of compromised systems to make money. Zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server were detailed last month when Microsoft released critical security updates to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable systems. Cyber attackers ranging from nation-state-linked hacking groups to ransomware gangs have rushed to take advantage of unpatched Exchange servers -- but they are not the only ones.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/free-money-cyber-criminals-are-installing-cryptojacking-malware-on-unpatched-microsoft-exchange-servers/

NAME:WRECK DNS Vulnerabilities Affect Over 100 Million Devices

Security researchers have disclosed nine vulnerabilities affecting network communication stacks running on at least 100 million devices. Collectively referred to as NAME: WRECK, the flaws could be leveraged to take offline affected devices or to gain control over them. The vulnerabilities were found in a wide range of products, from high-performance servers and networking equipment to operational technology (OT) systems that monitor and control industrial equipment. According to researchers threat actors could exploit NAME:WRECK vulnerabilities to deal significant damage to government or enterprise servers, healthcare facilities, retailers, or companies in the manufacturing business by stealing sensitive data, modifying or taking equipment offline for sabotage purposes.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/name-wreck-dns-vulnerabilities-affect-over-100-million-devices/

Brits Still Confused By Multi-Factor Authentication

The British public are still woefully underinformed and unaware of the security benefits of multi-factor authentication (MFA). The industry association, founded in 2012 to promote authentication standards and reduce global reliance on passwords, recently polled over 4000 consumers in the UK, France, Germany, and the US. It revealed that half (49%) UK consumers have had their social media accounts compromised or know a friend or family member who has. However, despite a continued number of high-profile account takeovers, 43% said this does not make them enhance security on their accounts, even though they “feel like” they should. Part of the problem seems to be a general lack of understanding about the benefits of MFA in protecting account holders from phishing, as well as credential stuffing and other brute force attack types. Although such features are offered by all social media companies today, over a quarter (26%) of respondents said they were not using or didn’t know about them.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/brits-still-confused-by/

623K Payment Cards Stolen From Cyber Crime Forum

The Swarmshop cyber underground “card shop” has been hit by hackers, who lifted the site’s database of stolen payment-card data and leaked it online. That is according to researchers, who said that the database was posted on a rival underground forum. Card shops, are online cyber criminal forums where stolen payment-card data is bought and sold. Researchers said the database in question contains 623,036 payment-card records from card-issuers in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S.

https://threatpost.com/623m-payment-cards-stolen-from-cybercrime-forum/165336/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Other Social Engineering

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Nation State Actors

Privacy

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 March 2021

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 March 2021: New Strain Of Ransomware Implements Self-Spreading Capabilities; One In Four People Use Work Passwords For Consumer Websites; Massive Rise In Threats Across Expanding Attack Surfaces; Half of Orgs Concerned Remote Working Puts Them at Greater Risk of Cyber Attacks; Microsoft Patches Four Zero-Day Exchange Server Bugs; A Booming Trade In Bugs Is Undermining Cyber Security; Weaponized Spectre Exploit Discovered; Solarwinds Security Fiasco May Have Started With Simple Password Blunders

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.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

New Strain Of Ransomware Implements Self-Spreading Capabilities

French experts spotted a new Ryuk ransomware variant that implements self-spreading capabilities to infect other devices on victims’ local networks.

This new version has a new attribute that allows it to self replicate over the local network allowing the malware to propagate itself – machine to machine – within the Windows domain. Once launched, it will spread itself to every Windows machine it can reach.

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/115064/reports/ryuk-ransomware-self-spreading-capabilities.html

One In Four People Use Work Passwords For Consumer Websites

The report found that one in four consumers admit to using their work email or passwords to log in to consumer websites and applications such as food delivery apps, online shopping sites and even dating apps. The report found that consumers are neglecting to implement fundamental security safeguards across smart IoT devices at home, which could have serious security ramifications on both the individual and the enterprise amid increased and ongoing remote work spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/02/26/use-work-passwords-for-consumer-websites/

Massive Rise In Threats Across Expanding Attack Surfaces

New malware samples nearly doubled: New ransomware samples increased 106% year-over-year. Trojans increased 128%, with threat actors using trojans to exploit lower-severity vulnerabilities. Sophisticated, multi-staged attacks and malware-as-a-service have become the norm. Vulnerabilities hit a new high: 18,341 new vulnerabilities in 2020 have been reported. To stay ahead of attacks, security and risk leaders need sophisticated insights into which vulnerabilities are high-risk and remediation options for all assets, including non-patching options.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/02/26/expanding-attack-surfaces/

Half of Organisations Concerned Remote Working Puts Them at Greater Risk of Cyber Attacks

Half of organizations are concerned that the shift to remote work is putting them a greater risk of Cyber Attacks, according to a new study with IDG. A survey of UK CIOs, CTOs and IT decision makers revealed that insecure practices are regularly taking place among remote workers, providing more opportunities for Cyber Criminals to strike.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/half-orgs-remote-working-risk/

Microsoft Patches Four Zero-Day Exchange Server Bugs

Microsoft has been forced to release out-of-band patches to fix multiple zero-day vulnerabilities being exploited by Chinese state-backed threat actors. The unusual step was taken to protect customers running on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/microsoft-patch-four-zeroday/

A Booming Trade In Bugs Is Undermining Cyber Security

If you discover that a favourite vending-machine dispenses free chocolate when its buttons are pressed just so, what should you do? The virtuous option is to tell the manufacturer, so it can fix it. The temptation is to gorge.

https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/03/06/a-booming-trade-in-bugs-is-undermining-cyber-security

Is Your Browser Extension A Botnet Backdoor?

A company that rents out access to more than 10 million Web browsers so that clients can hide their true Internet addresses has built its network by paying browser extension makers to quietly include its code in their creations. This story examines the lopsided economics of extension development, and why installing an extension can be such a risky proposition.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/03/is-your-browser-extension-a-botnet-backdoor/

Cyber Attack Shuts Down Online Learning At 15 UK Schools

A threat actor was able to access the trust's central network infrastructure and while an investigation took place, all existing phone, email, and website communication had to be pulled. Students are still learning remotely in England. Schools are set to reopen on March 8, but in the meantime, only a small subset of children are attending school physically, such as the children of key workers.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/cyberattack-shuts-down-online-learning-at-15-uk-schools/

First Fully Weaponized Spectre Exploit Discovered Online

A fully weaponized exploit for the Spectre CPU vulnerability was uploaded on the malware-scanning website VirusTotal last month, marking the first time a working exploit capable of doing actual damage has entered the public domain. The exploit was discovered and targets Spectre, a major vulnerability that was disclosed in January 2018. According to its website, the Spectre bug is a hardware design flaw in the architectures of Intel, AMD, and ARM processors that allows code running inside bad apps to break the isolation between different applications at the CPU level and then steal sensitive data from other apps running on the same system.

https://therecord.media/first-fully-weaponized-spectre-exploit-discovered-online/

Solarwinds Security Fiasco May Have Started With Simple Password Blunders

We still do not know just how bad the SolarWinds security breach is. We do know over a hundred US government agencies and companies were cracked. "The largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen," with more than a thousand hackers behind it. It may have all started when an intern first set an important password to "'solarwinds123." Then, adding insult to injury, the intern shared the password on GitHub.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/solarwinds-security-fiasco-may-have-started-with-simple-password-blunders/

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

Malware

Mobile

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Organised Crime

Dark Web

Supply Chain

Nation-State Actors

Privacy

 

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.

Read More
Black Arrow Admin Black Arrow Admin

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 December 2020

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 December 2020: Cyber crime costs the world more than $1 trillion, 50% increase from 2018; One of the world's largest security firms breached; Chinese Breakthrough in Quantum Computing a Warning for Security Teams; Ransom payouts hit record-highs, surging 178% in a year; Ransomware Set to Continue to Evolve

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 Headlines of the Week

Cyber crime costs the world more than $1 trillion, a 50% increase from 2018

Cyber crime costs the world economy more than $1 trillion, or just more than one percent of global GDP, which is up more than 50 percent from a 2018 study that put global losses at close to $600 billion. Beyond the global figure, the report also explored the damage reported beyond financial losses, finding 92 percent of companies felt effects beyond monetary losses.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/12/07/cybercrime-costs-world/

FireEye, one of the world's largest security firms, discloses security breach

FireEye, one of the world largest security firms, said today it was hacked and that a "highly sophisticated threat actor" accessed its internal network and stole hacking tools FireEye uses to test the networks of its customers.

The firm said the threat actor also searched for information related to some of the company's government customers.

The attacker was described as a "highly sophisticated threat actor, one whose discipline, operational security, and techniques lead us to believe it was a state-sponsored attack."

https://www.zdnet.com/article/fireeye-one-of-the-worlds-largest-security-firms-discloses-security-breach/

Chinese Breakthrough in Quantum Computing a Warning for Security Teams

China’s top quantum-computer researchers have reported that they have achieved quantum supremacy, i.e., the ability to perform tasks a traditional supercomputer cannot. And while it’s a thrilling development, the inevitable rise of quantum computing means security teams are one step closer to facing a threat more formidable than anything before.

https://threatpost.com/chinese-quantum-computing-warning-security/161935/

Ransom payouts hit record-highs, surging 178% in a year

Average ransom payouts increased by 178% in the third quarter of this year, from $84,000 (£63,000) to almost £234,000, compared with the year before. Ransomware payments reached record-highs in 2020 as employees shifted to remote working to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, creating more attack vectors for hackers.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ransomware-payouts-hacking-computers-hit-record-highs-surging-134527988.html

Ransomware Set for Evolution in Attack Capabilities in 2021

Ransomware is set to evolve into a greater threat in 2021 as service offerings and collaborations increase. The year turned out “different than predicted” and the shift to working from home also impacted the e-crime landscape. “This created an industrialization of e-crime groups and their abilities to extend from single groups into business pipelines”

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-evolution-capabilities/

How Organisations Can Prevent Users from Using Breached Passwords

There is no question that attackers are going after your sensitive account data. Passwords have long been a target of those looking to compromise your environment. Why would an attacker take the long, complicated way if they have the keys to the front door?

https://thehackernews.com/2020/12/how-organizations-can-prevent-users.html

Threats

Ransomware

Phishing

IOT

Malware

Vulnerabilities

Data Breaches

Threat Actors

Insider Threats

Other News

Reports Published in the Last Week

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.

 

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 December 2020

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 4 December 2020: Covid vaccine supply chain targeted by hackers; Criminals Favour Ransomware and BEC; Bank Employee Sells Personal Data of 200,000 Clients; 2020 Pandemic changing short- and long-term approaches to risk; Cyber risks take the fun out of connected toys; Remote Workers Admit Lack of Security Training

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 Headlines of the Week

Covid vaccine supply chain targeted by hackers, say security experts

Cyber attackers have targeted the cold supply chain needed to deliver Covid-19 vaccines, according to a report detailing a sophisticated operation likely backed by a nation state. 

The hackers appeared to be trying to disrupt or steal information about the vital processes to keep vaccines cold as they travel from factories to hospitals and doctors’ offices.

https://www.ft.com/content/9c303207-8f4a-42b7-b0e4-cf421f036b2f

Criminals to Favour Ransomware and BEC Over Breaches in 2021

The era of the mega-breach may be coming to an end as cyber-criminals eschew consumers’ personal data and focus on phishing and ransomware.

Cyber-criminals are relying less on stolen personal information and more on “poor consumer behaviors” such as password reuse to monetize attacks.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/criminals-favor-ransomware-bec/

Bank Employee Sells Personal Data of 200,000 Clients

South Africa–based financial services group Absa has stated that one of its employees sold the personal information of 200,000 clients to third parties.

The group confirmed on Wednesday that the illegal activity had occurred and that 2% of Absa's retail customer base had been impacted.

The employee allegedly responsible for it was a credit analyst who had access to the group's risk-modeling processes.

Data exposed as a result of the security incident included clients' ID numbers, addresses, contact details, and descriptions of vehicles that they had purchased on finance.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bank-employee-sells-personal-data/

LastPass review: Still the leading password manager, despite security history

"'Don't put all your eggs in one basket' is all wrong. I tell you 'put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket,'" said industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1885. When it comes to privacy tools, he's usually dead wrong. In the case of password managers, however, Carnegie is usually more dead than wrong. To wit, I have been using LastPass so long I don't know when I started using LastPass and, for now, I've got no reason to change that. 

https://www.cnet.com/news/lastpass-review-still-the-leading-password-manager-despite-security-history/

The most significant security innovations of 2020

Who gets access? That is the question that drives every security measure and innovation that’s landed on PopSci’s annual compendium since we launched the category in 2008. Every year, that question gets bigger and bigger. In 2020, the world quaked under a global pandemic that took 1.4 million lives, the US saw a rebirth in its civil rights movement, and a spate of record-breaking wildfires forced entire regions to evacuate. And those are just the new scares. A buildup of angst against ad trackers and app snooping led to major changes in hardware and software alike. It was a year full of lessons, nuances, and mini revolutions, and we strive to match that with our choices.

https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/most-important-security-innovations-2020/

2020 security priorities: Pandemic changing short- and long-term approaches to risk

Security planning and budgeting is always an adventure. You can assess current risk and project the most likely threats, but the only real constant in cybersecurity risk is its unpredictability. Layer a global pandemic on top of that and CISOs suddenly have the nearly impossible task of deciding where to request and allocate resources in 2021.

Show how the COVID pandemic has changed what security focuses on now and what will drive security priorities and spending in 2021. Based on a survey of 522 security professionals from the US, Asia/Pacific and Europe, the study reveals how the pandemic has changed the way organizations assess risk and respond to threats—permanently.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3598393/new-study-shows-pandemic-changing-short-and-long-term-approaches-to-risk.html

Cyber risks take the fun out of connected toys

As Christmas approaches, internet-enabled smart toys are likely to feature heavily under festive trees. While some dolls of decades past were only capable of speaking pre-recorded phrases, modern equivalents boast speech recognition and can search for answers online in real time.

Other connected gadgets include drones or cars such as Nintendo’s Mario Kart Live Home Circuit, where players race each other in a virtual world modelled after their home surroundings.

But for all the fun that such items can bring, there is a risk — poorly-secured Internet of Things toys can be turned into convenient tools for hackers.

https://www.ft.com/content/c653e977-435f-4553-8401-9fa9b0faf632

Remote Workers Admit Lack of Security Training

A third of remote working employees have not received security training in the last six months.

400 remote workers in the UK across multiple industries, while 83% have had access to security best practice training and 88% are familiar with IT security policies, 32% have received no security training in the last six months.

Also, 50% spend two or more hours a week on IT issues, and 42% felt they had to go around the security policies of their organization to do their job.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/remote-workers-training/ 

Threats

Ransomware

Delaware County Pays $500,000 Ransom After Outages

A US county is in the process of paying half-a-million dollars to ransomware extorters who locked its local government network, according to reports.

Pennsylvania’s Delaware County revealed the attack last week, claiming in a notice that it had disrupted “portions of its computer network.

“We commenced an immediate investigation that included taking certain systems offline and working with computer forensic specialists to determine the nature and scope of the event. We are working diligently to restore the functionality of our systems,” it said.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/delaware-county-pays-500k-ransom/

MasterChef Producer Hit by Double Extortion Ransomware

A multibillion-dollar TV production company has become the latest big corporate name caught out by ransomware, it emerged late last week.

The firm owns over 120 production firms around the world, delivering TV shows ranging from MasterChef and Big Brother to Black Mirror and The Island with Bear Grylls.

In a short update last Thursday, it claimed to be managing a “cyber-incident” affecting the networks of Endemol Shine Group and Endemol Shine International, Dutch firms it acquired in a $2.2bn deal in July.

Although ransomware isn’t named in the notice, previous reports suggest the firm is being extorted.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/masterchef-producer-double/

Sopra Steria to take multi-million euro hit on ransomware attack

The company revealed in October that it had been hit by hackers using a new version of Ryuk ransomware.

It now says that the fallout, with various systems out of action, is likely to have a gross negative impact on operating margin of between €40 million and €50 million.

The group's insurance coverage for cyber risks is EUR30 million, meaning that negative organic revenue growth for the year is now expected to be between 4.5% and five per cent (previously between two per cent and four per cent). Free cash flow is now expected to be between €50 million and €100 million (previously between €80 million and €120 million).

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37020/sopra-steria-to-take-multi-million-euro-hit-on-ransomware-attack

BEC

FBI: BEC Scams Are Using Email Auto-Forwarding

The agency notes in an alert made public this week that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, leading to an increasingly remote workforce, BEC scammers have been taking advantage of the auto-forwarding feature within compromised email inboxes to trick employees to send them money under the guise of legitimate payments to third parties.

This tactic works because most organizations do not sync their web-based email client forwarding features with their desktop client counterparts. This limits the ability of system administrators to detect any suspicious activities and enables the fraudsters to send malicious emails from the compromised accounts without being detected, the alert, sent to organizations in November and made public this week, notes.

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/fbi-bec-scams-are-using-email-auto-forwarding-a-15498

Phishing

Phishing lures employees with fake 'back to work' internal memos

Scammers are trying to steal email credentials from employees by impersonating their organization's human resources (HR) department in phishing emails camouflaged as internal 'back to work' company memos.

These phishing messages have managed to land in thousands of targeted individuals' mailboxes after bypassing G Suite email defences according to stats provided by researchers at email security company Abnormal Security who spotted this phishing campaign.

There is a high probability that some of the targets will fall for the scammers' tricks given that during this year's COVID-19 pandemic most companies have regularly emailed their employees with updates regarding remote working policy changes.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/phishing-lures-employees-with-fake-back-to-work-internal-memos/

Warning: Massive Zoom phishing targets Thanksgiving meetings

Everyone should be on the lookout for a massive ongoing phishing attack today, pretending to be an invite for a Zoom meeting. Hosted on numerous landing pages, BleepingComputer has learned that thousands of users' credentials have already been stolen by the attack.

With many in the USA hosting virtual Thanksgiving dinners and people in other countries conducting Zoom business meetings, as usual, today is a prime opportunity to perform a phishing attack using Zoom invite lures.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/warning-massive-zoom-phishing-targets-thanksgiving-meetings/

Malware

All-new Windows 10 malware is excellent at evading detection

Security researchers at Kaspersky have discovered a new malware strain developed by the hacker-for-hire group DeathStalker that has been designed to avoid detection on Windows PCs.

While the threat actor has been active since at least 2012, DeathStalker first drew Kaspersky's attention back in 2018 because of its distinctive attack characteristics which didn't resemble those employed by cybercriminals or state-sponsored hackers.

https://www.techradar.com/news/all-new-windows-10-malware-is-excellent-at-evading-detection

New TrickBot version can tamper with UEFI/BIOS firmware

The operators of the TrickBot malware botnet have added a new capability that can allow them to interact with an infected computer's BIOS or UEFI firmware.

The new capability was spotted inside part of a new TrickBot module, first seen in the wild at the end of October, security firms Advanced Intelligence and Eclypsium said in a joint report published today.

The new module has security researchers worried as its features would allow the TrickBot malware to establish more persistent footholds on infected systems, footholds that could allow the malware to survive OS reinstalls.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-trickbot-version-can-tamper-with-uefibios-firmware/

Russia-linked APT Turla used a new malware toolset named Crutch

Russian-linked APT group Turla has used a previously undocumented malware toolset, named Crutch, in cyberespionage campaigns aimed at high-profile targets, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a European Union country.

The Turla APT group (aka Snake, Uroburos, Waterbug, Venomous Bear and KRYPTON) has been active since at least 2007 targeting diplomatic and government organizations and private businesses in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and former Soviet bloc nations.

https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/111813/apt/turla-crutch-malware-platform.html

MacBooks under attack by dangerous malware: What to do

a recent spate of malware attacks targeting macOS of late that installs backdoors to steal sensitive personal information. The security firm discovered that a new malware variant is being used online and backed by a rogue nation-state hacking group known as OceanLotus, which also operates under the name AKTP2 and is based in Vietnam. 

The new malware was created by OceanLotus due to the “similarities in dynamic behavior and code” from previous malware connected to the Vietnamese-based hacking group. 

https://www.laptopmag.com/news/macbooks-under-attack-by-dangerous-malware-what-to-do

Hackers Using Monero Mining Malware as Decoy, Warns Microsoft

The company’s intelligence team said a group called BISMUTH hit government targets in France and Vietnam with relatively conspicuous monero mining trojans this summer. Mining the crypto generated side cash for the group, but it also distracted victims from BISMUTH’s true campaign: credential theft.

Crypto-jacking “allowed BISMUTH to hide its more nefarious activities behind threats that may be perceived to be less alarming because they’re ‘commodity’ malware,” Microsoft concluded. It said the conspicuousness of monero mining fits BISMUTH’s “hide in plain sight” MO.

Microsoft recommended organizations stay vigilant against crypto-jacking as a possible decoy tactic.

https://www.coindesk.com/hackers-using-monero-mining-malware-as-decoy-warns-microsoft

Vulnerabilities

Zerologon is now detected by Microsoft Defender for Identity

There has been a huge focus on the recently patched CVE-2020-1472 Netlogon Elevation of Privilege vulnerability, widely known as ZeroLogon. While Microsoft strongly recommends that you deploy the latest security updates to your servers and devices, we also want to provide you with the best detection coverage possible for your domain controllers. Microsoft Defender for Identity along with other Microsoft 365 Defender solutions detect adversaries as they try to exploit this vulnerability against your domain controllers.

https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/11/30/zerologon-is-now-detected-by-microsoft-defender-for-identity/

Privacy

'We've heard the feedback...' Microsoft 365 axes per-user productivity monitoring after privacy backlash

If you heard a strange noise coming from Redmond today, it was the sound of some rapid back-pedalling regarding the Productivity Score feature in its Microsoft 365 cloud platform.

Following outcry from subscribers and privacy campaigners, the Windows giant has now vowed to wind back the functionality so that it no longer produces scores for individual users, and instead just summarizes the output of a whole organization. It was feared the dashboard could have been used by bad bosses to measure the productivity of specific employees using daft metrics like the volume of emails or chat messages sent through Microsoft 365.

https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/01/productivity_score/

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.

Read More
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 November 2020

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 20 November 2020

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.

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 Headlines of the Week

Cyber crime is 'a constant threat' to SMEs

Criminals are diversifying and growing more dangerous, while SMEs remain complacent and mostly oblivious to the threats.

With a quarter of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) falling victim to a cyberattack in the last 12 months, the threat towards these organizations is constant. This is according to a new report from Direct Line – Business, which claims that businesses aren't doing all they can to stay safe.

The report states that, if a cyber attack were to occur, many organisations would find themselves in a seriously dangerous position given they hold less than $13,000 in cash reserves. Besides financial damage, many should also expect damaged client and customer relationships due to eroded trust.

With cybercriminals diversifying into different methods of attack, SMEs need to stay vigilant on multiple fronts. Phishing is still the most popular weapon for criminals, the report states, but malware and ransomware, as well as DDoS attacks, are also notable mentions.

https://www.itproportal.com/features/cybercrime-is-a-constant-threat-to-smes/

The most common passwords of 2020 are atrocious

Bottom line: Choosing secure passwords has never been humanity’s strong suit and let’s face it, it’s never going to be. People simply have too many accounts to protect these days, leading to poor practices such as simplifying passwords to make them easier to remember and reusing the same password across multiple accounts.

https://www.techspot.com/news/87657-most-common-passwords-2020-atrocious.html#Share

Why ransomware is still so successful: Over a quarter of victims pay the ransom

Over a quarter of organisations that fall victim to ransomware attacks opt to pay the ransom as they feel as if they have no other option than to give into the demands of cyber criminals – and the average ransom amount is now more than $1 million.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-ransomware-is-still-so-successful-over-a-quarter-of-victims-pay-the-ransom/

Cyber crime is maturing. Here are 6 ways organisations can keep up

In 2020, the world has experienced many challenges. Among them, hastened digitalisation has brought new opportunities but also new risks. According to the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2020, cyber attacks rank first among global human-caused risks and RiskIQ predicts that by 2021 cyber crime will cost the world $11.4 million each minute.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/how-to-protect-companies-from-cybercrime/

Ransomware-as-a-service: The pandemic within a pandemic

Ransomware is a massive problem. But you already knew that.

Technical novices, along with seasoned cyber security professionals, have witnessed over the past year a slew of ransomware events that have devastated enterprises around the world. Even those outside of cyber security are now familiar with the concept: criminals behind a keyboard have found a way into an organization’s system, prevented anyone from actually using it by locking it up, and won’t let anyone resume normal activity until the organization pays a hefty fee.

https://public.intel471.com/blog/ransomware-as-a-service-2020-ryuk-maze-revil-egregor-doppelpaymer/

CISOs say a distributed workforce has critically increased security concerns

73% of security and IT executives are concerned about new vulnerabilities and risks introduced by the distributed workforce, Skybox Security reveals.

The report also uncovered an alarming disconnect between confidence in security posture and increased cyberattacks during the global pandemic.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/11/18/distributed-workforce-security/

Threats

Ransomware

Capcom confirms Ragnar Locker ransomware attack, data exposure

Capcom has confirmed that a recent security incident was due to a Ragnar Locker ransomware infection, potentially leading to the exposure of customer records.

This week, the Japanese gaming giant confirmed that the company had fallen prey to "customized ransomware" which gave attackers unauthorised access to its network -- as well as the data stored on Capcom Group systems.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/capcom-confirms-ransomware-attack-potential-theft-of-customer-employee-data/

Ransomware attack forces web hosting provider Managed.com to take servers offline

One of the biggest providers of managed web hosting solutions, has taken down all its servers in order to deal with a ransomware attack.

The ransomware impacted the company's public facing web hosting systems, resulting in some customer sites having their data encrypted.

The incident only impacted a limited number of customer sites, which the company said it immediately took offline.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/web-hosting-provider-managed-shuts-down-after-ransomware-attack/

Phishing

Office 365 phishing campaign detects sandboxes to evade detection

Microsoft is tracking an ongoing Office 365 phishing campaign that makes use of several methods to evade automated analysis in attacks against enterprise targets.

"We’re tracking an active credential phishing attack targeting enterprises that uses multiple sophisticated methods for defence evasion and social engineering," Microsoft said.

"The campaign uses timely lures relevant to remote work, like password updates, conferencing info, helpdesk tickets, etc."

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/office-365-phishing-campaign-detects-sandboxes-to-evade-detection/

Malware

Adult site users targeted with ZLoader malware via fake Java update

A malware campaign ongoing since the beginning of the year has recently changed tactics, switching from exploit kits to social engineering to target adult content consumers.

The operators use an old trick to distribute a variant of ZLoader, a banking trojan that made a comeback earlier this year after an absence of almost two years, now used as an info stealer.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/adult-site-users-targeted-with-zloader-malware-via-fake-java-update/

Lazarus malware strikes South Korean supply chains

Lazarus malware has been tracked in new campaigns against South Korean supply chains, made possible through stolen security certificates.

Cyber security researchers reported the abuse of the certificates, stolen from two separate, legitimate South Korean companies.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/lazarus-malware-strikes-south-korean-supply-chains/

Malware activity spikes 128%, Office document phishing skyrockets

The report demonstrates threat actors becoming even more ruthless. Throughout Q3, hackers shifted focus from home networks to overburdened public entities, including the education sector and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Malware campaigns, like Emotet, utilized these events as phishing lure themes to assist in delivery.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/11/13/malware-activity-q3-2020/

Cloud

Attackers can abuse a misconfigured IAM role across 16 Amazon services

Researchers at Palo Alto’s Unit 42 have confirmed that they have compromised a customer’s AWS cloud account with thousands of workloads using a misconfigured identity and access management (IAM) role.

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/cloud-security/attackers-can-abuse-a-misconfigured-iam-role-across-16-aws-services/

Vulnerabilities

More than 245,000 Windows systems still remain vulnerable to BlueKeep RDP bug

A year and a half after Microsoft disclosed the BlueKeep vulnerability impacting the Windows RDP service, more than 245,000 Windows systems still remain unpatched and vulnerable to attacks.

The number represents around 25% of the 950,000 systems that were initially discovered to be vulnerable to BlueKeep attacks during a first scan in May 2019.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/more-than-245000-windows-systems-still-remain-vulnerable-to-bluekeep-rdp-bug/

Windows Kerberos authentication breaks due to security updates

Microsoft is investigating a new known issue causing enterprise domain controllers to experience Kerberos authentication problems after installing security updates released to address CVE-2020-17049 during this month's Patch Tuesday, on November 10.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-kerberos-authentication-breaks-due-to-security-updates/

Cisco Patches Critical Flaw After PoC Exploit Code Release

A critical path-traversal flaw exists in Cisco Security Manager that lays bare sensitive information to remote, unauthenticated attackers.

A day after proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code was published for a critical flaw in Cisco Security Manager, Cisco has hurried out a patch.

https://threatpost.com/critical-cisco-flaw-sensitive-data/161305/

Widespread Scans Underway for RCE Bugs in WordPress Websites

WordPress websites using buggy Epsilon Framework themes are being hunted by hackers.

Millions of malicious scans are rolling across the internet, looking for known vulnerabilities in the Epsilon Framework for building WordPress themes, according to researchers.

According to the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team, more than 7.5 million probes targeting these vulnerabilities have been observed, against more than 1.5 million WordPress sites, just since Tuesday.

https://threatpost.com/widespread-scans-rce-bugs-wordpress-websites/161374/

Webex fixed some seriously spooky security flaws

Cisco has patched several troubling security vulnerabilities in its Webex video conferencing service.

The flaws in the video conferencing software were flagged. Researchers took a deeper look at the collaboration tools being used for day-to-day work to better understand how they could impact sensitive meetings now being held virtually. During its investigation, the company's security researchers discovered three vulnerabilities in Webex.

https://www.techradar.com/news/cisco-webex-had-some-very-spooky-security-flaws

Data Breaches

Animal Jam was hacked, and data stolen; here’s what parents need to know

WildWorks,  the gaming company that makes the popular kids game Animal Jam, has confirmed a data breach.

Animal Jam is one of the most popular games for kids, ranking in the top five games in the 9-11 age category in Apple’s App Store in the U.S., according to data provided by App Annie. But while no data breach is ever good news, WildWorks has been more forthcoming about the incident than most companies would be, making it easier for parents to protect both their information and their kids’ data.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/16/animal-jam-data-breach/

Crown Prosecution Service guilty of ‘serious’ data breaches

Prosecutors are routinely guilty of “serious” data breaches that can endanger the public by disclosing addresses of people who report crimes, a watchdog has revealed.

Independent assessors of the Crown Prosecution Service found that prosecutors in England and Wales were responsible for “a significant number of data security breaches”.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/crown-prosecution-service-guilty-of-serious-data-breaches-k7vhl0hnf

Privacy

MacOS Big Sur reveals Apple secretly hates your VPN and firewall

If you're using a Mac VPN and recently updated your device to Big Sur, your privacy may be at risk as it was discovered that Apple apps are able to bypass both firewalls and VPN services in the company's latest version of macOS.

Twitter user mxswd first spotted the issue back in October and provided more details in a tweet which reads: “Some Apple apps bypass some network extensions and VPN Apps. Maps for example can directly access the internet bypassing any NEFilterDataProvider or NEAppProxyProviders you have running”.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/macos-big-sur-reveals-apple-secretly-hates-your-vpn-and-firewall

Server failure unearths massive macOS tracking plans

More serious doubts have been raised about Apple's snooping tactics following fresh revelations about the company's macOS software. We’ve already reported how apps in the latest release of macOS can bypass firewalls and VPNs and how the release was bricking some older MacBook Pro machines.

https://www.techradar.com/news/server-failure-unearths-massive-macos-tracking-plans

Employee surveillance software demand increased as workers transitioned to home working

As people hunkered down to work from home during COVID-19, companies turned to employee surveillance software to track their staff.

What does the rise of intrusive tools such as employee surveillance software mean for workers at home?

A new study shows that the demand for employee surveillance software was up 55% in June 2020 compared to the pre-pandemic average. From webcam access to random screenshot monitoring, these surveillance software products can record almost everything an employee does on their computer.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/employee-surveillance-software-demand-increased-as-workers-transitioned-to-home-working/

Los Angeles police ban facial recognition software and launch review after officers accused of unauthorized use

The Los Angeles police department (LAPD) has banned commercial facial recognition software and launched a review after 25 officers were accused of using it unofficially to try to identify people.

https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/19/lapd_facial_recogntion/

Nation State Actors

More than 200 systems infected by new Chinese APT 'FunnyDream'

A new Chinese state-sponsored hacking group (also known as an APT) has infected more than 200 systems across Southeast Asia with malware over the past two years.

The malware infections are part of a widespread cyber-espionage campaign carried out by a group named FunnyDream, according to a new report published today by security firm Bitdefender.

The attacks have primarily targeted Southeast Asian governments. While Bitdefender has not named any victim countries, a report published earlier this spring by fellow security firm Kaspersky Lab has identified FunnyDream targets in Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines, with the most victims being located in Vietnam.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/more-than-200-systems-infected-by-new-chinese-apt-funnydream/

Massive, China-state-funded hack hits companies around the world, report says

Attacks are linked to Cicada, a group believed to be funded by the Chinese state.

Researchers have uncovered a massive hacking campaign that’s using sophisticated tools and techniques to compromise the networks of companies around the world.

The hackers, most likely from a well-known group that’s funded by the Chinese government, are outfitted with both off-the-shelf and custom-made tools. One such tool exploits Zerologon, the name given to a Windows server vulnerability, patched in August, that can give attackers instant administrator privileges on vulnerable systems.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/11/massive-china-state-funded-hack-hits-companies-around-the-word-report-says/

Other News

Hackers are leaning more heavily on cloud resources

Underground cloud services may seem like an oxymoron, but they are quite real, and criminals are using them to speed up attacks and leave very little room for compromised businesses to react.

This is according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, which found terabytes of internal business data and logins - including for Google, Amazon and PayPal - for sale on the dark web.

https://www.itproportal.com/news/hackers-are-leaning-more-heavily-on-cloud-resources/

CEOs Will Be Personally Liable for Cyber-Physical Security Incidents by 2024

Digital attack attempts in industrial environments are on the rise. In February 2020, IBM X-Force reported that it had observed a 2,000% increase in the attempts by threat actors to target Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) assets between 2018 and 2020. This surge eclipsed the total number of attacks against organizations’ industrial environments that had occurred over the previous three years combined.

https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/risk-based-security-for-executives/ceo-personally-liable-cyber-physical-security-incidents/

Reports Published in the Last Week

Sophos 2021 Threat Report: Navigating cybersecurity in an uncertain world

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/11/18/sophos-threat-report-2021/

Verizon Releases First Cyber-Espionage Report

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/verizon-releases-first-cyber/

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.

 

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Cyber Weekly Flash Briefing 10 July 2020: firms concerned by cloud security: most already breached, 15 Billion passwords on sale, routers present huge risk, BMW cust breach, NK hackers target retail

Cyber Weekly Flash Briefing 10 July 2020: firms concerned by cloud security: most already breached, 15 Billion passwords on sale, routers present huge risk, BMW cust breach, NK hackers target retail

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.

Majority of firms concerned about public cloud security, most have suffered breach

Most businesses are worried about the current state of their public cloud security, with 70% admitting they have experienced a breach over the past year including 93% in India, where this figure is highest worldwide. Companies that used more than one public cloud platforms reported more security incidents than their peers that used only one platform.

In addition, system misconfigurations enabled 66% of cyber attacks either because attackers were able to exploit a misconfigured system or tap flaws in the firewall applications to steal credentials of cloud provider accounts. Data loss or leak was the biggest security concern, with 44% of organisations pointing to this as a top focus area, according to Sophos' State of Cloud Security 2020 study.

The survey polled 3,521 IT managers across 26 markets including 158 in Singapore, 227 in India, 162 in China, 148 in Australia, 126 in Japan, 191 in the UK, and 413 in the US. These respondents used services from at least one of the following public cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and VMWare Cloud on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. They also might have used Google Cloud and IBM Cloud.

Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/majority-of-firms-concerned-about-public-cloud-security-most-have-suffered-breach/

15 Billion Stolen Passwords On Sale On The Dark Web, Research Reveals

There are more than 15 billion stolen account credentials circulating on criminal forums within the dark web, a new study has revealed.

Researchers discovered usernames, passwords and other login information for everything from online bank accounts, to music and video streaming services.

The majority of exposed credentials belong to consumers rather than businesses, the researchers found, resulting from hundreds of thousands of data breaches.

Unsurprisingly, the most expensive credentials for sale were those for bank and financial services. The average listing for these was £56 on the dark web – a section of the internet notorious for criminal activity that is only accessible using specialist software.

Researched stated that the sheer number of credentials available is staggering.

Read more here: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/security-passwords-dark-web-digital-shadows-a9607871.htm

Check your router now - it could be a huge security risk

Many of the most popular home routers available to buy today feature a worrying number of security flaws and vulnerabilities, new research has found and your router might be the biggest security hole in your network.

A report from Germany discovered that the firmware present in a large number of leading routers was susceptible to hugely damaging security issues.

Many routers were found to never have received a single security firmware update in their lifetime, despite the risk that this could pose to users at home and at work, and were vulnerable to hundreds of well-known security issues.

The study looked at 127 home routers from seven brands (Netgear, ASUS, AVM, D-Link, Linksys, TP-Link and Zyxel), examining the product firmware for any known security vulnerabilities.

46 of the products it tested had not received any kind of security update within the past 12 months, with some vendors shipping firmware updates without fixing known vulnerabilities, and one set of products not seeing a firmware update for more than five years.

Read more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/check-your-router-now-it-could-be-a-huge-linux-security-risk

Data Breach Affects 384,319 BMW Customers in the U.K.

Researchers at an intelligence firm discovered that a hacker group “KelvinSecurity” compromised the personal information of 384,319 BMW customers in the U.K. and put them for sale on various darknet forums.

The hacker group claimed that they got the BMW database from a call centre that handles customers’ information of various automobile brands. The stolen database contains over 500,000 customer records dated between 2016 and 2018, affecting U.K. owners of other car manufacturers, including Honda, Mercedes, SEAT, and Hyundai in the U.K.

The exposed BMW owners’ information included sensitive information such as surnames, emails, vehicle registration numbers, residential address, dealer names, car registration information, names of dealerships. The researchers also discovered multiple databases exposed by KelvinSecurity, including data related to the U.S. government contractors and the Russian military weapons development. The hacker group also exposed over 28 databases on various darknet forums for free, affecting organizations in Iran, Australia, Mexico, U.S., Sweden, Indonesia, and France.

Read more here: https://cisomag.eccouncil.org/bmw-data-breach/

SurveyMonkey Phishers Go Hunting for Office 365 Credentials

Security researchers are warning of a new phishing campaign that uses malicious emails from legitimate SurveyMonkey domains in a bid to bypass security filters.

The phishing emails in question are sent from a real SurveyMonkey domain but crucially have a different reply-to domain.

Within the body of the email is a hidden redirect link appearing as the text ‘Navigate to access statement’ with a brief message ‘Please do not forward this email as its survey link is unique to you’” it explained. Clicking on the link redirects to a site hosted on a Microsoft form submission page. This form asks the user to enter their Office 365 email and password. If the user is not vigilant and provides their credentials, the user account would be compromised.

The attack is effective for several reasons: its use of a legitimate SurveyMonkey email sender, the concealing of the phishing site URL and the description of the email as unique to every user.

Read more here: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/surveymonkey-phishers-office-365/

Microsoft takes legal action against COVID-19-related cybercrime

This week a Court in the US unsealed documents detailing Microsoft’s work to disrupt cybercriminals that were taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to defraud customers in 62 countries around the world. The civil case has resulted in a court order allowing Microsoft to seize control of key domains in the criminals’ infrastructure so that it can no longer be used to execute cyberattacks.

Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) first observed these criminals in December 2019, when they deployed a sophisticated, new phishing scheme designed to compromise Microsoft customer accounts. The criminals attempted to gain access to customer email, contact lists, sensitive documents and other valuable information. Based on patterns discovered at that time, Microsoft utilized technical means to block the criminals’ activity and disable the malicious application used in the attack. Recently, Microsoft observed renewed attempts by the same criminals, this time using COVID-19-related lures in the phishing emails to target victims.

Read more here: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/07/07/digital-crimes-unit-covid-19-cybercrime/

North Korea's Lazarus hackers are planting skimmers on US and European retail websites, researchers warn

Researchers claim to have found evidence to suggest that North Korean state-sponsored actors are planting skimmers on the web stores of many American and European retailers in efforts to steal payment card details of unsuspecting shoppers.

The activities have been ongoing since at least May 2019, the researchers say, and can be attributed to hackers linked with the North Korean-backed Lazarus group.

The new research shows that in the last year, Lazarus has been able to infiltrate web stores of many retailers, such as international fashion chain Claire's.  The group has also developed a global exfiltration network that uses authentic websites to transfer stolen assets to attackers. These websites are first hijacked and then repurposed to mask the malicious activities of the hackers.

Read more here: https://www.computing.co.uk/news/4017355/north-korea-lazarus-hackers-planting-skimmers-us-european-retail-websites-researchers-warn

British Army ‘to be slashed by 20,000 troops to make way for cyber warfare’

In a clear indication of the expectations of how future conflicts will be fought the British Army could be cut by more than a quarter under spending review plans dawn up by UK defence chiefs.

Up to 20,000 troops could be let go, while airfields are closed and helicopters are taken out of service. The Royal Marines commando brigade may also be disbanded and Royal Navy minesweepers could also be axed.

Security sources have claimed Johnson’s top adviser Dominic Cummings has been pushing to divert a sizeable amount of money from the army to fund cyber warfare, space and artificial intelligence projects.

Read more here: https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/06/army-slashed-20000-troops-make-way-cyber-warfare-12950143/

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.

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