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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 March 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 01 March 2024:
-Phishing, Smishing and Vishing Skyrocket 1,265%
-Business Email Compromise Attacks Are Evolving, But What Can Be Done About It
-Vulnerabilities Count Set to Rise by 25% in 2024
-BYOD Increases Mobile Phishing; Risks Have Never Been Higher
-Risk-based spending: An Imperative for Cyber Security That Demands Board Attention
-If you Pay Ransoms, You May not Get Your Data Back and Worse, You Will Probably Get Hit Again, with 78% of Firms who Paid Then Suffering Repeat Ransomware Attacks
-Cyber Resilience and Cyber Hygiene: Why They Matter to Your Business
-Why Governance, Risk and Compliance Must be Integrated with Cyber Security
-More and More UK Firms Concerned About Insider Threats
-98% of Businesses Linked to Breached Third Parties
-What Companies Should Know About Rising Legal Threats
-CIOs Rethink All-In Cloud Strategies as Five Eyes Nations Warn of Evolving Russian Cyber Espionage Practices Targeting Cloud Environments
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
Risk-based spending: An Imperative for Cyber Security That Demands Board Attention
Staying ahead of the latest cyber security developments is essential to keeping your organisation safe. But with the rise of artificial intelligence and attackers dreaming up new techniques every day, a lot of organisations are left to question how they can create proactive, agile cyber security strategies and what approach gives the best return on investment, mitigating risks and maximising the value of their cyber security investments.
Unfortunately, most organisations do not have an unlimited budget, and for small and medium-sized businesses, there is even less to work with. What is needed is a risk-based approach, where organisations identify and prioritise their greatest vulnerabilities, correlating these to business impact; this is then used to form the cyber risk strategy for the organisation.
Sources: [Security Week] [The Hacker News] [Risk.net]
If you Pay Ransoms, You May not Get Your Data Back and Worse, You Will Probably Get Hit Again, with 78% of Firms who Paid Then Suffering Repeat Ransomware Attacks
Recent research from Proofpoint has found that 69% of organisations experienced a successful ransomware incident in the past year, a rise of 5% compared to the previous year. The report found that 60% reported four or more separate ransomware incidents and of the total involved, 54% admitted to paying a ransom. In a separate report, it was found that 78% of organisations suffering a ransomware attack suffered repeat attacks even after they paid.
Sources: [databreaches.net] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Claims Journal]
Cyber Resilience and Cyber Hygiene: Why They Matter to Your Business
Cyber resilience unites cyber security with business continuity and organisational durability, with proper implementation allowing the continuation of routine operations during adverse cyber incidents. Cyber hygiene, on the other hand, refers to having strong cyber security processes and procedures, to help the organisation mitigate the chance of an incident. The combination of both of these allows an organisation to reduce their likelihood of suffering a cyber incident, whilst improving their likelihood of continuing operations in the event of such an incident.
Sources: [Information Week] [Security Boulevard]
Why Governance, Risk and Compliance Must be Integrated with Cyber Security
With pressure from regulators, the evolving threat landscape and requirements for stronger oversight, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) has even more of an argument for alignment with cyber security. After all, cyber security is still security. Incorporating cyber security into the GRC programme of an organisation allows for cyber to become a business enabler.
Source: [CSO Online]
More and More UK Firms Concerned About Insider Threats
A report has found that 54% of UK business decision makers are concerned about the likelihood of their employees disclosing sensitive information or providing network access to fraudsters. In a separate report, 35% of respondents cited overworked and distracted staff making mistakes as a reason why they thought their business experienced insider risk. Certainly, insider risk does not just involve malicious employees; it can also include negligence and in some cases, employees may not be trained enough to identify the risk they are placing on the organisation such as not knowing or following an organisation’s call back procedure. It is important for organisations to consider whether their current training addresses this and whether the programme is doing enough to ensure that insider risk is mitigated.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
98% of Businesses Linked to Breached Third Parties
A new report has found that 98% of organisations are associated with a third party that has experienced a breach, and these breaches often take months or more to be discovered. 75% of external business-to-business (B2B) relationships that enabled third-party breaches involved software or other technology products and services. Third party security is an important part of an organisation’s cyber security and to manage it correctly, organisations need to implement a third party risk management programme.
Source: [Help Net Security]
Phishing, Smishing and Vishing Skyrocket 1,265%
According to a report, since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, vishing, smishing, and phishing attacks have increased by a staggering 1,265%. Despite different techniques, these attacks all have one focus, and that’s on the user. Organisations looking to protect themselves should consider a blend of mitigations, including advanced email filtering, enabling multi-factor authentication and arguably the most important, effective user education and awareness training. This training should go beyond ticking boxes, by instead teaching employees how to both recognise and report phishing attempts.
A separate report analysed over 1 billion emails. Some of the key findings included that the majority of phishing attempts (71%) rely on deceptive links, but attachments (22%) and predatory QR codes (7%) are on the rise. When it came to spoofs, Microsoft was the most spoofed entity and financial services were amongst those most targeted sectors.
Source: [Bleeping Computer] [Help Net Security] [Security Affairs]
Business Email Compromise Attacks Are Evolving, But What Can Be Done About It
Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks remain a dominant danger, with a staggering $51 billion lost over the last decade. A recent report underscores the prevalence of email as the primary battlefield, far outstripping other cyber attack methods. The low-cost, high-reach nature of email makes it an attractive starting point for cyber criminals. As organisations embrace cloud-based infrastructures, these attacks have morphed, presenting new challenges. Attackers have progressed from direct phishing attempts, to compromising business partners, vendors and other third parties. In this arms race, artificial intelligence (AI) assumes a pivotal role as an essential ally, efficiently discerning between benign and malicious content. This development signifies a significant milestone in the realm of email security resilience.
Source: [ITPro]
Vulnerabilities Count Set to Rise by 25% in 2024
The cyber threat landscape is rapidly evolving, with an anticipated 25% increase in published systems vulnerabilities for 2024. This surge, reaching approximately 2,900 vulnerabilities per month, underscores the critical need for robust vulnerability management strategies. Vulnerabilities serve as prime entry points for ransomware actors, heightening the urgency for organisations to fortify their defences. However, the sheer volume of vulnerabilities poses a daunting challenge for security and IT teams already thinly stretched. Timely risk-scoring remains a significant issue, leaving defenders vulnerable to exploits with threat actors often gaining a head start. Honeypot data reveals a concerning uptick in scans targeting remote desktop protocol (RDP), with businesses running end-of-life (EOL) software at heightened risk. In this dynamic cyber security climate, proactive risk management and expert intervention, such as Managed Detection and Response (MDR), are imperative to safeguarding against emerging threats.
Source: [Help Net Security]
BYOD Increases Mobile Phishing; Risks Have Never Been Higher
The risk of cyber attacks looms large, with stolen employee login credentials serving as a prime target for malicious actors. Mobile phishing has emerged as a significant threat, with data revealing a surge in encounter rates, especially in hybrid work environments and amid Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. Personal devices, once considered outside the realm of corporate security, now pose substantial risks, as attackers exploit social engineering schemes to breach organisational networks. The financial implications of a successful phishing attack are staggering, with estimates suggesting potential losses of up to $4 million for organisations. As phishing encounter rates continue to rise, it's imperative for businesses to bolster their security strategies, ensuring comprehensive protection against mobile phishing threats across all employee devices. To navigate this evolving landscape and safeguard sensitive data, organisations must stay vigilant and adopt proactive measures.
Source: [MSSP Alert]
What Companies Should Know About Rising Legal Threats
The cyber security landscape is witnessing a significant shift as legal actions increasingly target both corporations and individual security officers. Recent cases including lawsuits by Tesla against ex-employees for cyber security breaches and charges by regulatory bodies like the US FTC and SEC, underscore the mounting legal risks associated with cyber security breaches. Notably, private companies are not exempt from such liabilities, facing scrutiny from authorities, regulators, customers and other affected parties. This environment has prompted many cyber security leaders to reconsider their roles, with concerns raised about the future of the profession. Amidst escalating threats and enforcement actions, there's a pressing need for enhanced cyber security budgets, robust risk-based controls and proactive audits or other independent assurance.
Source: [Darkreading]
CIOs Rethink All-In Cloud Strategies as Five Eyes Nations Warn of Evolving Russian Cyber Espionage Practices Targeting Cloud Environments
As organisations embrace the cloud, CIOs recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be optimal. Many now favour a nuanced strategy, shifting workloads from public clouds to platforms offering productivity gains and cost savings; a trend known as ‘cloud exit.’ CIOs are rethinking cloud strategies, assessing each application’s suitability and fostering context-aware hosting decisions.
This comes as a recent advisory issued jointly by cyber security agencies from the UK, US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand reveals that Russian cyber espionage units, including APT29 and Cozy Bear, are adapting tactics to target cloud environments used by both public and private organisations. These sophisticated attacks pose significant threats across industries. Implementing basic cloud security measures is crucial to regularly evaluate dormant accounts, limit system-issued token validity, and enforce stringent device policies. As cloud adoption rises, prioritise cyber security fundamentals for effective defence.
Sources: [CyberScoop] [CIO]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Why governance, risk, and compliance must be integrated with cyber security | CSO Online
Chart: Cyber Crime Expected To Skyrocket in Coming Years | Statista
The Imperative for Modern Security: Risk-Based Vulnerability Management - Security Week
Why Cyber Resilience May Be More Important Than Cyber Security (informationweek.com)
Beating the drum on cyber risk: the battle for boardroom attention - Risk.net
What is cyber hygiene and why businesses should know about it - Security Boulevard
Bridging the Gap: Connecting Cyber Security Spending to Business Results - Security Boulevard
What Companies & CISOs Should Know About Rising Legal Threats (darkreading.com)
Essential Guide To Security Metrics For Businesses (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Essential Guide To Information Security Compliance (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Mastering Risk Management: The Art Of Effective Strategy (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
The CISO: 2024’s Most Important C-Suite Officer (forbes.com)
UK Unveils Draft Cyber Security Governance Code - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Cyber security 'blind spot' leaves businesses exposed - Accountancy Age
Building Your Cyber Incident Response Team - Security Boulevard
9 Steps to Fostering a Cyber Security-Aware Culture (newsweek.com)
AWS on why CISOs should track 'the metric of no' | TechTarget
2024 will see more cyber threats emerge – here is what SMEs need to know | TechRadar
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Stages of LockBit Grief: Anger, Denial, Faking Resurrection? (inforisktoday.com)
What CISOs Need To Know About The Lockbit Takedown - Security Boulevard
Ransomware crews lean into infostealers for initial access • The Register
78% of Organisations Suffer Repeat Ransomware Attacks After Paying (claimsjournal.com)
Challenges Remain in Evaluating Ransomware Crackdowns | Decipher (duo.com)
Privacy Beats Ransomware as Top Insurance Concern (darkreading.com)
What Are Ransomware Attacks and Can They Be Stopped? Explainer - Bloomberg
Study: Ransom payment not a shield against future attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
FBI, CISA warn US hospitals of targeted BlackCat ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Held to ransom: How criminal gangs are weaponising AI in the name of cyber extortion (holyrood.com)
Is Now the Right Time for a Ransomware Payment Ban? (govtech.com)
What is Old is New Again: Lessons in Anti-Ransom Policy | Recorded Future
3 Ways Your Organisation Could Be Susceptible To Ransomware Attacks (forbes.com)
What the war on terrorism teaches us about the war on ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber criminals follow the money to hit manufacturing sector • The Register
Why your legitimate software is not safe from ransomware attacks (networkingplus.co.uk)
Ransomware Victims
Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack: BlackCat Hackers Quickly Returned After FBI Bust | WIRED
LoanDepot Ransomware Attack Exposed 16.9 Million Individuals - Security Week
Rhysida ransomware wants $3.6 million for children’s stolen data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stolen Donald Trump Court Files Will Be Published February 29, Hackers Say (forbes.com)
Epic Games attacked by new ransomware group Mogilevich | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers claim to have stolen 7GB of data from Irish Department of Foreign Affairs | Independent.ie
Insomniac Games alerts employees hit by ransomware data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
German Steelmaker Thyssenkrupp Confirms Ransomware Attack - Security Week
US pharmacy outage caused by Blackcat attack on Optum (securityaffairs.com)
MGM Resorts Says Regulators Probing September Cyber Attack (claimsjournal.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
European retailer Pepco loses €15.5 million in phishing (possibly BEC?) attack - Help Net Security
Vishing, smishing, and phishing attacks skyrocket 1,265% post-ChatGPT - Help Net Security
BYOD Increases Mobile Phishing; Risks Have Never Been Higher | MSSP Alert
SMBs are being targeted by this new phishing scam — make sure you don't fall victim | TechRadar
Need to Know: Key Takeaways from the Latest Phishing Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Unmasking 2024's Email Security Landscape (securityaffairs.com)
Registrars can now block all domains that resemble brand names (bleepingcomputer.com)
Criminals hijacked more than 8,000 trusted domains, sent millions of malicious emails | TechSpot
Other Social Engineering
Vishing, smishing, and phishing attacks skyrocket 1,265% post-ChatGPT - Help Net Security
The Silent Threat: Why Vishing is Causing Major Problems for Businesses - Security Boulevard
Registrars can now block all domains that resemble brand names (bleepingcomputer.com)
How to stay safe from cyber criminal "quishing" attacks | TechRadar
Artificial Intelligence
Blackstone's Schwarzman sees peril in “not bright” criminals getting their hands on AI | Fortune
AI threats: The importance of a concrete strategy in fighting novel attacks | ITPro
New Hugging Face Vulnerability Exposes AI Models to Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
AI in cyber security presents a complex duality - Help Net Security
AI and cyber security: Navigating the risks and opportunities | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Held to ransom: How criminal gangs are weaponising AI in the name of cyber extortion (holyrood.com)
Cyber experts raise AI fears security fears in Parliament | IT Reseller Magazine (itrportal.com)
UK ICO Vows to Safeguard Privacy in AI Era - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
BEAST AI attack can break LLM guardrails in a minute • The Register
2FA/MFA
Malware
Ransomware crews lean into infostealers for initial access • The Register
BobTheSmuggler: Open-source tool for undetectable payload delivery - Help Net Security
New IDAT Loader Attacks Using Steganography to Deploy Remcos RAT (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Hackers Targeting Developers with Malicious npm Packages (thehackernews.com)
Open-Source Xeno RAT Trojan Emerges as a Potent Threat on GitHub (thehackernews.com)
GitHub besieged by millions of malicious repositories in ongoing attack | Ars Technica
Pikabot returns with new tricks up its sleeve - Help Net Security
TimbreStealer Malware Spreading via Tax-themed Phishing Scam Targets IT Users (thehackernews.com)
Chinese Hackers Exploiting Ivanti VPN Flaws to Deploy New Malware (thehackernews.com)
CISA warns against using hacked Ivanti devices even after factory resets (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud-focused malware campaigns on the increase (betanews.com)
New Backdoor Targeting European Officials Linked to Indian Diplomatic Events (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
BYOD Increases Mobile Phishing; Risks Have Never Been Higher | MSSP Alert
Kaspersky Finds Attacks on Mobile Devices Significantly Increased in 2023 (darkreading.com)
Meet 'XHelper,' the All-in-One Android App for Global Money Laundering (darkreading.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
U-Haul says 67K customers' data was stolen in cyber attack • The Register
Pharma giant hit by major cyber attack — Cencora confirms data was stolen | TechRadar
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Chart: Cyber Crime Expected To Skyrocket in Coming Years | Statista
8 Worrying Cyber Security Statistics You Need to Know in 2024 (tech.co)
It’s only February and cyber crime is already running rampant (techinformed.com)
Scottish Police Face Toil and Trouble From Cyber Crime (govinfosecurity.com)
How active adversaries divide labour to more effectively target victims | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
SonicWall: Cryptojacking Attacks Spike 659% in 2023 | MSSP Alert
Cryptojacking is no longer the sole focus of cloud attackers - Help Net Security
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Are remote workers at greater risk of cyber security threats? | TechRadar
Understanding employees' motivations behind risky actions - Help Net Security
The human element of cyber security: Why people are the ultimate defence. (thecyberwire.com)
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
New Hugging Face Vulnerability Exposes AI Models to Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
98% of businesses linked to breached third parties - Help Net Security
Cloud/SaaS
Russia's 'Midnight Blizzard' Targeting Service Accounts for Initial Cloud Access (darkreading.com)
Cryptojacking is no longer the sole focus of cloud attackers - Help Net Security
Your Data Has Moved to the Cloud: Can Your Security Strategy Keep Up? | MSSP Alert
Cloud-focused malware campaigns on the increase (betanews.com)
Identity and Access Management
How organisations can navigate identity security risks in 2024 - Help Net Security
Echoes of SolarWinds in New 'Silver SAML' Attack Technique (darkreading.com)
Linux and Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
Rights groups file GDPR suits on Meta's pay-or-consent model • The Register
Meta Patches Facebook Account Takeover Vulnerability - Security Week
Malvertising
How the Pentagon Learned to Use Targeted Ads to Find Its Targets—and Vladimir Putin | WIRED
Google faces $2.27 billion lawsuit over advertising practices (searchengineland.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Cyber awareness education is a change-management initiative | CSO Online
Cyber Security Training Not Sticking? How to Fix Risky Password Habits (bleepingcomputer.com)
4 Ways Organisations Can Drive Demand for Software Security Training (darkreading.com)
Creating a cyber security training curriculum for SMBs and MSPs | TechRadar
9 Steps to Fostering a Cyber Security-Aware Culture (newsweek.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
81% of security leaders predict SEC rules will impact their businesses | Security Magazine
Orgs Face Major SEC Penalties for Failing to Disclose Breaches (darkreading.com)
Getting Ahead of Cyber Security Materiality Mayhem - Security Boulevard
UK ICO Vows to Safeguard Privacy in AI Era - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Backup and Recovery
Models, Frameworks and Standards
NIST Adds “Govern” Function to Cybersecurity Framework | MSSP Alert
Top 3 NIST Cyber Security Framework 2.0 takeaways | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Data Protection
UK ICO issues warning on biometric employee tracking, guidance for businesses | Biometric Update
Privacy Beats Ransomware as Top Insurance Concern (darkreading.com)
Rights groups file GDPR suits on Meta's pay-or-consent model • The Register
UK ICO Vows to Safeguard Privacy in AI Era - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
A Perfect Cyber Storm is Leading to Burnout | Network Computing
The Next Gen of Cyber Security Could Be Hiding in Big Tech (darkreading.com)
Lost to the Highest Bidder: The Economics of Cyber Security Staffing - Security Boulevard
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Is the LockBit gang resuming its operation? (securityaffairs.com)
Challenges Remain in Evaluating Ransomware Crackdowns | Decipher (duo.com)
Russian hacker is set to face trial for the hack of a local power grid (securityaffairs.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
Hackers backed by Russia and China are infecting SOHO routers like yours, FBI warns | Ars Technica
US Official Warns Of China’s Growing Offensive Cyber Power – Analysis – Eurasia Review
Chinese Cyber Espionage Set To Ramp Up This Year (forbes.com)
The Drums of US-China Cyber War by Stephen S. Roach - Project Syndicate (project-syndicate.org)
Chinese Hackers Exploiting Ivanti VPN Flaws to Deploy New Malware (thehackernews.com)
The White House Warns Cars Made in China Could Unleash Chaos on US Highways | WIRED
Foreign Firms in China Flag Lack of Feedback on Data Security (bloomberglaw.com)
Beijing Silent Over Russia's Reported War-Gaming of China Invasion
Russia
Hackers backed by Russia and China are infecting SOHO routers like yours, FBI warns | Ars Technica
Russia may have just carried out its first direct action against the West (yahoo.com)
Moscow Military Hackers Used Microsoft Outlook Vulnerability (inforisktoday.com)
Russia's 'Midnight Blizzard' Targeting Service Accounts for Initial Cloud Access (darkreading.com)
Cyber Security Agencies Warn Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Users of APT28's MooBot Threat (thehackernews.com)
Down, Not Out: Russian Hacktivists Claiming DDoS Disruptions (govinfosecurity.com)
Lazarus APT exploited 0-day in Win driver to gain kernel privileges (securityaffairs.com)
Lovers' Spat? North Korea Backdoors Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry (darkreading.com)
Russia warns of "military-technical" response to Sweden's NATO membership (newsweek.com)
Russian hacker is set to face trial for the hack of a local power grid (securityaffairs.com)
Beijing Silent Over Russia's Reported War-Gaming of China Invasion
Russia subjected to deluge of nation-state, hacktivist cyber threats | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
How the Pentagon Learned to Use Targeted Ads to Find Its Targets—and Vladimir Putin | WIRED
Iran
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Moscow Military Hackers Used Microsoft Outlook Vulnerability (inforisktoday.com)
Lazarus APT exploited 0-day in Win driver to gain kernel privileges (securityaffairs.com)
Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Data Center OS - Security Week
CISA warns against using hacked Ivanti devices even after factory resets (bleepingcomputer.com)
Five Eyes Agencies Warn of Active Exploitation of Ivanti Gateway Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)
Critical Flaw in Popular 'Ultimate Member' WordPress Plugin - Security Week
Meta Patches Facebook Account Takeover Vulnerability - Security Week
MITRE Rolls Out 4 Brand-New CWEs for Microprocessor Security Bugs (darkreading.com)
Citrix, Sophos software impacted by 2024 leap year bugs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ivanti integrity checker tool needs latest update to work, Five Eyes alert warns | CyberScoop
Zyxel fixed four bugs in firewalls and access points (securityaffairs.com)
Tools and Controls
The Imperative for Modern Security: Risk-Based Vulnerability Management - Security Week
Cyber awareness education is a change-management initiative | CSO Online
Strengths & Weaknesses of MFA Methods Against Cyber Attacks | Duo Security
AI and cyber security: Navigating the risks and opportunities | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
How Zero Trust Data Detection & Response is Changing the Game - Security Boulevard
APIs become the leading attack vector, cyber security research shows (securitybrief.co.nz)
How organisations can navigate identity security risks in 2024 - Help Net Security
9 Steps to Fostering a Cyber Security-Aware Culture (newsweek.com)
Artificial Arms Race: What Can Automation and AI do to Advance Red Teams - Security Week
Savvy Seahorse gang uses DNS CNAME records to power investor scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud Apps Make the Case for Pentesting-as-a-Service (darkreading.com)
Other News
Cyber attacks on UK law firms on the rise - Spear's (spearswms.com)
IntelBroker claimed the hack of the Los Angeles International Airport (securityaffairs.com)
It's time to stop trusting your antivirus software | Digital Trends
Three new advanced threat groups targeted industrial organisations last year | CSO Online
What’s on the Radar for Aviation Industry Cyber Security? - Security Boulevard
Business leaders warn of rising cyber security threat | The Herald (heraldscotland.com)
Why Health Care Is Top Target for Cyber Criminals (govtech.com)
RCMP investigating cyber attack as its website remains down (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers exploit 14-year-old CMS editor on govt, edu sites for SEO poisoning (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 January 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 05 January 2024:
-A “Ridiculously Weak“ Password Causes Disaster for Spain’s Number 2 Mobile Carrier
-Russia Kyivstar Hack Should Alarm West, Ukraine Security Chief Warns
-23andMe Tells Victim It’s Their Fault Their Data Was Breached
-Financial Sector Faces More Cyber Attacks Than Other Sectors
-An Innocent-Looking Instagram Trend Could Be a Gift to Hackers
-Cyber Criminals Shared Millions of Stolen Records During Holiday Break
-Law Firm that Handles Data Breaches was Itself Hit by Data Breach
-Nigerian Hacker Arrested for Stealing Millions from Charities
-Cyber Criminals Implemented Artificial Intelligence for Invoice Fraud
-Shadow IT Threatens Corporate Cyber Security, Study Reveals
-Escalating Cyber Threats: Bots, Fraud Farms, and Cryptojacking Surge
-Putin has Declared a Cyber War on Britain
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 “Ridiculously Weak“ Password Causes Disaster for Spain’s Number 2 Mobile Carrier
Spain’s second largest mobile operator, Orange España, suffered a major outage after an unknown party obtained a “ridiculously weak” password and used it to access an account for managing the network that delivers the company’s internet traffic. The attacker had posted the account they had compromised, and researchers found that the associated system had been infected with a Raccoon type infostealer back in September of 2023. The compromised account was Orange’s RIPE administrator account, with the password “ripeadmin”. The incident led to a 50% drop in connections for a 4 hour period, and underscores the critical importance of robust cyber security measures, including strong passwords, and serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly minor oversights can lead to significant disruptions.
Source: [Ars Technica]
Russia Kyivstar Hack Should Alarm the West, Ukraine Security Chief Warns
If Ukraine's core telephone network can be taken out, organisations in the West could easily be next, Ukraine's SBU chief says. December's cyber attack on Ukrainian telecommunications operator Kyivstar by Russian-backed threat actor ‘Sandworm’ dealt a catastrophic blow to the telecoms provider, according to Illia Vitiuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) cyber security department. It is believed that although the attack took place in December 2023, the threat actors likely had access to Kyivstar systems since May 2023.
Source: [Dark Reading]
23andMe Tells Victims It’s Their Fault Their Data Was Breached
A cyber incident at DNA data firm 23andMe started with credential stuffing 14,000 user accounts. Credential stuffing is the process by which a malicious actor uses previously harvested usernames and passwords from earlier unrelated breaches to break into other sites and services. Many of the 14,000 accounts had opted-in for a feature whereby information is shared with relatives, which meant that once compromised, attackers had access to 6.9 million users: nearly half of the user base.
Facing over 30 lawsuits from victims, 23andMe is now blaming victims, according to letters seen by victims. 23andMe stated “users negligently recycled and failed to update their passwords following these past security incidents, which are unrelated to 23andMe”. This has caused divide in the cyber world; on one side, recycling and failing to update passwords is poor cyber hygiene and on the other hand, there are technical controls that could have better prevented this type of well known and common attack.
Source: [TechCrunch] [The Register]
Financial Sector Faces More Cyber Attacks Than Other Sectors
A recent study found that more than three-quarters (77%) of financial organisations detected an attack on their infrastructures in 2023, compared with around two-thirds (68%) of other sectors. In particular, the study found that financial workers were at a higher than average risk of phishing compared to other workers. Despite their target attractiveness, only three-quarters (73%) of the financial sector respondents said that they have a cyber security policy in place or will do so within the next year. A separate report from Kaspersky stated that the financial sector is poised to experience an influx of artificial intelligence based attacks 2024, adding to the fire.
Sources: [SC Media] [TechRadar ]
An Innocent-Looking Instagram Trend Could Be a Gift to Hackers
A recent trend that has picked up traction at the end of December on social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok, encourages their followers to “get to know them better”. This trend gets people to answer a popular template, freely giving away personal information such as their height, date of birth, and various details that they feel strongly about including favourite food and phobias. While these questions may seem harmless, these sorts of personal details are used by companies for security questions, for example when a person wants to reset their password. Hackers can use this information to easily social engineer victims or impersonate them to get access to their accounts.
Source: [Business Insider]
Cyber Criminals Shared Millions of Stolen Records During Holiday Break
While many people unwind and enjoy their time off during the festive season, cyber criminals remain active. In fact, they leaked approximately 50 million records containing sensitive personal information during this period. These data breaches were not limited to the West; they had a global impact, affecting individuals in various countries such as Peru, Australia, South Africa, and more. It is important to note that not all the data leaks were recent; some appeared to be remnants of older incidents. For instance, some of the leaked data belonged to customers of the credit company Klarna, which was rumoured to have experienced a breach back in 2022, although it was never publicly confirmed. This ‘Free Leaksmas’ event, as it’s been dubbed, underscores the extensive global reach and serious consequences of these cyber criminal activities.
Sources: [Security Affairs] [Dark Reading]
Law Firm that Handles Data Breaches was Itself Hit by Data Breach
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, a law firm specialising in managing security incidents for other companies, has disclosed more details of the cyber attack it itself experienced in March 2023. The breach compromised the sensitive health and personal information of over 637,000 individuals. The stolen data was linked to client organisations and included the names of individuals alongside their social security numbers, medical details, and financial information. Despite the firm's expertise in cyber security, the attack highlights the pervasive risk of data breaches, even among those who advise on such matters. Orrick's delayed response and subsequent legal settlements underscore the importance of proactive security measures and swift action in the wake of a breach. This incident serves as a stark reminder to all organisations of the need for robust cyber defences and transparent communication strategies in today's digital landscape. The law firm has recently settled in principle to resolve four class action lawsuits that accused Orrick of failing to inform victims of the breach until months after the incident.
Source: [TechCrunch]
Nigerian Hacker Arrested for Stealing Millions from Charities
A Nigerian national, Olusegun Samson Adejorin, has been arrested for charges relating to business email compromise attacks that caused a charitable organisation in the US to lose more than $7.5 million. Adejorin had purchased a credential harvesting tool to steal login credentials, which were used to send emails to the charity’s financial service provider. The emails requested and authorised a transfer of $7.5 million, which the investment services provider believed it was paying to the charity whereas it was paying into a bank account controlled by the attacker.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Cyber Criminals Implemented Artificial Intelligence for Invoice Fraud
A cyber criminal gang known as GXC Team has been seen selling an artificial intelligence tool for creating fraudulent invoices. The tool, known as Business Invoice Swapper, scrutinises compromised emails that are fed to it, looking for emails which mention invoices or include invoice attachments. It then alters the details of the intended recipient to details specified by the perpetrator. This altered invoice then either replaces the compromised one, or is sent to a predetermined set of contacts.
Source: [Security Affairs]
Shadow IT Threatens Corporate Cyber Security, Study Reveals
With remote working becoming more and more prevalent, organisations are finding themselves at risk of cyber threats due to what is known as shadow IT; this is any software, hardware or IT resource used without the IT department’s approval, knowledge or oversight. A study by Kaspersky found of the 77% of companies that had suffered from cyber incidents over the past two years, 11% of these were directly caused by the unauthorised use of shadow IT.
Source: [Security Brief]
Escalating Cyber Threats: Bots, Fraud Farms, and Cryptojacking Surge
In the constantly evolving cyber threat landscape, 2023 has witnessed a notable surge in the use of bots, fraud farms, and cryptojacking. A new report found that 73% of web and app traffic this year has been attributed to malicious bots and fraud farms, indicating a significant shift towards automated cyber attacks. This trend poses a heightened risk to the ecommerce sector, where cyber criminals exploit API connections and third-party dependencies.
Furthermore, the surge in cryptojacking, marked by a 399% increase, reveals a diversifying strategy among cyber criminals, targeting critical infrastructure with sophisticated methods. These developments serve as a crucial reminder for organisations to bolster their cyber defences and adopt a proactive stance against these emerging and increasingly automated threats.
Source: [Help Net Security]
Putin has Declared a Cyber War on Britain
This year over 2 billion people will vote for new governments across the world, and it is crucial to be aware of upcoming threats to these elections from foreign powers. In particular, Russia is notorious for deploying bots, trolls, and deepfakes, which are techniques used to manipulate information and influence public opinion. These malicious actors are adept at spreading misinformation and disinformation, often with the goal of interfering in elections. With the upcoming UK General Election in 2024 and the US Presidential Election also falling this year, it is imperative to exercise caution and discernment when consuming online content. Not everything we see can be taken at face value.
Source: [Telegraph]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Thoughts for Boards: Key Issues in Corporate Governance for 2024 (harvard.edu)
Legal, compliance and privacy leaders anxious about rapid GenAI adoption - Help Net Security
Navigating the New Age of Cyber Security Enforcement (darkreading.com)
Facts and misconceptions about cyber security budgets - Help Net Security
Budget cuts take a toll on IT decision makers' mental health - Help Net Security
Consumers prepared to ditch brands after cyber security issues - Help Net Security
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Firms urged to stop ransomware payments as attacks become “astronomical” (emergingrisks.co.uk)
How ransomware could cripple countries, not just companies (economist.com)
New Black Basta decryptor exploits ransomware flaw to recover files (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sophos reports spike in ransomware groups using remote encryption (securitybrief.co.nz)
Cactus RANSOMWARE gang hit the Swedish retail and grocery provider Coop (securityaffairs.com)
Police locate missing Chinese student who was victim of ‘cyber kidnapping’ (msn.com)
Kai Zhuang: Cyber kidnapping in US illustrates growing crime trend - BBC News
Ban on ransomware payments? The alternative isn't working • The Register
December ransomware attacks disrupt healthcare organisations | TechTarget
Study: Ransomware Is Actually Killing One American Per Month (tech.co)
Zeppelin ransomware source code sold for $500 on hacking forum (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Victims
Hospitals ask courts to force cloud storage firm to return stolen data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Software Used by Hundreds of Museums Taken Down by Ransomware Attack (pcmag.com)
CTS cyber attack: Disruption to home sales now over - BBC News
Xerox says subsidiary XBS US breached after ransomware gang leaks data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber attackers breach trove of Victoria court recordings • The Register
Estes refuses to pay off ransomware crew, says data stolen • The Register
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Numerous backdoors deployed in new Kimsuky spear-phishing attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Russia's APT28 used new malware in a recent phishing campaign (securityaffairs.com)
SMTP Smuggling: New Flaw Lets Attackers Bypass Security and Spoof Emails (thehackernews.com)
CERT-UA Uncovers New Malware Wave Distributing OCEANMAP, MASEPIE, STEELHOOK (thehackernews.com)
UAC-0050 Group Using New Phishing Tactics to Distribute Remcos RAT (thehackernews.com)
Crypto phishing scams took almost $300M from 324K victims in 2023: Report (cointelegraph.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Cyber Criminals Implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Invoice Fraud (securityaffairs.com)
The Imperative of Cyber Security in the Era of AI (thefastmode.com)
Finance orgs to face increasingly prevalent AI cyber attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Enterprise cyber security in 2024: The AI play comes to the fore - Verdict
NIST Identifies Types of Cyber Attacks That Manipulate Behaviour of AI Systems | NIST
Use of generative AI in the legal profession accelerating despite accuracy concerns | ITPro
A New Kind of AI Copy Can Fully Replicate Famous People. The Law Is Powerless. - POLITICO
CISO Planning for 2024 May Struggle When It Comes to AI (darkreading.com)
Legal, compliance and privacy leaders anxious about rapid GenAI adoption - Help Net Security
AI Is Driving a Silent Cyber Security Arms Race (govtech.com)
Malware
Google accounts may be vulnerable to new hack, changing password won’t help | Cybernews
Malware abuses Google OAuth endpoint to ‘revive’ cookies, hijack accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft patches critical vulnerability used to install malware on Windows PCs - MSPoweruser
Microsoft disables Windows app installation, again • The Register
New Version of Meduza Stealer Released in Dark Web (securityaffairs.com)
Weak password and infostealer blamed for Orange Spain outage • The Register
Russia's APT28 used new malware in a recent phishing campaign (securityaffairs.com)
Russian Military Intelligence Blamed for Blitzkrieg Hacks (inforisktoday.com)
CERT-UA Uncovers New Malware Wave Distributing OCEANMAP, MASEPIE, STEELHOOK (thehackernews.com)
Kimsuky Hackers Deploying AppleSeed, Meterpreter, and TinyNuke in Latest Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Activity of Rugmi malware loader spikes | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Kronos Malware Reemerges with Increased Functionality (securityintelligence.com)
Malware attacks exploiting app installation protocol prompt deactivation | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
New Variant of DLL Search Order Hijacking Bypasses Windows 10 and 11 Protections (thehackernews.com)
29 malware families target 1,800 banking apps worldwide - Help Net Security
Google password resets not enough to stop this malware • The Register
UAC-0050 Group Using New Phishing Tactics to Distribute Remcos RAT (thehackernews.com)
New Bandook RAT Variant Resurfaces, Targeting Windows Machines (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Europe's Largest Parking App Provider Informs Customers of Data Breach - Security Week
How to prevent hackers from breaking into your Android, stealing bank info (nypost.com)
QR code hacking: How to protect yourself from rogue QR codes (androidpolice.com)
29 malware families target 1,800 banking apps worldwide - Help Net Security
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Study Finds IoT Cyber Security Risk Increased 400 Percent Last Year - RFID JOURNAL
4 essential smart home cameras tips to protect your sensitive data
Ukraine says Russia hacked web cameras to spy on targets in Kyiv (therecord.media)
Data Breaches/Leaks
23andMe tells victims it’s their fault that their data was breached | TechCrunch
Law firm that handles data breaches was hit by data breach | TechCrunch
Europe's Largest Parking App Provider Informs Customers of Data Breach - Security Week
Here we go again: 2023’s badly handled data breaches | TechCrunch
Over 900k Impacted by Data Breach at Defunct Boston Ambulance Service - Security Week
Data breach at healthcare tech firm impacts 4.5 million patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Cyber Toufan' Hacktivists Leaked 100-Plus Israeli Orgs in One Month (darkreading.com)
Cyber Attacks Are Back in Hollywood. Did Sony Hack Teach Us Nothing? (variety.com)
Accounting Firm Battling Cyber Security Lawsuit Seeks Dismissal (bloomberglaw.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Nigerian hacker arrested for stealing $7.5M from charities (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers employ nuanced tactics to evade detection - Help Net Security
The law enforcement operations targeting cyber crime in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
What’s It Like to Be the Victim of Cyber Crimes? (govtech.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Crypto phishing scams took almost $300M from 324K victims in 2023: Report (cointelegraph.com)
Cryptocurrency wallet CEO loses $125,000 in wallet-draining scam | Tripwire
Cyber criminals set their sights on crypto markets - Help Net Security
Orbit Chain loses $86 million in the last fintech hack of 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried spared a second trial • The Register
Bitconned review — Netflix documentary about a fortune built on brazen lies
Hackers hijack govt and business accounts on X for crypto scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Online museum collections down after cyber attack on service provider (bleepingcomputer.com)
A new framework for third-party risk in the European Union | ITPro
Cloud/SaaS
Identity and Access Management
The password identity crisis: Evolving authentication methods in 2024 and beyond | VentureBeat
Active Directory Infiltration Methods Employed by Cyber Criminals (gbhackers.com)
Encryption
Quantum Risks and Rewards: Forward-Defending Cyber Security (govinfosecurity.com)
Saving Schrödinger’s Cat: Getting serious about post-quantum encryption in 2024 - Breaking Defence
Nearly 11 million SSH servers vulnerable to new Terrapin attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Linux and Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
A “ridiculously weak“ password causes disaster for Spain’s No. 2 mobile carrier | Ars Technica
23andMe tells victims it’s their fault that their data was breached | TechCrunch
The password identity crisis: Evolving authentication methods in 2024 and beyond | VentureBeat
Social Media
Instagram Trend Could Be a Gift to Hackers (businessinsider.com)
Cyber Attackers Target Nuclear Waste Company via LinkedIn (darkreading.com)
Cyber Criminals Flood Dark Web with X (Twitter) Gold Accounts (darkreading.com)
Hackers hijack govt and business accounts on X for crypto scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mandiant's Twitter Account Restored After Six-Hour Crypto Scam Hack (thehackernews.com)
Malvertising
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
New risk management framework helps with SEC mandate compliance | CSO Online
A new framework for third-party risk in the European Union | ITPro
Navigating the New Age of Cyber Security Enforcement (darkreading.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Cyber security skills gap poses threat to business protection measures (securitybrief.co.nz)
Many cyber security workers feel burnt out and worry about understaffing | TechRadar
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Police investigate virtual sex assault on girl's avatar - BBC News
The law enforcement operations targeting cyber crime in 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Additional cyber agents to be deployed by FBI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
BT Miss Deadline to Remove All Huawei Kit from UK Core Network UPDATE - ISPreview UK
Three Chinese balloons float near Taiwanese airbase • The Register
Russia
Russia Kyivstar Hack Should Alarm West, Ukraine Security Chief Warns (darkreading.com)
Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months – cyber spy chief – Euractiv
Ukraine says Russia hacked web cameras to spy on targets in Kyiv (therecord.media)
UK exposes Russia for attempted political interference (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)
Vladimir Putin has declared a cyber war on Britain (telegraph.co.uk)
Russia's APT28 used new malware in a recent phishing campaign (securityaffairs.com)
Russian Military Intelligence Blamed for Blitzkrieg Hacks (inforisktoday.com)
CERT-UA Uncovers New Malware Wave Distributing OCEANMAP, MASEPIE, STEELHOOK (thehackernews.com)
Massive missile strike disrupts Kyiv's internet and power supply (therecord.media)
The "Tallinn Mechanism" is Designed to Enhance Civilian Cyber Assistance to Ukraine
UAC-0050 Group Using New Phishing Tactics to Distribute Remcos RAT (thehackernews.com)
Iran
Multiple organisations in Iran breached by a mysterious hacker (securityaffairs.com)
Israel Battles Spike in Wartime Hacktivist, OT Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
Pilfered Data From Iranian Insurance and Food Delivery Firms Leaked Online (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Kimsuky Hackers Deploying AppleSeed, Meterpreter, and TinyNuke in Latest Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Numerous backdoors deployed in new Kimsuky spear-phishing attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
Apache ERP Zero-Day Underscores Dangers of Incomplete Patches (darkreading.com)
Vulnerability management remains a moving target | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft patches critical vulnerability used to install malware on Windows PCs - MSPoweruser
Google Patches Six Vulnerabilities With First Chrome Update of 2024 - Security Week
Apache ERP Zero-Day Underscores Dangers of Incomplete Patches (darkreading.com)
Ivanti warns critical EPM bug lets hackers hijack enrolled devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vulnerabilities in Google Kubernetes Engine Could Allow Cluster Takeover - Security Week
Malware attacks exploiting app installation protocol prompt deactivation | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Qualcomm chip vulnerability enables remote attack by voice call | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Nearly 11 million SSH servers vulnerable to new Terrapin attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Google Fonts Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To +300,000 Sites (searchenginejournal.com)
January Android Security Bulletin Arrives, So Does Pixel Update (droid-life.com)
Tools and Controls
Why training LLMs with endpoint data will strengthen cyber security | VentureBeat
Cyber security challenges emerge in the wake of API expansion - Help Net Security
Are Security Appliances fit for Purpose in a Decentralized Workplace? - Security Week
Guarding against DDoS attacks during high-traffic periods | CSO Online
8 Hybrid Cloud Security Challenges and How to Manage Them (techtarget.com)
Active Directory Infiltration Methods Employed by Cyber Criminals (gbhackers.com)
Other News
IT and OT cyber security: A holistic approach (securityintelligence.com)
The FBI is adding more cyber focused agents to US embassies | CyberScoop
Hackers hit Australian state's court recording database | Reuters
Cyber Attacks Are Back in Hollywood. Did Sony Hack Teach Us Nothing? (variety.com)
Healthcare breach costs soar requiring new thinking for safeguarding data (securityintelligence.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 September 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 08 September 2023:
-More Than Half of UK Organisations Know They Aren’t Well Protected
-Generative AI Considered a Security Risk by 60% of Board Members: How Organisations Can Prepare
-Businesses Ignore Incident Response at Their Peril
-Blame Culture: An Organisation’s Ticking Time Bomb
-Spend to Save: CFO’s and Cyber Security Investment
-Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets for Attackers, including Nation-State Actors
-Attackers Access UK Military Data Through Third Party Supplier as Relentless Russian Cyber Attacks Raise Spectre of WW3
-Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs
-Years-old Microsoft Security Holes Still Hot Targets for Cyber Criminals
-Popular ‘As-a-Service’ Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m
-71% of Organisations are Impacted by Cyber Security Skills Shortage
-Multiple Schools Hit by Cyber Attacks Before Term Begins
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
More Than Half of UK Organisations Know They Aren’t Well Protected
According to a recent report, just 49% of business leaders report their organisation is well or very well protected. Cyber security featured as the third highest-rated business priority, with increasing revenues and reducing costs forming the top two. One of the ways an organisation can reduce cost is to outsource, and 63% of respondents agreed, reporting that they wanted to work with an external cyber security partner to improve their security.
Even if you’re in the 49% of organisations that believes it is well protected, this can be a dangerous self-assessment based on a lack of experience and impartiality. Business leaders need independent assurance to ensure their security controls are appropriate and in line with the organisation’s risk appetite. It is essential to dispel assumptions, by investigating your security before an attacker does.
Black Arrow Cyber Consulting offers a free, no-obligation, introductory consultation to help you gain an unbiased perspective on how your current security approach could withstand an attacker. We help our clients to know the questions to ask of their external or internal IT provider, and how to leverage other security controls from existing resources.
Sources: [IT Security Guru][Beta News]
Generative AI Considered a Security Risk by 60% of Board Members. How Organisations Can Prepare
A recent report conducted by Proofpoint found that 60% of board members consider generative AI a security risk.
The rapid development and adoption of AI is double-edged in nature. Whilst it can yield positive benefits if used safely and responsibility within organisations, AI is also being used to great effect by malicious actors with AI abuse growing beyond phishing to increasing the efficacy of multistage attacks, being used to generated malware, and carrying out different types of social engineering attacks.
For this reason Boards and senior leaders are right to be concerned and should ensure appropriate measures are being taken.
Sources: [TheNationalNews] [SCMagazine] [CyberSecurityNews]
Further reading: [BusinessCloud.co.uk] [WIRED UK] [Help Net Security]
Businesses Ignore Incident Response at Their Peril
According to a UK Government report, a quarter of businesses don’t regard cyber incident response skills as essential and almost half said they weren’t confident they could put together an incident response plan. This led to 41% saying they were not very or not at all confident that they would be able to deal with a cyber security breach or attack.
Unfortunately, this leaves many organisations in a situation where they will have to learn the hard way about the implications of not having an incident response plan. A separate government report found that 37% of those hit by a cyber attack said it impacted operations and a quarter experienced negative consequences such as loss of money or data.
One of the ways organisations can circumnavigate their lack of confidence in their ability to construct an incident response plan is to use cyber security experts to construct it.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Blame Culture: An Organisation’s Ticking Time Bomb
An organisation’s attitude and responses to cyber security are almost as important as the actions taken to prevent cyber attacks. “Lessons learnt” are a common feature within mature and cyber resilient organisations. Incidents are a matter of when not if, and it is important that organisations know how to react.
Taking the example of a phishing attack, it is easy to blame the employee who opened it, potentially firing them. With phishing simulations, it is equally easy to discipline an employee who fell for it. The problem is, neither of these focus on what can be learned, such as why the employee fell for it in the first place. Additionally, there is the potential that employees become reserved or reticent about reporting potential events, due to the fear of being disciplined. This can be the difference between an organisation having an early detection of an incident and being able to invoke incident response plans sooner, or leaving the attacker in the system doing damage for longer before being reported.
Source: [ IT Security Guru]
Spend to Save: CFOs and Cyber Security Investment
For chief financial officers (CFOs), the increasing impact of data breaches creates a paradox. While more spending is necessary to combat these challenges, this spending isn’t directly tied to profit. Instead, cyber security spending is all about return on investment.
When looking at spending, CFOs need to keep in mind that the total cost of a breach is more than the initial currency loss: there is the knock-on effect of reputation and losses in customers. But it is not a case of spending more to protect more; spending must be tailored to the organisation and prioritise in terms of business needs.
Source: [Security Intelligence]
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets for Attackers, Including Nation-State Actors
An increasing number of attacks by nation-state attackers are targeting cyber security tools in their campaigns. This includes the recent attacks on US officials which attacked and gained access through the firewalls of the victim. Security vendors, just like anyone, will have flaws in their software: there will be vulnerabilities. As such, organisations need to be aware of these vulnerabilities and when support runs out for their cyber security tools, to better protect themselves.
Source: [News Week]
Attackers Access UK Military Data Through Third Party Supplier as Relentless Russian Cyber Attacks Raise Spectre of WW3
Top secret military data from the UK’s Ministry of Defence was stolen and then sold by the ransomware gang LockBit. How, you might ask? Through a rogue Windows 7 PC that belonged to their fencing supplier, Zaun. The LockBit Ransom group conducted the attack on the supplier’s network, and Zaun admitted the group may have exfiltrated 10GB of data.
Many attackers have realised that if you cannot directly attack an organisation, then the supplier can present a way in. Organisations need to be sure of their suppliers’ security, and conduct third party security assessments to identify the risk the supplier may present to the organisation itself.
Black Arrow have helped many clients carry out third party risk assessments on a large number of suppliers and this can be done as a standalone offering or as part of a fractional CISO engagement.
Source: [The Register] [Tech Monitor]
Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs
PDFs are often seen as safe, something that cannot be used by an attacker, but that’s wrong. Actors are using this trustworthiness, as well as the difficulty in detection and ubiquity of PDFs, to weaponise them. Common tactics involve malicious hyperlinks within PDFs and macros that run when a PDF is opened, and in some cases attackers are disguising a malicious Word document as a PDF to evade detection.
Source: [Cyber Security News]
Years-old Microsoft Security Holes Still Hot Targets for Cyber Criminals
A recent report has found that Microsoft vulnerabilities as old as 6 years are still being exploited, with one recorded as being exploited as recently as 31 August. In fact, since this particular vulnerability was fixed, it has been used to deploy 467 different malware types. This is not the number of attacks, but the number of different types of malware used in attacks.
The concept isn’t just for Microsoft. Many organisations do not employ effective patching strategies, and as such leave the doors open to attackers. Sometimes, these doors are open for years.
Source: [The Register]
Popular ‘As-a-Service’ Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m
As-a-service operations allow attackers to employ sophisticated attacks without the need for extensive knowledge; they simply just purchase the ability. Take phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS), where an attacker with very limited cyber knowledge simply needs to purchase a phishing kit and they are then well-equipped to target organisations. This availability in tools creates a significant surge in the number of cyber criminals, with one scheme alone raking in $64.5 billion in illegal gains.
Source: [IT Security Guru]
71% of Organisations are Impacted by Cyber Security Skills Shortage
Most organisations (71%) report that they’ve been impacted by the cyber security skills shortage, leading to an increased workload for the cyber security team (61%), unfilled open job requisitions (49%) and high burnout among staff (43%). Further, 95% respondents state the cyber security skills shortage and its associated impacts have not improved over the past few years and 54% (up 10% from 2021) say it has got worse.
Organisations need to continue maintaining and improving their security while their cyber security positions remain unfilled. Black Arrow supports firms to achieve this by providing expert resources on a flexible basis for technical, governance and transformational positions.
Source: [Security Magazine] [Digital Journal]
Multiple Schools Hit by Cyber Attacks Before Term Begins
Ahead of the new school term, a number of schools have become the victim of serious cyber attacks. The education sector isn’t a new target, with previous ransomware reports finding the education sector to account for 16% of victims.
The education sector remains a target due to the valuable data they hold, large attack surfaces and frequently a lack of resources and budgets, something many small and medium-sized business may share.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
The importance of CISOs is not recognised by senior leadership - IT Security Guru
Blame Culture: An Organisation's Ticking Time Bomb - IT Security Guru
Spend to save: The CFO’s guide to cyber security investment (securityintelligence.com)
SEC tells companies to “show their work” on cyber security - Red Canary
Cyber security: a life cycle, not a destination | Hydrocarbon Engineering
Rising Physical Incidents Should Drive C-Level Investment & Action (forbes.com)
Compliance budgets under strain as inflation and workload grow - Help Net Security
Cyber Security pros battle discontent amid skills shortage - Help Net Security
CISOs weigh in on building security-focused culture | Healthcare IT News
How Do Some Companies Get Compromised Again and Again? (securityintelligence.com)
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ministry of Defence documents leaked by LockBit (techmonitor.ai)
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Ransomware attackers are targeting exposed Microsoft SQL databases, report says (therecord.media)
Ransomware and Data Breaches: Impacts Continue to Grow Louder (govtech.com)
Education Sector Heavily Targeted as the School Year Begins (databreaches.net)
Killware vs. Ransomware: What's the Difference? (makeuseof.com)
Is this the next target for international ransomware attacks? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
To Pay or Not to Pay? The Ransomware Dilemma (informationweek.com)
Snake Ransomware Endangers Your Data: How Can You Stop It? (makeuseof.com)
How to Prevent Ransomware: 6 Key Steps to Safeguard Assets (techtarget.com)
Ransomware Victims
LockBit Leaks Documents Filched From UK Defence Contractor (darkreading.com)
Ministry of Defence documents leaked in cyber attack (civilserviceworld.com)
Debenham High School IT system hit by cyber attack - BBC News
Highgate Wood School delays term by 6 days after cyber attack | This Is Local London
Cyber attack hits Wokingham's Maiden Erlegh School | Reading Chronicle
Ransomware gang claims credit for Sabre data breach | TechCrunch
Hackers claim to publish prominent Israeli hospital’s patient data (therecord.media)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
AI abuse grows beyond phishing to multistage cyber attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Google is enabling Chrome real-time phishing protection for everyone (bleepingcomputer.com)New phishing tool hijacked thousands of Microsoft business email accounts (therecord.media)
Beware of New Fileless Malware that Propagates Via Spam Mail (cybersecuritynews.com)
Spam is up, QR codes emerge as a significant threat vector - Help Net Security
From unsuspecting click to data compromise - Help Net Security
Alert: Phishing Campaigns Deliver New SideTwist Backdoor and Agent Tesla Variant (thehackernews.com)
Getting off the hook: 10 steps to take after clicking on a phishing link (welivesecurity.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
How cyber criminals use look-alike domains to impersonate brands - Help Net Security
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI considered a security risk by 60% of board members, survey finds (thenationalnews.com)
AI ‘triggers DeepTech anxiety for senior leaders’ (businesscloud.co.uk)
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
AI abuse grows beyond phishing to multistage cyber attacks | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
UK tech tsar warns of AI cyber threat to NHS | Financial Times (ft.com)
It's the summer of adversarial chatbots. Here's how to defend against them - SiliconANGLE
Will the AI Arms Race Lead to the Pollution of the Internet? (darkreading.com)
UK cyber chief urges ‘Security by Design’ in AI development (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)
Generative AI’s Biggest Security Flaw Is Not Easy to Fix | WIRED UK
Developers have security, other generative AI concerns but use it anyway - ARN (arnnet.com.au)
How Companies Can Cope With the Risks of Generative AI Tools (darkreading.com)
3 ways to strike the right balance with generative AI - Help Net Security
Peril vs. Promise: Companies, Developers Worry Over Generative AI Risk (darkreading.com)
Experts Probe AI Risks Around Malicious Use, China Influence (govinfosecurity.com)
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
Malware
Common Tactics Used by Threat Actors to Weaponise PDFs (cybersecuritynews.com)
'Atomic macOS Stealer' Malware Delivered via Malvertising Campaign - SecurityWeek
Hackers Using ChatGPT to Generate Malware & Social Engineering Threats (cybersecuritynews.com)
UNRAVELING EternalBlue: inside the WannaCry’s enabler (securityaffairs.com)
Malware configurations How to find and use them? (govinfosecurity.com)
Beware of New Fileless Malware that Propagates Via Spam Mail (cybersecuritynews.com)
New Python Variant of Chaes Malware Targets Banking and Logistics Industries (thehackernews.com)
New BLISTER Malware Update Fuelling Stealthy Network Infiltration (thehackernews.com)
Alert: Phishing Campaigns Deliver New SideTwist Backdoor and Agent Tesla Variant (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
Hacking device Flipper Zero can spam nearby iPhones with Bluetooth pop-ups | TechCrunch
September Android updates fix zero-day exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hacker exploits security flaw to target iPhone users with 'notification attack' | Macworld
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
DDoS attack took down the site of German financial agency BaFin (securityaffairs.com)
Mirai variant infects low-cost Android TV boxes for DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
CISA Releases Capacity Enhancement Guide to Strengthen Agency Resilience to DDoS Attack | CISA
BYOD
Internet of Things – IoT
Securing The IoT From The Threat China Poses To US Infrastructure (forbes.com)
Connected cars and cyber crime: A primer - Help Net Security
Hacking device Flipper Zero can spam nearby iPhones with Bluetooth pop-ups | TechCrunch
Mirai variant infects low-cost Android TV boxes for DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why consumer drones represent a special cyber security risk (securityintelligence.com)
Like privacy? Then smart devices are a dumb idea • The Register
Maker of ‘smart’ chastity cage left users’ emails, passwords, and locations exposed | TechCrunch
Data Breaches/Leaks
Electoral Commission failed basic security test before hack - BBC News
Insurer fined $3M for exposing data of 650k clients for two years (bleepingcomputer.com)
Golf gear giant Callaway data breach exposes info of 1.1 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
Freecycle confirms massive data breach impacting 7 million users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Popular Websites Leaking Secrets - SecurityWeek
Johnson & Johnson discloses IBM data breach impacting patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
Northern Ireland police chief quits in wake of data breach • The Register
Lawsuit blames Tesla for data breach it sued ex-staff over • The Register
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Popular 'As-a-Service' Operations Have Earned Cyber Criminals over $64m - IT Security Guru
Cyber Crime Tremors: Experts Forecast Qakbot Resurgence (govinfosecurity.com)
It might be too soon to claim victory against Qakbot | Computer Weekly
Cyber crime to cost Germany 206 billion euros in 2023, survey finds | Reuters
Cyber criminals coercing children in their own bedrooms | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
YouTuber Loses $60K Worth of Crypto After Showing Seed Phrases on Stream - Decrypt
Who Pulled Off a $41M Online Casino Heist? North Korea, FBI Says (vice.com)
Is this the next target for international ransomware attacks? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Bitcoin exchange exec admits he ignored anti-laundering laws • The Register
Cyber criminals target graphic designers with GPU miners (talosintelligence.com)
LastPass under fire again as users report stolen crypto keys and losses | Cybernews
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Popular 'As-a-Service' Operations Have Earned Cyber criminals over $64m - IT Security Guru
Fake YouPorn extortion scam threatens to leak your sex tape (bleepingcomputer.com)
Four Convicted in $18m Investment Fraud Scheme - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Global roaming fraud losses to surpass $8 billion by 2028 - Help Net Security
Airlines Battle Surge in Loyalty Program Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How We Track Crypto Money Laundering for Off-Chain Crime (chainalysis.com)
See Tickets Alerts 300,000 Customers After Another Web Skimmer Attack - SecurityWeek
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
Impersonation Attacks
'Smishing Triad' Targeted USPS and US Citizens for Data Theft (securityaffairs.com)
How cyber criminals use look-alike domains to impersonate brands - Help Net Security
Deepfakes
Emerging threat: AI-powered social engineering - Help Net Security
Beware: Deepfake Scams Could Target Your Next Zoom Meeting | Entrepreneur
AML/CFT/Sanctions
How We Track Crypto Money Laundering for Off-Chain Crime (chainalysis.com)
Four Convicted in $18m Investment Fraud Scheme - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Bitcoin exchange exec admits he ignored anti-laundering laws • The Register
Insurance
Insights Into the Changing Landscape of Cyber Insurance - Frost Brown Todd | Full-Service Law Firm
Time and effort to obtain cyber insurance increasing for US businesses | CSO Online
Beazley expects to sponsor more cyber catastrophe bonds in 2024 - Artemis.bm
Lloyd’s categorises cyber war wordings in aggregation clarity push (insuranceinsider.com)
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Ministry of Defence documents leaked by LockBit (techmonitor.ai)
Supply chain related security risks, and how to protect against them (malwarebytes.com)
5 ways to improve your supply chain security posture | IT Reseller Magazine (itrportal.com)
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Creating a more cyber secure supply chain requires group effort - FreightWaves
Facing Third-Party Threats With Non-Employee Risk Management (darkreading.com)
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Step Up Your Defence Against Cloud-loving Cyber Criminals (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Hybrid/Remote Working
Attack Surface Management
What OSINT is, and why it’s dangerous | Kaspersky official blog
Armis report sheds light on top 10 targeted assets by cyber attackers - SiliconANGLE
Top 10 riskiest assets threatening global business - IT Security Guru
Encryption
Government denies U-turn on encrypted messaging row - BBC News
UK lawmakers back down on encryption-busting 'spy clause' | CyberScoop
API
Open Source
Software industry urged to assume risk on open source security | CIO Dive
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
It's a Zero-day? It's Malware? No! It's Username and Password (thehackernews.com)
Chrome extensions can steal plaintext passwords from websites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hacker gains admin control of Sourcegraph and gives free access to the masses | Ars Technica
Passwords From The November 2022 LastPass Breach Being Cracked? - PC Perspective
LastPass under fire again as users report stolen crypto keys and losses | Cybernews
Maker of ‘smart’ chastity cage left users’ emails, passwords, and locations exposed | TechCrunch
75% of education sector attacks linked to compromised accounts - Help Net Security
Social Media
Malvertising
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Children's snack recalled after its website caught serving porn (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber criminals coercing children in their own bedrooms | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
SEC tells companies to “show their work” on cyber security - Red Canary
Verizon to pay feds $4M over cyber security lapse | Light Reading
Government denies U-turn on encrypted messaging row - BBC News
UK drops 'spy clause' for scanning encrypted messages • The Register
Models, Frameworks and Standards
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
CIS Benchmarks Communities: Where configurations meet consensus - Help Net Security
Explaining The New NIST Cyber Security Framework to the C-Suite
Backup and Recovery
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
71% of organisations are impacted by cyber security skills shortage | Security Magazine
Cyber Security Skills Gap set to cost UK £120 billion by 2023 - Essex-TV
6 free resources for getting started in cyber security - Help Net Security
Cyber professionals say industry urgently needs to confront mental health crisis | CyberScoop
Cyber security pros battle discontent amid skills shortage - Help Net Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
It might be too soon to claim victory against Qakbot | Computer Weekly
Cops drill into chat apps to thwart coke-smuggling ring • The Register
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
Russia-linked attackers hit UK Ministry of Defence, leak stolen data | CSO Online
Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyber war with Russia : NPR
China and Russia are pushing the boundaries of cyber attacks to harm other states - CityAM
Ukraine's CERT Thwarts APT28's Cyber Attack on Critical Energy Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)
Attackers access military data through fencing supplier • The Register
Russia-linked hack on Trident base sparks 'World War Three' warning from expert (yahoo.com)
Russia, China behind majority of cyber attacks targeting German businesses (aa.com.tr)
Elon Musk's Father Fears Possible Assassination Attempt on His Son (businessinsider.com)
Big Tech failed to police Russian disinformation: EU study • The Register
North Korea hackers going after Russian targets, Microsoft says, World News - AsiaOne
China
How China gets free intel on tech companies’ vulnerabilities | Ars Technica
Experts Probe AI Risks Around Malicious Use, China Influence (govinfosecurity.com)
How Microsoft's highly secure environment was breached (malwarebytes.com)
Securing The IoT From The Threat China Poses To US Infrastructure (forbes.com)
China and Russia are pushing the boundaries of cyber attacks to harm other states - CityAM
Russia, China behind majority of cyber attacks targeting German businesses (aa.com.tr)
German companies report more cyber attacks from Russia, China | Meta.mk
Microsoft finally explains cause of Azure breach: An engineer’s account was hacked | Ars Technica
South Korean Cyber Security Concerns Over Chinese-Made Cranes, Meteorological Gear | The Epoch Times
Huawei hits back in Portugal over 5G 'ban' with lawsuit - DCD (datacenterdynamics.com)
Iran
Hackers push anti-Iranian government messages to millions via breached app | CyberScoop
Iranian hackers breach US aviation org via Zoho, Fortinet bugs (bleepingcomputer.com)
North Korea
Lazarus hackers deploy fake VMware PyPI packages in VMConnect attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Warn of Cyber Weapons Used by Lazarus Group's Andariel Cluster (thehackernews.com)
Meet the man leading the front-line effort in Ukraine's cyber war with Russia : NPR
North Korean hackers target security researchers with new zero-day (therecord.media)
North Korea hackers going after Russian targets, Microsoft says, World News - AsiaOne
Who Pulled Off a $41M Online Casino Heist? North Korea, FBI Says (vice.com)
Misc Nation State/Cyber Warfare
Nation-state 'hot zones' offer view of the future of cyber war – report - CIR Magazine
Lloyd’s categorises cyber war wordings in aggregation clarity push (insuranceinsider.com)
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets For Nation-State Hackers (newsweek.com)
Multiple Nation-State Threat Actors Exploit CVE-2022-47966 and CVE-2022-42475 | CISA
Vulnerability Management
Years-old Microsoft bugs are still hot targets for criminals • The Register
Old vulnerabilities are still a big problem - Help Net Security
Overcoming Open Source Vulnerabilities in the Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
How China gets free intel on tech companies’ vulnerabilities | Ars Technica
Vulnerabilities
Apple discloses 2 actively exploited zero-days in iPhones, Macs (securityaffairs.com)
Google patches 4 high-rated security issues in latest Chrome 116 update - gHacks Tech News
Two flaws in Apache SuperSet allow to remotely hack servers (securityaffairs.com)
Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerability in BroadWorks Platform - SecurityWeek
Multiple Notepad++ Flaws Let Attackers Execute Arbitrary Code (cybersecuritynews.com)
Hackers exploit MinIO storage system to breach corporate networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
ASUS routers vulnerable to critical remote code execution flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
September Android updates fix zero-day exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco SSO authentication bug patched - Security - Networking - iTnews
Multiple Nation-State Threat Actors Exploit CVE-2022-47966 and CVE-2022-42475 | CISA
Security or performance? Zenbleed forces you to choose | Digital Trends
Tools and Controls
Many businesses still aren't using BYOD protection | TechRadar
Insights Into the Changing Landscape of Cyber Insurance - Frost Brown Todd | Full-Service Law Firm
Spend to save: The CFO’s guide to cyber security investment (securityintelligence.com)
An Overview of ENISA’s Risk Management Standards Report | UpGuard
IOCs vs Artifacts How to Filter Out the Noise (govinfosecurity.com)
Time and effort to obtain cyber insurance increasing for US businesses | CSO Online
Chrome extensions can steal plaintext passwords from websites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dangling DNS Used to Hijack Subdomains of Major Organisations - SecurityWeek
Why DNS Security Can Be Your Most Problematic Blind Spot (hyas.com)
Cyber Security Tools Are New Targets For Nation-State Hackers (newsweek.com)
Rising Physical Incidents Should Drive C-Level Investment & Action (forbes.com)
Why Cyber Security Risk Assessment Matters in the Banking Industry (securityintelligence.com)
Cut through cyber security vendor hype with these 6 tips | TechTarget
IAM, cloud security to drive new cyber security spending | CSO Online
Best practices for implementing a proper backup strategy - Help Net Security
Other News
Education Sector Heavily Targeted as the School Year Begins (databreaches.net)
Schools warned of cyberattack threat as new year begins | Science & Tech News | Sky News
Ways to protect WordPress sites and blogs from hacking | Kaspersky official blog
Insecure by design: What you need to know about defending critical infrastructure | CSO Online
Half of Switzerland's large companies have been the victim of a cyber attack | Euronews
Dangling DNS Used to Hijack Subdomains of Major Organizations - SecurityWeek
Securing the future: Safeguarding cyber-physical systems | CSO Online
25 Major Car Brands Get Failing Marks From Mozilla for Security and Privacy - SecurityWeek
Cyber security In Focus Ahead Of Berlin NATO Conference | OilPrice.com
10 old-school security principles that (still) rule | CSO Online
Surge in Hospital Hacks Endangers Patients, Cyber Official Says - WSJ
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 June 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 June 2023:
-Zurich Insurance Group Secures Data Leak After Leaving Sensitive Data Publicly Accessible
-Employees Worry Less About Cyber Security Best Practices in the Summer
-Businesses are Ignoring Third-Party Security Risks
-Fear Trumps Anger When It Comes to Data Breaches – Angry Customers Vent, But Fearful Customers Don’t Come Back
-Over 130 Organisations and Millions of Individuals Believed to Be Impacted by MOVEit Hack, it Keeps Growing
-Widespread BEC Attacks Threaten European Organisations
-Lloyd’s Syndicates Sued Over Cyber Insurance
-95% Fear Inadequate Cloud Security Detection and Response
-The Growing Use of Generative AI and the Security Risks They Pose
-The CISO’s Toolkit Must Include Political Capital Within The C-Suite
-Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers as War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime
-SMBs Plagued by Exploits, Trojans and Backdoors
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Zurich Insurance Group Secures Data Leak After Leaving Sensitive Data Publicly Accessible
Zurich Insurance Group is a major player in the insurance game, with over 55 million clients. They have recently just fixed a sensitive file that they had left publicly accessible. The file in question contained a range of credentials including database credentials, admin credentials, credentials for the actively exploited MOVEit software, credentials for their HR system and more. All of which could be utilised by threat actors to inflict serious damage. This was not the only vulnerability stemming from the insurance group; researchers found that Zurich were also running an outdated website, which contained a large number of vulnerabilities.
The case is alarming as Zurich Insurance Group provides cyber insurance and the instance above reinforces the need for organisations to be proactive in identifying cyber risks in their environment; it is simply not enough to rely on having insurance or meeting insurance requirements.
https://cybernews.com/zurich-insurance-data-leak/
Employees Worry Less About Cyber Security Best Practices in the Summer
IT teams are struggling to monitor and enforce BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies during summer months according to a new report. The report found that 55% of employees admitted to relying solely on their mobile devices while working remotely in the summer. 25% of all respondents claim that they aren’t concerned about ensuring network connections are secure when accessing their company’s data.
In the same report, 45% of employees in the US and UK said no specific measures to educate and remind employees on security best practices are taken during the summer, with only 24% of UK respondents receiving access to online cyber security training and guides and even less (17%) in the US. This comes as a separate report found that the number of phishing sites targeting mobile devices increased from 75% to 80% year-on-year in 2022, and this is likely to continue rising. Worryingly, it was also found that the average user is between six and ten times more likely to fall for an SMS phishing attack than email.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/30/summer-byod-policies/
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/mobile-malware-and-phishing-surge/
Businesses are Ignoring Third-Party Security Risks
With 58% of companies managing over 100 vendors, 8% of which manage over 1,000, the need for a robust Third-Party Security Risk Management process becomes abundantly clear. Despite this, only 13% of organisations continuously monitor the security risks of their third parties. This is worrying, when considering the knock-on effects of third party breaches from the likes of Capita, SolarWinds and 3CX, and the recent MOVEit attack, impacting organisations whose only relationship with MOVEit was that their supplier used it.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/30/third-party-relationships-risks/
Fear Trumps Anger When It Comes to Data Breaches – Angry Customers Vent, But Fearful Customers Don’t Come Back
When a person is notified of a data breach involving their personal information, if they react with a feeling of fear, as opposed to anger, they’re more likely to stop using the site. A report found that positive attitudes toward the website before the breach did not meaningfully affect whether consumers reengaged with the website after the breach, as some prior research has indicated. Instead, the emotional response of fear weighed heavily on customers and outweighed any earlier positive sentiment towards the organisation.
When a company has been breached in the past they have dealt with angry customers and negative press. To do so, companies may engage crisis managers to contain the damage, partner with identity protection services, pay fines or settlements, or try to lure back customers with free services. However, the study shows that companies need to address fearful customers differently after a data breach has occurred if they want to avoid customer loss. To do this, companies can work with their IT departments to identify customers who are no longer active after a breach and then reach out to them directly to assuage their fears.
Over 130 Organisations and Millions of Individuals Believed to be Impacted by MOVEit Hack, it Keeps Growing
The dramatic fallout continues in the mass exploitation of a critical vulnerability in a widely used file-transfer program, with at least three new victims coming to light in the past few days. They include the New York City Department of Education and energy companies Schneider Electric and Siemens Electric. These join others, including PwC, Sony and EY. If the attack has shown us one thing, it’s that any organisation can be a victim.
Widespread BEC Attacks Threaten European Organisations
Based on an analysis of email attack trends between June 2022 and May 2023, total email attacks in Europe increased by 7 times and the US 5 times. For business email compromise (BEC) specifically, Europe saw an alarming 10 times the amount it had previously and the US saw a 2 times increase.
BEC continues to remain a high priority threat for many organisations and if someone already has a legitimate business email which they have compromised to use for BEC attacks on your organisation, it is very likely that your technical processes will be ineffective, leaving your people and operational processes to stop an attack. Is your organisation cyber aware? Are they undergoing regular awareness training?
This is one of many areas that Black Arrow can help improve your organisation’s security through robust employee cyber security Awareness Behaviour and Culture training.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/27/bec-attacks-frequency/
Lloyd’s Syndicates Sued Over Cyber Insurance
The University of California (UCLA) is suing a number of insurance firms for refusing to pay out on cyber policies nearly 10 years after hackers breached data on millions of patients at its health system. The dispute is over a cyber attack from 2014 through 2015 that exposed personal information of patients at UCLA Health.
UCLA Health allege that the syndicates refused to engage in dispute resolution by asserting that the statue of limitations applying to the claims had expired. The insurers, who could not be named, are said to have refused every claim saying that UCLA Health failed to satisfy cyber security requirements under the contract terms. It’s important for organisations with cyber insurance to understand their insurance in detail and to know where they stand in the event of a cyber incident.
95% Fear Inadequate Cloud Security Detection and Response
A recent report found 95% of respondents expressed concern in their organisation’s ability to detect and respond to a security event in their cloud environment. The same study also found that 50% of total respondents had reported a data breach due to unauthorised access to their cloud environment.
It is often the case that issues in the cloud come from the perception of the responsibility of the cloud environment. Organisations must realise that they share responsibility for securing their cloud environment, including its configuration. The report found that, despite the number of breaches and concerns in their organisation’s ability, more than 80% of respondents still felt their existing tooling and configuration would sufficiently cover their organisation from an attack. Organisations must ask themselves what they are doing to protect their cloud environment.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/06/27/cloud-environment-security/
The Growing Use of Generative AI and the Security Risks They Pose
A recent survey by Malwarebytes revealed 81% of people are concerned about the security risks posed by ChatGPT and generative AI, and 52% of respondents are calling for a pause on ChatGPT for regulations to catch up, while 7% think it will improve internet security. A key concern about the data produced by generative AI platforms is the risk of "hallucinations" whereby machine learning models produce untruths. This becomes a serious issue for organisations if its content is heavily relied upon to make decisions, particularly those relating to threat detection and response.
Another recent report on the risks brought by Large Language Model AIs showed that the rise in opensource AI adoption is developed insecurely; this results in an increased threat with substantial security risks to organisation.
The CISO’s Toolkit Must Include Political Capital Within The C-Suite
Over the past 18 months, there has been a sea change in the chief information security officer (CISO) role. Fundamentally, the CISO is responsible for the protection of an entity's information. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a proposed rule change on cyber security risk management, strategy, governance, and incident response disclosure by public companies that requires publicly traded companies to provide evidence of the board's oversight of cyber security risk. Couple this with the former CISO of Uber being found guilty on charges of "obstruction of the proceedings of the Federal Trade Commission" and it is clear that the hand at the helm must be able to navigate all types of seas in their entity's political milieu. In this regard, the CISO needs to acquire political capital. CISO’s should have the capability to talk in understandable terms and clearly demonstrate value to the other board members.
Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers as War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime
Russia's diminishing position on the world stage has limited its physical options on the ground, leaving Putin's regime increasingly reliant on cyber crime to carry out its oppositional activities against Ukraine and Europe. Microsoft has disclosed that it has detected a spike in credential-stealing attacks conducted by the Russian state-affiliated hacker group known as Midnight Blizzard.
This comes as Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) released its 2023 security assessment, predicting that Russia will increasingly launch cyber attacks as part of its war strategy not just in Ukraine, but against NATO member states as well.
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/russia-reliant-on-cybercrime-as-international-pariah
https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/microsoft-warns-of-widescale-credential.html
SMB’s Plagued as Cyber Attackers Still Rely on Decades Old Security Weaknesses and Tactics
Despite best cyber security efforts, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to struggle to thwart attacks and harden defences in response to remote working and other newer challenges.
This future focus can lead to a neglection of older weaknesses. Cyber attackers are typically relying on tried-and-tested tactics and old security weaknesses to target organisations, a recent Barracuda threat spotlight found. Hackers are returning to proven methods to gain remote control of systems, install malware, steal information and disrupt or disable business operations through denial-of-service attacks, Barracuda reports. The report found that between February to April 2023, the top malicious tactics found to be used were vulnerabilities from 2008.
The report highlights the fact that there are no cutoff dates for vulnerabilities and attackers will use whatever is at their disposal to try and infiltrate your organisation. This can be protected by having strong policies and controls in place alongside frequent penetration testing to ensure these vulnerabilities are being patched.
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/malware/smbs-plagued-by-exploits-trojans-and-backdoors
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Businesses are ignoring third-party security risks - Help Net Security
Employees worry less about cyber security best practices in the summer - Help Net Security
Digital-First Economy Has Transformed Role of CISO- IT Security Guru
SEC Alleges SolarWinds CFO, CISO Violated US Securities Laws (bankinfosecurity.com)
The CISO’s toolkit must include political capital within the C-suite | CSO Online
NCSC Launches Cyber Risk Management Toolbox - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
MOVEit hackers may have found simpler business model beyond ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Dozens of Businesses Hit Recently by '8Base' Ransomware Gang - SecurityWeek
UK cyber spies warn ransomware criminals targeting law firms • The Register
Cl0p in Your Network? Here's How to Find Out (darkreading.com)
July is Ransomware Month: Reminder to Prepare, Defend Against Hijackers - MSSP Alert
The Trickbot/Conti Crypters: Where Are They Now? (securityintelligence.com)
Linux version of Akira ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Victims
Casualties keep growing in this month’s mass exploitation of MOVEit 0-day | Ars Technica
8 Tech And IT Companies Targeted In The MOVEit Attacks | CRN
MOVEIt breach impacts Genworth, CalPERS as data for 3.2 million exposed (bleepingcomputer.com)
Clop names PWC, Ernst & Young, and Sony in MOVEit hack | Cybernews
UCLA, Siemens Among Latest Victims of Relentless MOVEit Attacks (darkreading.com)
Siemens Energy, Schneider Electric Targeted by Ransomware Group in MOVEit Attack - SecurityWeek
10 banks alleged victims of ransomware attacks on file transfer software | American Banker
Almost 770,000 Calpers members hit by cyber attack | Financial Times (ft.com)
Ransomware and phishing attacks continue to plague businesses in Singapore | ZDNET
K-12 schools are revisiting their cyber strategies after year of ransomware attacks (axios.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Mobile Malware and Phishing Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
How a Layered Security Approach Can Minimise Email Threats - MSSP Alert
Less than half of UK banks implement most secure DMARC level | CSO Online
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Widespread BEC attacks threaten European organisations - Help Net Security
The Current State of Business Email Compromise Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Unmasking Pig-Butchering Scams and Protecting Your Financial Future - Security News (trendmicro.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Sharing Your Business’ Data With ChatGPT: How Risky Is It? - MSSP Alert
OpenAI lawsuit: Maker of ChatGPT sued over alleged data usage | CNN Business
Lawyers who cited fake cases invented by ChatGPT must pay • The Register
Generative AI Projects Pose Major Cyber security Risk to Enterprises (darkreading.com)
How to Deploy Generative AI Safely and Responsibly (trendmicro.com)
Generative-AI apps & ChatGPT: Potential risks and mitigation strategies (thehackernews.com)
Does the world need an arms control treaty for AI? | CyberScoop
When It Comes to Secure Coding, ChatGPT Is Quintessentially Human (darkreading.com)
AI-Enabled Voice Cloning Anchors Deepfaked Kidnapping (darkreading.com)
2FA/MFA
Malware
SMBs plagued by exploits, trojans and backdoors | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Hackers Use Weaponized PDF Files to Attack Organisations (cybersecuritynews.com)
New Mockingjay Process Injection Technique Could Let Malware Evade Detection (thehackernews.com)
Fileless attacks surge as cyber Criminals evade cloud security defences | CSO Online
NSA warns of ‘false sense of security’ against BlackLotus malware (therecord.media)
Trojanized Super Mario Bros game spreads malware- - Security Affairs
New PindOS JavaScript dropper deploys Bumblebee, IcedID malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
NPM Plagued with ‘Manifest Confusion’ Malware-Hiding Weakness (darkreading.com)
Newly Uncovered ThirdEye Windows-Based Malware Steals Sensitive Data (thehackernews.com)
North Korean Andariel APT used a new malware named EarlyRat - Security Affairs
Mobile
Mobile Malware and Phishing Surge in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Apple says proposed UK law ‘poses a serious threat’ to end-to-end encryption - The Verge
Anatsa Android trojan now steals banking info from users in US, UK (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fluhorse: Flutter-Based Android Malware Targets Credit Cards and 2FA Codes (thehackernews.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Global rise in DDoS attacks threatens digital infrastructure - Help Net Security
Pro-Russia DDoSia hacktivist project sees 2,400% membership increase (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Someone sent mysterious smartwatches to US Military personnel - Security Affairs
The tech flaw that lets hackers control surveillance cameras - BBC News
Data Breaches/Leaks
Latitude hit with $1 million lawsuit over data breach (9news.com.au)
Recruitment portal exposes data of US pilot candidates • The Register
3 Steps to Successfully & Ethically Navigate a Data Breach (darkreading.com)
Sensitive Information Stolen in LetMeSpy Stalkerware Hack - SecurityWeek
US Patent Office Data Spill Exposes Trademark Applications (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
2,700 People Tricked Into Working for Cyber Crime Syndicates Rescued in Philippines - SecurityWeek
Security analyst wanted by both Russia and the US • The Register
Former Group-IB manager has been arrested in Kazahstan - Security Affairs
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Twitter Hacker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for $120,000 Crypto Scam (thehackernews.com)
JOKERSPY used to target a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan - Security Affairs
Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Falls Victim to JokerSpy macOS Backdoor Attack (thehackernews.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Twitter Hacker Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for $120,000 Crypto Scam (thehackernews.com)
Unmasking Pig-Butchering Scams and Protecting Your Financial Future - Security News (trendmicro.com)
This Chatbot Gives Phone Call Scammers a Taste of Their Own Medicine (pcmag.com)
The robotic falcon maker who was targeted by cyber criminals - BBC News
Deepfakes
Insurance
University of California Sues Lloyd’s Syndicates Over Cyber Insurance - WSJ
Insurance companies using AI for underwriting and due diligence amid cyber threats | Fox Business
How Big Is the Cyber Insurance Market? Can It Keep Growing? | Lawfare (lawfaremedia.org)
Dark Web
Citizen of Croatia charged with running the Monopoly Market drug marketplace - Security Affairs
Inside Threat Actors: Dark Web Forums vs. Illicit Telegram Communities (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
95% fear inadequate cloud security detection and response - Help Net Security
Fileless attacks surge as cyber Criminals evade cloud security defences | CSO Online
5 Pitfalls in Cloud Cyber security’s Shared Responsibility Model - MSSP Alert
Uncovering attacker tactics through cloud honeypots - Help Net Security
How hardening Microsoft 365 tenants mitigates potential cloud attacks - Help Net Security
Outlook for the web outage impacts users across America (bleepingcomputer.com)
3 Tips to Increase Hybrid and Multicloud Security (darkreading.com)
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
Apple says proposed UK law ‘poses a serious threat’ to end-to-end encryption - The Verge
Iran finally admits its 'quantum processor' was in fact not quantum at all | PC Gamer
How to stop quantum computers from breaking the internet’s encryption (sciencenews.org)
Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
Travel
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
SEC Alleges SolarWinds CFO, CISO Violated US Securities Laws (bankinfosecurity.com)
US firm 'breached GDPR' by reputation-scoring EU citizens • The Register
JP Morgan accidentally deletes 47 million comms records • The Register
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
SEC notice to SolarWinds CISO and CFO roils cyber security industry | CSO Online
Skill gap plagues cyber security industry as jobs go unfilled | Mint (livemint.com)
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Hacker responsible for 2020 Twitter breach sentenced to prison | TechCrunch
Citizen of Croatia charged with running the Monopoly Market drug marketplace - Security Affairs
2,700 People Tricked Into Working for Cyber Crime Syndicates Rescued in Philippines - SecurityWeek
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Russia
Microsoft Warns of Widescale Credential Stealing Attacks by Russian Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Russian Spies, War Ministers Reliant on Cyber Crime in Pariah State (darkreading.com)
Pro-Russia DDoSia hacktivist project sees 2,400% membership increase (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft hackers say they work for Sudan, not Russia | Fortune
'Chinese spy balloon' was 'crammed' with US hardware • The Register
Hackers attack Russian satellite telecom provider, claim affiliation with Wagner Group | CyberScoop
China
China's 'Volt Typhoon' APT Now Exploits Zoho ManageEngine (darkreading.com)
'Chinese spy balloon' was 'crammed' with US hardware • The Register
Iran
The potent cyber adversary threatening to further inflame Iranian politics | CyberScoop
From MuddyC3 to PhonyC2: Iran's MuddyWater Evolves with a New Cyber Weapon (thehackernews.com)
Iran finally admits its 'quantum processor' was in fact not quantum at all | PC Gamer
North Korea
Misc/Other/Unknown
Vulnerability Management
SMBs plagued by exploits, trojans and backdoors | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Remediation Ballet Is a Pas de Deux of Patch and Performance (darkreading.com)
Micropatches: What they are and how they work - Help Net Security
When It Comes to Secure Coding, ChatGPT Is Quintessentially Human (darkreading.com)
It's 2023 and out-of-bounds write bugs are still number one • The Register
Vulnerabilities
VMware fixed five memory corruption issues in vCenter Server - Security Affairs
US Cyber security Agency Adds 6 Flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (thehackernews.com)
CISA Says Critical Zyxel NAS Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks - SecurityWeek
Serious IDOR Vulnerability Found In Microsoft Teams (latesthackingnews.com)
Fortinet fixes critical FortiNAC RCE, install updates asap - Security Affairs
Details Disclosed for Critical SAP Vulnerabilities, Including Wormable Exploit Chain - SecurityWeek
Critical flaw in VMware Aria Operations for Networks sees mass exploitation | CSO Online
Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) fixed three DoS flaw in BIND - Security Affairs
Chrome 114 Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek
Grafana warns of critical auth bypass due to Azure AD integration (bleepingcomputer.com)
The tech flaw that lets hackers control surveillance cameras - BBC News
Exploit released for new Arcserve UDP auth bypass vulnerability (bleepingcomputer.com)
Tools and Controls
95% fear inadequate cloud security detection and response - Help Net Security
How a Layered Security Approach Can Minimize Email Threats - MSSP Alert
ITDR Combines and Refines Familiar Cyber security Approaches (darkreading.com)
Uncovering attacker tactics through cloud honeypots - Help Net Security
10 things every CISO needs to know about identity and access management (IAM) | VentureBeat
FIDO Alliance Publishes Guidance for Deploying Passkeys in the Enterprise (darkreading.com)
3 Tips to Increase Hybrid and Multicloud Security (darkreading.com)
Other News
Businesses count the cost of network downtime - Help Net Security
Exploring the persistent threat of cyber attacks on healthcare - Help Net Security
How Can Manufacturers Stop Being The Top Target For Cyber Crime? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Ex-FBI employee jailed for mishandling classified material • The Register
Rapid7: Japan Threat Landscape Takes on Global Significance - SecurityWeek
Over 1500 gas stations disrupted in Canada, after energy giant hacked (bitdefender.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
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· 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
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 31 March 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 31 March 2023:
-Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022
-The End User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk
-Millions of Penetration Tests Show Companies’ Security Postures are Getting Worse
-71% of Employees Keep Work Passwords on Personal Devices
-Cyber Crime Frontlines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe
-Security Flaws Cost Fifth of Executive’s Businesses
-Companies Struggle to Build and Run Effective Programs to Protect Data from Insider Threats
-Only 10% of Workers Remember All Their Cyber Security Training
-Silence Gets You Nowhere in a Data Breach
-Just 1% of Cloud Permissions are Actively Used
-Dangerous Misconceptions About Emerging Cyber Threats
-‘Grim’ Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022
The volume of phishing emails sent in 2022 spiked by a jaw-dropping 569% according to a new report. Based on data from 35 million users, the report details the astronomical rise of email phishing as a tactic among threat actors in 2022. Key findings from the report include the number of credential phishing emails sent spiked by 478% and, for the eighth consecutive year, business email compromise (BEC) ranked as the top cyber crime.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/phishing-emails-up-whopping-569-percent-2022
The End User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk
Businesses rely on their end users, but those same users often don't follow the best security practices. Without the right password security policies, a single end user password mistake can be a costly breach of your organisation's defences. End users want to do their work quickly and efficiently, but sharing, reusing and weak passwords can put your organisation at risk so having the right policies in place is essential for security.
Millions of Penetration Tests Show Companies’ Security Postures are Getting Worse
The risk score for the average company worsened in the past year as companies fail to adapt to data exfiltration techniques and adequately protect web applications. Companies' effective data-exfiltration risk increased to 44 out of 100 (with 100 indicating the riskiest posture) in 2022, from an average score of 30 in the previous year, indicating that the overall risk of data being compromised has increased. That's according to rankings by Cymulate, who crunched data on 1.7 million hours of offensive cyber security testing. The research noted that while many companies are improving the adoption of strict network and group policies, attackers are adapting to sidestep such protections. They also found that four of the top-10 CVEs (known vulnerabilities) identified in customer environments were more than two years old.
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/millions-pen-tests-companies-security-posture-getting-worse
71% of Employees Keep Work Passwords on Personal Devices
71% of employees store sensitive work passwords on their personal phones, and 66% use their personal texting apps for work, according to a new mobile bring your own device (BYOD) security report this week, with the report also suggesting 95% of security leaders are increasingly concerned about phishing attacks via private messaging apps. With the widespread use of personal mobile devices in the workplace, it is increasingly difficult for employers to ensure the security of sensitive information. The use of personal devices and personal apps was the direct cause of many high-profile corporate breaches and this is a trend that will surely continue, as employees often use corporate and personal devices for work, effectively doubling the attack surface for cyber criminals as threat actors know there are fewer security controls on personal mobile devices than on corporate ones.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/70-employees-keep-work-passwords/
Cyber Frontlines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe
More than a year into the war in Ukraine, hackers have extended the cyber battleground to Eastern and Northern Europe with the number of incidents in those geographies spiking noticeably. A new report shows that cyber warfare inside the conflict has “clearly moved on” from the beginnings of the war. Over the last 12 months, the research reports that the majority of incidents only affecting Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022 (50.4%) sank to 28.6% in the third period. But European Union countries have seen a spike in incidents related to the war in the past six months from 9.8% to 46.5%. Indeed, the number of attacks on EU countries in the third quarter of 2022 totalled just slightly less than those in the Ukraine. And, in the first quarter of this year, more than 80% of incidents occurred inside the European Union. Cyber is now a crucial weapon in the arsenal of new instruments of war, alongside disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, economic warfare, sabotage and guerrilla tactics. With the lateralisation of the conflict from Ukraine to the rest of Europe, Western Europe should be wary of possible attacks on critical infrastructure in the short term if the conflict continues to accelerate.
Security Flaws Cost Fifth of Executives New Business
Boards continue to under-appreciate the value of cyber security to the business, despite acknowledging its critical role in winning new business and talent, according to Trend Micro. The security giant polled 2,718 business decision makers globally to compile its Risky Rewards study and it found that half (51%) believe cyber security is a necessary cost but not a revenue contributor. 48% argue that its value is limited to threat prevention and two-fifths (38%) see security as a barrier rather than a business enabler. That’s despite a fifth (19%) acknowledging that poor security posture has already impacted their ability to win new business, and 57% thinking there is a strong connection between cyber and client acquisition.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/fifth-execs-security-flaws-cost/
Companies Struggle to Build and Run Effective Programs to Protect Data from Insider Threats
Insider risk is emerging as one of the most challenging threats for organisations to detect, mitigate and manage, Code42 Software said in its annual Data Exposure Report for 2023. To compile data for the study they surveyed some 700 cyber security leaders, managers and practitioners and whilst more than 72% of companies indicated they have an insider risk management (IRM) program in place, the same companies experienced a year-over-year increase in data loss incidents of 32%. 71% of respondees expect data loss from insider events to increase in the next 12 months. Insider incidents are costing organisations $16 million per incident on average, and chief information security officers (CISOs) say that insider risks are the most challenging type of threat to detect. Data loss from insiders is not a new problem but it has become more complex with workforce turnover and cloud adoption.
Only 10% of Workers Remember All Their Cyber Security Training
New research has found that only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training. Furthermore, only half of employees are undergoing regular training, and a quarter aren’t receiving any training at all. Organisations should look to carry out effective and regular training that is tailored to their employees to increase the chance of training content being retained, with a programme of ongoing continual reinforcement.
Silence Gets You Nowhere in a Data Breach
In cyber security, the phrase “what they don’t know won’t hurt them” is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. Despite this, it’s a motto that remains in many organisations’ PR playbooks, as demonstrated by the recent LastPass and Fortra data breaches. Smaller companies, too, are employing a silent-treatment approach to data breaches, and cyber attacks are now a fact of doing business with almost half of US organisations having suffered a cyber attack in 2022. Attackers are increasingly targeting smaller businesses due to the fact they are seen as easier targets than large companies.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/29/silence-gets-you-nowhere-in-a-data-breach/
Just 1% of Cloud Permissions are Actively Used
According to Microsoft, a surge in workload identities, super admins and “over-permissioning” is driving the increase in cyber risk for organisations. Just 1% of users are using the permissions granted to them for day-to-day work. Worryingly, this leaves a significant number of unnecessary permissions which could be used by an attacker to elevate their privileges.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/just-1-of-cloud-permissions-used/
Dangerous Misconceptions About Emerging Cyber Threats
Organisations are leaving common attack paths exposed in their quest to combat emergent threats, according to a new report that delves into the efficacy of different security controls, the most concerning threats as tested by organisations worldwide, and top cyber security best practices for 2023. One of the key findings of the report is that many organisations are actively testing against threats seen in the news, likely from pressure to report on their exposure risk to emergent threats, and whilst this is good, it should not take away from assessing threats and exposures that are more likely actively targeting the business.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/30/misconceptions-emerging-cyber-threats/
‘Grim’ Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns
Europol has warned that criminals are set to take advantage of artificial intelligence to commit fraud and other crimes. Europol highlighted that ChatGPT could be used to speed up criminal research, impersonate speech styles for phishing and write code. Furthermore, despite ChatGPT having safeguards, Europol note that these can be circumvented.
https://www.securityweek.com/grim-criminal-abuse-of-chatgpt-is-coming-europol-warns/
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware | CIO
Clop Keeps Racking Up Ransomware Victims With GoAnywhere Flaw (darkreading.com)
New IcedID malware variants shift from banking trojans to ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Publicly disclosed US ransomware attacks in 2023 | TechTarget
Virgin Group added to Cl0p gang’s victim leak site | Cybernews
New York law firm coughs up $200k after hospital data stolen • The Register
Telecom giant Lumen suffered a ransomware attack-Security Affairs
Ransomware crooks are exploiting IBM file exchange bug with a 9.8 severity | Ars Technica
DarkBit puts data from Israel’s Technion university on sale | CSO Online
Crown Resorts investigating potential data breach after being contacted by hacking group - ABC News
Children’s data feared stolen in Fortra ransomware attack | TechCrunch
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing Emails Up a Whopping 569% in 2022 (darkreading.com)
IRS Phishing Emails Used to Distribute Emotet - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
These next-level phishing scams use PayPal or Google Docs to steal your data | TechRadar
Winter Vivern hackers exploit Zimbra flaw to steal NATO emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
BEC scammers are after physical goods, the FBI warns - Help Net Security
Australian police arrest four BEC actors who stole $1.7 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
New BEC Tactics Enable Fake Asset Purchases - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
FBI: Business email compromise tactics used to defraud US vendors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
2FA/MFA
Malware
New IcedID malware variants shift from banking trojans to ransomware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
MacStealer macOS malware appears in cyber crime underground--Security Affairs
Cyber Scammers Using Decentralized File Distribution System to Spread Malware - MSSP Alert
Microsoft confirms Defender has gone rogue as it's flagging legit links as malware - Neowin
North Korean malware-spreading, crypto-stealing gang named • The Register
Malware disguised as Tor browser steals $400k in cryptocash • The Register
NullMixer Polymorphic Malware Variant Infects 8K Targets in Just a Month (darkreading.com)
Chinese Cyber spies Use 'Melofee' Linux Malware for Stealthy Attacks - SecurityWeek
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Realtek and Cacti flaws now actively exploited by malware botnets (bleepingcomputer.com)
AlienFox malware caught in the cloud hen house • The Register
Microsoft OneNote will block 120 dangerous file extensions (bleepingcomputer.com)
IRS Phishing Emails Used to Distribute Emotet - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Mobile
Android-based banking Trojan Nexus now available as malware-as-a-service | CSO Online
Inaudible ultrasound attack can stealthily control your phone, smart speaker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia’s Rostec allegedly can de-anonymize Telegram users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android app from China executed 0-day exploit on millions of devices | Ars Technica
Google again accused of destroying evidence in Android case • The Register
Google finds more Android, iOS zero-days used to install spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Samsung keeps ignoring a huge security flaw in millions of Galaxy phones - SamMobile
iOS Vs. Android – Which Is The More Secure Platform? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Inaudible ultrasound attack can stealthily control your phone, smart speaker (bleepingcomputer.com)
This devious cyber attack can target all your smart speakers without you realizing | TechRadar
Gone in 120 seconds: Tesla Model 3 child's play for hackers • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
Fortra told breached companies their data was safe | TechCrunch
Procter & Gamble confirms data theft via GoAnywhere zero-day (bleepingcomputer.com)
New York law firm coughs up $200k after hospital data stolen • The Register
Toyota scrambles to patch customer data leak-Security Affairs
500k Impacted by Data Breach at Debt Buyer NCB - SecurityWeek
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Malware disguised as Tor browser steals $400k in cryptocash • The Register
NullMixer Polymorphic Malware Variant Infects 8K Targets in Just a Month (darkreading.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Data loss from insider events increase despite IRM programs, says study | CSO Online
Stop Blaming the End User for Security Risk (darkreading.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Visa fraud expert outlines the many faces of payment ecosystem fraud - Help Net Security
Cyber Scammers Using Decentralized File Distribution System to Spread Malware - MSSP Alert
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
Organisations Reassess Cyber Insurance as Self-Insurance Strategies Emerge (darkreading.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Hackers compromise 3CX desktop app in a supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Winter Vivern hackers exploit Zimbra flaw to steal NATO emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Just 1% of Cloud Permissions Are Actively Used - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Where SSO Falls Short in Protecting SaaS (thehackernews.com)
CISA Releases Hunt Tool for Microsoft's Cloud Services (darkreading.com)
Balancing security risks and innovation potential of shadow IT teams - Help Net Security
AlienFox malware caught in the cloud hen house • The Register
Hybrid/Remote Working
Cyber security focus in second Digital Europe work programme – EURACTIV.com
More companies are watching their remote workers WFH on camera | Fortune
Shadow IT
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
The End-User Password Mistakes Putting Your Organisation at Risk (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Research Examines Traffers and the Business of Stolen Credentials - IT Security Guru
Social Media
Training, Education and Awareness
The era of passive cyber security awareness training is over - Help Net Security
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
Cyber security vs. Everyone: From Conflict to Collaboration (darkreading.com)
Using Observability to Power a Smarter Cyber security Strategy (darkreading.com)
How cyber security decision-makers perceive cyber resilience - Help Net Security
NCSC issues revised security Board Toolkit for business leaders | Computer Weekly
The CISO Mantra: Get Ready to Do More With Less (darkreading.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
FBI confirms access to Breached cyber crime forum database (bleepingcomputer.com)
UK creates fake DDoS-for-hire sites to identify cyber criminals (bleepingcomputer.com)
Australian police arrest four BEC actors who stole $1.7 million (bleepingcomputer.com)
20-Year-Old BreachForums Founder Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison (thehackernews.com)
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
UK Introduces Mass Surveillance With Online Safety Bill - SecurityWeek
FBI Spent Tens of Thousands of Dollars on Bulk Data Collection (gizmodo.com)
Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC - BBC News
More companies are watching their remote workers WFH on camera | Fortune
Artificial Intelligence
'Grim' Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns - SecurityWeek
In Sudden Alarm, Tech Doyens Call for a Pause on ChatGPT | WIRED
Musk, Scientists Call for Halt to AI Race Sparked by ChatGPT - SecurityWeek
AI-fuelled search gives more power to the bad guys | CSO Online
Hacker demonstrates security flaws in GPT-4 just one day after launch | VentureBeat
Godfather of AI Says There's a Minor Risk It'll Eliminate Humanity (futurism.com)
Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC - BBC News
AI has figured out how to draw deepfake hands | The Independent
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Putin and Xi’s plot to control the internet will leave the West in the dust (telegraph.co.uk)
In A Surprise, China-Linked TikTok Grabs Power Norway Needs To Make Ammo (forbes.com)
Cyber crime Front Lines in Russia-Ukraine War Move to Eastern and Northern Europe - MSSP Alert
Beazley working on standalone cyber war product in market first (insuranceinsider.com)
'Bitter' espionage hackers target Chinese nuclear energy orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Earth Preta’s Cyber Espionage Campaign Hits Over 200 (trendmicro.com)
Biden White House Issues Executive Order on Commercial Spyware (gizmodo.com)
North Korean APT43 Group Uses Cybercrime to Fund Espionage Operations (thehackernews.com)
Google finds more Android, iOS zero-days used to install spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Over 200 Organisations Targeted in Chinese Cyber Espionage Campaign - SecurityWeek
Google: Commercial Spyware Used by Governments Laden With Zero-Day Exploits (darkreading.com)
Chinese Cyber spies Use 'Melofee' Linux Malware for Stealthy Attacks - SecurityWeek
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Pro-Russian hackers target elected US officials supporting Ukraine | Ars Technica
Russian spies more effective than army, say experts - BBC News
Cyber warfare leaks show Russian army is adopting mindset of secret police | Cyberwar | The Guardian
Nation State Actors
Uncle Sam sent cyber-soldiers to Albania to combat Iran • The Register
Russia’s Rostec allegedly can de-anonymize Telegram users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android app from China executed 0-day exploit on millions of devices | Ars Technica
China urges Apple to improve security and privacy • The Register
North Korean malware-spreading, crypto-stealing gang named • The Register
Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Vulnerability Management
What you need before the next vulnerability hits - Help Net Security
Vulnerability management vs. risk management, compared | TechTarget
Most Weaponized Vulnerabilities of 2022 and 5 Key Risks: Report - SecurityWeek
Microsoft shares tips on detecting Outlook zero-day exploitation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ignoring network automation is a ticking time bomb for security - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft: No-Interaction Outlook Zero Day Exploited Since Last April - SecurityWeek
Microsoft shares tips on detecting Outlook zero-day exploitation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple patches everything, including a zero-day fix for iOS 15 users – Naked Security (sophos.com)
QNAP fixed Sudo privilege escalation bug in NAS devices-Security Affairs
Patch Now: Cyber criminals Set Sights on Critical IBM File Transfer Bug (darkreading.com)
Super FabriXss flaw in Microsoft Azure SFX could lead to RCE-Security Affairs
OpenAI quickly fixed account takeover bugs in ChatGPT-Security Affairs
Tools and Controls
Even with defence tools, CISOs say cyber attacks are ‘inevitable’ (techrepublic.com)
The era of passive cyber security awareness training is over - Help Net Security
Only 10% of workers remember all their cyber security training - IT Security Guru
Prioritizing data security amid workforce disruptions - Help Net Security
Using Observability to Power a Smarter Cyber security Strategy (darkreading.com)
For database security it's down to people, not tech fixes • The Register
Known unknowns: Refining your approach to uncategorized web traffic - Help Net Security
Understanding adversaries through dark web intelligence - Help Net Security
Where SSO Falls Short in Protecting SaaS (thehackernews.com)
How Does Data Literacy Enhance Data Security? (darkreading.com)
CISA Releases Hunt Tool for Microsoft's Cloud Services (darkreading.com)
With Security Copilot, Microsoft brings the power of AI to cyber defence - Stories
Compare breach and attack simulation vs. penetration testing | TechTarget
Ignoring network automation is a ticking time bomb for security - Help Net Security
Microsoft's ‘Security Copilot’ Sics ChatGPT on Security Breaches | WIRED
Breaking the Mold: Pen Testing Solutions That Challenge the Status Quo (thehackernews.com)
Diagnose your SME’s Cyber security and Scan for Recommendations — ENISA (europa.eu)
Protect your entire business with the right authentication method - Help Net Security
Microsoft Defender is flagging legit URLs as malicious • The Register
Managing security in the cloud through Microsoft Intune | CSO Online
Top 5 SD-WAN Challenges and How to Prepare for Them | TechTarget
Organisations Reassess Cyber Insurance as Self-Insurance Strategies Emerge (darkreading.com)
The best defence against cyber threats for lean security teams - Help Net Security
Overcoming obstacles to introduce zero-trust security in established systems - Help Net Security
The foundation of a holistic identity security strategy - Help Net Security
The CISO Mantra: Get Ready to Do More With Less (darkreading.com)
Other News
Hackers changed tactics, went cross-platform in 2022, says Trend Micro | CSO Online
WiFi protocol flaw allows attackers to hijack network traffic (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft OneNote will block 120 dangerous file extensions (bleepingcomputer.com)
How CISOs Can Reduce the Danger of Using Data Brokers (darkreading.com)
How Does Data Literacy Enhance Data Security? (darkreading.com)
Microsoft uses carrot and stick with Exchange Online admins • The Register
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 March 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 24 March 2023:
-Majority of SMBs Lack Dedicated Cyber Experts and Cyber Incident Response Plans
-Controlling Third-Party Data Risk Should Be a Top Cyber Security Priority
-IT Security Spending to Reach Nearly $300 Billion by 2026
-2023 Cyber Security Maturity Report Reveals Organisational Unpreparedness for Cyber Attacks
-Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked
-Should Your Organisation Be Worried About Insider Threats?
-UK Ransomware Incident Volumes Surge 17% in 2022
-Financial Industry Hit by Rising Ransomware Attacks and BEC
-55 zero-day Flaws Exploited Last Year Show the Importance of Security Risk Management
-Security Researchers Spot $36m BEC Attack
-New Victims Come Forward After Mass Ransomware Attack
-Ransomware Gangs’ Harassment of Victims is Increasing
-Wartime Hacktivism is Spilling Over Into the Financial Services Industry
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
Majority of SMBs Lack Dedicated Cyber Experts and Cyber Incident Response Plans
A recent report conducted by security provider Huntress found some worrying results regarding SMBs lack of dedicated cyber experts and lack of cyber incident response plans. Some of the reports key findings were 24% of SMBs suffering a cyber attack or unsure if they had suffered a cyber attack in the last 12 months, 61% of SMBs not having a dedicated cyber security expert and 47% having no incident response plan. The report found that SMBs struggled to implement basic training and only 9% of employees adhered to security best practices, potentially due to the previously mentioned training struggles. The report highlights a clear need for SMBs to increase their cyber resilience and conduct effective user education and awareness training.
Controlling Third-Party Data Risk Should be a Top Cyber Security Priority
Nearly 60% of all data breaches are initiated via third-party vendors and this is often hard to detect. The ever-increasing use of third party services has led to the average organisation sharing sensitive data with 583 third parties, a worrying number of attack vectors. Due to the impact a third party breach can have on an organisation it is imperative that organisations assess and risk manage their supply chains to increase the organisations cyber resilience.
IT Security Spending to Reach Nearly $300 Billion by 2026
Worldwide spending on security is forecast to be $219 billion in 2023, an increase of 12.1% compared to 2022. This figure is expected to continually rise, reaching nearly $300 billion by 2026. In Europe, it is predicted that the biggest portion of spending will still be represented by services, which will be increasingly leveraged by organisations with limited cyber security experience. Additionally the finance sector, which will have to constantly ensure regulatory adherence, is predicted to be the largest spending sector. Organisations should perform due diligence and ensure that they are using reputable services.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/03/20/it-security-spending-2026/
2023 Cyber Security Maturity Report Reveals Organisational Unpreparedness for Cyber Attacks
In 2022 alone cyber attacks increased by 38%, highlighting the need for organisations to have a high level of cyber maturity; despite this, a recent cyber security maturity report ranked UK organisations as 12th globally. Some of the findings from the report included that 32% of organisations were found to have weak passwords and 23% had weak authentication systems.
https://thehackernews.com/2023/03/2023-cybersecurity-maturity-report.html
Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released their rules on cyber security risk management, strategy governance and incident disclosure by public companies. As part of the rules, the public disclosure of board directors’ cyber risk biographies is mandated. Worryingly, recent research has found that there is a drastic gap in cyber expertise at the board director level, with 90% of companies not having a single director with cyber security expertise. Board directors are able to address this issue by retaining outside expert advisors, upskilling board members or hiring new cyber security board directors.
Should your Organisation be Worried about Insider Threats?
Cyber crime is predicted to reach $10.5 trillion worth, making it a lucrative business venture for opportunist criminals. One of the threats companies face is insider threat; this is where the threat comes from within the organisation. Insider threat can include third-party vendors, business partners and others with access to an organisations systems and networks. The threat an insider poses is commonly thought of as malicious but it can also be negligent, where insiders haven’t received proper user education and awareness training. Worryingly, insider threat is rising and research has shown a significant amount of under-reporting; over 70% of insider attacks never reach the headlines. As such, it is difficult for organisations to gauge the risk of insider threats.
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/03/17/should-your-organization-be-worried-about-insider-threats/
UK Ransomware Incident Volumes Surge 17% in 2022
According to recent research, attacker-reported ransomware incidents increased by 17% annually in the UK last year and 2023 is showing signs of a continual rise. With this continual rise, it is important for organisations to assess and build upon their cyber resilience.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-ransomware-incident-surge-17/
Financial Industry Hit by Rising Ransomware Attacks and BEC
According to a recent report by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) ransomware remained the biggest concern for the financial industry with an increase in attacks due to ransomware-as-a-service. Furthermore, FS-ISAC found a 300% increase in the number of business email compromise attacks from 2021 to 2022. Artificial intelligence was identified as an upcoming area of concern due to its ability to obfuscate detection.
55 zero-day Flaws Exploited Last Year Show the Importance of Security Risk Management
According to a report from intelligence provider Mandiant 55 zero-days were exploited in 2022 and 13 of those were used in cyber espionage attacks. Of the espionage attacks, 7 related to Chinese threat actors and 2 related to Russian threat actors. The report found that effective security management and patching remained the best protections for organisations.
Security Researchers Spot $36m BEC Attack
Security experts recently identified a single business email compromise attack which amounted to $36.4m. The attack in question contained an invoice, payment instructions, a forged letterhead and even cc’d a legitimate and well known company. The attacker also changed “.com” to “.cam” to imitate a domain. The total cost of BEC based on reported incidents is around $2.7 billion and this is excluding unreported incidents. Organisations should ensure that staff are adequately trained in identifying and reporting such attacks.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/security-researchers-spot-36m-bec/
New Victims Come Forward After Mass Ransomware Attack
Russia-linked Ransomware gang “Clop” has claimed a mass hack of 130 organisations via the vendor GoAnywhere, with more victims coming forward. Clop adds names of victims to its dark web site, which is used to extort companies further by threatening to publish the stolen files unless a ransom is paid.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/22/fortra-goanywhere-ransomware-attack/
Ransomware Gangs’ Harassment of Victims is Increasing
Analysis by Palo Alto Networks found that harassment was a factor in 20% of ransomware cases, a significant jump from less than 1% in mid 2021. The harassment campaign by threat attackers is intended to make sure that ransom payments are met. This adds to the stress that organisations already face with ransomware incidents.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ransomware-gangs-harassment-victims-increasing/
Wartime Hacktivism is Spilling Over into the Financial Services Industry
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) has identified that financial firms in countries that Russia considers hostile have been singled out for attacks and these attacks are going to continue if the Russia and Ukraine war persists.
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
LockBit 3.0 Ransomware: Inside the Cyberthreat That's Costing Millions (thehackernews.com)
UK Ransomware Incident Volumes Surge 17% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Banks, Financial Sector Hit By Rising Ransomware Attacks - Bloomberg
BianLian ransomware crew swaps encryption for extortion • The Register
New victims come forward after mass-ransomware attack | TechCrunch
Ransomware Gangs' Harassment of Victims Is Increasing (techrepublic.com)
LockBit ransomware gang now also claims City of Oakland breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Free decryptor released for Conti-based ransomware following data leak | Tripwire
New 'Trigona' Ransomware Targets US, Europe, Australia - SecurityWeek
Ransomware Strongly Influencing SOC Modernization Strategies, Cybereason Research Shows - MSSP Alert
US govt agencies released an alert on the Lockbit 3.0 ransomware- Security Affairs
Security News This Week: Ring Is in a Standoff With Hackers | WIRED UK
CISA kicks off ransomware vulnerability pilot to help spot ransomware-exploitable flaws | CSO Online
Clop ransomware claims Saks Fifth Avenue, retailer says mock data stolen (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Shed Light on CatB Ransomware's Evasion Techniques (thehackernews.com)
Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware | CIO
Dole discloses employee data breach after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Prevent Ransomware with Cyber security Monitoring (trendmicro.com)
Ferrari in a spin as crims steal customer data • The Register
Play ransomware gang hit Dutch shipping firm Royal Dirkzwager- Security Affairs
Hitachi Energy confirms data breach after Clop GoAnywhere attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
City of Toronto confirms data theft, Clop claims responsibility (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
2FA/MFA
Malware
Emotet malware now distributed in Microsoft OneNote files to evade defences (bleepingcomputer.com)
ChatGPT Polymorphic Malware Bypasses Endpoint Detection Filters (cybersecuritynews.com)
RAT developer arrested for infecting 10,000 PCs with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware | TechCrunch
Mispadu Banking Trojan Targets Latin America: 90,000+ Credentials Stolen (thehackernews.com)
Custom 'Naplistener' Malware a Nightmare for Network-Based Detection (darkreading.com)
New ShellBot DDoS Malware Variants Targeting Poorly Managed Linux Servers (thehackernews.com)
Python info-stealing malware uses Unicode to evade detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Nexus: A New Rising Android Banking Trojan Targeting 450 Financial Apps (thehackernews.com)
The FBI Warns SIM Swapping Attacks Are Rising. What's That? - ReHack
Android apps are spying on you — with no easy way to stop them | Digital Trends
Your Samsung phone may have a big security flaw – here's how to stay safe | TechRadar
How to keep your phone safe from the scary Exynos modem vulnerability (androidpolice.com)
Botnets
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
New ‘HinataBot’ botnet could launch massive 3.3 Tbps DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mirai Hackers Use Golang to Create a Bigger, Badder DDoS Botnet (darkreading.com)
New ShellBot DDoS Malware Variants Targeting Poorly Managed Linux Servers (thehackernews.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Eufy security cam 'stored unique ID' of everyone filmed • The Register
Google sounds alarm on Samsung modem bugs in Android devices • The Register
EU Council extends product lifetime, clarifies scope in cyber security law – EURACTIV.com
Tesco to ditch Chinese-made CCTV cameras over security and human rights fears (telegraph.co.uk)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Complacency of staff to blame for data breaches (thesundaily.my)
Hitachi Energy confirms data breach after Clop GoAnywhere attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data breaches cost businesses nearly $6M on average: Mastercard | CTV News
Healthcare provider ILS warns 4.2 million people of data breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
NBA is warning fans of a data breach after a third-party newsletter service hack- Security Affairs
Lowe’s Market chain leaves client data up for grabs- Security Affairs
Ferrari discloses data breach after receiving ransom demand (bleepingcomputer.com)
South Korea fines McDonalds for data leak from raw SMB share • The Register
A million at risk from user data leak at Korean beauty platform PowderRoom- Security Affairs
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Fireblocks Discloses Critical Vulnerability in BitGo Ethereum Wallets - Decrypt
General Bytes Bitcoin ATMs hacked using zero-day, $1.5M stolen (bleepingcomputer.com)
Linus Tech Tips' YouTube Channel has been hacked by Crypto Scammers | OC3D News (overclock3d.net)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Should Your Organisation Be Worried About Insider Threats? - IT Security Guru
Top 5 Insider Threats to Look Out For in 2023- Security Affairs
Preventing Insider Threats in Your Active Directory (thehackernews.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Detecting face morphing: A simple guide to countering complex identity fraud - Help Net Security
‘My bank did not stop £6,500 payment to holiday scammers despite my pleas’ | Scams | The Guardian
The FBI Warns SIM Swapping Attacks Are Rising. What's That? - ReHack
Hackers inject credit card stealers into payment processing modules (bleepingcomputer.com)
Deepfakes
Insurance
SMBs don't see need for cyber insurance since they won't experience security incidents | ZDNET
Cyber insurance carriers expanding role in incident response | TechTarget
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Controlling Third-Party Data Risk Should Be a Top Cyber security Priority (darkreading.com)
Companies vulnerable to cyber-attack via suppliers - research | RNZ News
Why you should treat ChatGPT like any other vendor service - Help Net Security
MITRE Rolls Out Supply Chain Security Prototype (darkreading.com)
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
How access management helps protect identities in the cloud | VentureBeat
Bitcoin ATM maker shuts cloud service after user hot wallets compromised (cointelegraph.com)
The cloud backlash has begun: Why big data is pulling compute back on premises | TechCrunch
Shouldering the Increasingly Heavy Cloud Shared-Responsibility Model (darkreading.com)
The hidden danger to zero trust: Excessive cloud permissions • Graham Cluley
New CISA tool detects hacking activity in Microsoft cloud services (bleepingcomputer.com)
4 Tips for Better AWS Cloud Workload Security (trendmicro.com)
Hybrid/Remote Working
Identity and Access Management
How access management helps protect identities in the cloud | VentureBeat
The impact of AI on the future of ID verification - Help Net Security
Preventing Insider Threats in Your Active Directory (thehackernews.com)
CISA, NSA push identity and access management framework as risks grow | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
API
Open Source
New ShellBot DDoS Malware Variants Targeting Poorly Managed Linux Servers (thehackernews.com)
Open Source Vulnerabilities Still Pose a Big Challenge for Security Teams (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
BBC presses staff to uninstall TikTok from corporate kit • The Register
TikTok cannot be considered a private company: report • The Register
Five brutal hours for TikTok: CEO raked over coals amid privacy, security concerns | CyberScoop
Linus Tech Tips' YouTube Channel has been hacked by Crypto Scammers | OC3D News (overclock3d.net)
Training, Education and Awareness
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked (forbes.com)
EU Council extends product lifetime, clarifies scope in cyber security law – EURACTIV.com
India’s infosec reporting rules observed by just 15 orgs • The Register
Why Organisations Need To Go Beyond Federal Cyber security Compliance Standards (forbes.com)
Governance, Risk and Compliance
How CISOs Can Work With the CFO to Get the Best Security Budget (darkreading.com)
How to best allocate IT and cyber security budgets in 2023 - Help Net Security
IT security spending to reach nearly $300 billion by 2026 - Help Net Security
Board Cyber Shortage: Don’t Get Caught Swimming Naked (forbes.com)
How Your Cyber security Strategy Enables Better Business (trendmicro.com)
55 zero-day flaws exploited last year show the importance of security risk management | CSO Online
How Can CISOs Connect With the Board of Directors? (darkreading.com)
Achieving The Five Levels Of Information Security Governance (forbes.com)
Enhance security while lowering IT overhead in times of recession - Help Net Security
Why organisations shouldn't fold to cyber criminal requests - Help Net Security
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Meta Proposes Revamped Approach to Online Kill Chain Frameworks (darkreading.com)
MITRE Rolls Out Supply Chain Security Prototype (darkreading.com)
Backup and Recovery
Data backup, security alerts, and encryption viewed as top security features - Help Net Security
Top 5 security risks for enterprise storage, backup devices - Help Net Security
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
RAT developer arrested for infecting 10,000 PCs with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
New York Man Arrested for Running BreachForums Cyber crime Website - SecurityWeek
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Eufy security cam 'stored unique ID' of everyone filmed • The Register
Use of Meta tracking tools found to breach EU rules on data transfers | TechCrunch
How to protect online privacy in the age of pixel trackers - Help Net Security
Windows 11 Snipping Tool privacy bug exposes cropped image content (bleepingcomputer.com)
French govt clears AI facial scans for Paris Olympics • The Register
Artificial Intelligence
EU's AI regulation vote looms. We’re still not sure how unrestrained AI should be | Euronews
ChatGPT Leaves Governments Scrambling for AI Regulations - Bloomberg
ChatGPT Polymorphic Malware Bypasses Endpoint Detection Filters (cybersecuritynews.com)
Detecting face morphing: A simple guide to countering complex identity fraud - Help Net Security
We need to create guardrails for AI | Financial Times (ft.com)
GPT-4 devises plan to ‘escape’ by gaining control of a user's computer | Mint (livemint.com)
Mastercard strengthens customer security with new AI ‘Cyber Shield’ | Mastercard Newsroom
The impact of AI on the future of ID verification - Help Net Security
7 guidelines for identifying and mitigating AI-enabled phishing campaigns | CSO Online
Why you should treat ChatGPT like any other vendor service - Help Net Security
Mozilla launches a new startup focused on ‘trustworthy’ AI | TechCrunch
French govt clears AI facial scans for Paris Olympics • The Register
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
New Espionage Group 'YoroTrooper' Targeting Entities in European, CIS Countries - SecurityWeek
Palantir: NHS trusts ordered to share patient data with US ‘spy-tech’ firm | openDemocracy
Tesco to ditch Chinese-made CCTV cameras over security and human rights fears (telegraph.co.uk)
Purported Chinese warships interfering with passenger planes • The Register
Putin to staffers: throw out your iPhones over security • The Register
Russia-backed Iridium Hackers Set to Launch Attacks on Ukrainian Government Sites - MSSP Alert
Facebook Security Exec Seaford Hacked by Greek Predator Spyware (gizmodo.com)
BBC presses staff to uninstall TikTok from corporate kit • The Register
New 'Bad Magic' Cyber Threat Disrupt Ukraine's Key Sectors Amid War (thehackernews.com)
Hacker tied to DC Health Link breach says attack 'born out of Russian patriotism' | CyberScoop
Unknown actors target orgs in Russia-occupied Ukraine • The Register
Xi, Putin, declare intent to rule the world of AI, infosec • The Register
North Korean hackers using Chrome extensions to steal Gmail emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stealthy hacks show advancements in China's cyberespionage operations, researchers say | CyberScoop
Nation State Actors
New Espionage Group 'YoroTrooper' Targeting Entities in European, CIS Countries - SecurityWeek
Huawei Has Replaced Thousands of US-Banned Parts With Chinese Versions: Founder - SecurityWeek
Tesco to ditch Chinese-made CCTV cameras over security and human rights fears (telegraph.co.uk)
Purported Chinese warships interfering with passenger planes • The Register
TikTok cannot be considered a private company: report • The Register
Five brutal hours for TikTok: CEO raked over coals amid privacy, security concerns | CyberScoop
BBC presses staff to uninstall TikTok from corporate kit • The Register
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware | TechCrunch
Putin to staffers: throw out your iPhones over security • The Register
Russia-backed Iridium Hackers Set to Launch Attacks on Ukrainian Government Sites - MSSP Alert
New 'Bad Magic' Cyber Threat Disrupt Ukraine's Key Sectors Amid War (thehackernews.com)
Hacker tied to D.C. Health Link breach says attack 'born out of Russian patriotism' | CyberScoop
Unknown actors target orgs in Russia-occupied Ukraine • The Register
Xi, Putin, declare intent to rule the world of AI, infosec • The Register
The pressing threat of Chinese-made drones flying above US critical infrastructure | CyberScoop
Stealthy hacks show advancements in China's cyberespionage operations, researchers say | CyberScoop
Russian hacktivists deploy new AresLoader malware via decoy installers | CSO Online
Vulnerability Management
55 zero-day flaws exploited last year show the importance of security risk management | CSO Online
Hackers mostly targeted Microsoft, Google, Apple zero-days in 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Move, Patch, Get Out the Way: 2022 Zero-Day Exploitation Continues at an Elevated Pace | Mandiant
10 Vulnerabilities Types to Focus On This Year (darkreading.com)
Windows 11, Tesla, Ubuntu, and macOS hacked at Pwn2Own 2023 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top 5 security risks for enterprise storage, backup devices - Help Net Security
Open Source Vulnerabilities Still Pose a Big Challenge for Security Teams (darkreading.com)
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Outlook Vulnerability Could Be 2023's 'It' Bug (darkreading.com)
CVE-2023-23397 Outlook exploit: "A proliferation event" (thestack.technology)
Patch CVE-2023-23397 Immediately: What You Need To Know and Do (trendmicro.com)
Cisco fixed severe vulnerabilities in its IOS and IOS XE software- Security Affairs
Exploit released for Veeam bug allowing cleartext credential theft (bleepingcomputer.com)
Experts published PoC exploit code for Veeam Backup & Replication bug- Security Affairs
WordPress force patching WooCommerce plugin with 500K installs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Windows 11 bug warns Local Security Authority protection is off (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bitwarden addresses autofill issue that could be exploited to steal logins - gHacks Tech News
Hackers mostly targeted Microsoft, Google, Apple zero-days in 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft’s blunders with new Windows 10 update are causing serious headaches | TechRadar
Microsoft: Defender update behind Windows LSA protection warnings (bleepingcomputer.com)
ZenGo uncovers 'red pill attack' vulnerability in popular Web3 apps (cointelegraph.com)
Windows 11 Snipping Tool privacy bug exposes cropped image content (bleepingcomputer.com)
If your Netgear Orbi router isn’t patched, you’ll want to change that pronto | Ars Technica
Attackers Are Probing for Zero-Day Vulns in Edge Infrastructure Products (darkreading.com)
Tools and Controls
Data backup, security alerts, and encryption viewed as top security features - Help Net Security
Majority of SMBs Lack Dedicated Cyber Experts, Incident Response Plan - MSSP Alert
55 zero-day flaws exploited last year show the importance of security risk management | CSO Online
Complacency of staff to blame for data breaches (thesundaily.my)
How access management helps protect identities in the cloud | VentureBeat
Why CISOs Should Prioritize Extended Detection & Response (XDR) - VMware Security Blog - VMware
The Ethics of Network and Security Monitoring (darkreading.com)
Fighting VPN criminalization should be Big Tech’s top priority, activists say | Ars Technica
How network perimeters secure enterprise networks | TechTarget
Top 5 security risks for enterprise storage, backup devices - Help Net Security
Other News
Web Fingerprinting gets frighteningly good: sees through VPNs and Incognito Mode - gHacks Tech News
Journalist plugs in unknown USB drive mailed to him—it exploded in his face | Ars Technica
What Is Shoulder Surfing? How Does It Affect Cyber security (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Inside the DEA Tool Hackers Allegedly Used to Extort Targets (vice.com)
Top ways attackers are targeting your endpoints - Help Net Security
What Is a Dirty IP Address and How Does It Affect Your Security? (makeuseof.com)
Techno-nationalism explained: What you need to know (techtarget.com)
How Emerging Trends in Virtual Reality Impact Cyber security - IT Security Guru
Pipeline Cyber security Rules Show the Need for Public-Private Partnerships (darkreading.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 October 2022:
-Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds
-LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs
-Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks
-Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets
-UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security
-For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks
-EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet
-Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise
-Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies
-Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy
-Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm
-Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds
Some organisations have made significant improvements to their ransomware readiness profile in the last year, Axio said in a newly released report. However, a lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, inadequate vulnerability patching and employee training continues to leave ransomware defences lacking in potency.
Axio’s report reveals that only 30% of organisations have a ransomware-specific playbook for incident management in place. In 2021’s report Axio, maker of a cloud-based cyber management software platform, identified seven key areas emerged where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices.
The same patterns showed up in the 2022 report:
Managing privileged access.
Improving basic cyber hygiene.
Reducing exposure to supply chain and third-party risk.
Monitoring and defending networks.
Managing ransomware incidents.
Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
Improving cyber security training and awareness.
Overall, most organisations surveyed are not adequately prepared to manage the risk associated with a ransomware attack. Key data findings include:
The number of organisations with a functional privileged access management solution in place increased by 10% but remains low at 33% overall.
Limitations on the use of service and local administrator accounts remain average overall, with nearly 50% of organisations reporting implementing these practices.
Approximately 40% of organisations monitor third-party network access, evaluate third-party cyber security posture, and limit the use of third-party software.
Less than 50% of respondents implement basic network segmentation and only 40% monitor for anomalous connections.
Critical vulnerability patching within 24 hours was reported by only 24% of organisations.
Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.
LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs
Business owners with public social media accounts are easy targets for scammers who lift information to create fake accounts. The arduous process for removing fraudulent accounts leaves victims frustrated and vulnerable to further data privacy issues. Victims say platform providers, particularly Facebook and Instagram, must improve their responses to reports of fraud.
Impersonation of a brand or executive contributed to more than 40% of all phishing and social media incidents in the second quarter, according to the Agari and Phish Labs Quarterly Threat Trends and Intelligence Report released in August. Q2 marks the second quarter that impersonation attacks have represented the majority of threats, despite a 6.1% decrease from Q1.
Executive impersonation has been on the rise over the past four quarters — representing more than 15% of attacks, according to the report — as impersonating a corporate figure or company on social media is simple and effective for threat actors.
Thom Singer, CEO for the Austin Technology Council and a public speaker, was recently impersonated on Instagram. A scammer created a fake Instagram account with his name and photos, creating a handle with an extra "r" at the end of Singer. That account appeared to amass over 2,300 followers – nearly as many as Singer's own account – lending to its appearance of authenticity.
He learned of the fake account from a contact who texted to ask if he'd reached out on Instagram, which wasn't a channel Singer typically uses to communicate. Singer reported the fraudulent account using the platform's report button and asked his followers to do the same.
"You can't reach anyone at these platforms, so it takes days to get a fake account removed," Singer said. "These social media sites have no liability, nothing to lose when fraud is happening. They need to up their game and have a better process to get [fraud] handled in a timely manner."
Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks
A new study from behavioural risk firm CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) has been launched and it highlights an alarming surge in phishing and identity theft attacks.
The report, titled ‘Oh, Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors report’, studied the opinions of 3,000 individuals across the US, the UK and Canada towards cyber security and revealed that nearly half (45%) of users are connected to the internet all the time, however, this has led to a surge in identity theft with almost 1 in 4 people being affected by the attack.
Furthermore, 1 in 3 (36%) respondents revealed they have lost money or data due to a phishing attack. Yet the study also revealed that 70% of respondents feel confident in their ability to identify a malicious email, but only 45% will confirm the authenticity of a suspicious email by reaching out to the apparent sender.
When it comes to implementing cyber security best practices, only 33% of respondents revealed they use a unique password for important online accounts, while only 16% utilise passwords of over 12 characters in length. Furthermore, only 18% of participants have downloaded a stand-alone password manager, while 43% of respondents have not even heard of multi-factor authentication.
Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets
A cyber insurer, Acuity Insurance, is reporting an increased need for cyber liability insurance across both personal and business policyholders. From June 2021 to June 2022, the insurer saw cyber liability insurance claims on its commercial insurance policies increase by more than 50%. For personal policies, they saw more than a 90% increase in cyber claims being reported in 2021 compared with 2020.
Our lives, homes and businesses are more connected than ever before. Being connected leads to a greater risk of cyber attacks, which aren't covered under standard homeowners or business insurance policies.
The insurance experts caution that everyone is at risk — whether you are a small business owner or an individual — as cyber attacks continue to pose a serious financial threat. From 2019 to 2021, cyber attacks were up 50% from the previous year, according to recent research. Wire fraud and gift card scams are two of the most common types of cyber attacks impacting both businesses and individuals.
Scams involving social engineering are some of the easiest to fall for, as fraudsters exploit a person's trust to obtain money or personal information, which can then be used for unauthorised withdrawals of money. Cyber insurance can protect you from financial loss caused by wire transfer fraud, phishing attacks, cyber extortion, cyberbullying and more, Acuity reported.
While all cyber crimes have a financial impact, fraudulent wire transfers often come with greater losses. Banks are typically not responsible for funds lost as a result of a fraudulent wire transfer inadvertently authorised by the customer. Whether it's a wrongful money transfer by a business or an individual, cyber insurance can help mitigate some of the financial loss caused by these scams.
UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security
The UK government has warned organisations to take steps to strengthen their supply chain security.
New National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance has been issued amid a significant increase in supply chain attacks in recent years, such as the SolarWinds incident in 2020. The NCSC cited official government data showing that just over one in 10 businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers (13%), while the proportion covering the wider supply chain is just 7%.
Aimed at medium-to-large organisations, the document sets out practical steps to better assess cyber security across increasingly complex supply chains. This includes a description of typical supplier relationships and ways that organisations are exposed to vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks via the supply chain, and the expected outcomes and key steps needed to assess suppliers’ approaches to security.
The new guidance followed a government response to a call for views last year which highlighted the need for further advice. Supply chain attacks are a major cyber threat facing organisations and incidents can have a profound, long-lasting impact on businesses and customers. With incidents on the rise, it is vital organisations work with their suppliers to identify supply chain risks and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-government-supply-chain-security/
For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks
SonicWall released the 2022 SonicWall Threat Mindset Survey which found that 66% of customers are more concerned about cyber attacks in 2022, with the main threat being focused on financially motivated attacks like ransomware.
“No one is safe from cyber attacks — businesses or individuals,” said SonicWall Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Conner. “Today’s business landscape requires persistent digital trust to exist. Supply-chain attacks have dramatically changed the attack surface of the typical enterprise in the past few years, with more suppliers and service providers touching sensitive data than ever before.
“It’s likely we’ll see continued acceleration and evolution of ransomware tactics, as well as other advanced persistent threats (APTs), as cyber crime continues to scale the globe seeking both valuable and weak targets.”
Companies are not only losing millions of dollars to unending malware and ransomware strikes, but cyber attacks on essential infrastructure are impacting real-world services. Despite the growing concern of cyber attacks, organisations are struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving threat landscape as they orient their business, networks, data and employees against unwavering cyber attacks.
“The evolving cyber threat landscape has made us train our staff significantly more,” said Stafford Fields, IT Director, Cavett Turner & Wyble. “It’s made us spend more on cyber security. And what scares me is that an end-user can click on something and bring all our systems down — despite being well protected.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/12/customers-concerned-ransomware/
EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet
Old lore held that shooting a werewolf, vampire, or even just your average nasty villain with a silver bullet was a sure-fire takedown: one hit, no more bad guy.
As cyber security professionals, we understand – much like folks in the Old West knew – that there are no panaceas, no actual silver bullets. Yet humans gravitate towards simple solutions to complex challenges, and we are constantly (if unconsciously) seeking silver bullet technology.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools have become Standard Operating Procedures for cyber security regimes. They are every CIO’s starting point, and there’s nothing wrong with this. In a recent study by Cymulate of over one million tests conducted by customers in 2021, the most popular testing vector was EDR.
Yet cyber security stakeholders should not assume that EDR is a silver bullet. The fact is that EDR’s efficacy and protective prowess as a standalone solution has been slowly diminished over the decade since the term was first coined by Gartner. Even as it became a mainstay of enterprise and SMB/SME security posture – attacks have skyrocketed in frequency, severity, and success. Today, EDR is facing some of its greatest challenges, including threats laser-targeting EDR systems like the highly-successful Grandoiero banking trojan.
While EDR should not be your only line of defence against advanced threats, including it in a defence solution array is paramount. It should be installed on all organisational servers – including Linux-based ones. Yet installation is not enough. Your organisation is at significant risk if the underlying OS and EDR are not both implemented and fine-tuned.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/11/edr-is-not-a-silver-bullet/
Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise
A report from Laceworks examines the cloud security threat landscape over the past three months and unveils the new techniques and avenues cyber criminals are exploiting for profit at the expense of businesses. In this latest edition, the Lacework Labs team found a significantly more sophisticated attacker landscape, with an increase in attacks against core networking and virtualisation software, and an unprecedented increase in the speed of attacks following a compromise. Key trends and threats identified include:
Increased speed from exposure to compromise: Attackers are advancing to keep pace with cloud adoption and response time. Many classes of attacks are now fully automated to capitalise on timing. Additionally, one of the most common targets is credential leakage. In a specific example from the report, a leaked AWS access key was caught and flagged by AWS in record time. Despite the limited exposure, an unknown adversary was able to log in and launch tens of GPU EC2 instances, underscoring just how quickly attackers can take advantage of a single simple mistake.
Increased focus on infrastructure, specifically attacks against core networking and virtualisation software: Commonly deployed core networking and related infrastructure consistently remains a key target for adversaries. Core flaws in infrastructure often appear suddenly and are shared openly online, creating opportunities for attackers of all kinds to exploit these potential targets.
Continued Log4j reconnaissance and exploitation: Nearly a year after the initial exploit, the Lacework Labs team is still commonly observing vulnerable software targeted via OAST requests. Analysis of Project Discovery (interact.sh) activity revealed Cloudflare and DigitalOcean as the top originators.
Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies
Among the many consequences of the rising number of costly data breaches, ransomware, and other security attacks are pricier premiums for cyber security insurance. The rise in costs could put many organisations out of the running for this essential coverage, a risky proposition given the current threat landscape.
Cyber insurance is a type of specialty insurance that protects organisations against a variety of risks related to information security attacks such as ransomware and data breaches. Ordinarily, these types of risks aren’t included with traditional commercial general liability policies or are not specifically defined in these insurance plans.
Given the rise in attacks, the growing sophistication of these incidents and the potential financial impact, having cyber insurance coverage has become critical for many organisations. Premiums for these plans have been on the rise because of the increase in security-related losses and rising demand for coverage.
Cyber insurance premiums increased by an average of 28% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), an association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries.
Among the primary drivers for the continued price increases were a reduced carrier appetite for the risk and high demand for coverage, CIAB said. The high demand for cyber coverage is in part fueled by greater awareness among companies of the threat cyber risk poses for businesses of all sizes, it said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/companies-are-finding-it-harder-to-get-cyber-insurance-.html
Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy
Listening and communicating to both the technical and business sides is critical to successfully leading IT teams and business leaders to the same end-goal.
Of all the crazy postings that advertise for CISO jobs, the one asking for a CISO to code in Python was probably the most outrageous example of the disconnect about a CISO’s role, says Joe Head, CISO search director at UK-based search firm, Intaso. This was a few years ago, and one can only guess that the role had been created by a technologist who didn’t care about or didn’t understand the business — or, inversely by a businessperson who didn’t understand enough about technology.
In either case, the disconnect is real. However, Head and other experts say that when it comes to achieving the true, executive role and reporting to the CEO and board, business skills rule. That doesn’t mean, however, that most CISOs know nothing about technology, because most still start out with technology backgrounds.
In the 2022 CISO survey by executive placement firm, Heidrick & Struggles, most CISOs come from a functional IT background that reflects the issues of the time. For example, in 2022 10% of CISOs came from software engineering backgrounds, which tracks with the White House directive to protect the software supply chain. The report notes that the majority of CISOs have experience in the financial services industry, which has a low risk tolerance and where more money is spent on security.
The survey also indicates that only a small core of CISOs (working primarily for the Fortune 500) rise to the executive level with the combination of business and technical responsibilities that come with the role. In it, more than two-thirds of CISOs responding to the survey worked for companies worth over $5 billion. So, instead of bashing a CISO’s lack of IT skills, the real need lies in developing business skills for the technologists coming up the ranks.
Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm
Modified off-the-shelf drones have been found carrying wireless network-intrusion kit in a very unlikely place.
The idea of using consumer-oriented drones for hacking has been explored over the past decade at security conferences like Black Hat 2016, in both the US and in Europe, but now these sort of attacks are actually taking place. A security researcher recently recounted an incident that occurred over the summer at a US East Coast financial firm focused on private investment.
The hacking incident was discovered when the financial firm spotted unusual activity on its internal Atlassian Confluence page that originated from within the company's network. The company's security team responded and found that the user whose MAC address was used to gain partial access to the company Wi-Fi network was also logged in at home several miles away. That is to say, the user was active off-site but someone within Wi-Fi range of the building was trying to wirelessly use that user's MAC address, which is a red flag. The team then took steps to trace the Wi-Fi signal and used a Fluke system to identify the Wi-Fi device.
This led the team to the roof, where two modified commercially available consumer drones series were discovered. One drone was in fine condition and had a modified Wi-Fi Pineapple device, used for network penetration testing. The second drone was carrying a case that contained a Raspberry Pi, several batteries, a GPD mini laptop, a 4G modem, and another Wi-Fi device. It had landed near the building's heating and ventilation system and appeared to be damaged but still operable.
During their investigation, they determined that the first drone had originally been used a few days prior to intercept a worker's credentials and Wi-Fi, and this data was then hard coded into the tools that were deployed on the second drone.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/drone-roof-attack/
Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users
A recent analysis shows that Magniber ransomware has been targeting home users by masquerading as software updates.
Reports have shown a ransomware campaign isolated by HP Wolf Security in September 2022 saw Magniber ransomware spread. The malware is known as a single-client ransomware family that demands $2,500 from victims. Magniber was previously primarily spread through MSI and EXE files, but in September 2022 HP Wolf Security began seeing campaigns distributing the ransomware in JavaScript files.
HP Wolf Security reported that some malware families rely exclusively on JavaScript, but have done so for some time. Currently, analysts are also seeing more HTML smuggling, such as with Qakbot and IcedID. This technique also makes use of JavaScript to decode malicious content. The only difference is that the HTML file is executed in the context of the browser and therefore usually requires further user interaction.
Remarkably, HP Wolf Security said, the attackers used clever techniques to evade detection, such as running the ransomware in memory, bypassing User Account Control (UAC) in Windows, and bypassing detection techniques that monitor user-mode hooks by using syscalls instead of standard Windows API libraries.
It appears that with the UAC bypass, the malware deletes the infected system’s shadow copy files and disables backup and recovery features, preventing the victim from recovering their data using Windows tools.
Having recently described the ransomware campaign in a recent interview, HP Wolf noted that the infection chain starts with a web download from an attacker-controlled website.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
More and more ransomware is just data theft, no encryption • The Register
Magniber ransomware now infects Windows users via JavaScript files (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fake adult sites push data wipers disguised as ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
It was LockBit that forced NHS tech supplier to shut down • The Register
Ransomware posing as Windows antivirus update will just empty your wallet | TechRadar
Microsoft: New Prestige ransomware targets orgs in Ukraine, Poland (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackByte ransomware uses new EDR evasion technique (techtarget.com)
Prevent Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure (trendmicro.com)
Microsoft Exchange servers hacked to deploy LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Harvard Business Publishing licensee hit by ransomware - Security Affairs
LockBit affiliates compromise Microsoft Exchange servers to deploy ransomware - Security Affairs
Police tricks DeadBolt ransomware out of 155 decryption keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Caffeine service lets anyone launch Microsoft 365 phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
A whole load of phishing emails make it past Microsoft Defender, researchers say | TechRadar
Google Forms abused in new COVID-19 phishing wave in the U.S. (bleepingcomputer.com)
US election workers hit with phishing, malware emails • The Register
Cyber criminals are having it easy with phishing-as-a-service - Help Net Security
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
How a Microsoft blunder opened millions of PCs to potent malware attacks | Ars Technica
Banks face their 'darkest hour' as crimeware powers up • The Register
Emotet Rises Again With More Sophistication, Evasion (darkreading.com)
QAKBOT Attacks Spike Amid Concerning Cyber Criminal Collaborations (darkreading.com)
Hackers behind IcedID malware attacks diversify delivery tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
Eternity threat group’s LilithBot: A criminal multitool • The Register
Here's another excellent reason not to browse adult websites at work | TechRadar
Experts analysed the evolution of the Emotet supply chain - Security Affairs
Mobile
Modified WhatsApp App Caught Infecting Android Devices with Malware (thehackernews.com)
Meta uncovers 400 malicious apps on Android and iOS apps | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg
Mullvad: Android may leak information when connected to a VPN - gHacks Tech News
Android Security Updates Patch Critical Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Hackers Using Vishing to Trick Victims into Installing Android Banking Malware (thehackernews.com)
Mystery iPhone update patches against iOS 16 mail crash-attack – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Client data exfiltrated in Advanced NHS cyber attack (digitalhealth.net)
Mormon Church data stolen in 'state-sponsored' cyber attack • The Register
2K Customer Data Stolen, Sold Online After Support Desk Scam (kotaku.com)
Toyota discloses data leak after access key exposed on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fast Company says Executive Board member info was not stolen in attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
State Bar of Georgia Confirms Data Breach Following Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com
Singtel's second unit faces cyber attack weeks after Optus data breach | Reuters
Zoetop pays $1.9m to settle customer data theft case • The Register
CommonSpirit Health IT still suffering after cyber attack • The Register
Over 80,000 DJI drone IDs exposed in data leak: Report (dronedj.com)
High-Value Targets: String of Aussie Telco Breaches Continues (darkreading.com)
Data of 380K patients compromised in hack of 13 anesthesia practices | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Australian police secret agents exposed in Colombian data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)
Toyota Reveals Data Leak of 300,000 Customers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
INTERPOL arrests ‘Black Axe’ cyber crime syndicate members (bleepingcomputer.com)
Caffeine Phishing-as-a-Service toolkit available in the underground - Security Affairs
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
North Korea's Crypto Hackers Are Paving the Road to Nuclear Armageddon - CNET
Fake Solana Phantom security updates push crypto-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Baby Al Capone' to pay $22m to SIM-swap crypto-heist victim • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Alternative payment methods are creating new fraud risks - Help Net Security
Prison inmate charged with $11m fraud via cell phone • The Register
Mastercard moves to protect ‘risky and frisky’ transactions • The Register
Deepfakes
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Dark Web
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
US airports' sites taken down in DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Encryption
Microsoft Office 365 uses insecure block ciphers • The Register
Microsoft Office 365 email encryption could expose message content (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Social Media
Training, Education and Awareness
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Backup and Recovery
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war has begun and the West must be ready | Evening Standard
Internet outages hit Ukraine following Russian missile strikes (bitdefender.com)
Seven 'Creepy' Backdoors Used by Lebanese Cyberspy Group in Israel Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Researchers Uncover Custom Backdoors and Spying Tools Used by Polonium Hackers (thehackernews.com)
We must tackle Europe’s winter cyber threats head-on – POLITICO
Researchers Detail Malicious Tools Used by Cyber Espionage Group Earth Aughisky (thehackernews.com)
‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg
SpaceX’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine back online after outages | Financial Times
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
German Cyber security Chief Accused of Russian Contact Faces Sacking - IT Security Guru
Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)
Extreme Networks admits sales to banned Russian arms maker • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
UK Spy Chief to Warn of 'Huge' China Tech Threat | SecurityWeek.Com
China’s attack motivations, tactics, and how CISOs can mitigate threats | CSO Online
China will manipulate new tech for global influence, warns GCHQ boss | Metro News
UK telcos legally required to remove Huawei equipment • The Register
Chinese-linked hackers targeted U.S. state legislature, researchers say - CyberScoop
New Chinese Malware Attack Framework Targets Windows, macOS, and Linux Systems (thehackernews.com)
UK to designate China a ‘threat’ in hawkish foreign policy shift | Foreign policy | The Guardian
WIP19, a new Chinese APT targets IT Service Providers and Telcos - Security Affairs
China-linked Budworm APT returns to target a US entity - Security Affairs
We must tackle China’s satellite-busting technology, says GCHQ chief | News | The Times
GCHQ boss: China could use Digital Yuan to swerve sanctions • The Register
Young people using TikTok is no problem, GCHQ chief says | TikTok | The Guardian
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Concerns Over Fortinet Flaw Mount; PoC Released, Exploit Activity Grows (darkreading.com)
Microsoft October 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used in attacks, 84 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Addresses Zero-Days, but Exchange Server Exploit Chain Remains Unpatched (darkreading.com)
Auth bypass bug in FortiOS, FortiProxy is exploited in the wild (CVE-2022-40684) - Help Net Security
Chrome 106 Update Patches Several High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Researchers Detail Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability Patched Last Month (thehackernews.com)
Almost 900 servers hacked using Zimbra zero-day flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Patch Tuesday: Critical Flaws in ColdFusion, Adobe Commerce | SecurityWeek.Com
Aruba fixes critical RCE and auth bypass flaws in EdgeConnect (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Vulnerability In Shortcodes Ultimate Impacts 700,000 Sites (searchenginejournal.com)
Critical Open Source vm2 Sandbox Escape Bug Affects Millions (darkreading.com)
VMware vCenter Server bug disclosed last year still not patched (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other News
Board members should make CISOs their strategic partners - Help Net Security
5 Attack Elements Every Organisations Should Be Monitoring (darkreading.com)
Ukraine’s Starlink problems show the dangers of digital dependency | Financial Times (ft.com)
Here's 5 of the world's riskiest connected devices - Help Net Security
Older, Stored Data Is Cyber Security Risk, Report Warns - MSSP Alert
What the Uber Breach Verdict Means for CISOs in the US (darkreading.com)
Increasing network visibility is critical to improving security posture - Help Net Security
What the Uber Hack can teach us about navigating IT Security (bleepingcomputer.com)
Consumers want more transparency on how companies manage their data - Help Net Security
Gaming Is Booming. That’s Catnip for Cyber criminals. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Fear of cyber criminals drives cyber security improvements - Help Net Security
The next Ford Mustang won’t be easy to tune; blame cyber security | Ars Technica
Sector Specific
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· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
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· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
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