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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 03 May 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 03 May 2024:
-Most Attacks Impacting SMB’s Target Older, Unpatched Vulnerabilities
-91% of Ransomware Victims Paid At least One Ransom in the Past Year, as 1 in 5 Ransomware Attacks Triggers Lawsuit
-BEC and Fund Transfer Fraud Top Insurance Claims
-Correlating Cyber Investments with Business Outcomes
-Vulnerability Exploitation up 180%, 68% of Breaches involved Humans and Supply Chain Weak Link
-MOVEit & Change Healthcare Attacks Designated as Cyber Catastrophe Loss Events by Insurer
-Securing Your Organisation’s Supply Chain: Reducing the Risks of Third Parties
-Why Remote Desktop Tools are Facing an Onslaught of Cyber Threats
-95% of Organisations Revamped Cyber Security Strategies in the Last Year: Make Sure Yours is Right
-Human Factor a Significant Risk for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.
-Microsoft CEO Says it is Putting Security Above All Else in Major Refocus
-Ending the Culture of Silence in Cyber Security; Three Ways to Empower Teams
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
Most Attacks Impacting SMB’s Target Older, Unpatched Vulnerabilities
Attackers continue to aggressively target small and mid-size businesses using specific high-profile vulnerabilities dating back a decade or more, network telemetry shows. Findings have shown that this is due to these vulnerabilities featuring in a wide range of products. Due to their prevalence, they can often become missed by organisations conducting patch management and therefore leave the organisation open.
For this reason it is critical that all organisations, including smaller organisations, have internal as well as external vulnerability scanning. You might believe your systems are patched up to date but there is no way to confirm without scanning , or to know which patches might have been missed.
Sources: [Infosecurity Magazine]
91% of Ransomware Victims Paid At least One Ransom in the Past Year, as 1 in 5 Ransomware Attacks Triggers Lawsuit
Ransomware attacks saw a significant surge in 2023, following a dip in 2022. The number of victims increased by 66% from 2022 to 2023, with 91% of those affected paying at least one ransom. 58% of organisations have been targeted six times or more.
The Sophos State of Ransomware 2023 report highlighted ransom payments rose by 500%; nearly two-thirds exceeded $1m or more, with an average payment of $2m. Furthermore, 30% of the demands were for over $5m.
In the US, 18% of incidents led to litigation, with 123 lawsuits filed in 2023 and 355 over five years. Data breaches, affecting 283.3 million records, primarily triggered these lawsuits, especially in healthcare and finance sectors. The resolution rate is 59%, with the highest settlement at $8.7m. Regulatory fines added nearly $10m to the financial impact. These figures underscore the significant financial implications of ransomware attacks and the urgent need for robust cyber security measures.
Sources: [ZD Net] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Security Magazine] [PrNewsWire] [Infosecurity Magazine]
BEC and Fund Transfer Fraud Top Insurance Claims
Cyber Insurer Coalition's 2024 Cyber Claims Report highlights a significant trend in cyber security threats, identifying email-based fraud as the predominant cause of insurance claims in 2023, accounting for 53% of all claims. Business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF) topped the list, contributing to 28% of claims and increasing claim amounts by 24% to an average loss exceeding $278,000. In contrast, ransomware, while less frequent at 19% of claims, also saw a rise in both frequency and severity, with average losses climbing to over $263,000. The report also notes a 13% year-on-year surge in overall claims, with substantial losses tied to compromised network security devices and a notable vulnerability in organisations using exposed remote desktop protocols.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Correlating Cyber Investments with Business Outcomes
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has implemented stringent new rules compelling organisations to report significant cyber incidents within four days and to annually disclose details concerning their cyber security risk management, strategy, and governance. These mandates are seen as giving “more teeth to the idea that cyber security is a business problem” and “bringing an element of cyber security to the boardroom” according to cyber security solutions provider SecurityGate. Highlighted in the "Cybersecurity Insights" podcast, experts argue for simplifying cyber security strategies, advocating sustained resource allocation over reactive measures, and emphasising the importance of training over expensive solutions. These steps are deemed crucial for enhancing organisational resilience and security in a landscape where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive.
Source: [InfoRisk Today]
Verizon: Vulnerability Exploitation up 180%, 68% of Breaches involved Humans and Supply Chain Weak Link
Verizon has released the findings of its 17th Annual Data Breach Investigations Report, which showed security incidents doubled year over year in 2023 to a record high 30,458 security events and 10,626 confirmed breaches. Some of the key takeaways from the 100-page report include zero-day attacks on unpatched systems and devices rising 180% in 2023, most breaches (68%) involving a non-malicious human element and the median time for users to fall for phishing emails falling just south of 60 seconds. In its first inclusion as a separate metric, supply chain attacks were found to contribute to 15% of all attacks.
Sources: [MSSP Alert] [Verizon]
MOVEit & Change Healthcare Attacks Designated as Cyber Catastrophe Loss Events by Insurer
Verisk’s Property Claim Services (PCS) has recently identified the MOVEit and Change Healthcare cyber attacks as significant Cyber Catastrophe Loss Events. These designations are part of PCS’s Global Cyber solution, which tracks cyber incidents and their potential impact on the insurance market. The designation indicates that each attack is anticipated to result in insurance industry losses exceeding USD 250 million.
The MOVEit attack, linked to the Russian-affiliated group Cl0p, compromised over 2,700 organisations globally, affecting up to 90 million individuals. The Change Healthcare attack, attributed to the ALPHV/Blackcat gang, notably disrupted UnitedHealth Group’s operations, with projected costs and lost revenue totalling up to USD 1.6 billion. These designations highlight the escalating scale and financial impact of cyber incidents on global markets.
Source: [Reinsurance News]
Securing Your Organisation’s Supply Chain: Reducing the Risks of Third Parties
Nearly every organisation is part of a supply chain, where a significant amount of data is transferred. When data leaves your infrastructure, its security depends on the third party. The risks of a cyber incident increases as the supply chain increases.
Organisations need to mitigate the risks that their third party brings. This requires an understanding of the supply chain actors, and performing cyber security assessments of the most critical ones. The objective is to ensure that your organisation is satisfied with the third party’s security controls, or to work together to remediate any gaps.
Source: [Help Net Security]
Why Remote Desktop Tools are Facing an Onslaught of Cyber Threats
In the era of hybrid work, remote desktop tools have become crucial yet vulnerable points within corporate networks, attracting significant cyber criminal attention. A study by Barracuda Networks underscores the challenges of securing these tools. Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is particularly susceptible; it is targeted in 98% of these types of attacks due to its use of multiple, sometimes unsecured ports. VNC attacks predominantly exploit weak password practices, notably through brute force methods. Conversely, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) accounts for about 1.6% of these attacks but is favoured for more extensive network breaches, often involving ransomware or crypto mining. The study highlights a pressing need for robust endpoint management and heightened security measures to mitigate these threats.
Source: [ITPro]
95% of Organisations Revamped Cyber Security Strategies in the Last Year: Make Sure Yours is Right
A recent report found that 95% of companies have altered their cyber security strategies in the last twelve months. This was driven by keeping pace with the shifting regulatory landscape (98%), the need to meet customer expectations for data protection and privacy (89%), and the rise of AI-driven threats and solutions (65%). Almost half (44%) of non-security executives do not understand the regulatory requirements their organisation must adhere to.
When it came to reporting, the study found that security teams aren’t reporting on key operational metrics that define whether their security investments and strategy changes have a measurable impact. It is evident that there is a disconnect between security and non-security professionals when it comes to the business strategy.
Sources: [Business Wire] [Security Magazine]
Human Factor a Significant Risk for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.
A survey of business and IT security in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) conducted by LastPass found that roughly one in five business leaders admits to circumventing security policies, as do one in 10 IT security leaders. The survey found that password management is critically important to cyber security, with nearly half (47%) reporting recent breaches due to compromised passwords.
Sources: [Beta News] [Business Wire]
Microsoft CEO Says it is Putting Security Above All Else in Major Refocus
Following a series of high-profile attacks in recent months and a report by the US Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), Microsoft’s CEO has revealed it will now focus its efforts on an increase in the commitment to security. Investigating a summer 2023 attack, Microsoft was deemed to have made a series of “avoidable errors”, including the failure to detect several compromises, the CSRB said.
Sources: [TechRadar]
Ending the Culture of Silence in Cyber Security; Three Ways to Empower Teams
A recent discussion on workplace errors highlights the significant repercussions of cyber breaches compared to typical office mistakes. In the UK, nearly a third of businesses face cyber attacks weekly, with each breach costing approximately £4,000. However, a concerning trend is that 41% of these breaches are not reported to internal leadership, often due to fears among staff about the consequences of admitting faults. A three-pronged approach has been suggested to foster a blame-free culture: providing tailored and evolving cyber training, establishing safe zones for admitting mistakes, and implementing robust recovery plans. This approach not only prepares employees to handle potential breaches more effectively but also encourages them to report incidents promptly, reducing the overall impact and aiding quicker recovery. Such strategies are essential for maintaining resilience against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Source: [Minute Hack]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report: 5 Takeaways | MSSP Alert
Verizon DBIR: Vulnerability exploitation in breaches up 180% | TechTarget
Verizon DBIR: Basic Security Gaffes Cause Breach Surge (darkreading.com)
95% of Organisations Revamped Their Cyber Security Strategies in the Last Year | Business Wire
95% of organisations adjusted cyber security strategies this past year | Security Magazine
1 in 5 US Ransomware Attacks Triggers Lawsuit - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Are Enterprises Overconfident About Cyber Security Readiness? (govinfosecurity.com)
How CISOs Can Contend with Increasing Scrutiny from Regulators (informationweek.com)
Correlating Cyber Investments with Business Outcomes (inforisktoday.com)
Ending The Culture of Silence In Cyber Security – 3 Ways To Empower Teams - Minutehack
97% of security leaders have increased SaaS security budgets - Help Net Security
The rise in CISO job dissatisfaction – what’s wrong and how can it be fixed? | CSO Online
Should Cyber Security Leadership Finally be Professionalized? - SecurityWeek
What needs to change to overcome nonchalant security approaches | TechRadar
Agile by Design: Cyber Security at the Heart of Transformation (noeticcyber.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Q1 2024 Ransomware Report: 21% Increase in Q1 2023 Ransomware Activity (corvusinsurance.com)
91% of ransomware victims paid at least one ransom in the past year, survey finds | ZDNET
1 in 5 US Ransomware Attacks Triggers Lawsuit - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
There was an 81% year-over-year increase in ransomware attacks | Security Magazine
Ransom recovery costs reach $2.73 million - Help Net Security
Cactus Ransomware Group Targets Qlik Sense Servers | Decipher (duo.com)
How AI and data protection intersect in today's threat era - SiliconANGLE
Better hygiene may mitigate the need to ban ransomware payments | Computer Weekly
Ukrainian REvil Hacker Sentenced to 13 Years and Ordered to Pay $16 Million (thehackernews.com)
How Businesses Should Grapple With Ransomware Threats (eetimes.eu)
Cyber security consultant arrested after allegedly extorting IT firm (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Victims
Change Healthcare breached via Citrix portal with no MFA | TechTarget
Almost all US hospitals took financial hit from Change hack, AHA says | Reuters
Another major pharmacy chain shuts following possible cyber attack | TechRadar
Hack That Paralyzed US Health Care Turns Up Scrutiny on Insurer (claimsjournal.com)
Cyber attack to cost Western Isles Council half a million pounds (holyrood.com)
LockBit publishes confidential data stolen from Cannes hospital in France (therecord.media)
French hospital CHC-SV refuses to pay LockBit extortion demand (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Cybersecurity incident' closes London Drugs' pharmacies • The Register
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
AI-driven phishing attacks deceive even the most aware users - Help Net Security
US Post Office phishing sites get as much traffic as the real one (bleepingcomputer.com)
If you receive a Shein mystery box, do not open it | TechRadar
Why the automotive sector is a target for email-based cyber attacks - Help Net Security
BEC
BEC and Fund Transfer Fraud Top Insurance Claims - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Other Social Engineering
FBI warns of fake verification schemes targeting dating app users (bleepingcomputer.com)
A Lot of People Are Falling for Those 'Your Package Cannot Be Delivered' Texts | PCMag
Artificial Intelligence
AI-driven phishing attacks deceive even the most aware users - Help Net Security
AI is creating a new generation of cyber attacks - Help Net Security
Combating the Rising Tide of AI-Driven Cyber Crime (cryptopolitan.com)
Businesses turn to generative AI but many don't have policies on it (betanews.com)
How AI and data protection intersect in today's threat era - SiliconANGLE
Understanding emerging AI and data privacy regulations - Help Net Security
To understand the risks posed by AI, follow the money – O’Reilly (oreilly.com)
From Risk to Resilience: Managing Data Security in AI-Driven Enterprises | Inc.com
Cyber security experts face AI risks, deepfakes, burnout | Fortune
US Government Releases New AI Security Guidelines for Critical Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)
Why Using Microsoft Copilot Could Amplify Existing Data Quality and Privacy Issues - SecurityWeek
2FA/MFA
Malware
New "Goldoon" Botnet Targets D-Link Routers With Decade-Old Flaw (thehackernews.com)
New SOHO router malware aims for cloud accounts, internal company resources - Help Net Security
Guarding the Gates: The Growing Abundance of Linux Malware - VMRay
Bogus npm Packages Used to Trick Software Developers into Installing Malware (thehackernews.com)
Millions of Malicious 'Imageless' Containers Planted on Docker Hub Over 5 Years (thehackernews.com)
ZLoader Malware Evolves with Anti-Analysis Trick from Zeus Banking Trojan (thehackernews.com)
New Cuttlefish malware infects routers to monitor traffic for credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Powerful 'Brokewell' Android Trojan Allows Attackers to Takeover Devices - SecurityWeek
Google Prevented 2.28 Million Malicious Apps from Reaching Play Store in 2023 (thehackernews.com)
New Wpeeper Android malware hides behind hacked WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft warns of "Dirty Stream" attack impacting Android apps (bleepingcomputer.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
NCSC: New UK law bans default passwords on smart devices (securityaffairs.com)
A glaring Android TV security flaw might put your Gmail at risk | Android Central
Data Breaches/Leaks
PSNI data breach: Almost 5,000 officers and staff in legal action - BBC News
Kaiser Permanente data breach may have impacted 13.4 million patients (securityaffairs.com)
FBCS data breach impacted 2M individuals (securityaffairs.com)
States shares health debt data of 5,000 in an email | Guernsey Press
Qantas app exposed sensitive traveller details to random users (bleepingcomputer.com)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Data of over 25,000 people stolen in 2023 breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Australian pubgoers' personal info posted to leak site • The Register
Monash Health data breach exposes sexual assault and family violence claims (smh.com.au)
Panda Restaurant Group disclosed a data breach (securityaffairs.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
AI is creating a new generation of cyber attacks - Help Net Security
Combating the Rising Tide of AI-Driven Cyber Crime (cryptopolitan.com)
Router Roulette: Cyber Criminals and Nation-States Sharing Compromised Networks | Trend Micro (US)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
How insider threats can cause serious security breaches - Help Net Security
Ex-NSA Employee Sentenced to 22 Years for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to Russia (thehackernews.com)
Insurance
Cyber facility in capacity raise as risk severity grows (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Hack That Paralyzed US Health Care Turns Up Scrutiny on Insurer (claimsjournal.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
New SOHO router malware aims for cloud accounts, internal company resources - Help Net Security
97% of security leaders have increased SaaS security budgets - Help Net Security
Encryption
UK's Investigatory Powers Bill approved to become law • The Register
Ten years of Heartbleed: Lessons learned | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Linux and Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Change Healthcare breached via Citrix portal with no MFA | TechTarget
Okta warns of "unprecedented" credential stuffing attacks on customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
NCSC: New UK law bans default passwords on smart devices (securityaffairs.com)
New Cuttlefish malware infects routers to monitor traffic for credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
How to use a YubiKey to log into Windows and macOS (xda-developers.com)
Social Media
How TikTok Grew From a Fun App for Teens Into a Potential National Security Threat - SecurityWeek
Facebook at 20: Contemplating the Cost of Privacy (darkreading.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Ending The Culture Of Silence In Cyber Security – 3 Ways To Empower Teams - Minutehack
Everyone's an Expert: How to Empower Your Employees for Cyber Security Success (thehackernews.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
UK's Investigatory Powers Bill approved to become law • The Register
UK rolls out new consumer safeguards for smart devices (betanews.com)
FCC fines major wireless carriers over illegal location data sharing - Help Net Security
Understanding emerging AI and data privacy regulations - Help Net Security
CISA's incident reporting requirements go too far, trade groups and lawmakers say | CyberScoop
Data Protection
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Cyber security experts face AI risks, deepfakes, burnout | Fortune
The rise in CISO job dissatisfaction – what’s wrong and how can it be fixed? | CSO Online
Agencies to turn toward ‘skill-based hiring’ for cyber and tech jobs, ONCD says | CyberScoop
Cyber Security Degrees, Are They Really Worth It? | HackerNoon
Beyond the Buzz: Rethinking Alcohol as a Cyber Security Bonding Ritual - SecurityWeek
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Ukrainian REvil Hacker Sentenced to 13 Years and Ordered to Pay $16 Million (thehackernews.com)
Police shuts down 12 fraud call centres, arrests 21 suspects (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber security consultant arrested after allegedly extorting IT firm (bleepingcomputer.com)
CEO who sold fake Cisco devices to US military gets 6 years in prison (bleepingcomputer.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
‘Honeypots’ and influence operations: China’s spies turn to Europe (ft.com)
Philippines Pummelled by Cyber Attacks & Misinformation Tied to China (darkreading.com)
Germany grapples with wave of spying threats from Russia and China - BBC News
How TikTok Grew From a Fun App for Teens Into a Potential National Security Threat - SecurityWeek
Think tank: Tech companies spread China's propaganda • The Register
China's attacks on critical infrastructure ‘tip of the iceberg' | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Chinese Hackers Have Been Probing DNS Networks Globally for Years: Report - SecurityWeek
Muddling Meerkat hackers manipulate DNS using China’s Great Firewall (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chinese government website security has big problems • The Register
Espionage breaches account for 25% in APAC, report reveals (securitybrief.co.nz)
Russia
Router Roulette: Cyber Criminals and Nation-States Sharing Compromised Networks | Trend Micro (US)
Russian Hackers Target Industrial Systems in North America, Europe - SecurityWeek
Pro-Russia hacktivists attacking vital tech in water and other sectors, agencies say | CyberScoop
Germany grapples with wave of spying threats from Russia and China - BBC News
Ukraine Targeted in Cyber Attack Exploiting 7-Year-Old Microsoft Office Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Germany Warns Of Consequences For Alleged Russian Cyber Attack (rferl.org)
Hackers Claim to Have Infiltrated Belarus’ Main Security Service - SecurityWeek
Military Tank Manual, 2017 Zero-Day Anchor Latest Ukraine Cyber Attack (darkreading.com)
Sweden prepares for Eurovision amidst fears of protests, cyber attacks and unrest | Euronews
Ex-NSA Employee Sentenced to 22 Years for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to Russia (thehackernews.com)
Two British men charged with helping Russian intelligence - BBC News
Two hackers in Ukraine accused of spreading Russian propaganda (therecord.media)
Iran
North Korea
Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence
Vulnerability Management
When is One Vulnerability Scanner Not Enough? (thehackernews.com)
Vulnerability exploitation nearly tripled in 2023 (telecoms.com)
Vulnerabilities
Cisco devices again targeted by state-linked threat campaign - TechCentral.ie
Okta warns of "unprecedented" credential stuffing attacks on customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
1,200+ Vulnerabilities Detected In Microsoft Products In 2023 (gbhackers.com)
Most attacks affecting SMBs target five older vulnerabilities | CSO Online
Severe Flaws Disclosed in Brocade SANnav SAN Management Software (thehackernews.com)
UnitedHealth hackers took advantage of Citrix vulnerability to break in, CEO says (yahoo.com)
Palo Alto Updates Remediation for Max-Critical Firewall Bug (darkreading.com)
WordPress plugin vulnerability poses severe security risk, allows for site takeovers | TechSpot
Ukraine Targeted in Cyber Attack Exploiting 7-Year-Old Microsoft Office Flaw (thehackernews.com)
New R Programming Vulnerability Exposes Projects to Supply Chain Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Grafana Tool Vulnerability Let Attackers Inject SQL Queries (gbhackers.com)
Microsoft says April Windows updates break VPN connections (bleepingcomputer.com)
NTLM auth traffic spikes after Windows Server patch • The Register
New "Goldoon" Botnet Targets D-Link Routers With Decade-Old Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Four Critical Vulnerabilities Expose HPE Aruba Devices to RCE Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Ten years of Heartbleed: Lessons learned | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
1,400 GitLab Servers Impacted by Exploited Vulnerability - SecurityWeek
Tools and Controls
Why remote desktop tools are facing an onslaught of cyber threats | ITPro
Correlating Cyber Investments With Business Outcomes (inforisktoday.com)
When is One Vulnerability Scanner Not Enough? (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft CEO says it is "putting security above all else" in major refocus | TechRadar
Can automating security relieve CISO pressure? (techinformed.com)
10 Critical Endpoint Security Tips You Should Know (thehackernews.com)
Businesses turn to generative AI but many don't have policies on it (betanews.com)
Ending The Culture Of Silence In Cyber Security – 3 Ways To Empower Teams - Minutehack
Organisations Struggle with Zero Trust: Gartner | MSSP Alert
Tech Tip: Why Haven't You Set Up DMARC Yet? (darkreading.com)
97% of security leaders have increased SaaS security budgets - Help Net Security
DPRK's Kimsuky APT Abuses Weak DMARC Policies, Feds Warn (darkreading.com)
How to Red Team GenAI: Challenges, Best Practices, and Learnings (darkreading.com)
Chinese Hackers Have Been Probing DNS Networks Globally for Years: Report - SecurityWeek
Muddling Meerkat hackers manipulate DNS using China’s Great Firewall (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why LLMs are predicting the future of compliance and risk management | VentureBeat
Other News
Microsoft CEO says it is "putting security above all else" in major refocus | TechRadar
A Season Of Health Breaches, A Season Of Changes (forbes.com)
Bank of England tells payment firms to step up disruption mitigation plans (yahoo.com)
NCSC updates warning over hacktivist threat to CNI | Computer Weekly
The EU's Strategy for a Cyber Secure Digital Single Market | UpGuard
To Damage OT Systems, Hackers Tap USBs, Old Bugs & Malware (darkreading.com)
During National Small Business Week, Take Steps to Secure Your Business | CISA
At Microsoft, years of security debt come crashing down | Cybersecurity Dive
Sweden prepares for Eurovision amidst fears of protests, cyber attacks and unrest | Euronews
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 23 February 2024
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 23 February 2024:
-Despite Recent FBI Disruptions, a Rise in Ransomware Means 2024 Will be a Volatile Year for Cyber Security
-The Old, Not the New: Basic Security Issues Still the Biggest Threat to Enterprises
-Reevaluating Your Cyber Security Priorities
-Cyber Threat Environment at its Most Dangerous for SMBs, as Geopolitical Tenison, Extortion and Attacks Present Biggest Risks
-Legal Sector Grows as a Target, with Cyber Attacks on Law Firms Surging by Over a Third
-It’s Not Only Ransomware Seeing Huge Rises, Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks are Also Seeing a Huge Rise – is Your Business Prepared?
-Deepfake Phishing Grew by 3,000% in 2023, and it’s Just the Beginning
-Cyber Attacks are Getting Faster, More Common and More Successful, Although Detection is More Advanced Than Ever — New Report Signals the Threats to Businesses, Supply Chains, and Democracy
-Report Finds Malicious Emails Bypassing Secure Email Gateways Rose by 105%
-Rising Cyber Threats Identified Amongst Other Major Business Risks for 2024
-Huge Cyber Security Leak Lifts the Lid on China’s Hackers for Hire
-Fifth of British Kids Have Broken the Law Online
-Over 40% of Firms Struggle with Cyber Security Talent Shortage
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
Despite Recent NCA and FBI Disruptions, a Rise in Ransomware Means 2024 Will be a Volatile Year for Cyber Security
There has been a lot of high profile coverage this week of the infamous and prolific LockBit gang’s infrastructure having been seized by law enforcement following an international Police operation led by the UK’s National Crime Agency. Whilst the international operation shows the seriousness of the matter, and the success of the operation should be celebrated, those celebrations should be muted and organisations should not become lax. Like the Hydra of Greek mythology, when one head disappears, a few more appear in its place. Ransomware really is a case of if, not when, and your organisation needs to be prepared.
Further, a recent threat report has found that the median ransom demand rose by 20% year on year, hitting an average of $600,000 and it is expected that 2024 will be even more volatile. Ransomware groups are expanding their target lists and exploring new pressure tactics in response to increasingly effective law enforcement efforts, and this is coupled with the increasing regulatory impact on organisations.
Sources: [Sky News] [GOV Infosecurity] [Bleeping Computer] [Infosecurity Magazine] [Cyber Reason]
The Old, Not the New: Basic Security Issues Still the Biggest Threat to Enterprises
In the latest IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, it was revealed that basic security issues remain the most significant threat to enterprises. Cyber criminals are increasingly turning to credential stuffing, using and exploiting valid accounts harvested from the darkweb and previous breaches, with a 266% uptick in info-stealing malware. This tactic is harder to detect and elicits a costly response from enterprises. On the other hand, it is also important to adopt an attacker mindset for effective security. Understanding the attacker’s tools, motives, and efforts can help in limiting access, compartmentalising the impact of any successful attack, and minimising the time to attack detection. In essence, while organisations continue to grapple with complex cyber threats, the biggest security problem boils down to the basic and the already known. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on strengthening basic security measures and thinking like an attacker to proactively mitigate the risk for a more secure attack surface.
Source: [Help Net Security] [Forbes]
Reevaluating Your Cyber Security Priorities
Both technology and cyber criminals are evolving, yet many companies and organisations are not. For many corporate leaders, they may not know where to begin. Organisations looking to evolve their cyber security posture should look to elevate cyber to the C-suite and board, conduct audits of their sensitive information, create or update and test their incident response plan and finally, revisit their cyber hygiene training to ensure it is doing more than just ticking boxes. Organisations doing the above will find themselves improving their cyber security posture, and mitigating their risk to threats.
Source: [Dark Reading]
Cyber Threat Environment at its Most Dangerous for SMBs, as Geopolitical Tenison, Extortion and Attacks Present Biggest Risks
A new study has found that extortion campaigns, geopolitical threats, and attacks on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are amongst the greatest threats to cyber security defences currently. The report, conducted by Mimecast, highlights how individual ransom groups have claimed over 1,000 victims and over $300 million in payments. Regarding SMBs, the report found that these businesses encountered twice the normal number of threats, at over 30 threats per user, as compared to larger companies who saw approximately 15. Not only are SMBs at more risk, but they also do not have the same resources a large company would have to mitigate such threats. SMBs must be efficient in the way they prioritise and address their cyber risk as part of their larger risk management strategy.
Sources: [Emerging Risks] [The HR Director]
Legal Sector Grows as a Target, with Cyber Attacks on Law Firms Surging by Over a Third
A new report has found that the number of reported cyber breaches on UK law firms has increased 30% from the previous year, as attackers increasingly target the profession. As a note, this does not include firms who may be unaware that they have been breached. Law firms are an attractive target to attackers due to the sensitive information such as M&A activity, divorce information and big ticket litigation; many attackers believe that law firms will pay handsomely to have this data back.
Sources: [Emerging Risks] [Legal Cheek]
It’s Not Only Ransomware Seeing Huge Rises: Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks are Also Seeing a Huge Rise. Is Your Business Prepared?
A recent report found that business email compromise (BEC) saw a staggering increase of 10 time the amount compared to the previous year. BEC involves a genuine business email account being compromised by a threat actor; this could be your supplier, a client, or anyone you have legitimate contact with. With such an increase, organisations must consider if they would be able to spot and mitigate BEC in their corporate environment through robust operational controls such as callback procedures for example. Due to the rise in deep fake fraud with voice cloning and video, the efficacy of traditional safeguards such as callbacks are not providing the assurance they once did. Firms and employees need to be on their guard to these changing tactics to safeguard the business.
Source: [TechRadar]
Deepfake Phishing Grew by 3,000% in 2023, and it’s Just the Beginning
Phishing remains one of the most prevalent cyber security threats, and with the emergence of artificial intelligence it is only going to carry on getting worse. According to a recent report, the number of deepfake fraud attempts rose by 3,000%. In one instance, the CEO of an energy enterprise sent €220,000 to a supplier after getting a call from the parent company’s leader requesting the exchange; the call was a deepfake.
Source: [HackerNoon]
Cyber Attacks are Getting Faster, More Common and More Successful, Although Detection is More Advanced Than Ever. New Report Signals the Threats to Businesses, Supply Chains, and Democracy
A recent report from CrowdStrike sheds light on the increasing speed and sophistication of cyber attacks. Breakout times have plummeted to an average of 62 minutes, with a record time of just two minutes and seven seconds observed. Hackers are now targeting the cloud, exploiting its vulnerabilities and leveraging AI assistance to escalate attacks. The human factor remains a primary entry point for threat actors, with social engineering and phishing campaigns on the rise. As organisations transition to the cloud, threat actors follow suit, with cloud intrusions soaring by 75%. CrowdStrike warns of state-sponsored adversaries targeting critical elections, emphasising the need for a platform-based approach bolstered by threat intelligence to safeguard against evolving threats.
Source: [TechRadar]
Report Finds Malicious Emails Bypassing Secure Email Gateways Rose by 105%
A report by Cofense has found a 105% increase in malicious emails that successfully bypassed Secure Email Gateways (SEGs), with approximately one malicious email navigating their way past SEGs every 57 seconds. The report suggests that phishing efforts are outpacing that of SEGs, and such phishing efforts are responsible for 90% of data breaches. Whilst SEGs may be filtering out a number of malicious emails, they, like everything in cyber security, are not a silver bullet. Organisations should not fall foul of believing that they are impenetrable because they have a SEG.
Sources: [SiliconANGLE] [Security Magazine] [Help Net Security]
Rising Cyber Threats Identified as Major Business Risk for 2024
In the latest Allianz risk barometer, cyber incidents have been identified as the most significant concern for companies globally in 2024. This is particularly true for remote desktop connections, which have become a prime target for cyber attacks since the shift to a work-from-home environment. The report also highlights that the risk landscape is being shaped by digitalisation, climate change, and geopolitical uncertainties. Meanwhile, a report from Coalition reveals that the cyber attack surface has expanded due to new ways of working. The report found that smaller businesses often lack the resources to prepare for a wide range of risk scenarios, which can lead to longer recovery times after an unexpected incident. These findings underscore the importance of robust cyber security measures and the need for continuous monitoring and improvement of an organisation’s digital defences.
Sources: [Reinsurance News] [Allianz]
Huge Cyber Security Leak Lifts the Lid on China’s Hackers for Hire
A huge leak of data from a Chinese cyber security firm, iSoon, has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including the likes of foreign governments, and the leak shows this has been going on for years. Since the release, CrowdStrike has drawn overlaps between the firm and multiple known Chinese threat actors who are well resourced and conduct attacks over an extended period (referred to as advanced persistent threats, APTs). Among some of the 500 leaked documents are product manuals, lists of clients and employees, and WeChat instant messages. The leaks show over 14 governments have been attacked, as well as gambling and telecommunications companies.
Sources: [Dark Reading] [The Guardian]
Fifth of British Kids Have Broken the Law Online
In a recent study by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), one in five children aged 10 to 16 have engaged in online offences with the figure rising to 25% among online gamers. These "low-level" cyber crimes, such as attempting to access protected servers or launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, may not be perceived by young individuals as violating the Computer Misuse Act. The consequences, however, are severe, including potential arrest, criminal records, and restrictions on future opportunities. The NCA stresses the importance of educating both children and adults about the legal and ethical implications of such actions, highlighting the transition from minor offences to more serious cyber crimes. With a significant shortage of cyber security professionals globally, fostering positive digital skills among young individuals is crucial for meeting industry demands and deterring cyber crime. Parents, teachers, and children are encouraged to explore resources provided by the NCA's Cyber Choices website to prevent inadvertent involvement in illegal online activities.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Over 40% of Firms Struggle with Cyber Security Talent Shortage
A recent report from Kaspersky has unveiled a critical global challenge: over 40% of companies are struggling to fill essential cyber security roles, with information security research and malware analysis roles particularly affected. This scarcity is felt most acutely in Europe and Latin America. Roles within security operations centres (SOCs) and network security are also understaffed, with figures around 35% and 33% respectively. The government sector faces the most significant demand for cyber security experts, followed closely by the telecoms and media sectors. While efforts like offering competitive salaries and enhanced training are underway, the gap persists due to the rapid pace of technological advancement outstripping educational initiatives. The report emphasises the need for innovative solutions to bridge this shortfall, highlighting recruitment, training, and technological advancements as key components of a comprehensive strategy to bolster cyber security resilience in the face of evolving threats.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber security professionals admit “knowledge gaps” have led to serious security blunders | ITPro
The old, not the new: Basic security issues still biggest threat to enterprises - Help Net Security
Cyber threat environment more dangerous then ever - Mimecast (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Gartner: Three top trends in cyber security for 2024 | Computer Weekly
Coalition report reveals rising cyber threats amidst business vulnerabilities - Reinsurance News
Thinking Like An Attacker—Another Look At Enterprise Security (forbes.com)
Hackers using stolen credentials to launch attacks as info-stealing peaks | CSO Online
How CISOs Balance Business Growth, Security in Cyber Threat Landscape (darkreading.com)
Allianz Risk Barometer: Identifying the major business risks for 2024
Why cyber security can boost organisational innovation | TechRadar
4 Key Steps to Reevaluate Your Cyber Security Priorities (darkreading.com)
Cyber security success -- elevate your defence against cyber threats (betanews.com)
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransom demands surge by 20% in 2023, hitting key industries hardest - SiliconANGLE
LockBit Attempts to Stay Afloat with a New Version (trendmicro.com)
LockBit registered nearly 200 "affiliates" over the past two years | TechRadar
2024 will be a volatile year for cyber security as ransomware groups evolve - Help Net Security
Ransomware Experts See Problems With Banning Ransom Payments (govinfosecurity.com)
Ransomware and BEC are seeing a huge rise — is your business ready? | TechRadar
ConnectWise exploit could spur ‘ransomware free-for-all,’ expert warns | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
3 trends set to drive cyber attacks and ransomware in 2024 | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Year-over-year, the median initial ransom has risen by 20% | Security Magazine
Alpha ransomware linked to NetWalker operation dismantled in 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Akira Ransomware Exploiting Cisco Anyconnect Vulnerability (gbhackers.com)
Knight ransomware source code for sale after leak site shuts down (bleepingcomputer.com)
Stuck in cyber attack nightmare? Call the negotiators (techxplore.com)
Report: Manufacturing bears the brunt of industrial ransomware | CyberScoop
Ransomware Victims
eSentire Confirms Rhysida Ransomware Victims - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
ALPHV ransomware claims loanDepot, Prudential Financial breaches (bleepingcomputer.com)
147 ransomware attacks on large Dutch companies, institutions last year; 18% paid ransom | NL Times
Pharmacy Delays Across US Blamed on Nation-State Hackers (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
New report warns of ongoing rise of malicious emails bypassing secure email gateways - SiliconANGLE
Deepfake Phishing Grew by 3,000% in 2023 — And It's Just Beginning | HackerNoon
Other Social Engineering
Artificial Intelligence
AI models can be weaponized to hack websites on their own • The Register
Deepfake Phishing Grew by 3,000% in 2023 — And It's Just Beginning | HackerNoon
Generative AI and elections are key focus for hackers in 2024, report warns | Evening Standard
As adversaries harness AI, tech firms peer through chat logs to catch them - Defense One
Air Canada Has to Honor a Refund Policy Its Chatbot Made Up | WIRED
36% of code generated by GitHub CoPilot contains security flaws - Help Net Security
Employees input sensitive data into generative AI tools despite the risks | ZDNET
Ransomware Declines as InfoStealers and AI Threats Gain Ground: IBM X-Force - SecurityWeek
Gartner: Three top trends in cyber security for 2024 | Computer Weekly
Malware
FBI's Most-Wanted Zeus and IcedID Malware Mastermind Pleads Guilty (thehackernews.com)
Iranian Hackers Target Middle East Policy Experts with New BASICSTAR Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
VIPRE report predicts 276% rise in malware in 2024 (securitybrief.co.nz)
Anatsa Android malware downloaded 150,000 times via Google Play (bleepingcomputer.com)
'Lucifer' Botnet Turns Up the Heat on Apache Hadoop Servers (darkreading.com)
What are Botnets and Why are MSSPs So Concerned? | MSSP Alert
New SSH-Snake malware steals SSH keys to spread across the network (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Declines as InfoStealers and AI Threats Gain Ground: IBM X-Force - SecurityWeek
Your Mac Is Not Virus Proof. It Never Has Been. (gizmodo.com)
Click: Your innocent mouse could be a cyber criminal's silent weapon - Digital Journal
Vibrator virus steals your personal information | Malwarebytes
Mobile
Meta Warns of 8 Spyware Firms Targeting iOS, Android, and Windows Devices (thehackernews.com)
New Wave of 'Anatsa' Banking Trojans Targets Android Users in Europe (darkreading.com)
New Wi-Fi Vulnerabilities Expose Android and Linux Devices to Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Zero-Click Apple Shortcuts Vulnerability Allows Silent Data Theft (darkreading.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Wyze camera glitch gave 13,000 users a peek into other homes (bleepingcomputer.com)
As Cyber attacks Ramp Up, Electric Vehicles Are Vulnerable (autoweek.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
Infosys subsidiary named as source of Bank of America leak • The Register
Massive Cloud Database Leak Exposes 380 Million Records (hackread.com)
UK council's sneaky insider steals 79k email addresses • The Register
Eye Care Services Firm Faces Lawsuit Over Data Breach Impacting 2.3 Million - SecurityWeek
Cyber Crime General & Criminal Actors
Fifth of British Kids Have Broken the Law Online - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insurance
Insurers Use Claims Data to Recommend Cyber Security Technologies (darkreading.com)
Cyber Insurance Needs to Evolve to Ensure Greater Benefit (darkreading.com)
What is Cyber Insurance and Does Your Small Business Need It? (smallbiztrends.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Infosys subsidiary named as source of Bank of America leak • The Register
North Korean hackers linked to defence sector supply-chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Cyber security report reveals 75% spike in cloud attacks (securitybrief.co.nz)
Massive Cloud Database Leak Exposes 380 Million Records (hackread.com)
Six steps for stronger cloud security | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Identity and Access Management
Why identity fraud costs organisations millions - Help Net Security
Active Directory outages can cost organisations $100,000 per day - Help Net Security
Encryption
Linux and Open Source
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Hackers using stolen credentials to launch attacks as info-stealing peaks | CSO Online
How to proactively prevent password-spray attacks on legacy email accounts | CSO Online
Social Media
EU Watchdog Urged to Reject Meta 'Pay for Privacy' Scheme - SecurityWeek
Social Media Platforms Are in an ‘Information Trafficking Business’: Cyber Security Adviser | NTD
ChatGPT Used by North Korean Hackers to Scam LinkedIn Users (tech.co)
76% of Super Bowl Traffic From Elon Musk's X to Advertisers Could Be Fake (thewrap.com)
Elon Musk’s X allows China-based propaganda banned on other platforms | Ars Technica
European Union deepens its investigation of TikTok • The Register
Training, Education and Awareness
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
European Court of Human Rights rules against government backdoors in end-to-end encryption - Neowin
Hedge Funds Warn SEC Cyber Lapses Risk Exposing Trading Secrets (bloomberglaw.com)
European Union deepens its investigation of TikTok • The Register
Decoding DORA: Navigating the digital regulatory landscape | World Finance
FTC Fines Avast $16.5 Million For Selling Browsing Data Harvested by Antivirus (404media.co)
Avast settles claims of customer data peddling for $17M • The Register
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
The Psychology of Cyber Security Burnout (informationweek.com)
How can we adapt work practices to protect CISO mental health? | Computer Weekly
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Feds deliver stark warnings to state election officials ahead of November - Iowa Capital Dispatch
UK election cyber attack warning after Putin's hackers target US (inews.co.uk)
Social Media Platforms Are in an ‘Information Trafficking Business’: Cyber Security Adviser | NTD
Elon Musk’s X allows China-based propaganda banned on other platforms | Ars Technica
Election security threats in 2024 range from AI to … anthrax • The Register
76 percent of Super Bowl LVIII traffic from Twitter dubbed 'fake' (awfulannouncing.com)
Iran and Hezbollah Hackers Launch Attacks to Influence Israel-Hamas Narrative (thehackernews.com)
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
Countries fear state-sponsored cyber war | The World from PRX
Generative AI and elections are key focus for hackers in 2024, report warns | Evening Standard
Pharmacy Delays Across US Blamed on Nation-State Hackers (darkreading.com)
China
'Major Chinese hack' on Foreign Office urgently investigated by UK spies (inews.co.uk)
Leaked Chinese Hacking Files Reveal How Compromised the US Could Be (businessinsider.com)
iSoon's Secret APT Status Exposes China's Foreign Hacking Machination (darkreading.com)
Generative AI and elections are key focus for hackers in 2024, report warns | Evening Standard
Elon Musk’s X allows China-based propaganda banned on other platforms | Ars Technica
China’s Spy Agency Sees Threats Everywhere in Data Security Push - Bloomberg
Russia
FBI disrupts hacking network 'linked to Russian intelligence services' | US News | Sky News
Russian APT 'Winter Vivern' Targets European Governments, Military (darkreading.com)
Russian Cyber attackers Launch Multiphase PsyOps Campaign (darkreading.com)
Russian-Linked Hackers Target 80+ Organisations via Roundcube Flaws (thehackernews.com)
NHS hospitals ‘easy targets’ for Russian hackers (thetimes.co.uk)
Generative AI and elections are key focus for hackers in 2024, report warns | Evening Standard
Russian Turla Cyber Spies Target Polish NGOs With New Backdoor - SecurityWeek
Russian Government Software Backdoored to Deploy Konni RAT Malware (thehackernews.com)
Three terms sure to grab attention: Russia, nuclear, anti-satellite weapon | Ars Technica
Iran
Iranian Hackers Target Middle East Policy Experts with New BASICSTAR Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Iranian APTs Dress Up As Hacktivists for Disruption, Influence Ops (darkreading.com)
Iran and Hezbollah Hackers Launch Attacks to Influence Israel-Hamas Narrative (thehackernews.com)
Iran-Backed Charming Kitten Stages Fake Webinar Platform to Ensnare Targets (darkreading.com)
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
ConnectWise exploit could spur ‘ransomware free-for-all,’ expert warns | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Exploiting critical ConnectWise bug is 'embarrassingly easy' • The Register
Akira Ransomware Exploiting Cisco AnyConnect Vulnerability (gbhackers.com)
Microsoft Exchange flaw CVE-2024-21410 could impact up to 97,000 servers (securityaffairs.com)
VMware Alert: Uninstall EAP Now - Critical Flaw Puts Active Directory at Risk (thehackernews.com)
VMware issues no-patch advisory for critical flaw in old SSO plugin | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Russian-Linked Hackers Target 80+ Organisations via Roundcube Flaws (thehackernews.com)
ESET fixed high-severity local privilege escalation bug in Windows products (securityaffairs.com)
SolarWinds addressed critical RCEs in Access Rights Manager (securityaffairs.com)
Chrome 122, Firefox 123 Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities - SecurityWeek
Critical Vulnerability in VMware vSphere Plug-in Allows Session Hijacking (darkreading.com)
Joomla XSS Bugs Open Millions of Websites to RCE (darkreading.com)
Zero-Click Apple Shortcuts Vulnerability Allows Silent Data Theft (darkreading.com)
Urgent patches available for QNAP vulnerabilities, one 0-day • The Register
Hackers exploit critical RCE flaw in Bricks WordPress site builder (bleepingcomputer.com)
Tools and Controls
Stuck in cyber attack nightmare? Call the negotiators (techxplore.com)
New Google Chrome feature blocks attacks against home networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
How Businesses Can Safeguard Their Communication Channels Against Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Limiting remote access exposure in hybrid work environments | CSO Online
Cyber Insurance Needs to Evolve to Ensure Greater Benefit (darkreading.com)
Active Directory outages can cost organisations $100,000 per day - Help Net Security
SOC Landscapes: Insights from SANS' 2023 SOC Report (trendmicro.com)
36% of code generated by GitHub CoPilot contains security flaws - Help Net Security
Microsoft expands free logging capabilities after May breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why ransomware gangs love using RMM tools—and how to stop them | Malwarebytes
Other News
The Power Sector’s High-Stakes Battle for Cyber-Resiliency (powermag.com)
Ways to elevate public sector cyber security | Professional Security
Increasing Europe's cyber resilience - government.lu (gouvernement.lu)
Industries most targeted by active adversaries | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
US govt shares cyber attack defence tips for water utilities (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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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 06 January 2023
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 06 January 2023:
-Cyber War in Ukraine, Ransomware Fears Drive Surge in Demand for Threat Intelligence Tools
-Cyber Premiums Holding Firms to Ransom
-Ransomware Ecosystem Becoming More Diverse For 2023
-Attackers Evolve Strategies to Outmanoeuvre Security Teams
-Building a Security-First Culture: The Key to Cyber Success
-Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue
-First LastPass, Now Slack and CircleCI. The Hacks Go On (and will likely worsen)
-Data of 235 Million Twitter Users Leaked Online
-16 Car Makers, including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota, and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, Infrastructure
-Ransomware Gang Apologizes, Gives SickKids Hospital Free Decryptor
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Cyber War in Ukraine, Ransomware Fears Drive 2022 Surge in Demand for Threat Intelligence Tools
Amid the heightened fear of ransomware in 2022, threat intelligence emerged as a core requirement of doing business in a world gone mad.
A sizable amount of interest in the historically tech-centric discipline was fuelled in part by fear of cyber attacks tied to the war between Russia and Ukraine. In one example, the Ukrainian government warned the world that the Russian military was planning for multi-pronged attacks targeting the energy sector. Other nation-state cyber attack operations also contributed to the demand, including one June 2022 incident were Iran’s Cobalt Mirage exploited PowerShell vulnerabilities to launch ransomware attacks.
And of course, headlines of data breaches tied to vulnerabilities that organisations did not even know existed within their networks caught the attention not just of security teams, but the C-Suite and corporate board. A misconfigured Microsoft server, for example, wound up exposing years of sensitive data for tens of thousands of its customers, including personally identifiable information, user data, product and project details and intellectual property.
Indeed, according to 183 security pros surveyed by CyberRisk Alliance Business Intelligence in June 2022, threat intelligence has become critical in arming their security operations centres (SOCs) and incident response teams with operational data to help them make timely, informed decisions to prevent system downtime, thwart the theft of confidential data, and protect intellectual property.
Threat intelligence has emerged as a useful tool for educating executives. Many also credited threat intelligence for helping them protect their company and customer data — and potentially saving their organisation's reputation.
Cyber Premiums Holding Firms to Ransom
Soaring premiums for cyber security insurance are leaving businesses struggling to pay other bills, a key industry player has warned.
Mactavish, which buys insurance policies on behalf of companies, said that more than half of big businesses that had bought cyber security insurance had been forced to make cuts elsewhere to pay for it.
In a survey of 200 companies with a turnover above £10 million, Mactavish found that businesses were reducing office costs and staff bonuses and were cutting other types of insurance to meet the higher payments.
Last month Marsh, an insurance broker, revealed that costs for cyber insurance had increased by an average of 66 per cent in the third quarter compared with last year.
Meanwhile, the risk to businesses from hackers continues to rise. A government report on digital threats, published this month, showed the proportion of businesses experiencing cyber security incidents at least monthly had increased from 53 per cent to 60 per cent in the past year. Uber, Cisco and InterContinental Hotels Group were among high-profile targets this year.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyber-safety-premiums-hold-firms-to-ransom-tnrsz3vs2
Ransomware Ecosystem Becoming More Diverse for 2023
The ransomware ecosystem has changed significantly in 2022, with attackers shifting from large groups that dominated the landscape toward smaller ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations in search of more flexibility and drawing less attention from law enforcement. This democratisation of ransomware is bad news for organisations because it also brought in a diversification of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), more indicators of compromise (IOCs) to track, and potentially more hurdles to jump through when trying to negotiate or pay ransoms.
Since 2019 the ransomware landscape has been dominated by big and professionalised ransomware operations that constantly made the news headlines and even looked for media attention to gain legitimacy with potential victims. We've seen ransomware groups with spokespeople who offered interviews to journalists or issued "press releases" on Twitter and their data leak websites in response to big breaches.
The DarkSide attack against Colonial Pipeline that led to a major fuel supply disruption along the US East Coast in 2021 highlighted the risk that ransomware attacks can have against critical infrastructure and led to increased efforts to combat this threat at the highest levels of government. This heightened attention from law enforcement made the owners of underground cyber crime forums reconsider their relationship with ransomware groups, with some forums banning the advertising of such threats. DarkSide ceased operations soon thereafter and was followed later in the year by REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, whose creators were indicted and one was even arrested. REvil was one of the most successful ransomware groups since 2019.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 quickly put a strain on the relationship between many ransomware groups who had members and affiliates in both Russia and Ukraine, or other former USSR countries. Some groups, such as Conti, rushed to take sides in the war, threatening to attack Western infrastructure in support of Russia. This was a departure from the usual business-like apolitical approach in which ransomware gangs had run their operations and drew criticism from other competing groups.
This was also followed by a leak of internal communications that exposed many of Conti's operational secrets and caused uneasiness with its affiliates. Following a major attack against the Costa Rican government the US State Department put up a reward of $10 million for information related to the identity or location of Conti's leaders, which likely contributed to the group's decision to shut down operations in May.
Conti's disappearance led to a drop in ransomware activity for a couple of months, but it didn't last long as the void was quickly filled by other groups, some of them newly set up and suspected to be the creation of former members of Conti, REvil and other groups that ceased operations over the past two years.
Attackers Evolve Strategies to Outmanoeuvre Security Teams
Attackers are expected to broaden their targeting strategy beyond regulated verticals such as financial services and healthcare. Large corporations (41%) will be the top targeted sector for cyber attacks in 2023, favoured over financial institutions (36%), government (14%), healthcare (9%), and education (8%), according to cyber security solution provider Titaniam.
The fast pace of change has introduced new vulnerabilities into corporate networks, making them an increasingly attractive target for cyber attackers. To compete in the digital marketplace, large companies are adopting more cloud services, aggregating data, pushing code into production faster, and connecting applications and systems via APIs.
As a result, misconfigured services, unprotected databases, little-tested applications, and unknown and unsecured APIs abound, all of which can be exploited by attackers.
The top four threats in 2022 were malware (30%), ransomware and extortion (27%), insider threats (26%), and phishing (17%).
The study found that enterprises expected malware (40%) to be their biggest challenge in 2023, followed by insider threats (26%), ransomware and related extortion (21%), and phishing (16%).
Malware, however, has more enterprises worried for 2023 than it did for 2022. It is important to note that these threats can overlap, where insiders can have a hand in ransomware attacks, phishing can be a source of malware, etc.
Attackers are evolving their strategies to surprise and outmanoeuvre security teams, which have hardened ransomware defences and improved phishing detection. They’re using new malware, such as loaders, infostealers, and wipers to accelerate attacks, steal sensitive data and create mayhem.
They’re also buying and stealing employee credentials to walk in through the front door of corporate networks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/01/04/attackers-evolve-strategies-outmaneuver-security-teams/
Building a Security-First Culture: The Key to Cyber Success
Everyone has heard a car alarm go off in the middle of the night, but how often does that notification actually lead to action? Most people will hear the alarm, glance in its direction and then hope the owner will quickly remedy the situation.
Cars alarms often fail because they go off too often, leading to apathy and annoyance instead of being a cause for emergency. For many, cyber security has also become this way. While we see an increase in the noise surrounding the need for organisations to improve the security skillset and knowledge base of employees, there continues to be little proactive action on this front. Most organisations only provide employees with elementary-grade security training, often during their initial onboarding process or as part of a standard training requirement.
At the same time, many organisations also make the grave mistake of leaving all of their security responsibilities and obligations in the hands of IT and security teams. Time and time again, this approach has proven to be highly ineffective, especially as cyber criminals refine their social engineering tactics and target user accounts to execute their attacks.
Alarmingly, recent research found that 30% of employees do not think that they play a role in maintaining their company’s cyber security posture. The same report also revealed that only 39% of employees say they are likely to report a security incident.
As traditional boundaries of access disintegrate and more employees obtain permissions to sensitive company data and systems to carry out their tasks, business leaders must change the mindset of their employees when it comes to the role they play in keeping the organisation safe from cyber crime. The key is developing an integrated cyber security strategy that incorporates all aspects—including all stakeholders—of the organisation. This should be a strategy that breaks down departmental barriers and creates a culture of security responsibility where every team member plays a part.
Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue
Back in November 2021, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalogue to help federal agencies and critical infrastructure organisations identify and remediate vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited. CISA added 548 new vulnerabilities to the catalogue across 58 updates from January to end of November 2022, according to cyber security solution provider Grey Noise in its first-ever "GreyNoise Mass Exploits Report."
Including the approximately 300 vulnerabilities added in November and December 2021, CISA listed approximately 850 vulnerabilities in the first year of the catalogue's existence.
Actively exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Apple products accounted for over half of the updates to the KEV catalogue in 2022, Grey Noise found. Seventy-seven percent of the updates to the KEV catalogue were older vulnerabilities dating back to before 2022. Many of these vulnerabilities have been around for two decades.
Several of the vulnerabilities in the KEV catalogue are from products that have already entered end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-service-life (EOSL), according to an analysis by a team from cyber security solution provider Cyber Security Works. Even though Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 are EOSL products, the KEV catalogue lists 127 Server 2008 vulnerabilities and 117 Windows 7 vulnerabilities.
Even though the catalogue was originally intended for critical infrastructure and public-sector organisations, it has become the authoritative source on which vulnerabilities are – or have been – exploited by attackers. This is key because the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) assigned Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifiers for over 12,000 vulnerabilities in 2022, and it would be unwieldy for enterprise defenders to assess every single one to identify the ones relevant to their environments. Enterprise teams can use the catalogue's curated list of CVEs under active attack to create their priority lists.
First LastPass, Now Slack and CircleCI. The Hacks Go On (and will likely worsen)
In the past week, the world has learned of serious breaches hitting chat service Slack and software testing and delivery company CircleCI, though giving the companies' opaque wording—“security issue” and “security incident,” respectively—you'd be forgiven for thinking these events were minor.
The compromises—in Slack’s case, the theft of employee token credentials and for CircleCI, the possible exposure of all customer secrets it stores—come two weeks after password manager LastPass disclosed its own security failure: the theft of customers’ password vaults containing sensitive data in both encrypted and clear text form. It’s not clear if all three breaches are related, but that’s certainly a possibility.
The most concerning of the two new breaches is the one hitting CircleCI. The company reported a “security incident” that prompted it to advise customers to rotate “all secrets” they store on the service. The alert also informed customers that it had invalidated their Project API tokens, an event requiring them to go through the hassle of replacing them.
CircleCI says it’s used by more than 1 million developers in support of 30,000 organisations and runs nearly 1 million daily jobs. The potential exposure of all those secrets—which could be login credentials, access tokens, and who knows what else—could prove disastrous for the security of the entire Internet.
It’s possible that some or all of these breaches are related. The Internet relies on a massive ecosystem of content delivery networks, authentication services, software development tool makers, and other companies. Threat actors frequently hack one company and use the data or access they obtain to breach that company's customers or partners. That was the case with the August breach of security provider Twilio. The same threat actor targeted 136 other companies. Something similar played out in the last days of 2020 when hackers compromised Solar Winds, gained control of its software build system, and used it to infect roughly 40 Solar Winds customers.
For now, people should brace themselves for additional disclosures from companies they rely on. Checking internal system logs for suspicious entries, turning on multifactor authentication, and patching network systems are always good ideas, but given the current events, those precautions should be expedited. It’s also worth checking logs for any contact with the IP address 54.145.167.181, which one security practitioner said was connected to the CircleCI breach.
Data of 235 Million Twitter Users Leaked Online
A data leak containing email addresses for 235 million Twitter users has been published on a popular hacker forum. Many experts have immediately analysed it and confirmed the authenticity of many of the entries in the huge leaked archive.
In January 2022, a report claimed the discovery of a vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker to find a Twitter account by the associated phone number/email, even if the user has opted to prevent this in the privacy options. The vulnerability was exploited by multiple threat actors to scrape Twitter user profiles containing both private (phone numbers and email addresses) and public data, and was present within the social media platforms application programming interface (API) from June 2021 until January 2022.
At the end of July 2022, a threat actor leaked data of 5.4 million Twitter accounts that were obtained by exploiting the forementioned, now-fixed vulnerability in the popular social media platform. The scraped data was then put up for sale on various online cyber crime marketplaces. In August, Twitter confirmed that the data breach was caused by a now-patched zero-day flaw.
In December another Twitter data leak made the headlines, a threat actor obtained data of 400,000,000 Twitter users and attempted to sell it. The seller claimed the database is private, and he provided a sample of 1,000 accounts as proof of claims which included the private information of prominent users such as Donald Trump JR, Brian Krebs, and many more. The seller, who is a member of a popular data breach forum, claimed the data was scraped via a vulnerability. The database includes emails and phone numbers of celebrities, politicians, companies, normal users, and a lot of special usernames.
https://securityaffairs.com/140352/data-breach/twitter-data-leak-235m-users.html
16 Car Makers, including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota, and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, and Infrastructure
A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car functions and start or stop the engine.
Multiple other security defects, the researchers say, allowed them to access a car maker’s internal applications and systems, leading to the exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to customers and employees, and account takeover, among others. The hacks targeted telematic systems, automotive APIs, and infrastructure.
Impacted car models include Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Toyota. The vulnerabilities were identified over the course of 2022. Car manufacturers were informed about the security holes and they released patches.
According to the researchers, they were able to send commands to Acura, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Infiniti, Nissan, and Porsche vehicles.
Using only the VIN (vehicle identification number), which is typically visible on the windshield, the researchers were able to start/stop the engine, remotely lock/unlock the vehicle, flash headlights, honk vehicles, and retrieve the precise location of Acura, Honda, Kia, Infiniti, and Nissan cars.
They could also lock users out of remote vehicle management and could change car ownership.
https://www.securityweek.com/16-car-makers-and-their-vehicles-hacked-telematics-apis-infrastructure
Ransomware Gang Apologises, and Gives SickKids Hospital Free Decrypter
The LockBit ransomware gang has released a free decrypter for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), saying one of its members violated rules by attacking the healthcare organisation. SickKids is a teaching and research hospital in Toronto that focuses on providing healthcare to sick children.
On December 18th, the hospital suffered a ransomware attack that impacted internal and corporate systems, hospital phone lines, and the website. While the attack only encrypted a few systems, SickKids stated that the incident caused delays in receiving lab and imaging results and resulted in longer patient wait times.
On December 29th, SickKids announced that it had restored 50% of its priority systems, including those causing diagnostic or treatment delays. Two days after SickKids' latest announcement, the LockBit ransomware gang apologised for the attack on the hospital and released a decrypter for free.
“We formally apologise for the attack on sikkids.ca and give back the decrypter for free, the partner who attacked this hospital violated our rules, is blocked and is no longer in our affiliate programme," stated the ransomware gang.
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Rackspace: Ransomware Attack Bypassed ProxyNotShell Mitigations (darkreading.com)
Rackspace: Customer email data accessed in ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware gang cloned victim’s website to leak stolen data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Rackspace identifies hacking group responsible for early December ransomware attack | TPR
Ransomware ecosystem becoming more diverse for 2023 | CSO Online
Rackspace Sunsets Email Service Downed in Ransomware Attack (darkreading.com)
December ransomware disclosures reveal high-profile victims | TechTarget
The Guardian ransomware attack hits week two as staff WFH • The Register
Unraveling the techniques of Mac ransomware - Microsoft Security Blog
Bitdefender releases free MegaCortex ransomware decryptor (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Research: More than 200 US Infrastructure Organisations Attacked in 2022 - MSSP Alert
Ransomware impacts over 200 govt, edu, healthcare orgs in 2022 (bleepingcomputer.com)
Guardian ransomware attack: Staff told work from home to 23 Jan (pressgazette.co.uk)
Rail giant Wabtec discloses data breach after Lockbit ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Christmas Eve 'cyber attack' forced Arnold Clark's network down | STV News
Royal ransomware claims attack on Queensland University of Technology (bleepingcomputer.com)
LockBit: Sorry for SickKids, but not housing authority • The Register
Canadian mining firm shuts down mill after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Data of 235 million Twitter users leaked online - Security Affairs
Is NHS The Most Impersonated UK Government "Brand"? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)
Ongoing Flipper Zero phishing attacks target infosec community (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
Raspberry Robin Worm Evolves to Attack Financial and Insurance Sectors in Europe (thehackernews.com)
Hackers abuse Windows error reporting tool to deploy malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
New SHC-compiled Linux malware installs cryptominers, DDoS bots (bleepingcomputer.com)
Bluebottle hackers used signed Windows driver in attacks on banks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dridex Returns, Targets MacOS Using New Entry Method (trendmicro.com)
New Linux malware uses 30 plugin exploits to backdoor WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
PyTorch discloses malicious dependency chain compromise over holidays (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Sites Under Attack from Newly Found Linux Trojan (darkreading.com)
Blind Eagle Hackers Return with Refined Tools and Sophisticated Infection Chain (thehackernews.com)
Raspberry Robin Worm Hatches a Highly Complex Upgrade (darkreading.com)
The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)
Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Data of over 200 million Deezer users stolen, leaks on hacking forum • Graham Cluley
Five Guys Data Breach Puts HR Data Under a Heat Lamp (darkreading.com)
Analysis Of Top 10 Countries Mostly Targeted By Data Breaches (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
I bought a $15 router at Goodwill — and found a millionaire's dirty secrets (nypost.com)
Critical flaws found in Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, and other carmakers - Security Affairs
Toyota, Mercedes, BMW API flaws exposed owners’ personal info (bleepingcomputer.com)
Threat actors stole Slack private source code repositories - Security Affairs
Data of over 200 million Deezer users stolen, leaks on hacking forum • Graham Cluley
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Threat Actors Evade Detection Through Geofencing & Fingerprinting (darkreading.com)
Attackers create 130K fake accounts to abuse limited-time cloud computing resources | CSO Online
Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call Centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Software engineer busted after being inspired by Office Space scam | PC Gamer
Are Meta and Twitter Ushering in a New Age of Insider Threats? (darkreading.com)
Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Avast: Expect Cyber crime "Scamdemic" to Continue in 2023 - MSSP Alert
Software engineer busted after being inspired by Office Space scam | PC Gamer
US regulators warn banks over cryptocurrency risks - BBC News
RedZei Chinese Scammers Targeting Chinese Students in the UK (thehackernews.com)
Ukrainian Cops Bust Prolific Fraud Call Centre - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Impersonation Attacks
AML/CFT/Sanctions
Insurance
Cyber safety premiums holding firms to ransom | Business | The Times
How can businesses decrease cyber insurance premiums while maintaining coverage? - Help Net Security
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Encryption
API
Car companies massively exposed to web vulnerabilities | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)
16 Car Makers and Their Vehicles Hacked via Telematics, APIs, Infrastructure | SecurityWeek.Com
What Are Some Ways to Make APIs More Secure? (darkreading.com)
Critical flaws found in Ferrari, BMW, Porsche, and other carmakers - Security Affairs
Open Source
New SHC-compiled Linux malware installs cryptominers, DDoS bots (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Linux malware uses 30 plugin exploits to backdoor WordPress sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media
Data of 235 million Twitter users leaked online - Security Affairs
The Evolving Tactics of Vidar Stealer: From Phishing Emails to Social Media (thehackernews.com)
Are Meta and Twitter Ushering in a New Age of Insider Threats? (darkreading.com)
Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads - BBC News
More Political Storms for TikTok After US Government Ban | SecurityWeek.Com
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Cyber safety premiums holding firms to ransom | Business | The Times
Attackers never let a critical vulnerability go to waste - Help Net Security
Attackers evolve strategies to outmanoeuvre security teams - Help Net Security
How to start planning for disaster recovery - Help Net Security
Building A Security-First Culture: The Key To Cyber Success (forbes.com)
Data backup is no longer just about operational fallback - Help Net Security
Threat Actors Evade Detection Through Geofencing & Fingerprinting (darkreading.com)
How can businesses decrease cyber insurance premiums while maintaining coverage? - Help Net Security
Secure Disposal
Backup and Recovery
Data Protection
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times
Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads - BBC News
Artificial Intelligence
ChatGPT: An Easy Cyber crime Target For Cyber attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
OpenAI's ChatGPT previews how AI can help hackers breach more networks (axios.com)
NATO tests AI’s ability to protect critical infrastructure against cyber attacks | CSO Online
Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
War and Geopolitical Conflict: The New Battleground for DDoS Attacks (darkreading.com)
Cyber attacks against governments jumped 95% in last half of 2022, CloudSek says | CSO Online
It's time to focus on information warfare's hard questions (cyberscoop.com)
National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times
Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register
Pro-Russia cyber attacks aim at destabilizing Poland - Security Affairs
Poland warns of attacks by Russia-linked Ghostwriter hacking group (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Nation State Actors – China
National security fears over police using Chinese tech | News | The Times
Ex-GE engineer sentenced for stealing turbine tech for China • The Register
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of KEV Catalog (darkreading.com)
Attackers never let a critical vulnerability go to waste - Help Net Security
Vulnerabilities
Over 60,000 Exchange servers vulnerable to ProxyNotShell attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft Flaws Make Up Half of KEV Catalog (darkreading.com)
Rackspace: Ransomware Attack Bypassed ProxyNotShell Mitigations (darkreading.com)
Zoho urges admins to patch severe ManageEngine bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)
Android's First Security Updates for 2023 Patch 60 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Fortinet and Zoho Urge Customers to Patch Enterprise Software Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)
Qualcomm, Lenovo flag multiple high impact firmware vulnerabilities | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Netgear Wi-Fi routers need to be patched immediately | TechRadar
Other News
The cyber security industry will undergo significant changes in 2023 - Help Net Security
SecurityAffairs Top 10 cybersecurity posts of 2022 - Security Affairs
BleepingComputer's most popular cybersecurity stories of 2022
WordPress Security: 22 Ways To Protect Your Website (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Cyber attacks against governments jumped 95% in last half of 2022, CloudSek says | CSO Online
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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 11 November 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 November 2022:
-Research Finds Organisations Lack Tools and Teams to Address Cyber Security Threats
-Some 98% of Global Firms Suffer Supply Chain Breach in 2021
-Only 30% of Cyber Insurance Holders Say Ransomware is Covered
-Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says
-Ransomware Remains Top Cyber Risk for Organisations Globally, Says Allianz
-How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape
-Swiss Re Wants Government Bail Out academias Cyber Crime Insurance Costs Spike
-Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model
-Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low
-Russia’s Sway Over Criminal Ransomware Gangs Is Coming into Focus
-Insider Risk on the Rise: 12% of Employees Take IP When Leaving Jobs
-Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies
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
Research Finds Organisations Lack Tools and Teams to Address Cyber Security Threats
In research conducted in the summer of 2022 by BlackBerry, the findings describe the situation facing organisations regardless of size or vertical.
The survey of 405 senior IT, networking, and security decision-makers in the US, Canada, and the UK revealed 83% of organisations agreed building cyber security programs is expensive due to required tools, licenses, and personnel, and 80% agreed it’s challenging to fill specialised security roles. Most organisations (78%) have an incident management process, but about half (49%) agree they lack the teams and tools to be effective 24x7x365. Evolving security threats (53%) and the task of integrating new technology (53%) are cited as top challenges in maintaining security posture.
While it’s likely these findings surprise no one, they do reveal the challenges facing organisations who are caught between limited resources and increased risk. The urgency increases if we look at the critical infrastructure that keeps things running–like utilities, banks, transportation, key suppliers, industrial controls, and more.
Some 98% of Global Firms Suffer Supply Chain Breach in 2021
Just 2% of global organisations didn’t suffer a supply chain breach last year, with visibility into cyber risk getting harder as these ecosystems expand, according to BlueVoyant.
The security firm polled 2100 C-level execs with responsibility for supply chain and cyber risk management from companies with 1000+ employees to compile its study, The State of Supply Chain Defense: Annual Global Insights Report 2022.
It found the top challenges listed by respondents were:
Awareness internally that third-party suppliers are part of their cyber security posture
Meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring third-party cyber security compliance
Working with third-party suppliers to improve their posture.
Supply chains are growing: the number of firms with over 1000 suppliers increased from 38% in 2021’s report to 50%. Although 53% of organisations audited or reported on supplier security more than twice annually, 40% still rely on suppliers to ensure security levels are sufficient. That means they have no way of knowing if an issue arises with a supplier.
Worse, 42% admitted that if they do discover an issue in their supply chain and inform their supplier, they cannot verify that the issue was resolved. Just 3% monitor their supply chain daily, although the number of respondents using security ratings services to enhance visibility and reduce cyber risk increased from 36% last year to 39% in this year’s report.
With the escalating threat landscape and number of high-profile incidents being reported, firms should focus more strategically on addressing supply chain cyber security risk. In the current volatile economic climate, the last thing any business needs is any further disruption to their operations, any unexpected costs, or negative impact on their brand.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/98-global-firms-supply-chain/
Only 30% of Cyber Insurance Holders Say Ransomware is Covered
Cyber insurance providers appear to be limiting policy coverage due to surging costs from claimants, according to a new study from Delinea.
The security vendor polled 300 US-based IT decision makers to compile its latest report, Cyber insurance: if you get it be ready to use it.
Although 93% were approved for specialised cyber insurance cover by their provider, just 30% said their policy covered “critical risks” including ransomware, ransom negotiations and payments. Around half (48%) said their policy covers data recovery, while just a third indicated it covers incident response, regulatory fines and third-party damages.
That may be because many organisations are regularly being breached and look to their providers for pay-outs, driving up costs for carriers. Some 80% of those surveyed said they’ve had to call on their insurance, and half of these have submitted claims multiple times, the study noted.
As a result, many insurers are demanding that prospective policyholders implement more comprehensive security controls before they’re allowed to sign up.
Half (51%) of respondents said that security awareness training was a requirement, while (47%) said the same about malware protection, AV software, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and data backups.
However, high-level checks may not be enough to protect insurers from surging losses, as they can’t guarantee customers are properly deploying security controls.
Cyber insurance providers need to start advancing beyond simple checklists for security controls. They must require their customers to validate that their security controls work as designed and expected. They need their customers to simulate their adversaries to ensure that when they are attacked, the attack will not result in a breach. In fact, we're already starting to see government regulations and guidance that includes adversary simulation as part of their proactive response to threats.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberinsurance-ransomware-cover/
Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says
It has been reported that more than a third of companies who paid a ransom to cyber criminals after being hit by a ransomware attack went on to be targeted for a second time, according to a new report.
The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report found that 36% of companies that made the ransom payment were hit again, while 41% who paid failed to recover all of their data.
The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Lindy Cameron, said last year that ransomware attacks were the “most immediate danger” to the UK and urged companies to take more steps to protect themselves and their data.
The NCSC urges firms not to pay ransoms as it not only helps fund further crime but offers no guarantee that criminals will return the stolen or locked data. The Hiscox report appeared to back up the NCSC’s warnings, with 43% of the businesses who paid a ransom saying they still had to rebuild their systems while 29% said that despite making the payment their stolen data was still leaked. A further 26% said a ransomware attack had had a significant financial impact on their business.
Ransomware Remains Top Cyber Risk for Organisations Globally, Says Allianz
According to an Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty cyber report, ransomware remains a top cyber risk for organisations globally, while the threat of state-sponsored cyber attacks grows.
There were a record 623 million attacks in 2021, which was double that of 2020, says Allianz.
It also notes that despite the frequency reducing 23% globally during H1 of 2022, the year-to-date total still exceeds that of the full years of 2017, 2018 and 2019, while Europe saw attacks surge over this period. Allianz suggests that ransomware is forecast to cause $30bn in damages to organisations globally by 2023.
It adds that from an Allianz perspective, the value of ransomware claims the company was involved in together with other insurers, accounted for well over 50% of all cyber claims costs during 2020 and 2021.
The cyber risk landscape doesn’t allow for any resting on laurels. Ransomware and phishing scams are as active as ever and on top of that there is the prospect of a hybrid cyber war.
Most companies will not be able to evade a cyber threat. However, it is clear that organisations with good cyber maturity are better equipped to deal with incidents. Even when they are attacked, losses are typically less severe due to established identification and response mechanisms.
Many companies still need to strengthen their cyber controls, particularly around IT security trainings, better network segmentation for critical environments and cyber incident response plans and security governance.
Allianz observes that geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, are a major factor reshaping the cyber threat landscape as the risks of espionage, sabotage, and destructive cyber-attacks against companies with ties to Russia and Ukraine increase, as well as allies and those in neighbouring countries.
How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape
ENISA, EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity, released its annual Threat Landscape report, covering the period from July 2021 up to July 2022.
With more than 10 terabytes of data stolen monthly, ransomware still fares as one of the prime threats in the new report with phishing now identified as the most common initial vector of such attacks. The other threats to rank highest along ransomware are attacks against availability also called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
However, the geopolitical situations particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine have acted as a game changer over the reporting period for the global cyber domain. While we still observe an increase of the number of threats, we also see a wider range of vectors emerge such as zero-day exploits and AI-enabled disinformation and deepfakes. As a result, more malicious and widespread attacks emerge having more damaging impact.
EU Agency for Cybersecurity Executive Director, Juhan Lepassaar stated that “Today’s global context is inevitably driving major changes in the cyber security threat landscape. The new paradigm is shaped by the growing range of threat actors. We enter a phase which will need appropriate mitigation strategies to protect all our critical sectors, our industry partners and therefore all EU citizens.”
State sponsored, cyber crime, hacker-for-hire actors and hacktivists remain the prominent threat actors during the reporting period of July 2021 to July 2022.
ENISA sorted threats into 8 groups. Frequency and impact determine how prominent all of these threats still are.
Ransomware: 60% of affected organisations may have paid ransom demands
Malware: 66 disclosures of zero-day vulnerabilities observed in 2021
Social engineering: Phishing remains a popular technique but we see new forms of phishing arising such as spear-phishing, whaling, smishing and vishing
Threats against data: Increasing in proportionally to the total of data produced
Disinformation – misinformation: Escalating AI-enabled disinformation, deepfakes and disinformation-as-a-service
Supply chain targeting: Third-party incidents account for 17% of the intrusions in 2021 compared to less than 1% in 2020
Threats against availability:
Largest denial of service (DDoS) attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022
Internet: destruction of infrastructure, outages and rerouting of internet traffic.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/08/cybersecurity-threat-landscape-2022/
Swiss Re Wants Government Bail Out as Cyber Crime Insurance Costs Spike
As insurance companies struggle to stay afloat amid rising cyber claims, Swiss Re has recommended a public-private partnership insurance scheme with one option being a government-backed fund to help fill the coverage gap.
Global cyber insurance premiums hit $10 billion in 2021, according to Swiss Re's estimates. In a study published this week, the insurance giant forecasted 20 percent annual growth to 2025, with premiums rising to $23 billion over the next few years.
Meanwhile, annual cyber attack-related losses total about $945 billion globally, and about 90% of that risk remains uninsured, according to insurance researchers at the Geneva Association.
While Forrester estimates a typical data breach costs an average $2.4 million for investigation and recovery, only 55 percent of companies currently have cyber insurance policies. Additionally, less than 20 percent have coverage limits in excess of $600,000, which the analyst firm cites as the median ransomware demand in 2021.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/08/government_cyber_insurance/
Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model
Ransomware-as-a-service lowers the barriers to entry, hides attackers’ identities, and creates multitier, specialised roles in service of ill-gotten gains.
Did you know that more than 80% of ransomware attacks can be traced to common configuration errors in software and devices? This ease of access is one of many reasons why cyber criminals have become emboldened by the underground ransomware economy.
And yet many threat actors work within a relatively small and interconnected ecosystem of players. This pool of cyber criminals has created specialised roles and consolidated the cyber crime economy, fuelling ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) to become the dominant business model. In doing so, they've enabled a wider range of criminals to deploy ransomware regardless of their technical expertise and forced all of us to become cyber security defenders in the process.
Ransomware takes advantage of existing security compromises to gain access to internal networks. In the same way businesses hire gig workers to cut costs, cyber criminals have turned to renting or selling their ransomware tools for a portion of the profits rather than performing the attacks themselves.
This flourishing RaaS economy allows cyber criminals to purchase access to ransomware payloads and data leakage, as well as payment infrastructure. What we think of as ransomware gangs are actually RaaS programs like Conti or REvil, used by the many different actors who switch between RaaS programs and payloads.
RaaS lowers the barrier to entry and obfuscates the identity of the attackers behind the ransoming. Some programs can have 50 or more "affiliates," as they refer to their users, with varying tools, tradecraft, and objectives. Anyone with a laptop and credit card who is willing to search the Dark Web for penetration-testing tools or out-of-the-box malware can join this maximum efficiency economy.
https://www.darkreading.com/microsoft/extortion-economics-ransomware-s-new-business-model
Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low
A recent IDC and Druva survey asked 505 respondents across 10 industries about their ransomware experiences and found that many organisations struggle to recover after an attack. In the survey, 85% of the respondents said their organisations had a ransomware recovery plan. The challenge seems to lie in effectively executing that plan.
"A majority of organisations suffered significant consequences from ransomware attacks including long recoveries and unrecoverable data despite paying a ransom," states the "You Think Ransomware Is Your Only Problem? Think Again" report.
Data resiliency is such an important element of cyber security that 96% of respondents considered it a top priority for their organisations, with a full 77% placing it in the top 3. What's striking about the survey results is that only 14% of respondents said they were "extremely confident" in their tools, even though 92% called their data resiliency tools "efficient" or "highly efficient."
When data is spread across hybrid, cloud, and edge environments, data resiliency becomes much more complicated. A plan might seem to cover everything, but then you realise that you lost your backup or can't find the latest restore point.
The ability to recover from an attack is vital, since the growth in ransomware makes it likely that your organisation will get hit. This is why agencies like NIST recommend preparing for when an attacker pierces your defences rather than trying to keep out every intruder. That mindset also shifts the priority to preparation and planning; you need to create a disaster recovery plan that includes policy on restore points and recovery tools — and you need to practice implementing that plan before disaster strikes.
The report lists three key performance indicators that reveal the success of an organisation's recovery from a cyber attack:
The ability to fully recover encrypted or deleted data without paying a ransom.
Zero data loss in the process of recovering the data.
Rapid recovery as defined by applicable service-level requirements.
When a recovery fails to meet these criteria, then the organisation may suffer financial loss, loss of reputation, permanently lost customers, and reduced employee productivity.
https://www.darkreading.com/tech-trends/confidence-in-data-recovery-tools-low
Russia’s Sway Over Criminal Ransomware Gangs Is Coming into Focus
Russia-based ransomware gangs are some of the most prolific and aggressive, in part thanks to an apparent safe harbour the Russian government extends to them. The Kremlin doesn't cooperate with international ransomware investigations and typically declines to prosecute cyber criminals operating in the country so long as they don't attack domestic targets. A long-standing question, though, is whether these financially motivated hackers ever receive directives from the Russian government and to what extent the gangs are connected to the Kremlin's offensive hacking. The answer is starting to become clearer.
New research presented at the Cyberwarcon security conference in Arlington, Virginia, this week looked at the frequency and targeting of ransomware attacks against organisations based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France in the lead-up to these countries' national elections. The findings suggest a loose but visible alignment between Russian government priorities and activities and ransomware attacks leading up to elections in the six countries.
The project analysed a data set of over 4,000 ransomware attacks perpetrated against victims in 102 countries between May 2019 and May 2022. The analysis showed a statistically significant increase in ransomware attacks from Russia-based gangs against organisations in the six victim countries ahead of their national elections. These nations suffered the most total ransomware attacks per year in the data set, about three-quarters of all the attacks.
The data was used to compare the timing of attacks for groups believed to be based out of Russia and groups based everywhere else. They looked at the number of attacks on any given day, and what they found was an interesting relationship where for these Russia-based groups, there was an increase in the number of attacks starting four months before an election and moving three, two, one month in, up to the event.
The findings showed broadly that non-Russian ransomware gangs didn't have a statistically significant increase in attacks in the lead-up to elections. Whereas two months out from a national election, for example, the researchers found that organisations in the six top victim countries were at a 41 percent greater chance of having a ransomware attack from a Russia-based gang on a given day, compared to the baseline.
https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ransomware-gang-connections/
Insider Risk on the Rise: 12% of Employees Take IP When Leaving Jobs
Twelve percent of all employees take sensitive intellectual property (IP) with them when they leave an organisation.
The data comes from workforce cyber intelligence and security company Dtex, which published a report about top insider risk trends for 2022. “Customer data, employee data, health records, sales contacts, and the list goes on,” reads the document. “More and more applications are providing new features that make data exfiltration easier. For example, many now provide the ability to maintain clipboard history and sync across multiple devices.”
Case in point, the report also suggests a 55% increase in unsanctioned application usage, including those making data exfiltration easier by allowing users to maintain clipboard history and sync IP across multiple devices. “Bring Your Own Applications (BYOA) or Shadow IT can be a source of intelligence for business innovation,” Dtex wrote. “Still, they pose a major risk if the security team has not tested these tools thoroughly.”
Further, the new data highlight a 20% increase in resignation letter research and creation from employees taking advantage of the tight labour market to switch positions for higher wages.
“In most cases, an individual planning to leave the business is not pleased with the company’s product, co-workers, work environment, or compensation,” reads the report. “Disgruntled employees are usually jaded by a business that has not shown any steps to alleviate concerns, even after communication attempts.”
Finally, the Dtex report says the industry has witnessed a 200% increase in unsanctioned third-party work on corporate devices from a high prevalence of employees engaged in side gigs.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/12-of-employees-take-ip-when/
Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies
In October, Joe Sullivan, Uber’s former head of security, was convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the ride hailing giant by hiding details from US regulators and then paying off the hackers.
It was a trial followed nervously by cyber security professionals around the world — coming eight years after an incident that had compromised the personal information of more than 57mn people.
“Any news about another company dealing with a data security incident can strike a bit of fear across industries,” notes Mary Pothos, chief privacy officer at digital travel company Booking.com. She adds that incidents like these cause “many companies to pause, rethink or revisit their internal processes to make sure that they are operating effectively”.
These incidents, and threats, are growing at lightning speed, too. War in Ukraine is now being played out as much in cyber space as on the battlefield. The Covid pandemic has forced businesses to rethink where their employees work, and handle or access data. At the same time, the sheer number of web-connected devices is multiplying.
“We need to be people who can predict what is coming along the line, predict the future, almost” said Victor Shadare, head of cyber security at media company Condé Nast, at a recent FT event on cyber security.
Palo Alto Networks, a specialist security company, found that cyber extortion grew rapidly in 2021. Some 35 new ransomware gangs emerged, the average ransom demand increasing 144 per cent that year to $2.2mn, and the average payment rose by 78 per cent to $541,010.
Meanwhile, cyber security personnel have found themselves hemmed in by increasingly onerous regulations. These include threats of legal action if the right people are not informed about breaches, or if products come to market that are not safe enough. On September 15, for example, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new Cyber Resilience Act to protect consumers from products with inadequate security features.
“New domains of security have sprung up over the past years, so it’s not just an information technology problem any more, it’s really a full company risk issue,” says Kevin Tierney, vice-president of global cyber security at automotive group General Motors. He warns that automated and connected vehicles have thrown up additional threats to be addressed.
“You have to start out with the right governance structure and the right policies and procedures — that’s step one of really getting the company to understand what it needs to do,” he says. These include clear rules on how to disable access to tech equipment, on data protection and storage, on transferring and disposing of data, on using corporate networks, and on reporting any data breaches.
Security experts also tend to agree that there need to be robust systems of governance and accountability, to prevent the sort of trouble that befell Sullivan at Uber. Perhaps most crucially, staff across the organisation, from C-suite to assistants, need to know how to spot and manage a threat.
https://www.ft.com/content/0bb6df09-7d77-4605-aac3-89443ed65a18
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Medibank: Hackers release abortion data after stealing Australian medical records - BBC News
Medical data hacked from 10m Australians begins to appear on dark web | World news | The Guardian
How ransomware gangs and malware campaigns are changing - Help Net Security
Thales confirms hackers have released its data on the dark web | Reuters
Most SMBs Fear Ransomware Attack Amid Heightened Geopolitical Tensions - MSSP Alert
Australia to consider banning paying of ransoms to cyber criminals | Reuters
LockBit gang claims to have stolen data from Kearney & Company - Security Affairs
Azov Ransomware is a wiper, destroying data 666 bytes at a time (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Gang Offers to Sell Files Stolen From Continental for $50 Million | SecurityWeek.Com
Canadian food retail giant Sobeys hit by Black Basta ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
LockBit affiliate uses Amadey Bot malware to deploy ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs
US Health Dept warns of Venus ransomware targeting healthcare orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware attacks on hospitals take toll on patients (nbcnews.com)
Hackers post Hereford schoolchildren's data records on dark web | Hereford Times
CISA and Spain Partnership to Develop Tool to Help Countries Combat Ransomware - MSSP Alert
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing threats are increasingly convincing and evasive - Help Net Security
Robin Banks phishing-as-a-service platform continues to evolve - Security Affairs
Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Massive Phishing Campaigns Target India Banks’ Clients (trendmicro.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Malware
Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud9 Malware Offers a Paradise of Cyber attack Methods (darkreading.com)
More malware is being hidden in PNG images, so watch out | TechRadar
Attackers Using IPFS for Distributed, Bulletproof Malware Hosting | SecurityWeek.Com
Malicious extension lets attackers control Google Chrome remotely (bleepingcomputer.com)
New hacking group uses custom 'Symatic' Cobalt Strike loaders (bleepingcomputer.com)
New StrelaStealer malware steals your Outlook, Thunderbird accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
5 Common Smartphone Security Myths, Debunked (makeuseof.com)
Oh, look: More malware in the Google Play store • The Register
Malicious app in the Play Store spotted distributing Xenomorph Banking Trojan - Security Affairs
Malicious droppers on Google Play deliver banking malware to victims - Help Net Security
Samsung phones are being targeted by some seriously shady zero-days | TechRadar
New BadBazaar Android malware linked to Chinese cyber spies (bleepingcomputer.com)
Worok hackers hide new malware in PNGs using steganography (bleepingcomputer.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
An initial access broker claims to have hacked Deutsche Bank - Security Affairs
Cyber crime costs to hit $10.5tn by 2025 hears Saudi forum - Arabian Business
Cyber crime Group OPERA1ER Stole $11M From 16 African Businesses (darkreading.com)
Instagram star gets 11 years for $300m BEC conspiracy • The Register
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
FTX says it is probing ‘abnormal transactions’ after potential hack | Financial Times
Kraken's CSO Claims To Have Identified The $600 Million FTX Hacker (coingape.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Fifth Of 18 To 34-year-olds Have Fallen Victim To Financial Scams – Information Security Buzz
Ukrainian Cyber Cops Bust $200m Fraud Ring - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Retail Sector Prepares for Annual Holiday Cyber crime Onslaught (darkreading.com)
US seized 18 web domains used for recruiting money mules (bleepingcomputer.com)
Insurance
Rising cost of cyber attacks sends insurance policy charges soaring | Financial Times (ft.com)
Just 25% of businesses are insured against cyber attacks. Here's why (theconversation.com)
Re-Focusing Cyber Insurance with Security Validation (thehackernews.com)
Swiss Re: Cyber-Insurance Industry Must Reform - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Dark Web
DoJ seizes $3.36B Bitcoin from Silk Road hacker - Security Affairs
Silk Road drugs market hacker pleads guilty, faces 20 years inside – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Hybrid Working
Attack Surface Management
Identity and Access Management
API
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Microsoft Password Hacking Increase – Information Security Buzz
False sense of safety undermines good password hygiene - Help Net Security
Password-hacking attacks are on the rise. Here's how to stop your accounts from being stolen | ZDNET
Social Media
Twitter blue check unavailable after impostor accounts erupt on platform | Twitter | The Guardian
Twitter chief information security officer Lea Kissner departs | TechCrunch
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
World Cup apps pose a data security and privacy nightmare • The Register
Surveillance 'Existential' Danger of Tech: Signal Boss | SecurityWeek.Com
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Three million empty seats: What can we do about the cyber skills shortage? (computerweekly.com)
Cyber security, cloud and coding: Why these three skills will lead demand in 2023 | ZDNET
Cyber security leaders want to quit. Here's what is pushing them to leave | ZDNET
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Red Cross seeks digital equivalent of its emblems • The Register
Russia’s New Cyberwarfare in Ukraine Is Fast, Dirty, and Relentless | WIRED
EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register
Nation-State Hacker Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Soar: Microsoft | SecurityWeek.Com
What Ukraine’s cyber defence tactics can teach other nations | Financial Times (ft.com)
Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs
APT29 abused Windows Credential Roaming in attacks - Security Affairs
Dutch MEP says illegal spyware ‘a grave threat to democracy’ | European Commission | The Guardian
Greece Is Banning Spyware After Predator Phone-Tapping Scandal (gizmodo.com)
British embassy security guard David Smith admits spying for Russia - BBC News
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register
Ukraine war: Russians kept in the dark by internet search - BBC News
Microsoft links Russia’s military to cyber attacks in Poland and Ukraine | Ars Technica
Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin admits interfering in US elections | Russia | The Guardian
Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors – China
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerability Management
Why CVE Management as a Primary Strategy Doesn't Work (darkreading.com)
Why it's time to review your Microsoft patch management options | CSO Online
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management: Understanding the RBVM Trend (darkreading.com)
How can CISOs catch up with the security demands of their ever-growing networks? - Help Net Security
Microsoft: Nation-state threats, zero-day attacks increasing (techtarget.com)
Types of vulnerability scanning and when to use each (techtarget.com)
Vulnerabilities
Microsoft November 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes 6 exploited zero-days, 68 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
VMware fixes three critical auth bypass bugs in remote access tool (bleepingcomputer.com)
Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway are affected by a critical auth bypass - Security Affairs
Cisco Patches 33 Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Firewall Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Microsoft Patches MotW Zero-Day Exploited for Malware Delivery | SecurityWeek.Com
Apple out-of-band patches fix RCE bugs in iOS and macOS - Security Affairs
Microsoft fixes ProxyNotShell Exchange zero-days exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in BusinessObjects, SAPUI5 | SecurityWeek.Com
Lenovo driver goof poses security risk for users of 25 notebook models | Ars Technica
Foxit Patches Several Code Execution Vulnerabilities in PDF Reader | SecurityWeek.Com
LiteSpeed Vulnerabilities Can Lead to Complete Web Server Takeover | SecurityWeek.Com
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
What Is Threat Hunting? A Definition for MSPs and Channel Partners - MSSP Alert
Cyber security: These are the new things to worry about in 2023 | ZDNET
What We Really Mean When We Talk About ‘Cyber security’ (darkreading.com)
Personal cyber security is now a company problem - Help Net Security
History of Computer Viruses & Malware | What Was Their Impact? (esecurityplanet.com)
5 Reasons to Consolidate Your Tech Stack (thehackernews.com)
Cookies for MFA Bypass Gain Traction Among Cyber attackers (darkreading.com)
Common lateral movement techniques and how to prevent them (techtarget.com)
Beyond the Pen Test: How to Protect Against Sophisticated Cyber criminals (darkreading.com)
5 ways to overcome multifactor authentication vulnerabilities (techtarget.com)
15,000 sites hacked for massive Google SEO poisoning campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
Unencrypted Traffic Still Undermining Wi-Fi Security (darkreading.com)
Researchers Devise Wi-Peep Drone That Can 'See Through Walls' (gizmodo.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 October 2022:
-‘Biggest Cyber Risk Is Complacency, Not Hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner Issues Warning as Construction Company Fined £4.4 Million
-Ransomware Threat Shifts from US to EMEA and APAC
-Phishing Attacks Increase by Over 31% In Third Quarter
-UK Urged to Watch for Fraud as People Aim to Make Extra Cash in Cost of Living Crisis
-HR Departments Play a Key Role in Cyber Security
-The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Ransomware Attacks
-7 Hidden Social Media Cyber Risks for Enterprises
-54% of Staff Would Reconsider Working for a Firm That Had Experienced a Cyber Breach, Research Finds
-Evolve as Fast as the Cyber Criminals: Protect Your Business Now, Before it’s Too Late
-Enterprise Ransomware Preparedness Improving but Still Lacking
-Why Are There So Many Data Breaches? A Growing Industry of Criminals is Brokering in Stolen Data
-How The "pizza123" Password Could Take Down an Organisation
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
‘Biggest Cyber Risk Is Complacency, Not Hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner Issues Warning as Construction Company Fined £4.4 Million
The UK Information Commissioner has warned that companies are leaving themselves open to cyber attack by ignoring crucial measures like updating software and training staff.
The warning comes as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a fine of £4,400,000 to Interserve Group Ltd, a Berkshire based construction company, for failing to keep personal information of its staff secure. This is a breach of data protection law.
The ICO found that the company failed to put appropriate security measures in place to prevent a cyber attack, which enabled hackers to access the personal data of up to 113,000 employees through a phishing email.
The compromised data included personal information such as contact details, national insurance numbers, and bank account details, as well as special category data including ethnic origin, religion, details of any disabilities, sexual orientation, and health information.
John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, said:
“The biggest cyber risk businesses face is not from hackers outside of their company, but from complacency within their company. If your business doesn't regularly monitor for suspicious activity in its systems and fails to act on warnings, or doesn't update software and fails to provide training to staff, you can expect a similar fine from my office.
“Leaving the door open to cyber attackers is never acceptable, especially when dealing with people’s most sensitive information. This data breach had the potential to cause real harm to Interserve’s staff, as it left them vulnerable to the possibility of identity theft and financial fraud.
“Cyber attacks are a global concern, and businesses around the world need to take steps to guard against complacency. The ICO and NCSC already work together to offer advice and support to businesses, and this week I will be meeting with regulators from around the world, to work towards consistent international cyber guidance so that people’s data is protected wherever a company is based.”
Ransomware Threat Shifts from US to EMEA and APAC
The volume of ransomware detections in Q3 2022 was the lowest in two years, but certain geographical regions have become bigger targets as attacks on US organisations wane, according to SonicWall. The security vendor used its own threat detection network, including over one million security sensors in more than 200 countries, to reveal the current landscape.
The good news is that global malware volumes have remained flat for the past three quarters, amounting to a total of over four billion detections in the year to date. Of these, ransomware is also trending down after a record-breaking 2021. Even so, SonicWall detected 338 million compromise attempts in the first three quarters of the year.
Year-to-date ransomware attempts in 2022 have already exceeded the full-year totals from four of the past five years, the vendor claimed. While attacks on US organisations dipped by 51% year-on-year during the period, they increased significantly in the UK (20%), EMEA (38%) and APAC (56%).
The cyber-warfare battlefront continues to shift, posing dangerous threats to organisations of all sizes. With expanding attack surfaces, growing numbers of threats and the current geopolitical landscape, it should be no surprise that even the most seasoned IT professional can feel overwhelmed.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-threat-shifts-from-us/
Phishing Attacks Increase by Over 31% In Third Quarter
Email security and threat detection company Vade has found that phishing emails in the third quarter this year increased by more than 31% quarter on quarter, with the number of emails containing malware in the first three quarters surpassing the 2021 level by 55.8 million.
Malware emails in the third quarter of 2022 alone increased by 217% compared to same period in 2021. Malware email volume peaked in July, reaching 19.2 million, before month-over-month declines in August and September, with numbers dropping to 16.8 million and 16.5 million respectively.
According to the report, email is the preferred attack vector for phishing and malware, as it gives hackers a direct channel to users, the weakest link in an organisation’s attack surface. The report analyses phishing and malware data captured by Vade, which does business internationally.
As attacks become more sophisticated, Vade said, they also become increasingly capable of evading the basic security offered by email providers, which almost eight in 10 businesses still rely on, according to Vade’s research.
While the activity of threat actors fluctuates, Vade’s research found that impersonating trusted and established brands remains the most popular strategy for hackers. In the third quarter of 2022, Facebook was the most impersonated brand for the second consecutive quarter, followed by Google, MTB, PayPal, and Microsoft.
The financial services sector remains the most impersonated industry, representing 32% of phishing emails detected by Vade, followed by cloud at 25%, social media at 22%, and internet/telco at 13%.
As phishing attacks increase, the techniques used by threat actors continue to evolve. While phishing campaigns were traditionally large scale and random, more recent campaigns seen by Vade suggest that hackers have pivoted to using more targeted campaigns.
UK Urged to Watch for Fraud as People Aim to Make Extra Cash in Cost of Living Crisis
Brits have been warned to “stay alert for fraud” as more people are out to make extra cash as the cost of living rises across the country.
UK Finance said that more than half (56%) of people admitted that they are likely to look for opportunities to make extra money in the coming months, which could leave some people more susceptible to fraud.
According to the trade association’s Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign, one in six, or 16%, of people said the rising cost of living means they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone offering an investment opportunity or a loan.
Young people were more likely to be at risk, the data suggested, which surveyed 2,000 people across the UK. More than a third (34%) of 18 to 34-year-olds said they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone, with three in 10 (30%) also more likely to provide their personal or financial details to secure the arrangement.
Overall, three in five people (60%) said they are concerned about falling victim to financial fraud or a scam. It comes as recent figures from UK Finance showed that £609.8m was lost due to fraud and scams in the first half of this year.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-watch-for-fraud-extra-cash-cost-of-living-crisis-230154352.html
HR Departments Play a Key Role in Cyber Security
A common shortcoming of human resources (HR) departments is that — despite being an operation designed to put humans at the centre of how an organisation is run — they often fail to adequately align with their IT counterparts and the core technology systems that define how a business is run and protected from cyber-risk.
Insufficient coordination between HR and IT processes and procedures remains common and gives rise to security gaps that can represent some of the most dangerous vulnerabilities on a company's attack surface. Let's examine the scope of the challenge and some key cyber-asset management priorities that can close the schism for a more robust cyber security posture.
Gone are the days when HR's role in securing the enterprise relied on basic tutorials for employees about protecting passwords on company equipment. Today's threat environment intersects with the workforce in more ways than ever — from bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and authentication gaps to user vulnerabilities that make spear-phishing seem quaint. Traditional social engineering attacks are now being augmented by zero-click exploits that compromise employee devices without the user ever having to click a link or take any action at all.
Beyond malicious threats, even routine HR processes can introduce risk to the organisation when they're not adequately aligned with the IT processes in an organisation. As just one example, when an employee leaves a company, the offboarding goes far beyond just the exit interview to also include removing access to multiple enterprise systems, accounts, and devices — all of which require close coordination between HR and IT personnel and systems.
To better secure the enterprise, it's mission-critical to get HR and IT more united in a common and advanced understanding of cyber hygiene and risk mitigation. This relies on enhanced awareness of the impact that HR processes have on cyber assets in other parts of the organisation, as well as the HR role in access management for employees and contractors. This requires asset visibility that must be ongoing and in real time, since our roles, devices, and access to data and systems may change multiple times over the course of our employment.
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/hr-departments-play-a-key-role-in-cybersecurity
The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Ransomware Attacks
Northwave has conducted scientific research into the psychological effects of a ransomware crisis on both organisations and individuals. The findings reveal the deep marks that a ransomware crisis leaves on all those affected. It also shows how their IT and security teams can turn in disarray long after the crisis itself has passed.
The research reveals how the psychological impact of ransomware attacks can persist on people in affected organisations for a very long time. It shows that crisis team members may develop serious symptoms far later. Top management and HR need to take measures against this, in fact right from the very beginning of the crisis. They are the ones bearing responsibility for the well-being of their staff.
They also discovered how teams have fallen apart some time after the crisis, with members leaving or staying home on sick-leave. The study reveals that effects can linger throughout the organisation. All in all the investigation shows that this invisible impact of a cyber crisis is an issue for the general business management, and certainly also for HR.
Northwave regards the response to a cyber attack as occurring in three phases. First comes the actual crisis situation, which evolves into an incident phase after about a week. A plan of action is then in place, and recovery measures are launched. The fire has been largely extinguished after a month or so, with the first (basic) functionalities available again.
Full recovery can take one to two years. Each phase has its specific effects on the minds and bodies of those involved, and by extension, on the organisation or parts of it. “On average a company is down for three weeks following a malware attack,” notes Van der Beijl. “But it surprised us that the impact persists for so long afterwards. Psychological issues are still surfacing a year after the actual crisis.”
One of every seven employees involved in the attack, either directly or indirectly, exhibits severe enough symptoms several months later, at a level considered to be above the clinical threshold at which professional trauma treatment help is needed. One in five employees say they would actually have needed more professional help subsequently in coming to terms with the attack. One in three liked to have more knowledge and concrete tools to deal with the psychological effects of the attack.
A ransomware attack has enduring psychological effects on the way employees view the world. Two-thirds of employees, including those not actually involved in the attack, now believe the world is less safe. As one IT manager pointed out, “I’ve become far more suspicious. The outside world is a dangerous place.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/25/psychological-effects-ransomware/
7 Hidden Social Media Cyber Risks for Enterprises
Whether they use it to amplify the brand, recruit new employees, advertise new products, or even sell directly to consumers, corporate brands love social media.
According to recent figures, brand advertising on social media is up by 53% in the last year, and that's not accounting for further investments that brands are making in developing and distributing content. They're pushing viral videos, funny memes, podcasts, written material, and more to increase engagement with their customers.
And brands are doing it across not only the old reliable social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but also emerging platforms like TikTok. In fact, according to another recent study, in 2022 marketers are expanding their horizons, with their increased content investments focused on areas like live streaming, long-form and short-form video content, virtual reality and augmented reality content, experimental content, and live audio chat rooms. The top platforms they're focused on most for increasing spending are now TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
With the broadening of these social-media marketing strategies comes more risk. Whether an organisation uses social media to amplify its brand, or its executives and employees leverage social channels to bolster their professional and personal brands, these marketing platforms are a breeding ground for a wide range of cyber attacks and scams, including in the areas of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and biometrics.
Cyber criminals, fraudsters, spies, and activists work around the clock to take advantage of emerging attack surfaces that arise from enterprise use of social media. The article below presents just a few avenues that organisations may overlook when they double-down on their social media investments.
https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/7-hidden-social-media-cyber-risks-enterprises
54% of Staff Would Reconsider Working for a Firm That Had Experienced a Cyber Breach, Research Finds
Over half (54%) of office workers would reconsider working for a company that had recently experienced a cyber breach. That's according to a new study by cyber security technology provider, Encore.
An independent study of 100 C-level executives, 100 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and 500 office workers in the US and the UK, conducted by Censuswide, sought to uncover the gap that remains between boards and security teams when it comes to addressing cyber demands.
Only a third (33%) of staff said they would be "completely unphased" if their employer suffered a cyber break-in. The majority (57%) of C-level executives polled said they have been breached in the last 12 months alone. Most office workers, however, were unaware, with only 39% believing their organisation had been the victim of a successful attack.
The immediate financial cost of a cyber-attack remains the number one concern for businesses, but security teams are learning that there is a long tail to these breaches, with employees at risk of losing faith in their company, its ethics and values and its overarching responsibilities to the general public. In a competitive market, this is a stark warning to businesses across the world. Keeping your staff in the dark about cyber risk is a fundamental error, not to mention the additional impact of delayed disclosure to customers.
41% of C-level executives polled named reputational damage as one of the biggest costs to their business following a cyber-attack, with 34% agreeing that loss of clientele or their trust was a significant cost.
Despite many admitting to suffering a cyber breach in the last year, the overwhelming majority (92%) of CISOs and C-level executives polled believe their business is secure at any given moment. Encore believes that a mindset shift is needed at an organisational level, treating cyber incidents and the security of employee and customer data as a fundamental part of normal business operations, not a function that sits on the outside, looking in.
Evolve as Fast as the Cyber Criminals: Protect Your Business Now, Before It’s Too Late
According to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report, 2021 saw a global average increase of 105% in the number of ransomware attacks. Proofpoint's 2022 State of the Phish report said that a staggering 82% of UK businesses that experienced a ransomware attack sent payment to the cyber criminals – believing this was the cheapest and easiest way to regain access to their data. However, in many cases criminals simply took the payment without restoring access and the organisation finds itself on criminal target lists as it has demonstrated that attacks pay off. Even when decryption keys are handed over it can take an extended period of time to restore data.
One attack, on a hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany, was implicated in the death of a patient who had to be diverted to an alternative site as the A&E department had been forced to close due to the loss of core computer systems. It appears that the attack had been misdirected, and the hackers – who were quickly apprehended by the police – handed over the encryption keys immediately when they realised what had happened. Nevertheless, the decryption process was slow. It began in the early hours of September 11 and by September 20 the hospital was still unable to add or retrieve information, or even send emails. 30 servers had been corrupted.
The methods and techniques required to conduct a cyber-attack have never been more accessible. Whether it is on the darknet or through open-source content, the ability to purchase material that allows a malicious user to conduct a cyber-attack is readily available. Conducting a ransomware attack and using it to extort money from companies and government services alike, is now viewed as a viable business model by organised criminals.
Enterprise Ransomware Preparedness Improving but Still Lacking
The majority of organisations have made ransomware preparedness a top-five business priority, yet only half believe their preparedness is stronger than it was two years ago. That is according to a recent survey, "The Long Road Ahead to Ransomware Preparedness" by Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget.
Despite warnings and available preparedness resources, ransomware continues to distress companies. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they suffered a successful attack within the last year, and 73% reported they had one or more attacks that caused negative financial impact or disrupted business operations in the same time period.
The good news is the board and the C-suite are finally getting the message that more needs to be done to address impending ransomware attempts. In fact, 79% of respondents said business leaders made ransomware preparedness a top business priority, and 82% of organisations plan to invest more in ransomware preparedness over the next 12 to 18 months.
With preparedness investments expected to grow, the survey asked how organisations currently tackle ransomware. Respondents said the most important prevention tactics involve efforts in the following:
network security (43%)
backup infrastructure security (40%)
endpoint security (39%)
email security (36%)
data encryption (36%)
Ongoing activities cited included data recovery testing, employee security awareness training, response readiness assessments, incident response functional exercises, penetration testing, incident planning and playbook development, phishing simulation programs, tabletop exercises, and blue/red/purple team engagements.
Why Are There So Many Data Breaches? A Growing Industry of Criminals is Brokering in Stolen Data
New details have emerged on the severity of the Australian Medibank hack, which has now affected all users. Optus, Medibank, Woolworths, and, last Friday, electricity provider Energy Australia are all now among the Australian household names that have fallen victim to a data breach.
If it seems like barely a week goes by without news of another incident like this, you would be right. Cyber crime is on the rise – seven major Australian businesses were affected by data breaches in the past month alone.
But why now? And who is responsible for this latest wave of cyber attacks?
In large part, the increasing number of data breaches is being driven by the growth of a global illicit industry that trades in your data. In particular, hackers known as “initial access brokers” specialise in illegally gaining access to victim networks and then selling this access to other cyber criminals.
Hackers and initial access brokers are just one part of a complex and diversifying cyber crime ecosystem. This ecosystem contains various cyber criminal groups who increasingly specialise in one particular aspect of online crime and then work together to carry out the attacks.
Ransomware attacks are complex, involving up to nine different stages. These include gaining access to a victim’s network, stealing data, encrypting a victim’s network, and issuing a ransom demand. Increasingly, these attacks are carried out not by lone cyber criminal groups, but rather by networks of different cyber crime groups, each of which specialises in a different stage of the attack.
Initial access brokers will often carry out the first stage of a ransomware attack. Described by Google’s Threat Analysis Group as “the opportunistic locksmiths of the security world”, it’s their job to gain access to a victim’s network.
How The "pizza123" Password Could Take Down an Organisation
Criminal hackers took responsibility for a recent FastCompany breach, saying they exploited an easily guessed default password, "pizza123." The business magazine reused the weak password across a dozen WordPress accounts, according to the hackers, who described the attack in their own article on FastCompany.com before the publication took the site down.
The breach, the bitter taste of pizza123, and the plight of malicious push notifications, demand caution when selecting and managing passwords.
The hackers claimed to have used the vulnerable password pizza123 to access authentication tokens, Apple News API keys, and Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) tokens. Then they sent offensive push notifications to the home screens of subscribers of the FastCompany channel on the Apple News service.
After decades of investment in sculpting the organisation's brand image, a business can watch its reputation flounder in the face of an obscene push notification. The sentiment of millions of faithful customers can turn sour in an instant. By the time organisations block the messages and make public apologies, the harm is done.
Customers can swap to a competitor, or even sue for the offence when they have entrusted a publisher to provide safe content. Regulatory bodies can fine organisations. The company can spend time and money defending itself in court and restoring its image. But malicious push notifications can do a lot worse than offend customers—criminal hackers can load messages with malware and infect consumer devices, leading to privacy violations and consumer financial fraud.
People often build passwords using the first word that comes to mind and a brief series of numbers. Pizza123 is a perfect example of an easy-to-guess password. Employees will create passwords already appearing on breached password lists. Criminal hackers use brute force attacks to confirm working passwords from the same lists.
Nearly two-thirds of employees reuse their passwords. The more they reuse them across business and personal accounts, the more likely criminal hackers will breach them and test them on the organisation. Hackers know to try the same passwords on different companies they hack because of password reuse.
Robust password management enables fine-grained password policies and policy customisation. With a custom password policy, organisations can increase complexity requirements, like length and previous-password change minimums. A custom password policy with increased complexity requirements will block 95% of weak and breached passwords.
Password length is a particularly critical component of strong passwords. Ninety-three percent of the passwords used in brute force attacks include eight or more characters. A custom password policy can require a minimum password length, decreasing password entropy.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
SonicWall: Ransomware down this year, but there’s a catch • The Register
Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register
Microsoft links Raspberry Robin worm to Clop ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
How to detect Windows worm that now distributes ransomware • The Register
Ransomware Barrage Aimed at US Healthcare Sector, Feds Warn (darkreading.com)
BlackByte ransomware affiliate also steals victims' data • The Register
Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs
OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
CISA warns of ransomware attacks on healthcare providers (techtarget.com)
Ransom Cartel - REvil Rebrand? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Addressing Ransomware in Hospitals & Medical Devices (trendmicro.com)
Australian Clinical Labs says patient data stolen in ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Vice Society Hackers Confess To Education Sector Ransomware Attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Why Ransomware in Education on the Rise and What That Means for 2023 (thehackernews.com)
Largest EU copper producer Aurubis suffers cyber attack, IT outage (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hive Ransomware Hackers Begin Leaking Data Stolen from Tata Power Energy Company (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware Gangs Ramp Up Industrial Attacks in US (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Social engineering attacks anybody could fall victim to - Help Net Security
Twilio Says Employees Targeted in Separate Smishing, Vishing Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Malware
Threat Groups Repurpose Banking Trojans into Backdoors (darkreading.com)
Types of cloud malware and how to defend against them (techtarget.com)
Chrome extensions with 1 million installs hijack targets’ browsers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers use Microsoft IIS web server logs to control malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Internet of Things – IoT
IoT Fingerprinting Helps Authenticate and Secure All Those Devices (darkreading.com)
IoT security strategy from enterprises using connected devices | Network World
Your CCTV devices can be hacked and weaponized - Help Net Security
Data Breaches/Leaks
Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data | Cybernews
See Tickets discloses 2.5 years-long credit card theft breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
Twilio discloses another hack from June, blames voice phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Ukrainian charged for operating Raccoon Stealer malware service (bleepingcomputer.com)
Interpol says metaverse opens up new world of cyber crime | Reuters
From Bounty to Exploit Observations About Cyber criminal Contests (trendmicro.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Purpleurchin: Cryptocurrency miners scour GitHub, Heroku • The Register
Cryptomining campaign abused free GitHub account trials (techtarget.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Dealers Report Dramatic Increase in Identity Fraud: Most Lack Effective Protection (darkreading.com)
LinkedIn Releases New Security Features To Combat Fraud (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Beware Of SCAMS As Cost Of Living Bites Finances, Expert Comments (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Insurance
Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register
Cyber Insurance Market 2022: FAQs & Updates with iBynd (trendmicro.com)
Dark Web
Notorious ‘BestBuy’ hacker arraigned for running dark web market (bleepingcomputer.com)
Student arrested for running one of Germany’s largest dark web markets (bleepingcomputer.com)
British hacker arraigned for running The Real Deal dark web marketplace - Security Affairs
Software Supply Chain
How the Software Supply Chain Security is Threatened by Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)
Consumer behaviours are the root of open source risk - Help Net Security
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Key observations on DDoS attacks in H1 2022 - Help Net Security
Meet the Windows servers that have been fuelling massive DDoSes for months | Ars Technica
Cloud/SaaS
Everything you Need to Know about Cloud Hacking and its Methodologies (analyticsinsight.net)
Top Cloud Security Challenges & How to Beat Them (trendmicro.com)
Atlassian Vulnerabilities Highlight Criticality of Cloud Services (darkreading.com)
Threat Actors Target AWS EC2 Workloads to Steal Credentials (trendmicro.com)
Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)
Cloud Providers Throw Their Weight Behind Confidential Computing (darkreading.com)
Hybrid Working
Balancing remote work privacy vs. productivity monitoring (techtarget.com)
Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Attack Surface Management
Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 2 (trendmicro.com)
Asset risk management: Getting the basics right - Help Net Security
Encryption
New Critical Vuln In Component That Allow Encryption Across Internet - (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
API
Open Source
Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)
4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Why it's time to expire mandatory password expiration policies (techtarget.com)
Feds say Ukrainian man running malware service amassed 50M unique credentials | Ars Technica
Biometrics
Social Media
LinkedIn Phishing Spoof Bypasses Google Workspace Security (darkreading.com)
LinkedIn's new security features combat fake profiles, threat actors (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber security event cancelled after scammers disrupt LinkedIn live chat (bitdefender.com)
Expert Opinion: What Does Musk's Takeover Mean For Cyber security? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Cyber attackers Target Instagram Users With Threats of Copyright Infringement (darkreading.com)
Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Data Protection
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine: Russian cyber attacks aimless and opportunistic (techtarget.com)
Unknown Actors are Deploying RomCom RAT to Target Ukrainian Military (thehackernews.com)
Slovak, Polish Parliaments Hit by Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs
Ukraine Warns of Cuba Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russia says Starlink satellites could become military target • The Register
Calls for inquiry mount after reports that Truss’s phone was hacked | Financial Times
OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese Connected Cyber Crew Unleashes Disinformation Campaign Ahead of US Elections - MSSP Alert
Federal bans don't stop US states from buying Chinese kit • The Register
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
OpenSSL to fix the second critical flaw ever - Security Affairs
Urgent: Google Issues Emergency Patch for Chrome Zero-Day (darkreading.com)
ConnectWise fixes RCE bug exposing thousands of servers to attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple megaupdate: Ventura out, iOS and iPad kernel zero-day – act now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Windows Mark of the Web Zero-Days Remain Patchless, Under Exploit (darkreading.com)
22-Year-Old Vulnerability Reported in Widely Used SQLite Database Library (thehackernews.com)
Cisco warns admins to patch AnyConnect flaws exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Exploit released for critical VMware RCE vulnerability, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco Confirms In-the-Wild Exploitation of Two VPN Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Incoming OpenSSL critical fix: Organisations, users, get ready! - Help Net Security
Cisco Users Informed of Vulnerabilities in Identity Services Engine | SecurityWeek.Com
VMware fixes critical RCE in VMware Cloud Foundation - Security Affairs
VMware Patches Critical Vulnerability in End-of-Life Product | SecurityWeek.Com
Multiple vulnerabilities affect the Juniper Junos OS - Security Affairs
Other News
Cyber Security Risks & Stats This Spooky Season (darkreading.com)
Cyber Certification Skills Are For Life, Not Just For Linkedin (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Implementing Defence in Depth to Prevent and Mitigate Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Cyber security’s importance and impact reaches all levels of the tech workforce - Help Net Security
Stress Is Driving Cyber Security Professionals to Rethink Roles (darkreading.com)
Equifax's Lessons Are Still Relevant, 5 Years Later (darkreading.com)
Why dark data is a growing danger for corporations - Help Net Security
Know the dangers you're facing: 4 notable TTPs used by cyber criminals worldwide - Help Net Security
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 October 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 21 October 2022:
-Gen Z, Millennials Really Doesn't Care About Workplace Cyber Security
-Supply Chain Attacks Increased Over 600% This Year and Companies Are Falling Behind
-Cyber-Enabled Crimes Are Biggest Police Concerns
-List of Common Passwords Accounts for Nearly All Cyber Attacks
-Shared Responsibility or Shared Fate? Decentralized IT Means We Are All Cyber Defenders
-Ukraine War Cuts Ransomware as Kremlin Co-Opts Hackers
-96% Of Companies Report Insufficient Security for Sensitive Cloud Data
-Your Microsoft Exchange Server Is a Security Liability
-Are Cyber Security Vendors Pushing Snake Oil?
-Ransomware Preparedness, What Are You Doing Wrong?
-NSA Cybersecurity Director's Six Takeaways from the War in Ukraine
-Microsoft Confirms Server Misconfiguration Led to 65,000+ Companies' Data Leak
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
Gen Z, Millennials Really Don’t Care About Workplace Cyber Security
When it comes to cyber security in the workplace, younger employees don’t really seem to care that much, which is putting their organisations in serious harm’s way, new research has claimed.
Surveying approximately 1,000 workers using devices issued by their employers, professional services firm EY found Gen Z enterprise employees were more apathetic about cyber security than their Boomer counterparts in adhering to their employer's safety policies.
This is despite the fact that four in five (83%) of all those surveyed claimed to understand their employer’s security protocol.
When it comes to implementing mandatory IT updates, for example, 58% of Gen Z’ers and 42% of millennials would disregard them for as long as possible. Less than a third (31%) of Gen X’ers, and just 15% of baby boomers said they do the same.
Apathy in the young extends to password reuse between private and business accounts. A third of Gen Z and millennial workers surveyed admitted to this, compared to less than a quarter of all Gen X’ers and baby boomers.
Some say the apathy of young people towards technology is down to their over-familiarity with technology, and never having been without it. Being too comfortable with tech undoubtedly makes an enterprise's younger employees a major target for cyber criminals looking to exploit any hole in security.
If an organisation's cyber security practices aren't upheld strongly, threat actors can compromise huge networks with simple social engineering attacks.
https://www.techradar.com/news/younger-workers-dont-care-about-workplace-cybersecurity
Supply Chain Attacks Increased Over 600% This Year and Companies Are Falling Behind
The number of documented supply chain attacks involving malicious third-party components has increased 633% over the past year, now sitting at over 88,000 known instances, according to a new report from software supply chain management company Sonatype. Meanwhile, instances of transitive vulnerabilities that software components inherit from their own dependencies have also reached unprecedented levels and plague two-thirds of open-source libraries.
“The networked nature of dependencies highlights the importance of having visibility and awareness about these complex supply chains” Sonatype said in its newly released State of the Software Supply Chain report. “These dependencies impact our software, so having an understanding of their origins is critical to vulnerability response. Many organisations did not have the needed visibility and continued their incident response procedures for Log4Shell well beyond the summer of 2022 as a result.”
Log4Shell is a critical vulnerability discovered in November 2021 in Log4j, a widely popular open-source Java library used for logging and bundled in millions of enterprise applications and software products, often as an indirect dependency. According to Sonatype’s monitoring, as of August 2022, the adoption rate for fixed versions of Log4j sits at around 65%. Moreover, this doesn’t even account for the fact that the Log4Shell vulnerability originated in a Java class called JndiManager that is part of Log4j-core, but which has also been borrowed by 783 other projects and is now found in over 19,000 software components.
Log4Shell served as a watershed moment, highlighting the inherent risks that exist in the open-source software ecosystem – which sits at the core of modern software development – and the need to manage them properly. It also led to several initiatives to secure the software supply chain by private organisations, software repository managers, the Linux Foundation, and government bodies. Yet, most organisations are far from where they need to be in terms of open-source supply chain management.
Cyber-Enabled Crimes Are Biggest Police Concerns
Cyber-related crimes such as money laundering, ransomware and phishing pose the biggest threat to society, according to the first ever Interpol Global Crime Trend report.
The inaugural study was compiled from data received from the policing organisation’s 195 member countries, as well as information and analysis from external sources.
Money laundering was ranked the number one threat, with 67% of respondents claiming it to be a “high” or “very high” risk. Ransomware came second (66%) but was the crime type that most (72%) expected to increase in the next 3–5 years.
Of the nine top crime trends identified in the report, six are directly cyber-enabled, including money laundering, ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, computer intrusion and child sexual exploitation.
Interpol warned that the pandemic had fomented new underground offerings like “financial crime-as-a-service,” including digital money laundering tools which help to lower the barrier to entry for criminal gangs. It also claimed that demand for online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) content surged during the pandemic. Some 62% of respondents expect it to increase or significantly increase in the coming years.
The findings represent something of a turnaround from pre-pandemic times, when drug trafficking regularly topped the list of police concerns. Thanks to a surge in corporate digitalisation, home working and online shopping, there are now rich pickings to be had from targeting consumers and business users with cyber-scams and attacks, Interpol claimed.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberenabled-crimes-are-biggest/
List of Common Passwords Accounts for Nearly All Cyber Attacks
Half of a million passwords from the RockYou2021 list account for 99.997% of all credential attacks against a variety of honeypots, suggesting attackers are just taking the easy road.
Tens of millions of credential-based attacks targeting two common types of servers boiled down to a small fraction of the passwords that formed a list of leaked credentials, known as the RockYou2021 list.
Vulnerability management firm Rapid7, via its network of honeypots, recorded every attempt to compromise those servers over a 12-month period, finding that the attempted credential attacks resulted in 512,000 permutations. Almost all of those passwords (99.997%) are included in a common password list — the RockYou2021 file, which has 8.4 billion entries — suggesting that attackers, or the subset of threat actors attacking Rapid7's honeypots, are sticking to a common playbook.
The overlap in all the attacks also suggest attackers are taking the easy road, said Rapid7. "We know now, in a provable and demonstrable way, that nobody — 0% of attackers — is trying to be creative when it comes to unfocused, untargeted attacks across the Internet," they said. "Therefore, it's very easy to avoid this kind of opportunistic attack, and it takes very little effort to take this threat off the table entirely, with modern password managers and configuration controls."
Every year, security firms present research suggesting users are continuing to pick bad passwords. In 2019, an evaluation of passwords leaked to the Internet found that the top password was "123456," followed by "123456789" and "qwerty," and unfortunately things have not got much better since then.
https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/a-common-password-list-accounts-for-nearly-all-cyberattacks
Shared Responsibility or Shared Fate? Decentralised IT Means We Are All Cyber Defenders
Does your organisation truly understand the shared responsibility model? Shared responsibility emerged from the early days of cloud computing as a way to delineate responsibilities between cloud providers and their customers, but often there's a gap between what shared responsibility means and how it is interpreted. With the decentralisation of IT, this gap is getting worse.
Applications, servers, and overall technology used to be under the purview and control of the IT department, yet with the shift to cloud, and specifically software-as-a-service (SaaS), this dynamic has changed. Whether it's the sales team bringing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system like Salesforce, or the HR department operating a human resources information system (HRIS) like Workday, there's a clear "expanding universe" of IT that no longer sits where it used to. Critical business workflows exist in separate business units far from IT and security and are managed as such. Our corporate IT footprints have become decentralised.
This is not some minor, temporary trend. With the ease and speed of adopting new SaaS applications and the desire to "lift and shift" code into cloud-based environments, this is the future. The future is decentralised.
The shift to business-owned and -operated applications puts security teams in a position where risk management is their responsibility; they are not even able to log into some of these critical systems. It's like asking your doctor to keep you healthy but not giving her access to your information or having regular check-ups. It doesn't work that way.
Beyond the challenging human skills gap, there's technical entropy and diversity everywhere, with different configuration settings, event logs, threat vectors, and data sensitivities. On the access side, there are different admins, users, integrations, and APIs. If you think managing security on Windows and Mac is a lot, try it across many huge applications.
With this reality, how can the security team be expected to combat a growing amount of decentralised business technology risk?
We must operate our technology with the understanding that shared responsibility is the vertical view between cloud provider and customer, but that enterprise-owned piece of shared responsibility is the burden of multiple teams horizontally across an organisation. Too often the mentality is us versus them, availability versus security, too busy to care about risk, too concerned with risk to understand "the business."
Ukraine War Cuts Ransomware as Kremlin Co-Opts Hackers
The Ukraine war has helped reduce global ransomware attacks by 10pc in the last few months, a British cyber security company has said.
Criminal hacking gangs, usually engaged in corporate ransomware activities, are increasingly being co-opted by the Russian military to launch cyber attacks on Ukraine, according to Digital Shadows. “The war is likely to continue to motivate ransomware actors to target government and critical infrastructure entities,” according to the firm. Such attacks partly contributed to a 10pc drop in the number of ransomware threats launched during the three months to September, said the London-based company.
The drop in ransomware may also partly be caused by tit-for-tat digital attacks between rival hacking gangs. Researchers said the Lockbit gang, who recently targeted LSE-listed car retailer Pendragon with a $60m (£53.85m) ransom demand, were the target of attacks from their underworld rivals. The group is increasingly inviting resentment from competing threat groups and possibly former members.
Some cyber criminals’ servers went offline in September after what appeared to be an attack from competitors. In the world of cyber criminality, it is not uncommon for tensions to flare among rival groups.
Officials from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre have said ransomware is one of the biggest cyber threats facing the UK. Figures published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport this year revealed the average costs to businesses caused by ransomware attacks is around £19,000 per incident.
US-based cyber security company Palo Alto Networks, however, warned that the average ransom payment it saw in the early part of this year was $925,000 (£829,000).
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/10/23/ukraine-war-cuts-ransomware-kremlin-co-opts-hackers/
96% Of Companies Report Insufficient Security for Sensitive Cloud Data
The vast majority of organisations lack confidence in securing their data in cloud, while many companies acknowledge they lack sufficient security even for their most sensitive data, according to a new report by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).
The CSA report surveyed 1,663 IT and security professionals from organisations of various sizes and in various locations. "Only 4% report sufficient security for 100% of their data in the cloud. This means that 96% of organisations have insufficient security for at least some of their sensitive data," according to the report, which was sponsored by data intelligence firm BigID.
Apart from struggling with securing sensitive data, organisations are also having trouble tracking data in the cloud. Over a quarter of organisations polled aren’t tracking regulated data, nearly a third aren’t tracking confidential or internal data, and 45% aren’t tracking unclassified data, the report said.
“This suggests that organisations’ current methods of classifying data aren’t sufficient for their needs. However, if the tracking is this low, it could be a contributing factor to the issue of dark data. Organisations need to utilise data discovery and classification tools to properly understand the data they have and how to protect it,” the CSA study noted.
Your Microsoft Exchange Server Is a Security Liability
With endless vulnerabilities, widespread hacking campaigns, slow and technically tough patching, it's time to say goodbye to on-premise Exchange.
Once, reasonable people who cared about security, privacy, and reliability ran their own email servers. Today, the vast majority host their personal email in the cloud, handing off that substantial burden to the capable security and engineering teams at companies like Google and Microsoft. Now, cyber security experts argue that a similar switch is due - or long overdue - for corporate and government networks. For enterprises that use on-premise Microsoft Exchange, still running their own email machine somewhere in a closet or data centre, the time has come to move to a cloud service, if only to avoid the years-long plague of bugs in Exchange servers that has made it nearly impossible to keep determined hackers out.
The latest reminder of that struggle arrived earlier this week, when Taiwanese security researcher Orange Tsai published a blog post laying out the details of a security vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange. Tsai warned Microsoft about this vulnerability as early as June of 2021, and while the company responded by releasing some partial fixes, it took Microsoft 14 months to fully resolve the underlying security problem. Tsai had earlier reported a related vulnerability in Exchange that was massively exploited by a group of Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Hafnium, which last year penetrated more than 30,000 targets by some counts. Yet according to the timeline described in Tsai’s post this week, Microsoft repeatedly delayed fixing the newer variation of that same vulnerability, assuring Tsai no fewer than four times that it would patch the bug before pushing off a full patch for months longer. When Microsoft finally released a fix, Tsai wrote, it still required manual activation and lacked any documentation for four more months.
Meanwhile, another pair of actively exploited vulnerabilities in Exchange that were revealed last month still remain unpatched after researchers showed that Microsoft’s initial attempts to fix the flaws had failed. Those vulnerabilities were just the latest in a years-long pattern of security bugs in Exchange’s code. And even when Microsoft does release Exchange patches, they’re often not widely implemented, due to the time-consuming technical process of installing them.
The result of those compounding problems, for many who have watched the hacker-induced headaches of running an Exchange server pile up, is a clear message: An Exchange server is itself a security vulnerability, and the fix is to get rid of it.
“You need to move off of on-premise Exchange forever. That’s the bottom line,” says Dustin Childs, the head of threat awareness at security firm Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), which pays researchers for finding and reporting vulnerabilities in commonly used software and runs the Pwn2Own hacking competition. “You’re not getting the support, as far as security fixes, that you would expect from a really mission-critical component of your infrastructure.”
https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-exchange-server-vulnerabilities/
Are Cyber Security Vendors Pushing Snake Oil?
Survey: 96 percent of cyber security decision makers confused by vendor marketing.
The availability of new security products increases, the amount of budget spent on cyber security grows, and the number of security breaches seems to outpace both. This basic lack of correlation between increasing cyber security spend and any clear increase in cyber security effectiveness is the subject of a new analytical survey from Egress.
With 52 million data breaches in Q2 2022 alone (Statista), Egress questioned 800 cyber security and IT leaders on why vendor claims and reality aren’t aligned. The headline response in the survey is that 91% of decision makers have difficulty in selecting cyber security vendors due to unclear marketing about their specific offerings.
The financial investment cycle doesn’t help in this. For many investors, the strength of the management team is more important than the product. The argument is not whether this product is a cyber security silver bullet, but whether this management can take the company to a point where it can exit with serious profits.
If investment is achieved, much of it will go into marketing. That marketing must compete against existing, established vendors – so it tends to be louder, more aggressive, and replete with hyperbole. Marketing noise can lead to increased valuation, which can lead to a successful and profitable exit by the investors.
Of course, this is an oversimplification and doesn’t always happen. The point, however, is that it does happen and has no relevance to the real effectiveness of the product in question. Without any doubt, there are many products that have been over-hyped by marketing funds provided by profit-driven investors.
https://www.securityweek.com/are-cybersecurity-vendors-pushing-snake-oil
Ransomware Preparedness: What Are You Doing Wrong?
Axio released its 2022 State of Ransomware Preparedness research report, revealing that although notable improvements have been made since Axio’s 2021 report, organisational ransomware preparedness continues to be insufficient to keep pace with new attack vectors.
The report reveals that the lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, including critical vulnerability patching and employee cyber security training, continues to undermine organisational attempts to improve ransomware defences.
“Ransomware continues to wreak havoc on global organisations, regardless of size or industry,” remarked the report’s co-author David White, President of Axio. “As the number of attacks will most likely continue on an exponential trajectory, it’s more important than ever for companies to re-evaluate their cyber security practices and make the needed improvements to help combat these attacks.”
The report identifies several emerging patterns that yield insights into why organisations are increasingly susceptible to ransomware attacks. In 2021, seven key areas where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices were identified, and these patterns dominated the 2022 study results as well:
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.
A ransomware-specific playbook for incident management is in place for only 30% of organisations.
Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/20/insufficient-ransomware-preparedness/
NSA Cybersecurity Director's Six Takeaways from the War in Ukraine
From the warning banner ‘Be afraid and expect the worst’ that was shown on several Ukrainian government websites on January 13, 2022, after a cyber-attack took them down, the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) cybersecurity director, Rob Joyce, knew that something was going to be different, and very aggressive, between Ukraine and Russia, and that it would be happening in the cyber space as well.
Ten months on, he was invited to speak at one of Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange's (mWISE) opening keynotes on October 18, 2022. Joyce shared six takeaways from the Russia-Ukraine cyber-conflict in terms of what we learned from it and its impact on how nations should protect their organisations.
Both espionage and destructive attacks will occur in conflict
The cyber security industry has unique insight into these conflicts
Sensitive intelligence can make a decisive difference
You can develop resiliency skills
Don’t try to go it alone
You have not planned enough yet for the contingencies
Toward the end of the keynote, Joyce suggested the audience simulate a scenario based on what happened in Ukraine with the China-Taiwan conflict escalating and see what they should put in place to better prepare for such an event.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nsa-6-takeaways-war-ukraine/
Microsoft Confirms Server Misconfiguration Led to 65,000+ Companies' Data Leak
Microsoft this week confirmed that it inadvertently exposed information related to thousands of customers following a security lapse that left an endpoint publicly accessible over the internet sans any authentication.
"This misconfiguration resulted in the potential for unauthenticated access to some business transaction data corresponding to interactions between Microsoft and prospective customers, such as the planning or potential implementation and provisioning of Microsoft services," Microsoft said in an alert.
Microsoft also emphasised that the B2B leak was "caused by an unintentional misconfiguration on an endpoint that is not in use across the Microsoft ecosystem and was not the result of a security vulnerability."
The misconfiguration of the Azure Blob Storage was spotted on September 24, 2022, by cyber security company SOCRadar, which termed the leak BlueBleed. Microsoft said it's in the process of directly notifying impacted customers.
The Windows maker did not reveal the scale of the data leak, but according to SOCRadar, it affects more than 65,000 entities in 111 countries. The exposure amounts to 2.4 terabytes of data that consists of invoices, product orders, signed customer documents, partner ecosystem details, among others.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/10/microsoft-confirms-server.html
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Сryptocurrency and Ransomware — The Ultimate Friendship (thehackernews.com)
Venus Ransomware targets publicly exposed Remote Desktop services (bleepingcomputer.com)
Pendragon being held to $60m ransom by dark web hackers – Car Dealer Magazine
Magniber Ransomware Is Targeting Home PC (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert
TommyLeaks and SchoolBoys: Two sides of the same ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
With Conti gone, LockBit takes lead of the ransomware threat landscape | CSO Online
Tactics Tie Ransom Cartel Group to Defunct REvil Ransomware (darkreading.com)
Wholesale giant METRO hit by IT outage after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
The link between Ransom Cartel and REvil ransomware gangs - Security Affairs
How Vice Society Got Away With a Global Ransomware Spree | WIRED
Defenders beware: A case for post-ransomware investigations - Microsoft Security Blog
Ransomware crews regrouping as LockBit rise continues (computerweekly.com)
Ransom Cartel linked to notorious REvil ransomware operation (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackney Council Ransomware Attack £12m+ Recovery - IT Security Guru
Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert
Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register
New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Japanese tech firm Oomiya hit by LockBit 3.0 - Security Affairs
Ransomware attack halts circulation of some German newspapers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware Insurance Security Requirement Strategies (trendmicro.com)
Australian insurance firm Medibank confirms ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackByte ransomware uses new data theft tool for double-extortion (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register
Phishing Mitigation Can Cost Businesses More Than $1M Annually (darkreading.com)
Securing your organisation against phishing can cost up to $85 per email | CSO Online
How phishing campaigns abuse Google Ad click tracking redirects - Help Net Security
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
Malware
VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica
Microsoft’s out-of-date driver list left Windows PCs open to malware attacks for years - The Verge
Ursnif malware switches from bank account theft to initial access (bleepingcomputer.com)
Experts spotted a new undetectable PowerShell Backdoor - Security Affairs
Typosquat campaign mimics 27 brands to push Windows, Android malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of GitHub repositories deliver fake PoC exploits with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers use new stealthy PowerShell backdoor to target 60+ victims (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hijacking of Popular Minecraft Launcher by Rogue Developer Raises Malware Fears - IGN
URSNIF (aka Gozi) banking trojan morphs into backdoor • The Register
What is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan)? | Definition from TechTarget
Mobile
Internet of Things – IoT
Riskiest IoT Devices - Cameras, VoIP And Video Conferencing (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Securing IoT devices against attacks that target critical infrastructure - Microsoft Security Blog
74% say connected cars and EV chargers need cyber security ratings | Ars Technica
Data Breaches/Leaks
The companies most likely to lose your data - Help Net Security
Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security
Medibank hack turned into a data breach: The attackers are demanding money - Help Net Security
Mormon Church Hit By Cyber attack, Personal Data Exposed (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Keystone Health Data Breach Impacts 235,000 Patients | SecurityWeek.Com
Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Client Data Exfiltrated In Advanced NHS cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Australian Wine Dealer Suffers Data Breach, 500,000 Customers May Be (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Advocate Aurora Health in potential 3 million patient leak • The Register
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Why Crypto Winter is No Excuse to Let Your Cyber Defences Falter (thehackernews.com)
North Korea’s Lazarus Group Attacks Japanese Crypto Firms - Decrypt
Coinbase users scammed out of $21M in crypto sue company for negligence | Ars Technica
SIM Swappers Sentenced to Prison for Hacking Accounts, Stealing Cryptocurrency | SecurityWeek.Com
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Financial losses to synthetic identity-based fraud to double by 2024 | CSO Online
AI is Key to Tackling Money Mules and Disrupting Fraud: Industry Group | SecurityWeek.Com
Deepfakes
Deepfakes: What they are and how to spot them - Help Net Security
Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Software Supply Chain Attacks Soar 742% In Three Years (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
SBOMs: An Overhyped Concept That Won't Secure Your Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud/SaaS
Microsoft Data-Exposure Incident Highlights Risk of Cloud Storage Misconfiguration (darkreading.com)
3 cloud security posture questions CISOs should answer (techtarget.com)
Attack Surface Management
Identity and Access Management
Encryption
API
Open Source
New security concerns for the open-source software supply chain - Help Net Security
Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)
3 Ways to Help Customers Defend Against Linux-Based Cyber attacks - MSSP Alert
OldGremlin hackers use Linux ransomware to attack Russian orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Most People Still Reuse Their Passwords Despite Years Of Hacking (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Password Report: Honeypot Data Shows Bot Attack Trends Against RDP, SSH | SecurityWeek.Com
Eight RTX 4090s Can Break Passwords in Under an Hour | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)
Training, Education and Awareness
Security Awareness Urged to Grow Beyond Compliance (darkreading.com)
Raising cyber security awareness is good for everyone - but it needs to be done better | ZDNET
Millennials, Gen Z blamed for poor company security • The Register
Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security
Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)
New York fines EyeMed $4.5 million for 2020 email hack, data breach | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Health insurer pays out $4.5m over bungled data security • The Register
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
INTERPOL-led Operation Takes Down 'Black Axe' Cyber Crime Organisation (thehackernews.com)
Law enforcement arrested 31 suspects for stealing cars by hacking key fobs - Security Affairs
Interpol is setting up its own metaverse to learn how to police the virtual world | Euronews
Brazilian Police Nab Suspected Member of Lapsus$ Group (darkreading.com)
Interpol Report: "Financial Crime-as-a-Service" an Emerging Threat - MSSP Alert
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert
US, China, Russia, more meet at Singapore infosec event • The Register
NSA cyber chief says Ukraine war is compelling more intelligence sharing with industry - CyberScoop
China-Linked Cyber-Espionage Team Homes In on Hong Kong Government Orgs (darkreading.com)
Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert
Hackers target Asian casinos in lengthy cyber espionage campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register
Pro-Russia Hackers DDoS Bulgarian Government - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Ukraine's cyber chief calls for global anti-fake news fight • The Register
German Cyber security Boss Sacked Over Kremlin Connection (darkreading.com)
New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Bulgaria hit by a cyber attack originating from Russia - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors – China
As China-Taiwan tensions mount, how's your cyber defence? • The Register
Chinese 'Spyder Loader' Malware Spotted Targeting Organisations in Hong Kong (thehackernews.com)
Hackers compromised Hong Kong govt agency network for a year (bleepingcomputer.com)
WIP19 Threat Group Cyber attacks Target IT Service Providers, Telcos - MSSP Alert
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
45,654 VMware ESXi servers reached End of Life on Oct. 15 - Security Affairs
VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica
Text message verification flaws in your Windows Active Directory (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apache Commons Vulnerability: Patch but Don't Panic (darkreading.com)
Zoom for Mac patches sneaky “spy-on-me” bug – update now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
ProxyLogon researcher details new Exchange Server flaws (techtarget.com)
Exploited Windows zero-day lets JavaScript files bypass security warnings (bleepingcomputer.com)
Dozen High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in F5 Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Oracle Releases 370 New Security Patches With October 2022 CPU | SecurityWeek.Com
Palo Alto Networks fixed a high-severity flaw in PAN-OS - Security Affairs
Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zimbra Patches Under-Attack Code Execution Bug | SecurityWeek.Com
WordPress Security Update 6.0.3 Patches 16 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com
Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)
Other News
Zero trust is misused in security, say Cloudflare, Zscaler - Protocol
Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million (computerweekly.com)
VPN use prevails despite interest in VPN alternatives (techtarget.com)
JP Morgan Bans Staff From Working Remotely In Hotels and Coffee Shops-But Not Airbnbs | Inc.com
Experts discovered millions of .git folders exposed to public - Security Affairs
Microsoft Defender is lacking in offline detection capabilities, says AV-Comparatives | TechSpot
Internet connectivity worldwide impacted by severed fiber cables in France (bleepingcomputer.com)
UK's Remote Shetland Mysteriously Lose Phone, Internet After Cable Cut (businessinsider.com)
CISOs, rejoice! Security spending is increasing - Help Net Security
Equifax surveilled 1,000 remote workers, fired 24 found juggling two jobs | Ars Technica
NATO Just Deployed Its First Killer Ground Robot (futurism.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 30 September 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 September 2022:
-UK Organisations, Ukraine's Allies Warned of Potential "Massive" Cyber Attacks By Russia
-Cyber Criminals See Allure in BEC Attacks Over Ransomware
-Most Hackers Need 5 Hours or Less to Break Into Enterprise Environments
-Global Firms Deal with 51 Security Incidents Each Day
-Phishing Attacks Crushed Records Last Quarter, Driven by Mobile
-Why Paying the Ransom is Still the Most Common Response to a Ransomware Attack?
-Ransomware Attacks Continue Increasing: 20% of All Reported Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months
-More Than Half of Security Pros Say Risks Higher in Cloud Than On Premise
-How To Outsmart Increasingly Complex Cyber Attacks
-Top Issues Driving Cyber Security: Growing Number of Cyber Criminals, Variety of Attacks
-Cyber Threats Top Business Leaders' Biggest Concerns
-Fired Admin Cripples Former Employer's Network Using Old Credentials
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
UK Organisations, Ukraine's Allies Warned of Potential "Massive" Cyber Attacks By Russia
The head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Lindy Cameron has given an update on Russia’s cyber activity amid its war with Ukraine. Her speech at Chatham House last week came just a few days after Ukraine’s military intelligence agency issued a warning that Russia was “preparing massive cyber attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and its allies.” This coincides with a new Forrester report that reveals the extent to which the cyber impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has expanded beyond the conflict zone with malware attacks propagating into European entities.
Addressing Russian cyber activity this year, Cameron stated that, while we have not seen the “cyber-Armageddon” some predicted, there has been a “very significant conflict in cyber space – probably the most sustained and intensive cyber campaign on record – with the Russian State launching a series of major cyber attacks in support of their illegal invasion in February.”
Russian cyber forces from their intelligence and military branches have been busy launching a huge number of attacks in support of immediate military objectives.
Since the start of the year, the NCSC has been advising UK organisations to take a more proactive approach to cyber security in light of the situation in Ukraine. “There may be organisations that are beginning to think ‘is this still necessary?’ as in the UK we haven’t experienced a major incident related to the war in Ukraine. My answer is an emphatic yes,” Cameron said.
In response to significant recent battlefield set-backs, Putin has been reacting in unpredictable ways, and so we shouldn’t assume that just because the conflict has played out in one way to date, it will continue to go the same way, Cameron added. “There is still a real possibility that Russia could change its approach in the cyber domain and take more risks – which could cause more significant impacts in the UK.” UK organisations and their network defenders should therefore be prepared for this period of elevated alert with a focus on building long-term resilience, which is a “marathon not a sprint,” she said.
Cyber Criminals See Allure in BEC Attacks Over Ransomware
While published trends in ransomware attacks have been contradictory — with some firms tracking more incidents and other fewer — business email compromise (BEC) attacks continue to have proven success against organisations.
BEC cases, as a share of all incident-response cases, more than doubled in the second quarter of the year, to 34% from 17% in the first quarter of 2022. That's according to Arctic Wolf's "1H 2022 Incident Response Insights" report, published on 29 September, which found that specific industries — including financial, insurance, business services, and law firms, as well as government agencies — experienced more than double their previous number of cases, the company said.
Overall, the number of BEC attacks encountered per email box has grown by 84% in the first half of 2022, according to data from cyber security firm Abnormal Security.
Meanwhile, so far this year, threat reports released by organisations have revealed contradictory trends for ransomware. Arctic Wolf and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) have seen drops in the number of successful ransomware attacks, while business customers seem to be encountering ransomware less often, according to security firm Trellix. At the same time, network security firm WatchGuard had a contrary take, noting that its detection of ransomware attacks skyrocketed 80% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with all of last year.
The surging state of BEC landscape is unsurprising because BEC attacks offer cyber criminals advantages over ransomware. Specifically, BEC gains do not rely on the value of cryptocurrency, and attacks are often more successful at escaping notice while in progress. Threat actors are unfortunately very opportunistic.
For that reason, BEC — which uses social engineering and internal systems to steal funds from businesses — continues to be a stronger source of revenue for cyber criminals. In 2021, BEC attacks accounted for 35%, or $2.4 billion, of the $6.9 billion in potential losses tracked by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), while ransomware remained a small fraction (0.7%) of the total.
https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/cybercriminals-see-allure-bec-attacks-ransomware
Most Hackers Need 5 Hours or Less to Break Into Enterprise Environments
A new survey of 300 ethical hackers provides insight into not only the most common means of initial access, but how a complete end-to-end attack happens.
Around 40% of ethical hackers recently surveyed by the SANS Institute said they can break into most environments they test, if not all. Nearly 60% said they need five hours or less to break into a corporate environment once they identify a weakness.
The SANS ethical hacking survey, done in partnership with security firm Bishop Fox, is the first of its kind and collected responses from over 300 ethical hackers working in different roles inside organisations, with different levels of experience and specialisations in different areas of information security. The survey revealed that on average, hackers would need five hours for each step of an attack chain: reconnaissance, exploitation, privilege escalation and data exfiltration, with an end-to-end attack taking less than 24 hours.
The survey highlights the need for organisations to improve their mean time-to-detect and mean-time-to-contain, especially when considering that ethical hackers are restricted in the techniques they're allowed to use during penetration testing or red team engagements. Using black hat techniques, like criminals do, would significantly improve the success rate and speed of attack.
When asked how much time they typically need to identify a weakness in an environment, 57% of the polled hackers indicated ten or fewer hours: 16% responded six to ten hours, 25% three to five hours, 11% one to two hours and 5% less than an hour.
Global Firms Deal with 51 Security Incidents Each Day
Security operations (SecOps) teams are struggling to respond to dozens of cyber security incidents every single day, according to a new report from Trellix.
The security vendor polled 9000 security decision makers from organisations with 500+ employees across 15 markets to compile its latest study, ‘XDR: Redefining the future of cyber security’.
It found that the average SecOps team has to manage 51 incidents per day, with 36% of respondents claiming they deal with 50 to 200 daily incidents. Around half (46%) agreed that they are “inundated by a never-ending stream of cyber-attacks.”
Part of the problem is the siloed nature of security and detection and response systems, the study claimed. Some 60% of respondents argued that poorly integrated products mean teams can’t work efficiently, while a third (34%) admitted they have blind spots. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that 60% admitted they can’t keep pace with the rapid evolution of security threats.
This could be having a major impact on the bottom line. The vast majority (84%) of security decision makers that Trellix spoke to estimated that their organisation lost up to 10% of revenue from security breaches in the past year.
Medium size businesses ($50–$100m in revenue) lost an average of 8% in revenue, versus 5% for large businesses with a turnover of $10bn–$25bn. That could mean hundreds of millions of dollars are being thrown away each year due to inadequate SecOps.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-firms-51-security-incidents/
Phishing Attacks Crushed Records Last Quarter, Driven by Mobile
Last quarter saw a record-shattering number of observed phishing attacks, fuelled in large part by attempts to target users on their mobile devices.
The latest Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) "Phishing Activity Trends Report" for the second quarter of 2022 found 1,097,811 observed phishing attacks, the most the group has ever measured in its history.
The financial sector remained the top target for phishing lures (27.6%), along with other bombarded sectors, including webmail and software-as-a-service providers, social media sites, and cryptocurrency.
But much of the rise in phishing volume is due to a new threat actor focus on mobile devices, specifically vishing (voice phishing) and smishing (SMS phishing) attacks, the report noted.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/phishing-attacks-crushed-records-last-quarter
Why Paying the Ransom is Still the Most Common Response to a Ransomware Attack
According to new data from Databarracks, 44% of the organisations who experienced a ransomware assault paid the demanded ransom. 22% made use of ransomware decryption software, while 34% restored data from backups.
The Databarracks 2022 Data Health Check produced the results. The annual report has been collecting data on ransomware, cyber, backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity from more than 400 UK IT decision-makers since 2008.
From the victim’s standpoint, it’s logical why you may pay a ransom. You are unable to handle orders or provide customer support, and losses mount swiftly. Downtime expenses can easily surpass the ransom.
Organisations may believe that paying the ransom will solve the issue more quickly, allowing them to resume operations as usual. This strategy is faulty for a number of causes.
First of all, there is no assurance that your data will be returned. Second, once criminals know an organisation is an easy target, they frequently attack it again. Finally, it conveys the incorrect message. By paying, you are assisting the crooks by demonstrating that their strategies are effective.
Ransomware Attacks Continue Increasing: 20% of All Reported Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months
Nearly a quarter of businesses have suffered a ransomware attack, with a fifth occurring in the past 12 months, according to a latest annual report from cyber security specialist Hornetsecurity.
The 2022 Ransomware Report, which surveyed over 2,000 IT leaders, revealed that 24% have been victims of a ransomware attack, with one in five (20%) attacks happening in the last year.
Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year's ransomware survey revealed one in five (21%) companies experienced an attack; this year it rose by three percent to 24%.
Attacks on businesses are increasing, and there is a shocking lack of awareness and preparation by IT pros. The survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security as bad actors develop new techniques.
The 2022 Ransomware Report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. A quarter (25%) of IT professionals either don't know or don't think that Microsoft 365 data can be impacted by a ransomware attack.
Just as worryingly, 40% of IT professionals that use Microsoft 365 in their organisation admitted they do not have a recovery plan in case their Microsoft 365 data was compromised by a ransomware attack.
Microsoft 365 is vulnerable to phishing attacks and ransomware attacks, but with the help of third-party tools, IT admins can back up their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks.
Industry responses showed the widespread lack of preparedness from IT professionals and businesses. There has been an increase in businesses not having a disaster recovery plan in place if they do succumb to the heightened threat of a cyber attack.
In 2021, 16% of respondents reported having no disaster recovery plan in place. In 2022, this grew to 19%, despite the rise in attacks.
More Than Half of Security Pros Say Risks Higher in Cloud Than On Premise
A recent survey from machine identity solutions provider Venafi aimed to explore the complexity of cloud environments and the resulting impact on cyber security.
Venafi surveyed 1,101 security decision makers (SDMs) in firms with more than 1,000 employees and found that eighty-one percent of companies have experienced a cloud security incident in the last year. Forty-five percent have suffered at least four security incidents in the same period. More than half of security decision makers believe that security risks are higher in the cloud than on-premise.
Twenty-four percent of the firms have more than 10,000 employees. Ninety-two percent of the SDMs are at manager level or above, with 49% at c-suite level or higher.
Most of the firms surveyed believe the underlying issue is the increasing complexity of their cloud deployments. Since these companies already host 41% of their applications in the cloud, and expect to increase this to 57% over the next 18 months, the problem is only likely to worsen in the future.
The ripest target of attack in the cloud is identity management, especially machine identities. Each of these cloud services, containers, Kubernetes clusters and microservices needs an authenticated machine identity – such as a TLS certificate – to communicate securely. If any of these identities is compromised or misconfigured, it dramatically increases security and operational risks.
Respondents reported that the most common cloud incidents are security incidents during runtime (34%), unauthorised access (33%), misconfigurations (32%), vulnerabilities that have not been remediated (24%), and failed audits (19%).
Their primary operational concerns are hijacking of accounts, services or traffic (35%), malware or ransomware (31%), privacy/data access issues such as those from GDPR (31%), unauthorised access (28%), and nation state attacks (26%).
https://www.securityweek.com/more-half-security-pros-say-risks-higher-cloud-premise
How To Outsmart Increasingly Complex Cyber Attacks
Threat detection is harder today than it was two years ago. Next year will be harder than this year. Why? It’s a compounding effect from skills shortages and threat varieties that’s making it more challenging for any one product to handle key security wins. And cyber security is a constantly evolving sector with 2022 a devastating year for cyber security. Both hackers and security experts are always in a battle to outsmart each other.
Even for businesses with good IT departments, data protection can too quickly become an afterthought. Today’s threat landscape is growing, not just in the frequency of attacks (and the number of high-profile breaches recorded in the media) but so is the complexity of any given threat. A recent piece of research found that in 93 percent of cases, an external attacker can breach an organisation’s network perimeter and gain access to local network resources. Following increasing levels of cyber-attacks, it’s a case of “not if I will be hit by a ransomware attack,” but “when…” Organisations need to do something to mitigate the risk and protect their businesses, and they need to do it now.
Planning and executing a better defence to outsmart attackers and win more security battles doesn’t have to feel like a military operation – but it does require the right service coverage to remove blind spots and reduce emerging risks before they escalate.
https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/how-to-outsmart-increasingly-complex-cyber-attacks/
Top Issues Driving Cyber Security: Growing Number of Cyber Criminals, Variety of Attacks
Fortifying cyber security defences remains a work in progress for many organisations, who acknowledge their shortcomings but have yet to commit the necessary resources to the effort, according to new research from CompTIA.
While a majority of respondents in each of seven geographic regions feels that their company’s cyber security is satisfactory, CompTIA’s “State of Cybersecurity” shows that a much smaller number rank the situation as “completely satisfactory.” Nearly everyone feels that there is room for improvement.
“Companies are aware of the threats they face and the potential consequences of an attack or breach,” said Seth Robinson, VP of industry research, CompTIA. “But they may be underestimating their exposure and how much they need to invest in cyber security. Risk mitigation is the key, the filter through which everything should be viewed.”
Two of the top three issues driving cyber security considerations are the growing volume of cyber criminals, cited by 48% of respondents, and the growing variety of cyber attacks (45%). Additionally, ransomware and phishing have quickly become major areas of concern as digital operations have increased and human error has proven more costly.
“Digital transformation driven by cloud and mobile adoption requires a new strategic approach to cyber security, but this poses significant challenges, both tactically and financially,” Robinson said. “As IT operations and strategy have grown more complex, so has the management of cyber security.”
As cyber security is more tightly integrated with business objectives, zero trust is the overarching policy that should be guiding modern efforts, though its adoption will not take place overnight because it requires a drastically different way of thinking and acting. The report suggests there is small progress in recognising a holistic zero trust approach, but better progress in adopting some elements that are part of an overarching zero trust policy.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/30/top-issues-driving-cybersecurity/
Cyber Threats Top Business Leaders' Biggest Concerns
Cyber threats are the number one concern for business decision makers, beating worries over economic uncertainty, rising energy costs and hiring, according to insurance provider Travelers. The firm polled over 1200 business leaders to compile its 2022 Travelers Risk Index report.
This is the third time in four years that cyber has emerged as the top concern, with more than half (57%) of respondents believing a future cyber-attack on their organisation is inevitable. A quarter (26%) said their company had already been a breach victim, the seventh successive year this figure has risen.
The top two cyber-related concerns were suffering a security breach (57%), and a system glitch causing computers to crash (55%). Becoming a cyber-extortion victim rose from eighth position to third this year.
However, despite general concern about cyber-threats, business decision-makers may also be guilty of overconfidence in their organisation’s security posture.
Nearly all respondents (93%) said they’re confident their company has implemented best practices to prevent or mitigate a cyber event. Yet most have not deployed endpoint detection and response tools (64%), they haven’t conducted a vendor cyber-assessment (59%), and don’t have an incident response plan (53%). Further, while 90% said they’re familiar with multi-factor authentication (MFA), only 52% had implemented it for remote access. This increasingly matters, not only to mitigate cyber-risk but also to reduce insurance premium costs and increase coverage.
Cyber attacks can shut down a company for a long period of time or even put it out of business, and it’s imperative that companies have a plan in place to mitigate any associated operational and financial disruptions.
Effective measures that have proven to reduce the risk of becoming a cyber victim are available, but based on these survey results, not enough companies are taking action. It’s never too late, and these steps can help businesses avoid a devastating cyber-event.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberthreats-top-business-big/
Fired Admin Cripples Former Employer's Network Using Old Credentials
After being laid off, an IT system administrator disrupted the operations of his former employer, a high-profile financial company in Hawaii, hoping to get his job back.
Casey K Umetsu, aged 40, worked as a network admin for the company between 2017 and 2019, when his employer terminated his contract. The US Department of Justice says in a press release that the defendant pled guilty to accessing his former employer's website and making configuration changes to redirect web and email traffic to external computers.
To prolong the business disruption for several more days, Umetsu performed additional actions that essentially locked out the firm's IT team from the website administration panel. In the end, the victimised company learned who was responsible for the sabotage after reporting the cyber security incident to the FBI.
Umetsu is awaiting sentence for his wrongdoings on January 19, 2023. He faces a maximum of 10 years of prison time and a fine of up to $250,000.
While Umetsu's actions are condemnable, the company's security practices cannot be overlooked since Umetsu used credentials that should have been invalidated the moment he got fired.
Threats
Ransomware and Extortion
Ransomware data theft tool may show a shift in extortion tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)
The various ways ransomware impacts your organization - Help Net Security
New Royal Ransomware emerges in multi-million dollar attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Research: 20% of All Reported Ransomware Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months - MSSP Alert
BlackCat Ransomware Attackers Spotted Fine-Tuning Their Malware Arsenal (thehackernews.com)
Noberus ransomware gets info-stealing upgrades • The Register
SQL Server admins warned to watch for Fargo ransomware • The Register
BlackCat/ALPHV Gang Adds Wiper Functionality as Ransomware Tactic (darkreading.com)
Leaked LockBit 3.0 builder used by ‘Bl00dy’ ransomware gang in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
NCC Group: IceFire ransomware gang ramping up attacks (techtarget.com)
MS SQL servers are getting hacked to deliver ransomware to orgs - Help Net Security
Hackers Leak French Hospital Patient Data in Ransom Fight | SecurityWeek.Com
Oxford Health: Cyber attack continues to hit NHS trust's services - BBC News
LA School District Ransomware Attackers Now Threaten to Leak Stolen Data (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Fake US govt job offers push Cobalt Strike in phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Germany arrests hacker for stealing €4 million via phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Capital One Phish Showcases Growing Bank-Brand Targeting Trend (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc
How cyber criminals use public online and offline data to target employees | CSO Online
Beware Revolut frozen card scams sent via SMS text • Graham Cluley
IRS warns Americans of massive rise in SMS phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Malware
Office exploits continue to spread more than any other category of malware - Help Net Security
This credit card-stealing malware is spreading like wildfire | Digital Trends
Hacking group hides backdoor malware inside Windows logo image (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers now sharing cracked Brute Ratel post-exploitation kit online (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cobalt Strike malware campaign targets job seekers (techtarget.com)
New Botnet 'Chaos' Targeting Linux, Windows Systems (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Quantum Builder tool helps criminals spread Windows RATs • The Register
Unit 42 finds polyglot files delivering IcedID malware (techtarget.com)
Hackers use PowerPoint files for 'mouseover' malware delivery (bleepingcomputer.com)
Does AI-powered malware exist in the wild? Not yet (techtarget.com)
New Erbium password-stealing malware spreads as game cracks, cheats (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs
APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs
Mobile
WhatsApp 0-Day Bug Let Hackers Execute an Arbitary Code Remotely (gbhackers.com)
Adware on Google Play and Apple Store installed 13 million times (bleepingcomputer.com)
Samsung facing class action suit after customer data leak • The Register
Inside a cyber attack method that targets your cellphone - The Washington Post
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Watchfinder warns customers that hackers stole their data • Graham Cluley
Shangri-La hotels Customer Database Hacked | SecurityWeek.Com
Hacker Behind Optus Breach Releases 10,200 Customer Records in Extortion Scheme (thehackernews.com)
Australia government wants Optus to pay for data breach | ZDNET
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Ukraine Arrests Cyber Crime Group for Selling Data of 30 Million Accounts (thehackernews.com)
New hacking group ‘Metador’ lurking in ISP networks for months (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Scams targeting crypto enthusiasts are becoming increasingly common - Help Net Security
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Cyber sleuth alleges $160M Wintermute hack was an inside job (cointelegraph.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Identities Stolen From 1 In 4 Internet Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Fake Sites Siphon Millions of Dollars in 3-Year Scam (darkreading.com)
Here’s how crooks are using deepfakes to scam your biz • The Register
Deepfakes
Reshaping the Threat Landscape: Deepfake Cyber attacks Are Here (darkreading.com)
The deepfake danger: When it wasn’t you on that Zoom call | CSO Online
Software Supply Chain
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Hackers are making DDoS attacks sneakier and harder to protect against | ZDNET
UK's MI5 website briefly hit by denial of service attack - BBC | Reuters
Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)
Cloud/SaaS
Cloud security trends: What makes cloud infrastructure vulnerable to threats? - Help Net Security
81% of Companies Suffered A Cloud Security Incident Last Year – (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
What Lurks in the Shadows of Cloud Security? (darkreading.com)
Open Source
Open source projects under attack, with enterprises as the ultimate targets - Help Net Security
Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Numerous orgs hacked after installing weaponized open source apps | Ars Technica
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
The Country Where You Live Impacts Password Choices (darkreading.com)
Five Steps to Mitigate the Risk of Credential Exposure (thehackernews.com)
Social Media
Fake CISO Profiles on LinkedIn Target Fortune 500s – Krebs on Security
Ofcom chair says tech firms must prioritise safety alongside clicks | Ofcom | The Guardian
UK may fine TikTok $29 million for failing to protect children's privacy | Reuters
Training, Education and Awareness
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Cyber Warfare Rife in Ukraine, But Impact Stays in Shadows | SecurityWeek.Com
Mystery hackers are “hyperjacking” targets for insidious spying | Ars Technica
Cyber espionage group developed backdoors tailored for VMware ESXi hypervisors | CSO Online
Taiwanese citizens prepare for possible cyber war (axios.com)
Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register
Espionage Group Wields Steganographic Backdoor Against Govs, Stock Exchange (darkreading.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Researchers Identify 3 Hacktivist Groups Supporting Russian Interests (thehackernews.com)
APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs
Meta dismantles massive Russian network spoofing Western news sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – China
Chinese Cyberespionage Group 'Witchetty' Updates Toolset in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
China’s infosec researchers may have dodged vuln report ban` • The Register
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Lazarus Lures Aspiring Crypto Pros With Fake Exchange Job Postings (darkreading.com)
Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs
Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
Exchange Server zero-day being actively exploited • The Register
Microsoft Confirms Pair of Blindsiding Exchange Zero-Days, No Patch Yet (darkreading.com)
Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Networking Software | SecurityWeek.Com
Sophos fixes critical code injection bug under exploit • The Register
Zoho ManageEngine flaw is actively exploited, CISA warns | CSO Online
Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Quashes 5 High-Severity Bugs With Chrome 106 Update (darkreading.com)
Critical WhatsApp Bugs Could Have Let Attackers Hack Devices Remotely (thehackernews.com)
Go Update iOS, Chrome, and HP Computers to Fix Serious Flaws | WIRED
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
High-Profile Hacks Show Effectiveness of MFA Fatigue Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Poll Of IT Security Pros Suggests Gaps In UK Cyber Defence (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Why Organisations Need Both EDR and NDR for Complete Network Protection (thehackernews.com)
Lessons From the GitHub Cyber Security Breach (darkreading.com)
Data security trends: 7 statistics you need to know - Help Net Security
Why does a Legacy WAF Fail to “Catch” Sophisticated Attacks? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)
Akamai finds 13 million malicious newly observed domains a month | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Opinion | The Uber Hack Exposes More Than Failed Data Security - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Cyber security Study Sees “Siloed” Security As Organisational Weak Spot - MSSP Alert
3 types of attack paths in Microsoft Active Directory environments - Help Net Security
97% of enterprises say VPNs are prone to cyber attacks: Study | CSO Online
65% of companies are considering adopting VPN alternatives - Help Net Security
Spoofing cyber attack can make cameras see things that aren’t there | New Scientist
Zero Trust is the Goal But Much Ground Yet to Cover, CompTIA Reports - MSSP Alert
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 08 July 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 July 2022:
-Businesses Urged Not To Give In To Ransomware Cyber Criminals As Authorities See Increase In Payouts
-People Are the Primary Attack Vector Around the World
-Early Detection Crucial in Stopping Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scams
-54% of SMBs Do Not Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
-New Cyber Threat Emerges from the Inside, Research Report Finds
-Ransomware: Why it's still a big threat, and where the gangs are going next
-NCSC: Prepare for Protected Period of Heightened Cyber-Risk
-69% Of Employees Need to Deal With More Security Measures In A Hybrid Work Environment
-FBI and MI5 Leaders Give Unprecedented Joint Warning on Chinese Spying
-As Cyber Criminals Recycle Ransomware, They're Getting Faster
-UK Military Investigates Hacks on Army Social Media Accounts
-APT Campaign Targeting SOHO Routers Highlights Risks to Remote Workers
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
Businesses Urged Not to Give In To Ransomware Cyber Criminals As Authorities See Increase In Payouts
While there have been arguments made for criminalising the payment of ransoms, it poses a number of additional risks such as providing the criminals with an additional factor they could use to extort their victims.
Businesses are being urged not to pay cyber extortionists as authorities say they are seeing evidence of a rise in ransomware payments.
In a joint letter to the Law Society, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner's Office are warning solicitors who may have been advising their clients to pay.
It follows warnings earlier this year by cyber security experts from the UK, US, and Australia of a "growing wave of increasingly sophisticated ransomware attacks" which could have "devastating consequences".
The joint letter states that while ransomware payments are "not unusually unlawful" those who pay them "should be mindful of how relevant sanctions regimes (particularly those related to Russia)" when considering making the payment.
The US sanctioned in December 2019 any financial dealings with a Russian cyber crime group that was accused of working with Russian intelligence to steal classified government documents.
Despite the spillover from the Russian war in Ukraine - in one case knocking 5,800 wind turbines in Germany offline - the NCSC says it has not detected any increase in hostile activity targeting Britain during the conflict.
Businesses however had been warned that there is a heightened threat level when it comes to cyber attacks due to the conflict which is likely to be here "for the long-haul".
People Are the Primary Attack Vector Around the World
With an unprecedented number of employees now working in hybrid or fully remote environments, compounded by an increase in cyber threats and a more overwhelmed, COVID-19 information fatigued workforce, there has never been a more critical time to effectively create and maintain a cyber secure workforce and an engaged security culture.
People have become the primary attack vector for cyber-attackers around the world. Humans, rather than technology, represent the greatest risk to organisations and the professionals who oversee security awareness programs are the key to effectively managing that risk.
Awareness programs enable security teams to effectively manage their human risk by changing how people think about cyber security and help them exhibit secure behaviours, from the Board of Directors on down.
Effective and mature security awareness programs not only change their workforce’s behaviour and culture but also measure and demonstrate their value to leadership via a metrics framework. Organisations can no longer justify an annual training to tick the compliance box, and it remains critical for organisations to dedicate enough personnel, resources, and tools to manage their human risk effectively.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/05/people-primary-attack-vector/
Early Detection Crucial in Stopping Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scams
Cofense Intelligence studied hundreds of business email compromise attacks and found that most scams attempt to establish trust with targeted employees over multiple emails.
Avoiding a costly social engineering attack often requires employees to spot suspicious emails before threat actors request sensitive information or access.
Cofense Intelligence published new research Thursday that showed most business email compromise (BEC) scams can be thwarted in their initial stages when the attackers are not asking for money or a transfer of funds. The cyber security vendor analysed hundreds of BEC emails sent to customers during March and April, and engaged with the threat actors in approximately half the cases.
The company found that only 36% of attackers looking to conduct fraud attacks opened with a cordial greeting and request for cash, gift cards or confidential payment information. Most BEC scams, Cofense found, attempt to slowly build up trust over the course of multiple email exchanges with the target and ingratiate them with common phrases like "sorry to bother you."
Once they realise they can get money out of you, they will do everything they can to drain you dry. For many of the scammers, this becomes a literal hustle, where they will quickly pivot to other cash-out methods. Just because something starts as a wire transfer doesn't mean they won't ask you to send cryptocurrency, gift cards, a cheque, or use your personal Venmo or PayPal to wire them money.
54% of SMBs Do Not Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
SMB owners across the globe are still relying only on usernames and passwords to secure critical employee, customer, and partner data, according to the Global Small Business Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Study released by the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI).
Services that enforce MFA require users to present more than one piece of evidence whenever they log in to a business account (e.g., company email, payroll, human resources, etc.).
MFA has been in use for decades and is widely recommended by cyber security experts, yet 55% of SMBs surveyed are not “very aware” of MFA and its security benefits, and 54% do not use it for their business. Of the businesses that have not implemented MFA, 47% noted they either didn’t understand MFA or didn’t see its value. In addition, nearly 60% of small business and medium-sized owners have not discussed MFA with their employees.
Nearly all account compromise attacks can be stopped outright, just by using MFA. It’s a proven, effective way to thwart bad actors.
Of the companies that have implemented some form of MFA, many still seem to have done so haphazardly. Only 39% of those who offer MFA have a process for prioritising critical hardware, software, and data, with 49% merely “encouraging the use of MFA when it is available.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/08/smb-implement-mfa/
New Cyber Threat Emerges from the Inside, Research Report Finds
In its 2022 Insider Risk Intelligence & Research Report, DTEX Systems, a workforce cyber intelligence and security company, identifies a new cyber threat: the “Super Malicious Insider.”
Just what is a Super Malicious Insider and where does it come from? Well, it comes from inside your own organisation or someone who recently worked for you — a threat actor who may be truly of your own making.
“It was the year (2021) we all came to realise the Work-from-Anywhere (WFA) movement was here to stay,” DTEX reports. “For security and risk professionals, this hastened the end of corporate perimeter-centric security, and a requirement to protect hundreds of thousands of ‘remote offices’ outside of traditional corporate controls. To make matters worse, a measurable increase in employee attrition toward the end of 2021 created the perfect storm for insider threats.”
So, if your organisation didn’t observe a proportional increase in attempted or actual data loss, then you were likely not looking, DTEX asserts.
Critically your insiders know your vulnerabilities and can exploit them, for example, when an employee quits to join a competitor, it is often tempting to take proprietary information with them. This can include customer lists, product plans, financial data and other intellectual property.
The Super Malicious Insider is better able to hide their activities, obfuscate data and exfiltrate sensitive information without detection. Importantly, in numerous insider incidents reviewed in 2021, the Super Malicious Insider had made significant efforts to appear normal by not straying outside of their day-to-day routine, DTEX reports.
Here are some key statistics from the report:
Industrial espionage is at an all-time high. In 2021, 72% of respondents saw an increase in actionable insider threat incidents. IP or data theft led the list at 42% of incidents, followed by unauthorised or accidental disclosure (23%), sabotage (19%), fraud (%) and other (7%). In fact, 42% of all DTEX i3 investigations involved theft of IP or customer data.
The technology industry (38%), followed by pharma/life sciences (21%), accounted for the most IP theft incidents. In addition, technology (33%) had the most super malicious incidents, followed by critical infrastructure (24%) and government (11%).
Investigations that led to criminal prosecution occurred within someone’s home 75% of the time. More telling, 32% of malicious incident incidents included sophisticated insider techniques.
Ransomware: Why It's Still A Big Threat, And Where The Gangs Are Going Next
Ransomware attacks are still lucrative for cyber criminals because victims pay ransoms - and the threat is still evolving.
Ransomware has been a cyber security issue for a long time, but last year it went mainstream. Security threats like malware, ransomware and hacking gangs are always evolving.
Major ransomware attacks like those on Colonial Pipeline, the Irish Healthcare Executive and many others demonstrated how significant the problem had become as cyber attacks disrupted people's lives.
What was once a small cyber-criminal industry based around encrypting files on personal computers and demanding a ransom of a few hundred dollars for a decryption key had evolved into a massive ecosystem designed around holding critical services and infrastructure to ransom - and making extortion demands of millions of dollars.
No wonder Lindy Cameron, head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has described ransomware as "the biggest global cyber threat".
Ransomware is continually evolving, with new variants appearing, new ransomware groups emerging, and new techniques and tactics designed to make the most money from attacks.
And as the recent Conti ransomware leaks showed, the most successful ransomware gangs are organised as if they were any other group of software developers.
They are really acting like a business. Aside from the fact they're not legitimately registered, they really are. They're functioning like a real business and sometimes the number of people within these organisations is bigger than some startups. They have shown a lot of resilience and a lot of agility in adapting to what's new.
NCSC: Prepare for Protracted Period of Heightened Cyber Risk
The UK’s leading cyber security agency has urged organisations to follow best practices and take care of their infosecurity staff in order to weather an extended period of elevated cyber risk due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guide, Maintaining A Sustainable Strengthened Cyber Security Posture, comes on the back of warnings that organisations must “prepare for the long haul” as the conflict enters its fifth month.
Alongside basic hygiene controls, the strengthening of cyber-resilience and revisiting of risk-based decisions made in the earlier acute phase of the war, organisations should pay special attention to their security staff, the NCSC said.
“Increased workloads for cyber security staff over an extended period can harm their wellbeing and lead to lower productivity, with a potential rise in unsafe behaviours or errors,” it said.
With this in mind, the guide highlighted several steps IT security managers should consider:
Empower staff to make decisions in order to improve agility and free-up leaders to focus on medium-term priorities
Spread workloads evenly across a wider pool of staff to reduce the risk of burnout and enable less experienced employees to benefit from development opportunities
Provide opportunities for staff to recharge through more frequent breaks and time away from the office, as well as work on less pressured tasks
Look after each other by watching for signs that colleagues are struggling and ensuring they always have the right resources to hand
Engage the entire workforce with the right internal communications processes, and support so that all staff are able to identify and report suspicious behaviour
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-prepare-cyber-risk/
69% Of Employees Need to Deal with More Security Measures In A Hybrid Work Environment
Security firm Ivanti worked with global digital transformation experts and surveyed 10,000 office workers, IT professionals, and the C-Suite to evaluate the level of prioritisation and adoption of digital employee experience in organisations and how it shapes the daily working experiences for employees. The report revealed that 49% of employees are frustrated by the tech and tools their organisation provides and 64% believe that the way they interact with technology directly impacts morale.
One of the biggest challenges facing IT leaders today is the need to enable a seamless end user experience while maintaining robust security. The challenge becomes more complex when there is pressure from the top to bypass security measures, with 49% of C-level executives reporting they have requested to bypass one or more security measures in the last year.
Maintaining a secure environment and focusing on the digital employee experience are two inseparable elements of any digital transformation. In the war for talent a key differentiator for organisations is providing an exceptional and secure digital experience. Ivanti, a cyber security software provider, says “We believe that organisations not prioritising how their employees experience technology is a contributing factor for the Great Resignation”.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/07/04/security-measures-hybrid-work-environment/
FBI and MI5 Leaders Give Unprecedented Joint Warning on Chinese Spying
The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency have delivered an unprecedented joint address, raising fresh alarm about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.
In a speech at MI5’s London headquarters intended as a show of western solidarity, Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stood alongside the MI5 director general, Ken McCallum. Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns about economic espionage and hacking operations by China, as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.
“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our’, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray said.
He told the audience the Chinese government was “set on stealing your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry tick, and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market”.
Ken McCallum said MI5 was running seven times as many investigations into China as it had been four years ago and planned to “grow as much again” to tackle the widespread attempts at inference which pervade “so many aspects of our national life”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/06/fbi-mi5-china-spying-cyberattacks-business-economy
As Cyber Criminals Recycle Ransomware, They're Getting Faster
Like history, ransomware repeats itself. Researchers recently encountered a new variant of a ransomware campaign and observed that it has been improving itself by reusing code from publicly available sources.
Nokoyawa is a new ransomware for Windows that first appeared at the beginning of this year. The first samples found by researchers were gathered in February 2022 and contain significant coding similarities with other older ransomware strains, some going back to 2019.
These new variants had been improving themselves by reusing code from publicly available sources. The April 2022 samples include three new features that increase the number of files that Nokoyawa can encrypt. These features already existed in recent ransomware families, and their addition just indicates that Nokoyawa developers are trying to match pace with other operators in terms of technological capability.
https://www.securityweek.com/cybercriminals-recycle-ransomware-theyre-getting-faster
UK Military Investigates Hacks on Army Social Media Accounts
British military authorities are trying to find out who hacked the army’s social media accounts over the weekend, flooding them with cryptocurrency videos and posts related to collectible electronic art.
The investigation was launched after authorised content on the army’s YouTube account was replaced with a video feed promoting cryptocurrencies that included images of billionaire Elon Musk. The Army’s Twitter account retweeted a number of posts about non-fungible tokens, unique digital images that can be bought and sold but have no physical counterpart.
“Apologies for the temporary interruption to our feed,” the Army said in a tweet posted after the Twitter account was restored on Sunday. “We will conduct a full investigation and learn from this incident. Thanks for following us, and normal service will now resume.”
The Ministry of Defence said late Sunday that both breaches had been “resolved.”
While internet users were unable to access the Army’s YouTube site on Monday, a spokesperson said the site was down for standard maintenance. The Twitter feed was operating normally.
Although U.K. officials have previously raised concerns about state-sponsored Russian hacking, the military did not speculate on who was responsible for Sunday’s breaches.
“The Army takes information security extremely seriously, and until their investigation is complete it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the Ministry of Defence said.
https://www.securityweek.com/uk-military-investigates-hacks-army-social-media-accounts
Campaign Targeting SOHO Routers Highlights Risks to Remote Workers
A targeted attack campaign has been compromising small office/home office (SOHO) routers since late 2020, with the goal of hijacking network communications and infecting local computers with stealthy and sophisticated backdoors. Attacks against home routers are not new, but the implants used by attackers in this case were designed for local network reconnaissance and lateral movement instead of just abusing the router itself.
"The rapid shift to remote work in spring of 2020 presented a fresh opportunity for threat actors to subvert traditional defence-in-depth protections by targeting the weakest points of the new network perimeter - devices that are routinely purchased by consumers but rarely monitored or patched - small office/home office (SOHO) routers," researchers from Black Lotus Labs, the threat intelligence arm of telecommunications company Lumen Technologies said in a recent report.
Threats
Ransomware
Lawyers Urged to Stop Advising Clients to Pay Ransomware Demands - Infosecurity Magazine
Ransomware in 2022: Evolving threats, slow progress (techtarget.com)
AstraLocker ransomware closes doors to pursue cryptojacking • The Register
Ransomware gangs are feeling the crypto winter's impact | TechSpot
LockBit explained: How it has become the most popular ransomware | CSO Online
Hive ransomware gang turns to Rust, more complex encryption • The Register
New RedAlert Ransomware targets Windows, Linux VMware ESXi servers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware, hacking groups move from Cobalt Strike to Brute Ratel (bleepingcomputer.com)
North Korean ransomware dubbed Maui active since May 2021 • The Register
Hive Ransomware Upgrades to Rust for More Sophisticated Encryption Method (thehackernews.com)
Ransomware, hacking groups move from Cobalt Strike to Brute Ratel (bleepingcomputer.com)
New 'HavanaCrypt' Ransomware Distributed as Fake Google Software Update | SecurityWeek.Com
As New Clues Emerges, Experts Wonder: Is REvil Back? (thehackernews.com)
Researchers Detail Techniques LockBit Ransomware Using to Infect its Targets (thehackernews.com)
New 0mega ransomware targets businesses in double-extortion attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Evolution of the LockBit Ransomware operation relies on new techniques - Security Affairs
AstraLocker ransomware shuts down and releases decryptors (bleepingcomputer.com)
QNAP warns of new Checkmate ransomware targeting NAS devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Quantum ransomware attack affects 657 healthcare orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
How Conti ransomware group crippled Costa Rica — then fell apart | Financial Times (ft.com)
Researchers Detail Techniques LockBit Ransomware Using to Infect its Targets (thehackernews.com)
EternalBlue 5 years after WannaCry and NotPetya - SANS Internet Storm Center
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Malware
Hackers Exploiting Follina Bug to Deploy Rozena Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
Dangerous new malware dances past more than 50 antivirus services | TechRadar
Raspberry Robin campaign leverages compromised QNAP devicesSecurity Affairs
Malware knocks IT services vendor SHI offline • The Register
Near-undetectable malware linked to Russia's Cozy Bear • The Register
New stealthy OrBit malware steals data from Linux devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers are using YouTube videos to trick people into installing malware | TechRadar
Mobile
This WhatsApp scam promises big, but just sends you into a spiral | ZDNet
Android malware subscribes you to premium services without you knowing - GSMArena.com news
Free smartphone stalkerware detection tool gets dedicated hub (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple Debuts Spyware Protection for State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Data Breaches/Leaks
Marriott Data Breach Exposes PII, Credit Cards (darkreading.com)
Aon Hack Exposed Sensitive Information of 146,000 Customers - Infosecurity Magazine
Hackers Claim to Have Stolen Police Data in China’s Largest Cyber Security Breach - Bloomberg
Human Error Blamed for Leak of 1 Billion Records of Chinese Citizens | Threatpost
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
Ransomware gangs are feeling the crypto winter's impact | TechSpot
AstraLocker ransomware closes doors to pursue cryptojacking • The Register
Hackers are using YouTube videos to trick people into installing malware | TechRadar
PennyWise crypto-stealing malware spreads through YouTube (cointelegraph.com)
US urges Japan to step up pressure on crypto miners with links to Russia | Financial Times (ft.com)
Large-scale cryptomining campaign is targeting the NPM repositorySecurity Affairs
ECB to warn eurozone countries over crypto regulation | Financial Times (ft.com)
Microsoft Issue Updated Warning Against Known Cloud Threat Actor Group - IT Security Guru
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Human Error Blamed for Leak of 1 Billion Records of Chinese Citizens | Threatpost
HackerOne incident raises concerns for insider threats (techtarget.com)
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Software Supply Chain
Cloud/SaaS
Microsoft Issue Updated Warning Against Known Cloud Threat Actor Group - IT Security Guru
What Do All of Those Cloud Cyber Security Acronyms Mean? (darkreading.com)
Identity and Access Management
Asset Management
Encryption
Encryption is high up on corporate priority lists - Help Net Security
Quantum-resistant encryption recommended for standardization • The Register
The threat of quantum computing to sensitive data - Help Net Security
Inside NIST's 4 Crypto Algorithms for a Post-Quantum World (darkreading.com)
End-to-end encryption’s central role in modern self-defence | Ars Technica
API
Open Source
Social Media
Digital Transformation
Travel
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
ICO Set to Scale Back Public Sector Fines - Infosecurity Magazine
ECB to warn eurozone countries over crypto regulation | Financial Times (ft.com)
Wegmans hit with $400,000 data-breach penalty (democratandchronicle.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Apple's New "Lockdown Mode" Protects iPhone, iPad, and Mac Against Spyware (thehackernews.com)
Pro-Kremlin hackers Killnet hit Latvia with biggest cyber attack in its history | World | The Times
TrickBot Gang Shifted its Focus on "Systematically" Targeting Ukraine (thehackernews.com)
NATO Announce Plans to Develop Cyber Rapid Response Capabilities - IT Security Guru
FBI and MI5 bosses: China cheats and steals at massive scale • The Register
Hackers linked to the Chinese government increasingly target Russia, analysis suggests - CyberScoop
In Switch, Trickbot Group Now Attacking Ukrainian Targets (darkreading.com)
Apple Debuts Spyware Protection for State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks (darkreading.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russian Info Ops Ramp Up Effort to Divide West on Ukraine - Infosecurity Magazine
Near-undetectable malware linked to Russia's Cozy Bear • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
China Censors What Could Be Biggest Data Hack in History (gizmodo.com)
Hackers linked to the Chinese government increasingly target Russia, analysis suggests - CyberScoop
China’s Cabinet Stresses Cyber Security After Data Leak - Bloomberg
Security warning after sale of stolen Chinese data - BBC News
Five accused of trying to silence China critics in US • The Register
50 Chinese students leave UK in three years after spy chiefs’ warning | Espionage | The Guardian
More UK calls for ban of CCTV makers Hikvision, Dahua • The Register
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Russian information operations focus on dividing Western coalition supporting Ukraine - CyberScoop
North Korean ransomware dubbed Maui active since May 2021 • The Register
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
Cisco and Fortinet Release Security Patches for Multiple Products (thehackernews.com)
OpenSSL version 3.0.5 fixes a flaw that could potentially lead to RCE - Security Affairs
Django fixes SQL Injection vulnerability in new releases (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google fixes the fourth Chrome zero-day in 2022 - Security Affairs - Security Affairs
Tens of Jenkins plugins are affected by zero-day vulnerabilities - Security Affairs
OpenSSL fixes two “one-liner” crypto bugs – what you need to know – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Fortinet addressed multiple vulnerabilities in several products - Security Affairs
There’s a Nasty Security Hole in the Apache Webserver – The New Stack
Sector Specific
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Construction
Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
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Food & Agriculture
Gaming & Gambling
Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
Health/Medical/Pharma
Hotels & Hospitality
Insurance
Legal
Manufacturing
Maritime
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OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
Retail & eCommerce
Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Startups
Telecoms
Third Sector & Charities
Transport & Aviation
Web3
Other News
These are the cyber security threats of tomorrow that you should be thinking about today | ZDNet
Why Browser Vulnerabilities Are a Serious Threat — and How to Minimize Your Risk (darkreading.com)
Microsoft rolls back plan to block macros by default • Graham Cluley
Attacker groups adopt new penetration testing tool Brute Ratel | CSO Online
Security tester says he broke into datacenter via toilets • The Register
SQL injection, XSS vulnerabilities continue to plague organisations | CSO Online
Imagination is key to effective data loss prevention - Help Net Security
The Age of Collaborative Security: What Tens of Thousands of Machines Witness (thehackernews.com)
Maintaining a sustainable strengthened cyber security posture - NCSC.GOV.UK
Zero Trust Bolsters Our National Defence Against Rising Cyber Threats (darkreading.com)
Security advisory accidentally exposes vulnerable systems (bleepingcomputer.com)
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 27 May 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 27 May 2022
-How Confident Are Companies in Managing Their Current Threat Exposure?
-'There's No Ceiling': Ransomware's Alarming Growth Signals a New Era, Verizon DBIR Finds
-Paying Ransom Doesn’t Guarantee Data Recovery
-Report: Frequency of Cyber Attacks in 2022 Has Increased by Almost 3M
-New Zoom Flaws Could Let Attackers Hack Victims Just by Sending them a Message
-VMware, Airline Targeted as Ransomware Chaos Reigns
-Crypto Hacks Aren't a Niche Concern; They Impact Wider Society
-State of Cyber Security Report 2022 Names Ransomware and Nation-State Attacks as Biggest Threats
-Vishing (Voice Phishing) Cases Reach All Time High
-DeFi (Decentralised Finance) Is Getting Pummelled by Cyber Criminals
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
How Confident Are Companies In Managing Their Current Threat Exposure?
Crossword Cybersecurity has released a report based on the findings of a survey of over 200 CISOs and senior UK cyber security professionals. The paper reveals companies are more concerned and exposed to cyber threats than ever before, with 61 percent describing themselves as at best only “fairly confident” at managing their current cyber security threat exposure, which should raise some eyebrows around the boardroom.
Respondents also feared their cyber strategy would not keep pace with the rate of tech innovation and changes in the threat landscape. 40 percent of organisations believe their existing cyber strategy will be outdated in two years, and a further 37 percent within three years. Additional investment is needed to address longer term planning, with 44 percent saying they only have sufficient resources in their organisation to focus on the immediate and mid-term cyber threats and tech trends.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/26/organizations-cyber-strategy/
'There's No Ceiling': Ransomware's Alarming Growth Signals A New Era, Verizon DBIR Finds
Ransomware has become so efficient, and the underground economy so professional, that traditional monetisation of stolen data may be on its way out.
The past year has seen a staggering acceleration in ransomware incidents, with 25% of all breaches containing a ransomware component.
That's the top-line finding in the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which found that ransomware events in conjunction with breaches ballooned 13% in the past year — last year's report found that just 12% of incidents were ransomware-related. That translates into a rate of increase that's more than the previous five years of growth combined.
The 15th annual DBIR analysed 23,896 security incidents, of which 5,212 were confirmed breaches. About four in five of those were the handiwork of external cyber criminal gangs and threat groups, according to Verizon. And according to Alex Pinto, manager of the Verizon Security Research team, these nefarious types are finding it easier and easier to earn an ill-gotten living with ransomware, making other types of breaches increasingly obsolete.
"Everything in cyber crime has become so commoditised, so much like a business now, and it's just too darn efficient of a methodology for monetising their activity," he tells Dark Reading, noting that with the emergence of ransomware as-a-service (RaaS) and initial-access brokers, it takes very little skill or effort to get into the extortion game.
"Before, you had to get in somehow, look around, and find something worth stealing that would have a reseller on the other end," he explains. "In 2008 when we started the DBIR, it was by and large payment-card data that was stolen. Now, that has fallen precipitously because they can just pay for access someone else established and install rented ransomware, and it's so much simpler to reach the same goal of getting money."
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-alarming-growth-verizon-dbir
Paying Ransom Doesn’t Guarantee Data Recovery
A Veeam report has found that 72% of organisations had partial or complete attacks on their backup repositories, dramatically impacting the ability to recover data without paying the ransom.
Additionally, 76% of organisations admitted to paying the ransom. But while 52% paid the ransom and were able to recover data, 24% paid the ransom but were still not able to recover data.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/24/paying-ransom-recover-data-video/
Report: Frequency Of Cyber Attacks in 2022 Has Increased By Almost 3M
Kaspersky has released a new report revealing a growing number of cyber attacks on small businesses in 2022 so far. Researchers compared the period between January and April 2022 to the same period in 2021, finding increases in the numbers of Trojan-PSW detections, internet attacks and attacks on Remote Desktop Protocol.
In 2022, the number of Trojan-PSW (Password Stealing Ware) detections increased globally by almost a quarter compared to the same period in 2021 一 4,003,323 to 3,029,903. Trojan-PSW is a malware that steals passwords, along with other account information, which then allows attackers to gain access to the company network and steal sensitive information.
Internet attacks grew from 32,500,000 globally in the analysed period of 2021 to almost 35,400,000 in 2022. These can include web pages with redirects to exploits, sites containing exploits and other malicious programs, botnet command & control centres and more.
The number of attacks on Remote Desktop Protocol grew in the U.S. (while dropping slightly globally), going from 47.5 million attacks in the first trimester of 2021 to 51 million in the same period of 2022. With the widespread shift toward remote work, many companies have introduced Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), a technology that enables computers on the same corporate network to be linked together and accessed remotely, even when the employees are at home.
With small business owners typically handling numerous responsibilities at the same time, cyber security is often an afterthought. However, this disregard for IT security is being exploited by cyber criminals. The Kaspersky study sought to assess the threats that pose an increasing danger to entrepreneurs.
New Zoom Flaws Could Let Attackers Hack Victims Just By Sending Them A Message
Popular video conferencing service Zoom has resolved as many as four security vulnerabilities, which could be exploited to compromise another user over chat by sending specially crafted Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) messages and execute malicious code.
With Zoom's chat functionality built on top of the XMPP standard, successful exploitation of the issues could enable an attacker to force a vulnerable client to masquerade a Zoom user, connect to a malicious server, and even download a rogue update, resulting in arbitrary code execution stemming from a downgrade attack.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/05/new-zoom-flaws-could-let-attackers-hack.html
VMware, Airline Targeted As Ransomware Chaos Reigns
Global ransomware incidents target everything from enterprise servers to grounding an airline, with one India-based group even taking a Robin Hood approach to extortion with the "GoodWill" strain.
Ransomware incidents are on the rise and this week proved no exception, with the discovery of a Linux-based ransomware family called Cheerscrypt targeting VMware ESXi servers and an attack on SpiceJet, India’s second largest airline.
Meanwhile, an oddball "GoodWill" variant purports to help the needy.
The Cheerscrypt ransomware variant was uncovered by Trend Micro and relies on the double-extortion scheme to coerce victims to pay the ransom – i.e., stealing data as well and threatening to leak it if victims don’t pay up.
Because of the popularity of ESXi servers for creating and running multiple virtual machines (VMs) in enterprise settings, the Cheerscrypt ransomware could be appealing to malicious actors looking to rapidly distribute ransomware across many devices.
Meanwhile, low-cost carrier SpiceJet faced a ransomware attack this week, causing flight delays of between two and five hours as well as rendering unavailable online booking systems and customer service portals.
While the company’s IT team announced on Twitter that it had successfully prevented the attempted attack before it was able to fully breach all internal systems and take them over, customers and employees are still experiencing the ramifications.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/vmware-airline-targeted-as-ransomware-chaos-reigns
Crypto Hacks Aren't A Niche Concern; They Impact Wider Society
Million-dollar crypto heists are becoming more common as the currency starts to go mainstream; prevention and enforcement haven't kept pace.
The attack against the Ronin Network in March was quickly speculated to be one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks of all time. Approximately $540 million was stolen from the cryptocurrency and NFT games company in a combination of USDC and Etherium, with $400 million of the stolen funds owned by customers playing the game Axie Infinity.
This attack was the latest in a string of thefts perpetrated against crypto and should be a jolt to both the digital asset and cyber security communities to bring the security of cryptocurrencies into line.
The current vogue of large-scale crypto heists goes as far back as the 2014 Mt. Gox hack (another cryptocurrency exchange built around a game, Magic: The Gathering), which went into bankruptcy after losing $460 million of assets.
However, the trend has been gathering pace. In the months leading up to the Ronin Network attack, cyber criminals stole nearly $200 million worth of cryptocurrency from the crypto trading platform BitMart, attacked 400 Crypto.com users, and orchestrated NFT-related scams, to name but a few incidents.
There is often an uncomfortable tendency to see these attacks as something that takes place in isolation in a remote part of the Internet when they actually have a huge impact on thousands of people.
State Of Cyber Security Report 2022 Names Ransomware And Nation-State Attacks As Biggest Threats
Ransomware is the biggest concern for cyber security professionals, according to results of the Infosecurity Group’s 2022 State of Cybersecurity Report, produced by Infosecurity Europe and Infosecurity Magazine.
Cyber Security Professionals' Number One Concern: Ransomware.
This attack vector was voted as the biggest cyber security trend (28%) by the survey respondents (including CISOs, CTOs, CIOs and academics), marking a significant change from the previous report in 2020, where ransomware did not break the top three. This follows surging ransomware incidents in 2021, with ransom demands and payments growing significantly last year. A number of these attacks have also impacted critical industries, for example, taking down the US’ largest fuel pipeline.
The survey respondents also highlighted the evolving tactics and capabilities of ransomware attackers. This includes threat actors becoming more sophisticated as they evolve into loosely coupled service-based operations.
A number of cyber security professionals believe that cyber-criminal groups will become more guarded in their approach due to new initiatives by governments and law enforcement to tackle these activities.
Cyber Security Professionals' Number Two Concern: Nation-State Attacks.
The second biggest concern for survey respondents was geopolitics/nation-state attacks (24%), particularly the shifting hostilities from the Russia-Ukraine conflict into cyberspace. Russia already had a reputation for conducting offensive cyber operations prior to the conflict, and the Ukrainian government and critical services have experienced numerous attacks both before and since the war began.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/2022-state-industry-report/
Vishing (Voice Phishing) Cases Reach All Time High
Vishing (voice phishing) cases have increased almost 550 percent over the last twelve months (Q1 2021 to Q1 2022), according to the latest Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report from Agari and PhishLabs.
In Q1 2022, Agari and PhishLabs detected and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing, social media, email, and dark web threats targeting a broad range of enterprises and brands. The report provides an analysis of the latest findings and insights into key trends shaping the threat landscape.
According to the findings, vishing attacks have overtaken business email compromise (BEC) as the second most reported response-based email threat since Q3 2021. By the end of the year, more than one in four of every reported response-based threat was a vishing attack, and this makeup continued through Q1 2022.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/24/vishing-cases-increased/
DeFi (Decentralised Finance) Is Getting Pummelled By Cyber Criminals
Decentralised finance lost $1.8 billion to cyber attacks last year — and 80% of those events were the result of vulnerable code, analysts say.
Decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms — which connect various cryptocurrency blockchains to create a decentralised infrastructure for borrowing, trading, and other transactions — promise to replace banks as a secure and convenient way to invest in and spend cryptocurrency. But in addition to attracting hordes of new users with dreams of digital fortune, cyber criminals have discovered them to be an easy target, wiping out wallets to zero balances in a moment, tanking whole markets while profiting, and more, according to a new report.
Analysts with Bishop Fox found that DeFi platforms lost $1.8 billion to cyber attacks in 2021 alone. With a total of 65 events observed, 90% of the losses came from unsophisticated attacks, according to the report, which points to the lax cyber security practices of the sector.
DeFi averaged five attacks per week last year, with most of them (51%) coming from the exploitation of "smart contracts" bugs, the analysts found. Smart contracts are essentially records of transactions, stored on the blockchain.
Other top DeFi attack vectors include cryptowallets, protocol design flaws, and so-called "rug-pull" scams (where investors are lured to a new cryptocurrency project that is then abandoned, leaving targets with a worthless currency). But taken together, 80% of all events were caused by the use (and re-use) of buggy code, according to the report.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/defi-pummeled-by-cybercriminals
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware Attacks Increasing at “Alarming” Rate - Infosecurity Magazine
VMware, Airline Targeted as Ransomware Chaos Reigns (darkreading.com)
Clop ransomware gang is back, hits 21 victims in a single month (bleepingcomputer.com)
Link Found Connecting Chaos, Onyx and Yashma Ransomware | Threatpost
Ransomware demands three good demands to restore files • The Register
Ransomware Cheerscrypt targets VMware ESXi systems • The Register
New Chaos Malware Variant Ditches Wiper for Encryption (darkreading.com)
Industrial Spy data extortion market gets into the ransomware game (bleepingcomputer.com)
BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware asks $5 million to unlock Austrian state (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti Ransomware Operation Shut Down After Splitting into Smaller Groups (thehackernews.com)
Suspected phishing email crime boss arrested in Nigeria • The Register
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Interpol arrests alleged leader of the SilverTerrier BEC gang (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber security breach at the city of Portland led to fraudulent $1.4M transaction | KATU
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Intuit warns of QuickBooks phishing threatening to suspend accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Suspected phishing email crime boss arrested in Nigeria • The Register
Other Social Engineering
Malware
BPFDoor malware uses Solaris vulnerability to get root privileges (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Windows Subsystem for Linux malware steals browser auth cookies (bleepingcomputer.com)
This Windows malware uses PowerShell to subvert Chrome • The Register
Hackers have found a new way to smuggle malware onto your device | TechRadar
Cyber Security Community Warned of Fake PoC Exploits Delivering Malware | SecurityWeek.Com
Popular Python and PHP libraries hijacked to steal AWS keys (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Attack Shows Weaponized PDF Files Remain a Threat (darkreading.com)
Mobile
Microsoft finds severe bugs in Android apps from large mobile providers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google warns Android smartphones targeted by dangerous Predator spyware | TechRadar
New ERMAC 2.0 Android malware steals accounts, wallets from 467 apps (bleepingcomputer.com)
BYOD
Data Breaches/Leaks
GM Discloses Data Breach of Cars' Locations, Mileage, Service (gizmodo.com)
MGM Resorts' customer data now leaked on Telegram for free • The Register
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
REvil prosecutions reach a 'dead end,' Russian media reports - CyberScoop
Scammer Behind $568M International Cyber Crime Syndicate Gets 4 Years (darkreading.com)
Multi-Continental Operation Leads to Arrest of Cyber Crime Gang Leader - Infosecurity Magazine
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
68% of Legal Sector Data Breaches Caused by Insider Threats - Infosecurity Magazine
Verizon Report: Ransomware, Human Error Among Top Security Risks | Threatpost
Dark Web
Military cyber weapons could become available on dark web: Interpol (cnbc.com)
Darknet market Versus shuts down after hacker leaks security flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cybergang Claims REvil is Back, Executes DDoS Attacks | Threatpost
DDoS Extortion Attack Flagged as Possible REvil Resurgence (darkreading.com)
Anatomy of a DDoS amplification attack - Microsoft Security Blog
Cloud/SaaS
Attack Surface Management
Open Source
Privacy
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Strong Password Policy Isn't Enough, Study Shows (darkreading.com)
Verizon DBIR: Stolen credentials led to nearly 50% of attacks (techtarget.com)
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
GDPR Anniversary, Expert Insight On What Lead To GDPR Fines – Information Security Buzz
Indian stock markets given ten day deadline to file reports • The Register
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Network of hyperlocal Russian Telegram channels spew disinformation in occupied Ukraine - CyberScoop
Predator spyware uses in Chrome, Android zero-day exploits • The Register
Unknown APT group is targeting Russian government entities - Security Affairs
Hackers target Russian govt with fake Windows updates pushing RATs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Remote bricking of Ukrainian tractors raises agriculture security concerns | CSO Online
Anonymous Declares Cyber-War On Pro-Russian Hacker Gang Killnet – Information Security Buzz
Ex-spymaster and fellow Brexiteers' emails stolen, leaked • The Register
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russian Hackers Believed to Be Behind Leak of Hard Brexit Plans - Infosecurity Magazine
Russian Gamaredon APT could fuel a new round of DDoS attacks - Security Affairs
Putin aimed cyber attack at me, says former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove | News | The Times
Nation State Actors – China
Trend Micro Patches Vulnerability Exploited by Chinese Cyber Spies | SecurityWeek.Com
Chinese "Twisted Panda" Hackers Caught Spying on Russian Defense Institutes (thehackernews.com)
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
CISA ‘Strongly Urges’ You To Patch 75 Actively Exploited Security Bugs (forbes.com)
CISA adds 41 vulnerabilities to list of bugs used in cyber attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Exploit released for critical VMware auth bypass bug, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zyxel addresses four flaws affecting APs, AP controllers, and firewalls - Security Affairs
Critical New Google Chrome Security Warning For All Users, Update Now (forbes.com)
Patching the latest Active Directory vulnerabilities is not enough | CSO Online
Microsoft Elevation-of-Privilege Vulnerabilities Spiked Again in 2021 (darkreading.com)
Sector Specific
SMBs – Small and Medium Businesses
Legal
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
teiss - News - American healthcare tech giant Omnicell suffers a major ransomware attack
Web app attacks on the rise in healthcare as insider challenges remain (scmagazine.com)
Retail/eCommerce
Microsoft: Credit card stealers are getting much stealthier (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft warns of new highly evasive web skimming campaigns - Security Affairs
Transport and Aviation
Hundreds Stranded After Ransomware Attack on Indian Airline | SecurityWeek.Com
SpiceJet airline passengers stranded after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Taking the Danger Out of IT/OT Convergence (darkreading.com)
Critical Flaws in Popular ICS Platform Can Trigger RCE | Threatpost
Energy & Utilities
Oil, Gas and Mining
Education and Academia
Other News
IP and cyber security disputes are top legal concerns for tech companies | TechCrunch
Verizon DBIR: Stolen credentials led to nearly 50% of attacks (techtarget.com)
Managed Detection and Response (MDR): Who's Responsible for the R? - MSSP Alert
Survey Evidences Leaders Lack Confidence in Cyber-Risk Management - Infosecurity Magazine
Flaw in PayPal can allow attackers to steal money from users' account - Security Affairs
Most organisations do not follow data backup best practices - Help Net Security
Why are current cyber security incident response efforts failing? - Help Net Security
Nation-state malware will be a commodity on dark web soon, Interpol warns - Security Affairs
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 13 May 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 13 May 2022
-UK, US Intelligence Agencies Warn Managed Service Providers, including External IT Providers, Are Now Prime Targets for Cyber Attacks
-Wannacry – 5 Years On, 68% Of Enterprises Are Still At Risk
-You Can’t Eliminate Cyber Attacks, So Focus on Reducing the Blast Radius
-Just In Time? Bosses Are Finally Waking Up to The Cyber Security Threat
-Most Organisations Hit by Ransomware Would Pay Up If Hit Again
-31,000 FTSE 100 Logins Found on Dark Web
-Ransomware: How Executives Should Prepare Given the Current Threat Landscape
-What Your Cyber Insurance Application Form Can Tell You About Ransomware Readiness
-NCSC Shut Down 2.7 Million Scams in 2021
-Top 6 Security Threats Targeting Remote Workers
-Password Reuse Is Rampant Among Employees in All Sectors
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
UK, US Intelligence Agencies Warn Managed Service Providers, including External IT Providers, Are Now Prime Targets for Cyber Attacks
The Five Eyes coalition of international cyber security authorities, this week issued an advisory to warn managed service providers (MSPs), including external IT providers, of an escalating threat of attack from both everyday cyber criminals and state-sponsored threat actors.
MSPs provide or operate information and communications technology services.
With input from cyber security leaders from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, the NSA provided recommendations to help bolster their cyber defences, including:
Finding and disabling dormant accounts.
Implementing and enforcing multifactor authentication on accounts.
Ensuring contracts clearly map out who owns and is responsible for securing data.
Malicious actors are targeting MSPs to break into their customers' networks and deploy ransomware, steal data, and spy on them, the Five Eyes authorities have formally warned in a joint security alert.
"The UK, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, and US cyber security authorities expect malicious cyber actors — including state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) groups — to step up their targeting of MSPs in their efforts to exploit provider-customer network trust relationships," the alert warned.
These types of supply-chain or "island-hopping" attacks can prove very lucrative for cyber criminals because once they break into an MSP, they gain access to all of the customers' networks and data being managed, and in turn commit computer crimes and fraud against those customers' customers.
Wannacry – 5 Years On, 68% Of Enterprises Are Still at Risk
5 years on from one of the world’s most damaging ransomware attacks, research from network detection and response leader ExtraHop has found that 68% of enterprises are still running insecure protocol that were exploited by the North Korean ransomware.
The events of 12 May 2017 live on in cyber security lore. WannaCry revealed just how extensive the damage caused by ransomware can be if deployed in large scale – from downtime to ransom paid to reputational damage. Yet despite the danger, huge numbers of organisations are still running SMBv1, the protocol exploited in the WannaCry attacks that has been publicly deprecated since 2014.
You Can’t Eliminate Cyber Attacks, So Focus on Reducing the Blast Radius
Given it is impossible to prevent all cyber attacks, many organisations should look to reduce the size of the company’s attack surface and the limit the “blast radius” of a potential attack.
There is a danger that the biggest risk concerning cyber attacks is that we’re becoming desensitised to them. After all, businesses experience a ransomware attack every 11 seconds—the majority of which the public never hears about. Faced with this reality, it may seem like efforts to safeguard the enterprise are futile. But that’s all the more reason to strengthen your resolve—and switch up your cyber defence strategy.
The core of this strategy should be the concept of “reducing the blast radius” of an attack, and since you can’t completely eliminate cyber attacks, you need to take steps to contain the impact.
This strategy should contain basic blocking and also consider things such as Zero Trust for remote access, traffic inspection, software-based micro-segmentation and other practical measures to reduce your attack surface.
https://threatpost.com/cyberattacks-blast-radius/179612/
Just In Time? Bosses Are Finally Waking Up to The Cyber Security Threat
Boardrooms have a reputation for not paying much attention to cyber security, but it could be that executives are finally keen to take more interest in securing the systems and networks their businesses rely on.
Senior figures from American, British and Australian cyber security agencies have said that business execs are now more aware of cyber threats and are actively engaging with their chief information security officer (CISO) and information security teams.
Chief execs are starting to ask their CISOs the right questions, rather than leaving them to it because they don't have to understand complex technology. It does feel like a much more engaging strategic conversation, but there can still be a disconnect between knowing what needs to happen, then actually budgeting for and implementing a cyber security strategy.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/just-in-time-bosses-are-finally-waking-up-to-the-cybersecurity-threat/
Most Organisations Hit by Ransomware Would Pay Up If Hit Again
Almost nine in 10 organisations that have suffered a ransomware attack would choose to pay the ransom if hit again, according to a new report, compared with two-thirds of those that have not experienced an attack.
The findings come from a report titled "How business executives perceive ransomware threat" by security company Kaspersky, which states that ransomware has become an ever-present threat, with 64 percent of companies surveyed already having suffered an attack, but more worryingly, that executives seem to believe that paying the ransom is a reliable way of addressing the issue.
The report is based on research involving 900 respondents across North America, South America, Africa, Russia, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The respondents were in senior non-IT management roles at companies between 50 and 1,000 employees.
Kaspersky claims that in 88 percent of organisations that have had to deal with a ransomware incident, business leaders said they would choose to pay the money if faced with another attack. In contrast, among those that have not so far suffered a ransomware attack, only 67 percent would be willing to pay, and they would be less inclined to do so immediately.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/13/organizations_pay_ransomware/
31,000 FTSE 100 Logins Found on Dark Web
Researchers with Outpost24 are reporting over 31,000 corporate credentials for many of the UK’s leading FTSE 100 firms on the dark web. These are the 100 biggest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalisation. The researchers used their threat monitoring and auditing tool Blueliv to search dark web sites for the breached credentials.
Key findings from stolen and leaked credentials study:
The majority (81%) of the companies within the FTSE 100 had at least one credential compromised and exposed on the dark web
31,135 total stolen and leaked credentials detected for FTSE 100 companies, with 38% disclosed on the underground in the past 12 months
Nearly half (42%) of FTSE 100 companies have more than 500 compromised credentials exposed on the dark web
Up to 20% of credentials are stolen via malware infection and stealers
11% disclosed in the last 3 months (21% in the last 6 months and over 68% have been exposed for over 12 months)
Over 60% of stolen credentials came from 3 industries – IT/Telecom (23%), Energy and Utility (22%) and Finance (21%)
IT/Telecoms industry is the most at risk with the highest total amount (7,303) and average stolen credentials per company (730), they are most affected by malware infection and have the most amount of stolen credentials disclosed in the last 3 months
On average, healthcare has the highest number of stolen credentials per company (485) from data breach as they found themselves increasingly in the cyber criminals’ crosshairs since the pandemic.
https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/expert-comments/31000-ftse-100-logins-found-on-dark-web/
Ransomware: How Executives Should Prepare Given the Current Threat Landscape
As the number of ransomware attacks continue to increase, the response at C-level must be swift and decisive.
Top executives are increasingly dreading the phone call from their fellow employee notifying them that their company has been hit by a cyber attack. Nearly every week in 2021 and early 2022, a prominent organisation has been in the media spotlight as their public relations team struggles to explain how they were attacked and how they can regain consumer confidence. A recent survey showed that 37 percent of organisations surveyed had been affected by ransomware attacks in the last year.
Worse, the days when executive leadership teams could fully delegate responsibility to a CISO are over. Regardless of reality, surveys have shown that about 40 percent of the public perception of fault for a ransomware attack lands squarely on the CEO’s shoulders, and that 36 percent of attacks result in the loss of C-level talent. While executive involvement in the security program does not guarantee a successful defence, it does give the executive leadership team (ELT) a degree of ownership of the final product, as well as the ability to speak confidently and knowledgeably to the public.
What Your Cyber Insurance Application Form Can Tell You About Ransomware Readiness
The annual cyber insurance application form shows what the carriers think you should be doing to best prevent and recover from ransomware attacks. Pay attention.
If it’s the time of year for you to fill out the annual cyber insurance policy application, you will see how the focus for insurance firms is changing. Each year you can get an insight into what insurance vendors are using to rate the risks and threats to your business and what they are stressing firms should have in place as best practice or what they are expecting you should have in place as a baseline set of controls. Not having them in place could affect insurance rates, whether you are able to get cyber coverage at all, or crucially whether they would pay out in the event of you having to make a claim.
This year you might find more questions specifically around ransomware prevention techniques and protections, from Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) to Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and email filtering protections to the robustness of your backups.
Make sure to review your cyber insurance policy and its related questionnaire. And ask whether you are doing everything you can to protect your firm and tailoring your actions to align with what your insurance provider has deemed as a best practice.
NCSC Shut Down 2.7 Million Scams in 2021
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) removed 2.7 million online scams last year, it was revealed this week, four times as many scams compared to 2020.
The announcement comes as the security agency shared the most recent data from its Active Cyber Defence initiative at the CYBERUK summit earlier in the week.
According to the NCSC, neutralised scams included fake celebrity endorsements and spoof extortion emails.
It has also been revealed that fraud campaigns used common themes, with NHS vaccines and vaccine passports being particularly popular.
Some cyber criminals even posed as NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron – victims received an email claiming the NCSC had prevented £5m of their money from being stolen, and were urged to supply personal information to retrieve the funds.
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/05/10/ncsc-shut-down-2-7-million-scams-in-2021/
Security Threats Targeting Remote Workers
Remote work offers great benefits, like reduced commute time, increased freedom, and more time to spend with loved ones. But there can be security downsides if sufficient controls are not in place to protect remote workers against the digital threats that come with working via unsecured connections.
Being on a home network lacks the layered network security of the company environment. Remote work itself is not new, but the dramatic shift to working from home over the past two years means there are more security-naive people who are not in the office.
Not all security threats are the fault of technology. Much of it also comes from human error.
Remote work greatly exacerbates human-activated risk, and people are working in more distracting environments where they may have to answer the door for deliveries or might multitask with household chores. That means mistakes are more likely to happen, like sending an email to the wrong recipient or falling for a malicious email attack.
Recent research by Egress found that 77% of IT leaders said they have seen an increase in security compromises since going remote two years ago.
https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/top-6-security-threats-targeting-remote-workers
Password Reuse Is Rampant Among Employees in All Sectors
SpyCloud published an annual analysis of identity exposure among employees of Fortune 1000 companies in key sectors such as technology, finance, retail and telecommunications.
Drawing on a database of over 200 billion recaptured assets, researchers identified over 687 million exposed credentials and PII tied to Fortune 1000 employees, a 26% increase from last year’s analysis.
Analysis of this data showed a 64% password reuse rate, widespread use of easy-to-guess passwords, and a spike in malware-infected devices –– all sources of cyber risk for both employers and consumers who rely on businesses to safeguard their personal data. With remote work blurring the lines between work and personal device use, a larger attack surface compounds the risk of cyber attacks proliferating beyond compromised employee and consumer identities to penetrate corporate networks.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/11/fortune-1000-identity-exposure/
Threats
Ransomware
Costa Rica Shows the Damage Ransomware Can Do to a Country - The Washington Post
Ransomware Works Fast, You Need to Be Faster To Counter It - Help Net Security
A Closer Look At Today’s Ransomware Attack Landscape - MSSP Alert
Ransomware Is a National Security Threat, So Please Tell Us About Attacks, Says Government | ZDNet
5 Years That Altered the Ransomware Landscape (darkreading.com)
Colonial Pipeline Faces Nearly $1m Fine After Ransomware • The Register
These Ransomware Attackers Sent Their Ransom Note to The Victim's Printer | ZDNet
New Malware Samples Indicate Return of REvil Ransomware | SecurityWeek.Com
How to Avoid Falling Victim to PayOrGrief's Next Rebrand (darkreading.com)
Examining the Black Basta Ransomware’s Infection Routine (trendmicro.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Novel Phishing Trick Uses Weird Links to Bypass Spam Filters | Threatpost
New Email Security Tool Launched to Help Organisations Check Their Defences - NCSC.GOV.UK
Malware
Novel ‘Nerbian’ Trojan Uses Advanced Anti-Detection Tricks | Threatpost
Low-rent Remote Access Trojan (RAT) Worries Researchers | Threatpost
Eternity Malware Kit Offers Stealer, Miner, Worm, Ransomware Tools (bleepingcomputer.com)
It costs $7 to Rent DCRat Malware to Backdoor Your Network • The Register
Shopping For Malware: $260 Gets You a Password Stealer... • The Register
Microsoft: Sysrv Botnet Targets Windows, Linux Servers with New Exploits (bleepingcomputer.com)
Google Drive Emerges as Top App For Malware Downloads - Help Net Security
Stealthy Linux Implant BPFdoor Compromised Organizations Globally For Years | CSO Online
Malware Attacks Getting More Regional, Claims Netskope • The Register
5-Buck DCRat Malware Foretells a Worrying Cyber Future (darkreading.com)
Threat Actors Use Telegram to Spread ‘Eternity’ Malware-as-a-Service | Threatpost
German Automakers Targeted in Year-Long Malware Campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
Data Breaches/Leaks
PII Of 21M SuperVPN, GeckoVPN Users Leaked On Telegram - Information Security Buzz
Victims of Horizon Actuarial Data Breach Exceed 1M (techtarget.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Crypto Robber Who Lured Victims Via Snapchat and Stole £34,000 Jailed (bleepingcomputer.com)
Crook Jailed for Selling Stolen Credentials On Dark Web • The Register
US Agrees to International Electronic Cyber Crime Evidence Swap (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs
NFTs Emerge as the Next Enterprise Attack Vector (darkreading.com)
Fake Binance NFT Mystery Box Bots Steal Victim's Crypto Wallets (bleepingcomputer.com)
Possible $1 Billion Crypto Ponzi Scheme Probed by Tax Investigators - Bloomberg
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
How Can Your Business Defend Itself Against Fraud-as-a-Service? (darkreading.com)
Scammers Impersonate Britain’s Top Cyber Crime Chief in Fake £5m Heist (telegraph.co.uk)
Caramel Credit Card Stealing Service Is Growing in Popularity (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers Are Exploiting WordPress Themes, Plugins to Hawk Scams (gizmodo.com)
Thousands of WordPress Sites Hacked to Redirect Visitors to Scam Sites (thehackernews.com)
Insurance
Multi-Factor Authentication: A Key to Cyber Risk Insurance Coverage (tripwire.com)
How Cyber Liability Insurance Can Help Protect Your Business Reputation - MSSP Alert
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloud
Open Source
Travel
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Wars Start in Cyberspace Well Before Shots Are Fired • The Register
#CYBERUK22: Cyber Trends from the Russia-Ukraine War - Infosecurity Magazine
US Pledges to Help Ukraine Keep the Internet and Lights On (darkreading.com)
Spain’s Spy Chief Sacked Over Pegasus Scandal - Infosecurity Magazine
OpRussia Update: Anonymous Breached Other Organizations - Security Affairs
Pro-Russian Hacktivists Target Italy Government Websites - Security Affairs
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russian Hackers Targeting Opponents Of Ukraine Invasion, Warns GCHQ Chief | Hacking | The Guardian
Western Intelligence Blames Russia for Europe-Wide Cyber Attack - Infosecurity Magazine
State Department Says Russian Cyber War Against Ukraine Began in January | The Independent
Ukraine War: Don’t Underestimate Russia Cyber-Threat, Warns US - BBC News
Nation State Actors – China
Experts Uncovered a New Wave Of Attacks Conducted By Mustang Panda - Security Affairs
China-Backed Winnti Hackers Attacked Manufacturers Globally, Cybereason Alleges - MSSP Alert
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerabilities
Critical F5 BIG-IP Vulnerability Exploited to Wipe Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe Warns of 'Critical' Security Flaws in Enterprise Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Log4Shell Exploit Threatens Enterprise Data Lakes, AI Poisoning (darkreading.com)
Intel Emits Raft of Firmware Patches For Security Flaws • The Register
Actively Exploited Zero-Day Bug Patched by Microsoft | Threatpost
HP Fixes Bug Letting Attackers Overwrite Firmware in Over 200 Models (bleepingcomputer.com)
Zyxel Fixes Firewall Flaws That Could Lead to Hacked Networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Releases Fixes for Azure Flaw Allowing RCE Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Find Flaws in Word, PDF Script Handling • The Register
SonicWall Releases Patches for New Flaws Affecting SSLVPN SMA1000 Devices (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft: May Windows Updates Cause AD Authentication Failures (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Ransomware Group Strikes Second US Health Care System in The Last Two Months - CyberScoop
Is That Health App Safe to Use? A New Framework Aims To Provide An Answer - Help Net Security
Manufacturing
German Automakers Targeted in Year-Long Malware Campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)
China-Backed Winnti Hackers Attacked Manufacturers Globally, Cybereason Alleges - MSSP Alert
Education and Academia
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
An Offensive Mindset Is Crucial for Effective Cyber Defence - Help Net Security
Zero-Click Attacks Explained, And Why They Are So Dangerous | CSO Online
Britain Must Upgrade Cyber Defences ‘Or Be Hit By 9/11-Style Attack’ (telegraph.co.uk)
Everything We Learned From the LAPSUS$ Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Threat Actors Are Stealing Data Now to Decrypt When Quantum Computing Comes (darkreading.com)
Prepare for What You Wish For: More CISOs on Boards | SecurityWeek.Com
Ready, IAM, Fire: How Weak Identity and Access Management (IAM) Makes You a Target (darkreading.com)
How Privileged Access Management (PAM) Must Evolve - MSSP Alert
Secure Your CMS-Based Websites Against Pervasive Attacks - Help Net Security
Threats To Hardware Security Are Growing - Help Net Security
Government’s “Whole of Society” Cyber Strategy Takes Shape - Infosecurity Magazine
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 05 May 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 05 May 2022
-Cyber Scams Cost Victims $6.9b-Plus Worldwide in 2021
-Bad Actors Are Maximizing Remote Everything
-New Hacker Group Pursuing Corporate Employees Focused on Mergers and Acquisitions
-FBI: Business Email Compromise: The $43 Billion Scam
-Disgruntled Employees Cashing in On Confidential Information Over Dark Web
-Google Sees More APTs Using Ukraine War-Related Themes
-Cryptocurrency Regulators Are Scrambling to Catch Up with Hackers Who Are Swiping Billions
-Tackling the Threats Posed by Shadow IT
-Hackers Used the Log4j Flaw to Gain Access Before Moving Across a Company's Network, Say Security Researchers
-This Sneaky Hacking Group Hid Inside Networks For 18 Months Without Being Detected
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Cyber Scams Cost Victims $6.9b-Plus Worldwide in 2021
Cyber-scams cost victims around the globe at least $6.9 billion last year, according to the FBI's latest Internet Crime Report.
Since 2017, the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received an average of 552,000 complaints per year. This includes reports of extortion, identity theft, phishing, fraud, and a slew of other nefarious schemes that cost victims no less than $18.7 billion in losses over the five-year period.
Unsurprisingly, the volume of these crimes — and related costs — have grown every year; 2021 set records for the total number of complaints (847,376) as well as losses exceeding $6.9 billion, a jump from the $4.2 billion reported a year earlier.
As with earlier years, phishing attacks were by far the most commonly reported crimes, with 323,972 last year. A subset of this category, business email compromise (BEC), is proving very lucrative and cost victims almost $2.4 billion from 19,954 victims, according to the Feds.
BEC involves a cyber criminal compromising a legitimate email account, and then tricking a business or individual into transferring funds, sending employees' personal data, or unlocking cryptocurrency wallets. The fraudster then steals the cash, drains the crypto wallet and/or sells employees' identities and credentials on the dark web.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/05/fbi_cyber_scams/
Bad Actors Are Maximising Remote Everything
The rise of remote work and learning opened new opportunities for many people – as we’ve seen by the number of people who have moved to new places or adapted to “workcations.” Cyber criminals are taking advantage of the same opportunities – just in a different way. Evaluating the prevalence of malware variants by region reveals a sustained interest by cyber adversaries in maximising the remote work and learning attack vector.
As hybrid work and learning become embedded paradigms in our culture, there are fewer layers of protection between malware and would-be victims. And bad actors are gaining access to more tools to help them pull off their nefarious deeds – like exploit kits. At the same time, the attack surface has rapidly expanded and continues to do so.
That means enterprises must take a work-from-anywhere approach to their security. They need to deploy solutions capable of following, enabling and protecting users no matter where they are located. They need security on the endpoint (EDR) combined with zero trust network access (ZTNA) approaches.
https://threatpost.com/bad-actors-remote-everything/179458/
This Sneaky Hacking Group Hid Inside Networks For 18 Months Without Being Detected
A previously undisclosed cyber-espionage group is using clever techniques to breach corporate networks and steal information related to mergers, acquisitions and other large financial transactions – and they've been able to remain undetected by victims for periods of more than 18 months.
Detailed by cyber security researchers at Mandiant, who've named it UNC3524, the hacking operation has been active since at least December 2019 and uses a range of advanced methods to infiltrate and maintain persistence on compromised networks that set it apart from most other hacking groups. These methods include the ability to immediately re-infect environments after access is removed. It's currently unknown how initial access is achieved.
One of the reasons UNC3524 is so successful at maintaining persistence on networks for such a long time is because it installs backdoors on applications and services that don't support security tools, such as anti-virus or endpoint protection.
FBI: Business Email Compromise: The $43 Billion Scam
According to the FBI, business email compromise (BEC) and email account compromise (EAC) losses have surpassed $43 billion globally. BEC/EAC is a sophisticated scam that targets both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests.
The BEC/EAC scam continues to grow and evolve, targeting small local businesses to larger corporations, and personal transactions. Between July 2019 and December 2021, there was a 65% increase in identified global exposed losses, meaning the dollar loss that includes both actual and attempted loss in United States dollars.
The following information was derived from filings with financial institutions between June 2016 and December 2021:
Domestic and international incidents: 241,206
Domestic and international exposed dollar loss: $43,312,749,946
The following BEC/EAC statistics were reported in victim complaints to the IC3 between October 2013 and December 2021:
Total US victims: 116,401
Total US exposed dollar loss: $14,762,978,290
Total non-US victims: 5,260
Total non-US exposed dollar loss: $1,277,131,099
Disgruntled Employees Cashing in On Confidential Information Over Dark Web
Disgruntled employees are making hundreds of thousands of dollars by leaking confidential information over a new platform on the so-called dark web, cyber researchers have said.
Hidden in a part of the internet that is only accessible using special software, the Industrial Spy platform promises huge payouts to staff willing to hand over "dirty secrets" to competitors, according to experts at intelligence business Cyberint.
Industrial Spy currently has data on twelve companies from a range of industries available to people who sign up, Cyberint said.
The platform recently managed to sell two tranches of company data for $400,000 (£318,236) and $750,000 each.
An individual has advertised the platform to potential purchasers of the data on the dark web.
The post said: "With our information you could refuse partnership with an unscrupulous partner, reveal dirty secrets of your competitors and earn millions of dollars using insider information."
Cyber criminals have long approached employees individually and offered a bribe to release sensitive information such as internal data and passwords to access computer systems.
But this new platform allows employees to act on their own initiative to steal data and sell it online.
Google Sees More APTs Using Ukraine War-Related Themes
Researchers at Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) say the number of advanced threat actors using Ukraine war-related themes in cyber attacks went up in April with a surge in malware attacks targeting critical infrastructure.
According to Google, known state-backed APT groups from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, along with various unattributed groups have been using war-related themes in phishing and malware distribution campaigns.
Looking at the cyber attacks that target Eastern Europe, however, a new Google report notes there hasn't been a significant change from the normal levels of activity, despite the increased adoption of lures related to the Ukraine war.
https://www.securityweek.com/google-sees-more-apts-using-ukraine-war-related-themes
Cryptocurrency Regulators Are Scrambling to Catch Up with Hackers Who Are Swiping Billions
Just four months in, 2022 has been a banner year for hackers, and fraudsters targeting the industry have swindled more than $1 billion from cryptocurrency investors, according to separate estimates by cryptocurrency analysis firm Immunefi.
The rise in fraud has put US regulators on the offensive. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which has positioned itself as the industry’s main regulator and enforcer, announced on Tuesday that it was going to double its staff working to resources to combat the rise in fraud.
“Crypto markets have exploded in recent years, with retail investors bearing the brunt of abuses in this space. Meanwhile, cyber-related threats continue to pose existential risks to our financial markets and participants,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement said in a statement. “The bolstered Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit will be at the forefront of protecting investors and ensuring fair and orderly markets in the face of these critical challenges.”
https://www.cyberscoop.com/cryptocurrency-sec-cybersecurity-bitcoin-regulation-enforcement/
Tackling the Threats Posed by Shadow IT
While remote technologies have allowed businesses to shift their workforces online, this flexibility has created a swathe of challenges for IT teams who must provide a robust security framework for their organisation – encompassing all the personnel and devices within their remit. In addition to the ever-increasing number of personal devices, corporate devices and programs, more and more applications are moving to the cloud as workloads become increasingly distributed across public clouds and software-as-a-service (SaaS).
This means IT teams are even harder pressed to secure and manage the complex environments they operate in. The unsanctioned use of corporate IT systems, devices, and software – known as shadow IT – has increased significantly during the shift to remote work, and recent research found almost one in seven (68%) are concerned about information security because of employees following shadow IT practices.
Shadow IT can allow hackers to steal employee and customer identities, company intellectual property, and cause companies to fail compliance audits. It can also open the door to enterprises accidentally breaking laws and exposes organisations to data exfiltration, malware, and phishing.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/05/shadow-it-risk/
Hackers Used the Log4j Flaw to Gain Access Before Moving Across a Company's Network, Say Security Researchers
State-backed hacking groups are some of the most advanced cyber attack operations in the world - but criminals don't need to rely on them if they can exploit unpatched cyber security flaws.
A North Korean hacking and cyber espionage operation breached the network of an engineering firm linked to military and energy organisations by exploiting a cyber security vulnerability in Log4j.
First detailed in December, the vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228) allows attackers to remotely execute code and gain access to systems that use Log4j, a widely used Java logging library.
The ubiquitous nature of Log4j meant cyber security agencies urged organisations globally to apply security updates as quickly as possible, but months on from disclosure, many are still vulnerable to the flaw.
According to cyber security researchers at Symantec, one of those companies that was still vulnerable was an undisclosed engineering firm that works in the energy and military sectors. That vulnerability resulted in the company being breached when attackers exploited the gap on a public-facing VMware View server in February this year. From there, attackers were able to move around the network and compromise at least 18 computers.
New Hacker Group Pursuing Corporate Employees Focused on Mergers and Acquisitions
[Explanatory note from Black Arrow: When a group of cyber attackers is identified by the cyber security community, it is given a code name usually composed of letters and digits. These groups are also sometimes referred to as APTs., or Advanced Persistent Threats, because the groups are highly skilled and are persistent in their attacks; they are often supported by their state government].
A newly discovered suspected espionage threat actor has been targeting employees focusing on mergers and acquisitions as well as large corporate transactions to facilitate bulk email collection from victim environments.
Mandiant is tracking the activity cluster under the uncategorised moniker UNC3524, citing a lack of evidence linking it to an existing group. However, some of the intrusions are said to mirror techniques used by different Russia-based hacking crews like APT28 and APT29.
"The high level of operational security, low malware footprint, adept evasive skills, and a large Internet of Things (IoT) device botnet set this group apart and emphasise the 'advanced' in Advanced Persistent Threat," the threat intelligence firm said in a report.
The initial access route is unknown but upon gaining a foothold, attack chains involving UNC3524 culminate in the deployment of a novel backdoor called QUIETEXIT for persistent remote access for as long as 18 months without getting detected in some cases.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/05/new-hacker-group-pursuing-corporate.html
Threats
Ransomware
US DoS Offers a Reward of Up To $15M For Info on Conti Ransomware Gang - Security Affairs
Trend Micro Discovers AvosLocker Can Disable Antivirus Software (techtarget.com)
Experts Analyse Conti and Hive Ransomware Gangs' Chats with Their Victims (thehackernews.com)
New Ransomware Strains Linked to North Korean Govt Hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
REvil Revival: Are Ransomware Gangs Ever Really Gone? (darkreading.com)
What We've Learned in the 12 Months Since the Colonial Pipeline Attack (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Google SMTP Relay Service Abused for Sending Phishing Emails (bleepingcomputer.com)
US DoD Scammed Out of $23M in Phishing Attack on Jet-Fuel Vendors (darkreading.com)
1000s of Phishing Emails Sent from NHS Inboxes - IT Security Guru
Malware
This New Fileless Malware Hides Shellcode in Windows Event Logs (thehackernews.com)
Raspberry Robin Spreads Via Removable USB Devices - Security Affairs
Hackers Using PrivateLoader PPI Service to Distribute New NetDooka Malware (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
IoT
Unpatched DNS Bug Affects Millions of Routers and IoT Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
What Should I Know About Defending IoT Attack Surfaces? (darkreading.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs
Crypto Hackers Stole More Than $370 Million In April Alone (vice.com)
Ferrari Subdomain Hijacked to Push Fake Ferrari NFT Collection (bleepingcomputer.com)
Supply Chain
Open Source
Open-Source Security: It's Too Easy to Upload 'Devastating' Malicious Packages, Warns Google | ZDNet
How Linux Became the New Bullseye for Bad Guys | SecurityWeek.Com
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Good End User Passwords Begin with A Well-Enforced Password Policy - Help Net Security
55% of People Rely on Their Memory To Manage Passwords - Help Net Security
A Third of Americans Use Easy-to-Guess Pet Passwords (darkreading.com)
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Mandiant CEO: False-flag Ops a Red Line For Nation-States • The Register
Anonymous and Ukraine IT Army Continue to Target Russian Entities - Security Affairs
Pro-Ukraine Hackers Use Docker Images to DDoS Russian Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia Hammered by Pro-Ukrainian Hackers Following Invasion | Ars Technica
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Russia-Linked APT29 Targets Diplomatic and Government Organisations - Security Affairs
Russian Ransomware Group Claims Attack on Bulgarian Refugee Agency - CyberScoop
Russia Cyber Attacks Raise Questions About Hacking Red Lines - Bloomberg
Putin Threatens Supply Chains with Counter-Sanction Order • The Register
Russian Hackers Targeting Diplomatic Entities in Europe, Americas, and Asia (thehackernews.com)
China-linked APT Curious Gorge Targeted Russian Govt Agencies - Security Affairs
Russia-Ukraine War Prompts Security Best Practices Refresher (techtarget.com)
Nation State Actors – China
China-Linked Winnti APT Group Silently Stole Trade Secrets for Years: Report | SecurityWeek.Com
State-Backed Chinese Hackers Target Russia - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Chinese "Override Panda" Hackers Resurface With New Espionage Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Experts Uncover New Espionage Attacks by Chinese 'Mustang Panda' Hackers (thehackernews.com)
China Not Happy With South Korea Joining NATO Cyber Defense Center | SecurityWeek.Com
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Security Researchers: Here's How the Lazarus Hackers Start Their Attacks | ZDNet
VHD Ransomware Variant Linked to North Korean Cyber Army (darkreading.com)
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds Five Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalogue | CISA
Aruba and Avaya Network Switches Are Vulnerable to RCE Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco Issues Patches for 3 New Flaws Affecting Enterprise NFVIS Software (thehackernews.com)
F5 Warns of a New Critical BIG-IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
May 2022 Patch Tuesday Forecast: Look Beyond Just Application and OS Updates - Help Net Security
Critical Cisco VM-Escape Bug Threatens Host Takeover (darkreading.com)
Researchers Disclose Years-Old Vulnerabilities in Avast and AVG Antivirus (thehackernews.com)
QNAP Releases Firmware Patches for 9 New Flaws Affecting NAS Devices (thehackernews.com)
Critical RCE Bug Reported in dotCMS Content Management Software (thehackernews.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Telecoms
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Education and Academia
Other News
Car Rental Company Sixt Hit by a Cyber Attack that Caused Disruptions - Security Affairs
White House Says To Prepare For Cryptography-Cracking Quantum Computers - Information Security Buzz
CMS-Based Sites Under Attack: The Latest Threats and Trends - Help Net Security
Mozilla Finds Mental Health Apps Fail 'Spectacularly' at User Security, Data Policies | ZDNet
UK to Place Security Requirements on App Developers and Store Operators - Infosecurity Magazine
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 29 April 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 29 April 2022
-Ransomware Attacks Surged to New Highs in 2021
-NCSC and Allies Publish Advisory on The Most Commonly Exploited Vulnerabilities In 2021
-Network Attacks Increased to a 3-Year High
-World War Three Is Far More Likely Than Anyone Is Prepared to Admit
-The Ransomware Crisis Deepens, While Data Recovery Stalls
-Ransoms Only Make Up 15% of Ransomware Costs
-Defending Your Business Against Russian Cyber Warfare
-5-Year Vulnerability Trends Are Both Surprising and Sadly Predictable
-Cisco Talos Observes 'Novel Increase' in APT Activity in Q1
-Deepfakes Set to Be Used in Organised Crime
-Smart Contract Developers Not Really Focused on Security. Who Knew?
-Tractor-Trailer Brake Controllers Vulnerable to Remote Hacker Attacks
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Ransomware Attacks Surged to New Highs in 2021
Ransomware attacks are getting more frequent, more successful and more expensive.
Sixty-six percent of the organisations surveyed by Sophos for its annual State of Ransomware report admitted that they were hit with a ransomware attack last year, up from 37% in 2020. And 65 percent of those attacks were successful in encrypting their victims' data, up from 54 percent the year before.
On top of that, the average ransom paid by organisations for their most significant ransomware attack grew by nearly five times, to just over $800,000, while the number of organisations that paid ransoms of $1 million or more tripled to 11%, the UK-based cybersecurity company said. For its annual report, Sophos surveyed 5,600 organisations from 31 countries. A total of 965 of those polled shared details of their ransomware attacks.
The numbers aren't a huge surprise after a year of epic ransomware attacks that shut down everything from a major oil pipeline to one of the largest meat processors in the US. While both Colonial Pipeline and JBS US Holdings paid millions in ransom, the attacks paused their operations long enough to spark panic buying and drive prices up for consumers.
NCSC and Allies Publish Advisory on The Most Commonly Exploited Vulnerabilities In 2021
The UK and international partners have published an advisory for public and private sector organisations on the 15 most commonly exploited vulnerabilities in 2021.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, has jointly published an advisory with agencies in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, showing that malicious cyber actors aggressively targeted newly disclosed critical software vulnerabilities across the public and private sectors worldwide.
Threat actors often geared their efforts towards targeting internet-facing systems, such as email and virtual private network (VPN) servers.
It also indicates that, to a lesser extent, actors continue to exploit publicly known – and often dated – vulnerabilities, some of which were routinely exploited in 2020 or earlier.
The advisory directs organisations to follow specific mitigation advice to protect against exploitation, which includes applying timely patches, using a centralised patch management system and replacing any software no longer supported by the vendor.
Network Attacks Increased to a 3-Year High
WatchGuard Technologies’ Internet Security Report for Q4 2021 revealed all threats were up, whether they’re network attacks or malware.
When the pandemic started, their research team saw a big drop in malware being detected by network security devices. In this period, tech based jobs moved to remote work, which meant a lot of users were no longer browsing the internet and encountering bad things through the network security control at the office. That’s probably why network detection for malware dropped quite a bit at the beginning of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, network attacks continued to rise even through the pandemic, since the servers still lived at the offices and the cloud, and network security still protected those.
The big takeaway in Q4 2021 is that malware rose significantly, returning to normal levels. The reason might be the holiday season, but it’s most probably the fact that, at the end of last year, a lot of tech-based offices started reopening and offering employees to come back in, and thus there’s a bigger chance for network security controls to catch malware.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/25/network-attacks-q4-2021-video/
World War Three Is Far More Likely Than Anyone Is Prepared to Admit
A Telegraph article looks at the Russia-Ukraine conflict and considers risks posed by new weapons and how the West’s failure to understand our enemies are raising the chances of a horrific conflict.
The fact is the world is becoming more, rather than less, dangerous: there are plenty of other wannabe Putins, and they are better equipped to sow death and destruction. Not only traditional and nuclear threats but bioterrorism is a growing worry and a major cyber attack or assault on transatlantic cables could be so devastating to an internet-based economy as to be seen as a declaration of war.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/04/27/world-war-three-far-likely-anyone-prepared-admit/
The Ransomware Crisis Deepens, While Data Recovery Stalls
Higher probabilities of attack, soaring ransoms, and less chance of getting data back — the ransomware plague gets worse, and cyber insurance fails to be a panacea.
When it comes to ransomware, more companies are seeing attacks and have had data encrypted, according to research out this week. And even though more companies are backing up or paying ransom demands, less data was recovered in 2021 compared with the previous year.
For instance, in its "State of Ransomware 2022" report, cybersecurity firm Sophos found that 66% of surveyed companies had encountered ransomware in 2021, with two-thirds of those firms — or 43% overall — suffering from an actual attack that encrypted data. In its previous report covering 2020, the frequency of successful attacks was much smaller, with about 20% overall resulting in encryption.
The deteriorating cyberthreat landscape is largely due to the evolution of ransomware groups and their techniques, says Sean Gallagher, senior threat researcher with Sophos.
"Over the past couple of years, there has been a massive transition from ransomware to ransomware-as-a-service," he says. "There are very well-established [groups] that are doing these attacks, and as a result, the number of attacks companies are seeing has gone up."
Ransomware continues to plague companies with business-disrupting attacks and defy efforts by cybersecurity experts to rein in the operators behind the criminals’ campaigns. Not only did the portion of companies affected by ransomware more than double last year, but the mean ransomware payment more than quadrupled to $812,000, according to the Sophos report.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-crisis-deepens-data-recovery-stalls
Ransoms Only Make Up 15% of Ransomware Costs
New research suggests that paying ransoms is only the tip of the cost iceberg when it comes to ransomware attacks.
Researchers at Check Point have revealed that the collateral damage of ransomware attacks make up costs roughly seven times higher than the ransom demanded by threat actors.
The costs include financial implications caused by incident response efforts, system restoration, legal fees, monitoring costs and the overall impact of business disruption.
Ransomware attacks are an increasingly popular attack method, typically involving stealing data from the victim, encrypting data and forcing them to pay for decryption and avoiding a data leak.
Check Point said in the report:
“Most other losses, including response and restoration costs, legal fees, monitoring costs, etc., are applied whether the extortion demand was paid or not. The year 2020 showed that the average total cost of a ransomware attack was more than seven times higher than the average ransom paid.”
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/04/28/ransoms-only-make-up-15-of-ransomware-costs/
Defending Your Business Against Russian Cyber Warfare
We are likely to see Russian state sponsored attacks escalate as the West continues to increase sanctions and support Ukraine.
The eyes of the world are focused on the war in Ukraine. As expected, Russia has targeted Ukraine with cyber attacks first, and much of the West is wondering when Russia will also retaliate against countries supporting Ukraine. Most agree that some attacks are already in progress, and the attacks against western entities are sure to escalate as the war continues and more sanctions are put in place.
The first wave of companies targeted by the Russian state, and threat actors it supports, will be those that suspend Russian operations or take direct action to support Ukraine. Information operations and subversion against these companies will likely ensue. In the event of Russian cyberwarfare, reviewing the industries, styles, and objectives of their attacks can help organisations to prepare and implement more robust defences. These defences include actions both inside and outside an enterprise's perimeter.
https://www.securityweek.com/defending-your-business-against-russian-cyberwarfare
5-Year Vulnerability Trends Are Both Surprising and Sadly Predictable
What 5,800+ pentests show us: Companies have been struggling with the same known and preventable security bugs year over year. Bandwidth stands at the heart of the problem.
Cyber crime can cause major disruption when it comes to the sustainability and long-term success of companies. Teams want to have robust security but often struggle to meet that objective. It's crucial for security professionals to leverage insights into emerging trends in cybersecurity to pinpoint which vulnerabilities put organisations at the greatest risk, and Cobalt's "State of Pentesting" reports explore how to achieve efficiency to strengthen security.
The "State of Pentesting 2022" surveyed 602 cybersecurity and software development professionals and analysed data from 2,380 pentests conducted over the course of 2021 to pull key insights that are relevant to security and development teams when it comes to fixing vulnerabilities.
As a result of the data collected, the top five most common vulnerability categories outlined in this year's "State of Pentesting" report include:
· Server Security Misconfigurations
· Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
· Broken Access Control
· Sensitive Data Exposure
· Authentication and Sessions
Surprisingly — yet predictably — these vulnerability categories have stayed at the top of the list for at least the last five years in a row. They're also recognisable to those who are familiar with OWASP Top 10 list for Web Application Security Risks.
The majority of these findings are connected to missing configurations, outdated software, and a lack of access management controls — all common and easily preventable security flaws. So, what's holding companies back from preventing well-known security flaws? Why does this come as a surprise?
Cisco Talos Observes 'Novel Increase' in APT Activity in Q1
Advanced persistent threat actors have been busy over the past few months, according to Cisco Talos.
The security vendor released its Quarterly Trends report, which examined incident response trends from engagements in the first quarter of 2022. While ransomware remained the top threat, as it has for the past two years now, Cisco observed a new trend of increased APT activity. The Cisco Talos Incident Response (CTIR) team attributed some of the increase to groups like Iranian state-sponsored Muddywater and China-based Mustang Panda.
One suspected Chinese APT, dubbed "Deep Panda," was connected to exploitation of the Log4j flaw that was discovered last year in the widely used Java logging tool. Log4j exploitation was the second most common threat for Q1 behind ransomware, indicating the bug is a growing threat despite a patch being available.
Deepfakes Set to Be Used in Organised Crime
New research from Europol suggests that deepfakes will be used extensively in organised crime operations.
Europol has warned of a projected rise in the use of deepfake technology by organised crime organisations.
Deepfakes involve the use of artificial intelligence to create realistic audio and audio-visual content “that convincingly shows people saying or doing things they never did, or create personas that never existed in the first place.”
Law enforcement and the challenge of deepfakes is the first published analysis of the Europol Innovation Lab’s Observatory function, warning that law enforcement agencies must rapidly improve skills and technologies utilised by officers in order to keep up with criminal deepfake use.
The analysis report highlighted how deepfakes are used primarily in disinformation, non-consensual pornography and document fraud campaigns, which will grow more realistic in years to come.
https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/04/29/deepfakes-set-to-be-used-in-organised-crime/
Smart Contract Developers Not Really Focused on Security. Who Knew?
"Smart contracts," which consist of self-executing code on a blockchain, are not nearly as smart as the label suggests.
They are at least as error-prone as any other software, where historically the error rate has been about one bug per hundred lines of code.
And they may be shoddier still due to disinterest in security among smart contract developers, and perhaps inadequate technical resources.
Multi-million dollar losses attributed to smart contract bugs – around $31m stolen from MonoX via smart contract exploit and ~$34m locked into a contract forever due to bad increment math, to name a few – illustrate the consequences.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/26/smart_contract_losses/
Tractor-Trailer Brake Controllers Vulnerable to Remote Hacker Attacks
We’ve been predicting this for a while now and the move to more and more connected systems, autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, how long until someone is subject to threats to disconnect a vehicle’s brakes as they are driving along a motorway? Who wouldn’t pay the ransom demand in that scenario?
A report this week is related to articulated lorries but this is something that will be affecting all vehicles unless safeguards are put in place.
Researchers have analysed the cyber security of heavy vehicles and discovered that the brake controllers found on many tractor-trailers in North America are susceptible to remote hacker attacks.
The research was conducted by the US National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), which is a non-profit organisation that represents roughly 500 motor freight carriers, in collaboration with Assured Information Security, Inc.
NMFTA has been analysing the cyber security of heavy vehicles since 2015 and it has periodically disclosed its findings. The latest report from the organisation came in early March, when the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also issued an advisory to describe two vulnerabilities affecting trailer brake controllers.
The flaws described in the CISA advisory are related to the power line communications (PLC) between tractors and trailers, specifically the PLC4TRUCKS technology, which uses a standard named J2497 for bidirectional communications between the tractor and trailer without adding new wires.
https://www.securityweek.com/tractor-trailer-brake-controllers-vulnerable-remote-hacker-attacks
Threats
Ransomware
Prevent HEAT Attacks to Foil Ransomware Incidents - Help Net Security
Conti Ransomware Operations Surge Despite Recent Leak - Security Affairs
Beware: Onyx Ransomware Destroys Files Instead of Encrypting Them (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI says BlackCat Rust-Based Ransomware Scratched 60+ Orgs • The Register
REvil Ransomware Attacks Resume, But Operators Are Unknown (techtarget.com)
Fake Windows 10 Updates Infect You with Magniber Ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Black Basta Ransomware Springs into Action with A Dozen Breaches (bleepingcomputer.com)
Companies Can't Get Enough of Good Ol' Tape Storage For Ransomware Resistance | PC Gamer
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
Phishing Goes KISS: Don’t Let Plain and Simple Messages Catch You Out! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Phishing Attacks Benefiting from Shady SEO Practices (techtarget.com)
Malware
Emotet Malware Now Installs Via Powershell in Windows Shortcut Files (bleepingcomputer.com)
New RIG Exploit Kit Campaign Infecting Victims' PCs with RedLine Stealer (thehackernews.com)
Emotet Tests New Attack Techniques: Sign of Things to Come? | CSO Online
Cyber Criminals Using New Malware Loader 'Bumblebee' in the Wild (thehackernews.com)
New Powerful Prynt Stealer Malware Sells for Just $100 Per Month (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs
Scammers Are Copying News Sites To Push Elon Musk-themed Crypto Scams - Information Security Buzz
Why Did Hackers Target DeFi L1, L2 Solutions for a $1.2 Billion Theft in 2022? (watcher.guru)
Intuit Sued Over Phishing Attack Targeting Trezor Crypto Wallet Users - Decrypt
Crypto Trading Fund Partners Accused of Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine
LemonDuck Botnet Evades Detection in Cryptomining Attacks (techtarget.com)
Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram Hacked, NFTs Worth Millions Stolen (vice.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
AML/CFT
Two More Indicted Over North Korean Sanctions Evasion Plot - Infosecurity Magazine
FCA: Challenger Banks Failing to Spot Money Launderers - Infosecurity Magazine
Denial of Service DoS/DDoS
Cloudflare Stomps On 15.3 Million Requests Per Second DDoS • The Register
How a New Generation of IoT Botnets Is Amplifying DDoS Attacks | CSO Online
DDoS Attacks Target Healthcare, Education Markets, Research Finds - MSSP Alert
Cloud
Is Cloud Critical Infrastructure? Prep Now for Provider Outages (techtarget.com)
Shadow IT Is A Top Concern Related To SaaS Adoption - Help Net Security
Travel
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Data-Wiper Malware Strains Surge Amid Ukraine Invasion • The Register
Chinese Hackers Targeting Russian Military Personnel with Updated PlugX Malware (thehackernews.com)
Cyber Attacks Rage in Ukraine, Support Military Operations | Threatpost
Ongoing DDoS Attacks from Compromised Sites Hit Ukraine - Security Affairs
Anonymous Hacked Russian PSCB Commercial Bank and Energy Firms - Security Affairs
Russia-Linked Threat Actors Launched Hundreds of Cyber Attacks on Ukraine - Security Affairs
Russian Hacktivists Launch DDoS Attacks on Romanian Govt Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cyber Espionage APT Now Identified as Three Separate Actors | Threatpost
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Microsoft Documents Over 200 Cyber Attacks by Russia Against Ukraine (thehackernews.com)
Russian Govt Impersonators Target Telcos in Phishing Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
The Subject of Trusting ‘Russian’ Applications - Information Security Buzz
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors – Iran
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 7 Vulnerabilities to List Of Bugs Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cisco Patches 11 High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Security Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Update Now! Critical Patches for Chrome and Edge | Malwarebytes Labs
Microsoft Patches Pair of Dangerous Vulnerabilities in Azure PostgreSQL (darkreading.com)
Microsoft Discovers New Privilege Escalation Flaws in Linux Operating System (thehackernews.com)
Millions of Java Apps Remain Vulnerable to Log4Shell | Threatpost
Organisations Warned of Attacks Exploiting WSO2 Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com
Vulnerability Found in WordPress Anti-Malware Firewall (searchenginejournal.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Government
Governments Under Attack Must Think Defensively - Help Net Security
Data Breach Disrupts UK Army Recruitment - Infosecurity Magazine
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
French Hospital Group Disconnects Internet After Hackers Steal Data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Medical Software Firm Fined €1.5M for Leaking Data of 490k Patients (bleepingcomputer.com)
DDoS Attacks Target Healthcare, Education Markets, Research Finds - MSSP Alert
Smile Brands Breach Impacts 2.5 Million Individuals - Infosecurity Magazine
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Education and Academia
Gaming/Gambling
Other News
SolarWinds Breach Lawsuits: 6 Takeaways for CISOs | CSO Online
41% Of Businesses Had an API Security Incident Last Year - Help Net Security
Security Leaders Relying More Heavily on MSPs Amid Talent Crunch - Help Net Security
2022 Security Priorities: Staffing and Remote Work (darkreading.com)
GitHub: How Stolen OAuth Tokens Helped Breach Dozens of Orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Why Companies Should Focus on Preventing Privilege Escalation (techtarget.com)
German Wind Turbine Firm Hit by 'Targeted, Professional Cyber Attack' | SecurityWeek.Com
308,000 Exposed Databases Discovered, Proper Management Is Key - Help Net Security
Lapsus$ targeting SharePoint, VPNs and virtual machines (techtarget.com)
Top Five Post-Pandemic Priorities for Cyber Security Leaders - Help Net Security
Security Spending Set to Hit $198bn by 2025 - Infosecurity Magazine
Companies Poorly Prepared to Meet CCPA, CPRA and GDPR Compliance Requirements - Help Net Security
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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 22 April 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 22 April 2022:
-Why Ransomware Attacks Prefer Small Business Targets Rather Than Rich Enterprises
-Ransomware Plagues Finance Sector as Cyber Attacks Get More Complex
-76% of Organisations Worldwide Expect to Suffer a Cyber Attack This Year
-Most Email Security Approaches Fail to Block Common Threats
-Financial Leaders Grappling with More Aggressive and Sophisticated Attack Methods
-Hackers Sneak Malware into Resumes Sent to Corporate Hiring Managers
-West Warns of Russian Cyber-Attacks As Concerns Rise Over Putin’s Nuclear Rhetoric
-Criminals Adopting New Methods To Bypass Improved Defences, Says Zscaler
-Cyber Criminals Are ‘Drinking the Tears’ Of Ukrainians
-Hackers For Hire Attempt to Destroy Hedge Fund Manager's Reputation
-New Threat Groups and Malware Families Emerging
-Economic Warfare: Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Part of Geopolitical Conflict
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
Why Ransomware Attacks Prefer Small Business Targets Rather Than Rich Enterprises
Enterprise businesses with 25,000 employees+ are less likely to get hit by a ransomware attack than smaller businesses — even though big companies typically can afford to pay higher ransoms, the 2022 CyberEdge Cyberthreat Defense Report concluded.
What explains hackers taking aim at small businesses more frequently than enterprise giants? The answer: Damaging a critical infrastructure facility or similar disruptions are certain to catch the eye of federal law enforcement, or national governments — something that no hacker wants, CyberEdge said. Smaller to medium-sized firms, as it turns out, get hit more frequently by ransomware attacks, on average at roughly 70 percent, the report said.
Overall, some 71 percent of organisations have been bitten by ransomware in 2022, up a point and a half from last year and by 8.5 points in 2020. It’s companies of 10,000 to 24,999 employees that are the sweet spot for ransomware hackers, nearly 75 percent of which are victimised by cyber extortionists.
The extensive study, which surveyed 1,200 security decision makers and practitioners employed by companies of greater than 500 people in 17 countries across 19 industries, is geared to helping gauge their internal practices and investments against those of their counterparts in other parts of the world.
Ransomware Plagues Finance Sector as Cyber Attacks Get More Complex
Cyber criminals have evolved from hacking wire transfers to targeting market data, as ransomware continues to hit financial firms, says a new VMware report. Here's what to do about it.
Ransomware plagues financial institutions as they face increasingly complex threats over previous years owing to the changing behaviour of cyber criminal cartels, according to VMware's latest Modern Bank Heists report.
This has happened as the cyber crime cartels have evolved beyond wire transfer frauds to target market strategies, take over brokerage accounts, and island-hop into banks, according to the report.
For the report, VMware surveyed 130 financial sector CISOs and security leaders from across different regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central and South America, and Africa.
Report findings were consistent with observations by other security experts. "The Secret Service, in its investigative capacity to protect the nation's financial payment systems and financial infrastructure, has seen an evolution and increase in complex cyber-enabled fraud," says Jeremy Sheridan, former assistant director at the US Secret Service. "The persistent, inadequate security of systems connected to the internet provides opportunity and methodology."
76% of Organisations Worldwide Expect to Suffer a Cyber Attack This Year
Ransomware, phishing/social engineering, denial of service (DoS) attacks, and the business fallout of a data breach rank as the top concerns of global organisations, a new study shows.
The newly published Cyber Risk Index, a study by Trend Micro and the Ponemon Institute, shows that more than three-quarters of global organisations expect to suffer a cyber attack in the next 12 months — 25% of which say an attack is "very likely."
More than 80% of the 3,400 CISO and IT professionals and managers surveyed say their organisations were hit with one or more successful cyber attacks in the past 12 months, and 35% suffered seven or more attacks, according to the report, which covers the second half of 2021.
Most Email Security Approaches Fail to Block Common Threats
A full 89 percent of organisations experienced one or more successful email breaches during the previous 12 months, translating into big-time costs.
On overwhelming number of security teams believe their email security systems to be ineffective against the most serious inbound threats, including ransomware.
That’s according to a survey of business customers using Microsoft 365 for email commissioned by Cyren and conducted by Osterman Research, which examined concerns with phishing, business email compromise (BEC), and ransomware threats, attacks that became costly incidents, and preparedness to deal with attacks and incidents.
“Security team managers are most concerned that current email security solutions do not block serious inbound threats (particularly ransomware), which requires time for response and remediation by the security team before dangerous threats are triggered by users,” according to the report, released Wednesday.
Less than half of those surveyed said that their organisations can block delivery of email threats. And, correspondingly, less than half of organisations rank their currently deployed email security solutions as effective.
https://threatpost.com/email-security-fail-block-threats/179370/
Financial Leaders Grappling with More Aggressive and Sophisticated Attack Methods
VMware released a report which takes the pulse of the financial industry’s top CISOs and security leaders on the changing behaviour of cyber criminal cartels and the defensive shift of the financial sector.
The report found that financial institutions are facing increased destructive attacks and falling victim to ransomware more than in years past, as sophisticated cyber crime cartels evolve beyond wire transfer fraud to now target market strategies, take over brokerage accounts and island hop into banks.
In the Modern Bank Heists report, 63% of financial institutions admitted experiencing an increase in destructive attacks, with cyber criminals leveraging this method as a means to burn evidence as part of a counter incident response.
Additionally, 74% experienced at least one ransomware attack over the past year, with 63% paying the ransom. When asked about the nation-state actors behind these attacks, the majority of financial instructions stated that Russia posed the greatest concern, as geopolitical tension continues to escalate in cyberspace.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/21/cybercriminal-cartels-financial-sector/
Hackers Sneak Malware into Resumes Sent to Corporate Hiring Managers
A new set of phishing attacks delivering the ‘more_eggs’ malware has been observed striking corporate hiring managers with bogus resumes as an infection vector, a year after potential candidates looking for work on LinkedIn were lured with weaponised job offers.
"This year the more_eggs operation has flipped the social engineering script, targeting hiring managers with fake resumes instead of targeting jobseekers with fake job offers," eSentire's research and reporting lead, Keegan Keplinger, said in a statement.
The Canadian cyber security company said it identified and disrupted four separate security incidents, three of which occurred at the end of March. Targeted entities include a US-based aerospace company, an accounting business located in the UK, a law firm, and a staffing agency, both based out of Canada.
The malware, suspected to be the handiwork of a threat actor called Golden Chickens (aka Venom Spider), is a stealthy, modular backdoor suite capable of stealing valuable information and conducting lateral movement across the compromised network.
"More_eggs achieves execution by passing malicious code to legitimate windows processes and letting those windows processes do the work for them," Keplinger said. The goal is to leverage the resumes as a decoy to launch the malware and sidestep detection.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/04/hackers-sneak-moreeggs-malware-into.html
West Warns of Russian Cyber Attacks as Concerns Rise Over Putin’s Nuclear Rhetoric
Cyber crime groups have publicly pledged support for Russia, western officials worry about Putin’s reliance on nuclear threats and the battle for Mariupol in Ukraine grinds on.
The US and four of its closest allies have warned that “evolving intelligence” shows that Russia is contemplating cyber attacks on countries backing Ukraine, as the Kremlin’s frustration grows at its failure to make military gains.
Vladimir Putin used the launch on Wednesday of a powerful new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of carrying ten or more warheads, to make nuclear threats against western countries.
The Sarmat has long been in development and test flights were initially due to start in 2017. The Pentagon confirmed that the US had been given notice of the test and was not alarmed. Western officials are more concerned by the increasing emphasis Moscow puts on its nuclear arsenal as its conventional forces have faltered in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army continued to put up resistance in the besieged and devastated city of Mariupol, but Putin’s Chechen ally, Ramzan Kadyrov, predicted that the last stand of the port’s defenders at the Azovstal steel works would fall on Thursday.
The Kremlin has made repeated threats against the many countries that have been supplying Ukraine’s army with modern weapons, and members of the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing network – the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – predicted Moscow could also work with cyber crime groups to launch attacks on governments, institutions and businesses.
Criminals Adopting New Methods To Bypass Improved Defences, Says Zscaler
The number of phishing attacks worldwide jumped 29 percent last year as threat actors countered stronger enterprise defences with newer methods, according to researchers with Zscaler's ThreatLabz research team.
Cyber criminals have adapted to multi-factor authentication (MFA), employee security awareness training, and security controls by broadening who and where they will attack.
While the United States remained the country with the most phishing attempts, others are seeing faster growth in the number of incidents – exploiting new vectors like SMS and lowering the barrier of entry for launching attacks through pre-built tools made available on the market.
"Phishing attacks continue to remain one of the most prevalent attack vectors, often serving as a starting point for more advanced next stage attacks that may result in a large-scale breach," Deepen Desai, CISO and vice president of security research and operations at Zscaler, told The Register.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/20/phishing-attempts-on-rise-zscaler/
Cyber Criminals Are ‘Drinking the Tears’ of Ukrainians
In biology, when an insect drinks the tears of a large creature, it is called lachryphagy. And in cyberspace, malicious actors are likewise “drinking tears” by exploiting humanitarian concerns about the war in Ukraine for profit. Different forms of deception include tricking people into donating to bogus charities, clicking on Ukraine-themed malicious links and attachments, and even impersonating officials to extort payment for rescuing loved ones.
It is an unfortunate reality that cyber opportunists are engaging in lachryphagy to exploit humanitarian concerns about the war for profit or data collection. To date, one of the largest cryptocurrency scams involving fraudulent Ukrainian relief payments totalled $50 million in March, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cybersecurity companies warned the public that criminals were preying on Ukrainian relief fundraising efforts with cryptocurrency scams. Bitdefender Labs reports that cyber criminals have impersonated Ukrainian government entities and charitable organisations such as UNICEF, and the Australian humanitarian agency, Act for Peace. “Some [scammers] are even pretending to be Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is mayor of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv,” according to the BBC.
Hackers For Hire Attempt to Destroy Hedge Fund Manager's Reputation
Hackers bombarded a British hedge fund manager with 3,000 emails and fake news stories about his mortgage in an effort to destroy his reputation after being hired by a corporate rival.
Criminals even sought to gain personal information about Matthew Earl by pretending to be his sister in a three-year campaign when he raised concerns over the controversial German payments company Wirecard.
Mr Earl, a former City analyst who runs the hedge fund ShadowFall, said he was targeted by a group called Dark Basin.
This group has been linked to Aviram Azari, who this week pleaded guilty in New York to a conspiracy to target journalists and critics of Wirecard using phishing emails.
Mr Earl said the hacking attempts started in 2016 after ShadowFall, nicknamed the “dark destroyer” in the City, criticised the financial performance of Wirecard. The German company was later mired in a series of accounting scandals and went bust.
He said: “I was being sent very targeted emails, which were crafted with personal information about my interests, friends and family’s details. They were very specific.”
Mr Earl received news stories that appeared to be from media outlets such as Reuters and Bloomberg. Another email appeared to be sent by his sister, sharing family photographs, he added.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/04/21/reign-terror-hackers-hire-ramp-corporate-espionage/
New Threat Groups and Malware Families Emerging
Mandiant announced the findings of an annual report that provides timely data and insights based on frontline investigations and remediations of high-impact cyber attacks worldwide. The 2022 report––which tracks investigation metrics between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021—reveals over 1,100 new threat groups and 733 new malware families.
The report also notes a realignment and retooling of China cyber espionage operations to align with the implementation of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021. The report warns that the national-level priorities included in the plan “signal an upcoming increase in China-nexus actors conducting intrusion attempts against intellectual property or other strategically important economic concerns, as well as defence industry products and other dual-use technologies over the next few years.”
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/22/adversaries-innovating-and-adapting/
Economic Warfare: Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Part of Geopolitical Conflict
We’ve known for years that since at least March of 2016, Russian government threat actors have been targeting multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors including the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and other agencies have acknowledged this for quite some time in many of their technical alerts and statements.
In the intervening years, with the acceleration of digital transformation, cyber criminals and nation-state actors have increasingly set their sights on these sectors. The convergence of physical and digital assets brings competitive advantage but also inevitable risks. Attacks against hospitals, oil pipelines, food supply chains, and other critical infrastructure, have brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the impact on lives and livelihoods when they are disrupted. Now, overwhelming signs indicate critical infrastructure companies are in the bullseye of geopolitical conflict.
Threats
Ransomware
How Ready Are Organisations to Manage and Recover From A Ransomware Attack? - Help Net Security
FBI: BlackCat Ransomware Breached At Least 60 Entities Worldwide (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ransomware: This Gang Is Getting a Lot Quicker at Encrypting Networks | ZDNet
Hive Hackers Are Exploiting Microsoft Exchange Servers in Ransomware Spree | ZDNet
REvil's TOR Sites Come Alive to Redirect To New Ransomware Operation (bleepingcomputer.com)
PYSA Ransomware Attacks: Here's What MSSPs Need to Know - MSSP Alert
An Investigation of the BlackCat Ransomware via Trend Micro Vision One
REvil Resurrected? Ransomware Crew Appears to Be Back • The Register
FBI Warning: Ransomware Gangs Are Going After This Lucrative but Unexpected Target | ZDNet
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
LinkedIn Brand Takes Lead as Most Impersonated In Phishing Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
FBI Warns of 'Reverse' Instant Payments Phishing Schemes | SecurityWeek.Com
Spreading Malware Through Community Phishing - Help Net Security
Malware
Windows Malware Can Steal Social Media Credentials and Banking Logins (komando.com)
Emotet Botnet Switches to 64-bit Modules, Increases Activity (bleepingcomputer.com)
New SolarMarker Malware Variant Using Updated Techniques to Stay Under the Radar (thehackernews.com)
Emotet Reestablishes Itself at The Top Of The Malware World • The Register
Mobile
BYOD
IoT
How to Secure Smart Home (IOT) Devices | Reviews by Wirecutter (nytimes.com)
New Stealthy BotenaGo Malware Variant Targets DVR Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Russian Hackers Are Seeking Alternative Money-Laundering Options (bleepingcomputer.com)
How Russia Is Isolating Its Own Cyber Criminals (darkreading.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Hackers Hammer SpringShell Vulnerability In Attempt To Install Cryptominers | Ars Technica
Beanstalk DeFi Platform Loses $182 Million In Flash-Loan Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Hackers Steal $655K After Picking MetaMask Seed from iCloud Backup (bleepingcomputer.com)
LemonDuck Botnet Plunders Docker Cloud Instances in Cryptocurrency Crime Wave | ZDNet
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Security Lessons From a Payment Fraud Attack (darkreading.com)
Scammers Snatch Up Expired Domains, Vexing Google | TechCrunch
Insurance
Dark Web
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud
Rethinking Cyber-Defence Strategies in the Public-Cloud Age | Threatpost
Cyber Criminals Are Shifting Their Gaze To Kubernetes - Information Security Buzz
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Digital Transformation
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Moving Towards Defence in Depth Under The Grey Skies Of Conflict - Help Net Security
Locked Shields ‘Live Fire’ Cyber Drills to be Held as War in Ukraine Continues - Bloomberg
Russian-Linked Shuckworm Crew Ups Attacks on Ukraine • The Register
Russian Gamaredon APT Continues to Target Ukraine - Security Affairs
Phishing Attacks Using the Topic "Azovstal" Targets Entities in Ukraine - Security Affairs
Hackers Claim to Target Russia with Cyber Attacks and Leaks - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The Anonymous Collective Hacked Other Russian Organisations - Security Affairs
Spyware Was Used Against Catalan Targets and UK Prime Minister and Foreign Office | CSO Online
Stalkerware Detection Trends: Monitor and Spyware Findings - MSSP Alert
Catalan Chief Accuses Spain's Intelligence Agency of Hacking | SecurityWeek.Com
Anomaly 6 Tracked NSA and CIA Spies as Product Demo: Report (gizmodo.com)
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Five Eyes Nations Warn of Russian Cyber Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)
NATO Locked Shields War Games Prep for Real Russian Cyber Attack (gizmodo.com)
The Russian Cyber Threat Is Here to Stay and NATO Needs To Understand It | Fox News
A Russian Cyber Attack Is Coming —Lawmakers and Citizens Must Prepare | The Hill
US Officials Increase Warnings About Russian Cyber-Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine
Work From Home Software 'At Risk of Russian Cyber Attacks' (telegraph.co.uk)
US Officials Preparing for Potential Russian Cyber Attacks - CBS News
After Foiled Sandworm Attack, US Critical Infrastructure Should Stand Guard | CSO Online
Nation State Actors – China
Nation State Actors – North Korea
North Korea Funds Nuclear Program with Cyber Crime- IT Security Guru
North Korea Aims 'TraderTraitor' Malware at Cryptocurrency Workers (cyberscoop.com)
Blockchain Companies Warned of North Korean Hackers - IT Security Guru
Nation State Actors – Misc
Vulnerabilities
VMware, Chrome Flaws Added to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue - Security Affairs
Cisco Releases Security Patches for TelePresence, RoomOS and Umbrella VA (thehackernews.com)
Time to get patching: Oracle's quarterly Critical Patch Update arrives with 520 fixes | ZDNet
7-Zip Zero-Day Vulnerability Grants Privilege Escalation | TechSpot
QNAP Warns of New Bugs in Its Network Attached Storage Devices – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Cisco Umbrella Default SSH Key Allows Theft of Admin Credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researcher Releases PoC for Recent Java Cryptographic Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Critical Cryptographic Java Security Blunder Patched – Update Now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Atlassian Drops Patches for Critical Jira Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)
Unpatched Bug in RainLoop Webmail Could Give Hackers Access to all Emails (thehackernews.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Modern Bank Heists 5.0: The Escalation from Dwell to Destruction (vmware.com)
Two-Thirds of Global Banks Witness Surge in Destructive Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine
FinTech
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
The New Cyberthreat To Healthcare: Killware - Information Security Buzz
Many Medical Device Makers Skimp on Security Practices (darkreading.com)
Transport and Aviation
Other News
Why Companies Should Make ERP Security a Top Priority (techtarget.com)
The Evolving Role of The Lawyer in Cyber Security - Help Net Security
Cyber Security Litigation Risks: 4 Top Concerns for CISOs | CSO Online
Ponemon Research - Businesses to Invest $172b On Cyber Security In 2022 - Information Security Buzz
Funkypigeon.com Suspends Orders After 'Cyber Security Incident' | Business News | Sky News
The SEC Is About To Force CISOs Into America’s Boardrooms (forbes.com)
Data Breaches, Ransomware Attacks Leave Security Teams “Exhausted” - MSSP Alert
When Attacks Surge, Turn to Data to Strengthen Detection and Response | SecurityWeek.Com
Attacker Accessed Dozens of Repositories After OAuth Token Theft - Information Security Buzz
7 Best Practices for Web3 Security Risk Mitigation (techtarget.com)
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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 March 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 March 2022:
-Morgan Stanley Client Accounts Breached in Social Engineering Attacks
-Ransomware Is Scary, But Another Scam Is Costing Victims Much, Much More
-Phishing Kits Constantly Evolve to Evade Security Software
-Ransomware Payments, Demands Rose Dramatically in 2021
-7 Suspected Members of LAPSUS$ Hacker Gang, Aged 16 to 21, Arrested in UK
-Here's How Fast Ransomware Encrypts Files
-HEAT Attacks: A New Class of Cyber Threats Organisations Are Not Prepared For
-The Cyber Warfare Predicted In Ukraine May Be Yet To Come
-The Three Russian Cyber Attacks The West Most Fears
-Do These 8 Things Now To Boost Your Security Ahead Of Potential Russian Cyber Attacks
-Cyber Crime Victims Suffered Losses of Over $6.9B in 2021 in the US Alone
-Expanding Threat Landscape: Cyber Criminals Attacking from All Sides
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
Morgan Stanley Client Accounts Breached in Social Engineering Attacks
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management says some of its customers had their accounts compromised in social engineering attacks.
The account breaches were the result of vishing (aka voice phishing), a social engineering attack where scammers impersonate a trusted entity (in this case Morgan Stanley) during a voice call to convince their targets into revealing sensitive information such as banking or login credentials.
The company said in a notice sent to affected clients that, "on or around February 11, 2022," a threat actor impersonating Morgan Stanley gained access to their accounts after tricking them into providing their Morgan Stanley Online account info.
After successfully breaching their accounts, the attacker also electronically transferred money to their own bank account by initiating payments using the Zelle payment service.
Ransomware Is Scary, But Another Scam Is Costing Victims Much, Much More
Business email compromise (BEC) remains the biggest source of financial losses, which totalled $2.4 billion in 2021, up from an estimated $1.8 billion in 2020, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Center (IC3).
The FBI says in its 2021 annual report that Americans last year lost $6.9 billion to scammers and cyber criminals through ransomware, BEC, and cryptocurrency theft related to financial and romance scams. In 2020, that figure stood at $4.2 billion.
Last year, FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 847,376 complaints about cybercrime losses, up 7% from 791,790 complaints in 2020.
BEC has been the largest source of fraud for several years despite ransomware attacks grabbing most headlines.
Phishing Kits Constantly Evolve to Evade Security Software
Modern phishing kits sold on cybercrime forums as off-the-shelf packages feature multiple, sophisticated detection avoidance and traffic filtering systems to ensure that internet security solutions won’t mark them as a threat.
Fake websites that mimic well-known brands are abundant on the internet to lure victims and steal their payment details or account credentials.
Most of these websites are built using phishing kits that feature brand logos, realistic login pages, and in cases of advanced offerings, dynamic webpages assembled from a set of basic elements.
Ransomware Payment Demands Rose Dramatically in 2021
Ransomware attackers demanded dramatically higher ransom fees last year, and the average ransom payment rose by 78% to $541,010, according to data from incident response (IR) cases investigated by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42.
IR cases by Unit 42 also saw a whopping 144% increase in ransom demands, to $2.2 million. According to the report, the most victimised sectors were professional and legal services, construction, wholesale and retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Cyber extortion spiked, with 85% of ransomware victims — some 2, 556 organisations — having their data dumped and exposed on leak sites, according to the "2022 Unit 42 Ransomware Threat Report."
Conti led the ransomware attack volume, representing some one in five cases Unit 42 investigated, followed by REvil, Hello Kitty, and Phobos.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-payments-demands-rose-dramatically-in-2021
7 Suspected Members of LAPSUS$ Hacker Gang, aged 16 to 21, Arrested in UK
The City of London Police has arrested seven teenagers between the ages of 16 and 21 for their alleged connections to the prolific LAPSUS$ extortion gang that's linked to a recent burst of attacks targeting NVIDIA, Samsung, Ubisoft, LG, Microsoft, and Okta.
"The City of London Police has been conducting an investigation with its partners into members of a hacking group," Detective Inspector, Michael O'Sullivan, said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. "Seven people between the ages of 16 and 21 have been arrested in connection with this investigation and have all been released under investigation. Our enquiries remain ongoing."
The development, which was first disclosed by BBC News, comes after a report from Bloomberg revealed that a 16-year-old Oxford-based teenager is the mastermind of the group. It's not immediately clear if the minor is one among the arrested individuals. The said teen, under the online alias White or Breachbase, is alleged to have accumulated about $14 million in Bitcoin from hacking.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/7-suspected-members-of-lapsus-hacker.html
Here's How Fast Ransomware Encrypts Files
Forty-two minutes and 54 seconds: that's how quickly the median ransomware variant can encrypt and lock out a victim from 100,000 of their files.
The data point came from Splunk's SURGe team, which analysed in its lab how quickly the 10 biggest ransomware strains — Lockbit, REvil, Blackmatter, Conti, Ryuk, Avaddon, Babuk, Darkside, Maize, and Mespinoza — could encrypt 100,000 files consisting of some 53.93 gigabytes of data. Lockbit won the race, with speeds of 86% faster than the median. One Lockbit sample was clocked at encrypting 25,000 files per minute.
Splunk's team found that ransomware variants are all over the map speed-wise, and the underlying hardware can dictate their encryption speeds.
https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/here-s-how-fast-ransomware-encrypts-files
HEAT Attacks: A New Class of Cyber Threats Organisations Are Not Prepared For
Web malware (47%) and ransomware (42%) now top the list of security threats that organisations are most concerned about. Yet despite the growing risks, just 27% have advanced threat protection in place on every endpoint device that can access corporate applications and resources.
This is according to research published by Menlo Security, exploring what steps organisations are taking to secure themselves in the wake of a new class of cyber threats – known as Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT).
As employees spend more time working in the browser and accessing cloud-based applications, the risk of HEAT attacks increases. Almost two-thirds of organisations have had a device compromised by a browser-based attack in the last 12 months. The report suggests that organisations are not being proactive enough in mitigating the risk of these threats, with 45% failing to add strength to their network security stack over the past year. There are also conflicting views on the most effective place to deploy security to prevent advanced threats, with 43% citing the network, and 37% the cloud.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/22/web-security-threats/
The Cyber Warfare Predicted in Ukraine May Be Yet to Come
In the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the national security community braced for a campaign combining military combat, disinformation, electronic warfare and cyber attacks. Vladimir Putin would deploy devastating cyber operations, the thinking went, to disable government and critical infrastructure, blind Ukrainian surveillance capabilities and limit lines of communications to help invading forces. But that’s not how it has played out. At least, not yet.
The danger is that as political and economic conditions deteriorate, the red lines and escalation judgments that kept Moscow’s most potent cyber capabilities in check may adjust. Western sanctions and lethal aid support to Ukraine may prompt Russian hackers to lash out against the west. Russian ransomware actors may also take advantage of the situation, possibly resorting to cyber crime as one of the few means of revenue generation.
https://www.ft.com/content/2938a3cd-1825-4013-8219-4ee6342e20ca
The Three Russian Cyber Attacks the West Most Fears
The UK's cyber authorities are supporting the White House's calls for "increased cyber-security precautions", though neither has given any evidence that Russia is planning a cyber-attack.
Russia has previously stated that such accusations are "Russophobic".
However, Russia is a cyber-superpower with a serious arsenal of cyber-tools, and hackers capable of disruptive and potentially destructive cyber-attacks.
Ukraine has remained relatively untroubled by Russian cyber-offensives but experts now fear that Russia may go on a cyber-offensive against Ukraine's allies.
"Biden's warnings seem plausible, particularly as the West introduced more sanctions, hacktivists continue to join the fray, and the kinetic aspects of the invasion seemingly don't go to plan," says Jen Ellis, from cyber-security firm Rapid7.
This article from the BCC outlines the hacks that experts most fear, and they are repeats of things we have already seen coming out of Russia, only potentially a lot more destructive this time around.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60841924
Do These 8 Things Now to Boost Your Security Ahead of Potential Russian Cyber Attacks
The message comes as the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ramp up warnings about Russian hacking of everything from online accounts to satellite broadband networks. CISA's current campaign is called Shields Up, which urges all organisations to patch immediately and secure network boundaries. This messaging is being echoed by UK and other Western Cyber authorities:
The use of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is being very strongly advocated. The White House and other agencies both sides of the Atlantic also urged companies to take seven other steps:
Deploy modern security tools on your computers and devices to continuously look for and mitigate threats
Make sure that your systems are patched and protected against all known vulnerabilities, and change passwords across your networks so that previously stolen credentials are useless to malicious actors
Back up your data and ensure you have offline backups beyond the reach of malicious actors
Run exercises and drill your emergency plans so that you are prepared to respond quickly to minimize the impact of any attack
Encrypt your data so it cannot be used if it is stolen
Educate your employees to common tactics that attackers will use over email or through websites
Work with specialists to establish relationships in advance of any cyber incidents.
Cyber Crime Victims Suffered Losses of Over $6.9B in 2021 in the US Alone
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported a record-breaking year for 2021 in the number of complaints it received, among which business email compromise (BEC) attacks made up the majority of incidents.
IC3 handled 847,376 complaint reports last year — an increase of 7% over 2020 — which mainly revolved around phishing attacks, nonpayment/nondelivery scams, and personal data breaches. Overall, losses amounted to more than $6.9 billion.
BEC and email account compromises ranked as the No. 1 attack, accounting for 19,954 complaints and losses of around $2.4 billion.
"In 2021, heightened attention was brought to the urgent need for more cyber incident reporting to the federal government. Cyber incidents are in fact crimes deserving of an investigation, leading to judicial repercussions for the perpetrators who commit them," Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI wrote in the IC3's newly published annual report.
Expanding Threat Landscape: Cyber Criminals Attacking from All Sides
Research from Trend Micro warns of spiralling risk to digital infrastructure and remote workers as threat actors increase their rate of attack on organisations and individuals.
“Attackers are always working to increase their victim count and profit, whether through quantity or effectiveness of attacks,” said Jon Clay, VP of threat intelligence at Trend Micro.
“Our latest research shows that while Trend Micro threat detections rose 42% year-on-year in 2021 to over 94 billion, they shrank in some areas as attacks became more precisely targeted.”
Ransomware attackers are shifting their focus to critical businesses and industries more likely to pay, and double extortion tactics ensure that they are able to profit. Ransomware-as-a-service offerings have opened the market to attackers with limited technical knowledge – but also given rise to more specialisation, such as initial access brokers who are now an essential part of the cybercrime supply chain.
Threat actors are also getting better at exploiting human error to compromise cloud infrastructure and remote workers. Trend Micro detected and prevented 25.7 million email threats in 2021 compared to 16.7 million in 2020, with the volume of blocked phishing attempts nearly doubling over the period. Research shows home workers are often prone to take more risks than those in the office, which makes phishing a particular risk.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/22/threat-actors-increase-attack/
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware Infections Follow Precursor Malware – Lumu • The Register
Ransomware, Malware-as-a-Service Dominate Threat Landscape | SecurityWeek.Com
AvosLocker Ransomware - What You Need To Know | The State of Security (tripwire.com)
What the Conti Ransomware Group Data Leak Tells Us (darkreading.com)
Ransomware Demands And Payments Increase With Use Of Leak Sites (computerweekly.com)
Ten Notorious Ransomware Strains Put to The Encryption Speed Test (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lockbit Wins Ransomware Speed Test, Encrypts 25k Files/Min • The Register
Talos warns of BlackMatter-linked BlackCat Ransomware • The Register
Report: 89% of Organizations Say Kubernetes Ransomware Is A Problem Today | VentureBeat
Top Russian Meat Producer Hit with Windows BitLocker Encryption Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Greece's Public Postal Service Offline Due To Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Lawsuit Claims Kronos Breach Exposed Data For 'Millions' (techtarget.com)
Estonian Man Sentenced To Prison For Role In Cyber Intrusions, Ransomware Attacks - CyberScoop
Phishing & Email
New Phishing Toolkit Lets Anyone Create Fake Chrome Browser Windows (bleepingcomputer.com)
Browser-in-the-Browser Attack Makes Phishing Nearly Invisible | Threatpost
'Unique Attack Chain' Drops Backdoor in New Phishing Campaign (darkreading.com)
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Malicious Microsoft Excel Add-Ins Used to Deliver RAT Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
BitRAT Malware Now Spreading As A Windows 10 License Activator (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
URL Rendering Trick Enabled WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage Phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)
Downloaders Currently the Most Prevalent Android Malware (darkreading.com)
Experts Uncover Campaign Stealing Cryptocurrency from Android and iPhone Users (thehackernews.com)
Android Password-Stealing Malware Infects 100,000 Google Play Users (bleepingcomputer.com)
IoT
Botnet of Thousands of MikroTik Routers Abused in Glupteba, TrickBot Campaigns (thehackernews.com)
Honda Civics Vulnerable To Remote Unlock, Start Hack • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
UK MoD's Capita-Run Recruitment Portal Support Offline • The Register
Background Check Company Sued Over Data Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Who is LAPSUS$, the Gang Hacking Microsoft, Samsung, and Okta? (gizmodo.com)
Hackers Are Targeting European Refugee Charities -Ukrainian Official | Reuters
Hackers Steal From Hackers By Pushing Fake Malware On Forums (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
An Investigation of Cryptocurrency Scams and Schemes (trendmicro.com)
Global Regulators Monitor Crypto Use in Ukraine War | Reuters
Cryptocurrency Companies Impacted by HubSpot Breach (techtarget.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
6 Types Of Insider Threats And How To Prevent Them (techtarget.com)
HP Staffer Blew $5m On Personal Expenses With Company Card • The Register
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Internet Crime in 2021: Investment Fraud Losses Soar - Help Net Security
NFT Fraud in the UK Soars 400% in 2021 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
DeFiance Capital Founder Loses $1.7M in NFTs To Phishing Scam - Decrypt
Insurance
Dark Web
Supply Chain
Cloud
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Internet Sanctions Against Russia Pose Risks, Challenges For Businesses | CSO Online
Is It Safe To Use Russian-Based Kaspersky Antivirus? No, And Here's Why (komando.com)
Anonymous Leaked 28gb of Data Stolen from The Central Bank of Russia - Security Affairs
President Biden Says Russia Exploring Revenge Cyber Attacks • The Register
Analysis: Putin's next escalation could be a direct cyberattack on the West - CNNPolitics
Russia-backed Hackers Bypassed MFA, Exploited Print Vulnerability - MSSP Alert
Hackers Around The World Deluge Russia's Internet With Simple, Effective Cyber Attacks (nbcnews.com)
Anonymous Targets Western Companies Still Active in Russia - Security Affairs
Ukrainian Enterprises Hit with the DoubleZero Wiper - Security Affairs
NATO, G-7 Leaders Promise Bulwark Against Retaliatory Russian Cyber Attacks (cyberscoop.com)
Russia Hacked Ukrainian Satellite Communications, Officials Believe - BBC News
Russia-linked InvisiMole APT Targets State Organizations Of Ukraine - Security Affairs
Corrupted Open-Source Software Enters the Russian Battlefield | ZDNet
Nestlé Says 'Anonymous' Data Leak Actually A Self-Own • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
Another Chinese Hacking Group Spotted Targeting Ukraine Amid Russia Invasion (thehackernews.com)
Chinese APT Combines Fresh Hodur RAT with Complex Anti-Detection | Threatpost
Mustang Panda Hacking Group Takes Advantage Of Ukraine Crisis In New Attacks | ZDNet
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 66 Vulnerabilities To List Of Bugs Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Three Critical RCE Flaws Affect Hundreds of HP Printer Models - Security Affairs
Critical Sophos Firewall vulnerability allows remote code execution (bleepingcomputer.com)
VMware Fixes Carbon Black Command Injection, Upload Bugs • The Register
Western Digital Fixes Critical Bug Giving Root On My Cloud NAS Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Scottish Mental Health Charity SAMH Targeted In Cyber Attack - BBC News
Over 1 Million Impacted in Data Breach at Texas Dental Services Provider | SecurityWeek.Com
Retail/eCommerce
Transport and Aviation
Energy & Utilities
Education and Academia
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
A Better Grasp of Cyber Attack Tactics Can Stop Criminals Faster (bleepingcomputer.com)
The Chaos (and Cost) of the Lapsus$ Hacking Carnage | SecurityWeek.Com
Soldiers told to use Signal instead of WhatsApp for security | The Times
Cyber Security Compliance: Start With Proven Best Practices - Help Net Security
Only 27% of Orgs Have Advanced Threat Protection on Endpoints | VentureBeat
Okta Breach Leads To Questions On Disclosure, Reliance On Third-Party Vendors - CyberScoop
The Challenges Audit Leaders Need To Look Out For This Year - Help Net Security
South Korean DarkHotel Hackers Targeted Luxury Hotels in Macau (thehackernews.com)
ISACA: Two-Thirds of Cybersecurity Teams Are Understaffed - Infosecurity Magazine
Security Teams are Responsible for Over 165k Assets - Infosecurity Magazine
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 18 March 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 March 2022
-Guernsey Cyber Security Warning For Islanders And Businesses
-CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware And State-Supported Cyber Crime
-Four Key Risks Exacerbated By Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
-These Four Types Of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters Of Reported Incidents
-Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
-Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
-Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be A Harbinger Of Dangers Ahead
-Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
-Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
-Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
-UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
-Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools Of Other APT Groups
-The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities In Critical Infrastructure
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
Guernsey Cyber Security Warning for Islanders and Businesses
There has been a rise in cyber-attacks since the war in Ukraine began, according to the States of Guernsey and a cyber-security firm.
The States said: "We have seen a noticeable increase in the number of phishing emails since the war began."
The Channel Islands see more than 10 million cyber attacks every month, according to research by Guernsey firm Black Arrow Cyber Consulting.
It encouraged vigilance, as the islands are not immune to these attacks.
A States spokesman said: "The whole community needs to remain vigilant against such emails, which are designed to appear to be from reputable sources in order to dupe people into providing personal information or access to their device via the clicking of a link."
Bruce McDougall, from Black Arrow Cyber Consulting, said: "Criminals don't let a good opportunity go to waste. So they're conducting scams encouraging people to make false payments in the belief they're collecting for charities."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-60763398
CISOs Face 'Perfect Storm' Of Ransomware and State-Supported Cyber Crime
As some nations turn a blind eye, defence becomes life-or-death matter
With ransomware gangs raiding network after network, and nation states consciously turning a blind eye to it, today's chief information security officers are caught in a "perfect storm," says Cybereason CSO Sam Curry.
"There's this marriage right now of financially motivated cyber crime that can have a critical infrastructure and economic impact," Curry said during a CISO roundtable hosted by his endpoint security shop. "And there are some nation states that do what we call state-ignored sanctioning," he continued, using Russia-based REvil and Conti ransomware groups as examples of criminal operations that benefit from their home governments looking the other way.
"You get the umbrella of sovereignty, and you get the free license to be a privateer in essence," Curry said. "It's not just an economic threat. It's not just a geopolitical threat. It's a perfect storm."
It's probably not a huge surprise to anyone that destructive cyber attacks keep CISOs awake at night. But as chief information security officers across industries — in addition to Curry, the four others on the roundtable spanned retail, biopharmaceuticals, electronics manufacturing, and a cruise line — have watched threats evolve and criminal gangs mature, it becomes a battle to see who can innovate faster; the attackers or the defenders.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/ciso_security_storm/
Four Key Risks Exacerbated by Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the emerging risk landscape, and it requires enterprise risk management (ERM) leaders to reassess previously established organisational risk profiles in at least four key areas, according to Gartner.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the velocity of many risks we have tracked on a quarterly basis in our Emerging Risks survey,” said Matt Shinkman, VP with the Gartner Risk and Audit Practice.
“As ERM leaders reassess their organisational risk models, they must also ensure a high frequency of communication with the C-Suite as to the critical changes that require attention now.”
There are four major areas of risk that ERM leaders should continually monitor and examine their mitigation strategies as part of a broader aligned assurance approach as the war continues: Talent Risk, Cyber Security Risk, Financial Risk and Supply Chain Risk
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/17/erm-leaders-risk/
These Four Types of Ransomware Make Up Nearly Three-Quarters of Reported Incidents
Any ransomware is a cyber security issue, but some strains are having more of an impact than others.
Ransomware causes problems no matter what brand it is, but some forms are noticeably more prolific than others, with four strains of the malware accounting for a combined total of almost 70% of all attacks.
According to analysis by cyber security company Intel 471, the most prevalent ransomware threat towards the end of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which accounted for 29.7% of all reported incidents. Recent victims of LockBit have included Accenture and the French Ministry of Justice.
Almost one in five reported incidents involved Conti ransomware, famous for several incidents over the past year, including an attack against the Irish Healthcare Executive. The group recently had chat logs leaked, providing insights into how a ransomware gang works. PYSA and Hive account for one in 10 reported ransomware attacks each.
"The most prevalent ransomware strain in the fourth quarter of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which was responsible for 29.7% of all reported incidents, followed by Conti at 19%, PYSA at 10.5% and Hive at 10.1%," said the researchers.
Critical Infrastructure Threat as Ransomware Groups Target 'Enemies of Russia'
The cyber crime underground has fractured into pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia camps, with the latter increasingly focused on critical national infrastructure (CNI) targets in the West, according to a new report from Accenture.
The consulting giant’s Accenture Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI) arm warned that the ideological schism could spell mounting risk for Western organisations as pro-Kremlin criminal groups adopt quasi-hacktivist tactics to choose their next victims.
Organisations in the government, media, finance, insurance, utilities and resources sectors should be braced for more attacks, said ACTI.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/critical-infrastructure-threat/
Cyber Insurance War Exclusions Loom Amid Ukraine Crisis
An expanding threat landscape is testing the limits of cyber insurance coverage.
The industry experienced a rapid maturation over the past three years as enterprises required a broader umbrella of insurance coverage to combat increasing cyber risks. While demands and premiums continue to rise, one recent area of contention involves war and hostile acts, an exclusion that's becoming harder to categorize.
A judgment in December, coupled with the Russian invasion last month that posed potential cyber retaliations to Ukraine allies, highlighted shortcomings in insurance policies when it comes to cyber conflicts.
Zelenskyy Deepfake Crude, But Still Might Be a Harbinger of Dangers Ahead
Several deepfake video experts called a doctored video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that went viral this week before social media platforms removed it a poorly executed example of the form, but nonetheless damaging.
Elements of the Zelenskyy deepfake — which purported to show him calling for surrender — made it easy to debunk, they said. But that won’t always be the case.
https://www.cyberscoop.com/zelenskyy-deepfake-troubles-experts/
Cyber Crooks’ Political In-Fighting Threatens the West
They’re choosing sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, beckoning previously shunned ransomware groups and thereby reinvigorating those groups’ once-diminished power.
A rift has formed in the cyber crime underground: one that could strengthen, rather than cripple, the cyber-onslaught of ransomware.
According to a report, ever since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, “previously coexisting, financially motivated threat actors divided along ideological factions.”
“Pro-Ukrainian actors are refusing to sell, buy, or collaborate with Russian-aligned actors, and are increasingly attempting to target Russian entities in support of Ukraine,” wrote researchers from Accenture’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI). “However, pro-Russian actors are increasingly aligning with hacktivist-like activity targeting ‘enemies of Russia,’ especially Western entities due to their claims of Western warmongering.”
What might otherwise seem like a good thing – bad guys fighting bad guys – may in fact pose an increased threat to the West.
https://threatpost.com/cybercrooks-political-in-fighting-threatens-the-west/178899/
Cloud-Based Email Threats Surge 50% in 2021
There was a 50% year-on-year surge in cloud-based email threats in 2021, but a drop in ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) detections as attacks became more targeted, according to Trend Micro.
The security vendor’s 2021 roundup report, Navigating New Frontiers, was compiled from data collected by customer-installed products and cloud-based threat intelligence.
It revealed that Trend Micro blocked 25.7 million email threats targeting Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 users last year, versus 16.7 million in 2020.
The number of phishing attempts almost doubled during the period, as threat actors continued to target home workers. Of these, 38% were focused on stealing credentials, the report claimed.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cloudbased-email-threats-surge-2021/
Millions of New Mobile Malware Strains Blitzed Enterprise in 2021
Researchers uncovered more than two million new mobile malware samples in the wild last year, Zimperium said in a new report.
Those threats spanned some 10 million mobile devices in at least 214 countries, the Dallas, Texas-based solution provider said in its newly released 2022 Global Mobile Threat Report. Indeed, mobile malware proved in 2021 to be the most prevalent security threat to enterprises, encountered by nearly 25 percent mobile endpoints among Zimperium’s customers worldwide. The 2.3 million new mobile strains Zimperium’s researchers located amount to nearly 36,000 new strains of malware weekly and roughly 5,000 each day.
UK Criminal Defence Lawyer Hadn't Patched When Ransomware Hit
Criminal defence law firm Tuckers Solicitors is facing a fine from the UK's data watchdog for failing to properly secure data that included information on case proceedings which was scooped up in a ransomware attack in 2020.
The London-based business was handed a £98,000 penalty notice by the Information Commissioner's Office under Article 83 of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation 2018.
The breach was first noted by Tuckers on August 23 2020 when part of its IT system became unavailable. On closer inspection, resident techies found a note from the attackers confirming they had compromised part of the infrastructure. The Microsoft Exchange server was out of action and two days' worth of emails were lost, as detailed by the company blog at the time.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/15/brit_solicitor_fined_for_failing/
Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups
A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found.
The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to the victim network, ultimately leading to the deployment of Cobalt Strike payloads on compromised assets, said Felipe Duarte and Ido Naor, researchers at Israeli incident response firm Security Joes, in a report published last week.
Although the infection was contained at this stage, the researchers characterized the compromise as a case of a suspected ransomware attack.
The intrusion is said to have taken place in February 2022, with the attackers making use of post-exploitation tools such as ADFind, NetScan, SoftPerfect, and LaZagne. Also employed is an AccountRestore executable to brute-force administrator credentials and a forked version of a reverse tunneling tool called Ligolo.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/russian-ransomware-gang-retool-custom.html
The Massive Impact of Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure
Recent cyber events have shown how extremely vulnerable critical infrastructure is. What are the biggest security concerns?
In any world conflict, one of the primary threats posed is cyber actors disabling or destroying the core infrastructure of the adversary. Based on the global reaction to the current world conflict, countries fear reprisals. The worry is that there will be collateral damage to the critical infrastructure of other countries not directly involved in the current conflict.
Today, services such as healthcare systems, power grids, transportation and other critical industries are increasingly integrating their operational technology with traditional IT systems in order to modernize their infrastructure, and this has opened up a new wave of cyber attacks. Though businesses are ramping up their security initiatives and investments to defend and protect, their efforts have largely been siloed, reactive, and lack business context. Lack of visibility of risk across the estate is a huge problem for this sector.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/15/critical-infrastructure-security/
Threats
Ransomware
Nearly 34 Ransomware Variants Observed in Hundreds of Cyber Attacks in Q4 2021 (thehackernews.com)
Franchises, Partnerships Emerge in Ransomware-as-a-Service Operations | ZDNet
Dozens of Ransomware Variants Used In 722 Attacks Over 3 Months (bleepingcomputer.com)
Conti Leak: A Ransomware Gang's Chats Expose Its Crypto Plans | WIRED
Google Blows Lid Off Conti, Diavol Ransomware Access-Broker Ops | Threatpost
SEC Filings Show Hidden Ransomware Costs And Losses | CSO Online
Exotic Lily Sells Ransomware Groups Access To Targets • The Register
New "Initial Access Broker" Working with Conti gang - IT Security Guru
Google Exposes Tactics Of A Conti Ransomware Access Broker (bleepingcomputer.com)
Avoslocker Ransomware Gang Targets US Critical Infrastructure - Security Affairs
How Prepared Are Organisations To Face A Ransomware Attack On Kubernetes? - Help Net Security
Experts Find Some Affiliates of BlackMatter Now Spreading BlackCat Ransomware (thehackernews.com)
Bridgestone Cyber Attack Timeline and Ransomware Recovery Details - MSSP Alert
Automotive Giant Denso Confirms Hack, Pandora Ransomware Group Takes Credit | ZDNet
Phishing & Email
Massive Phishing Campaign Uses 500+ Domains To Steal Credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)
How CAPTCHA Puzzles Cloak Phishing Page URLs In Emails • The Register
Microsoft the No. 1 Most-Spoofed Brand in Phishing Attacks (darkreading.com)
76,000 Scams Taken Down Through Email Reporting - IT Security Guru
Phony Instagram ‘Support Staff’ Emails Hit Insurance Company | Threatpost
This Browser-In-The-Browser Attack Is Perfect For Phishing • The Register
Malware
New "B1txor20" Linux Botnet Uses DNS Tunnel and Exploits Log4J Flaw (thehackernews.com)
Attacker Uses Websites' Contact Forms To Spread BazarLoader Malware | TechRepublic
Gh0stCringe RAT Targeting Database Servers in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com
Cyclops Blink Malware Sets Up Shop in ASUS Routers • The Register
DirtyMoe Botnet Gains New Exploits in Wormable Module to Spread Rapidly (thehackernews.com)
Linux Botnet Exploits Log4j Flaw To Hijack Arm, x86 Systems • The Register
New Threat: B1txor20, A Linux Backdoor Using DNS Tunnel (360.com)
Russian Cyclops Blink Botnet Launches Assault Against Asus Routers | ZDNet
TrickBot Malware Abusing MikroTik Routers as Proxies for Command-and-Control (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
2021 Mobile Security: Android More Vulnerabilities, iOS More Zero-Days (bleepingcomputer.com)
Thousands of Secret Keys Found in Leaked Samsung Source Code | SecurityWeek.Com
Scammers Have 2 Clever New Ways To Install Malicious Apps on iOS Devices | Ars Technica
Threat Intel Report: Who Is Behind Staggering 190GB Samsung Galaxy Hack? (forbes.com)
Android Trojan Persists On The Google Play Store Since January (bleepingcomputer.com)
IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Financially Motivated Threat Actors Willing To Go After Russian Targets - Help Net Security
A Third of Malicious Logins Originate in Nigeria - Infosecurity Magazine
Phishers Exploit Ukraine Conflict To Solicit Crypto - IT Security Guru
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
Cloud
How Cloud Services Become Weapons In Russia-Ukraine Cyber Conflict | ZDNet
The Next Big Cyber Security Threat Is Connected SaaS Platforms (thenextweb.com)
Privacy
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
CafePress Fined For Covering Up Customer Info Leak • The Register
Meta Fined €17 Million by Irish Regulator for GDPR Violations | CSO Online
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors – Russia
Conti Leaks Reveal the Ransomware Group’s Links to Russia | WIRED
How The Cyber World Can Support Ukraine | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
FBI Warns of MFA Flaw Used By State Hackers For Lateral Movement (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine Secret Service Arrests Hacker Helping Russian Invaders (thehackernews.com)
Open Source Maintainer Sabotages Code to Wipe Russian, Belarusian Computers (vice.com)
German Government Advises Against Using Kaspersky Antivirus (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukraine's "IT Army" Hit With Info-Stealing Malware- IT Security Guru
Mozilla Firefox Removes Russian Search Providers Over Misinformation Concerns (bleepingcomputer.com)
Fake Antivirus Updates Used To Deploy Cobalt Strike in Ukraine (bleepingcomputer.com)
Ukrainian Hacktivists Allegedly Dumps Kaspersky Product Source Code Online (Updated) - Lowyat.NET
New CaddyWiper Data Wiping Malware Hits Ukrainian Networks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Top Ukrainian Cyber Official Praises Volunteer Hacks On Russian Targets, Offers Updates - CyberScoop
Anonymous Sent A Message To Russians: "Remove Putin" - Security Affairs
Cyber Attacks Cripple Russian Websites After Ukraine Invasion (gizmodo.com)
Russia Faces IT Crisis With Just Two Months Of Data Storage Left (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia Labels Meta 'Extremist Organisation, Bans Instagram • The Register
Nation State Actors – China
China-Linked Threat Actors Are Targeting The Government Of Ukraine - Security Affairs
China Claims It Captured NSA Spy Tool That Already Leaked • The Register
Nation State Actors – Iran
Vulnerabilities
CISA Adds 15 Vulnerabilities To List Of Flaws Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
New Linux Bug in Netfilter Firewall Module Lets Attackers Gain Root Access (thehackernews.com)
Apple Patch Day: Gaping Security Holes in iOS, macOS, iPadOS | SecurityWeek.Com
OpenSSL Patches Denial-Of-Service Certificate Flaw • The Register
OpenSSL Patches Infinite-Loop DoS Bug In Certificate Verification – Naked Security (sophos.com)
SolarWinds Warns Of Attacks Targeting Web Help Desk Instances (bleepingcomputer.com)
High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in BIND Server | SecurityWeek.Com
QNAP Warns Severe Linux Bug Affects Most Of Its NAS Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Hackers Target Bank Networks with new Rootkit to Steal Money from ATM Machines (thehackernews.com)
Banks on Alert For Russian Reprisal Cyber Attacks on Swift | Ars Technica
Fraudsters Use Intelligent Bots To Attack Financial Institutions (scmagazine.com)
70% of Financial Service Providers Are Implementing API Security - Help Net Security
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Transport and Aviation
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Does the Free World Need a Global Cyber Alliance? | SecurityWeek.Com
Why EDR Is Not Sufficient To Protect Your Organisation - Help Net Security
Public and Private Sector Security: Better Protection by Collaboration | SecurityWeek.Com
The Importance Of Building In Security During Software Development - Help Net Security
How Fast Can Organisations Respond To A Cyber Security Crisis? - Help Net Security
Researcher Uses 379-Year-Old Algorithm To Crack Crypto Keys Found In The Wild | Ars Technica
How Pen Testing Gains Critical Security Buy-in and Defence Insight (darkreading.com)
DarkHotel APT Targets Wynn, Macao Hotels to Rip Off Guest Data | Threatpost
When IT Spending Plans Don't Reflect Security Priorities (darkreading.com)
Half of People Accept All Cookies Despite The Security Risk | TechRadar
Business Is At Last Collaborating On Cyber Security | Financial Times (ft.com)
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 March 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 11 March 2022
-Sharp Rise in SMB Cyberattacks By Russia And China
-We're Seeing An 800% Increase in Cyber Attacks, Says One MSP
-Internet Warfare: How The Russians Could Paralyse Britain
-Just 3% Of Employees Cause 92% Of Malware Events
-70% Of Breached Passwords Are Still in Use
-Organisations Taking Nearly Two Months To Remediate Critical Risk Vulnerabilities
-Android Malware Escobar Steals Your Google Authenticator MFA Codes
-Smartphone Malware Is On The Rise - Here's How To Stay Safe
-Russia May Use Ransomware Payouts to Avoid Sanctions’ Financial Harm
-How An 8-Character Password Could Be Cracked in Less Than An Hour
-Cyber Insurance and Business Risk: How the Relationship Is Changing Reinsurance & Policy Guidance
-Security Teams Prep Too Slowly for Cyber Attacks
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Sharp Rise in SMB Cyber Attacks by Russia and China
SaaS Alerts, a cloud security company, unveiled the findings of its latest report which analysed approximately 136 million security events across 2,100 small and medium businesses (SMBs) globally and identified cyber trends negatively impacting businesses.
The findings of the report take into account security events occurring across more than 120,000 user accounts during the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2021 and shows that the vast majority of attacks on top SaaS platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack and Dropbox are originating from Russia and China. The data set is statistically significant and enables solution providers managing a portfolio of SaaS applications with pertinent data and trends to support defensive IT security re-alignments as required.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/09/saas-security-events-smbs/
We're Seeing An 800% Increase in Cyber Attacks, Says One Managed Service Provider
Revenge and inflation are believed to be key drivers behind an 800 percent increase in cyber attacks seen by a single managed services provider since the days before the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month.
The attacks are coming not only from groups inside of Russia but also from elsewhere within the region as well from Russia allies like North Korea and Iran, historically sources of global cyber-threats.
The MSP serves about 2,400 companies around the world, most of them small businesses and midsize enterprises and most in North America. The MSP said it has seen the spike in cyber attacks throughout its customer base.
The sharp rise has been attributed to pro-Russian cyber criminal groups linked to nation states lashing out at countries – first Ukraine and then Western countries – angry at the sanctions being levelled against Russia. At the same time, the sharp inflation that is spreading around the world is also hitting hackers, who need to make money to keep up with rising costs.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/11/russia-invasion-cyber-war-rages/
Internet Warfare: How the Russians Could Paralyse Britain
The collapse of critical national infrastructure is a science fiction staple. Fifty years ago, actively switching off a country’s water and power networks would have required huge physical damage to power stations and the sources of those services. Today, however, many of the tools we use every day are connected to the internet.
All of those things now have remote access — and therefore, all of them could be vulnerable.
Ukraine has been blitzed by cyber attacks since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and they have increased in the lead-up to the invasion. As Russia marched into Ukraine, British officials were concerned about “spillover” from any cyber offensives targeted thousands of miles away.
In today’s interconnected digital world, the reality is that distance from the conflict zone makes no difference.
As the West fears a cyber-reprisal, what would a successful attack look like in Britain — and how likely is a complete “network failure”?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-cyberattack-uk-what-would-happen-l3dt98dmb
Just 3% Of Employees Cause 92% Of Malware Events
A small group of employees is typically responsible for most of the digital risk in an organisation, according to new research.
The report, from cybersecurity company Elevate Security and cyber security research organisation Cyentia, also found that those putting their companies at risk from phishing, malware, and insecure browsing are often repeat offenders.
The research found that 4% of employees clicked 80% of phishing links, and 3% were responsible for 92% of malware events.
Four in five employees have never clicked on a phishing email, according to the research. In fact, it asserts that half of them never see one, highlighting the need to focus anti-phishing efforts on at-risk workers.
The malware that phishing and other attack vectors deliver also affects a small group of employees. The research found that 96% of users have never suffered from a malware event. Most malware events revolve around the 3% of users who suffered from two malware events or more, reinforcing the notion that security awareness messages just aren't getting through to some.
https://www.itpro.co.uk/security/malware/366011/just-3-of-employees-cause-92-of-malware-events
70% Of Breached Passwords Are Still in Use
A new report examines trends related to exposed data. Researchers identified 1.7 billion exposed credentials, a 15% increase from 2020, and 13.8 billion recaptured Personally Identifiable Information (PII) records obtained from breaches in 2021.
Through its analysis of this data, it was found that despite increasingly sophisticated and targeted cyber attacks, consumers continue to engage in poor cyber practices regarding passwords, including the use of similar passwords for multiple accounts, weak or common passwords and passwords containing easy-to-guess words or phrases connected to pop culture.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/08/exposed-data-trends/
Organisations Taking Nearly Two Months to Remediate Critical Risk Vulnerabilities
Edgescan announces the findings of a report which offers a comprehensive view of the state of vulnerability management globally. This year’s report takes a more granular look at the trends by industry, and provides details on which of the known, patchable vulnerabilities are currently being exploited by threat actors.
The report reveals that organisations are still taking nearly two months to remediate critical risk vulnerabilities, with the average mean time to remediate (MTTR) across the full stack set at 60 days.
High rates of “known” (i.e. patchable) vulnerabilities which have working exploits in the wild, used by known nation state and cybercriminal groups are not uncommon.
Crucially, 57% of all observed vulnerabilities are more than two years old, with as many as 17% being more than five years old. These are all vulnerabilities that have working exploits in the wild, used by known nation state and cybercriminal groups. Edgescan also observed a concerning 1.5% of known, unpatched vulnerabilities that are over 20 years old, dating back to 1999.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/10/state-of-vulnerability-management/
Android Malware Escobar Steals Your Google Authenticator MFA Codes
The Aberebot Android banking trojan has returned under the name 'Escobar' with new features, including stealing Google Authenticator multi-factor authentication codes.
The new features in the latest Aberebot version also include taking control of the infected Android devices using VNC, recording audio, and taking photos, while also expanding the set of targeted apps for credential theft.
The main goal of the trojan is to steal enough information to allow the threat actors to take over victims' bank accounts, siphon available balances, and perform unauthorised transactions.
Like most banking trojans, Escobar displays overlay login forms to hijack user interactions with e-banking apps and websites and steal credentials from victims.
The malware also packs several other features that make it potent against any Android version, even if the overlay injections are blocked in some manner.
The authors have expanded the set of targeted banks and financial institutions to a whopping 190 entities from 18 countries in the latest version.
Smartphone Malware Is on The Rise - Here's How to Stay Safe
The volume of malware attacks targeting mobile devices has skyrocketed so far this year, cyber security researchers are saying.
A new report from security company Proofpoint claims that the number of detected mobile malware attacks has spiked 500% in the first few months of 2022, with peaks at the beginning and end of February.
Much of this malware aims to steal usernames and passwords from mobile banking applications, Proofpoint says. But some strains are even more sinister, recording audio and video from infected devices, tracking the victim's location, or exfiltrating and deleting data.
https://www.techradar.com/nz/news/smartphone-malware-is-coming-for-more-and-more-of-us
Russia May Use Ransomware Payouts to Avoid Sanctions’ Financial Harm
FinCEN warns financial institutions to be wary of unusual cryptocurrency payments or illegal transactions Russia may use to ease financial hurt from Ukraine-linked sanctions.
Russia may ramp up ransomware attacks against the United States as a way to ease the financial hurt it’s under due to sanctions, U.S. federal authorities are warning. Those sanctions have been levied against the nation and Vladimir Putin’s government due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a FinCEN Alert (PDF) on Wednesday advising all financial institutions to remain vigilant against potential efforts to evade the expansive sanctions and other U.S.-imposed restrictions related to the current conflict. One way this may be done is to move cryptocurrency funds through ransomware payments collected after Russian state-sponsored actors carry out cyberattacks.
“In the face of mounting economic pressure on Russia, it is vitally important for financial institutions to be vigilant about potential Russian sanctions evasion, including by both state actors and oligarchs,” said FinCEN Acting Director Him Das in a press statement.
https://threatpost.com/russia-ransomware-payouts-avoid-sanctions/178854/
How An 8-Character Password Could Be Cracked in Less Than an Hour
Security experts keep advising us to create strong and complex passwords to protect our online accounts and data from savvy cybercriminals. And “complex” typically means using lowercase and uppercase characters, numbers and even special symbols. But complexity by itself can still open your password to cracking if it doesn’t contain enough characters, according to research by security firm Hive Systems.
As described in a recent report, Hive found that an 8-character complex password could be cracked in just 39 minutes if the attacker were to take advantage of the latest graphics processing technology. A seven-character complex password could be cracked in 31 seconds, while one with six or fewer characters could be cracked instantly. Shorter passwords with only one or two character types, such as only numbers or lowercase letters, or only numbers and letters, would take just minutes to crack.
Cyber Insurance and Business Risk: How the Relationship Is Changing Reinsurance & Policy Guidance
Cyber insurance is a significant industry and growing fast — according to GlobalData, it was worth $7 billion in gross written premiums in 2020. The cyber-insurance market is expected to reach $20.6 billion by 2025. Over the past few years, the cyber-insurance market was competitive, so premiums were low and policies were comprehensive. Over the past year, that has changed — the volume of claims has gone up and led to more payouts, which affected the insurance companies' profitability.
The recent Log4j issue will affect how insurance and reinsurance companies write their policies in future. Already, we're seeing discussions about Log4j-related issues being excluded from reinsurance policies in 2022, as many policies came up for renewal on Dec. 31, 2021. This will affect the policies that insurance companies can offer to their customers.
What does this mean for IT security teams? For practitioners, it will make their work more important than before, as preventing possible issues would be more valuable to the business. Carrying out standard security practices like asset inventory and vulnerability management will be needed, while examining software bills of materials for those same issues will help on the software supply chain security side. These practices will also need to be highly automated, as business must be able to gain accurate insights within hours, not months, to deal with future threats while reducing the cost impact.
For those responsible for wider business risk, these developments around cyber insurance will present a more significant problem. Cyber-insurance policies will still be available — and necessary where needed — but the policies themselves will cover less ground. While the past few years had pretty wide-ranging policies that would pay out on a range of issues, future policies will deliver less coverage.
Security Teams Prep Too Slowly for Cyber Attacks
Attackers typically take days or weeks to exploit new vulnerabilities, but defenders are slow to learn about critical issues and take action, requiring 96 days on average to learn to identify and block current cyber threats, according to a new report analysing training and crisis scenarios.
The report, Cyber Workforce Benchmark 2022, found that cybersecurity professionals are much more likely to focus on vulnerabilities that have garnered media attention, such as Log4j, than more understated issues, and that different industries develop their security capabilities at widely different rates. Security professionals in some of the most crucial industries, such as transport and critical infrastructure, are twice as slow to learn skills compare to their colleagues in the leisure, entertainment, and retail sectors.
The amount of time it takes for security professionals to get up to speed on new threats matters. CISA says that patches should be applied within 15 days, sooner than that if the vulnerability is being exploited, says Kevin Breen, director of cyber threat research at Immersive Labs.
https://www.darkreading.com/risk/security-teams-prep-too-slowly-for-cyberattacks
Threats
Ransomware
Inside Conti leaks: The Panama Papers of Ransomware - The Record by Recorded Future
CISA Added 98 Domains To The Joint Alert Related To Conti Ransomware Gang - Security Affairs
Ragnar Locker Ransomware - What You Need To Know (tripwire.com)
Conti Ransomware Group Spent Millions In 2021 - IT Security Guru
Ragnar Locker Ransomware Hits Critical Infrastructure • The Register
Ukrainian Man Arrested for Alleged Role in Ransomware Attack on Kaseya, Others (darkreading.com)
FBI: Ransomware Gang Breached 52 US Critical Infrastructure Orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Alleged REvil Ransomware Hacker Extradited And Arraigned In Texas | CSO Online
Bridgestone Americas Confirms Ransomware Attack, LockBit Leaks Data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Phishing & Email
Watch Out For This Phishing Attack That Hijacks Your Email Chats To Spread Malware | ZDNet
The Most Impersonated Brands In Phishing Attacks - Help Net Security
Malware
Nvidia's Stolen Data Is Being Used To Disguise Malware As GPU Drivers | PC Gamer
Qakbot Botnet Sprouts Fangs, Injects Malware into Email Threads | Threatpost
Emotet Botnet Is Rapidly Growing, +130K Bots Spread Across 179 Countries - Security Affairs
All About the Bots: What Botnet Trends Portend for Security Pros | SecurityWeek.Com
Mobile
Smartphone malware is on the rise, here's what to watch out for | ZDNet
Samsung Confirms Hackers Stole Galaxy Devices Source Code (bleepingcomputer.com)
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Consumers Worried About Digital Banking Security - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Shipping Fraud Quickly Emerging As One Of The Top Fraud Types - Help Net Security
Insurance
Supply Chain
DoS/DDoS
Mitel VoIP Systems Used In Staggering DDoS Attacks • The Register
In-The-Wild DDoS Attack Can Be Launched From A Single Packet To Create Terabytes Of Traffic | ZDNet
Malware Posing as Russia DDoS Tool Bites Pro-Ukraine Hackers | Threatpost
The Fight Against the Hydra: New DDoS Report from Link11 (darkreading.com)
Imperva Thwarts 2.5 Million RPS Ransom DDoS Extortion Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Nation State Actors
Nation State Actors - Russia
Jump In Cyber Attacks Since Start Of Ukraine Invasion (rte.ie)
Will Russian Oil Ban Spur Increased Cyber-Attacks (trendmicro.com)
Russia to Create Its Own Security Certificate Authority, Alarming Experts - CyberScoop
Russia Mulls Legalizing Software Piracy As It’s Cut Off From Western Tech | Ars Technica
Google: Russian Hackers Target Ukrainians, European Allies via Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
French Bank Denies Access to Russian Workforce - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Anonymous & its Affiliates Hacked 90% of Russian Misconfigured Databases (hackread.com)
Nation State Actors - China
Chinese Phishing Actors Consistently Targeting EU Diplomats (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chinese APT41 Hackers Broke into at Least 6 U.S. State Governments: Mandiant (thehackernews.com)
Nation State Actors – North Korea
Nation State Actors - Iran
Vulnerabilities
Linux Has Been Bitten By Its Most High-Severity Vulnerability In Years | Ars Technica
Microsoft Addresses 3 Zero-Days & 3 Critical Bugs for March Patch Tuesday | Threatpost
New Exploit Bypasses Existing Spectre-V2 Mitigations in Intel, AMD, Arm CPUs (thehackernews.com)
Google Attempts to Explain Surge in Chrome Zero-Day Exploitation | SecurityWeek.Com
“Dirty Pipe” Linux Kernel Bug Lets Anyone Write To Any File – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Microsoft Azure Flaw Allowed Unauthorized Account Access • The Register
Intel, AMD, Arm Warn Of New Speculative Execution CPU Bugs (bleepingcomputer.com)
Adobe Patches 'Critical' Security Flaws in Illustrator, After Effects | SecurityWeek.Com
Up to 30% of WordPress Plugin Bugs Don't Get Patched - IT Security Guru
Within Hours of the Log4j Flaw Being Revealed, These Hackers Were Using It | ZDNet
Critical Firefox Zero-Day Bugs Allow RCE, Sandbox Escape | Threatpost
Microsoft Warns of Spoofing Vulnerability in Defender for Endpoint | SecurityWeek.Com
Microsoft Fixes Critical Azure Bug That Exposed Customer Data (bleepingcomputer.com)
Researchers Disclose New Spectre V2 Vulnerabilities (techtarget.com)
Critical Bugs Could Let Attackers Remotely Hack, Damage APC Smart-UPS Devices (thehackernews.com)
Over 40% of Log4j Downloads Are Vulnerable Versions of the Software (darkreading.com)
HP Patches 16 UEFI Firmware Bugs Allowing Stealthy Malware Infections (bleepingcomputer.com)
Critical RCE Bugs Found in Pascom Cloud Phone System Used by Businesses (thehackernews.com)
Sector Specific
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Medical and IoT Devices From More Than 100 Vendors Vulnerable to Attack (darkreading.com)
Oklahoma Hospital Data Breach Impacts 92,000 People - Infosecurity Magazine
Transport and Aviation
Automotive
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Why You Should Be Using CISA's Catalog of Exploited Vulns (darkreading.com)
How to Combat the No. 1 Cause of Security Breaches: Complexity (darkreading.com)
Every Business Is A Cyber Security Business - Help Net Security
Operationalising a “Think Like The Enemy” Strategy | CSO Online
SpaceX Shifts Resources To Cyber Security To Address Starlink Jamming - SpaceNews
Report: Cyber Security Teams Need Nearly 100 Days To Develop Threat Defenses | VentureBeat
6 Potential Enterprise Security Risks With NFC Technology (techtarget.com)
BBC Targeted With 383,278 Spam, Phishing And Malware Attacks Every Day - Help Net Security
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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 January 2022
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 January 2022
-Businesses Suffered 50% More Cyber Attack Attempts per Week in 2021
-Cyber Attacks Against MSPs Jump 67%
-SMEs Still An Easy Target For Cyber Criminals
-World Economic Forum: Cyber Security Failures an Increasing Global Threat
-Microsoft Faces Wormable, Critical RCE Bug & 6 Zero-Days
-Russia Arrests REvil Ransomware Gang Responsible for High-Profile Cyber Attacks
-North Korea Hackers Stole $400m Of Cryptocurrency In 2021, Report Says
-No Lights, No Heat, No Money - That's Life In Ukraine During Cyber Warfare
-Ukrainian Police Arrest Five Members Of Ransomware Affiliate
-Fingers Point To Lazarus, Cobalt, Fin7 As Key Hacking Groups Attacking Finance Industry
-Ransomware, Supply Chain, And Deepfakes: The Top Threats The Finance Industry Needs To Prepare For
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
Businesses Suffered 50% More Cyber Attack Attempts per Week in 2021
Cyberattack attempts reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2021, jumping to 925 a week per organisation, partly due to attempts stemming from the Log4j vulnerability, according to new data.
Check Point Research on Monday reported that it found 50% more attack attempts per week on corporate networks globally in calendar year 2021 compared with 2020.
The researchers define a cyberattack attempt as a single isolated cyber occurrence that could be at any point in the attack chain — scanning/exploiting vulnerabilities, sending phishing emails, malicious website access, malicious file downloads (from Web/email), second-stage downloads, and command-and-control communications.
Cyber Attacks Against MSPs Jump 67%
Cyber attacks spiked by 50 percent in 2021 as compared to 2020, aided by millions of attacks in December by hackers attempting to exploit the Log4J vulnerability, according to a Check Point Software Technologies research report.
In terming 2021 a “record breaking year,” the security provider pointed to a worldwide peak of 925 cyber attacks per organisation weekly and an October 2021 measure that showed a 40 percent increase in cyberattacks, with one out of every 61 entities hit by ransomware each week. The number of cyberattacks on managed service providers (MSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs) rose by nearly 70 percent year over year.
https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/cyberattacks-vs-msps-skyrocket/
SMEs Still An Easy Target For Cyber Criminals
Cyber crime continues to be a major concern, with 51% of SMEs experiencing a cyber security breach, a Markel Direct survey reveals.
In this survey that polled 1000 respondents, Markel Direct explored the issue of cybercrime and its impact on the self-employed and SMEs. The survey found the most common cybersecurity attacks were malware/virus related (24%) followed by a data breach (16%) and phishing attack (15%), with 68% reporting the cost of their breach was up to £5,000.
This comes after the latest Quarterly Fraud and Cyber Crime Report revealed that Britons lost over £1 billion in the first six months of 2021, due to the considerable increase in fraudulent activity.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/12/smes-cybersecurity-breach/
World Economic Forum: Cyber Security Failures an Increasing Global Threat
Cybersecurity was once again identified as a major short and medium-term threat to the world in this year’s World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) The Global Risk Report. The analysis was based on insights from nearly 1000 global experts and leaders who responded to the WEF’s Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, environmental issues like climate action failure and extreme weather ranked highest on the risks facing the world over the short (0-2 years), medium (2-5 years) and long-term (5-10 years). In addition, a number of challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, such as livelihood crises, infectious diseases and mental health deterioration, also scored highly. Overall, this added up to a pessimistic assessment, with 84.2% of respondents stating they were either “worried” or “concerned” about the global outlook.
Digital challenges, such as “cyber security failures,” were also viewed as a significant and growing problem to the world. Nearly one in five (19.5%) respondents believe cybersecurity failures will be a critical threat to the world in just the next 0-2 years, and 14.6% said it would be in 2-5 years
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/world-economic-forum-cybersecurity/
Microsoft Faces Wormable, Critical RCE Bug & 6 Zero-Days
Microsoft started 2022 with a large January Patch Tuesday update covering nine critical CVEs, including a self-propagator with a 9.8 CVSS score.
Microsoft has addressed a total of 97 security vulnerabilities in its January 2022 Patch Tuesday update – nine of them rated critical – including six that are listed as publicly known zero-days.
The fixes cover a swath of the computing giant’s portfolio, including: Microsoft Windows and Windows Components, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Exchange Server, Microsoft Office and Office Components, SharePoint Server, .NET Framework, Microsoft Dynamics, Open-Source Software, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Defender, and Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
https://threatpost.com/microsoft-wormable-critical-rce-bug-zero-day/177564/
Russia Arrests REvil Ransomware Gang Responsible for High-Profile Cyber Attacks
In an unprecedented move, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's principal security agency, on Friday disclosed that it arrested several members belonging to the notorious REvil ransomware gang and neutralized its operations.
The surprise takedown, which it said was carried out at the request of the US authorities, saw the law enforcement agency conduct raids at 25 addresses in the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad and Lipetsk regions that belonged to 14 suspected members of the organised cyber crime syndicate.
"In order to implement the criminal plan, these persons developed malicious software, organised the theft of funds from the bank accounts of foreign citizens and their cashing, including through the purchase of expensive goods on the Internet," the FSB said in a statement.
In addition, the FSB seized over 426 million rubles, including in cryptocurrency, $600,000, €500,000, as well as computer equipment, crypto wallets used to commit crimes, and 20 luxury cars that were purchased with money obtained by illicit means.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/01/russia-arrests-revil-ransomware-gang.html
North Korea Hackers Stole $400m Of Cryptocurrency In 2021, Report Says
North Korean hackers stole almost $400m (£291m) worth of digital assets in at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms last year, a report claims.
Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis said it was one of most successful years on record for cyber-criminals in the closed east Asian state.
The attacks mainly targeted investment firms and centralised exchanges.
North Korea has routinely denied being involved in hack attacks attributed to them.
"From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from four to seven, and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40%," Chainalysis said in a report.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59990477
No Lights, No Heat, No Money - That's Life In Ukraine During Cyber Warfare
Hackers who defaced and interrupted access to numerous Ukrainian government websites on Friday could be setting the stage for more serious cyberattacks that would disrupt the lives of ordinary Ukrainians, experts said.
"As tensions grow, we can expect more aggressive cyber activity in Ukraine and potentially elsewhere," said John Hultquist, an intelligence analyst at US cyber security company Mandiant, possibly including "destructive attacks that target critical infrastructure."
"Organisations need to begin preparing," Hultquist added.
Intrusions by hackers on hospitals, power utility companies, and the financial system were until recently rare. But organised cyber criminals, many of them living in Russia, have gone after institutions aggressively in the past two years with ransomware, freezing data and computerized equipment needed to care for hospital patients.
In some cases, those extortion attacks have led to patient deaths, according to litigation, media reports and medical professionals.
Ukrainian Police Arrest Five Members Of Ransomware Affiliate
Ukrainian police announced the arrest of five members of a ransomware affiliate on Thursday, noting that the group was behind attacks on more than 50 companies across Europe and the US.
In a statement, both the Ukrainian Security Service and Ukrainian Cyber Police said the group made at least $1 million through their attacks on the companies.
US and UK law enforcement officials worked with Ukrainian officials on the operation.
Officials said the leader of the group was a 36-year-old who worked with his wife and three other people out of Kyiv. The five are facing a variety of charges in Ukraine related to money laundering, hacking, and selling malware.
One of the people charged is wanted by law enforcement agencies in UK after "using a virus to obtain bank card details of the customers of British banks," according to the police statement.
The bank card details were used to buy things online that were then resold.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ukrainian-police-arrest-members-of-ransomware-affiliate/
Fingers Point To Lazarus, Cobalt, Fin7 As Key Hacking Groups Attacking Finance Industry
The Lazarus, Cobalt, and FIN7 hacking groups have been labeled as the most prevalent threat actors striking financial organisations today.
According to "Follow the Money," a new report (.PDF) published on the financial sector by Outpost24's Blueliv on Thursday, members of these groups are the major culprits of theft and fraud in the industry today.
The financial sector has always been, and possibly always will be, a key target for cybercriminal groups. Organisations in this area are often custodians of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to customers and clients, financial accounts, and cash.
They also often underpin the economy: if a payment processor or bank's systems go down due to malware, this can cause irreparable harm not only to the victim company in question, but this can also have severe financial and operational consequences for customers.
Ransomware, Supply Chain, And Deepfakes: The Top Threats The Finance Industry Needs To Prepare For
The finance industry is constantly targeted by numerous threat actors, and they are always innovating and trying new techniques (such as deepfakes) to outsmart security teams and breach an organisation’s network.
In addition to that, there is currently a huge demand for data and new tools on the dark web. In fact, users are selling access to point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and login details to the websites of financial services organisations all the time.
How can financial organisations protect themselves from existing threats and combat new ones at the same time?
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/12/finance-industry-threats/
Threats
Ransomware
Night Sky Ransomware Is Attacking Corporate Networks For 800k Ransom - The Cybersecurity Times
One Of The REvil Members Arrested Was Behind Colonial Pipeline Attack - Security Affairs
Ransomware Is Being Rewritten In Go For Joint Attacks On Windows, Linux Users | IT PRO
Watch Out, That Microsoft Edge Update Is Actually Ransomware | TechRadar
Qlocker Ransomware Returns To Target QNAP NAS Devices Worldwide (bleepingcomputer.com)
Trends That Shaped Ransomware – And Why It’s Not Slowing Down - CyberScoop
Phishing
Check Your SPF Records: Wide IP Ranges Undo Email Security And Make For Tasty Phishes | ZDNet
Phishers Are Targeting Office 365 Users By Exploiting Adobe Cloud - Help Net Security
Real Big Phish: Mobile Phishing & Managing User Fallibility | Threatpost
Malware
Microsoft Defender Weakness Lets Hackers Bypass Malware Detection (bleepingcomputer.com)
New RedLine Malware Version Spread As Fake Omicron Stat Counter (bleepingcomputer.com)
‘Fully Undetected’ SysJoker Backdoor Malware Targets Windows, Linux & macOS | Threatpost
FluBot Malware Continues To Evolve. What's New In Ver 5.0 And Beyond? Security Affairs
Oops: Cyberspies Infect Themselves With Their Own Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Mobile
Android Users Can Now Disable 2G to Block Stingray Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)
EFF Praises Android’s New 2G Kill Switch, Wants Apple To Follow Suit | Ars Technica
How To Protect Yourself Against Sim-Swapping Scams With Mobile Phone Fraud On The Rise (inews.co.uk)
IoT
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Abcbot Botnet Is Linked To Xanthe Cryptojacking Group | ZDNet
North Korean Hackers Impersonate Major Crypto Investment Firm to Scam Startups (vice.com)
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Data Security In The Age Of Insider Threats: A Primer - Help Net Security
Former DHS Official Charged With Stealing Govt Employees' PII (bleepingcomputer.com)
Forensics Expert Kept Murder Snaps on PC - Infosecurity Magazine
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
DoS/DDoS
Extortion DDoS Attacks Grow Stronger And More Common (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
DDoS Attacks That Come Combined With Extortion Demands Are On The Rise | ZDNet
CNI, OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Manufacturers Are Starting To Realize The Importance Of OT Security - Help Net Security
FBI, NSA and CISA Warns of Russian Hackers Targeting Critical Infrastructure (thehackernews.com)
Critical Infrastructure Falls Short on Ransomware Readiness, Mitigation, Recovery - MSSP Alert
Nation State Actors
Ukraine Hacks Add to Worries of Cyber Conflict With Russia | SecurityWeek.Com
Destructive Malware Targeting Ukrainian Organisations - Microsoft Security Blog
US Olympic Athletes Urged to Leave Phones Behind (gizmodo.com)
Russian Submarines Threatening Undersea Cables, UK Defence Chief Warns - Security Affairs
Iranian Hackers Exploit Log4j Vulnerability to Deploy PowerShell Backdoor (thehackernews.com)
US Cyber Command Links 'MuddyWater' Hacking Group to Iranian Intelligence (thehackernews.com)
Cloud
Passwords & Credential Stuffing
Parental Controls and Child Safety
Vulnerabilities
Threat Actors Can Bypass Malware Detection Due To Microsoft Defender Weakness - Security Affairs
noPac Exploit: Microsoft AD Flaw May Lead to Total Domain Compromise | CrowdStrike
Adobe Fixes 4 Critical Reader Bugs That Were Demonstrated At Tianfu Cup - Security Affairs
WordPress 5.8.3 Security Update Fixes SQL Injection, XSS Flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)
WordPress Bugs Exploded in 2021, Most Exploitable | Threatpost
Sonicwall SMA 100 VPN Box Security Hole Exploit Info Shared • The Register
Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerability in Contact Center Products | SecurityWeek.Com
Millions of Routers Exposed to RCE by USB Kernel Bug | Threatpost
Mozilla Patches High-Risk Firefox, Thunderbird Security Flaws | SecurityWeek.Com
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
SMBs – Small and Medium Businesses
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Hackers Penetrate 93% of Local Company Networks, Cyber Simulation Finds - MSSP Alert
URL Parsing: A Ticking Time Bomb Of Security Exploits - TechRepublic
Europol Told to Delete Vast Trove of Personal Information - Infosecurity Magazine
The Race Towards Renewable Energy Is Creating New Cyber Security Risks | ZDNet
What Is Clipboard Hijacking? How to Avoid Becoming a Victim (makeuseof.com)
White House Reminds Tech Giants Open Source Is A National Security Issue (bleepingcomputer.com)
Want To Improve Corporate Security? Prioritize Personal Security | ZDNet
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 November 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 12 November 2021:
-Covid Impact Heightens Risk Of Cyber Security Breaches
-81% of Organisations Experienced Increased Cyber-Threats During COVID-19
-Phishing Attacks Grow 31.5% Over 2020, Social Media Attacks Continue To Climb
-Threat from Organised Cybercrime Syndicates Is Rising
-Ransomware Gangs Are Using These 'Ruthless' Tactics As They Aim For Bigger Payouts
-Firms Will Struggle to Secure Extended Attack Surface in 2022
-Millions Of Home Wi-Fi Routers Threatened By Malware — What To Do
-Vulnerabilities Associated With Ransomware Increased 4.5% In Q3 2021
-80% Of Organisations Experienced Employees Misusing And Abusing Access To Business Apps
-Gen Z Is Behaving Recklessly Online - And Will Live To Regret It
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Covid Impact Heightens Risk Of Cyber Security Breaches
CYBER SECURITY breaches are the biggest staff-related risk as Covid-19 and recruitment difficulties continue to impact workplaces, according to a survey of Channel Island employers.
Seven out of ten senior HR professionals and business leaders saw a cyber security breach as the greatest staff-related risk for a regulated financial services business – way ahead of employees leaving (16%) and employees working from home (10%). Some 57% of employers said Covid-19 had changed their policies, procedures and systems ‘moderately’, with 29.5% reporting ‘significant’ changes, according to the research undertaken at a virtual employment conference organised by Walkers last month.
https://guernseypress.com/news/2021/11/12/covid-impact-heightens-risk-of-cyber-security-breaches/
81% of Organisations Experienced Increased Cyber Threats During COVID-19
More than four in five (81%) organisations experienced increased cyber-threats during the COVD-19 pandemic, according to a new study by McAfee and FireEye.
The global survey of 1451 IT and line of business decision-makers found that close to half (43%) have suffered from downtime due to a cyber concern. This resulted in costs of $100,000 for some organisations.
Despite the increased threat landscape and the fact that over half (57%) of organisations saw a rise in online/web activity, 24% of respondents revealed they have had their technology and security budgets reduced over this period.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/81-orgs-cyber-threats-covid19/
Phishing Attacks Grow 31.5% Over 2020, Social Media Attacks Continue To Climb
Phishing remains the dominant attack vector for bad actors, growing 31.5 percent over 2020, according to a PhishLabs report. Notably, attacks in September 2021 were more than twice as high as the previous year.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/11/phishing-attacks-grow-2020/
Threat from Organised Cyber Crime Syndicates Is Rising
Europol reports that criminal groups are undermining the EU’s economy and its society, offering everything from murder-for-hire to kidnapping, torture and mutilation.
From encrypting communications to fencing ill-gotten gains on underground sites, organised crime is cashing in on the digital revolution.
The latest organised crime threat assessment from Europol issues a dire warning about the corrosive effect the rising influence of criminal syndicates is having on both the economy and society of the European Union. And it’s all happening online.
https://threatpost.com/organised-cybercrime-syndicates-europol/176326/
Ransomware Gangs Are Using These 'Ruthless' Tactics As They Aim For Bigger Payouts
More sophisticated ransomware attacks are on the way as cyber criminals tailor campaigns to raise the chances of a ransom payment.
Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated as cyber criminals continue to develop new techniques to make campaigns more effective and increase their chances of successfully demanding a ransom payment.
According to the European law enforcement agency Europol there was a 300% increase in the number of ransom payments between 2019 and 2020 alone – and that doesn't account for 2021 being another bumper year for cyber criminals launching ransomware attacks, as they've taken advantage of security vulnerabilities presented by the rise in remote working.
Europol's Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCT) shows that while cybercrime, including malware and DDoS attacks, continues to evolve, it's ransomware attacks that have been a significant amount of disruption over the course of the past year.
Firms Will Struggle to Secure Extended Attack Surface in 2022
Companies are relying more heavily on third parties, remote employees, and partners, expanding their attack surface area beyond traditional boundaries.
In 2022, much of cybersecurity will boil down to managing the security of relationships, as companies adapt to the post-pandemic remote workforce and the increased use of third-party providers, a panel of analysts stated at the Forrester Research Security & Risk 2021 Conference.
Among five predictions for the coming year, the analysts argued that companies' attempts to manage remote employees would stray into intrusive territory, causing workers to push back and hampering security-focused monitoring, such as that for insider threats. Other predictions maintain that 60% of security incidents in the next year will come from issues with third parties, while the cybersecurity workforce will suffer from burnout and join what's been called the "Great Resignation," the recent trend of workers leaving the workforce.
https://www.darkreading.com/risk/firms-will-struggle-to-secure-extended-attack-surface-in-2022
Millions Of Home Wi-Fi Routers Threatened By Malware — What To Do
Netgear, Linksys, D-Link routers among those targeted
There's a nasty new piece of malware out there targeting Wi-Fi routers, and you'll want to make sure yours is fully updated so it doesn't get infected.
The AT&T researchers who discovered the malware are calling it BotenaGo, and it's apparently different from the Mirai botnet malware that's been attacking routers since 2016. BotenaGo packs in exploits for 33 different known vulnerabilities in 12 different router brands, including D-Link, Linksys, Netgear, Tenda, Totolink, Zyxel and ZTE. A full list is on the AT&T Cybersecurity blog post.
To avoid infection, ensure you update your router with the latest firmware.
https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/botenago-router-malware
Vulnerabilities Associated With Ransomware Increased 4.5% In Q3 2021
Ransomware groups are continuing to grow in sophistication, boldness, and volume, with numbers up across the board since Q2 2021, a report by Ivanti, Cyber Security Works and Cyware reveals.
This last quarter saw a 4.5% increase in CVEs associated with ransomware, a 4.5% increase in actively exploited and trending vulnerabilities, a 3.4% increase in ransomware families, and a 1.2% increase in older vulnerabilities tied to ransomware compared to Q2 2021.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/10/vulnerabilities-associated-with-ransomware/
80% Of Organisations Experienced Employees Misusing And Abusing Access To Business Apps
Organisations continue to operate with limited visibility into user activity and sessions associated with web applications, despite the ever-present risk of insider threats and credential theft, a CyberArk research reveals.
While the adoption of web applications has brought flexibility and increased productivity, organisations often lag in implementing the security controls necessary to mitigate risk of human error or malicious intent.
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/11/08/user-activity-visibility/
Gen Z Is Behaving Recklessly Online - And Will Live To Regret It
Handing out personal information could be a slippery slope
Members of Generation Z, the cohort of people born in the first decade of the 21st century, care about digital privacy, but their desire for online fame and popularity is greater, a new study from ExpressVPN suggests.
The VPN provider surveyed 1,500 young adults from the US to evaluate their online habits and attitudes towards social media, and identified a troubling pattern that could have dire consequences.
The survey found that Generation Z isn’t trusting of the social media platforms they frequent, expressing concern that platforms may be using their images for facial recognition (67%) and wariness about oversharing personal information (66%).
https://www.techradar.com/news/gen-z-is-behaving-recklessly-online-and-will-live-to-regret-it
Threats
Ransomware
Average Ransomware Payment For US Victims More Than $6 Million, Survey Says | ZDNet
Ransomware Disrupted Store Operations In The Netherlands And Germany - Security Affairs
Toronto’s Transit Agency Cyber Attack Exposes 25,000 Employees’ Data | Techcrunch
Comic Book Distributor Struggling With Shipments After Ransomware Attack | ZDNet
Ransomware Attack Hits UK Fertility Clinic - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Spanish Brewery “Paralyzed” by Cyber-Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
TrickBot Teams Up With Shatak Phishers For Conti Ransomware Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
BEC
Interpol Closes in on Global BEC Gang - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Tiny Font Size Fools Email Filters in BEC Phishing | Threatpost
Phishing
How Cyber Criminals Use Bait Attacks To Gather Info About Their Intended Victims - TechRepublic
Microsoft Warns Of Surge In HTML Smuggling Phishing Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Shadow IT Makes People More Vulnerable to Phishing (sans.edu)
Gmail Accounts Are Used In 91% Of All Baiting Email Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Other Social Engineering
Malware
QAKBOT Loader Returns With New Techniques and Tools (trendmicro.com)
Abcbot — A New Evolving Wormable Botnet Malware Targeting Linux (thehackernews.com)
GravityRAT Returns Disguised As An End-To-End Encrypted Chat App - Security Affairs
Report: 57% Of All Ecommerce Cyber Attacks Are Bot-Driven | Venturebeat
New BazarBackdoor Attack Discovered - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Mobile
IOT
BotenaGo Botnet Targets Millions Of IoT Devices With 33 Exploits (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Why the NSA Wants To Protect You From Your Toothbrush (msnbc.com)
Vulnerabilities
Intel And AMD Address High Severity Vulnerabilities In Products And Drivers - Security Affairs
Samba Update Patches Plaintext Passwork Plundering Problem – Naked Security (Sophos.Com)
Palo Alto Networks Patches Zero-Day Affecting Firewalls Using GlobalProtect Portal VPN | ZDNet
Researchers Wait 12 Months To Report Vulnerability With 9.8 Out Of 10 Severity Rating | Ars Technica
Google Warns Hackers Used MacOS Zero-Day Flaw, Could Capture Keystrokes, Screengrabs | ZDNet
Data Breaches/Leaks
Robinhood Discloses Data Breach Impacting 7 Million Customers (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
This Top VPN Provider May Have Leaked Millions Of User Details | Techradar
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
UK Recorded 1.8m Computer Misuse Crimes During 2019 • The Register
These Are The Top-Level Domains Threat Actors Like The Most (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Aleksandr Zhukov, Self-Described 'King Of Fraud,' Is Sentenced To 10 Years - Cyberscoop
Cyber-Mercenary Group Void Balaur Attacks High-Profile Targets for Cash | Threatpost
Humanizing Hackers: Entering The Minds Of Those Behind The Attacks - Help Net Security
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Insider Threats
DoS/DDoS
OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA
Nation State Actors
State Hackers Breach Defence, Energy, Healthcare Orgs Worldwide (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
China’s next generation of hackers won’t be criminals. That’s a problem. | TechCrunch
Russian Cyber Crime Group Exploits SolarWinds Serv-U Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com
North Korean Hackers Target The South's Think Tanks Through Blog Posts | ZDNet
Iranian Threat Actors Attempt To Buy Stolen Data Of US Orgs, FBI Warns - Security Affairs
'Lyceum' Threat Group Broadens Focus to ISPs (darkreading.com)
Cloud
Privacy
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Booking.com Was Reportedly Hacked By A Us Intel Agency But Never Told Customers | Ars Technica
Younger Generations Care Little About Cybersecurity - Help Net Security
The Rising Threat Stemming From Identity Sprawl | SecurityWeek.Com
Playstation 5 Hacked—Twice! - Malwarebytes Labs | Malwarebytes Labs
Hong Kong Cyber Attack Reveals That Apple Favours Latest OS Versions For Security Updates | Techspot
Unique Challenges to Cyber-Security in Healthcare and How to Address Them (thehackernews.com)
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 October 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 08 October 2021
-Half of Regulated Firms See Pandemic Spike in Financial Crime
-Large Ransom Demands And Password-Guessing Attacks Escalate
-How Insurers Play a Big Role in Spurring Cyber Crime
-How Fraudsters Can Use The Forgotten Details Of Your Online Life To Reel You In
-Malicious Hackers Are Exploiting Known Vulnerabilities Because Organisations Aren’t Quick Enough To Patch – Report
-Ransomware: Cyber Criminals Are Still Exploiting These Old Vulnerabilities, So Patch Now
-Why Today’s Cyber Security Threats Are More Dangerous
-One In Three IT Security Managers Don’t Have A Formal Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan
-Cyber Security Best Practices Lagging, Despite People Being Aware Of The Risks
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
Half of Regulated Firms See Pandemic Spike in Financial Crime
Around half of firms in the financial services, property and legal sectors have reported rising levels of financial crime over the past 12 months, according to new data from an anti-money laundering (AML) specialist which polled 500 regulated businesses in the UK to better understand the levels of risk facing players in each vertical.
Overall, 48% of respondents said they’d seen a rise in financial crime, and a quarter (26%) admitted they’d been a victim of attacks. Legal firms, including conveyancers, experienced the most significant number of compromises, with a third (33%) saying they had been a victim of financial crime.
The sector is an increasingly attractive target for both state-backed and financially motivated cyber-criminals, given the wealth of sensitive client information that legal practices typically hold. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/half-firms-pandemic-spike/
Large Ransom Demands And Password-Guessing Attacks Escalate
ESET released a report that summarizes key statistics from its detection systems and highlights notable examples of its cyber security research.
The latest issue of the report highlights several concerning trends that were recorded by ESET telemetry, including increasingly aggressive ransomware tactics, intensifying brute-force attacks, and deceptive phishing campaigns targeting people working from home who have gotten used to performing many administrative tasks remotely.
Ransomware, showing three major detection spikes during T2, saw the largest ransom demands to date. The attack shutting down the operations of Colonial Pipeline – the largest pipeline company in the US – and the supply-chain attack leveraging a vulnerability in the Kaseya VSA IT management software, sent shockwaves that were felt far beyond the cybersecurity industry. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/05/large-ransom-demands/
Malicious Hackers Are Exploiting Known Vulnerabilities Because Organizations Aren’t Quick Enough To Patch – Report
Organizations are urged to be more proactive when it comes to protecting against vulnerabilities, after a report found that malicious attackers routinely exploit unpatched systems.
The 2021 Trustwave SpiderLabs Telemetry Report, released this week, found that a huge number of companies are falling foul to cyber-attacks despite having ready access to suitable fixes.
This is happening because malicious actors are using Shodan to scan for networks that are exposed to known vulnerabilities and exploit them before the victim can apply the patch. https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/malicious-hackers-are-exploiting-known-vulnerabilities-because-organizations-arent-quick-enough-to-patch-report
Ransomware: Cyber Criminals Are Still Exploiting These Old Vulnerabilities, So Patch Now
Some of the cyber security vulnerabilities most commonly exploited by cybercriminals to help distribute ransomware are years old -- but attackers are still able to take advantage of them because security updates aren't being applied.
Cybersecurity researchers at Qualys examined the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) most used in ransomware attacks in recent years. They found that some of these vulnerabilities have been known for almost a decade and had vendor patches available. But because many organizations still haven't applied the available security updates, they remain vulnerable to ransomware attacks. https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-cyber-criminals-are-still-exploiting-years-old-vulnerabilities-to-launch-attacks/
How Insurers Play a Big Role in Spurring Cyber Crime
Ransomware extracted $18 billion in payments last year, and it’s expected there will be an attack every 11 seconds by this year’s end, a problem that some security experts and academic researchers say is exacerbated by the system meant to protect against cybercrime: the insurance industry.
Organizations with cyber insurance are more than twice as likely to pay ransoms as those without, according to a global survey commissioned by UK-based cyber security and software firm Sophos of 1,823 companies, governments, health systems, and other organizations that had been hit by ransomware. This is one of the first times such data have been gathered that show the extent of the relationship between cyber insurance and ransomware payments. Critics say that relationship helps fuel a ransomware economy that the federal government estimates causes $445 billion in damages to the global economy every year. https://www.barrons.com/articles/ransomware-attack-cyber-insurance-industry-51633075202
Why Today’s Cyber Security Threats Are More Dangerous
Over the past two years, the rise of big-ticket ransomware attacks and revelations of harmful software supply chain infections have elevated cyber security to the top of governments’ and corporate agendas.
The opportunities for threat actors are growing faster than firms are able to mitigate them.
Unlike 20 years ago, when even extensive IT systems were comparatively standalone and straightforward, the interdependencies of systems now make dealing with and defending against threats a much more difficult proposition. The core problems being complexity and interdependence and neither are going away because that is what is providing organisations with the flexibility, functionality and all these other critical functions that they need. https://www.csoonline.com/article/3635097/why-today-s-cybersecurity-threats-are-more-dangerous.html
How Fraudsters Can Use The Forgotten Details Of Your Online Life To Reel You In
You may think you’ve been careful, but a determined scammer can probably find enough to manipulate you. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/oct/03/how-fraudsters-can-use-the-forgotten-details-of-your-online-life-to-reel-you-in
One In Three IT Security Managers Don’t Have A Formal Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan
Regardless of industry, information security incidents have become more of a targeted threat for businesses, increasing in amount and efficacy, according to a new report.
Of all the security incidents identified by over 900 surveyed employees at U.S. businesses, the three most threatening incidents were: increasingly severe ransomware attacks, more effective phishing schemes, and rampant reusing of passwords.
· Respondents reported phishing emails have nearly tripled in effectiveness over the past two years. Phishing emails are rapidly becoming more difficult to spot and thus far more destructive.
· Over the past year, ransomware attacks have increased by 25%. Ransom demands were significantly higher than average for businesses in specific industries, such as banking and financial services and construction, with higher payouts.
· The report found that password reuse is strongly associated with higher incidences of security breaches. Reported account takeovers were three times as common among people who reuse passwords as those who don’t.
Alarmingly, 23% of the IT security managers surveyed say their company doesn’t have protocols in place to report a suspected cyberattack and 33% don’t have a formal cybersecurity incident response plan. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/06/response-plan-cybersecurity/
Cyber Security Best Practices Lagging, Despite People Being Aware Of The Risks
The National Cybersecurity Alliance and CybSafe announced the release of a report which polled 2,000 individuals across the U.S. and UK. The report examined key cybersecurity trends, attitudes, and behaviours ahead of Cybersecurity Awareness Month this month.
The daily headlines of data breaches and ransomware attacks is a testament to the problem getting worse, yet most people aren’t aware of the simple steps they can take to be a part of the solution. It’s critical to have a deeper understanding of both the challenges we face and the prevailing attitudes and behaviors among the public.
Too often people are forgotten in cybersecurity conversations and this is borne out by cyber crime being more common among Millenials and Gen Z, and the public not embracing cyber security best practices.
The report also found that many users had limited access to cyber training, with 64% of respondents having no access to cybersecurity training, while 27% of those who do have access choose not to use it. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/07/cybersecurity-best-practices-lagging/
Threats
Ransomware
Ransomware: Cyber Criminals Are Still Exploiting These Old Vulnerabilities, So Patch Now | ZDNet
Revil Alone Accounts For A Significant Portion Of Q2 2021 Ransomware Attacks | Techspot
Behind the Crypto Broker Accused of Enabling Ransomware Hackers - Bloomberg
Atom Silo ransomware actors use Confluence exploit, DLL side-load for stealthy attack – Sophos News
US Ransomware Law Would Require Victims To Disclose Ransom Payments Within 48 Hours | ZDNet
Ransomware Group FIN12 Aggressively Going After Healthcare Targets (thehackernews.com)
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Researchers Discover UEFI Bootkit Targeting Windows Computers Since 2012 (thehackernews.com)
91.5% Of Malware Arrived Over Encrypted Connections During Q2 2021 - Help Net Security
IOT
BYOD
Vulnerabilities
Data Breaches/Leaks
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Insider Threats
Dark Web
Nation State Actors
Chinese Hackers Used a New Rootkit to Spy on Targeted Windows 10 Users (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft: 58% of Nation-State Cyber Attacks Come From Russia (darkreading.com)
Google Warns 14,000 Gmail Users Targeted By Russian Hackers (Bleepingcomputer.Com)
Solarwinds Hack Saw Russia Steal Us Anti-Spy Probe Details • The Register
A New APT Hacking Group Targeting Fuel, Energy, and Aviation Industries (thehackernews.com)
New Study Links Seemingly Disparate Malware Attacks to Chinese Hackers (thehackernews.com)
Iranian APT Targets Aerospace And Telecom Firms With Stealthy ShellClient Trojan | CSO Online
Cloud
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
The Cyber Security Issues Organizations Deal With Remain Complex And Numerous - Help Net Security
Company That Routes SMS For All Major US Carriers Was Hacked For Five Years | Ars Technica
New £5 Billion GCHQ Digital Warfare Centre Capable Of 'Cyber Attacks' Set For Lancashire - Lancslive
Superhero Passwords Pose Serious Risk to Personal, Enterprise Accounts | SecurityWeek.Com
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
Look out for our weekly ‘Cyber Tip Tuesday’ video blog and on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 October 2021
Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 October 2021:
-Cyber Second Only To Climate Change As Biggest Global Risk
-Businesses Unsure Which Tech Is Essential Against Ransomware
-Cyber Crime Awareness Heightened, Yet People Still Engage In Risky Online Behaviours
-Attacks Against Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints Have Exploded This Year
-Ransomware Attacks Up 1,070% Year Over Year
-Baby’s Death Alleged To Be Linked To Ransomware
-Ransomware Shame: More Than Half Of Business Owners Conceal Cyber-Breach
-More Than 90% Of Q2 Malware Was Hidden In Encrypted Traffic
-Cyber Attack Floors British Payroll Firm
-GriftHorse Malware Infected More Than 10 Million Android Phones From 70 Countries
-50% Of Servers Have Weak Security Long After Patches Are Released
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Cyber Second Only To Climate Change As Biggest Global Risk
Cyber security has been ranked as the second largest threat to our way of life in a major new survey of 23,000 people, comprised of both experts and members of the public. Cyber came second only to climate change on the world stage, but was ranked as the number one risk in the Americas and second in Asia, Africa, and Europe. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyber-second-biggest-global-risk/
Businesses Unsure Which Tech Is Essential Against Ransomware
As ransomware attacks grow in number, a new report finds that many organisations are under the impression they have things in hand but most are unsure what protections they should have in place. The report, based on a survey of 455 business leaders and cyber security professionals, claims businesses are on top of employee training, risk assessments and cyber insurance. Where firms fall flat however is their “clear gap” in thinking, in what many respondents see as “essential tech” in the fight against ransomware – nearly half of respondents (49%) thought paying up was their best option. https://www.techradar.com/news/businesses-unsure-which-tech-is-essential-against-ransomware
Cyber Crime Awareness Heightened, Yet People Still Engage In Risky Online Behaviours
A survey of over 2,000 adults suggests that 76% of respondents recognise the severity of data breaches. This heightened awareness may be driven by constant news of major consumer, enterprise and infrastructural breaches over the last year alone. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/01/risky-online-behaviors/
Attacks Against Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints Have Exploded This Year
A recent report warns of a huge increase in attacks on the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), an almost universal protocol used by nearly every business in operation today. The figures show attacks on RDP have jumped 103.9% since its T1 report in June and represents around 55 billion devices. The RDP protocol is leveraged by threat actors to deploy ransomware and has become a popular target due to both heavy use by IT service providers and common misconfigurations. https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/30/eset_threat_report/
Ransomware Attacks Up 1,070% Year Over Year
The prevalence of ransomware is growing rapidly, according to the 2021 Ransomware Survey Report. The report shockingly found many of the ransom demands are paid, and comes as a result in the rise of “ransomware as-a-service”. The report found 94% of businesses are concerned about ransomware, with 49% stating they would simply pay the ransom outright. Respondents in Europe were more concerned than those in North America, and around 67% felt they had already been the target of ransomware. https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/fortinet-report-ransomware-attacks-up-1070-year-over-year/
Baby’s Death Alleged To Be Linked To Ransomware
A US hospital paralyzed by ransomware in 2019 will be defending itself in court this November over the death of a newborn. The baby was born amid the hospital’s eighth day of fending off the attack. Court filings show the hospital – Springhill Medical Center in Alabama – believes wireless tracking systems and heartbeat monitoring equipment were compromised by the ransomware, leading to the death.
https://threatpost.com/babys-death-linked-ransomware/175232/
Ransomware Shame: More Than Half Of Business Owners Conceal Cyber-Breach
Around a third (32%) of enterprises experienced a six-figure breach last year, but well over half (61%) admitted to concealing it. The findings come as a global survey of 1,400 decision makers in cyber is released. https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ransomware-cyber-breach-concealed
More Than 90% Of Q2 Malware Was Hidden In Encrypted Traffic
Around 91.5% of malware detections in Q1 2021 were concealed in HTTPS-encrypted connections. A ubiquitous protocol – used to secure traffic any time you open a web page – only 20% of organisations have mechanisms in place to scan the arriving HTTPS traffic. The terrifying result found that most firms are missing over nine-tenths of malware hitting their networks every day. https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/more-than-90-of-q2-malware-was-hidden-in-encrypted-traffic
Cyber Attack Floors British Payroll Firm
A "sophisticated" cyber attack has forced a British payroll company to shut down its entire network, leaving some contractors without pay. Giant Group confirmed on September 24 that it had taken its network, fully integrated IT infrastructure, phone, and email systems offline last Wednesday after detecting suspicious activity. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberattack-floors-british-payroll/#.YVQiuXlCjOA.twitter
GriftHorse Malware Infected More Than 10 Million Android Phones From 70 Countries
A malicious trojan has been making its way through the Google Play Store since at least November of 2020. The app, purportedly harmless on the surface, hijacks payments on the victim device, resulting in a series of hidden charges and a nasty surprise at the end of the month. Researchers who discovered the malware estimate its impact to be over 10 million victims in 70 countries, and several hundreds of millions of Euros in losses. https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/122730/malware/grifthorse-malware-campaign.html
50% Of Servers Have Weak Security Long After Patches Are Released
Over 50% of servers scanned still have weak security, a new study suggests, even after patches have been issued. Researchers found that servers were still vulnerable weeks and even months after critical updates, leaving many businesses wide open to attack. https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/50-of-servers-have-weak-security-long-after-patches-are-released
Threats
Ransomware
United Health Centres Reportedly Compromised By Ransomware Attack
JVCKenwood Hit By Conti Ransomware Claiming Theft Of 1.5TB Data
Ransomware Gangs Are Complaining That Other Crooks Are Stealing Their Ransoms
United Health Centers Reportedly Compromised By Ransomware Attack
REvil Customers Complain Ransomware Gang Uses Backdoors To Filch Ransoms
The Biggest Problem With Ransomware Is Not Encryption, But Credentials
Phishing
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Thousands Of Online Gaming Accounts Hit In Major Cyber Attack
Microsoft Warns of FoggyWeb Malware Targeting Active Directory FS Servers
New Malware Steals Steam, Epic Games Store, And EA Origin Accounts
Vulnerabilities
Threat Actors Use Recently Discovered CVE-2021-26084 Atlassian Confluence
New Azure AD Bug Lets Hackers Brute-Force Passwords Without Getting Caught
Thousands of University Wi-Fi Networks Expose Log-In Credentials
Exploit Released For VMware Vulnerability After CISA Warning
Outsourced Software Poses Greater Risks to Enterprise Application Security
Working Exploit Is Out for VMware vCenter CVE-2021-22005 Flaw
Apple Responds To Security Researcher Who Found Multiple iOS 15 Zero-Day Flaws
Windows 10 Emergency Update Resolves KB5005565 App Freezes, Crashes
Cyber Security Vulnerability Could Affect Millions Of Hikvision Cameras
Data Breaches/Leaks
Anonymous: We've Leaked Disk Images Stolen From Far-Right-Friendly Web Host Epik
3.8 Billion Users’ Combined Clubhouse, Facebook Data Up for Sale
Emails, Chat Logs, More Leaked Online From Far-Right Militia Linked To US Capitol Riot
Cryptocurrency/Cryptojacking
Ethereum Dev Admits Helping North Korea Mine Crypto-Bucks, Faces 20 Years Jail
China Says All Crypto Currency-Related Transactions Are Illegal And Must Be Banned
Insider Threats
Dark Web
DoS/DDoS
Nation State Actors
APT Focus: ‘Noisy’ Russian Hacking Crews Are Among The World’s Most Sophisticated
APT29 Targets Active Directory Federation Services With Stealthy Backdoor
Nation-State Attacks Fears Grow, Execs Don’t Trust Governments To Protect Them From Cyber Threats
APT focus: ‘Noisy’ Russian hacking crews are among the world’s most sophisticated
Cloud
Huawei Cloud Services: U.S. Lawmakers Express Security Concerns
Why CEOs Should Absolutely Concern Themselves With Cloud Security
Cloud Security: Report Finds 68% of Malware Delivered From Cloud Apps
Privacy
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Revealed: How To Steal Money From Victims' Contactless Apple Pay Wallets
Threat Actors Weaponize Telegram Bots to Compromise PayPal Accounts
Report Highlights Cyber Security Dangers Of Elastic Stack Implementation Mistakes
Russian Authorities Arrest Cyber Security Giant Group-IB’s CEO On Treason Charges
Corporate Attack Surface Exploding As A Result Of Remote Work
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