Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 June 2023

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

• Hacker Gang Clop Deploys Extortion Tactics Against Global Companies

The Russian-speaking gang of hackers that compromised UK groups such as British Airways and the BBC has claimed it has siphoned off sensitive data from more institutions including US-based investment firms, European manufacturers and US universities. Eight other companies this week made it onto Clop’s list on the dark web. That adds to the news last week that UK groups, including Walgreens-owned Boots, informed employees that their data had been compromised. The issue also targeted customers of Zellis, a UK-based payroll provider that about half of the companies on the FTSE 100 use.

The hacking group is pushing for contact with the companies on the list, according to a post on Clop’s dark web site, as the gang demands a ransom that cyber security experts and negotiators said could be as much as several million dollars.

https://www.ft.com/content/c1db9c5c-cdf1-48bc-8e6b-2c2444b66dc9

• Social Engineering Drives BEC Losses to $50B Globally

Business email compromise (BEC) continues to evolve on the back of sophisticated targeting and social engineering, costing businesses worldwide more than $50 billion in the last 10 years - a figure that reflected a growth in business losses to BEC of 17% year-over-year in 2022, according to the FBI.

Security professionals attribute BEC's continued dominance in the cyber threat landscape to several reasons. A key one is that attackers have become increasingly savvy in how to socially-engineer messages so that they appear authentic to users, which is the key to being successful at this scam. And with the increase in availability of artificial intelligence, the continued success of BEC means these attacks are here to stay. Organisations will be forced to respond with even stronger security measures, security experts say.

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/social-engineering-drives-bec-losses-to-50b-globally

• Creating A Cyber Conscious Culture—It Must Be Driven from the Top

Businesses are facing more frequent and sophisticated cyber threats and they must continuously learn new ways to protect their revenues, reputation and maintain regulatory compliance. With hybrid and remote working blurring traditional security perimeters and expanding the attack surface, the high volumes of sensitive information held by organisations are at increased risk of cyber attacks.

The increase had led to cyber elevating to the board level; after all the board is responsible for cyber security. It doesn’t stop there however, as everyone in an organisation has responsibility for upholding cyber security. The board must aim to create a cyber-conscious culture, where users are aware of their role in cyber security. One important way such a culture can be achieved is through providing regular education and training to all users.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/06/12/creating-a-cyber-conscious-culture-it-must-be-driven-from-the-top/sh=6a0bb36426cc

• Artificial Intelligence is Coming to Windows: Are Your Security Policy Settings Ready?

What’s in your Windows security policy? Do you review your settings on an annual basis or more often? Do you provide education and training regarding the topics in the policy? Does it get revised when the impact of an incident showcases that an internal policy violation led to the root cause of the issue? And, importantly, do you have a security policy that includes your firm’s overall policies around the increasing race towards artificial intelligence, which is seemingly in nearly every application released these days?

From word processing documents to the upcoming enhancements to Windows 11, which will include AI prompting in the Explorer platform, organisations should review how they want their employees to treat customer data or other confidential information when using AI platforms. Many will want to build limits and guidelines into their security plans that specify what is allowed to be entered into platforms and websites that may store or share the information online. However, confidential information should not be included in any application that doesn’t have clearly defined protections around the handling of such data. The bottom line is that AI is coming to your network and your desktop sooner than you think. Build your policies now and review your processes to determine if you are ready for it today.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3698517/artificial-intelligence-is-coming-to-windows-are-your-security-policy-settings-ready.html

• Cyber Crooks Targeting Employees, Organisations Fight Back with Training Programs

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting an organisation’s employees, figuring to trick an untrained staffer to click on a malicious link that starts a malware attack, Fortinet said in a newly released study of security awareness and training.

More than 80% of organisations faced malware, phishing and password attacks last year, which were mainly targeted at users. This underscores that employees can be an organisation’s weakest point or one of its most powerful defences.

Fortinet’s research revealed that more than 90% of the survey’s respondents believe that increased employee cyber security awareness would help decrease the occurrence of cyber attacks. As organisations face increasing cyber risks, employees serving as an organisation’s first line of defence in protecting their organisation from cyber crime becomes of paramount importance.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cyber-crooks-targeting-employees-organizations-fight-back-with-training-programs/

• Massive Phishing Campaign Uses 6,000 Sites to Impersonate 100 Brands

A widespread brand impersonation campaign targeting over a hundred popular apparel, footwear, and clothing brands has been underway since June 2022, tricking people into entering their account credentials and financial information on fake websites. The brands impersonated by the phony sites include Nike, Puma, Asics, Vans, Adidas, Columbia, Superdry, Converse, Casio, Timberland, Salomon, Crocs, Sketchers, The North Face and others.

A recent report found the campaign relies on at least 3,000 domains and roughly 6,000 sites, including inactive ones. The campaign had a significant activity spike between January and February 2023, adding 300 new fake sites monthly. The domain names follow a pattern of using the brand name together with a city or country, followed by a generic TLD such as ".com." Additionally, any details entered on the checkout pages, most notably the credit card details, may be stored by the website operators and resold to cyber criminals.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/massive-phishing-campaign-uses-6-000-sites-to-impersonate-100-brands/

• Over One in Ten Brits are Willing to Engage in ‘Illegal or Illicit’ Online Behaviour

A recent study found that 11% of Brits were tempted to engage in ‘illegal or illicit online behaviour’ in order to help manage the fallout from the cost of living crisis. This statistic becomes even more concerning when focused on younger people, with almost a quarter of 25–35 year old respondents (23%) willing to consider illegal or illicit online activity. Of those willing to engage in this kind of behaviour, 56% suggested it was because they are desperate and struggling to get by, and need to find alternative means of supporting their families.

Nearly half (47%) of UK business leaders believe their organisation has been at a greater risk of attack since the start of the cost-of-living crisis. Against this backdrop, many SME business leaders are understandably worried about the impact on employees. Of those who think their organisation is more exposed to attack, 38% believe it’s due to malicious insiders and 35% to overworked and distracted staff making mistakes. Organisations not doing so already, should look to incorporate insider threat into their security plans. Insider threat should focus on areas such as regular education and monitoring and detection.

The report found that 44% of respondents have also noticed an uptick in online scams hitting their inboxes since the cost of living crisis began in late 2021/early 2022. Another worrying finding is that this uptick is proving devastatingly effective for scammers: over one in ten (13%) of UK respondents have already been scammed since the cost of living crisis began. This rises to a quarter (26%) of respondents in the 18-25 age range, reflecting a hyper-online lifestyle and culture that scammers can work to exploit effectively.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2023/06/15/it-security-guru-study-shows-over-one-in-ten-brits-are-willing-to-engage-in-illegal-or-illicit-online-behaviour-as-the-cost-of-living-crisis-worsens 

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/costofliving-crisis-drives-insider/

• Microsoft Office 365 Phishing Reveals Signs of Much Larger BEC Campaign

Recently, Microsoft discovered multi-stage adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks against banking and financial services organisations. The attackers are successfully phishing employees’ accounts with fake Office 365 domains. This allows them to bypass authentication, exfiltrate data and send further phishing emails against other employees and several targeted external organisations. In some cases, threat actors have registered their own device to the employee’s account, to evade MFA defences and achieve persistent access.

https://securityaffairs.com/147327/hacking/aitm-bec-attacks.html

https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/adversary-in-middle-attack-campaign.html

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3699122/microsoft-office-365-aitm-phishing-reveals-signs-of-much-larger-bec-campaign.html

• Europol Warns of Metaverse and AI Terror Threat

New and emerging technologies like conversational AI, deepfakes and the metaverse could be utilised by terrorists and extremists to radicalise and recruit converts to their cause, Europol has warned. The report stated that the online environment lowers the bar for entering the world of terrorism and extremism, broadens the range of people that can become exposed to radicalisation and increases the unpredictability of terrorism and extremism.

Europol also pointed to the potential use of deepfakes, augmented reality and conversational AI to enhance the efficiency of terrorist propaganda. Both these technologies and internet of things (IoT) tools can also be deployed in more practical tasks such as the remote operation of vehicles and weapons used in attacks or setting up virtual training camps. Digital currencies are also playing a role in helping to finance such groups while maintaining the anonymity of those contributing the funding, Europol said.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/europol-warns-metaverse-and-ai/

• What is AI, and is it Dangerous?

Recently, we saw the release of the first piece of EU regulation on AI. This comes after a significant rise in the usage of tools such as ChatGPT. Such tools allow for even those with limited technical ability to perform sophisticated actions. In fact, usage has risen 44% over the last three months alone, according to a report.

Rather worryingly, there is a lack of governance on the usage of AI, and this extends to how AI is used within your own organisation. Whilst the usage can greatly improve actions performed within an organisation, the report found that 6% of employees using AI had pasted sensitive company data into an AI tool. Would your organisation know if this happened, and how damaging could it be to your organisation if this data was to be leaked? Continuous monitoring, risk analysis and real-time governance can help aid an organisation in having an overview of the usage of AI.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65855333

https://thehackernews.com/2023/06/new-research-6-of-employees-paste.html

• Cyber Liability Insurance Vs. Data Breach Insurance: What's the Difference?

With an ever-increasing number of cyber security threats and attacks, companies are becoming motivated to protect their businesses and customer data both technically and financially. Finding the right insurance has become a key part of the security equation.

Companies looking to protect themselves have most likely heard the terms “cyber liability insurance” and “data breach insurance.” Put simply, cyber liability insurance refers to coverage for third-party claims asserted against a company stemming from a network security event or data breach. Data breach insurance, on the other hand, refers to coverage for first-party losses incurred by the insured organisation that has suffered a loss of data.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3698297/cyber-liability-insurance-vs-data-breach-insurance-whats-the-difference.html

• Exploring the Dark Web: Hitmen for Hire and the Realities of Online Activities

The dark web makes up a significant portion of the internet. Access can be gained through special browser, TOR, also known as the onion Router. The service bounces around IP addresses, constantly changing to protect the anonymity of the user.

This dark web contains an array of activities and sites, which include hitmen for hire, drugs for sale, and stolen credit card databases amongst others. Sometimes these aren’t real however, and are actually a trap to steal money from users on the basis that these users are unlikely to report it to law enforcement when the victim was trying to break the law in the first place. What we do know however, is that the dark web contains a plethora of information, and this could include data from your organisation.

https://news.clearancejobs.com/2023/06/07/exploring-the-dark-web-hitman-for-hire-and-the-realities-of-online-activities/

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Creating A Cyber-Conscious Culture—It Must Be Driven From The Top (forbes.com)

• Most businesses vulnerable to attacks on the cyber battlefield - The Globe and Mail

• 10 Important Security Tasks You Shouldn't Skip (darkreading.com)

• Just 14% of CISOs possess desired traits for cyber security-expert board positions: Report  | VentureBeat

• Enhancing security team capabilities in tough economic times - Help Net Security

• Ignoring digital transformation is more dangerous than a recession - Help Net Security

• Ransomware Insurance: Security Strategies to Obtain Coverage (trendmicro.com)

• How the modern CIO grapples with legacy IT | CIO

• Cyber debt levels reach tipping point - Help Net Security

• Over Half of Security Leaders Lack Confidence in Protecting App Secrets, Study Reveals (thehackernews.com)

• Lax security measures, sophisticated hackers reason for rise in cyber breaches (ewn.co.za)

• Cyber Crooks Targeting Employees, Organisations Fight Back with Training Programs - MSSP Alert

• Cyber liability insurance vs. data breach insurance: What's the difference? | CSO Online

• Red teaming can be the ground truth for CISOs and execs - Help Net Security

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• CL0P Ransomware Gang Hits Multiple Governments, Businesses in Wide-Scale Attack - MSSP Alert

• Ransomware gang lists first victims of MOVEit mass-hacks, including US banks and universities | TechCrunch

• Cyber extortion hits all-time high - Help Net Security

• How Continuous Monitoring and Threat Intel Can Help Prevent Ransomware (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Report First Instance of Automated SaaS Ransomware Extortion (darkreading.com)

• Why Critical Infrastructure Remains a Ransomware Target (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware Insurance: Security Strategies to Obtain Coverage (trendmicro.com)

• CISA: LockBit ransomware extorted $91 million in 1,700 US attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft links data wiping attacks to new Russian GRU hacking group (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Warns of New Russian State-Sponsored Hacker Group with Destructive Intent (thehackernews.com)

• To Fight Cyber Extortion and Ransomware, Shift Left (trendmicro.com)

• Ransomware Hackers and Scammers Utilizing Cloud Mining to Launder Cryptocurrency (thehackernews.com)

• Russian ransomware hacker extorted tens of millions, says DOJ (cnbc.com)

• Ransomware review: June 2023 (malwarebytes.com)

Ransomware Victims

• Ofcom, Minnesota Dept of Ed among latest MOVEit victims • The Register

• Confidential data downloaded from UK regulator Ofcom in cyber attack (therecord.media)

• Oil and gas giant Shell confirms it was impacted by Clop ransomware attacks (therecord.media)TfL warns 13,000 staff that it was raided by Russian hackers (telegraph.co.uk)

• Russian hackers steal data on thousands of Ulez drivers (telegraph.co.uk)

• JBS’s cyber security was poor prior to 2021 ransomware attack, homeland security records show | Successful Farming (agriculture.com)

• An Illinois hospital links closure to ransomware attack (nbcnews.com)

• US energy department, other agencies hit in global hacking spree | Reuters

• iTWire - Financial services firm FIIG hit by cyber attack, ALPHV claims credit

• The University of Manchester hit by cyber security breach after detecting 'unauthorised activity' - Manchester Evening News

• Xplain data breach also impacted national Swiss railway FSS - Security Affairs

• Rhysida ransomware leaks documents stolen from Chilean Army (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Microsoft Office 365 AitM phishing reveals signs of much larger BEC campaign | CSO Online

• Adversary-in-the-Middle Attack Campaign Hits Dozens of Global Organisations (thehackernews.com)

• Younger, more extroverted, and more agreeable individuals are more vulnerable to email phishing scams (psypost.org)

• Log4J exploits may rise further as Microsoft continues war on phishing | ITPro

• Popular Apparel, Clothing Brands Being Used in Massive Phishing Scam (darkreading.com)

• Massive phishing campaign uses 6,000 sites to impersonate 100 brands (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Microsoft Uncovers Banking AitM Phishing and BEC Attacks Targeting Financial Giants (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft warns of multi-stage AiTM phishing and BEC attacks - Security Affairs

• Analysis: Social Engineering Drives BEC Losses to $50B Globally (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Analysis: Social Engineering Drives BEC Losses to $50B Globally (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• New Research: 6% of Employees Paste Sensitive Data into GenAI tools as ChatGPT (thehackernews.com)

• Artificial intelligence is coming to Windows: Are your security policy settings ready? | CSO Online

• Europol Warns of Metaverse and AI Terror Threat - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How Europe is Leading the World in the Push to Regulate AI - SecurityWeek

• AI is moving too fast to regulate, security minister warns (telegraph.co.uk)

• AI to render humans 'second most intelligent creations' | ITWeb

• LLM meets Malware: Starting the Era of Autonomous Threat - Security Affairs

• What is AI, is it dangerous and what jobs are at risk? - BBC News

• The perils of open-source AI | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Calculations Suggest It'll Be Impossible to Control a Super-Intelligent AI : ScienceAlert

2FA/MFA

• Multi-Factor Authentication Usage Nearly Doubles Since 2020, New Okta Report Finds - MSSP Alert

• Small organisations outpace large enterprises in MFA adoption - Help Net Security

Malware

• New SPECTRALVIPER Backdoor Targeting Vietnamese Public Companies (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber criminals Using Powerful BatCloak Engine to Make Malware Fully Undetectable (thehackernews.com)

• New Loader Delivering Spyware via Image Steals Cryptocurrency Info (darkreading.com)

• Pirated Windows 10 ISOs install clipper malware via EFI partitions (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese hackers use DNS-over-HTTPS for Linux malware communication (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Fake zero-day PoC exploits on GitHub push Windows, Linux malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Gozi banking malware “IT chief” finally jailed after more than 10 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• LLM meets Malware: Starting the Era of Autonomous Threat - Security Affairs

• New ‘Shampoo’ Chromeloader malware pushed via fake warez sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian hackers use PowerShell USB malware to drop backdoors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Fake Security Researcher Accounts Pushing Malware Disguised as Zero-Day Exploits - SecurityWeek

• Vidar Malware Using New Tactics to Evade Detection and Anonymize Activities (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• How Popular Messaging Tools Instill a False Sense of Security (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Microsoft’s Azure portal down following new claims of DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DOS Attacks Dominate, but System Intrusions Cause Most Pain (darkreading.com)

• Swiss government warns of ongoing DDoS attacks, data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)

• IoT Botnet DDoS Attacks Threaten Global Telecom Networks, Nokia (hackread.com)

• 10 Different Types of DDoS Attacks and How to Prevent Them (geekflare.com)

• Exclusive: Inside FXStreet's DDoS Attack (financemagnates.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Why attackers love to target IoT devices | VentureBeat

• IoT Botnet DDoS Attacks Threaten Global Telecom Networks, Nokia (hackread.com)

• How secure is your vehicle with digital key technology? - Help Net Security

• Flipper Zero “Smoking” A Smart Meter Is A Bad Look For Hardware Hackers | Hackaday

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Another huge US medical data breach confirmed after Fortra mass-hack | TechCrunch

• HSE hit by second 'international scale criminal' cyber attack as they monitor dark web for stolen data - Irish Mirror Online

• New Research: 6% of Employees Paste Sensitive Data into GenAI tools as ChatGPT (thehackernews.com)

• Top 10 cyber security findings from Verizon's 2023 data breach report | VentureBeat

• Xplain data breach also impacted national Swiss railway FSS - Security Affairs

• Examining the long-term effects of data privacy violations - Help Net Security

• A Massive Vaccine Database Leak Exposes IDs of Millions of Indians | WIRED

• Swiss Fear Government Data Stolen in Cyber attack - SecurityWeek

• Ofcom, Minnesota Dept of Ed among latest MOVEit victims • The Register

• Have I Been Pwned warns of new Zacks data breach impacting 8 million (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• The Complexities of Hacking: Exploring the thin line between cyber crime and ethical hacking | Euronews

• When It Comes to Cyber crime, the Medium Makes Us Vulnerable - Centre for International Governance Innovation (cigionline.org)

• Cyber criminals return to business as usual in a post-pandemic world - Help Net Security

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Hackers steal $3 million by impersonating crypto news journalists (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Beware: 1,000+ Fake Cryptocurrency Sites Trap Users in Bogus Rewards Scheme (thehackernews.com)

• New Loader Delivering Spyware via Image Steals Cryptocurrency Info (darkreading.com)

• Cryptocurrency Attacks Quadrupled as Cyber criminals Cash In (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware Hackers and Scammers Utilizing Cloud Mining to Launder Cryptocurrency (thehackernews.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Cyber Crooks Targeting Employees, Organisations Fight Back with Training Programs - MSSP Alert

• Top 10 Risky Behaviours of Employees - IT Security Guru

• Insider Threat Vs Outsider Threat: Which Is Worse? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Study shows over one in ten Brits are willing to engage in ‘illegal or illicit’ online behaviour as the Cost of Living crisis worsens - IT Security Guru

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Yet more direct calling fiends fined by UK's data watchdog • The Register

• Cost-of-Living Crisis Drives Insider Threat Concerns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Impersonation Attacks

• New Study Takes a Deep Dive Into Lookalike Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Insurance

• After Important Cyber Insurance Victory for Policyholders, Focus Turns to Insurers' Proposed Changes to War Exclusions | HUB | K&L Gates (klgates.com)

• Ransomware Insurance: Security Strategies to Obtain Coverage (trendmicro.com)

• The insurance industry cyber crime report: recent attacks on insurance businesses | Insurance Business America (insurancebusinessmag.com)

• Cyber liability insurance vs. data breach insurance: What's the difference? | CSO Online

Dark Web

• Exploring the Dark Web: Hitman for Hire and the Realities of Online Activities - ClearanceJobs

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• New Supply Chain Attack Exploits Abandoned S3 Buckets to Distribute Malicious Binaries (thehackernews.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• SaaS Ransomware Attack Hit Sharepoint Online Without Using a Compromised Endpoint - SecurityWeek

• New MOVEit Transfer critical flaws found after security audit, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Seven steps for using zero trust to protect your multicloud • The Register

• New cloud security guidance: it's all about the config - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft keeps quiet on talk of possible Azure DDoS attack • The Register

• New Supply Chain Attack Exploits Abandoned S3 Buckets to Distribute Malicious Binaries (thehackernews.com)

Encryption

• Hackers can steal cryptographic keys by video-recording power LEDs 60 feet away | Ars Technica

Open Source

• Chinese hackers use DNS-over-HTTPS for Linux malware communication (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Fake zero-day PoC exploits on GitHub push Windows, Linux malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Thoughts on scheduled password changes (don’t call them rotations!) – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Microsoft misused our dark web data, says security vendor • The Register

• RDP honeypot targeted 3.5 million times in brute-force attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Want to be hacked? Just make these password mistakes | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Top 10 Risky Behaviours of Employees - IT Security Guru

• Cyber Crooks Targeting Employees, Organisations Fight Back with Training Programs - MSSP Alert

Digital Transformation

• Ignoring digital transformation is more dangerous than a recession - Help Net Security

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• AI is moving too fast to regulate, security minister warns (telegraph.co.uk)

• Ofcom, Minnesota Dept of Ed among latest MOVEit victims • The Register

• Confidential data downloaded from UK regulator Ofcom in cyber attack (therecord.media)

• Yet more direct calling fiends fined by UK's data watchdog • The Register

• How Europe is Leading the World in the Push to Regulate AI - SecurityWeek

• Feds extend deadline for software security attestations • The Register

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• 3 ways we've made the CIS Controls more automation-friendly - Help Net Security

• Use PCI DSS Checklist with Automation (trendmicro.com)

Data Protection

• UK and US Agree Deal to Facilitate Personal Data Flows - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• #InfosecurityEurope: Cyber Leaders’ Plea to Tackle the Industry’s Mental Health Crisis - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Gozi banking malware “IT chief” finally jailed after more than 10 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• LockBit Affiliate Arrested, as Extortion Totals Reach $91M Since 2020 (darkreading.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Examining the long-term effects of data privacy violations - Help Net Security

• FBI: FISA Section 702 'absolutely critical' • The Register

• Strava heatmap feature can be abused to find home addresses (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US Intelligence Has Admitted Amassed Data on 'Nearly Everyone' (gizmodo.com)

• Feds Say Facial Recognition IDed Bosnian War Criminal Miljkovic (gizmodo.com)

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Spyware, Cyber Espionage & Cyber Warfare, including Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• Putin’s little cyber helpers turn their sights on the UK (telegraph.co.uk)

• Russia-Ukraine war sending shockwaves into cyber-ecosystem • The Register

• Ukrainian hackers take down service provider for Russian banks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Pro-Ukraine Cyber Anarchy Squad claims the hack of the Russian telecom provider Infotel JSC - Security Affairs

• 'Stealth Soldier' Attacks Target Libyan Government Entities With Surveillance Malware (darkreading.com)

• RomCom Threat Actor Targets Ukrainian Politicians, US Healthcare (darkreading.com)

• Pro-Russian hackers step up attacks against Swiss targets, authorities say | Reuters

• Russian hackers steal data on thousands of Ulez drivers (telegraph.co.uk)

• Microsoft links data wiping attacks to new Russian GRU hacking group (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian hackers use PowerShell USB malware to drop backdoors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Pro-Russian Hackers Target Website of Europe’s Largest Port in Rotterdam - Bloomberg

• Russia-linked APT Gamaredon update TTPs in recent attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

• Microsoft Warns of New Russian State-Sponsored Hacker Group with Destructive Intent (thehackernews.com)

• New Report Reveals Shuckworm's Long-Running Intrusions on Ukrainian Organisations (thehackernews.com)

• Russia-backed hackers unleash new USB-based malware on Ukraine’s military | Ars Technica

• Microsoft Names Russian Threat Actor "Cadet Blizzard" - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Nation State Actors

• Chinese hackers use DNS-over-HTTPS for Linux malware communication (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Iran's 'quantum processor' turned out to be a $600 dev board | PC Gamer

• China-based threat actors target UIDAI, AIIMS, ICMR: Govt advisory (moneycontrol.com)

• Subsea cables: how the US is pushing China out of the internet’s plumbing

• China's cyber now aimed at infrastructure, warns CISA boss

• Cyber security: Americans should prepare for cyber sabotage from Chinese hackers, US official warns - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

• Ukraine information sharing a model for countering China, top cyber official says | CyberScoop

• Chinese Threat Actor Abused ESXi Zero-Day to Pilfer Files From Guest VMs (darkreading.com)

• North Korea created evil twin of South Korea's Naver.com • The Register

• Behind the Scenes Unveiling the Hidden Workings of Earth Preta (trendmicro.com)

• Gloucester: Russian hackers behind cyber-attack on council - BBC News

• Critical Barracuda ESG Zero-Day Linked to Novel Chinese APT (darkreading.com)

• Barracuda ESG Zero-Day Vulnerability (CVE-2023-2868) Exploited Globally by Aggressive and Skilled Actor, Suspected Links to China | Mandiant

• Russian ransomware hacker extorted tens of millions, says DOJ (cnbc.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Why Detecting Behaviors Beats Zero-Days | Blumira

Vulnerabilities

• Third Flaw Uncovered in MOVEit Transfer App Amidst Cl0p Ransomware Mass Attack (thehackernews.com)

• Bitwarden update corrects password manager access vulnerability on Windows - gHacks Tech News

• Fortinet: Patched Critical Flaw May Have Been Exploited (darkreading.com)

• Bitwarden update corrects password manager access vulnerability on Windows - gHacks Tech News

• CISA orders federal agencies to secure Internet-exposed network devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft June 2023 Patch Tuesday fixes 78 flaws, 38 RCE bugs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Log4J exploits may rise further as Microsoft continues war on phishing | ITPro

• Severe Vulnerabilities Reported in Microsoft Azure Bastion and Container Registry (thehackernews.com)

• New Critical Google Chrome Payments Security Issue Confirmed (forbes.com)

• Critical Security Vulnerability Discovered in WooCommerce Stripe Gateway Plugin (thehackernews.com)

• VMware fixes critical flaws in Aria Operations for Networks (CVE-2023-20887) - Help Net Security

• Barracuda ESG Zero-Day Vulnerability (CVE-2023-2868) Exploited Globally by Aggressive and Skilled Actor, Suspected Links to China | Mandiant

• US energy department, other agencies hit in global hacking spree | Reuters

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Tools and Controls

• The Complexities of Hacking: Exploring the thin line between cyber crime and ethical hacking | Euronews

• Use of Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Nearly Doubles Since 2020, Okta Secure Sign-in Trends Reports Finds (darkreading.com)

• Ignoring digital transformation is more dangerous than a recession - Help Net Security

• Cyber Crooks Targeting Employees, Organisations Fight Back with Training Programs - MSSP Alert

• Cyber liability insurance vs. data breach insurance: What's the difference? | CSO Online

• Red teaming can be the ground truth for CISOs and execs - Help Net Security

• How Continuous Monitoring and Threat Intel Can Help Prevent Ransomware (darkreading.com)

• Secure Sign-in Trends Report | Okta

• What is Dark Web Monitoring and How Does It Work? | Trend Micro News

• New cloud security guidance: it's all about the config - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Why Now? The Rise of Attack Surface Management (thehackernews.com)

• Why Detecting Behaviours Beats Zero-Days | Blumira

• What Is Red Teaming and How Does It Work? (howtogeek.com)

• Exploring the All-Time Best Book for Ethical Hacking – Codelivly

• Beyond MFA: 3 steps to improve security and reduce customer authentication friction - Help Net Security

• Enhancing security team capabilities in tough economic times - Help Net Security

• Small organisations outpace large enterprises in MFA adoption - Help Net Security

• Cyber debt levels reach tipping point - Help Net Security

• MSSQL makes up 93% of all activity on honeypots tracking 10 databases | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Attack Surface Management Strategies (trendmicro.com)

• 5 best practices to ensure the security of third-party APIs | CSO Online

• Multi-Factor Authentication Usage Nearly Doubles Since 2020, New Okta Report Finds - MSSP Alert

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Secure Sign-in Trends Report | Okta

• Top 10 cyber security findings from Verizon's 2023 data breach report | VentureBeat

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Other News

• #InfosecurityEurope: What TechUK's New Plan Means for Cyber security - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• A Tech Plan to "Build a Better Britain" - IT Security Guru

• German National Security Strategy leaves out cyber counter-attacks – EURACTIV.com

• Moving the Cyber Industry Forward Requires a Novel Approach (darkreading.com)

• (ISC)² and CIISec Release Guide to Inclusive Language in Cyber security - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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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 22 April 2022

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• 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.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/why-ransomware-attacks-prefer-small-business-targets-rather-than-rich-enterprises/

• 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."

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3657875/ransomware-plagues-finance-sector-as-cyberattacks-get-more-complex.html

• 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.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/76-of-organizations-worldwide-expect-to-suffer-a-cyberattack-this-year

• 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.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/west-warns-of-russian-cyber-attacks-as-concerns-rise-over-putins-nuclear-rhetoric

• 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.

https://thehill.com/opinion/cybersecurity/3273636-cyber-criminals-are-drinking-the-tears-of-ukrainians/?rl=1

• 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.

https://www.securityweek.com/economic-warfare-attacks-critical-infrastructure-part-geopolitical-conflict

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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

• Millions of Android Users at Risk Of Attack After Widespread Security Issue Uncovered | TechRadar

BYOD

• 60% of Companies using BYOD Face Serious Security Risks - Help Net Security

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)

• Yet Another Phishing Attack? Terra Users Lose $4.3 Million, According To Security Firm (watcher.guru)

• 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

• Cyber Insurance and the Changing Global Risk Environment - Security Affairs

Dark Web

• Experts Spotted Industrial Spy, A New Stolen Data Marketplace - Security Affairs

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Strength in Unity: Why It's Especially Important to Strengthen Your Supply Chain Now (darkreading.com)

• More Than Half of Initial Infections in Cyber Attacks Come Via Exploits, Supply Chain Compromises (darkreading.com)

Cloud

• IT Leaders Require Deeper Security Insights to Confidently Manage Multi-Cloud Workloads - Help Net Security

• Rethinking Cyber-Defence Strategies in the Public-Cloud Age | Threatpost

• Cyber Criminals Are Shifting Their Gaze To Kubernetes - Information Security Buzz

Passwords & Credential Stuffing

• What Is Peppering in Password Security and How Does It Work? (makeuseof.com)

Digital Transformation

• The Price of An Accelerated Digital Transformation - Help Net Security

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)

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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

• Chinese Hackers Behind Most Zero-Day Exploits During 2021 (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

• State Actors Drive Record Number of Zero-Day Exploits in 2021 - Infosecurity Magazine

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Vulnerability Management

• Vulnerabilities That Kept Security Leaders Busy in Q1 2022 - Help Net Security

• How Fast Do Cyber Criminals Capitalize on New Security Weaknesses? - Help Net Security

• Zero-Day Exploit Use Exploded in 2021 (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• VMware, Chrome Flaws Added to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue - Security Affairs

• Hackers Exploiting Recently Reported Windows Print Spooler Vulnerability in the Wild (thehackernews.com)

• 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

• When “Secure” Isn’t Secure at All: High‑Impact UEFI Vulnerabilities Discovered in Lenovo Consumer Laptops | WeLiveSecurity

• 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)

• Zero-Day Exploits Found And Disclosed Hit A Record High In 2021, Google Project Zero says - CyberScoop

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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

• Ransomware in Fintech: Cyber Criminals Adopt New Means as Theft Gives Way To Sabotage - Help Net Security

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

• Cyber-Attackers Hit Sunwing Airlines - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Modern Bank Heist 5.0 (vmware.com)

• 3 Key Takeaways from the 2022 ConnectWise MSP Threat Report - MSSP Alert

• Discover The Anatomy of An External Cyber Attack Surface With New RiskIQ Report - Microsoft Security Blog

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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

• T-Mobile Admits Lapsus$ Hackers Gained Access to its Internal Tools and Source Code (thehackernews.com)

• 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

• What Can Someone Do with Your IP Address? (makeuseof.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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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.