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Black Arrow Admin 03/12/2023 Black Arrow Admin 03/12/2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 01 December 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 01 December 2023:

-Law Firms Face Surge in Targeted Attacks as Hundreds Impacted by Single Attack

-Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels

-Board Support Remains Critical as Majority of CISOs Experience Repeat Cyber Attacks

-Ransomware Attacks Surge 81% in October as New Threat Actors Emerge

-Hacked Microsoft Word Documents Being Used to Trick Windows Users

-Mitigating Deepfake Threats in The Corporate World

-Black Basta Ransomware Made Over $100 Million From Extortion Alone

-Long Recovery Times After Cyber Attacks Could Annihilate Your Organisation

-Booking.com Customers Scammed in Novel Social Engineering Campaign

-Stop Panic Buying Your Security Products and Start Prioritising

-A Fifth of UK SMBs Unable to Spot Scams

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber threat intelligence 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 Strategic Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Law Firms Face Surge in Targeted Attacks as Hundreds Impacted by Single Attack

An estimated 80 to 200 law firms across the UK were impacted by a cyber attack on a third party firm in their supply chain. The attack was on managed service supplier CTS, who provide services to hundreds of law firms across the UK, especially those with conveyancing departments, and many property sales were impacted nationwide as a result of the attack.

This is against a sharp increase in the number of law firms being singled out by cyber threat actors; only recently, magic circle firm Allen & Overy confirmed themselves as a victim of ransomware.

Sources: [SC Media] [Lawyer Monthly] [Scottish Legal News] [Law Gazette] [Dark Reading]

Approach Cyber Security Awareness Training by Engaging People at All Levels

In the cyber security landscape, human-related factors like social engineering, compromised credentials, and errors are the top causes of breaches. Increased investment in threat detection doesn't guarantee foolproof security. Organisations need a proactive strategy focusing on human risks, a security mindset in employees, and a security culture. According to IBM’s latest data security report, high levels of security training can significantly reduce the impact, cost, and frequency of data breaches.

However, most employee training programmes fail due to staff resistance and lack of management support. The key is convincing leadership of its value. To achieve a successful and impactful security awareness programme, it is important that security teams understand their audiences (leaders, managers, and employees), address their requirements, and effectively communicate the benefits of security training.

Source: [CPO Magazine]

Board Support Remains Critical as Majority of CISOs Experience Repeat Cyber Attacks

A recent report found that despite 95% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) receiving budgetary and other support from their organisation after a cyber attack, this largely fails to prevent future incidents, with over half admitting they have experienced multiple “major cyber security incidents” in the last five years.

The report revealed that after an attack 46% of CISOs were given a bigger tech budget, 42% revised their security strategy, 41% adopted new frameworks, and 38% created new roles. However, incidents come with hidden consequences such as revenue loss, rising insurance premiums and declining reputation. CISOs need to have support from the board and executives from the start so that investments can be made in the right technology, processes, and tools. In doing so, a culture of security and vigilance can be instilled from the top down to help protect organisations against evolving threats.

Sources: [Business Wire] [Silicon UK]

Ransomware Attacks Surge 81% in October as New Threat Actors Emerge

The NCC Group revealed that ransomware attacks have surged by 81% in October 2023, compared to the same period in the previous year. Ransomware gangs have already victimised over 50% more individuals and enterprises in 2023 than during the entirety of 2022. As artificial intelligence, phishing kits and ransomware-as-a-service has improved, so too has the number of threat actors; those who were previously stunted by their technical know-how are now able to gain access to sophisticated attacks.

Source: [Security Brief]

Hacked Microsoft Word Documents Being Used to Trick Windows Users

Active campaigns carried out by cyber criminals are again using macros within Word documents to deploy malware, in spite of Microsoft’s efforts to stop these types of attacks. Most of the time the actor delivers the Word document via phishing emails, with the aim of convincing the user to click and run the macro. Once run, the malware has then achieved its goal of establishing itself on the victims’ machine and executing its malicious payload.

Source: [TechRadar]

Mitigating Deepfake Threats in The Corporate World

Deepfakes are synthetic media that are created or manipulated with the desired outcome of convincing the recipient of their legitimacy; and it’s entering the corporate world. Deepfake technology has already been used to impersonate Presidents and financial experts, however there has been an uprise in the number of these attacks. This has left the corporate world questioning existing operational procedures such as callbacks and how they will need to adjust to encompass the changing landscape.

Some of the ways a corporation can mitigate this, is to promote awareness within the workplace, adjust operational procedures to reflect the current landscape, and utilise advanced detection tools.

Source: [MSSP Alert]

Black Basta Ransomware Made Over $100 Million From Extortion Alone

The cyber crime operator “Black Basta” has raked in at least $100 million in ransom payments from more than 90 victims since it first surfaced in April 2022. In total, 329 victims worldwide were targeted and research has estimated that at least 35% paid a ransom, with multiple payments over $1 million. Black Basta uses double extortion techniques, where data is both ransomed and exfiltrated. This way, victims are forced to pay to get their data back and not have it published online; the latter itself can lead to regulatory fines.

Source: [Bleeping Computer]

Long Recovery Times After Cyber Attacks Could Annihilate Your Organisation

In the evolving cyber security landscape, organisations are increasingly investing in detection and prevention measures. However, there's a growing trend of neglecting post-attack recovery. While advanced security tools and technologies are crucial, recent ransomware incidents have shown that recovery is equally vital. Organisations have faced substantial downtime and financial losses due to attacks. Cyber resilience, the ability to bounce back quickly after an attack, is crucial, especially with the rise of remote work.

Budgets often prioritise prevention, leaving organisations ill-prepared for recovery. In 2023, a significant number of companies paid ransoms to regain data. To achieve true cyber resilience, a rebalance in approach is essential, focusing on preparation, response, and recovery alongside detection and prevention, ensuring rapid recovery and safeguarding of valuable assets.

Source: [TechRadar]

Booking.com Customers Scammed in Novel Social Engineering Campaign

According to new research by SecureWorks, Booking.com customers are being targeted by a novel social engineering campaign that is “paying serious dividends” for cyber criminals. Researchers believe the campaign has gone on for at least a year and it begins by deploying the Vidar infostealer to gain access partner hotels’ Booking.com credentials. This information is then used to send phishing emails to Booking.com customers and trick them into handing over their payment details, in many cases leading to money being stolen. The scam is proving so fruitful that sales of Booking.com portal credentials are commanding sale prices of up to $2,000 in two cyber crime forums.

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]

Stop Panic Buying Your Security Products and Start Prioritising

In the cyber security landscape, impulse buying can lead to costly mistakes. Breaches are now more expensive than ever, underscoring the need to assess cyber security investments. Fear-driven tactics and the quest for a "silver bullet" solution can push organisations, especially smaller ones, into impulsive investments. These decisions may introduce even more risk by failing to integrate with existing systems, or buying systems but failing to configure them properly or utilising them to the fullest extent, leading to a false sense of security. The consequences can be severe, with breaches now costing organisations millions. To navigate this landscape, organisations must assess the real value of cyber security investments. Calculating risk by evaluating likelihood and impact can guide us in making informed decisions. Instead of impulse buying, assign a monetary value to cyber risks for strategic budget decisions in these economic times, ensuring investments align with security and business goals.

Source: [Help Net Security]

A Fifth of UK SMBs Unable to Spot Scams

New data from UK Finance reveals that 17% of UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle to identify online fraud and scam indicators. This is particularly alarming given the rise in authorised push payment (APP) scams in the UK, where fraudsters impersonate trusted entities to deceive victims into transferring money to controlled accounts. In the first half of 2023 alone, criminals stole a reported £42.6 million through such scams, with total losses including consumer impacts reaching £239 million. SMBs are increasingly targeted due to typically fewer anti-fraud and other countermeasures and controls, compared to larger and better protected larger firms. It is important for SMBs to be vigilant and verify payment details directly with suppliers to help avoid these types of scams.

Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Ransomware Victims

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Artificial Intelligence

Malware

Mobile

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

Same threat, new stakes: DDoS in an evolving telecoms sector

Internet of Things – IoT

Data Breaches/Leaks

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Insurance

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Cloud/SaaS

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

Social Media

Google, Meta, allege China cyber attacks • The Register

Training, Education and Awareness

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

Models, Frameworks and Standards

Data Protection

Thought GDPR Compliance Was Hard? Buckle Up (darkreading.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

Ahead of 2024 election, Meta worries about lack of information on top-tier nation-state covert operations | CyberScoop

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

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Nation State Actors

China

Russia

Iran

North Korea

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

Vulnerability Management

Why it’s the perfect time to reflect on your software update policy - Help Net Security

Vulnerabilities

Tools and Controls

Reports Published in the Last Week

2023 Zscaler ThreatLabz State of Phishing Report | Zscaler

Other News

Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

· Automotive

· Construction

· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

· Defence & Space

· Education & Academia

· Energy & Utilities

· Estate Agencies

· Financial Services

· FinTech

· Food & Agriculture

· Gaming & Gambling

· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

· Health/Medical/Pharma

· Hotels & Hospitality

· Insurance

· Legal

· Manufacturing

· Maritime

· Oil, Gas & Mining

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

· Retail & eCommerce

· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

· Startups

· Telecoms

· Third Sector & Charities

· Transport & Aviation

· Web3

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

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

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

Links to articles are for interest and awareness and linking to or reposting external content does not endorse any service or product, likewise we are not responsible for the security of external links.

Black Arrow Admin 27/08/2023 Black Arrow Admin 27/08/2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 August 2023

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 25 August 2023:

-Cloud Hosting Firm Loses All Customer Data After Ransomware Attack

-Would You Infect Others to Rid Yourself of Ransomware?

-Artificial Intelligence and USBs Drive 8% Rise in Cyber Attacks

-Ransomware Attacks Broke Records in July, Mainly Driven By One Group

-Cyber Risk in The Boardroom

-Malware-Infected Advertising Grows Ever More Sophisticated, And More Damaging

-Cyber Security is Everyone’s Responsibility

-QR Code Hacks Are Another Thing to Worry About Now

-Security Basics Aren’t So Basic Anymore

-Apple MacOS Security Myths

-Security Leaders Report Misalignment of Investments and Risk Reduction

-Many CISOs Tout SaaS (Cloud) Cyber Security Confidence, but 79% Admit to SaaS Incidents, New Report Finds

-If You Ever Used Duolingo, Watch Out for Phishing Email

-91% of Security and IT Professionals Agree Cyber Criminals are Already Using AI in Email 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

Cloud Hosting Firm Loses All Customer Data After Ransomware Attack

CloudNordic, a Danish cloud hosting provider, has told customers to consider all of their data as having been lost following a ransomware infection that encrypted the large Danish cloud provider. The threat actors had destroyed the organisation’s backups, which prevented the firm from recovering effectively. The attack also impacted AzeroCloud, which is owned by the same company.

Worryingly, many organisations believe that having backups and using the cloud is enough for them to be able to recover from any cyber incident; unfortunately, as shown in the CloudNordic and AzeroCloud attacks, it is not enough. Organisations need to have a recovery plan in place which is tested and improved, to best strengthen themselves in the event of a cyber incident.

Sources: [The Register] [Bleeping Computer] [Help Net Security]

Would You Infect Others to Rid Yourself of Ransomware?

Hackers continually develop ransomware with new and creative attack methods that keep internet security professionals on their toes and pose challenges for people trying to detect threats. Victims of ransomware usually see messages asking them to pay for file access restoration; however, the Popcorn Time ransomware group takes a different approach to getting victims involved.

The Popcorn Time ransomware approach works via the referral method. The ransomware group is willing to give victims access to their files if they send the referral link to two other people, extending the attacker’s reach. Most people would hesitate to distribute a ransomware link through email, WhatsApp, or another method that is easy for victims to identify them as the perpetrators. Law enforcement bodies categorise ransomware attacks as crimes that come with hefty fines and prison time. Even those choosing to send the links to people they know face disastrous consequences beyond law enforcement, including the loss of jobs and relationships.

Source: [CyberNews]

Artificial Intelligence and USBs Drive 8% Rise in Cyber Attacks

Checkpoint’s 2023 Mid-Year Security Report shows an 8% surge in global weekly cyber attacks during Q2, marking the most significant increase in two years. The report highlights the fusion of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology with traditional tools like USB devices used for disruptive cyber attacks.

Other significant findings include the evolution of ransomware tactics. The report found that ransomware groups are exploiting vulnerabilities in common corporate software and shifting focus from encrypting data to stealing it. USB devices have resurfaced as threats, employed by both state-affiliated groups and cyber-criminals to distribute malware globally. The misuse of AI has escalated, as attackers use generative AI tools for phishing emails, keystroke monitoring malware and basic ransomware code.

Source: [InfoSecurity Magazine]

Ransomware Attacks Broke Records in July, Mainly Driven By One Group

A number of ransomware actors are utilising the threat of releasing sensitive data to get organisations to pay ransoms; in some cases this is combined with encryption to give the actor two avenues of payment. A report has found there were over 500 attacks last month, an increase of 153% compared to one year ago, and a 16% increase compared to June. Within Europe, there was a 59% increase in ransomware attacks from June to July.

Part of the significant rise is due to the ransomware group called Cl0p, whose attack on the MOVEit software has accounted for hundreds of victims this year. The Cl0p ransomware group has kept its promise to publish files on the clearweb of all its victims if contact was not made. The clearweb is simply what we know as the internet; anyone can access it. As such, there will be many organisations who are now having their sensitive data published and readily viewable for anyone who has access to the internet.

Sources: [Gov Info Seccurity] [Security Week] [ZDNET] [Cyber News]

Cyber Risk in The Boardroom

The relationship between the CISO and the wider boardroom has become increasingly cooperative, with 77% of CEO’s seeing cyber as a strategic function and a potential source of competitive advantage. While it is ultimately up to the board to take steps to keep cybersecurity high on the agenda, the CISO also has a responsibility to press the message and bridge any gaps.

CISOs must deliver concerns, strategies and recommendations in a business-first manner, while avoiding jargon and overly technical language. Attracting and retaining good quality senior security professionals is very challenging in the current market and Black Arrow offer a fractional CISO service, giving access to a whole team of specialists with wider expertise, experience and backgrounds, for less than the cost of hiring one individual.

Sources: [Security Week] [TechRadar]

Malware-Infected Advertising Grows Ever More Sophisticated, And More Damaging

The malware exploits known as malware-infected ads, or malvertising, have been around for decades, but new reports point to a steady rise in efficacy. With malvertising, the infected ads are typically placed on legitimate ad networks, which makes them more difficult to spot and remove. The technique continues to use more and more sophisticated mechanisms for getting their infections spread throughout the web and keeping them running for a long time. The exploits can operate in one of several ways, including intercepting a user’s clickstream on random hyperlinks and substituting them with redirects to advertising websites.

Adblockers either on endpoints or at the network level can also help to prevent malvertising from causing harm.

Source: [SiliconAngle]

Cyber Security is Everyone’s Responsibility

A recent survey found that 41% of respondents said that poor quality training, or a lack of training altogether, and insider threats were impacting their organisation’s security. Cyber security involves everyone as any employee can be an entry point for a cyber incident, but they also have the power to prevent one. It is important to make sure all employees are provided adequate training. Not every role requires the same training however, so it is important for organisations to identify and provide training that is appropriate to employees. Black Arrow provide live in person and online instructor lead cyber security training, both through Cyber Risk and Governance Workshops for Senior Leadership and Awareness, Behaviour and Culture Training for employees and contractors.

Source: [IT Pro Today]

QR Code Hacks Are Another Thing to Worry About Now

One of the upcoming technologies thrust upon us is QR codes. At this point, you can find them at most restaurants and parking sites. You simply scan the code and you are taken to the relevant site, for example, the menu for the restaurant. Attackers have cottoned on to this and started to use QR codes in phishing attacks; the idea being that the victim will scan the code without scrutinising it and be taken to a malicious website instead.

Source: [Bloomberg]

Security Basics Aren’t So Basic Anymore

The basics of cyber security, it turns out, aren’t so basic anymore. What was considered basic has moved way beyond just having firewalls and antivirus, and the most basic controls nowadays include more advanced controls such as robust identity and access management, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and patching and vulnerability management. Many of these now basic controls are lacking or non-existent across the economy according to cyber security experts. A report found that only 28% of Microsoft users had MFA enabled as 2022 closed.

You can’t solve all the problems at once. However, progress on these fronts also relies heavily on the need for a cultural shift. Organisations need to get to the point where they view cyber security in the same light as locks on doors and seatbelts in cars.

Source: [CioDive]

Apple MacOS Security Myths

Apple has maintained a reputation as being more secure than other manufacturers, and whilst Apple has put many different security mechanisms into its operating system, no technology is bulletproof. Assuming an Apple device is invulnerable can lead users to believe that their Mac will not get viruses or be subject to a plethora of other cyber threats. As a result, this can lead to poor cyber hygiene from the individual, as they assume they are safe regardless of what they do. Apple users need to remain every bit as aware of risks, social engineering, keeping devices up to date, and having appropriate security controls.

Source: [Huntress]

Security Leaders Report Misalignment of Investments and Risk Reduction

The cyber risk landscape was analysed in a recent report that examined the amount of risk that organisations are willing to accept, their resource constraints and key priorities for approaching cyber risk in the future. The report found 66% of respondents indicating that they have limited visibility and insight into their cyber risk profiles, hindering their ability to prioritise investments and allocate resources effectively. 67% of organisations experienced a breach requiring attention within the last two years despite having traditional threat-based security measures in place. Further, 61% of security executives expressed concerns over the current misalignment between cyber security investments and their organisation's risk reduction priorities.

Source: [InfoSecurity Magazine]

Many CISOs Tout SaaS (Cloud) Cyber Security Confidence, but 79% Admit to Incidents

Cyber security, IT, and business leaders alike recognise SaaS (cloud) cyber security as an increasingly important part of the cyber threat landscape. And at first glance, respondents appear generally optimistic about their SaaS cyber security as 85% answered that they are confident or very confident in their company's or customer's data security in sanctioned SaaS apps.

Despite the confidence, 79% of respondents confirmed that their organisation had identified SaaS cyber security incidents over the past 12 months. Many of those incidents occurred in environments with cyber security policies in place and enforced, as 66% of respondents claimed in their responses.

Source: [The Hacker News]

If You Ever Used Duolingo, Watch Out for Phishing Email

Users of Duolingo, past and present, should be wary of phishing emails as data on about 2.6 million accounts were scraped through an exposed application programming interface (API), and then offered on a hacking forum back in January. Login and real names, email addresses, phone numbers, and courses studied were part of the collection, which went for $1,500. Now that data has resurfaced on a different forum, and at a substantially lower cost of just a few dollars, users of the service can expect this data to be used in fresh phishing campaigns.

Source: [PCWorld]

91% of Security and IT Professionals: Criminals are Already Using AI in Email Attacks

Recent research found that 91% of security and IT professionals are noticing cyber criminals already using AI as part of email attack campaigns, with 74% indicating they have experienced an increase in the use of AI by cyber criminals in the past six months. This is worrying as 52% reported that email security is among one of their top three concerns.

Organisations need to make sure that their technologies, procedures and policies are updated to factor in AI-enabled email attacks to help reduce the risk they pose to the organisation. Such improvements should also include employees.

Source: [PR Newswire]