Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 26 May 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

• 50% of UK CEOs see Cyber as a Bigger Business Risk than the Economy

Half of UK CEOs consider cyber security as a bigger risk to their organisation than economic uncertainty, a new study by Palo Alto Networks has found. The findings came from a survey of 2500 CEOs from the UK, Germany, France, Brazil and the UAE at large organisations (500+ employees).

Despite the recognition of the business threats posed by cyber attacks, UK CEOs have a lower level of understanding of cyber security risks than their international counterparts, with just 16% saying they have a complete understanding. This compares to 21% in Brazil, 21% in the UAE, 22% in France and 39% in Germany. Additionally, many UK CEOs feel detached from responsibility for cyber security at their organisations, instead leaving it to the responsibility of IT, although IT is only part of the solution.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-ceo-cyber-risk-economy/

• Report Finds 78% of Organisations Felt Prepared for Ransomware Attacks, Yet Half Still Fell Victim

Fortinet has unveiled its 2023 Global Ransomware Report based on a recent global survey and explores cyber security leaders’ perspectives on ransomware, particularly how it impacted their organisations in the last year and their strategies to mitigate an attack. The report found that the global threat of ransomware remains at peak levels, with half of organisations across all sizes, regions and industries falling victim in the last year.

The top challenges to stopping a ransomware attack were people and process related, with many organisations lacking clarity on how to secure against the threat. Specifically, four out of the five top challenges to stopping ransomware were people or process related. The second largest challenge was a lack of clarity on how to secure against the threat as a result of a lack of user awareness and training and no clear chain-of-command strategy to deal with attacks.

Despite the global macroeconomic environment, security budgets will have to increase in the next year with a focus on AI/ML technologies to speed detection, centralised monitoring tools to speed response and better preparation of people and processes.

https://www.itweb.co.za/content/mYZRX79g8gRqOgA8

• SMBs and Regional MSPs are Increasingly Targeted by State-Sponsored APT Groups

Advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks were once mainly a concern for large corporations in industries that presented cyber espionage interest. That's no longer the case and over the past year in particular, the number of such state-sponsored attacks against small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) has increased significantly.

Cyber security firm Proofpoint analysed its telemetry data more than 200,000 SMB customers over the past year and saw a rise in phishing campaigns originating from APT groups, particularly those serving Russian, Iranian, and North Korean interests.

SMBs are also targeted by APT groups indirectly, through the managed services providers (MSPs) that maintain their infrastructure. Proofpoint has seen an increase in attacks against regional MSPs because their cyber security defences could be weaker than larger MSPs yet they still serve hundreds of SMBs in local geographies.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3697648/smbs-and-regional-msps-are-increasingly-targeted-by-state-sponsored-apt-groups.html#tk.rss_news

• IT Employee Piggybacked on Cyber Attack for Personal Gain

A 28-year-old former IT employee of an Oxford-based company has been convicted of blackmailing his employer and unauthorised access to a computer with intent to commit other offences.

The convicted employee was the one who began to investigate the incident and, along with colleagues and the police, tried to mitigate it and its fallout. But he also realized that he could take advantage of the breach to line his own pockets.

“He accessed a board member’s private emails over 300 times as well as altering the original blackmail email and changing the payment address provided by the original attacker. This was in the hope that if payment was made, it would be made to him rather than the original attacker,” the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) revealed. He went as far as creating an almost identical email address to that of the original attacker, using it to pressure his employer into making the payment.

While some insider threats may stem from negligence or ignorance, this case highlights a more sinister scenario involving a malicious, opportunistic individual. Malicious insiders exploit their authorized access and privileges to engage in harmful, unethical, or illegal activities.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/05/24/it-employee-blackmailing-company/

• Ransomware Threats Are Growing, and Targeting Microsoft Devices More and More

Ransomware attacks have never been this popular, a new report from cyber security researchers Securin, Ivanti, and Cyware has stated. New ransomware groups are emerging constantly, and new vulnerabilities being exploited are being discovered almost daily, but out of all the different hardware and software, Microsoft’s products are being targeted the most.

Attackers are now targeting more than 7,000 products built by 121 vendors, all used by businesses in their day-to-day operations. Most products belong to Microsoft, which has 135 vulnerabilities associated with ransomware. In just March 2023, there had been more breaches reported, than in all three previous years combined. Even though most cyber security incidents never get reported, too. In the first quarter of the year, the researchers discovered 12 new vulnerabilities used in ransomware attacks, three-quarters of which (73%) were trending in the dark web.

https://www.techradar.com/news/ransomware-threats-are-growing-and-targeting-microsoft-devices-more-and-more

• Microsoft Reports Jump in Business Email Compromise (BEC) Activity

Thirty-five million business email compromise (BEC) attempts were detected in the last year, according to the latest Microsoft Cyber Signals report. Activity around BEC spiked between April 2022 and April 2023, with over 150,000 daily attempts, on average, detected by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.

Rather than targeting unpatched devices for vulnerabilities, BEC operators focus on leveraging the vast volume of daily email and other message traffic to trick victims into sharing financial information or unknowingly transferring funds to money mule accounts. Their goal is to exploit the constant flow of communication to carry out fraudulent money transfers.

Using secure email applications, securing identities to block lateral movement, adopting a secure payment platform and training employees are a few effective methods, according to the report.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3697152/microsoft-reports-jump-in-business-email-compromise-activity.html#tk.rss_news

• Forrester Predicts 2023’s Top Cyber security Threats: From Generative AI to Geopolitical Tensions

The nature of cyber attacks is changing fast. Generative AI, cloud complexity and geopolitical tensions are among the latest weapons and facilitators in attackers’ arsenals. Three-quarters (74%) of security decision-makers say their organisations’ sensitive data was “potentially compromised or breached in the past 12 months” alone. Forrester’s Top Cyber security Threats in 2023 report provides a stark warning about the top cyber security threats this year, along with prescriptive advice to CISOs and their teams on countering them. By weaponising generative AI and using ChatGPT, attackers are fine-tuning their ransomware and social engineering techniques.

Perimeter-based legacy systems not designed with an AI-based upgrade path are the most vulnerable. With a new wave of cyber attacks coming that seek to capitalise on any given business’ weakest links, including complex cloud configurations, the gap between reported and actual breaches will grow.

Forrester cites Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its relentless cyber attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure as examples of geopolitical cyber attacks with immediate global implications. Forrester advises that nation-state actors continue to use cyber attacks on private companies for geopolitical purposes like espionage, negotiation leverage, resource control and intellectual property theft to gain technological superiority.

https://venturebeat.com/security/forrester-predicts-2023-top-cybersecurity-threats-generative-ai-geopolitical-tensions/

• Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022

A new report published this week observed a 356% growth in the number of advanced phishing attacks attempted by threat actors in 2022, with the total number of attacks having increased by 87%. Among the reasons behind this growth is the fact that malicious actors continue to gain widespread access to new tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-powered tools. These have automated the process of generating sophisticated attacks, including those characterized by social engineering as well as evasion techniques.

The global threat landscape continues to evolve with a meteoric rise in the number of attacks, combined with increasingly sophisticated attack techniques designed to breach and damage organisations.

Additionally, the report highlighted that the changing threat landscape has resulted from the swift adoption of new cloud collaboration apps, cloud storage and productivity services for external collaboration.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/advanced-phishing-attacks-surge/

• Today’s Cyber Defence Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security

Organisations can mistakenly believe that deploying more security solutions will result in greater protection against threats. However, the truth of the matter can be very different. Gartner estimates that global spending on IT security and risk management solutions will exceed $189.7 billion annually in 2023, yet the breaches keep on coming. Blindly purchasing more security tools can add to complexity in enterprise environments and creates a false sense of security that contributes to today’s cyber security challenges.

To add to the dilemma, the new work-from-anywhere model is putting a strain on IT and security teams. Employees shifting between corporate and off-corporate networks are creating visibility and control challenges, which are impacting those teams’ ability to diagnose and remediate end user issues and minimize cyber security risks. In addition, they have to deal with a broad mix of networks, hardware, business and security applications, operating system (OS) versions, and patches.

https://www.securityweek.com/todays-cyber-defense-challenges-complexity-and-a-false-sense-of-security/

• Almost All Ransomware Attacks Target Backups

Data stored in backups is the most common target for ransomware attackers. Almost all intrusions (93%) target backups and in 75% of cases succeed in taking out victims’ ability to recover. In addition, 85% of global organisations suffered at least one cyber attack in the past year according to the Veeam 2023 Ransomware trends report. Only 16% of organisations avoided paying ransom because they were able to recover from backups, down from 19% in last year’s survey.

According to the survey, criminals attempt to attack backup repositories in almost all (93%) cyber events in EMEA, with 75% losing at least some of their backups and more than one-third (39%) of backup repositories being completely lost.

Other key findings included that 21% said ransomware is now specifically excluded from insurance policies; and of those with cyber insurance, 74% saw increased premiums since their last policy renewal.

With most ransomware actors moving to double and triple extortion the days of a backup being all you need to keep you safe are far behind and firms should do more to prevent being the victim of ransomware in the first place.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366538492/Almost-all-ransomware-attacks-target-backups-says-Veeam

• NCSC Warns Against Chinese Cyber Attacks on Critical Infrastructure

The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and several other international security agencies have issued a new advisory warning the public against Chinese cyber activity targeting critical national infrastructure networks. According to the document, the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s associated threat actors employed sophisticated tactics to evade detection while conducting malicious activities against targets in the US and Guam. These tactics are expected to be used on critical infrastructure targets outside the US, including the UK.

The document further added that the threat actors mainly focused on credential access theft via brute force and password spraying techniques. The NCSC advisory provides network defenders with technical indicators and examples of techniques used by the attacker to help identify any malicious activity.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-warns-chinese-cyber-attacks/

• Half of All Companies were Impacted by Spearphishing in 2022

Spearphishing is a sliver of all email exploits but the extent to which it succeeds is revealed in a new study from cyber security firm Barracuda Networks, which analysed 50 billion emails across 3.5 million mailboxes in 2022, unearthing around 30 million spearphishing emails and affecting 50% of all companies.

The report identified the top prevalent spearphishing emails were Scamming (47%) used to trick victims into disclosing sensitive information and the other being brand impersonation (42%) attacks mimicking a brand familiar with the victim to harvest credentials.

The report found that remote work is increasing risks. Users at companies with more than a 50% remote workforce report higher levels of suspicious emails — 12 per day on average, compared to 9 per day for those with less than a 50% remote workforce.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/barracuda-networks-spearphishing-study/

• Google's .zip, .mov Domains Give Social Engineers a Shiny New Tool

Two new top-level domain names (.zip and .mov) have caused concern among security researchers, who say they allow for the construction of malicious URLs that even tech-savvy users are likely to miss. While a top-level domain (TLD) that mimics a file extension is only one component in the lookalike attack, the overall combination is much more effective with the .zip or .mov extension.

There's no question that phishing links that involve these TLDs can be used to lure unsuspecting users into accidentally downloading malware. Unlike other kinds of phishing URLs that are intended to lure the user to enter credentials into a phony login page, the lures with the .zip or .mov domains are more suited to drive-by download types of attacks.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/google-zip-mov-domains-social-engineers-shiny-new-tool

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Security Pros: Before You Do Anything, Understand Your Threat Landscape - SecurityWeek

• The Rising Threat of Secrets Sprawl and the Need for Action (thehackernews.com)

• Mass resignations, layoffs seen as major threat to corporate cyber security - The Korea Times

• Improving Cyber security Requires Building Better Public-Private Cooperation (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Defence: Council conclusions stress the importance of further strengthening the EU resilience to face cyber threats - Consilium (europa.eu)

• 5 Cyber security Woes That Threaten Digital Growth (analyticsinsight.net)

• Cyber Warfare Lessons From the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (darkreading.com)

• What Security Professionals Need to Know About Aggregate Cyber Risk (darkreading.com)

• Where to Focus Your Company’s Limited Cyber security Budget (hbr.org)

• Realistic Cyber security Simulations Deliver Strongest ROI for Training Programs, Security Innovation Finds - MSSP Alert

• Former Uber CSO Joe Sullivan and lessons learned from the infamous 2016 Uber breach | CSO Online

• CISO Criminalization, Vague Cyber Disclosure Rules Create Angst for Security Teams (darkreading.com)

• Today’s Cyber Defence Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security - SecurityWeek

• The biggest threats are always those we fail to predict - Big Think

• How continuous security monitoring is changing the compliance game - Help Net Security

• Forrester predicts 2023's top cyber security threats: From generative AI to geopolitical tensions | VentureBeat

• 50% of UK CEOs See Cyber as a Bigger Business Risk than the Economy - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Defining CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs' Roles in Cyber security (analyticsinsight.net)

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

• 3 Common Initial Attack Vectors Account for Most Ransomware Campaigns (darkreading.com)

• 12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security

• IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Backup Repositories Targeted in 93% of Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransomware threats are growing, and targeting Microsoft devices more and more | TechRadar

• Microsoft: Notorious FIN7 hackers return in Clop ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• FIN7 gang returned and was spotted delivering Clop ransomware - Security Affairs

• Fortinet survey finds 78% of organisations felt prepared for ransomware attacks, yet half still fell victim | ITWeb

• Bridgestone CISO: Lessons From Ransomware Attack Include Acting, Not Thinking (darkreading.com)

• Cyble — New Ransomware Wave Engulfs over 200 Corporate Victims

• Updated 'StopRansomware Guide' warns of shifting tactics | TechTarget

• The Week in Ransomware - May 19th 2023 - A Shifting Landscape (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US saw 45% fewer ransomware victims posted on the dark web | Security Magazine

• BlackCat ransomware takes control of protected computers via new kernel driver | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Judge Throws Out Ransomware Class-Action Suit Against Rackspace - MSSP Alert

• Ransomware tales: The MitM attack that really had a Man in the Middle – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar

• Inside Qilin Ransomware: Affiliates Take Home 85% of Ransom Payouts (thehackernews.com)

• Buhti Ransomware Gang Switches Tactics, Utilizes Leaked LockBit and Babuk Code (thehackernews.com)

Ransomware Victims

• Food Distributor Sysco Says Cyber Attack Exposed 126,000 Individuals - SecurityWeek

• Suzuki motorcycle plant shut down by cyber attack (bitdefender.com)

• February cyber incident will cost molten metal flow engineering firm Vesuvius £3.5 million - Security Affairs

• Iowa hospital discloses breach following Royal ransomware leak | TechTarget

• Arms maker Rheinmetall confirms BlackBasta ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Mazars Group allegedly breached by BlackCat | Cybernews

• Dish Network says February ransomware attack impacted +300K - Security Affairs

• Philly Inquirer disputes Cuba ransomware gang's leak claims • The Register

• Dorchester school IT system held to ransom in cyber attack - BBC News

• BlackByte lists city of Augusta after cyber 'incident' • The Register

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 50% of companies had spearphishing puncture wounds in 2022 (techrepublic.com)

• Microsoft 365 phishing attacks use encrypted RPMSG messages (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishers use encrypted file attachments to steal Microsoft 365 account credentials - Help Net Security

• Threat actors exploit new channels for advanced phishing attacks - Help Net Security

• Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security

• CopperStealer Malware Crew Resurfaces with New Rootkit and Phishing Kit Modules (thehackernews.com)

• Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishing campaign targets ChatGPT users - Help Net Security

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Cyber Signals: Shifting tactics show surge in business email compromise | Microsoft Security Blog

• Microsoft reports jump in business email compromise activity | CSO Online

• Microsoft: BEC Attackers Evade 'Impossible Travel' Flags With Residential IP Addresses (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Google's .zip, .mov Domains Give Social Engineers a Shiny New Tool (darkreading.com)

Artificial Intelligence

• Employees are banned from using ChatGPT at these companies | Fortune

• When the tech boys start asking for new regulations, you know something’s up | John Naughton | The Guardian

• BatLoader campaign impersonates ChatGPT and Midjourney to deliver Redline Stealer - Security Affairs

• 6 ChatGPT risks for legal and compliance leaders - Help Net Security

• 5 Ways Hackers Will Use ChatGPT For Cyber attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Simple OSINT techniques to spot AI-fueled disinformation, fake reviews - Help Net Security

• How to avoid shadow AI in your SOC - Help Net Security

• Microsoft urges lawmakers to adopt new guidelines for responsible AI | CyberScoop

• AI Used to Create Malware, WithSecure Observes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Phishing campaign targets ChatGPT users - Help Net Security

• The Security Hole at the Heart of ChatGPT and Bing | WIRED UK

2FA/MFA

• Cyber criminals masquerading as MFA vendors - Help Net Security

Malware

• New PowerExchange malware backdoors Microsoft Exchange servers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Use Weaponised DOCX File to Deploy Stealthy Malware (gbhackers.com)

• Meet 'Jack' from Romania! Mastermind Behind Golden Chickens Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Developer Alert: NPM Packages for Node.js Hiding Dangerous TurkoRat Malware (thehackernews.com)

• CopperStealer Malware Crew Resurfaces with New Rootkit and Phishing Kit Modules (thehackernews.com)

• Threat actors leverage kernel drivers in new attacks | TechTarget

• BatLoader campaign impersonates ChatGPT and Midjourney to deliver Redline Stealer - Security Affairs

• Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security

• Potentially millions of Android TVs and phones come with malware preinstalled | Ars Technica

• New AhRat Android malware hidden in app with 50,000 installs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica

• PyPI open-source code repository deals with manic malware maelstrom – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Legion Malware Upgraded to Target SSH Servers and AWS Credentials (thehackernews.com)

• AI Used to Create Malware, WithSecure Observes - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Mobile

• Warning: Samsung Devices Under Attack! New Security Flaw Exposed (thehackernews.com)

• Smartphones with Qualcomm chips found to be transmitting users' private data without consent - Dimsum Daily

• WhatsApp now lets you hide your messages from prying eyes. But is Chat Lock a cheaters’ charter? | Technology | The Guardian

• Android phones are vulnerable to fingerprint brute-force attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New AhRat Android malware hidden in app with 50,000 installs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Unveils Bug Bounty Program For Android Apps - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Predator: Looking under the hood of Intellexa’s Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Botnets

• How smart bots are infecting and exploiting the internet - Help Net Security

• The Dark Frost Enigma: An Unexpectedly Prevalent Botnet Author Profile | Akamai

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

• Dark Frost Botnet Launches Devastating DDoS Attacks on Gaming Industry (thehackernews.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Potentially millions of Android TVs and phones come with malware preinstalled | Ars Technica

• How Connected Car Cyber Risk will Evolve (trendmicro.com)

• Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Capita under fire after ‘confidential’ files published online (thetimes.co.uk)

• Luxottica confirms 2021 data breach after info of 70M leaks online (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers steal the SSN of nearly 6 million people (pandasecurity.com)

• Food Distributor Sysco Says Cyber attack Exposed 126,000 Individuals - SecurityWeek

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Inside the Mind of a Cyber Attacker | Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) Every Security Practitioner Should Know

• IT employee piggybacked on cyber attack for personal gain - Help Net Security

• Child hackers: How are kids becoming sophisticated cyber criminals? | Euronews

• UK Fraudster Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13-Year Jail Term for Cyber Crimes (thehackernews.com)

• The Strange Story of the Teens Behind the Mirai Botnet - IEEE Spectrum

• FBI: Human Trafficking Rings Force Job Seekers Into Cryptojacking Schemes (darkreading.com)

• 'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)

• Cyber criminals masquerading as MFA vendors - Help Net Security

• The Dark Frost Enigma: An Unexpectedly Prevalent Botnet Author Profile | Akamai

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Forex boss Anthony Constantinou guilty of £70m ‘Ponzi’ fraud (thetimes.co.uk)

• FBI: Human Trafficking Rings Force Job Seekers Into Cryptojacking Schemes (darkreading.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• How to prevent against the 5 main types of insider threats - IT Security Guru

• IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• SMBs Targeted by State-Aligned Actors for Financial Theft and Supply Chain Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Get-rich-quick schemes, pyramids and ponzis: five signs you're being scammed (theconversation.com)

• Uncle Sam tries to wrangle 'money mules' • The Register

• Scammers Using ChatGPT "Fleeceware" Apps to Cash In on AI Hype, Sophos Report - MSSP Alert

• Online scams target bargain-hunting holiday travelers - Help Net Security

• Ads for lucrative jobs in Asia may be tech slavery scams • The Register

• Crypto phishing service Inferno Drainer defrauds thousands of victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 79-year-old woman tricks German scammers into getting arrested (iamexpat.de)

• Forex boss Anthony Constantinou guilty of £70m ‘Ponzi’ fraud (thetimes.co.uk)

• IT employee impersonates ransomware gang to extort employer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Banking, tech and telecoms groups combine to gather intelligence on scammers | Financial Times (ft.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Capita under fire after ‘confidential’ files published online (thetimes.co.uk)

• SMBs Targeted by State-Aligned Actors for Financial Theft and Supply Chain Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• UK councils caught in Capita unsecured AWS bucket data leak • The Register

• New Cyber Security Training Packages Launched to Manage Supply Chain Risk - NCSC

Software Supply Chain

• GUAC 0.1 Beta: Google's Breakthrough Framework for Secure Software Supply Chains (thehackernews.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Phishers use encrypted file attachments to steal Microsoft 365 account credentials - Help Net Security

• UK councils caught in Capita unsecured AWS bucket data leak • The Register

• CISO-level tips for securing corporate data in the cloud - Help Net Security

• Google Cloud Bug Allows Server Takeover From CloudSQL Service (darkreading.com)

Attack Surface Management

• The Need to Isolate Branch Offices in High-Risk Countries (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• 7 access management challenges during M&A - Help Net Security

• Think security first when switching from traditional Active Directory to Azure AD | CSO Online

Encryption

• Quantum attack would trigger Great Depression, think tank warns | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

API

• API bug in OAuth dev tool opened websites, apps to account hijacking | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Are Your APIs Leaking Sensitive Data? (thehackernews.com)

• What is API Security? | Definition from TechTarget

• The fragmented nature of API security ownership - Help Net Security

Open Source

• PyPI open-source code repository deals with manic malware maelstrom – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Inactive accounts pose significant account takeover security risks | CSO Online

• What’s a Double-Blind Password Strategy and When Should It Be Used (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Netflix's Password-Sharing Ban Offers Security Upsides (darkreading.com)

Biometrics

• Android phones are vulnerable to fingerprint brute-force attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• Meta Hit With $1.3B Record-Breaking Fine for GDPR Violations (darkreading.com)

• Pentagon explosion hoax goes viral after verified Twitter accounts push (bleepingcomputer.com)

• A TikTok ban isn't a data security solution. It will be difficult to enforce – and could end up hurting users (theconversation.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Realistic Cyber security Simulations Deliver Strongest ROI for Training Programs, Security Innovation Finds - MSSP Alert

• A New Look for Risk in Awareness Training (darkreading.com)

• Realistic simulations are transforming cyber security training - Help Net Security

Travel

• Online scams target bargain-hunting holiday travelers - Help Net Security

• Four ways your devices can be hacked in hotels and how to stay safe | This is Money

• Tips to Protect Against Holiday and Airline Scams - IT Security Guru

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in the Kiddoware Kids Place Parental Control Android App - IT Security Guru

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Meta Hit With $1.3B Record-Breaking Fine for GDPR Violations (darkreading.com)

• Two-Thirds of IT Leaders Say GDPR Has Reduced Consumer Trust - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Microsoft urges lawmakers to adopt new guidelines for responsible AI | CyberScoop

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• NIST Launches Cyber security Initiative for Small Businesses (securityintelligence.com)

• New security model launched to eliminate 95% of cyber breaches - IT Security Guru

Backup and Recovery

• Almost all ransomware attacks target backups, says Veeam | Computer Weekly

• 'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)

• China hits back after Microsoft says state-sponsored group hacked critical US infrastructure | Financial Times

• Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar

Data Protection

• Meta Hit With $1.3B Record-Breaking Fine for GDPR Violations (darkreading.com)

• Two-Thirds of IT Leaders Say GDPR Has Reduced Consumer Trust - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• How to become a bug bounty hunter: Getting started | TechTarget

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• UK Fraudster Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13-Year Jail Term for Cyber Crimes (thehackernews.com)

• 79-year-old woman tricks German scammers into getting arrested (iamexpat.de)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Smartphones with Qualcomm chips found to be transmitting users' private data without consent - Dimsum Daily

• WhatsApp now lets you hide your messages from prying eyes. But is Chat Lock a cheaters’ charter? | Technology | The Guardian

• UK police to 'embed' facial recog but oversight is at risk • The Register

• Abuse of government spying powers: What's to worry about? • The Register

• Reflections on Ten Years Past The Snowden Revelations (ietf.org)

Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda

• Simple OSINT techniques to spot AI-fueled disinformation, fake reviews - Help Net Security

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

• Opinion: Cyber war and (no) peace (insuranceinsider.com)

• Cyber Warfare Lessons From the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (darkreading.com)

• Russia's War in Ukraine Shows Cyber attacks Can Be War Crimes (darkreading.com)

• The Underground History of Turla, Russia's Most Ingenious Hacker Group | WIRED

• Bad Magic's Extended Reign in Cyber Espionage Goes Back Over a Decade (thehackernews.com)

• North Korean Kimsuky Hackers Strike Again with Advanced Reconnaissance Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber Attacks Strike Ukraine's State Bodies in Espionage Operation (thehackernews.com)

• A deeper insight into the CloudWizard APT's activity revealed a long-running activity - Security Affairs

• What’s Russia Planning? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Mysterious malware designed to cripple industrial systems linked to Russia | CyberScoop

• New Russian-linked CosmicEnergy malware targets industrial systems (bleepingcomputer.com)

• What’s Russia Planning? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• United Nations official and others in Armenia hacked by NSO Group spyware | Hacking | The Guardian

• Predator: Looking under the hood of Intellexa’s Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Nation State Actors

• APT attacks: Exploring Advanced Persistent Threats and their evasive techniques (malwarebytes.com)

• SMBs and regional MSPs are increasingly targeted by state-sponsored APT groups | CSO Online

• NCSC Warns Against Chinese Cyber Attacks on Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The Underground History of Turla, Russia's Most Ingenious Hacker Group | WIRED

• A TikTok ban isn't a data security solution. It will be difficult to enforce – and could end up hurting users (theconversation.com)

• Malware turns home routers into proxies for Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Ars Technica

• GoldenJackal: Threat Risk For Organisations In Middle East & South Asia (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• North Korean Kimsuky Hackers Strike Again with Advanced Reconnaissance Malware (thehackernews.com)

• N. Korean Lazarus Group Targets Microsoft IIS Servers to Deploy Espionage Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Fata Morgana Watering Hole Attack Targets Shipping, Logistics Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• A deeper insight into the CloudWizard APT's activity revealed a long-running activity - Security Affairs

• Five Eyes and Microsoft accuse China US infrastructure raids • The Register

• Iranian hackers use new Moneybird ransomware to attack Israeli orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Mysterious malware designed to cripple industrial systems linked to Russia | CyberScoop

• GCHQ warns of fresh threat from Chinese state-sponsored hackers | Hacking | The Guardian

• New Russian-linked CosmicEnergy malware targets industrial systems (bleepingcomputer.com)

• China hits back after Microsoft says state-sponsored group hacked critical US infrastructure | Financial Times

• Five Eyes agencies detail how Chinese hackers breached US infrastructure - Help Net Security

• Lazarus Group Striking Vulnerable Windows IIS Web Servers (darkreading.com)

• 'Volt Typhoon' Breaks Fresh Ground for China-Backed Cyber Campaigns (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• 12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security

• Fresh perspectives needed to manage growing vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

• Judge Throws Out Ransomware Class-Action Suit Against Rackspace - MSSP Alert

• How to check for new exploits in real time? VulnCheck has an answer | CSO Online

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Vulnerabilities

• 12 vulnerabilities newly associated with ransomware - Help Net Security

• Vulnerability in WordPress Google Analytics Plugin Hits +3 Million Websites (searchenginejournal.com)

• Hackers target 1.5M WordPress sites with cookie consent plugin exploit (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Barracuda Alerts Of Breaches In Email Gateways From Zero-Day Flaws (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Threat Actors Compromise Barracuda Email Security Appliances (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft: Windows issue causes file copying, saving failures (bleepingcomputer.com)

• GitLab 'strongly recommends' patching max severity flaw ASAP (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 83C0000B: The error code that means a software update bricked your HP printer (bitdefender.com)

• CISA adds iPhone bugs to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog - Security Affairs

• Vulnerability in Zyxel firewalls may soon be widely exploited (CVE-2023-28771) - Help Net Security

• Zyxel warns of critical vulnerabilities in firewall and VPN devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Warning: Samsung Devices Under Attack! New Security Flaw Exposed (thehackernews.com)

• Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in the Kiddoware Kids Place Parental Control Android App - IT Security Guru

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Tools and Controls

• Security Pros: Before You Do Anything, Understand Your Threat Landscape - SecurityWeek

• Malicious links and misaddressed emails slip past security controls - Help Net Security

• Making The Most Of A Penetration Test: The Organisational Perspective (forbes.com)

• Against the Clock: Cyber Incident Response Plan (trendmicro.com)

• CMOs & CISOs: Uniting for Stronger Brands (cmswire.com)

• Investigating Risks Through Threat Hunting Capability Guide (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Realistic Cyber security Simulations Deliver Strongest ROI for Training Programs, Security Innovation Finds - MSSP Alert

• A New Look for Risk in Awareness Training (darkreading.com)

• Almost all ransomware attacks target backups, says Veeam | Computer Weekly

• How continuous security monitoring is changing the compliance game - Help Net Security

• Blacklist untrustworthy apps that peek behind your firewall - Help Net Security

• How generative AI is reshaping the identity verification landscape - Help Net Security

• What is API Security? | Definition from TechTarget

• Are Your APIs Leaking Sensitive Data? (thehackernews.com)

• The fragmented nature of API security ownership - Help Net Security

• Enterprises Must Prepare Now for Shorter TLS Certificate Lifespans (darkreading.com)

• Cutting Through the Noise: What is Zero Trust Security? - SecurityWeek

• CISO-level tips for securing corporate data in the cloud - Help Net Security

• 6 ways generative AI chatbots and LLMs can enhance cyber security | CSO Online

• 'Operation Magalenha' Attacks Gives Window Into Brazil's Cyber crime Ecosystem (darkreading.com)

• China hits back after Microsoft says state-sponsored group hacked critical US infrastructure | Financial Times

• Here's another great reason to make sure your enterprises is safeguarded from ransomware | TechRadar

• Attributes of a mature cyber-threat intelligence program | CSO Online

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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

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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.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 07 October 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

• Russian Sanctions Instigator Lloyd's Possibly Hit by Cyber Attack

Lloyd’s of London, the London-based insurance market heavily involved in implementing sanctions against Russia, may have been hit by a cyber-attack. On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the British insurance market revealed it had detected “unusual activity” on its systems and has turned off all external connectivity “as a precautionary measure.”

“We have informed market participants and relevant parties, and we will provide more information once our investigations have concluded,” said a Lloyd’s spokesperson.

The company did not comment on whether or not it has been contacted by hackers, if a ransom demand has been issued, or on the possible source of the attack.

However, the insurance market has been closely involved with the design and implementation of sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine – a potential motive for the attack. Lloyd’s itself has confirmed it was working closely with British and international governments to implement such sanctions.

Around 100 insurance syndicates operate at Lloyd's.

Earlier in 2022, Lloyd’s instructed its 76 insurance syndicates to remove “nation-state-backed cyber attacks” from insurance policies by March 2023, as well as losses “arising from a war.”

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/lloyds-possibly-hit-by-cyberattack/

• Former Uber Security Chief Convicted of Covering Up Data Breach

Uber’s former head of security has been convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the rideshare giant, hiding details from US regulators and paying off a pair of hackers in return for their discretion.

The trial, closely watched in cyber security circles, is believed to be the first criminal prosecution of a company executive over the handling of a data breach.

Joe Sullivan, who was fired in 2017 over the incident, was found guilty by a San Francisco jury of obstructing an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. At the time of the 2016 breach, the regulator had been investigating the car-booking service over a different cyber security lapse that had occurred two years earlier.

Jurors also convicted Sullivan of a second count related to having knowledge of but failing to report the 2016 breach to the appropriate government authorities. The incident eventually became public in 2017 when Dara Khosrowshahi, who had just taken over as chief executive, disclosed details of the attack.

Prosecutors said Sullivan had taken steps to make sure data compromised in the attack would not be revealed. According to court documents, two hackers approached Sullivan’s team to notify Uber of a security flaw that exposed the personal information of almost 60mn drivers and riders on the platform.

https://www.ft.com/content/051af6a1-41d1-4a6c-9e5a-d23d46b2a9c9

• First 72 Hours of Incident Response Critical to Taming Cyber Attack Chaos

Cyber security professionals tasked with responding to attacks experience stress, burnout, and mental health issues that are exacerbated by a lack of breach preparedness and sufficient incident response practice in their organisations.

A new IBM Security-sponsored survey published this week found that two-thirds (67%) of incident responders suffer stress and anxiety during at least some of their engagements, while 44% have sacrificed the well-being of their relationships, and 42% have suffered burnout, according to the survey conducted by Morning Consult. In addition, 68% of incidents responders often have to work on two or more incidents at the same time, increasing their stress, according to the survey's results.

Companies that plan and practice responding to a variety of incidents can lower the stress levels of their incident responders, employees, and executives, says John Dwyer, head of research for IBM Security's X-Force response team.

"Organisations are not effectively establishing their response strategies with the responders in mind — it does not need to be as stressful as it is," he says. "There is a lot of time when the responders are managing organisations during an incident, because those organisations were not prepared for the crisis that occurs. These attacks happen every day."

The IBM Security-funded study underscores why the cyber security community has focused increasingly on the mental health of its members. About half (51%) of cyber security defenders have suffered burnout or extreme stress in the past year, according to a VMware survey released in August 2021. Cyber security executives have also spotlighted the issue as one that affects the community and companies' ability to retain skilled workers.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/incident-response-s-first-72-hours-critical-to-taming-chaos

• Email Defences Under Siege: Phishing Attacks Dramatically Improve

This week's report that cyber attackers are laser-focused on crafting attacks specialised to bypass Microsoft's default security showcases an alarming evolution in phishing tactics, security experts said this week.

Threat actors are getting better at slipping phishing attacks through the weak spots in platform email defences, using a variety of techniques, such as zero-point font obfuscation, hiding behind cloud-messaging services, and delaying payload activation, for instance. They're also doing more targeting and research on victims.

As a result, nearly 1 in 5 phishing emails (18.8%) bypassed Microsoft's platform defences and landed in workers' inboxes in 2022, a rate that increased 74% compared to 2020, according to research published by cyber security firm Check Point Software. Attackers increasingly used techniques to pass security checks, such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and obfuscate functional components of an e-mail, such as using zero-size fonts or hiding malicious URLs from analysis.

The increasing capabilities of attackers is due to the better understanding of current defences, says Avanan, an email security firm acquired by Check Point in August 2021.

"It is a family of 10 to 20 techniques, but they all lead to the objective of deceiving a company's security layers," he says. "The end result is always an email that looks genuine to the recipient but looks different to the algorithm that analyses the content."

Microsoft declined to comment on the research. However, the company has warned of advanced techniques, such as adversary-in-the-middle phishing (AiTM), which uses a custom URL to place a proxy server between a victim and their desired site, allowing the attacker to capture sensitive data, such as usernames and passwords. In July, the company warned that more than 10,000 organisations had been targeted during one AiTM campaign.

https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/email-defenses-under-siege-phishing-attacks-dramatically-improve

• Remote Services Are Becoming an Attractive Target for Ransomware

Stolen credentials are no longer the number one initial access vector for ransomware operators looking to infect a target network and its endpoints - instead, they’ve become more interested in exploiting vulnerabilities found in internet-facing systems.

A report from Secureworks claims ransomware-as-a-service developers are quick to add newly discovered vulnerabilities into their arsenals, allowing even less competent hackers to exploit them swiftly, and with relative ease.

In fact, the company's annual State of the Threat Report reveals that flaw exploitation in remote services accounted for 52% of all ransomware incidents the company analysed over the last 12 months.

Besides remote services, Secureworks also spotted a 150% increase in the use of infostealers, which became a “key precursor” to ransomware. Both these factors, the report stresses, kept ransomware as the number one threat for businesses of all sizes, “who must fight to stay abreast of the demands of new vulnerability prioritisation and patching”.

All things considered, ransomware is still the biggest threat for businesses. It takes up almost a quarter of all attacks that were reported in the last 12 months, Secureworks says, and despite law enforcement being actively involved, operators remained highly active.

https://www.techradar.com/news/remote-services-are-becoming-an-attractive-target-for-ransomware

• Growing Reliance on Cloud Brings New Security Challenges

There was a time when cloud was just a small subset of IT infrastructure, and cloud security referred to a very specific set of tasks. The current reality is very different, organisations are heavily dependent on cloud technologies and cloud security has become a much more complex endeavour.

Organisations increasingly rely on the cloud to deliver new applications, reduce costs, and support business operations. One in every four organisations already have majority workloads in the cloud, and 44% of workloads currently run in some form of public cloud, says Omdia, a research and advisory group.

Practically every midsize and large organisation now operates in some kind of a hybrid cloud environment, with a mix of cloud and on-premises systems. For most organisations, software-as-a-service constitute the bulk (80%) of their cloud environments, followed by infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service deployments.

In the past, cloud security conversations tended to focus on making sure cloud environments are being configured properly, but cloud security nowadays goes far beyond just configuration management. The sprawling cloud environment means security management has to be centralised, Omdia said. Security functions also need to be integrated into existing application deployment workflows.

On top of all of this, multicloud is becoming more common among organisations as they shift their workloads to avoid being dependent on a single platform. The three major cloud providers – Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform – account for 65% of the cloud market.

https://www.darkreading.com/dr-tech/growing-reliance-on-cloud-brings-new-security-challenges

• Many IT Pros Don’t Think a Ransomware Attack Can Impact Microsoft 365 Data

The 2022 Ransomware Report, which surveyed over 2,000 IT leaders, revealed that 24% have been victims of a ransomware attack, with 20% of attacks happening in the last year.

Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year’s ransomware survey revealed that 21% of 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. Our survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security. As bad actors develop new techniques, companies like ours have to do what it takes to come out ahead and protect businesses around the world,” said Hornetsecurity.

The report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. 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 backup their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks,” said Hofmann.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ransomware-attack-impact-microsoft-365-data/

• Ransomware Group Bypasses "Enormous" Range of EDR Tools

A notorious ransomware group has been spotted leveraging sophisticated techniques to bypass endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools.

BlackByte, which the US government has said poses a serious threat to critical infrastructure, used a “Bring Your Own Driver” technique to circumvent over 1000 drivers used by commercially available EDR products, according to Sophos. The UK cyber security vendor explained in a new report that the group had exploited a known vulnerability, CVE-2019-16098, in Windows graphics utility driver RTCorec6.sys. This enabled it to communicate directly with a victim system’s kernel and issue commands to disable callback routines used by EDR tools.

The group also used EDR bypass techniques borrowed from open source tool EDRSandblast to deactivate the Microsoft-Windows-Threat-Intelligence ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) provider. This is a Windows feature “that provides logs about the use of commonly maliciously abused API calls such as NtReadVirtualMemory to inject into another process’s memory,” explained Sophos. Neutralising it in this way renders any security tool relying on the feature also useless, the firm argued.

“If you think of computers as a fortress, for many EDR providers, ETW is the guard at the front gate,” said Sophos. “If the guard goes down, then that leaves the rest of the system extremely vulnerable. And, because ETW is used by so many different providers, BlackByte’s pool of potential targets for deploying this EDR bypass is enormous.”

BlackByte is not the only ransomware group using these advanced techniques to get around existing detection tools, illustrating the continued arms race between attackers and defenders. AvosLocker used a similar method in May, Sophos said. “Anecdotally, from what we’re seeing in the field, it does appear that EDR bypass is becoming a more popular technique for ransomware threat groups,” the firm confirmed. “This is not surprising. Threat actors often leverage tools and techniques developed by the ‘offensive security’ industry to launch attacks faster and with minimal effort.”

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-bypasses-enormous-range/

• MS Exchange Zero-Days: The Calm Before the Storm?

Two exploited MS Exchange zero-days that still have no official fix, have been added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog.

But mitigating the risk of exploitation until patches are ready will require patience and doggedness, as Microsoft is still revising its advice to admins and network defenders, and still working on the patches.

The two vulnerabilities were publicly documented last Wednesday, by researchers with Vietnamese company GTSC, and Microsoft soon after sprung into (discernible) action by offering customer guidance, followed by an analysis of the attacks exploiting the two vulnerabilities. Several changes have been made to the documents since then, after the company found and other researchers pointed out several shortcomings.

Microsoft says its threat analysts observed “activity related to a single activity group in August 2022 that achieved initial access and compromised Exchange servers by chaining CVE-2022-41040 and CVE-2022-41082 in a small number of targeted attacks,” and that the attackers breached fewer than 10 organisations globally. “MSTIC assesses with medium confidence that the single activity group is likely to be a state-sponsored organisation,” they added.

The other good news is there are still no public exploits for the two vulnerabilities. But, Microsoft says, “Prior Exchange vulnerabilities that require authentication have been adopted into the toolkits of attackers who deploy ransomware, and these vulnerabilities are likely to be included in similar attacks due to the highly privileged access Exchange systems confer onto an attacker.”

Enterprise defenders should expect trouble via this attack path in the near future, it seems, so keeping abreast of the changing situation and springing into action as quickly as possible once the patches are made available is advised. Scammers have since started impersonating security researchers and offering non-existing PoC exploits for CVE-2022-41082 for sale via GitHub

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/03/ms-exchange-cve-2022-41040-cve-2022-41082/

• Average Company with Data in the Cloud Faces $28 Million in Data-Breach Risk

Hard-to-control collaboration, complex SaaS permissions, and risky misconfigurations — such as admin accounts without multi-factor authentication (MFA) — have left a dangerous amount of cloud data exposed to insider threats and cyber attacks, according to Varonis.

For the report, researchers analysed nearly 10 billion cloud objects (more than 15 petabytes of data) across a random sample of data risk assessments performed at more than 700 companies worldwide. In the average company, 157,000 sensitive records are exposed to everyone on the internet by SaaS sharing features, representing $28 million in data-breach risk, Varonis researchers have found.

One out of every 10 records in the cloud is exposed to all employees — creating an impossibly large internal blast radius, which maximises damage during a ransomware attack. The average company has 4,468 user accounts without MFA enabled, making it easier for attackers to compromise internally exposed data.

Out of 33 super admin accounts in the average organisation, more than half did not have MFA enabled. This makes it easier for attackers to compromise these powerful accounts, steal more data, and create backdoors. Companies have more than 40 million unique permissions across SaaS applications, creating a nightmare for IT and security teams responsible for managing and reducing cloud data risk.

“Cloud security shouldn’t be taken for granted. When security teams lack critical visibility to manage and protect SaaS and IaaS apps and services, it’s nearly impossible to ensure your data isn’t walking out the door,” said Varonis. “This report is a true-to-life picture of over 700 real-world risk assessments of production SaaS environments. The results underscore the urgent need for CISOs to uncover and remediate their cloud risk as quickly as possible.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/05/company-data-breach-risk/

• Secureworks Finds Network Intruders See Little Resistance

Attackers who break into networks only need to take a few basic measures in order to avoid detection.

Security vendor Secureworks said in its annual State of the Threat report that it observed several data breaches between June 2021 and June 2022 and found that, by and large, once network intruders gained a foothold on the targets' environment, they had to do relatively little to stay concealed.

"One thing that is notable about them is that none of these techniques are particularly sophisticated," the vendor said. "That is because threat actors do not need them to be; the adversary will only innovate enough to achieve their objectives. So there is a direct relationship between the maturity of the controls in a target environment and the techniques they employ to bypass those controls."

Among the more basic measures taken by the attackers was coding their tools in newer languages such as Go or Rust. This tweak created enough of a difference in the software to evade signature-checking tools, according to Secureworks' report. In other cases, the network intruders hid their activity by packing their malware within a trusted Windows installer or by sneaking it into the Authenticode signature of a trusted DLL. In another case, a malware infection was seen moving data out of the victim's network via TOR nodes. While effective, Secureworks said the techniques are hardly innovative. Rather, they indicate that threat actors find themselves only needing to do the bare minimum to conceal themselves from detection.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/252525696/Secureworks-finds-network-intruders-see-little-resistance

• Regulations, Laws and Accountability are Changing the Cyber Security Landscape

As cyber criminals continue to develop new ways to wreak havoc, regulators have been working to catch up. They aim to protect data and consumers while avoiding nation-state attacks that are a risk to national and economic security. But some of these regulations may provide an opportunity for MSSPs.

Some of these regulations are a response to what’s generally been a hands-off approach to telling organisations what to do. Unfortunately, cyber security isn’t always prioritised when budgets and resources are allocated. The result is a steadily rising tide of breaches and exploits that have held organisations hostage and made private information available on the dark web.

The new regulations are coming from all directions: at the state and federal levels in the US and around the world. While many of these regulations aren’t yet final, there’s no reason not to start aligning with where trends will ease the impact of changing rules. At the same time, many organisations want to hold the government responsible for some kinds of attacks. It will be interesting to see how regulating works, as most politicians and bureaucrats aren’t known for their technological savvy.

In the US, for example, new regulations are in development in the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Thirty-six states have enacted cyber security legislation, and the count increases as other countries join.

One of the motivating factors for all these new regulations is that most cyber attacks aren’t reported. Lawmakers realise cyber security threats continue to be one of the top national security and economic risks. In the last year and a half (2020-2022), there have been attacks on America’s gas supply, meat supply, and various other companies, courts, and government agencies. One FBI cyber security official estimated the government only learns about 20% to 25% of intrusions at US business and academic institutions.

In March, Congress passed legislation requiring critical infrastructure operators to report significant cyber attacks to CISA within 72 hours of learning about the attack. It also required them to report a ransomware payment within 24 hours. These regulations will also consider reporting “near misses” so that this data can also be studied and tracked. The problem is, how does one define a “near miss”?

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-guests/regulations-laws-and-accountability-are-changing-the-cybersecurity-landscape/

• This Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats

OpenText announced the Nastiest Malware of 2022, a ranking of the year’s biggest cyber threats. For the fifth year running, experts combed through the data, analysed different behaviours, and determined which malicious payloads are the nastiest.

Emotet regained its place at the top, reminding the world that while affiliates may be taken down, the masterminds are resilient. LockBit evolved its tactics into something never seen before: triple extortion. Analysis also revealed an almost 1100% increase in phishing during the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, indicating a possible end to the “hacker holiday,” a hacker rest period following the busy holiday season.

“The key takeaway from this year’s findings is that malware remains centre stage in the threats posed towards individuals, businesses, and governments,” said OpenText.

“Cyber criminals continue to evolve their tactics, leaving the infosec community in a constant state of catch-up. With the mainstream adoption of ransomware payloads and cryptocurrency facilitating payments, the battle will continue. No person, no business—regardless of size—is immune to these threats.”

While this year’s list may designate payloads into different categories of malware, it’s important to note many of these bad actor groups contract work from others. This allows each group to specialise in their respective payload and perfect it.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/06/2022-nastiest-malware/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Ransomware Attacks On The Rise, Secureworks Reveals in its State of the Threat Report - MSSP Alert

• Ransomware: This is how half of attacks begin, and this is how you can stop them | ZDNET

• Fake adult sites push data wipers disguised as ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ferrari Hit By Ransomware Attack: 7 GB Of Data Published Online – Expert (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• BlackByte Ransomware Abuses Vulnerable Windows Driver to Disable Security Solutions (thehackernews.com)

• BlackByte ransomware abuses legit driver to disable security products (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attacks ravage schools, municipal governments (techtarget.com)

• Ransomware 3.0: The Next Frontier (darkreading.com)

• More and more ransomware is just data theft, no encryption • The Register

• Netwalker ransomware affiliate sentenced to 20 years in prison (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs

• ADATA denies RansomHouse cyber attack, says leaked data from 2021 breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Avast releases a free decryptor for some Hades ransomware variants - Security Affairs

• Cyber criminals Leak LA School Data After It Refuses to Ransom (vice.com)

• How Ransomware Is Causing Chaos in American Schools (vice.com)

• Ransomware hunters: the self-taught tech geniuses fighting cyber crime | Cyber crime | The Guardian

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Hackers Can Use 'App Mode' in Chromium Browsers' for Stealth Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Phishing Campaigns Target KFC, McDonald's in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Callback phishing attacks evolve their social engineering tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 3 ways enterprises can mitigate social engineering risks - Help Net Security

Malware

• OpenText Releases List Of The Year’s “Nastiest” Malware - MSSP Alert

• This devious malware is able to disable your antivirus | TechRadar

• Bumblebee Malware Loader's Payloads Significantly Vary by Victim System (darkreading.com)

• Eternity Group Hackers Offering New LilithBot Malware-as-a-Service to Cyber criminals (thehackernews.com)

• Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• NullMixer Dropper Delivers a Multimalware Code Bomb (darkreading.com)

• Maggie malware already infected over 250 Microsoft SQL servers - Security Affairs

Mobile

• Android Spyware 'RatMilad' Targets Enterprise Devices in Iran - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• 7 IoT Devices That Make Security Pros Cringe (darkreading.com)

• Ikea Smart Light System Flaw Lets Attackers Turn Bulbs on Full Blast (darkreading.com)

• Acronis founder is afraid of his own vacuum cleaner • The Register

Data Breaches/Leaks

• “Egypt Leaks” – Hacktivists are Leaking Financial Data - Security Affairs

• No Shangri-La for you: Top hotel chain confirms data leak • The Register

• Home Office reprimanded after sensitive counter-terror documents left at London venue | The Independent

• NSA: Someone hacked military contractor and stole data • The Register

• City of Tucson discloses data breach affecting over 123,000 people (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Optus Says ID Numbers of 2.1 Million Compromised in Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com

• Aussie Telco Telstra Breached, Reportedly Exposing 30,000 Employees' Data (darkreading.com)

• 2K warns users their info has been stolen following breach of its help desk | Ars Technica

• Russian retail chain 'DNS' confirms hack after data leaked online (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Breaking: Scams Linked To Crypto Soared By 335% (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Hacker steals $566 million worth of crypto from Binance Bridge (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Binance Says $100 Million Stolen in Latest Crypto Hack (gizmodo.com)

• Hackers are breaching scam sites to hijack crypto transactions (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Why Don't CISOs Trust Their Employees? (darkreading.com)

• Meta sues app dev for stealing over 1 million WhatsApp accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• To avoid insider threats, try empathy - Help Net Security

• Microsoft publishes report on holistic insider risk management - Microsoft Security Blog

• Unearth offboarding risks before your employees say goodbye - Help Net Security

• Splunk alleges source code theft by former employee • The Register

• Ex-NSA Employee Arrested for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to a Foreign Government (thehackernews.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• ICO Fines Four "Predatory" Privacy-Invading Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Consumers Feel Hopeless in Protecting Themselves Against Cyber crime, ISACA Reports - MSSP Alert

• BEC fraudster and romance scammer sent to prison for 25 years – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Hackers Target Homebuyers’ Life Savings in Real Estate Scam - Bloomberg

• Russians dodging mobilization behind flourishing scam market (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Scammers and rogue callers – can anything ever stop them? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Healthcare Company Owners Get Jail Time for $7m Fraud Scheme - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Online romance scam boss netted $9.5m, jailed for 25 years • The Register

Deepfakes

• How a deepfake Mark Ruffalo scammed half a million dollars from a lonely heart • Graham Cluley

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Live support service hacked to spread malware in supply chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Supply Chain Attack Targets Customer Engagement Firm Comm100 | SecurityWeek.Com

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• DDoS Attacks Spike in First Half of 2022 to Highest Levels in Four Years - MSSP Alert

Cloud/SaaS

• How Will the Metaverse Affect Cloud Security? (trendmicro.com)

• Hardening data security in the cloud • The Register

• Monitoring Your Cloud And Hybrid IT Infrastructure: How To Find The Right Monitoring Solution (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Encryption

• Loads of connected PostgreSQL systems do not use SSL • The Register

API

• More Than 30% of All Malicious Attacks Target Shadow APIs (darkreading.com)

• APIs are quickly becoming the most popular attack vector - Help Net Security

• The Problem of API Security and How To Fix It (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• API authentication failures demonstrate the need for zero trust - Help Net Security

• Shadow APIs hit with 5 billion malicious requests - Help Net Security

Open Source

• When transparency is also obscurity: The conundrum that is open-source security - Help Net Security

• How Secure is Using Open Source Components? - IT Security Guru

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Microsoft warns Basic Auth users over password spray attacks • The Register

• Is mandatory password expiration helping or hurting your password security? - Help Net Security

• Detecting and preventing LSASS credential dumping attacks - Microsoft Security Blog

• Meta Says It Has Busted More Than 400 Login-Stealing Apps This Year | WIRED

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• The gap between security and privacy, and what it will take to bridge it - Help Net Security

• ICO Fines Four "Predatory" Privacy-Invading Firms - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• New Telecoms Security Framework Comes Into Force (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• CIS Controls v8: Safeguards to mitigate the most prevalent cyber-attacks - Help Net Security

Secure Disposal

• The astronomical costs of an asset disposal program gone wrong | CSO Online

• New forensic analysis of electronical devices unveils dangers of inadequate data disposal for individuals and businesses - Business in the News

Backup and Recovery

• Giving Away the Keys to Your Backups? Here’s How to Keep Out Hackers (darkreading.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Police arrest teen for using leaked Optus data to extort victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

• Relentless Russian Cyber attacks on Ukraine Raise Important Policy Questions (darkreading.com)

• Finnish intelligence warns of Russia's cyber espionage activities - Security Affairs

• Kazakhstan Pins Wave Of Cyber attacks On Foreign Actors | OilPrice.com

• Albania weighed invoking NATO’s Article 5 over Iranian cyber attack - POLITICO

• Russian Hackers Take Aim at Kremlin Targets: Report - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• We breached Russian satellite network, say pro-Ukraine partisans | Cybernews

• Ukrainian forces report Starlink outages during push against Russia | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Android Spyware 'RatMilad' Targets Enterprise Devices in Iran - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Report: Mexico Continued to Use Spyware Against Activists | SecurityWeek.Com

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – China

• US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register

• Cheerscrypt ransomware is linked to Chinese DEV-0401 APT group - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Lazarus employed an exploit in a Dell firmware driver in recent attacks - Security Affairs

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Vulnerability Management

• CISA mandates vulnerability detection and reporting rules • The Register

• The Zero Day Dilemma | SecurityWeek.Com

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Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Issues Improved Mitigations for Unpatched Exchange Server Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Fortinet warns admins to patch critical auth bypass bug immediately (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Communications, Networking Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Atlassian, Microsoft bugs make CISA’s must-patch list • The Register

• US authorities name China's 20 favourite vulns to exploit • The Register

• October 2022 Patch Tuesday forecast: Looking for treats, not more tricks - Help Net Security

• Fake Microsoft Exchange ProxyNotShell exploits for sale on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA Warns of Attacks Exploiting Recent Atlassian Bitbucket Vulnerability | SecurityWeek.Com

• No fix in sight for mile-wide loophole plaguing a key Windows defence for years | Ars Technica

• Hackers Exploiting Unpatched RCE Flaw in Zimbra Collaboration Suite (thehackernews.com)

• Lazarus employed an exploit in a Dell firmware driver in recent attacks - Security Affairs

• Unpatched Zimbra flaw under attack is letting hackers backdoor servers | Ars Technica

• macOS Archive Utility Bug Lets Malicious Apps Bypass Security Checks (darkreading.com)

• Fortinet Warns of New Auth Bypass Flaw Affecting FortiGate and FortiProxy (thehackernews.com)

• VMware fixed a high-severity bug in vCenter Server - Security Affairs

• BlackByte Ransomware Abuses Vulnerable Windows Driver to Disable Security Solutions (thehackernews.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 State of the Threat Report | Secureworks

• Building a Holistic Insider Risk Management Program

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Other News

• Guilty verdict in the Uber breach case makes personal liability real for CISOs | CSO Online

• Cyber attackers view smaller organisations as easier targets - Help Net Security

• Moody's turns up the heat on 'riskiest' sectors for attacks • The Register

• 5 reasons why security operations are getting harder | CSO Online

• Former NSA Employee Faces Death Penalty for Selling Secrets (darkreading.com)

• Fast Company Is Back From the Dead After Being Hacked (gizmodo.com)

• Ready Or Not, Web 3 Is Coming And With It Comes Cybersquatting 2.0 (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber Hygiene: 5 Best Practices for Company Buy-In (trendmicro.com)

• School Is in Session: 5 Lessons for Future Cyber Security Pros (darkreading.com)

• Want More Secure Software? Start Recognizing Security-Skilled Developers (thehackernews.com)

• Incident responders increasingly seek out mental health assistance - Help Net Security

• You Are Not Alone If You're Unclear About Extended Detection and Response (XDR) - MSSP Alert

• Why digital trust is the bedrock of business relationships - Help Net Security

• Incident Responders Driven by Sense of Duty, Handcuffed by Volume of Cyber attacks, IBM Reports - MSSP Alert

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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

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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.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 22 October 2021

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.

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Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

Many Organisations Lack Basic Cyber Hygiene Despite High Confidence In Their Cyber Defences

A new report released this week analysed IT security leaders’ perceived threat of ransomware attacks and the maturity of their cyber security defences. The report found that while 81% of those surveyed consider their security to be above average or exceptional, many lack basic cyber hygiene – 41% lack a password complexity requirement, one of the cheapest, easiest forms of protection, and only 55.6% have implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA). https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/21/organizations-cyber-hygiene/

83% Of Ransomware Victims Paid Ransom

A new survey of 300 US-based IT decision-makers found that 64% have been victims of a ransomware attack in the last 12 months, and 83% of those attack victims paid the ransom demand.

Cybersecurity company ThycoticCentrify released its "2021 State of Ransomware Survey & Report" on Tuesday, featuring the insights of IT leaders who have dealt with ransomware attacks over the last year. https://www.zdnet.com/article/83-of-ransomware-victims-paid-ransom-survey/

Ransomware Affected 72% Of Organisations In Past Year

72% of organisations were affected by ransomware at least once within the past twelve months, with 18% impacted more than six times in the past year. Organizations of all sizes were affected nearly to the same extent, with the exception of those with more than 25,000 employees. https://venturebeat.com/2021/10/20/report-ransomware-affected-72-of-organizations-in-past-year/

Ransomware: Looking For Weaknesses In Your Own Network Is Key To Stopping Attacks

Ransomware is a major cybersecurity threat to organisations around the world, but it's possible to reduce the impact of an attack if you have a thorough understanding of your own network and the correct protections are in place.

While the best form of defence is to stop ransomware infiltrating the network in the first place, thinking about how the network is put together can help slow down or stop the spread of an attack, even if the intruders have successfully breached the perimeter. https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-looking-for-weaknesses-in-your-own-network-is-key-to-stopping-attacks/

A Hacker Warns: Give Up Trying To Keep Me Out — And Focus On Your Data

There is a misconceived notion that the security arena is a battlefield. It is not. It is a chess board and requires foresight and calculated pawn placement to protect the king — your data. If your main focus lies on keeping hackers out of your environment, then it’s already check mate. Your mission should be to buy time, slow hackers down and ultimately contain an attack.

Businesses must therefore make it as hard as possible for adversaries to exploit the relationships that allow them to move laterally through the corporate network. They can do this by distrusting anyone within their data’s environment and repeatedly corroborating that all users are who they say they are, and that they act like it too. That last part is crucial, because while identities are easy to compromise and imitate, behaviours are not. https://www.ft.com/content/93cec8b6-3fe9-4e9e-800a-62e13a0e2eac

Cyber Risk Trends Driving The Surge In Ransomware Incidents

During the COVID-19 crisis, another outbreak took place in the cyber space: a digital pandemic driven by ransomware. In a recent report, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) analyzes the latest risk developments around ransomware and outlines how companies can strengthen their defenses with good cyber hygiene and IT security practices

The increasing frequency and severity of ransomware incidents is driven by several factors:

·         Growing number of different attack patterns such as double and triple extortion campaigns

·         Criminal business model around ‘ransomware as a service’ and cryptocurrencies

·         Recent skyrocketing of ransom demands

·         Rise of supply chain attacks.

Not all attacks are targeted. Criminals also adopt a scattergun approach to exploit those businesses that aren’t addressing or understanding the vulnerabilities they may have. Businesses must understand the need to strengthen their controls.

Cyber intrusion activity globally jumped 125% in the first half of 2021 compared to the previous year, according to Accenture, with ransomware and extortion operations one of the major contributors behind this increase. According to the FBI, there was a 62% increase in ransomware incidents in the US in the same period that followed an increase of 20% for the full year 2020. https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/10/18/five-ransomware-trends/

US Ransomware Victims Paid $600 Million to Hackers in 1H of 2021

US Ransomware victims coughed up nearly $600 million to cyber hijackers in the first six months of 2021, further stamping cyber extortionists as an “increasing threat” to the U.S. financial, business and public sectors, a recent report released by the Treasury Department said.

Data gathered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) derived from financial institutions’ Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) revealed that the 635 reports filed for the first six months of this year is already 30 percent greater than the 487 filed for all of last year. Some 458 financial transitions have been reported as of June 30, 2021 with the total value of suspicious activity reported in ransomware-related SARs during the first six months of 2021 amounting to $590 million, or 42 percent more than the $416 million filed for all of 2020. https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/victims-paid-600-millon-1h-2021/

Hacking Group Created Fake Cyber Security Companies To Hire Experts And Involve Them In Ransomware Attacks Tricking Them Of Conducting A Pentest

The FIN7 hacking group is attempting to enter in the ransomware business and is doing it with an interesting technique. The gang is creating fake cyber security companies that hire experts requesting them to carry out pen testing attacks under the guise of pentesting activities.

FIN7 is a Russian criminal group that has been active since mid-2015, it focuses on restaurants, gambling, and hospitality industries in the US to harvest financial information that was used in attacks or sold in cybercrime marketplaces.

One of the companies created by the cyber criminal organizations with this purpose is Combi Security, but researchers from Gemini Advisory discovered other similar organizations by analyzing the site of another fake cybersecurity company named Bastion Security. https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/123673/cyber-crime/fin7-fake-cybersecurity-firm.html

Nearly Three-Quarters of Organisations Victimized by DNS Attacks in Past 12 Months

Domain name system (DNS) attacks are impacting organizations at worrisome rates. According to a new survey from the Neustar International Security Council (NISC) conducted in September 2021, 72% of study participants reported experiencing a DNS attack within the last 12 months. Among those targeted, 61% have seen multiple attacks and 11% said they have been victimized regularly. While one-third of respondents recovered within minutes, 58% saw their businesses disrupted for more than an hour, and 14% took several hours to recover. https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/nearly-three-quarters-of-organizations-victimized-by-dns-attacks-in-past-12-months

Cyber Crime Matures As Hackers Are Forced To Work Smarter

An analysis of 500 hacking incidents across a wide range of industries has revealed trends that characterize a maturity in the way hacking groups operate today.

Researchers at Kaspersky have focused on the Russian cybercrime underground, which is currently one of the most prolific ecosystems, but many elements in their findings are common denominators for all hackers groups worldwide.

One key finding of the study is that the level of security on office software, web services, email platforms, etc., is getting better, browser vulnerabilities have reduced in numbers, and websites are not as easy to compromise and use as infection vectors today.

This has resulted in making web infections too difficult to pursue for non-sophisticated threat groups.

The case is similar with vulnerabilities, which are fewer and more expensive to discover.

Instead, hacking groups are waiting for a PoC or patch to be released, and then use that information to create their own exploits. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cybercrime-matures-as-hackers-are-forced-to-work-smarter/

Hackers Stealing Browser Cookies to Hijack High-Profile YouTube Accounts

Since at least late 2019, a network of hackers-for-hire have been hijacking the channels of YouTube creators, luring them with bogus collaboration opportunities to broadcast cryptocurrency scams or sell the accounts to the highest bidder.

That's according to a new report published by Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which said it disrupted financially motivated phishing campaigns targeting the video platform with cookie theft malware. The actors behind the infiltration have been attributed to a group of hackers recruited in a Russian-speaking forum. https://thehackernews.com/2021/10/hackers-stealing-browser-cookies-to.html

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Threats

Ransomware

• 2021 Ransomware Transactions Already Exceed 2020 Numbers, Treasury Department Says - CyberScoop

• Ransomware: US Financial Institutions Report Major Increase In Payments To Cybercriminals - CNNpolitics

• DarkSide Ransomware Rushes To Cash Out $7 Million In Bitcoin (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Gigabyte Allegedly Hit by AvosLocker Ransomware | Threatpost

• Evil Corp Demands $40 Million In New Macaw Ransomware Attacks (Bleepingcomputer.com)

• Olympus US Hack Tied To Sanctioned Russian Ransomware Group | Techcrunch

• 81% of UK Healthcare Organizations Hit by Ransomware in Last Year - Infosecurity Magazine

BEC

• BEC Attacks: Scammers' Latest Tricks - Help Net Security

• Palo Alto Warns of BEC-As-A-Service | ZDNet

Phishing

• This Monster Of A Phishing Campaign Is After Your Passwords | ZDNet

Malware

• Cyber Criminals Have Found A Way To Get Their Malware Certified By Microsoft | Techradar

• Watch Out: ‘Squid Game’ Malware Hits Google Play As Hundreds Of Unofficial Apps Flood Store (forbes.com)

• Minecraft Declared The Most Malware-Infected Game (Hackread.Com)

Mobile

• Experts Hacked A Fully Patched iOS 15 Running On iPhone 13 At Tianfu Cup - Security Affairs

Vulnerabilities

• Update Now! Chrome Fixes More Security Issues - Malwarebytes Labs

• Patch PowerShell Now, Microsoft Tells Admins | TechRadar

• A Flaw In WinRAR Could Lead To Remote Code Execution - Security Affairs

• Injection Vulnerabilities In Popular WordPress Plugin Could Expose Credentials, Allow Admin Access | The Daily Swig (Portswigger.Net)

• SQL Is The Top Critical Risk In The Web Application Layer In Q3, 2021 - IT Security Guru

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Data Scrapers Expose 2.6 Million Instagram and TikTok Users - Infosecurity Magazine

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Criminals Use Fake AI Voice To Swindle UAE Bank Out Of $35m • The Register

Insider Threats

• Most Employees Believe Backing Up Company Data Is Not Their Problem - Help Net Security

Dark Web

• The Dark Web Has Become Darker And Busier, Cyber Crime Services Cost Less Than $500 | Techspot

• Increased Activity Surrounding Stolen Data On The Dark Web - Help Net Security

• The Truth About The Dark Web's Secret Red Rooms (grunge.com)

Supply Chain

• Supply Chain Cybersecurity Breaches Have Hit Alarming Percentage Of Firms: Survey | Fox Business

OT, ICS, IIoT and SCADA

• Shared Responsibility Key to Protecting Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine

Nation State Actors

• State-Backed Hackers Breach Telcos With Custom Malware (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Suspected Chinese Hackers Behind Attacks On Ten Israeli Hospitals (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

Cloud

• Russian Cyber-Criminals Switch to Cloud - Infosecurity Magazine

Privacy

• Over 80% of Brits Deluged with Scam Calls and Texts - Infosecurity Magazine

• How mobile devices can be tracked via Bluetooth analysis • The Register

• Brave Ditches Google For Its Own Privacy-Centric Search Engine (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• A Massive ‘Stalkerware’ Leak Puts The Phone Data Of Thousands At Risk | Techcrunch

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Ransomware Report: State of Ransomware Survey & Report (thycotic.com)

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Other News

• The Simmering Cybersecurity Risk of Employee Burnout (darkreading.com)

• Acer Hacked Twice In A Week By The Same Threat Actor (Bleepingcomputer.Com)

• Threat Actors Abusing Discord to Spread Malware - Infosecurity Magazine

• Mysterious Hacking Group Is Quietly Breaking Into Global Telecommunications Networks, Research Finds | Sky News

• Hacker Steals Government Id Database For Argentina's Entire Population - The Record By Recorded Future

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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 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.