Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 16 June 2023

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Hacker Gang Clop Deploys Extortion Tactics Against Global Companies

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

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

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

• Social Engineering Drives BEC Losses to $50B Globally

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Europol Warns of Metaverse and AI Terror Threat

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

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

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

• What is AI, and is it Dangerous?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Governance, Risk and Compliance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• How the modern CIO grapples with legacy IT | CIO

• Cyber debt levels reach tipping point - Help Net Security

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

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

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

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

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

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Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Ransomware review: June 2023 (malwarebytes.com)

Ransomware Victims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEC – Business Email Compromise

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

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

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

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

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

Artificial Intelligence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2FA/MFA

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

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

Malware

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mobile

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

Denial of Service/DoS/DDOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Internet of Things – IoT

• Why attackers love to target IoT devices | VentureBeat

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

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

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

Data Breaches/Leaks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Swiss Fear Government Data Stolen in Cyber attack - SecurityWeek

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

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

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

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

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

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

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

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

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

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

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

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

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

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

• Top 10 Risky Behaviours of Employees - IT Security Guru

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

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

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

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

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

Impersonation Attacks

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

Insurance

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

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

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

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

Dark Web

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

Supply Chain and Third Parties

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

Cloud/SaaS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Encryption

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

Open Source

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

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

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

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

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

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

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

Training, Education and Awareness

• Top 10 Risky Behaviours of Employees - IT Security Guru

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

Digital Transformation

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

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

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

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

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

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

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

• Feds extend deadline for software security attestations • The Register

Models, Frameworks and Standards

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

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

Data Protection

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

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

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

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

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

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

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nation State Actors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Vulnerability Management

• Why Detecting Behaviors Beats Zero-Days | Blumira

Vulnerabilities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tools and Controls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Secure Sign-in Trends Report | Okta

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

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

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

• Why Detecting Behaviours Beats Zero-Days | Blumira

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

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

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

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

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

• Cyber debt levels reach tipping point - Help Net Security

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

• Attack Surface Management Strategies (trendmicro.com)

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

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

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Secure Sign-in Trends Report | Okta

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

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Other News

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

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

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

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

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

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Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.

·       Automotive

·       Construction

·       Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

·       Defence & Space

·       Education & Academia

·       Energy & Utilities

·       Estate Agencies

·       Financial Services

·       FinTech

·       Food & Agriculture

·       Gaming & Gambling

·       Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)

·       Health/Medical/Pharma

·       Hotels & Hospitality

·       Insurance

·       Legal

·       Manufacturing

·       Maritime

·       Oil, Gas & Mining

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

·       Retail & eCommerce

·       Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)

·       Startups

·       Telecoms

·       Third Sector & Charities

·       Transport & Aviation

·       Web3

---

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

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

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

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

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 March 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

• Morgan Stanley Client Accounts Breached in Social Engineering Attacks

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management says some of its customers had their accounts compromised in social engineering attacks.

The account breaches were the result of vishing (aka voice phishing), a social engineering attack where scammers impersonate a trusted entity (in this case Morgan Stanley) during a voice call to convince their targets into revealing sensitive information such as banking or login credentials.

The company said in a notice sent to affected clients that, "on or around February 11, 2022," a threat actor impersonating Morgan Stanley gained access to their accounts after tricking them into providing their Morgan Stanley Online account info.

After successfully breaching their accounts, the attacker also electronically transferred money to their own bank account by initiating payments using the Zelle payment service.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/morgan-stanley-client-accounts-breached-in-social-engineering-attacks/

• Ransomware Is Scary, But Another Scam Is Costing Victims Much, Much More

Business email compromise (BEC) remains the biggest source of financial losses, which totalled $2.4 billion in 2021, up from an estimated $1.8 billion in 2020, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Center (IC3).

The FBI says in its 2021 annual report that Americans last year lost $6.9 billion to scammers and cyber criminals through ransomware, BEC, and cryptocurrency theft related to financial and romance scams. In 2020, that figure stood at $4.2 billion.

Last year, FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 847,376 complaints about cybercrime losses, up 7% from 791,790 complaints in 2020.

BEC has been the largest source of fraud for several years despite ransomware attacks grabbing most headlines.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-is-scary-but-another-scam-is-costing-victims-much-much-more-says-fbi/#ftag=RSSbaffb68

• Phishing Kits Constantly Evolve to Evade Security Software

Modern phishing kits sold on cybercrime forums as off-the-shelf packages feature multiple, sophisticated detection avoidance and traffic filtering systems to ensure that internet security solutions won’t mark them as a threat.

Fake websites that mimic well-known brands are abundant on the internet to lure victims and steal their payment details or account credentials.

Most of these websites are built using phishing kits that feature brand logos, realistic login pages, and in cases of advanced offerings, dynamic webpages assembled from a set of basic elements.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/phishing-kits-constantly-evolve-to-evade-security-software/

• Ransomware Payment Demands Rose Dramatically in 2021

Ransomware attackers demanded dramatically higher ransom fees last year, and the average ransom payment rose by 78% to $541,010, according to data from incident response (IR) cases investigated by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42.

IR cases by Unit 42 also saw a whopping 144% increase in ransom demands, to $2.2 million. According to the report, the most victimised sectors were professional and legal services, construction, wholesale and retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Cyber extortion spiked, with 85% of ransomware victims — some 2, 556 organisations — having their data dumped and exposed on leak sites, according to the "2022 Unit 42 Ransomware Threat Report."

Conti led the ransomware attack volume, representing some one in five cases Unit 42 investigated, followed by REvil, Hello Kitty, and Phobos.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-payments-demands-rose-dramatically-in-2021

• 7 Suspected Members of LAPSUS$ Hacker Gang, aged 16 to 21, Arrested in UK

The City of London Police has arrested seven teenagers between the ages of 16 and 21 for their alleged connections to the prolific LAPSUS$ extortion gang that's linked to a recent burst of attacks targeting NVIDIA, Samsung, Ubisoft, LG, Microsoft, and Okta.

"The City of London Police has been conducting an investigation with its partners into members of a hacking group," Detective Inspector, Michael O'Sullivan, said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. "Seven people between the ages of 16 and 21 have been arrested in connection with this investigation and have all been released under investigation. Our enquiries remain ongoing."

The development, which was first disclosed by BBC News, comes after a report from Bloomberg revealed that a 16-year-old Oxford-based teenager is the mastermind of the group. It's not immediately clear if the minor is one among the arrested individuals. The said teen, under the online alias White or Breachbase, is alleged to have accumulated about $14 million in Bitcoin from hacking.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/7-suspected-members-of-lapsus-hacker.html

• Here's How Fast Ransomware Encrypts Files

Forty-two minutes and 54 seconds: that's how quickly the median ransomware variant can encrypt and lock out a victim from 100,000 of their files.

The data point came from Splunk's SURGe team, which analysed in its lab how quickly the 10 biggest ransomware strains — Lockbit, REvil, Blackmatter, Conti, Ryuk, Avaddon, Babuk, Darkside, Maize, and Mespinoza — could encrypt 100,000 files consisting of some 53.93 gigabytes of data. Lockbit won the race, with speeds of 86% faster than the median. One Lockbit sample was clocked at encrypting 25,000 files per minute.

Splunk's team found that ransomware variants are all over the map speed-wise, and the underlying hardware can dictate their encryption speeds.

https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/here-s-how-fast-ransomware-encrypts-files

• HEAT Attacks: A New Class of Cyber Threats Organisations Are Not Prepared For

Web malware (47%) and ransomware (42%) now top the list of security threats that organisations are most concerned about. Yet despite the growing risks, just 27% have advanced threat protection in place on every endpoint device that can access corporate applications and resources.

This is according to research published by Menlo Security, exploring what steps organisations are taking to secure themselves in the wake of a new class of cyber threats – known as Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats (HEAT).

As employees spend more time working in the browser and accessing cloud-based applications, the risk of HEAT attacks increases. Almost two-thirds of organisations have had a device compromised by a browser-based attack in the last 12 months. The report suggests that organisations are not being proactive enough in mitigating the risk of these threats, with 45% failing to add strength to their network security stack over the past year. There are also conflicting views on the most effective place to deploy security to prevent advanced threats, with 43% citing the network, and 37% the cloud.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/22/web-security-threats/

• The Cyber Warfare Predicted in Ukraine May Be Yet to Come

In the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the national security community braced for a campaign combining military combat, disinformation, electronic warfare and cyber attacks. Vladimir Putin would deploy devastating cyber operations, the thinking went, to disable government and critical infrastructure, blind Ukrainian surveillance capabilities and limit lines of communications to help invading forces. But that’s not how it has played out. At least, not yet.

The danger is that as political and economic conditions deteriorate, the red lines and escalation judgments that kept Moscow’s most potent cyber capabilities in check may adjust. Western sanctions and lethal aid support to Ukraine may prompt Russian hackers to lash out against the west. Russian ransomware actors may also take advantage of the situation, possibly resorting to cyber crime as one of the few means of revenue generation.

https://www.ft.com/content/2938a3cd-1825-4013-8219-4ee6342e20ca

• The Three Russian Cyber Attacks the West Most Fears

The UK's cyber authorities are supporting the White House's calls for "increased cyber-security precautions", though neither has given any evidence that Russia is planning a cyber-attack.

Russia has previously stated that such accusations are "Russophobic".

However, Russia is a cyber-superpower with a serious arsenal of cyber-tools, and hackers capable of disruptive and potentially destructive cyber-attacks.

Ukraine has remained relatively untroubled by Russian cyber-offensives but experts now fear that Russia may go on a cyber-offensive against Ukraine's allies.

"Biden's warnings seem plausible, particularly as the West introduced more sanctions, hacktivists continue to join the fray, and the kinetic aspects of the invasion seemingly don't go to plan," says Jen Ellis, from cyber-security firm Rapid7.

This article from the BCC outlines the hacks that experts most fear, and they are repeats of things we have already seen coming out of Russia, only potentially a lot more destructive this time around.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60841924

• Do These 8 Things Now to Boost Your Security Ahead of Potential Russian Cyber Attacks

The message comes as the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ramp up warnings about Russian hacking of everything from online accounts to satellite broadband networks. CISA's current campaign is called Shields Up, which urges all organisations to patch immediately and secure network boundaries. This messaging is being echoed by UK and other Western Cyber authorities:

The use of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is being very strongly advocated. The White House and other agencies both sides of the Atlantic also urged companies to take seven other steps:

• Deploy modern security tools on your computers and devices to continuously look for and mitigate threats

• Make sure that your systems are patched and protected against all known vulnerabilities, and change passwords across your networks so that previously stolen credentials are useless to malicious actors

• Back up your data and ensure you have offline backups beyond the reach of malicious actors

• Run exercises and drill your emergency plans so that you are prepared to respond quickly to minimize the impact of any attack

• Encrypt your data so it cannot be used if it is stolen

• Educate your employees to common tactics that attackers will use over email or through websites

• Work with specialists to establish relationships in advance of any cyber incidents.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/white-house-warns-do-these-8-things-now-to-boost-your-security-ahead-of-potential-russian-cyberattacks/

• Cyber Crime Victims Suffered Losses of Over $6.9B in 2021 in the US Alone

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported a record-breaking year for 2021 in the number of complaints it received, among which business email compromise (BEC) attacks made up the majority of incidents.

IC3 handled 847,376 complaint reports last year — an increase of 7% over 2020 — which mainly revolved around phishing attacks, nonpayment/nondelivery scams, and personal data breaches. Overall, losses amounted to more than $6.9 billion.

BEC and email account compromises ranked as the No. 1 attack, accounting for 19,954 complaints and losses of around $2.4 billion.

"In 2021, heightened attention was brought to the urgent need for more cyber incident reporting to the federal government. Cyber incidents are in fact crimes deserving of an investigation, leading to judicial repercussions for the perpetrators who commit them," Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI wrote in the IC3's newly published annual report.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/fbi-cybercrime-victims-suffered-losses-of-over-6-9b-in-2021

• Expanding Threat Landscape: Cyber Criminals Attacking from All Sides

Research from Trend Micro warns of spiralling risk to digital infrastructure and remote workers as threat actors increase their rate of attack on organisations and individuals.

“Attackers are always working to increase their victim count and profit, whether through quantity or effectiveness of attacks,” said Jon Clay, VP of threat intelligence at Trend Micro.

“Our latest research shows that while Trend Micro threat detections rose 42% year-on-year in 2021 to over 94 billion, they shrank in some areas as attacks became more precisely targeted.”

Ransomware attackers are shifting their focus to critical businesses and industries more likely to pay, and double extortion tactics ensure that they are able to profit. Ransomware-as-a-service offerings have opened the market to attackers with limited technical knowledge – but also given rise to more specialisation, such as initial access brokers who are now an essential part of the cybercrime supply chain.

Threat actors are also getting better at exploiting human error to compromise cloud infrastructure and remote workers. Trend Micro detected and prevented 25.7 million email threats in 2021 compared to 16.7 million in 2020, with the volume of blocked phishing attempts nearly doubling over the period. Research shows home workers are often prone to take more risks than those in the office, which makes phishing a particular risk.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/22/threat-actors-increase-attack/

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Threats

Ransomware

• Ransomware Infections Follow Precursor Malware – Lumu • The Register

• Ransomware, Malware-as-a-Service Dominate Threat Landscape | SecurityWeek.Com

• Serious Security: DEADBOLT – The Ransomware That Goes Straight For Your Backups – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• AvosLocker Ransomware - What You Need To Know | The State of Security (tripwire.com)

• What the Conti Ransomware Group Data Leak Tells Us (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware Demands And Payments Increase With Use Of Leak Sites (computerweekly.com)

• Ten Notorious Ransomware Strains Put to The Encryption Speed Test (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lockbit Wins Ransomware Speed Test, Encrypts 25k Files/Min • The Register

• Talos warns of BlackMatter-linked BlackCat Ransomware • The Register

• Report: 89% of Organizations Say Kubernetes Ransomware Is A Problem Today | VentureBeat

• Top Russian Meat Producer Hit with Windows BitLocker Encryption Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Greece's Public Postal Service Offline Due To Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Demand $15 Million Ransom from TransUnion After Cracking "password" Password (bitdefender.com)

• Lawsuit Claims Kronos Breach Exposed Data For 'Millions' (techtarget.com)

• Estonian Man Sentenced To Prison For Role In Cyber Intrusions, Ransomware Attacks - CyberScoop

Phishing & Email

• New Phishing Toolkit Lets Anyone Create Fake Chrome Browser Windows (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Browser-in-the-Browser Attack Makes Phishing Nearly Invisible | Threatpost

• 'Unique Attack Chain' Drops Backdoor in New Phishing Campaign (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering

• Social Engineering Attacks To Dominate Web3, The Metaverse | ZDNet

Malware

• Malicious Microsoft Excel Add-Ins Used to Deliver RAT Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BitRAT Malware Now Spreading As A Windows 10 License Activator (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• URL Rendering Trick Enabled WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage Phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Downloaders Currently the Most Prevalent Android Malware (darkreading.com)

• Experts Uncover Campaign Stealing Cryptocurrency from Android and iPhone Users (thehackernews.com)

• Android Password-Stealing Malware Infects 100,000 Google Play Users (bleepingcomputer.com)

IoT

• Botnet of Thousands of MikroTik Routers Abused in Glupteba, TrickBot Campaigns (thehackernews.com)

• Honda Civics Vulnerable To Remote Unlock, Start Hack • The Register

• How to Secure Your Home WiFi Router - The Washington Post

Data Breaches/Leaks

• UK MoD's Capita-Run Recruitment Portal Support Offline • The Register

• Background Check Company Sued Over Data Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Over 40,000 London Voters Have Data Leaked to Strangers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Who is LAPSUS$, the Gang Hacking Microsoft, Samsung, and Okta? (gizmodo.com)

• Hackers Are Targeting European Refugee Charities -Ukrainian Official | Reuters

• Hackers Steal From Hackers By Pushing Fake Malware On Forums (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Oxford Teen Accused Of Making More Than £10m As A Leader Of International Cyber Gang (telegraph.co.uk)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking

• An Investigation of Cryptocurrency Scams and Schemes (trendmicro.com)

• Global Regulators Monitor Crypto Use in Ukraine War | Reuters

• Cryptocurrency Companies Impacted by HubSpot Breach (techtarget.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• 6 Types Of Insider Threats And How To Prevent Them (techtarget.com)

• HP Staffer Blew $5m On Personal Expenses With Company Card • The Register

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Internet Crime in 2021: Investment Fraud Losses Soar - Help Net Security

• NFT Fraud in the UK Soars 400% in 2021 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DeFiance Capital Founder Loses $1.7M in NFTs To Phishing Scam - Decrypt

Insurance

• How The Increase in Ransomware Has Impacted The Cyber Insurance Market - Help Net Security

• Cyber Insurance and War Exclusions (darkreading.com)

Dark Web

• Dark Web Drug Peddler Gets Nine Years - Infosecurity Magazine

Supply Chain

• 'Secrets Sprawl' Haunts Software Supply Chain Security | SecurityWeek.Com

Cloud

• As Breaches Soar, Companies Must Turn to Cloud-Native Security Solutions For Protection - Help Net Security

Passwords & Credential Stuffing

• The Top 5 Things the 2022 Weak Password Report Means for IT Security (bleepingcomputer.com)

Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare

• Russia Preparing To Conduct Cyber Attacks, White House warns - IT Security Guru

• New Mustang Panda Hacking Campaign Targets Diplomats, ISPs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vidar Spyware Is Now Hidden in Microsoft Help Files | ZDNet

• FCC Adds Kaspersky To Covered List Due To Unacceptable Risks To Security - Security Affairs

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Internet Sanctions Against Russia Pose Risks, Challenges For Businesses | CSO Online

• Is It Safe To Use Russian-Based Kaspersky Antivirus? No, And Here's Why (komando.com)

• Anonymous Leaked 28gb of Data Stolen from The Central Bank of Russia - Security Affairs

• President Biden Says Russia Exploring Revenge Cyber Attacks • The Register

• Analysis: Putin's next escalation could be a direct cyberattack on the West - CNNPolitics

• Russia-backed Hackers Bypassed MFA, Exploited Print Vulnerability - MSSP Alert

• Hackers Around The World Deluge Russia's Internet With Simple, Effective Cyber Attacks (nbcnews.com)

• Anonymous Targets Western Companies Still Active in Russia - Security Affairs

• Ukrainian Enterprises Hit with the DoubleZero Wiper - Security Affairs

• NATO, G-7 Leaders Promise Bulwark Against Retaliatory Russian Cyber Attacks (cyberscoop.com)

• Russia Hacked Ukrainian Satellite Communications, Officials Believe - BBC News

• Russia-linked InvisiMole APT Targets State Organizations Of Ukraine - Security Affairs

• Corrupted Open-Source Software Enters the Russian Battlefield | ZDNet

• Nestlé Says 'Anonymous' Data Leak Actually A Self-Own • The Register

Nation State Actors – China

• Another Chinese Hacking Group Spotted Targeting Ukraine Amid Russia Invasion (thehackernews.com)

• Chinese APT Combines Fresh Hodur RAT with Complex Anti-Detection | Threatpost

• Mustang Panda Hacking Group Takes Advantage Of Ukraine Crisis In New Attacks | ZDNet

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Dual North Korean Hacking Efforts Found Attacking Google Chrome Vulnerability for 6 Weeks - CyberScoop

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Vulnerabilities

• CISA Adds 66 Vulnerabilities To List Of Bugs Exploited In Attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Issues Urgent Chrome Update to Patch Actively Exploited Zero-Day Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Three Critical RCE Flaws Affect Hundreds of HP Printer Models - Security Affairs

• Critical Sophos Firewall vulnerability allows remote code execution (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vulnerabilities Found in 250 HP Printer Models | CSO Online

• VMware Fixes Carbon Black Command Injection, Upload Bugs • The Register

• Western Digital Fixes Critical Bug Giving Root On My Cloud NAS Devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Sector Specific

Health/Medical/Pharma Sector

• Scottish Mental Health Charity SAMH Targeted In Cyber Attack - BBC News

• 12,000 Sensitive Patient Images Leaked - IT Security Guru

• Over 1 Million Impacted in Data Breach at Texas Dental Services Provider | SecurityWeek.Com

Retail/eCommerce

• For Magecart groups and other credit-card skimmers, old and new opportunities abound - CyberScoop

Transport and Aviation

• SATCOM Networks on High Alert After US Govt Warning • The Register

Energy & Utilities

• US Charges Four Russians Over Hacking Campaign on Energy Sector - BBC News

Education and Academia

• Heriot-Watt University in Second Week of Outage • The Register

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• The 2022 State of Cyber Assets Report (jupiterone.com)

• 2022 Weak Password Report - Specops Software

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Other News

• A Better Grasp of Cyber Attack Tactics Can Stop Criminals Faster (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Chaos (and Cost) of the Lapsus$ Hacking Carnage | SecurityWeek.Com

• Soldiers told to use Signal instead of WhatsApp for security | The Times

• Cyber Security Compliance: Start With Proven Best Practices - Help Net Security

• Only 27% of Orgs Have Advanced Threat Protection on Endpoints | VentureBeat

• Okta Breach Leads To Questions On Disclosure, Reliance On Third-Party Vendors - CyberScoop

• The Challenges Audit Leaders Need To Look Out For This Year - Help Net Security

• South Korean DarkHotel Hackers Targeted Luxury Hotels in Macau (thehackernews.com)

• ISACA: Two-Thirds of Cybersecurity Teams Are Understaffed - Infosecurity Magazine

• Security Teams are Responsible for Over 165k Assets - Infosecurity Magazine

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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.