Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 29 March 2024
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
Only 3% of Organisations Globally are Fully Prepared for Cyber Threats
A new report released by Cisco found that only 3% of organisations globally are considered to be at a “mature” level of readiness that is needed to be resilient against today’s cyber threats. In contrast, 80% of the companies surveyed felt moderately to very confident in their ability to defend against a threat.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents expect a cyber incident to disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months. For many, this was based on past experience, with more than half of respondents saying that they had experienced a cyber security incident in the last 12 months, and of those, more than half of said it cost them at least $300,000. To address this, 97% of companies expect to increase their cyber security budgets in the next 12 months.
Sources: [PR Newswire] [SiliconANGLE]
China Cyber Attacks a Reminder Beijing Poses ‘Constant and Sophisticated’ Threat to Western Cyber Security
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has now implicated a Chinese-backed hacking group, APT31, in attempts to target a group of MPs. Whilst this shows how advanced the threat from China has become, it should not be a surprise. It has been alleged that the hacking campaign targeted a broad swathe of private individuals, as well as strategically important companies and government officials. Geopolitical tensions are at an all-time high, as Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, one of those targeted by the campaign says, “we must now enter a new era of relations with China, dealing with the contemporary Chinese Communist party as it really is, not as we would wish it to be.”
Sources: [Sky News] [GovInfoSecurity] [The Guardian]
Companies With Advanced Cyber Security Performance Deliver Nearly Four Times’ Higher Shareholder Return Than Their Peers
A recent report underscores the pivotal role of cyber security in financial performance, revealing that companies with genuinely advanced levels of cyber security maturity generate a 372% higher shareholder return compared to those with lower levels of maturity, as observed over a five-year period. Notably, companies with engaged board members and specialised risk committees achieve superior cyber security performance. Despite regulatory requirements, only 3% of UK organisations have a cyber security expert on their board, emphasising the need for greater board-level engagement in cyber risk management. Industries like healthcare and financial services lead in cyber security ratings, underscoring the correlation between regulatory environments and cyber security performance.
Source: [Business Wire] [Computer Weekly]
Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals’ Personal Accounts
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning that attackers faced with well-managed corporate cyber security defences, are instead turning their efforts to compromise high-risk individuals’ devices and accounts.
A high-risk individual is anyone who has access to or influence over sensitive information. For an attacker, these individuals can present a less complex route. They already know the individual has access to the data they want, it is just a case of compromising that individual.
Source: [Gov Info Security]
Cyber Security Threats in International Relations: Are We Prepared for a Digital Pearl Harbour?
Cyber security threats have reached unprecedented levels, posing significant risks to organisations and nations worldwide, with global costs predicted to soar to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, a significant increase from $6 trillion in 2021. Recent reports from IBM Security X-Force reveal that organisations face an average of 270 cyber attacks per year, equivalent to an attack every business day, underlining the persistent nature of the threat and reinforcing the old question of ‘when’ not 'if' an organisation will get hit.
The report warns of the possibility of large-scale, coordinated attacks, akin to a “Digital Pearl Harbor,” on vital infrastructure such as power grids and financial markets, with ransomware-based attacks being identified as a major risk. The emergence of cyber warfare blurs the distinction between espionage and acts of war, underscoring the need for international standards and agreements. Despite the focus on cyber threats, many organisations have risk management gaps.
Source: [Eurasia Review]
High Net Worths Urged to Improve Digital Hygiene in Fight Against Cyber Crime
High net worth individuals and their families are often targets for cyber criminals who seek to steal their money, identity, intellectual property and corporate data, and attacks are increasing. With the current state of the world, there is significant information that is publicly available. This, added to the fact that many high-net-worth individuals have lesser security controls than corporations, makes them a more lucrative target.
As these types of attacks continue to increase, it is important for individuals to ensure they are demonstrating good cyber hygiene through actions including the adoption of multi-factor authentication, limiting unnecessary social media from themselves and their family (including holidays) and understanding current tactics to be able to spot and mitigate them.
Source: [Financial Times]
Key Lessons from Microsoft’s Password Spray Hack: Secure Every Account
Earlier this year, Microsoft discovered they had been the victim of a hack orchestrated by Russian-state hackers. The attack was not highly sophisticated; in fact, it involved simply spraying passwords into an old, inactive account. Password spraying is a simple brute force technique, which has the attacker trying the same password against multiple accounts. In this case, it was enough to be able to allow attackers to commit further exfiltration.
Picture your organisation: can you guarantee that no account is using the password “Password123”? Whilst organisations may focus on protecting privileged accounts, the attack shows that every account needs to be secured, as they are all entry points to your organisation. To combat this, organisations should look to implement robust password policies and multi-factor authentication.
Source: [The Hacker News]
Mitigating Third-Party Risk Requires a Collaborative, Thorough Approach
Mitigating third-party risk may seem daunting when considering the slew of incoming regulations coupled with the increasingly advanced tactics of cyber criminals. However, most organisations have more agency and flexibility than they think they do. Third-party risk management can be built on top of existing risk governance practices and security controls that are currently implemented in the organisation. Understanding the vendor landscape, categorising vendors based on criticality, and developing tailored governance plans are crucial steps. Contractual obligations, tailored to industry standards, play a pivotal role in ensuring security measures are upheld. Additionally, establishing a robust exit strategy is imperative to safeguard data integrity post-partnership. By fostering a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement, organisations can navigate the complexities of third-party risk management effectively.
Source: [Dark Reading]
IT Leaders Struggle to Keep up With Emerging Threats, as 92% of IT Leaders Say Cyber Threats Are on the Rise, 51% See AI Attacks for the First Time
A recent survey of over 800 IT and security leaders highlights the escalating threat landscape fuelled by emerging technologies, with AI-powered attacks identified as the most serious and challenging. 92% of respondents report a year-over-year increase in cyber attacks with 95% noting heightened sophistication.
Organisations reported facing AI-powered attacks (51%), deepfake technology and supply chain attacks (both 36%), cloud jacking (35%), Internet of Things (IoT) attacks and 5G network exploits (both 34%), and fileless attacks (24%). But it is not just newer attacks; organisations are still contending with prevalent attacks like phishing, malware, and ransomware. The survey found that 84% of respondents say that phishing and smishing have become more difficult to detect with the rise in popularity of AI-powered tools, revealing that AI-powered phishing is their top concern (42%) when it comes to AI security.
With so many constantly evolving threats, and with new ones being added to the mix all the time, it is becoming more and more difficult for IT leaders to keep on top of these emerging threats.
Source: [Beta News] [The Fast Mode]
Only 5% of Boards Have Cyber Security Expertise
There is a concerning gap in cyber expertise on corporate boards, with only 5% of businesses having a cyber expert onboard, despite a direct correlation between strong cyber security and higher financial performance. Countries like France have 10% representation while Canada lags behind at just 1%. Integration of cyber experts into specialised risk committees significantly boosts cyber security performance. Furthermore, advanced security ratings translate to significantly better financial returns over three and five-year periods, underlining the pivotal role of cyber security in overall business health.
Source: [Infosecurity Magazine]
Google’s New AI Search Results Promotes Sites Pushing Malware and Scams
Earlier this month, Google began rolling out a feature called Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) in its search results, which provides AI-generated quick summaries, including site recommendations. These results, however, are pushing scams and malware. BleepingComputer found that the listed sites promoted by SGE tend to use the .online top level domain, the same HTML templates, and the same sites to perform redirects, stating “This similarity indicates that they are all part of the same SEO [search engine optimisation] poisoning campaign that allowed them to be part of the Google index.” When clicking on the site in the Google search results, visitors will go through a series of redirects until they reach a scam site. This matter highlights the need for users to stay cognisant, even when using AI to improve quality of life.
Source: [Bleeping Computer]
Report Calls Out Cyber Risks to Financial Sector Fuelled by AI
A recent report by the US Department of the Treasury has identified AI-driven cyber fraud as the primary concern for financial institutions. Smaller firms, in particular, struggle with AI development, which intensifies security concerns. Despite a focus on cyber security, risk management lapses are common across institutions. The report further notes that nearly a third of these institutions are yet to address the evolving tactics of threat actors, including social engineering, malvertising, and QR code phishing. More than 2 in 5 have pointed to the increasing use of generative AI for scaling and automating attacks as a lingering risk factor. The report emphasises that, even without mandates, there’s an urgent need for financial institutions to bolster their risk management and cyber security practices to counter these AI-driven threats.
Source: [CyberScoop]
Governance, Risk and Compliance
Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals' Personal Accounts (govinfosecurity.com)
Only 5% of Boards Have Cyber Security Expertise - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)
Wealthy urged to improve digital hygiene in fight against cyber crime (ft.com)
How threat intelligence data maximizes business operations - Help Net Security
IT leaders struggle to keep up with emerging threats (betanews.com)
More than half of organisations fall victim to cyber attacks (betanews.com)
Microsoft: 87% of UK Businesses Are Unprepared for Cyber Attacks (techrepublic.com)
Shareholders win when businesses do better at cyber | Computer Weekly
Getting Security Remediation on the Boardroom Agenda (darkreading.com)
New Cyber Threats to Challenge Financial Services Sector in 2024 (darkreading.com)
The cyber security skills shortage: A CISO perspective | CSO Online
Cyber security essentials during M&A surge - Help Net Security
Companies told cyber security has to be cross business concern (emergingrisks.co.uk)
It's Time to Stop Measuring Security in Absolutes (darkreading.com)
True Cost of a Cyber Security Breach for Your Business - Converge
35 cyber security statistics to lose sleep over in 2024 (techtarget.com)
3 Challenges CISOs Face in 2024 as Cyber Threats Explode | Corporate Counsel (law.com)
Cyber security plans should centre on resilience | MIT Sloan
Debunking compliance myths in the digital era - Help Net Security
Threats
Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks
Ransomware: lessons all companies can learn from the British Library attack - Exponential-e Blog
78% of organisations plan to increase ransomware protection | Security Magazine
Rising ransomware attacks amplify World Backup Day's importance (securitybrief.co.nz)
Building Resiliency in the Face of Ransomware - Security Boulevard
Worldwide Agenda Ransomware Wave Targets VMware ESXi Servers (darkreading.com)
US offers $10 million bounty for info on 'Blackcat' hackers who hit UnitedHealth (yahoo.com)
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 1: BlackCat/AlphV - VMRay
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 2: LockBit - VMRay
Healthcare Under Ransomware Attacks - Part 3: Rhysida - VMRay
Ransomware Victims
Hackers threaten to publish huge cache of NHS Scotland data - BBC News
Alleged sale of Communication Workers Union’s users data (marcoramilli.com)
Scullion LAW becomes victim of cyber attack | Scottish Legal News
Panera Bread experiencing nationwide IT outage since Saturday (bleepingcomputer.com)
Clorox audit flagged systemic flaws in cyber security at manufacturing plants (detroitnews.com)
Big Issue working with NCSC, NCA and Met Police to investigate cyber incident - IT Security Guru
Western Isles council tax bills delayed due to cyber attack - BBC News
Vietnam Securities Broker Suffered Cyber Attack That Suspended Trading (darkreading.com)
Phishing & Email Based Attacks
'Darcula' Phishing-as-a-Service Operation Bleeds Victims Worldwide (darkreading.com)
New StrelaStealer Phishing Attacks Hit Over 100 Organisations in EU. and US (thehackernews.com)
New MFA-bypassing phishing kit targets Microsoft 365, Gmail accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
US organisations targeted with emails delivering NetSupport RAT - Help Net Security
Scammers steal millions from FTX, BlockFi claimants - Help Net Security
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Alert: New Phishing Attack Delivers Keylogger Disguised as Bank Payment Notice (thehackernews.com)
Russia's Cozy Bear tries to phish Germans with party invites • The Register
Iran-Linked MuddyWater Deploys Atera for Surveillance in Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
Artificial Intelligence
Treasury report calls out cyber risks to financial sector fuelled by AI | CyberScoop
Google's new AI search results promotes sites pushing malware, scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
Four generative AI cyber risks that keep CISOs up at night — and how to combat them - SiliconANGLE
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Artificial intelligence now the biggest cyber threat - study (emergingrisks.co.uk)
Microsoft: 87% of UK Businesses Are Unprepared for Cyber Attacks (techrepublic.com)
Scammers exploit tax season anxiety with AI tools - Help Net Security
Experts Warn of Cyber Risk Due to Rapid AI Tool Evolution (govinfosecurity.com)
Over A Third of IT Leaders Are Ill-Equipped to Cope With AI-Powered Attacks - IT Security Guru
Beware of rogue chatbot hacking incidents (securityintelligence.com)
The Unique AI Cyber Security Challenges in the Financial Sector | Decipher (duo.com)
AI weaponisation becomes a hot topic on underground forums - Help Net Security
AI bots hallucinate software packages and devs download them • The Register
Threat Report: Examining the Use of AI in Attack Techniques (darkreading.com)
Hackers exploit Ray framework flaw to breach servers, hijack resources (bleepingcomputer.com)AWS CISO: Pay Attention to How AI Uses Your Data (darkreading.com)
2FA/MFA
New MFA-bypassing phishing kit targets Microsoft 365, Gmail accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)
Apple customers are being targeted by "MFA Bombing" password reset attack (xda-developers.com)
Malware
New StrelaStealer Phishing Attacks Hit Over 100 Organisations in E.U. and US. (thehackernews.com)
Google's new AI search results promotes sites pushing malware, scams (bleepingcomputer.com)
39,000 Websites Infected in 'Sign1' Malware Campaign - SecurityWeek
ConnectWise ScreenConnect attacks deliver malware | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
US organisations targeted with emails delivering NetSupport RAT - Help Net Security
Python devs are being targeted by this massive infostealing malware campaign | TechRadar
TheMoon bot infected 40,000 devices in January and February (securityaffairs.com)
Viruses are the most popular type of malware - and Apple devices are most at risk | TechRadar
New Phishing Attack Delivers Keylogger Disguised as Bank Payment Notice (thehackernews.com)
SpyCloud Report: 61% of Data Breaches in 2023 Were Malware Related | Business Wire
DarkGate Malware Campaign Exploits Patched Microsoft Flaw - Security Boulevard
Iran-Linked MuddyWater Deploys Atera for Surveillance in Phishing Attacks (thehackernews.com)
AI bots hallucinate software packages and devs download them • The Register
Mobile
In-app browsers still a privacy, security, and choice issue • The Register
Thousands of phones and routers swept into proxy service, unbeknownst to users | Ars Technica
Apple lawsuit: US officials say iPhone ‘monopoly’ undermines security | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Internet of Things – IoT
Hackers Reveal Method to Bypass Hotel Keycard Locks in Seconds • iPhone in Canada Blog
Pump the brakes: National security concerns surround connected cars - Nextgov/FCW
Insurer unveils policy covering drivers from connected car hacks and data leaks (therecord.media)
Data Breaches/Leaks
AT&T won’t say how its customers’ data spilled online | TechCrunch
SpyCloud Report: 61% of Data Breaches in 2023 Were Malware Related | Business Wire
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain
UN probing 58 alleged crypto heists by North Korea worth $3 billion (therecord.media)
Scammers steal millions from FTX, BlockFi claimants - Help Net Security
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Insurance
Supply Chain and Third Parties
Cloud/SaaS
Key Lesson from Microsoft's Password Spray Hack: Secure Every Account (thehackernews.com)
Microsoft to shut down 50 cloud services for Russian businesses (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cloud Account Hijacking: How it Works and How to Prevent It (techtarget.com)
67% of businesses sync on-premises passwords to cloud environments | Security Magazine
Identity and Access Management
Tackling DORA Compliance With a Focus on PAM - IT Security Guru
Organisations Grapple With Identity Pain Points | Decipher (duo.com)
Encryption
Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks
Apple users targeted by annoying 'Reset Password' attack | Mashable
67% of businesses sync on-premises passwords to cloud environments | Security Magazine
Social Media
Malvertising
Training, Education and Awareness
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber security training costs surge as firms battle skills gaps | ITPro
Regulations, Fines and Legislation
Cyber security shake-up: How to prepare for EU's NIS2 and DORA (siliconrepublic.com)
techUK Raise Internet Snooping Concerns Over UK IP Act Amendments - ISPreview UK
Cyber security Agency Proposes First Incident-Reporting Rules (2) (bloomberglaw.com)
Models, Frameworks and Standards
Backup and Recovery
Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security
Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs
Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity
Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage
Nation State Actors
China
US and UK accuse China of cyber operations targeting domestic politics | CyberScoop
UK ‘turning up to a gunfight with a wooden spoon’ over China cyber-attacks (scotsman.com)
China hack on MPs worse than Government admitted, with at least 30 targeted (inews.co.uk)
New Zealand follows UK in accusing China of hacking its parliament | The Independent
Finland confirms APT31 hackers behind 2021 parliament breach (bleepingcomputer.com)
China linked to UK cyber-attacks on voter data, Dowden to say - BBC News
Dowden guarantees UK elections will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks | Evening Standard
After '10,000 malicious emails,' US sanctions 7 Chinese nationals in alleged cyber crimes - UPI.com
SNP MP claims Scottish universities 'overdependent' on Chinese money | The National
China-Linked Group Breaches Networks via Connectwise, F5 Software Flaws (thehackernews.com)
Fake reporters and death threats: China spy tactics from Hong Kong dissidents (inews.co.uk)
Is Cyber Warfare Heating Up? Biden Administration, UK Take Aim At Chinese Hackers | IBTimes
What to make of China’s massive cyber-espionage campaign (economist.com)
Pump the brakes: National security concerns surround connected cars - Nextgov/FCW
UK says Chinese cyber attacks ‘part of large-scale espionage campaign’ (thenextweb.com)
Why cyber indictments and sanctions matter | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
Chinese hackers target family members to surveil hard targets | CyberScoop
Russia
Microsoft to shut down 50 cloud services for Russian businesses (bleepingcomputer.com)
Russia's Cozy Bear tries to phish Germans with party invites • The Register
Iran
North Korea
Vulnerability Management
Spyware vendors behind 75% of zero-days targeting Google | TechTarget
On the Increase: Zero-Days Being Exploited in the Wild (databreachtoday.co.uk)
NVD slowdown leaves thousands of vulns without analysis data • The Register
Can Compensating Controls Be the Answer in a Sea of Vulnerabilities? - Security Boulevard
Vulnerabilities
Patch Now: Critical Fortinet RCE Bug Under Active Attack (darkreading.com)
SQL injection vulnerability in Fortinet software under attack | TechTarget
GitHub Developers Hit in Complex Supply Chain Cyber Attack (darkreading.com)
MacOS 14.4.1 makes it once again safe to update your Mac | ZDNET
Apple Security Bug Opens iPhone, iPad to RCE (darkreading.com)
Apple finally reveals the serious security issues it patched in iOS 17.4.1 - PhoneArena
Mozilla fixes two Firefox zero-day bugs exploited at Pwn2Own (bleepingcomputer.com)
China-Linked Group Breaches Networks via Connectwise, F5 Software Flaws (thehackernews.com)
Double trouble for DNSSEC though the devil is in the details • The Register
Worldwide Agenda Ransomware Wave Targets VMware ESXi Servers (darkreading.com)
Tools and Controls
How threat intelligence data maximises business operations - Help Net Security
IT leaders struggle to keep up with emerging threats (betanews.com)
78% of organisations plan to increase ransomware protection | Security Magazine
Rising ransomware attacks amplify World Backup Day's importance (securitybrief.co.nz)
Why Endpoint Security Tools Are Still Such a Challenge (inforisktoday.com)
Security awareness training meets a new obstacle: Generative AI | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber security training costs surge as firms battle skills gaps | ITPro
Organisations Grapple with Identity Pain Points | Decipher (duo.com)
Enterprise cyber security's lateral movement 'blind spot' [Q&A] (betanews.com)
Cyber security plans should center on resilience | MIT Sloan
Cyber Security Agency Proposes First Incident-Reporting Rules (2) (bloomberglaw.com)
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
Wealthy urged to improve digital hygiene in fight against cyber crime (ft.com)
Security experts raise questions about UK cyber funding in wake of Electoral Commission hack | ITPro
8 cyber security predictions shaping the future of cyber defence - Help Net Security
Active adversary dwell time: The good (and bad) news | SC Media (scmagazine.com)
Cyber Threat to US Power Grids Escalating as Election Approaches (yahoo.com)
Are We Ignoring the Cyber Security Risks of Undersea Internet Cables? | HackerNoon
How to Prevent Your Company from Being Hacked in 2024 - DevX
Pentagon Looks to Finalise Cyber Security Rules for Defence Industrial Base - ClearanceJobs
US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
Finland to host NATO tech centers, revamp cyber security strategy (defensenews.com)
French cyber defence chief warns Paris Olympics a 'target' (techxplore.com)
Sector Specific
Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.
Contact us to receive tailored reports specific to the industry/sector and geographies you operate in.
· Automotive
· Construction
· Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
· Defence & Space
· Education & Academia
· Energy & Utilities
· Estate Agencies
· Financial Services
· FinTech
· Food & Agriculture
· Gaming & Gambling
· Government & Public Sector (including Law Enforcement)
· Health/Medical/Pharma
· Hotels & Hospitality
· Insurance
· Legal
· Manufacturing
· Maritime
· Oil, Gas & Mining
· OT, ICS, IIoT, SCADA & Cyber-Physical Systems
· Retail & eCommerce
· Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
· Startups
· Telecoms
· Third Sector & Charities
· Transport & Aviation
· Web3
As usual, contact us to help assess where your risks lie and to ensure you are doing all you can do to keep you and your business secure.
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