Black Arrow Cyber Advisory 23/11/2022 - Extortion Group Luna Moth's novel Malware-Free Callback Phishing Campaign Targeting SMBs

Executive Summary

The Luna Moth extortion group has invested in call centres and additional infrastructure to target businesses with phishing emails, perpetrating to be legitimate invoices for subscription services such as Dualingo, that are bypassing traditional detection methodology as malware is not used within the emails or the attachments. Victims call back on the number to dispute the subscription, from which they are convinced to install a legitimate remote access support tool. The threat actor then copies off data from the victim, and then extorts them. Reports on this threat actor comes from the investigation of several incidents of these callback phishing campaigns by Unit 42 of Palo Alto Networks. A report was also written on the threat actor in July by the cyber technology and services company Sygnia.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

The fact that this group does not use malware to access and harvest data makes them by nature harder to protect against. The protection of the organisation is reliant on it’s people not calling back and allowing the threat actor to install remote access software onto the endpoint devices.

 What can I do?

Technical controls to prevent the installation of remote access tools, and to track for anomalous behaviour including the significant uploading of files could help to mitigate from this particular attack, however the key control here is education of people not to carry out call-back confirmation using phone numbers provided within the phishing emails, and instead to confirm with the legitimate organisation such as Duolingo, that a subscription has not been setup.

Further information on the extortion group can be found here: https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/luna-moth-callback-phishing/, https://blog.sygnia.co/luna-moth-false-subscription-scams

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

#threatadvisory #threatintelligence #cybersecurity

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 18 November 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

• Amid Legal Fallout, Cyber Insurers Redefine State-Sponsored Attacks as Act of War

As carriers rewrite their act-of-war exclusions following the NotPetya settlement between Mondelez and Zurich, organisations should read their cyber insurance policies carefully to see what is still covered.

The consequences from NotPetya, which the US government said was caused by a Russian cyber attack on Ukraine in 2017, continue to be felt as cyber insurers modify coverage exclusions, expanding the definition of an "act of war." Indeed, the 5-year-old cyber attack appears to be turning the cyber insurance market on its head.

Mondelez International, parent of such popular brands as Cadbury, Oreo, Ritz, and Triscuit, was hit hard by NotPetya, with factories and production disrupted. It took days for the company's staff to regain control of its computer systems. The company filed a claim with its property and casualty insurer, Zurich American, for $100 million in losses. After initially approving a fraction of the claim — $10 million — Zurich declined to pay, stating the attack was an act of war and thus excluded from the coverage. Mondelez filed a lawsuit.

Late last month Mondelez and Zurich American reportedly agreed to the original $100 million claim, but that wasn't until after Merck won its $1.4 billion lawsuit against Ace American Insurance Company in January 2022 for its NotPetya-related losses. Merck's claims also were against its property and casualty policy, not a cyber insurance policy.

Back in 2017, cyber insurance policies were still nascent, and so many large corporations filed claims for damages related to NotPetya — the scourge that caused an estimated $10 billion in damage worldwide — against corporate property and casualty policies.

What's Changed? The significance of these settlements illustrates an ongoing maturation of the cyber insurance market, says Forrester Research.

Until 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber insurance policies were sold in a fashion akin to traditional home or auto policies, with little concern for a company's cyber security profile, the tools it had in place to defend its networks and data, or its general cyber hygiene.

Once a large number of ransomware attacks occurred that built off of the lax cyber security many organisations demonstrated, insurance carriers began tightening the requirements for obtaining such policies.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge-articles/amid-notpetya-fallout-cyber-insurers-define-state-sponsored-attacks-as-act-of-war

• Is Your Board Prepared For New Cyber Security Regulations?

Boards are now paying attention to the need to participate in cyber security oversight. Not only are the consequences sparking concern, but the new regulations are upping the ante and changing the game.

Boards have a particularly important role to ensure appropriate management of cyber risk as part of their fiduciary and oversight role. As cyber threats increase and companies worldwide bolster their cyber security budgets, the regulatory community, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is advancing new requirements that companies will need to know about as they reinforce their cyber strategy.

Most organisations focus on cyber protection rather than cyber resilience, and that could be a mistake. Resiliency is more than just protection; it’s a plan for recovery and business continuation. Being resilient means that you’ve done as much as you can to protect and detect a cyber incident, and you have also done as much as you can to make sure you can continue to operate when an incident occurs. A company who invests only in protection is not managing the risk associated with getting up and running again in the event of a cyber incident.

Research indicates that most board members believe it is not a matter of if, but when, their company will experience a cyber event. The ultimate goal of a cyber-resilient organisation would be zero disruption from a cyber breach. That makes the focus on resilience more important.

In March 2022, the SEC issued a proposed rule titled Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure.  In it, the SEC describes its intention to require public companies to disclose whether their boards have members with cyber security expertise: “Cyber security is already among the top priorities of many boards of directors and cyber security incidents and other risks are considered one of the largest threats to companies. Accordingly, investors may find disclosure of whether any board members have cyber security expertise to be important as they consider their investment in the registrant as well as their votes on the election of directors of the registrant.”

The SEC will soon require companies to disclose their cyber security governance capabilities, including the board’s oversight of cyber risk, a description of management’s role in assessing and managing cyber risks, the relevant expertise of such management, and management’s role in implementing the registrant’s cyber security policies, procedures, and strategies. Specifically, where pertinent to board oversight, registrants will be required to disclose:

• whether the entire board, a specific board member, or a board committee is responsible for the oversight of cyber risks,

• the processes by which the board is informed about cyber risks, and the frequency of its discussions on this topic,

• whether and how the board or specified board committee considers cyber risks as part of its business strategy, risk management, and financial oversight.

https://hbr.org/2022/11/is-your-board-prepared-for-new-cybersecurity-regulations

• Unwanted Emails Steadily Creeping into Inboxes

A research from cloud security provider Hornetsecurity has revealed that 40.5% of work emails are unwanted. The Cyber Security Report 2023, which analysed more than 25 billion work emails, also reveals significant changes to the nature of cyber attacks in 2022 – indicating the constant, growing threats to email security, and need for caution in digital workplace communications.

Phishing remains the most common style of email attack, representing 39.6% of detected threats. Threat actors used the following file types sent via email to deliver payloads: Archive files (Zip, 7z, etc.) sent via email make up 28% of threats, down slightly from last year’s 33.6%, with HTML files increasing from 15.3% to 21%, and DOC(X) from 4.8% to 12.7%.

This year’s cyber security report shows the steady creep of threats into inboxes around the world. The rise in unwanted emails, now found to be nearly 41%, is putting email users and businesses at significant risk.

HornetSecurity’s analysis identified both the enduring risk and changing landscape of ransomware attacks – highlighting the need for businesses and their employees to be more vigilant than ever.

New cyber security trends and techniques for organisations to watch out for were also tracked. Since Microsoft disabled macros settings in Office 365, there has been a significant increase in HTML smuggling attacks using embedded LNK or ZIP files to deliver malware. Microsoft 365 makes it easy to share documents, and end users often overlook the ramifications of how files are shared, as well as the security implications. Hornetsecurity found 25% of respondents were either unsure or assumed that Microsoft 365 was immune to ransomware threats.

For these attackers, every industry is a target. Companies must therefore ensure comprehensive security awareness training while implementing next-generation preventative measures to ward off threats.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/14/email-security-threats/

• People Are Still Using the Dumbest Passwords Available

If you were thinking that most people would have learned by now not to use “password” as the password for their sensitive systems, then you would be giving too much credit to the general scrolling public.

Cyber security researchers from Cybernews and password manager company NordPass both independently reported this week on data surrounding the most commonly-used passwords. Trying to discern the frequently used words, phrases, and numbers among the general public wouldn’t be simple if it weren’t for the troves of leaked passwords being sold on the dark web.

Cybernews said it based its data on a list of 56 million breached or leaked passwords in 2022 found via databases in darknet and clearnet hacker forums. Some of the most-used passwords were exactly what you expect, easy-to-remember junk passwords for company accounts, including “123456,” “root,” and “guest” all looking pretty in the top three.

NordPass, on the other hand, listed its top passwords by country and the supposed gender of the user. In their case, “password” sat in the number one spot for most-used password throughout the globe. Some countries had very specific passwords that were commonly used, such as “liverpool” being the number 4 most-used password in the UK despite it being 197 in the world. The number 2 most-used password for Brazil accounts is “Brasil” while in Germany, number 5 is “hallo.”

NordPass said the list of passwords was built by a team of independent researchers who compiled 3TB of data from listings on the dark web, including some data that was leaked in data breaches that occurred in 2022. The company noted that some data might be from late 2021, though the passwords were listed on the dark web in the new year.

https://gizmodo.com/passwords-hacker-best-passwords-cybersecurity-1849792818

• Zero-Trust Initiatives Stall, as Cyber Attack Costs Rocket to $1M per Incident

Researchers find current data protection strategies are failing to get the job done, and IT leaders are concerned, while a lack of qualified IT security talent hampers cyber-defence initiatives.

Organisations are struggling with mounting data losses, increased downtime, and rising recovery costs due to cyber attacks — to the tune of $1.06 million in costs per incident. Meanwhile, IT security teams are stalled on getting defences up to speed.

That's according to the 2022 Dell Global Data Protection Index (GDPI) survey of 1,000 IT decision-makers across 15 countries and 14 industries, which found that organisations that experienced disruption have also suffered an average of 2TB data loss and 19 hours of downtime.

Most respondents (67%) said they lack confidence that their existing data protection measures are sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats. A full 63% said they are not very confident that all business-critical data can be reliably recovered in the event of a destructive cyber attack.

Their fears seem founded: Nearly half of respondents (48%) experienced a cyber attack in the past 12 months that prevented access to their data (a 23% increase from 2021) — and that's a trend that will likely continue.

The growth and increased distribution of data across edge, core data centre and multiple public cloud environments are making it exceedingly difficult for IT admins to protect their data.

On the protection front, most organisations are falling behind; for instance, 91% are aware of or planning to deploy a zero-trust architecture, but only 12% are fully deployed.

And it's not just advanced defence that's lacking: Keegan points out that 69% of respondents stated they simply cannot meet their backup windows to be prepared for a ransomware attack.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/zero-trust-initiatives-stall-cyberattack-costs-1m-per-incident

• 44% of Financial Institutions Believe Their Own IT Teams Are the Main Risk to Cloud Security

Netwrix, a cyber security vendor, today announced additional findings for the financial and banking sector from its global 2022 Cloud Security Report.

Compared to other industries surveyed, financial institutions are much more concerned about users who have legitimate access to their cloud infrastructure. Indeed, 44% of respondents in this sector say their own IT staff poses the biggest risk to data security in the cloud and 47% worry about contractors and partners, compared to 30% and 36% respectively in other verticals surveyed.

Financial organisations experience accidental data leakage more often than companies in other verticals: 32% of them reported this type of security incident within the last 12 months, compared to the average of 25%. This is a good reason for them to be concerned about users who might unintentionally expose sensitive information. To address this threat, organisations need to implement a zero-standing privilege approach in which elevated access rights are granted only when they are needed and only for as long as needed. Cloud misconfigurations are another common reason for accidental data leakage. Therefore, security teams must continually monitor the integrity of their cloud configurations, ideally with a dedicated solution that automates the process.

All sectors say phishing is the most common type of attack they experience. However, 91% of financial institutions say they can spot phishing within minutes or hours, compared to 82% of respondents in other verticals.

Even though mature financial organisations detect phishing quickly, it is still crucial for them to keep educating their personnel on this threat because attacks are becoming more sophisticated. To increase the likelihood of a user clicking a malicious link, attackers are crafting custom spear phishing messages that are directed at the person responsible for a certain task in the organisation and that appear to come from an authority figure. Regular staff training, along with continuous activity monitoring, will help reduce the risk of infiltration.

https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/44-of-financial-institutions-believe-their-own-it-teams-are-the-main-risk-to-cloud-security

• MFA Fatigue Attacks Are Putting Your Organisation at Risk

The rapid advancement of technology in all industries has led to the threat of ever-increasing cyber attacks that target businesses, governments, and individuals alike. A common threat targeting businesses is MFA Fatigue attacks—a technique where a cyber criminal attempts to gain access to a corporate network by bombarding a user with MFA prompts until they finally accept one.

MFA refers to multi-factor authentication, a layered end-user verification strategy to secure data and applications. For a user to log in, an MFA system needs them to submit various combinations of two or more credentials.

Using MFA Fatigue attacks, cyber criminals bombard their victims with repeated 2FA (two-factor authentication) push notifications to trick them into authenticating their login attempts, to increase their chances of gaining access to sensitive information. This attempt can be successful, especially when the target victim is distracted or overwhelmed by the notifications or misinterprets them as legitimate authentication requests.

One major MFA Fatigue attack, also known as MFA bombing, targeted the ride-sharing giant Uber in September 2022. Uber attributed the attack to Lapsus$, a hacking group that started by compromising an external contractor’s credentials.

Cyber criminals increasingly use social engineering attacks to access their targets’ sensitive credentials. Social engineering is a manipulative technique used by hackers to exploit human error to gain private information.

MFA Fatigue is a technique that has gained popularity among hackers in recent years as part of their social engineering attacks. This is a simple yet effective technique with destructive consequences as the hackers are banking on their targets’ lack of training and understanding of attack vectors. Since many MFA users are unfamiliar with this style of attack, they would not understand that they are approving a fraudulent notification.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mfa-fatigue-attacks-are-putting-your-organization-at-risk/

• Cyber Security Training Boosts Risk Posture, Research Finds

Business executives worldwide see the economic advantages of continuing professional cyber security education and the steep downside from a workforce of under-trained individuals, Cybrary, a training platform provider, said in a new report.

The survey of 275 executives, directors and security professionals in North America and the UK who either procure or influence professional cyber security training, was conducted by consultancy Omdia. The results showed that the benefits of professional training boost an employee’s impact on the organisation, the overall risk posture of the organisation, and in the costs associated with finding and retaining highly skilled employees, the analyst said.

The study’s key findings include:

• 73% of respondents said their team’s cyber security performance was more efficient because of ongoing professional cyber security training.

• 62% of respondents said that training improved their organisation’s cyber security effectiveness (which encompasses decreases in the number of breach attempts and overall security events).

• 79% of respondents ranked professional cyber security training at the top or near the top of importance for the organisation’s ability to prevent and rapidly remediate breaches and ensuing consequences such as reputational damage.

• 70% of companies reported a relationship between an incident and training, and two-thirds of respondents reported increased investments in ongoing cyber security training after a security incident.

• Large enterprises are the least likely to delay upskilling until after an incident, indicating that companies with larger cyber security teams firmly understand the importance of ongoing professional training.

• 67% of surveyed SMBs invested in cyber security training after a security incident, which served as a call to action.

• 53% invested in professional cyber security training due to a cyber security insurance audit.

• 48% of organisations said that cyber security training drives retention and decreases the likelihood that a cyber security professional will leave the organisation that trains them.

• 41% said that ongoing cyber security training has no significant impact on if a cyber security professional leaves.

Cybrary said the research shows the rewards that organisations enjoy by investing in training and upskilling their security professionals. The data “codifies the fiscal and reputational paybacks in proactively improving cyber security defences versus responding to attacks. It also codifies an often-underrecognised benefit of cyber security upskilling: helping the organisation retain invaluable security talent despite market and organisational uncertainty”.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cybersecurity-training-boosts-risk-posture-research-finds/

• MI5 Chief: UK Will Have to Tackle Russian Aggression ‘for Years to Come’

Britain will have to tackle Russian aggression for years to come, said the MI5’s chief on Wednesday, adding that his agency had blocked more than 100 attempts by the Kremlin to insert suspected spies into the UK since the Salisbury poisonings.

Ken McCallum, giving an annual threat update, said state-based threats were increasing and said the UK also faced a heightened direct threat from Iran, which had threatened “to kidnap or even kill” 10 people based in Britain in the past year.

The spy chief said Russia had suffered a “strategic blow” after 400 spies were expelled from around Europe following the start of the war in Ukraine, but he said the Kremlin was actively trying to rebuild its espionage network.

Britain had expelled 23 Russian spies posing as diplomats after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2018, yet since then “over 100 Russian diplomatic visa applications” had been rejected on national security grounds.

McCallum accused Russia of making “silly claims” about British activities without evidence, such as that UK was involved in attacking the Nord Stream gas pipelines. But the head of MI5 said “the serious point” was that “the UK must be ready for Russian aggression for years to come”.

Iran’s “aggressive intelligence services” were actively targeting Britain and had made “at least 10” attempts to “kidnap or even kill” British or UK-based individuals since January as the regime felt greater pressure than ever before.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/16/mi5-chief-uk-will-have-to-tackle-russian-aggression-for-years-to-come

• Offboarding Processes Pose Security Risks as Job Turnover Increases: Report

Research from YouGov finds that poor offboarding practices across industries including healthcare and tech are putting companies at risk, including for loss of end-user devices and unauthorised SaaS application use.

Organisations across multiple industries are struggling to mitigate potential risks, including loss of end-user and storage devices as well as unauthorised use of SaaS applications, during their offboarding process, according to new research conducted by YouGov in partnership with Enterprise Technology Management (ETM) firm Oomnitza.

Over the last 18 months, employee turnover has increased, with the US Department of Labor estimating that by the end of 2021, a total of 69 million people, more than 20% of Americans, had either lost or changed their job. Although these figures could initially be attributed to the so-called Great Resignation, this figure is likely to increase due to the numerous job cuts that are now being reported, including layoffs at major technology companies, as organisations look to reduce operational costs.

Although the circumstances of an employee’s departure can sometimes make the offboarding process more complex, ultimately offboarding should aim to prevent disruption and mitigate any potential risks.

However, in YouGov’s 2022 State of Corporate Offboarding Process Automation report, the research found that although implementing a secure offboarding processes is now seen as a business imperative for enterprises, 48% of the survey’s respondents expressed deficiencies in or lack of automated workflows across departments and IT tools to facilitate the secure offboarding of employees.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3680368/offboarding-processes-pose-security-risks-as-job-turnover-increases-report.html#tk.rss_news

• Supply Chains Need Shoring Up Against Cyber Attacks, C-Suite Executives Say

Nearly every organisation (98%) in a new survey of some 2,100 C-suite executives has been hit by a supply chain cyber attack in the last year, security provider BlueVoyant said in a newly released study.

The study gleaned data from interviews with chief technology officers (CTOs), chief security officers (CSOs), chief operating officers (COOs), chief information officers (CIOs), chief information security officers (CISOs), and chief procurement officers (CPOs) responsible for supply chain and cyber risk management in organisations of more than 1,000 employees across business services, financial services, healthcare and pharmaceutical, manufacturing, utilities and energy, and defence industries.

While the number of companies experiencing digital supply chain attacks has stayed relatively static year-over-year, the attention paid by organisations to that attack vector has increased, BlueVoyant said. Still, the New York-based cyber defender said, there’s a lot of room for organisations to better monitor suppliers and “work with them to remediate issues to reduce their supply chain risks.”

Here are some macro highlights from the survey:

• 40% of respondents rely on the third-party vendor or supplier to ensure adequate security.

• In 2021, 53% of companies said they audited or reported on supplier security more than twice per year. That number has improved to 67% in 2022. These numbers include enterprises monitoring in real time.

• Budgets for supply chain defence are increasing, with 84% of respondents saying their budget has increased in the past 12 months.

• The top pain points reported are internal understanding across the enterprise that suppliers are part of their cyber security posture, meeting regulatory requirements, and working with suppliers to improve their security.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/supply-chains-need-shoring-up-against-cyberattacks-c-suite-executives-say/

• Do Companies Need Cyber Insurance?

Companies are increasingly seeking to transfer risk with cyber insurance. This trend has been influenced by a greater severity in cyber attacks and the resulting skyrocketing costs of incident response, business disruption and recovery.

Companies struggle to afford the high prices of cyber insurance, however. One market index reported the price of cyber insurance increased 79% in the second quarter of 2022. Without it, however, companies risk shouldering the full cost of any resulting harm. Furthermore, insurance companies that lack traditional decades of actuarial data must consider whether to provide cyber insurance to clients unable or unwilling to show their cyber security maturity through independent risk analysis.

This combination of circumstances leaves businesses vulnerable, financially drained and facing potential reputational damage. But does it have to be this way? And is cyber insurance truly necessary? For the majority of organisations, the answer is that cyber insurance is a worthwhile investment as part of their overall risk treatment plans. There are a number of activities, however, that should be undertaken to optimise the benefits and reduce the costs of cyber-risk insurance.

A rise in high-profile attacks, in tandem with increased regulation and compliance surrounding cyber security and privacy, has shifted the conversation around digital safety. No longer is cyber security an optional aspect of the business model with a fixed, stagnant cost. Businesses today have become too digitally dependent to ignore cyber security, with classified, internal information stored online; communication largely conducted via email or another platform; and the workforce transitioned to hybrid and remote work environments. Effective cyber security and privacy, as well as mitigating financial and operational risks, can be strategic enablers to modern digital business.

Cyber insurance is not a solution -- it's a piece of the puzzle. Regardless of industry or company size, all businesses should conduct an independent cyber audit prior to committing to cyber insurance. In doing so, organisations can determine the need for cyber insurance and better understand their organisations' risk posture and weak points.

Even if insurance is needed, the audit further adds value as it lets insurance companies support the company specific to its digital landscape and help it become more digitally strong. Additionally, the existence of an independent audit and risk review may indeed enable the insurance company to offer higher levels of coverage without the need for excessive premiums.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/post/Do-companies-need-cyber-insurance

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Ransomware incidents now make up majority of British government’s crisis management COBRA meetings - The Record by Recorded Future

• Ransomware is a global problem that needs a global solution | TechCrunch

• FBI: Hive ransomware extorted $100M from over 1,300 victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The psychological fallout of a ransomware crisis - Help Net Security

• New extortion scam threatens to damage sites’ reputation, leak data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thales Denies Getting Hacked as Ransomware Gang Releases Gigabytes of Data | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Warns of Cyber crime Group Delivering Royal Ransomware, Other Malware | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hive Ransomware Has Made $100m to Date - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit Remains Most Prolific Ransomware in Q3 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DEV-0569 finds new ways to deliver Royal ransomware, various payloads - Microsoft Security Blog

• Transportation sector targeted by both ransomware and APTs - Help Net Security

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware on Healthcare Organisations cost Global Economy $92 bn - IT Security Guru

• Russian hacktivists hit Ukrainian orgs with ransomware - but no ransom demands - Help Net Security

• Australia to ‘stand up and punch back’ against cyber crims • The Register

• LockBit ransomware activity nose-dived in October (techtarget.com)

• Medibank data breach update: Details of almost 1000 employees also included in cyber attack (9news.com.au)

• How to deal with the trauma of the Medibank cyber breach | Andrea Szasz | The Guardian

• Australia is considering a ban on cyber ransom payments, but it could backfire. Here's another idea (theconversation.com)

• Researchers secretly helped decrypt Zeppelin ransomware for 2 years (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vanuatu: Hackers strand Pacific island government for over a week - BBC News

• Cape Town scrambles after cyber attacks (iol.co.za)

• Canadian Supermarket Chain Sobeys Hit by Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

• Two public schools in Michigan hit by a ransomware attack - Security Affairs

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Top enterprise email threats and how to counter them - Help Net Security

• China-Based Sophisticated Phishing Campaign Uses 42,000 Domains - Information Security Buzz

• Mass Email Extortion Campaign Claims Server Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Netflix Phishing Emails Surge 78% - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks Bypass Microsoft Email Security, Target Thousands - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• More Than Half of Black Friday Spam Emails Are Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Earth Preta Spear-Phishing Governments Worldwide (trendmicro.com)

• Email Security Best Practices for Phishing Prevention (trendmicro.com)

Malware

• Wipermania: Malware Remains a Potent Threat, 10 Years Since 'Shamoon' (darkreading.com)

• QBot phishing abuses Windows Control Panel EXE to infect devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Researchers Sound Alarm on Dangerous BatLoader Malware Dropper (darkreading.com)

• Study: Almost 50% of macOS malware only comes from one app - Neowin

• Notorious Emotet botnet returns after a few months off • The Register

• Chinese hackers use Google Drive to drop malware on govt networks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Cyber crime Group Delivering Royal Ransomware, Other Malware | SecurityWeek.Com

• LodaRAT Malware Resurfaces with New Variants Employing Updated Functionalities (thehackernews.com)

• New attacks use Windows security bypass zero-day to drop malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Updated RapperBot malware targets game servers in DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Hackers Targeting Europe and Latin America with Updated DTrack Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

• Google Wins Lawsuit Against Glupteba Botnet Operators | SecurityWeek.Com

Mobile

• Android malware: A million people downloaded these malicious apps before they were finally removed from Google Play | ZDNET

Internet of Things – IoT

• Shocker: EV charging infrastructure is seriously insecure • The Register

• Aiphone Intercom System Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Open Doors | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Police published sexual assault victims' names and addresses on its website (bitdefender.com)

• Here’s How Bad a Twitter Mega-Breach Would Be | WIRED

• Whoosh confirms data breach after hackers sell 7.2M user records (bleepingcomputer.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Long-Standing Chinese Cyber crime Campaign Spoofs Over 400 Brands | SecurityWeek.Com

• Suspected Zeus cyber crime ring leader ‘Tank’ arrested by Swiss police (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Australia's Hack-Back Plan Against Cyber attackers Raises Familiar Concerns (darkreading.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Banks ban crypto to fight fraudsters | Money | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

• 'Three quarters' of retail Bitcoin investors are in the red • The Register

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts (thehackernews.com)

• Meta Employees Were Fired for Selling Account Info to Hackers (gizmodo.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Massive adware campaign spoofs top brands to trick users | TechRadar

• More Than Half of Black Friday Spam Emails Are Scams - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Police Celebrate Arrest of 59 Suspected Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber Monday Will Be the Most Fraudulent Day of the Season, Says SEON (darkreading.com)

• UK Shoppers Lost £15m+ to Scammers Last Winter - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How scammers are now exploiting cashless parking (telegraph.co.uk)

• Experts Advice On International Fraud Awareness Week - Information Security Buzz

• Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes jailed for conning investors over multibillion-dollar blood-testing scam | US News | Sky News

• Banks ban crypto to fight fraudsters | Money | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

Impersonation Attacks

• 42,000 sites used to trap users in brand impersonation scheme (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Instagram Impersonators Target Thousands, Slipping by Microsoft's Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Dark Web

• Andy Greenberg on how 'Tracers in the Dark' found the dark web's worst criminals - CyberScoop

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Where Can Third-Party Governance and Risk Management Take Us? (darkreading.com)

Software Supply Chain

• The Next Generation of Supply Chain Attacks Is Here to Stay (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• 2022 holiday DDoS protection guide - Microsoft Security Blog

• Updated RapperBot malware targets game servers in DDoS attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud data protection trends you need to be aware of - Help Net Security

• Cyber security implications of using public cloud platforms - Help Net Security

• Evolving Security for Government Multiclouds (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• Why companies can no longer hide keys under the doormat - Help Net Security

• Quantum Cryptography Apocalypse: A Timeline and Action Plan (darkreading.com)

Open Source

• It's official - open source software has never been more important | TechRadar

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Top passwords used in RDP brute-force attacks - Help Net Security

Social Media

• Advertising giant warns clients to stay off Twitter (telegraph.co.uk)

• It’s time. Delete your Twitter DMs • Graham Cluley

• Stop using Twitter to log in to other websites | ZDNET

• Instagram Credential Phishing Attacks Bypass Microsoft Email Security, Target Thousands - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Meta keeps booting small-business owners for being hacked on Facebook | Ars Technica

• Guinness, Cadbury’s and Nissan told to avoid ‘toxic’ and ‘dangerous’ Twitter (telegraph.co.uk)

• Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts (thehackernews.com)

• FBI director says he's 'extremely concerned' about China's ability to weaponize TikTok - CyberScoop

• Here’s How Bad a Twitter Mega-Breach Would Be | WIRED

• Instagram Impersonators Target Thousands, Slipping by Microsoft's Cyber security (darkreading.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Electronics repair technicians snoop on your data - Help Net Security

• Google to Pay $391 Million Privacy Fine for Secretly Tracking Users' Location (thehackernews.com)

• Security firms hijack New York trees to monitor workers • The Register

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Have board directors any liability for a cyber attack against their company? - Security Affairs

• Data sovereignty and compliance need help • The Register

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Cyber security jobs: Five ways to help you build your career | ZDNET

• The Future of Cyber security Recruiting: Lessons on What Employers Want and What Students Need (darkreading.com)

• Google cloud wants CISOs to do more about diversity • The Register

• Amazon poaches top National Cyber Security Centre exec Levy | Business News | Sky News

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Zeus Botnet Suspected Leader Arrested in Geneva - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Police Celebrate Arrest of 59 Suspected Scammers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Suspected Zeus cyber crime ring leader ‘Tank’ arrested by Swiss police (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Police dismantle pirated TV streaming network with 500,000 users (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

• Chinese hackers target government agencies and defence orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chinese Spy Gets 20 Years for Aviation Espionage Plot - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russian hacktivists hit Ukrainian orgs with ransomware - but no ransom demands - Help Net Security

• Botnets, Trojans, DDoS From Ukraine and Russia Have Increased Since Invasion - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• COP27 Delegates Given Burner Phones To Combat Spying - Information Security Buzz

• Avast details Worok espionage group's compromise chain - Security Affairs

• New "Earth Longzhi" APT Targets Ukraine and Asian Countries with Custom Cobalt Strike Loaders (thehackernews.com)

• 'Even if we go into nuclear winter, I know I tried to help': A volunteer hacker on waging cyber war | Euronews

• Biden set to approve expansive authorities for Pentagon to carry out cyber operations - CyberScoop

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Europe’s spyware scandal is a global wakeup call. (slate.com)

• Internal Documents Show How Close the F.B.I. Came to Deploying Spyware - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• Koch-funded group sues US state over mobile 'spyware' • The Register

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• UK Banks Bolstering Defences As Russian Cyber Threat Rises - Information Security Buzz

• EXCLUSIVE Russian software disguised as American finds its way into U.S. Army, CDC apps | Reuters

• Pro-Russian hackers claim cyber attack on FBI website: Report | Fox News

• Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• China playing ‘long game’ as it co-opts UK assets, warns MI5 chief | Financial Times (ft.com)

• FBI director says he's 'extremely concerned' about China's ability to weaponize TikTok - CyberScoop

• Chinese Cyber espionage Group 'Billbug' Targets Certificate Authority | SecurityWeek.Com

• Previously undetected Earth Longzhi APT is a subgroup of APT41 - Security Affairs

• Rishi Sunak to hold surprise meeting with Chinese president at G20 | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Chinese hackers use Google Drive to drop malware on govt networks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• State-sponsored hackers in China compromise certificate authority | Ars Technica

• Chinese 'Mustang Panda' Hackers Actively Targeting Governments Worldwide (thehackernews.com)

• Reports of Chinese police stations in US worry FBI - BBC News

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean hackers target European orgs with updated malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• North Korean Hackers Targeting Europe and Latin America with Updated DTrack Backdoor (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• US govt: Iranian hackers breached federal agency using Log4Shell exploit (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA: Iranian APT actors compromised federal network (techtarget.com)

• US Gov Warning: Start Hunting for Iranian APTs That Exploited Log4j | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – Misc

• State-Backed APT Group Activity Continuing Apace - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• The challenges of tracking APT attacks - Help Net Security

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Vulnerability Management

• Misconfigurations, Vulnerabilities Found in 95% of Applications (darkreading.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Office lets hackers execute arbitrary code, update now | TechRadar

• Unpatched Zimbra Platforms Are Probably Compromised, CISA Says (darkreading.com)

• All Day DevOps: Third of Log4j downloads still pull vulnerable version despite threat of supply chain attacks | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Exploit released for actively abused ProxyNotShell Exchange bug (bleepingcomputer.com)

• F5 fixes two remote code execution flaws in BIG-IP, BIG-IQ (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Samba Patches Vulnerability That Can Lead to DoS, Remote Code Execution | SecurityWeek.Com

• Firefox 107 Patches High-Impact Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Atlassian Releases Patches for Critical Flaws Affecting Crowd and Bitbucket Products (thehackernews.com)

• Windows Kerberos authentication breaks after November updates (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Nasty SQL Injection Bug in Zendesk Endangers Sensitive Customer Data (darkreading.com)

• Mastodon users vulnerable to password-stealing attacks | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• High Severity Vulnerabilities Reported in F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ Devices (thehackernews.com)

Tools and Controls

• XDR: Still confusing after all these years | CSO Online

• What is an External Penetration Test? (thehackernews.com)

• MITRE Engenuity Launches Evaluations for Security Service Providers (darkreading.com)

• How Routine Pen Testing Can Reveal the Unseen Flaws in Your Cyber security Posture (darkreading.com)

• How Browser Innovations Are Taking On New Cyber Threats | WIRED UK

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 Global Threat Report | Elastic

• Cyber Risk Index 1H'22 Snapshot (trendmicro.com)

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Other News

• Cyber security Industry Must Maintain Public Faith in Technology, Says NCSC Founder - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber Resilience: The New Strategy to Cope With Increased Threats | SecurityWeek.Com

• The 4 horsemen of the cyber security apocalypse | Security Magazine

• The Top Five Cyber security Trends of 2023: KnowBe4 Makes Its Predictions - MSSP Alert

• Build a mature approach for better cyber security vendor evaluation | CSO Online

• Almost half of customers have left a vendor due to poor digital trust: Report | CSO Online

• Global 2000 companies failing to adopt key domain security measures | CSO Online

• Research: Most North American SMBs Outsource Cyber security Management to Third Parties - MSSP Alert

• Majority of Companies Reduce Cyber security Staff Over Holidays - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Over 12,000 Cyber Incidents at US DoD Since 2015, But Incident Management Still Lacking | SecurityWeek.Com

• Repair technicians caught snooping on customer data • The Register

• Research: Most North American SMBs Outsource Cyber security Management to Third Parties - MSSP Alert

• 'No guns, no guards, no gates.' NSA opens up to outsiders in fight for cyber security (cyberscoop.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

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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 11 November 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

• Research Finds Organisations Lack Tools and Teams to Address Cyber Security Threats

In research conducted in the summer of 2022 by BlackBerry, the findings describe the situation facing organisations regardless of size or vertical.

The survey of 405 senior IT, networking, and security decision-makers in the US, Canada, and the UK revealed 83% of organisations agreed building cyber security programs is expensive due to required tools, licenses, and personnel, and 80% agreed it’s challenging to fill specialised security roles. Most organisations (78%) have an incident management process, but about half (49%) agree they lack the teams and tools to be effective 24x7x365. Evolving security threats (53%) and the task of integrating new technology (53%) are cited as top challenges in maintaining security posture.

While it’s likely these findings surprise no one, they do reveal the challenges facing organisations who are caught between limited resources and increased risk. The urgency increases if we look at the critical infrastructure that keeps things running–like utilities, banks, transportation, key suppliers, industrial controls, and more.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-guests/research-finds-organizations-lack-tools-and-teams-to-address-cybersecurity-threats/

• Some 98% of Global Firms Suffer Supply Chain Breach in 2021

Just 2% of global organisations didn’t suffer a supply chain breach last year, with visibility into cyber risk getting harder as these ecosystems expand, according to BlueVoyant.

The security firm polled 2100 C-level execs with responsibility for supply chain and cyber risk management from companies with 1000+ employees to compile its study, The State of Supply Chain Defense: Annual Global Insights Report 2022.

It found the top challenges listed by respondents were:

• Awareness internally that third-party suppliers are part of their cyber security posture

• Meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring third-party cyber security compliance

• Working with third-party suppliers to improve their posture.

Supply chains are growing: the number of firms with over 1000 suppliers increased from 38% in 2021’s report to 50%. Although 53% of organisations audited or reported on supplier security more than twice annually, 40% still rely on suppliers to ensure security levels are sufficient. That means they have no way of knowing if an issue arises with a supplier.

Worse, 42% admitted that if they do discover an issue in their supply chain and inform their supplier, they cannot verify that the issue was resolved. Just 3% monitor their supply chain daily, although the number of respondents using security ratings services to enhance visibility and reduce cyber risk increased from 36% last year to 39% in this year’s report.

With the escalating threat landscape and number of high-profile incidents being reported, firms should focus more strategically on addressing supply chain cyber security risk. In the current volatile economic climate, the last thing any business needs is any further disruption to their operations, any unexpected costs, or negative impact on their brand.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/98-global-firms-supply-chain/

• Only 30% of Cyber Insurance Holders Say Ransomware is Covered

Cyber insurance providers appear to be limiting policy coverage due to surging costs from claimants, according to a new study from Delinea.

The security vendor polled 300 US-based IT decision makers to compile its latest report, Cyber insurance: if you get it be ready to use it.

Although 93% were approved for specialised cyber insurance cover by their provider, just 30% said their policy covered “critical risks” including ransomware, ransom negotiations and payments. Around half (48%) said their policy covers data recovery, while just a third indicated it covers incident response, regulatory fines and third-party damages.

That may be because many organisations are regularly being breached and look to their providers for pay-outs, driving up costs for carriers. Some 80% of those surveyed said they’ve had to call on their insurance, and half of these have submitted claims multiple times, the study noted.

As a result, many insurers are demanding that prospective policyholders implement more comprehensive security controls before they’re allowed to sign up.

Half (51%) of respondents said that security awareness training was a requirement, while (47%) said the same about malware protection, AV software, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and data backups.

However, high-level checks may not be enough to protect insurers from surging losses, as they can’t guarantee customers are properly deploying security controls.

Cyber insurance providers need to start advancing beyond simple checklists for security controls. They must require their customers to validate that their security controls work as designed and expected. They need their customers to simulate their adversaries to ensure that when they are attacked, the attack will not result in a breach. In fact, we're already starting to see government regulations and guidance that includes adversary simulation as part of their proactive response to threats.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberinsurance-ransomware-cover/

• Companies Hit by Ransomware Often Targeted Again, Research Says

It has been reported that more than a third of companies who paid a ransom to cyber criminals after being hit by a ransomware attack went on to be targeted for a second time, according to a new report.

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report found that 36% of companies that made the ransom payment were hit again, while 41% who paid failed to recover all of their data.

The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Lindy Cameron, said last year that ransomware attacks were the “most immediate danger” to the UK and urged companies to take more steps to protect themselves and their data.

The NCSC urges firms not to pay ransoms as it not only helps fund further crime but offers no guarantee that criminals will return the stolen or locked data. The Hiscox report appeared to back up the NCSC’s warnings, with 43% of the businesses who paid a ransom saying they still had to rebuild their systems while 29% said that despite making the payment their stolen data was still leaked. A further 26% said a ransomware attack had had a significant financial impact on their business.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/companies-hit-by-ransomware-often-targeted-again-research-says-and-expert-comments/

• Ransomware Remains Top Cyber Risk for Organisations Globally, Says Allianz

According to an Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty cyber report, ransomware remains a top cyber risk for organisations globally, while the threat of state-sponsored cyber attacks grows.

There were a record 623 million attacks in 2021, which was double that of 2020, says Allianz.

It also notes that despite the frequency reducing 23% globally during H1 of 2022, the year-to-date total still exceeds that of the full years of 2017, 2018 and 2019, while Europe saw attacks surge over this period. Allianz suggests that ransomware is forecast to cause $30bn in damages to organisations globally by 2023.

It adds that from an Allianz perspective, the value of ransomware claims the company was involved in together with other insurers, accounted for well over 50% of all cyber claims costs during 2020 and 2021.

The cyber risk landscape doesn’t allow for any resting on laurels. Ransomware and phishing scams are as active as ever and on top of that there is the prospect of a hybrid cyber war.

Most companies will not be able to evade a cyber threat. However, it is clear that organisations with good cyber maturity are better equipped to deal with incidents. Even when they are attacked, losses are typically less severe due to established identification and response mechanisms.

Many companies still need to strengthen their cyber controls, particularly around IT security trainings, better network segmentation for critical environments and cyber incident response plans and security governance.

Allianz observes that geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, are a major factor reshaping the cyber threat landscape as the risks of espionage, sabotage, and destructive cyber-attacks against companies with ties to Russia and Ukraine increase, as well as allies and those in neighbouring countries.

https://www.reinsurancene.ws/ransomware-remains-top-cyber-risk-for-organisations-globally-says-allianz/

• How Geopolitical Turmoil Changed the Cyber Security Threat Landscape

ENISA, EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity, released its annual Threat Landscape report, covering the period from July 2021 up to July 2022.

With more than 10 terabytes of data stolen monthly, ransomware still fares as one of the prime threats in the new report with phishing now identified as the most common initial vector of such attacks. The other threats to rank highest along ransomware are attacks against availability also called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

However, the geopolitical situations particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine have acted as a game changer over the reporting period for the global cyber domain. While we still observe an increase of the number of threats, we also see a wider range of vectors emerge such as zero-day exploits and AI-enabled disinformation and deepfakes. As a result, more malicious and widespread attacks emerge having more damaging impact.

EU Agency for Cybersecurity Executive Director, Juhan Lepassaar stated that “Today’s global context is inevitably driving major changes in the cyber security threat landscape. The new paradigm is shaped by the growing range of threat actors. We enter a phase which will need appropriate mitigation strategies to protect all our critical sectors, our industry partners and therefore all EU citizens.”

State sponsored, cyber crime, hacker-for-hire actors and hacktivists remain the prominent threat actors during the reporting period of July 2021 to July 2022.

ENISA sorted threats into 8 groups. Frequency and impact determine how prominent all of these threats still are.

• Ransomware: 60% of affected organisations may have paid ransom demands

• Malware: 66 disclosures of zero-day vulnerabilities observed in 2021

• Social engineering: Phishing remains a popular technique but we see new forms of phishing arising such as spear-phishing, whaling, smishing and vishing

• Threats against data: Increasing in proportionally to the total of data produced

• Disinformation – misinformation: Escalating AI-enabled disinformation, deepfakes and disinformation-as-a-service

• Supply chain targeting: Third-party incidents account for 17% of the intrusions in 2021 compared to less than 1% in 2020

• Threats against availability:

  • Largest denial of service (DDoS) attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022

  • Internet: destruction of infrastructure, outages and rerouting of internet traffic.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/08/cybersecurity-threat-landscape-2022/

• Swiss Re Wants Government Bail Out as Cyber Crime Insurance Costs Spike

As insurance companies struggle to stay afloat amid rising cyber claims, Swiss Re has recommended a public-private partnership insurance scheme with one option being a government-backed fund to help fill the coverage gap.

Global cyber insurance premiums hit $10 billion in 2021, according to Swiss Re's estimates. In a study published this week, the insurance giant forecasted 20 percent annual growth to 2025, with premiums rising to $23 billion over the next few years.

Meanwhile, annual cyber attack-related losses total about $945 billion globally, and about 90% of that risk remains uninsured, according to insurance researchers at the Geneva Association.

While Forrester estimates a typical data breach costs an average $2.4 million for investigation and recovery, only 55 percent of companies currently have cyber insurance policies. Additionally, less than 20 percent have coverage limits in excess of $600,000, which the analyst firm cites as the median ransomware demand in 2021.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/08/government_cyber_insurance/

• Extortion Economics: Ransomware's New Business Model

Ransomware-as-a-service lowers the barriers to entry, hides attackers’ identities, and creates multitier, specialised roles in service of ill-gotten gains.

Did you know that more than 80% of ransomware attacks can be traced to common configuration errors in software and devices? This ease of access is one of many reasons why cyber criminals have become emboldened by the underground ransomware economy.

And yet many threat actors work within a relatively small and interconnected ecosystem of players. This pool of cyber criminals has created specialised roles and consolidated the cyber crime economy, fuelling ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) to become the dominant business model. In doing so, they've enabled a wider range of criminals to deploy ransomware regardless of their technical expertise and forced all of us to become cyber security defenders in the process.

Ransomware takes advantage of existing security compromises to gain access to internal networks. In the same way businesses hire gig workers to cut costs, cyber criminals have turned to renting or selling their ransomware tools for a portion of the profits rather than performing the attacks themselves.

This flourishing RaaS economy allows cyber criminals to purchase access to ransomware payloads and data leakage, as well as payment infrastructure. What we think of as ransomware gangs are actually RaaS programs like Conti or REvil, used by the many different actors who switch between RaaS programs and payloads.

RaaS lowers the barrier to entry and obfuscates the identity of the attackers behind the ransoming. Some programs can have 50 or more "affiliates," as they refer to their users, with varying tools, tradecraft, and objectives. Anyone with a laptop and credit card who is willing to search the Dark Web for penetration-testing tools or out-of-the-box malware can join this maximum efficiency economy.

https://www.darkreading.com/microsoft/extortion-economics-ransomware-s-new-business-model

• Confidence in Data Recovery Tools Low

A recent IDC and Druva survey asked 505 respondents across 10 industries about their ransomware experiences and found that many organisations struggle to recover after an attack. In the survey, 85% of the respondents said their organisations had a ransomware recovery plan. The challenge seems to lie in effectively executing that plan.

"A majority of organisations suffered significant consequences from ransomware attacks including long recoveries and unrecoverable data despite paying a ransom," states the "You Think Ransomware Is Your Only Problem? Think Again" report.

Data resiliency is such an important element of cyber security that 96% of respondents considered it a top priority for their organisations, with a full 77% placing it in the top 3. What's striking about the survey results is that only 14% of respondents said they were "extremely confident" in their tools, even though 92% called their data resiliency tools "efficient" or "highly efficient."

When data is spread across hybrid, cloud, and edge environments, data resiliency becomes much more complicated. A plan might seem to cover everything, but then you realise that you lost your backup or can't find the latest restore point.

The ability to recover from an attack is vital, since the growth in ransomware makes it likely that your organisation will get hit. This is why agencies like NIST recommend preparing for when an attacker pierces your defences rather than trying to keep out every intruder. That mindset also shifts the priority to preparation and planning; you need to create a disaster recovery plan that includes policy on restore points and recovery tools — and you need to practice implementing that plan before disaster strikes.

The report lists three key performance indicators that reveal the success of an organisation's recovery from a cyber attack:

• The ability to fully recover encrypted or deleted data without paying a ransom.

• Zero data loss in the process of recovering the data.

• Rapid recovery as defined by applicable service-level requirements.

When a recovery fails to meet these criteria, then the organisation may suffer financial loss, loss of reputation, permanently lost customers, and reduced employee productivity.

https://www.darkreading.com/tech-trends/confidence-in-data-recovery-tools-low

• Russia’s Sway Over Criminal Ransomware Gangs Is Coming into Focus

Russia-based ransomware gangs are some of the most prolific and aggressive, in part thanks to an apparent safe harbour the Russian government extends to them. The Kremlin doesn't cooperate with international ransomware investigations and typically declines to prosecute cyber criminals operating in the country so long as they don't attack domestic targets. A long-standing question, though, is whether these financially motivated hackers ever receive directives from the Russian government and to what extent the gangs are connected to the Kremlin's offensive hacking. The answer is starting to become clearer.

New research presented at the Cyberwarcon security conference in Arlington, Virginia, this week looked at the frequency and targeting of ransomware attacks against organisations based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France in the lead-up to these countries' national elections. The findings suggest a loose but visible alignment between Russian government priorities and activities and ransomware attacks leading up to elections in the six countries.

The project analysed a data set of over 4,000 ransomware attacks perpetrated against victims in 102 countries between May 2019 and May 2022. The analysis showed a statistically significant increase in ransomware attacks from Russia-based gangs against organisations in the six victim countries ahead of their national elections. These nations suffered the most total ransomware attacks per year in the data set, about three-quarters of all the attacks.

The data was used to compare the timing of attacks for groups believed to be based out of Russia and groups based everywhere else. They looked at the number of attacks on any given day, and what they found was an interesting relationship where for these Russia-based groups, there was an increase in the number of attacks starting four months before an election and moving three, two, one month in, up to the event.

The findings showed broadly that non-Russian ransomware gangs didn't have a statistically significant increase in attacks in the lead-up to elections. Whereas two months out from a national election, for example, the researchers found that organisations in the six top victim countries were at a 41 percent greater chance of having a ransomware attack from a Russia-based gang on a given day, compared to the baseline.

https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ransomware-gang-connections/

• Insider Risk on the Rise: 12% of Employees Take IP When Leaving Jobs

Twelve percent of all employees take sensitive intellectual property (IP) with them when they leave an organisation.

The data comes from workforce cyber intelligence and security company Dtex, which published a report about top insider risk trends for 2022. “Customer data, employee data, health records, sales contacts, and the list goes on,” reads the document. “More and more applications are providing new features that make data exfiltration easier. For example, many now provide the ability to maintain clipboard history and sync across multiple devices.”

Case in point, the report also suggests a 55% increase in unsanctioned application usage, including those making data exfiltration easier by allowing users to maintain clipboard history and sync IP across multiple devices. “Bring Your Own Applications (BYOA) or Shadow IT can be a source of intelligence for business innovation,” Dtex wrote. “Still, they pose a major risk if the security team has not tested these tools thoroughly.”

Further, the new data highlight a 20% increase in resignation letter research and creation from employees taking advantage of the tight labour market to switch positions for higher wages.

“In most cases, an individual planning to leave the business is not pleased with the company’s product, co-workers, work environment, or compensation,” reads the report. “Disgruntled employees are usually jaded by a business that has not shown any steps to alleviate concerns, even after communication attempts.”

Finally, the Dtex report says the industry has witnessed a 200% increase in unsanctioned third-party work on corporate devices from a high prevalence of employees engaged in side gigs.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/12-of-employees-take-ip-when/

• Why a Clear Cyber Policy is Critical for Companies

In October, Joe Sullivan, Uber’s former head of security, was convicted of covering up a 2016 data breach at the ride hailing giant by hiding details from US regulators and then paying off the hackers.

It was a trial followed nervously by cyber security professionals around the world — coming eight years after an incident that had compromised the personal information of more than 57mn people.

“Any news about another company dealing with a data security incident can strike a bit of fear across industries,” notes Mary Pothos, chief privacy officer at digital travel company Booking.com. She adds that incidents like these cause “many companies to pause, rethink or revisit their internal processes to make sure that they are operating effectively”.

These incidents, and threats, are growing at lightning speed, too. War in Ukraine is now being played out as much in cyber space as on the battlefield. The Covid pandemic has forced businesses to rethink where their employees work, and handle or access data. At the same time, the sheer number of web-connected devices is multiplying.

“We need to be people who can predict what is coming along the line, predict the future, almost” said Victor Shadare, head of cyber security at media company Condé Nast, at a recent FT event on cyber security.

Palo Alto Networks, a specialist security company, found that cyber extortion grew rapidly in 2021. Some 35 new ransomware gangs emerged, the average ransom demand increasing 144 per cent that year to $2.2mn, and the average payment rose by 78 per cent to $541,010.

Meanwhile, cyber security personnel have found themselves hemmed in by increasingly onerous regulations. These include threats of legal action if the right people are not informed about breaches, or if products come to market that are not safe enough. On September 15, for example, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new Cyber Resilience Act to protect consumers from products with inadequate security features.

“New domains of security have sprung up over the past years, so it’s not just an information technology problem any more, it’s really a full company risk issue,” says Kevin Tierney, vice-president of global cyber security at automotive group General Motors. He warns that automated and connected vehicles have thrown up additional threats to be addressed.

“You have to start out with the right governance structure and the right policies and procedures — that’s step one of really getting the company to understand what it needs to do,” he says. These include clear rules on how to disable access to tech equipment, on data protection and storage, on transferring and disposing of data, on using corporate networks, and on reporting any data breaches.

Security experts also tend to agree that there need to be robust systems of governance and accountability, to prevent the sort of trouble that befell Sullivan at Uber. Perhaps most crucially, staff across the organisation, from C-suite to assistants, need to know how to spot and manage a threat.

https://www.ft.com/content/0bb6df09-7d77-4605-aac3-89443ed65a18

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Medibank: Hackers release abortion data after stealing Australian medical records - BBC News

• Medical data hacked from 10m Australians begins to appear on dark web | World news | The Guardian

• HSE cyber attack: More than 100,000 people whose personal data stolen to be contacted – The Irish Times

• How ransomware gangs and malware campaigns are changing - Help Net Security

• Thales confirms hackers have released its data on the dark web | Reuters

• More NHS dentists could be forced to close after major cyber attack leaves some nearing financial ruin (inews.co.uk)

• Most SMBs Fear Ransomware Attack Amid Heightened Geopolitical Tensions - MSSP Alert

• Australia to consider banning paying of ransoms to cyber criminals | Reuters

• LockBit gang claims to have stolen data from Kearney & Company - Security Affairs

• Azov Ransomware is a wiper, destroying data 666 bytes at a time (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Gang Offers to Sell Files Stolen From Continental for $50 Million | SecurityWeek.Com

• Canadian food retail giant Sobeys hit by Black Basta ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LockBit affiliate uses Amadey Bot malware to deploy ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Man Arrested in Ontario For Alleged LockBit Ransomware Involvement - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

• Conti Affiliates Black Basta, BlackByte Continue to Attack Critical Infrastructure - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US Health Dept warns of Venus ransomware targeting healthcare orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attacks on hospitals take toll on patients (nbcnews.com)

• Hackers post Hereford schoolchildren's data records on dark web | Hereford Times

• CISA and Spain Partnership to Develop Tool to Help Countries Combat Ransomware - MSSP Alert

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• What is no-hook phishing? | IT PRO

• Phishing threats are increasingly convincing and evasive - Help Net Security

• Robin Banks phishing-as-a-service platform continues to evolve - Security Affairs

• Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Massive Phishing Campaigns Target India Banks’ Clients (trendmicro.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• Instagram star gets 11 years for $300m BEC conspiracy • The Register

Malware

• Advanced RAT AgentTesla Most Prolific Malware in October - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Phishing drops IceXLoader malware on thousands of home, corporate devices (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cloud9 Malware Offers a Paradise of Cyber attack Methods (darkreading.com)

• More malware is being hidden in PNG images, so watch out | TechRadar

• Attackers Using IPFS for Distributed, Bulletproof Malware Hosting | SecurityWeek.Com

• Malicious extension lets attackers control Google Chrome remotely (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New hacking group uses custom 'Symatic' Cobalt Strike loaders (bleepingcomputer.com)

• New StrelaStealer malware steals your Outlook, Thunderbird accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• 5 Common Smartphone Security Myths, Debunked (makeuseof.com)

• Oh, look: More malware in the Google Play store • The Register

• Malicious app in the Play Store spotted distributing Xenomorph Banking Trojan - Security Affairs

• Malicious droppers on Google Play deliver banking malware to victims - Help Net Security

• Samsung phones are being targeted by some seriously shady zero-days | TechRadar

• Vultur Android Banking Trojan Reaches 100,000+ Downloads on Google Play Store - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New BadBazaar Android malware linked to Chinese cyber spies (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Worok hackers hide new malware in PNGs using steganography (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Cyber security 'Nutrition' Labels Still a Work in Progress (darkreading.com)

• Knock, Knock: Aiphone Bug Allows Cyber attackers to Literally Open (Physical) Doors (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cyberwar and Cyber crime Go Hand in Hand (darkreading.com)

• An initial access broker claims to have hacked Deutsche Bank - Security Affairs

• Cyber crime costs to hit $10.5tn by 2025 hears Saudi forum - Arabian Business

• 4 Types of Cyber Crime Groups (trendmicro.com)

• Cyber crime Group OPERA1ER Stole $11M From 16 African Businesses (darkreading.com)

• Instagram star gets 11 years for $300m BEC conspiracy • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• FTX says it is probing ‘abnormal transactions’ after potential hack | Financial Times

• Kraken's CSO Claims To Have Identified The $600 Million FTX Hacker (coingape.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• The 'Great Resignation' Caused Insider Threats to Peak in Q3 2022, Kroll Finds - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Fifth Of 18 To 34-year-olds Have Fallen Victim To Financial Scams – Information Security Buzz

• Ukrainian Cyber Cops Bust $200m Fraud Ring - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Retail Sector Prepares for Annual Holiday Cyber crime Onslaught (darkreading.com)

• Online payment fraud is evolving - Help Net Security

• US seized 18 web domains used for recruiting money mules (bleepingcomputer.com)

Insurance

• Rising cost of cyber attacks sends insurance policy charges soaring | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Just 25% of businesses are insured against cyber attacks. Here's why (theconversation.com)

• Re-Focusing Cyber Insurance with Security Validation (thehackernews.com)

• Swiss Re: Cyber-Insurance Industry Must Reform - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Dark Web

• DoJ seizes $3.36B Bitcoin from Silk Road hacker - Security Affairs

• Silk Road drugs market hacker pleads guilty, faces 20 years inside – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Evolving From Third-Party Risk Management To The Extended Enterprise – Information Security Buzz

Hybrid Working

• Remote work pushes video conferencing security to the fore - Help Net Security

Attack Surface Management

• Managing and Mitigating Risk From Unknown Unknowns (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• A Better Way to Resist Identity-Based Cyber Threats (darkreading.com)

API

• Top 5 API Security Myths That Are Crushing Your Business (thehackernews.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Microsoft Password Hacking Increase – Information Security Buzz

• False sense of safety undermines good password hygiene - Help Net Security

• Password-hacking attacks are on the rise. Here's how to stop your accounts from being stolen | ZDNET

Social Media

• Twitter C-Level Resignations Continue As Blue Program Creates New Cyber-Risks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Twitter blue check unavailable after impostor accounts erupt on platform | Twitter | The Guardian

• Twitter chief information security officer Lea Kissner departs | TechCrunch

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• World Cup apps pose a data security and privacy nightmare • The Register

• Surveillance 'Existential' Danger of Tech: Signal Boss | SecurityWeek.Com

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• SEC Announces 'Enforcement Action' For SolarWinds Over 2020 Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Experian, T-Mobile fined $16m for spilling 18m people's data • The Register

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• Three million empty seats: What can we do about the cyber skills shortage? (computerweekly.com)

• Cyber security, cloud and coding: Why these three skills will lead demand in 2023 | ZDNET

• Cyber security leaders want to quit. Here's what is pushing them to leave | ZDNET

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• DoJ seizes $3.36B Bitcoin from Silk Road hacker - Security Affairs

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

• Cyberwar and Cyber crime Go Hand in Hand (darkreading.com)

• Red Cross seeks digital equivalent of its emblems • The Register

• Russia’s New Cyberwarfare in Ukraine Is Fast, Dirty, and Relentless | WIRED

• EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register

• Nation-State Hacker Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Soar: Microsoft | SecurityWeek.Com

• What Ukraine’s cyber defence tactics can teach other nations | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

• APT29 abused Windows Credential Roaming in attacks - Security Affairs

• Android RAT Group Targets Indian Defence Personnel - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Dutch MEP says illegal spyware ‘a grave threat to democracy’ | European Commission | The Guardian

• Greece Is Banning Spyware After Predator Phone-Tapping Scandal (gizmodo.com)

• British embassy security guard David Smith admits spying for Russia - BBC News

Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• EU calls for joint cyber defence in response to Russia • The Register

• Ukraine war: Russians kept in the dark by internet search - BBC News

• Microsoft links Russia’s military to cyber attacks in Poland and Ukraine | Ars Technica

• Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin admits interfering in US elections | Russia | The Guardian

• Russia-linked IRIDIUM APT linked to Prestige ransomware attacks against Ukraine - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – China

• New BadBazaar Android malware linked to Chinese cyber spies (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Microsoft: Nation-state threats, zero-day attacks increasing (techtarget.com)

Vulnerability Management

• Why CVE Management as a Primary Strategy Doesn't Work (darkreading.com)

• Why it's time to review your Microsoft patch management options | CSO Online

• Risk-Based Vulnerability Management: Understanding the RBVM Trend (darkreading.com)

• How can CISOs catch up with the security demands of their ever-growing networks? - Help Net Security

• Microsoft: Nation-state threats, zero-day attacks increasing (techtarget.com)

• Types of vulnerability scanning and when to use each (techtarget.com)

Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft November 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes 6 exploited zero-days, 68 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• VMware fixes three critical auth bypass bugs in remote access tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway are affected by a critical auth bypass - Security Affairs

• Cisco Patches 33 Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Firewall Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Patches MotW Zero-Day Exploited for Malware Delivery | SecurityWeek.Com

• Apple out-of-band patches fix RCE bugs in iOS and macOS - Security Affairs

• Microsoft fixes ProxyNotShell Exchange zero-days exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in BusinessObjects, SAPUI5 | SecurityWeek.Com

• Lenovo driver goof poses security risk for users of 25 notebook models | Ars Technica

• Foxit Patches Several Code Execution Vulnerabilities in PDF Reader | SecurityWeek.Com

• LiteSpeed Vulnerabilities Can Lead to Complete Web Server Takeover | SecurityWeek.Com

Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 Cloud Data Security Report - Help Net Security

• Report on DDoS attacks in Q3 2022 | Securelist

• Cyber security Trends Report: Check Point Software Predicts Hikes in Hacking and Exploits - MSSP Alert

• Data Security Trust is Down, Anxiety is Up, Rubrik Zero Labs Reports - MSSP Alert

Other News

• Majority of Security Managers Lack Threat Intelligence Skills - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• What Is Threat Hunting? A Definition for MSPs and Channel Partners - MSSP Alert

• Cyber security: These are the new things to worry about in 2023 | ZDNET

• Cyber Professionals Now Tasked with Securing Society, Says Mikko Hyppönen - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Corporations Confident in Data Protection Programs but Scrutiny is Lacking, New Report Finds - MSSP Alert

• What We Really Mean When We Talk About ‘Cyber security’ (darkreading.com)

• Personal cyber security is now a company problem - Help Net Security

• History of Computer Viruses & Malware | What Was Their Impact? (esecurityplanet.com)

• 5 Reasons to Consolidate Your Tech Stack (thehackernews.com)

• Attacks on Microsoft SQL have seen a huge rise | TechRadar

• Cookies for MFA Bypass Gain Traction Among Cyber attackers (darkreading.com)

• 2FA, 3FA, MFA… What does it all mean? - Help Net Security

• Qatar World Cup Firms Urged to Upgrade Cyber-Threat Model - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Common lateral movement techniques and how to prevent them (techtarget.com)

• Beyond the Pen Test: How to Protect Against Sophisticated Cyber criminals (darkreading.com)

• Red, purple, or blue? When it comes to offensive security operations, it’s not just about picking one colour - Help Net Security

• 5 ways to overcome multifactor authentication vulnerabilities (techtarget.com)

• The security dilemma of data sprawl - Help Net Security

• 15,000 sites hacked for massive Google SEO poisoning campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Unencrypted Traffic Still Undermining Wi-Fi Security (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Devise Wi-Peep Drone That Can 'See Through Walls' (gizmodo.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.

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 Advisory 09/11/2022 – Microsoft Patch Tuesday – Patches for multiple Zero-Days under Active Exploitation

Executive Summary

Microsoft’s November Patch Tuesday provides updates to address security issues across its product range, including several critical patches to address six actively exploited Zero-Day vulnerabilities, including the two Exchange vulnerabilities that were identified with mitigations supplied by Microsoft in October. The other Zero-Day vulnerabilities include a remote code execution vulnerability within Windows Scripting Languages, escalation of privilege vulnerabilities within the Windows Cryptography API: Next Generation (CNG) Key Isolation Service and the Windows Print Spooler, and a bypass for the Windows Mark-of-the-Web security feature. Security updates have also been released for all supported Microsoft client and server operating systems, and other products to tackle different issues.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

Security updates are available for all supported versions of Windows and supported versions Microsoft Exchange Server. As some of these updates address vulnerabilities that are known to be actively exploited, the updates should be applied as soon as possible, particularly as this release contains a patch for an actively exploited Zero-day.

What can I do?

Apply the available updates from Microsoft as soon as possible, while taking into consideration any potential downtime that these updates may cause.

---

Technical Summary

The following is a breakdown of six actively exploited Zero-Day vulnerabilities with the affected Microsoft products:

CVE-2022-41040: A elevation of privilege vulnerability known as ProxyNotShell for Microsoft Exchange Servers with a CVSS 3.1 rating of 8.8, which allows a malicious attacker who has validated standard user credentials to escalate privileges and remotely execute code.

CVE-2022-41082: A elevation of privilege vulnerability known as ProxyNotShell for Microsoft Exchange Servers with a CVSS 3.1 rating of 8.8, which allows a malicious attacker who has validated standard user credentials to escalate privileges and remotely execute code.

Important: The patches released by Microsoft fix these vulnerabilities, and the previously recommended mitigations no longer apply once the patch has been installed, with the installation verified using the Exchange Server Health Checker as recommended by Microsoft Here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/released-november-2022-exchange-server-security-updates/ba-p/3669045

CVE-2022-41128: A remote execution vulnerability within Windows Scripting Languages with a CVSS 3.1 rating of 8.8, which requires an end user to access a malicious server share or website, which would allow an attacker to remotely execute code on the affected endpoint. Delivery of this malicious server would typically be done through enticement within an email or chat message for the user to click the link or navigate to the server.

CVS-2022-41125: An elevation of privilege vulnerability within the Windows CNG Key Isolation service with a CVSS 3.1 rating of 7.8, which allows an attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges on the affected device.

CVS-2022-41073: An elevation of privilege vulnerability within the Windows Print Spooler service with a CVSS 3.1 rating of 7.8, which allows an attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges on the affected device.

CVS-2022-41091: A Security Feature Bypass vulnerability within the Windows Mark-of-the-Web Security Feature, with a CVS 3.1 rating of 5.4 that allows for an attacker to maliciously craft a file or website that would evade the Mark-of-the-Web defences. The end user would have to open the file or access the malicious website for this attack to be effective.

Further details on other specific updates within this Patch Tuesday can be found here: https://www.ghacks.net/2022/11/08/microsoft-windows-security-updates-november-2022-overview/

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

Black Arrow Cyber Advisory 09/11/2022 – VMware provides patches for five vulnerabilities in Workspace ONE.

Executive Summary

VMware Workspace ONE Assist is a remote control support application provided by VMware, who announced on 08/11/2022 that five vulnerabilities including three rated as critical in severity are present within version v21.X and v22.X versions of the software, which are fixed in version 22.10. The vulnerabilities could allow for a malicious actor to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to an endpoint with the software installed, either over the internet or on the network.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

If the remote support tool is installed on business endpoints running version 22.09 or below, then they are vulnerable to exploitation, which could lead to further compromise of confidentiality, integrity and availability of organisational information.

What can I do?

VMware has released a new version of VMware Workspace ONE which patches all of the mentioned vulnerabilities. Discuss with you Managed Service Provider (MSP) whether any of your devices or services are impacted, and when they can expect to be patched.

---

Technical Summary

The following is a break down of the different vulnerabilities which affect VMware Workspace ONE.

CVE-2022-31685: An authentication bypass vulnerability for VMware Workspace ONE with a maximum CVSS 3 base score of 9.8, which allows a malicious actor with network access to Workspace ONE Assist to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to the application.

CVE-2022-31686: A broken authentication method vulnerability for VMware Workspace ONE with a maximum CVSS 3 base score of 9.8, which allows a malicious actor with network access to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to the application.

CVE-2022-31687: A broken access control vulnerability for VMware Workspace ONE with a maximum CVSS 3 base score of 9.8, which allows a malicious actor with network access to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to the application.

CVE-2022-31688: A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability for VMware Workspace ONE with a maximum CVSS 3 base score of 6.4, which allows a malicious actor to inject JavaScript code into the target users window with some user interaction due to improper user input sanitation.

CVE-2022-31689: A session fixation vulnerability for VMware Workspace ONE with a maximum CVSS 3 base score of 4.2, which allows a malicious actor to authenticate to the application if they manage to obtain a valid session token.

Further technical information on the vulnerabilities can be found here: https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0028.html, with the new version of Workspace ONE available here: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/89993

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

#threatadvisory #threatintelligence #cybersecurity

Black Arrow Cyber Advisory 09/11/2022 – Patches available for Three Citrix Vulnerabilities

Executive Summary

Citrix has released patches to address three vulnerabilities present within Citrix Gateway and Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC). The vulnerabilities could allow a malicious attacker to gain unauthorised access, remote desktop takeover and bypass brute force protection on the affected products. Customers using Citrix-managed cloud services do not need to take any action to address these issues.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

These vulnerabilities could lead to a remote user gaining unauthorised access to Gateway user capabilities, ability to takeover a remote desktop session and the ability to bypass brute force protection which in turn could be used to access business data through these servers leading to further compromise.

What can I do?

Contact your Managed Service Provider to confirm if Citrix Gateway and Citrix ADC  is currently being used s for you organisation and confirm if the vulnerabilities is being managed and patched in line with Citrix guidance.

---

Technical Summary

Only limited technical details have been supplied by Citrix so far relating to the three vulnerabilities.

CVE-2022-27510: A critical rated remote authentication bypass vulnerability which does not currently have a CVSS 3.1 rating, which allows for a remote attacker to bypass authentication using an alternate path or channel, granting user capabilities. It is important to note that only appliances that are operating as a Gateway, using the SSL VPN functionality, or being deployed as an ICA proxy with authentication enabled are affected by this vulnerability.

CVE-2022-27513: A remote desktop takeover via phishing vulnerability which does not currently have a CVSS 3.1 rating, which allows for an attacker to take advantage of insufficient verification of Data Authenticity to takeover a remote desktop session using phishing. It is important to note that the only appliances configured as a VPN Gateway with RDP Proxy functionality configured are affected by this vulnerability.

CVE-2022-27516: A brute force protection bypass vulnerability which does not currently have a CVSS 3.1 rating, which allows for an attacker to take advantage of a protection mechanism failure to brute force credentials on the user login. It is important to note that only appliances configured as a VPN gateway or AAA virtual server with the user lockout functionality “Max Login Attempts” configured are affected by this vulnerability.

Further details can be found here: https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX463706/citrix-gateway-and-citrix-adc-security-bulletin-for-cve202227510-cve202227513-and-cve202227516

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 04 November 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

• NCSC Looks Back on Year Of ‘Profound Change’ for Cyber

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provided support for 18 nationally significant ransomware attacks; removed 2.1 million cyber-enabled commodity campaigns; issued 34 million early warning alerts about attacks, compromises, vulnerabilities or open ports; and received 6.5 million reports of suspicious emails in the past 12 months – but in a year of “profound change” in the cyber security landscape, it was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that dominated the agenda.

Reflecting on the past 12 months as she launched the NCSC’s latest annual report on 1 November at an event in London, NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron said that the return of war to Europe with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presented a unique set of challenges in cyber space for the NCSC and its partners and allies.

Cameron added that while the cyber threat from Russia has perhaps been the most visible security issue of 2022, it was also important not to forget that when it comes to nation-state actors, it will likely be the technical development and evolution of China that ultimately has the more lasting impact on the UK’s national cyber security.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252526766/NCSC-looks-back-on-year-of-profound-change-for-cyber

• LastPass Research Finds False Sense of Cyber Security Running Rampant

LastPass released findings from its fifth annual Psychology of Password findings, which revealed even with cyber security education on the rise, password hygiene has not improved. Regardless of generational differences across Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z, the research shows a false sense of password security given current behaviours across the board. In addition, LastPass found that while 65% of all respondents have some form of cyber security education — through school, work, social media, books or via online courses — the reality is that 62% almost always or mostly use the same or variation of a password.

The survey, which explored the password security behaviours of 3,750 professionals across seven countries, asked about respondents’ mindset and behaviours surrounding their online security. The findings highlighted a clear disconnect between high confidence when it comes to their password management and their unsafe actions. While the majority of professionals surveyed claimed to be confident in their current password management, this doesn’t translate to safer online behaviour and can create a detrimental false sense of safety.

Key findings from the research include:

• Gen Z is confident when it comes to their password management, while also being the biggest offenders of poor password hygiene.

• Cyber security education doesn’t necessarily translate to action.

• Confidence creates a false sense of password security.

The latest research showcases that even in the face of a pandemic, where we spent more time online amid rising cyber attacks, there continues to be a disconnect for people when it comes to protecting their digital lives. Even though nearly two-thirds of respondents had some form of cyber security education, it is not being put into practice for varying reasons.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/untitled

• Insurance Giant Settles NotPetya ‘Act of War’ Lawsuit, Signaling Cyber Insurance Shakeup

The settlement last week in a $100 million lawsuit over whether insurance giant Zurich should cover losses Mondelez International suffered from NotPetya may very well reshape the entire cyber insurance marketplace.

Zurich initially denied claims from Mondelez after the malware, which experts estimate caused some $10 billion in damages globally, wreaked havoc on its computer networks. The insurance provider claimed an act of war exemption since it’s widely believed Russian military hackers unleashed NotPetya on a Ukrainian company before it spread around the world.

Now, however, it’s increasingly clear insurers aren’t off the hook for NotPetya payouts or from covering losses from other attacks with clear links to nation-state hackers.

That’s because in this case, what Mondelez and many other corporations endured was not an act of war, but “collateral damage” in a much larger cyber conflict that had nothing to do with them, said the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

There needs to be a rethink what act of war means in cyber space when it comes to insurance. The current definitions come out of the 19th century when we had pirates, navies and privateers.

Last week’s ruling in favour of Mondelez follows a January ruling in a New Jersey court that sided with global pharmaceutical company Merck in a similar case. Its insurance companies initially refused to pay for damages from NotPetya. Merck claimed losses that amounted to $1.4 billion. The insurers are appealing the ruling.

Insurers seized on the NotPetya episode to test how courts would rule on cyber coverage questions, particularly when there’s so much evidence pointing to one particular nation-state actor. Since NotPetya was widely attributed to the Russian government it gave the industry a “really strong opportunity” to set legal precedent limiting their responsibility in these instances.

Insurers will start to be much more upfront about the fact that they aren’t going to cover acts of cyber war or limit payouts for NotPetya type incidents in the future.

https://www.cyberscoop.com/insurance-giant-settles-notpetya-lawsuit/

• Microsoft Warns of Uptick in Hackers Leveraging Publicly-Disclosed 0-Day Vulnerabilities

Microsoft is warning of an uptick among nation-state and criminal actors increasingly leveraging publicly-disclosed zero-day vulnerabilities for breaching target environments.

The tech giant, in its 114-page Digital Defense Report, said it has "observed a reduction in the time between the announcement of a vulnerability and the commoditisation of that vulnerability," making it imperative that organisations patch such exploits in a timely manner.

This also corroborates with an April 2022 advisory from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which found that bad actors are "aggressively" targeting newly disclosed software bugs against broad targets globally.

Microsoft noted that it only takes 14 days on average for an exploit to be available in the wild after public disclosure of a flaw, stating that while zero-day attacks are initially limited in scope, they tend to be swiftly adopted by other threat actors, leading to indiscriminate probing events before the patches are installed.

It further accused Chinese state-sponsored groups of being "particularly proficient" at discovering and developing zero-day exploits. This has been compounded by the fact that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) enacted a new vulnerability reporting regulation in September 2021 that requires security flaws to be reported to the government prior to them being shared with the product developers.

Redmond further said the law could enable government-backed elements to stockpile and weaponise the reported bugs, resulting in the increased use of zero-days for espionage activities designed to advance China's economic and military interests.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/microsoft-warns-of-uptick-in-hackers.html

• Chinese Mob Has 100K Slaves Working in Cambodian Cyber Crime Mills

Up to 100,000 people from across Asia have been lured to Cambodia by Chinese crime syndicates with the promise of good jobs. When they arrive, their passports are seized and they are put to work in modern-day sweatshops, running cyber crime campaigns.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Cambodia, which was hit hard economically by the pandemic, has allowed Chinese mobsters to set up enormous cyber crime operations using human trafficked labour without consequence, because of the revenue it generates for the country. The campaigns they carry out run the gamut from romance scams to fake sports betting.

Although the Cambodian government acknowledges that as many as 100,000 workers are involved in these activities, it denies anyone is being held against their will. However, the stories from traumatised victims rescued from cyber crime mills include tales of beatings and torture for failing to meet quotas, and of being sold and passed around from gang to gang.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/chinese-mob-100k-slaves-cambodian-cybercrime-mills

• Ransomware Research: 17 Leaked Databases Operated by Threat Actors Threaten Third Party Organisations

Ransomware remains a serious threat to organisations, Deep Instinct, a New York-based deep learning cyber security specialist, said in its recently released 2022 Interim Cyber Threat Report.

It’s no surprise, the company said, as there are currently 17 leaked databases operated by threat actors who are leveraging the data for attacks on third-party companies, most notably social engineering, credential theft, and triple-extortion attacks.

Here are the report’s key findings:

• Changes in ransomware gangs, including LockBit, Hive, BlackCat, and Conti. The latter has spawned “Conti Splinters” made up of former affiliates Quantum, BlackBasta, and BlackByte.

• Significant changes to tactics by Emotet, Agent Tesla, NanoCore, and others. For example, Emotet uses highly obfuscated VBA macros to avoid detection.

• The use of documents for malware has decreased as the top attack vector, following Microsoft’s move to disable macros by default in Microsoft Office files. Threat actors have already pivoted to other methods such as LNK, HTML, and archive email attachments.

• Vulnerabilities such as SpoolFool, Follina and DirtyPipe highlighted the exploitability of both Windows and Linux systems despite efforts to enhance their security.

• The number of exploited in-the-wild vulnerabilities spikes every 3-4 months. The next spike is expected to occur by the end of the year.

• Threat actor groups are extending data exfiltration attacks to demand ransoms from third-party companies if the leaked data contains their sensitive information.

The report also makes three predictions:

• More inside jobs. Malicious threat actors look for the weakest link, which is often in the supply chain. Groups like Lapsus$ do not rely on exploits but instead look for insiders who are willing to sell access to data within their organisation.

• Rise of protestware. Look for a spike in protestware, which is self-sabotaging one’s software and weaponising it with malware capabilities in an effort to harm all or some of its users. The war between Russia and Ukraine has caused a surge in protestware.

• End of year attacks. While no major vulnerability in 2022 has emerged similar to the Log4J or the Exchange cases in 2021, there is an increase year-over-year in the number of publicly assigned CVEs for reported vulnerabilities. For now, threat actors are still exploiting old vulnerabilities during 2022 simply because there is a plethora of unpatched systems for 2021 CVEs but that will change.

Organisations are warned to be on their guard. 2022 has been another record year for cyber criminals and ransomware gangs. It’s no secret that these threat actors are constantly upping their game with new and improved tactics designed to evade traditional cyber defences. Defenders must continue to be vigilant and find new approaches to prevent these attacks from happening.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/ransomware-research-17-leaked-databases-operated-by-threat-actors-threaten-third-party-organizations/

• Ransomware: Not Enough Victims Are Reporting Attacks, And That's a Problem for Everyone

Ransomware continues to be a significant cyber threat to businesses and the general public – but it's difficult to know the true impact of attacks because many victims aren't coming forward to report them.

The warning comes in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Annual Review for 2022, which looks back at key developments and incidents in cyber crime over the last year, with ransomware described as an "ever present" threat and a "major challenge" to businesses and public services.

That's demonstrated by how the review details how in the 12-month period between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 there were 18 ransomware incidents that needed a "nationally coordinated" response. These included attacks on a supplier to the National Health Service (NHS) and a ransomware attack against South Staffordshire Water.

However, the true impact of ransomware remains unclear, because the NCSC says that many organisations that fall prey to ransomware attacks aren't disclosing them.

That lack of reporting is despite the significant and disruptive consequences ransomware attacks can have, not only for organisations that fall victim, but for wider society – which is why it's vital that cyber security is taken seriously and incidents are reported.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ransomware-not-enough-victims-are-reporting-attacks-and-that-increases-the-threat-for-everyone/

• Hackers Selling Access to 576 Corporate Networks for $4 Million

A new report shows that hackers are selling access to 576 corporate networks worldwide for a total cumulative sales price of $4,000,000, fuelling attacks on the enterprise.

The research comes from Israeli cyber-intelligence firm KELA which published its Q3 2022 ransomware report, reflecting stable activity in the sector of initial access sales but a steep rise in the value of the offerings.

Although the number of sales for network access remained about the same as in the previous two quarters, the cumulative requested price has now reached $4,000,000. For comparison, the total value of initial access listings in Q2 2022 was $660,000, recording a drop in value that coincided with the summer ransomware hiatus that hurt demand.

Initial access brokers (IABs) are hackers who sell access to corporate networks, usually achieved through credential theft, webshells, or exploiting vulnerabilities in publicly exposed hardware. After establishing a foothold on the network, the threat actors sell this corporate access to other hackers who use it to steal valuable data, deploy ransomware, or conduct other malicious activity. The reasons IABs choose not to leverage network access vary, ranging from lacking diverse intrusion skills to preferring not to risk increased legal trouble.

IABs still play a crucial role in the ransomware infection chain, even if they got sidelined last year when big ransomware gangs that operated as crime syndicates operated their own IAB departments.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-selling-access-to-576-corporate-networks-for-4-million/

• Cyber Security Recovery is a Process That Starts Long Before a Cyber Attack Occurs

Organisations are racing to stay ahead of cyber criminals, and as a result, we see businesses investing a lot of money on identifying and detecting attacks, on preventing attacks in the first place, and in responding to live attacks. But they are not spending the same amounts on attack recovery. They may have followed all the relevant guidelines, and even implemented the ISO 27000 standard, but none of that helps them to understand how to build the business back after a serious cyber attack.

Until recent years, this cyber security recovery investment would be spent on an annual tabletop exercise or disaster recovery test and auditing recovery plans. While this should be done, it isn’t enough on its own.

Cyber security insurance is also critical, of course, but it only covers some of the losses. It won’t cover future loss. The reality is most organisations find it very difficult to fully recover from an attack. Those that invest more in disaster recovery and business continuity recover from these attacks far more swiftly than their less-prepared competitors.

The four core components of an effective cyber security recovery program

1. Pre-emptive action

2. Responsibilities and accountability

3. Having the right IT architecture, security and recovery process in place

4. Learning lessons and implementing changes.

Once these factors are understood, and any weak spots identified, the organisation can focus on re-designing or updating architecture and procedures, and on retraining employees (something that should happen regularly).

Recovery is a process that starts long before a cyber attack occurs. It concludes not when the data is secured, but when the organisation can say that it’s learned everything it can from the event and has made the changes necessary to avoid it happening again.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/03/cybersecurity-recovery/

• Geopolitics Plays Major Role in Cyber Attacks, Says EU Cyber Security Agency

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in an increase in hacktivist activity in the past year, with state-sponsored threat actors targeting 128 governmental organisations in 42 countries that support Ukraine, according to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).

In addition, some threat actors targeted Ukrainian and Russian entities during the early days of the conflict, likely for the collection of intelligence, according to the 10th edition of the ENISA threat landscape report. The report, this year titled Volatile Geopolitics Shake the Trends of the 2022 Cybersecurity Threat Landscape, notes that in general geopolitical situations continue to have a high impact on cyber security.

This year's report identified several attack types frequently used by state-sponsored attackers. These include zero-day and critical vulnerability exploitation; attacks on operational technology (OT) networks; wiper attacks to destroy and disrupt networks of governmental agencies and critical infrastructure entities; and supply chain attacks. Attacks also featured social engineering, disinformation, and threats against data.

State-sponsored threat actors have also been observed targeting entities from countries in Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, and Taiwan. Due to increased tensions between specific countries in Asia, state-sponsored threat actors have targeted countries (including EU member states) that had established closer ties with Taiwan.

Ransomware remains the top cyber crime attack type this year as well. More than 10 terabytes of data were stolen monthly during the period studied, with phishing identified as the most common initial vector of such attacks. The report also noted that 60% of affected organisations likely have paid the ransom demanded.

The second most used form of attack was DDoS. The largest DDoS attack ever was launched in Europe in July 2022 against a European customer of Akamai. The attack hit a peak at 853.7Gbps and 659.6Mpps (megapackets per second) over 14 hours.

While all sectors fell victim to attacks, public administration and government entities were the most affected, making up 24% of all cyber attack victims. This was followed by digital service providers at 13% and the general public at 12%. These three sectors alone accounted for 50% of all the attacks during this year.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3678771/geopolitics-plays-major-role-in-cyberattacks-says-eu-cybersecurity-agency.html#tk.rss_news

• Russian Hackers Account for Most 2021 Ransomware Schemes, US Says

Payment-seeking software made by Russian hackers was used in three quarters of all the ransomware schemes reported to a US financial crime agency in the second half of 2021, a Treasury Department analysis released on Tuesday showed.

In an analysis issued in response to the increase in number and severity of ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure in the United States since late 2020, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it had received 1,489 ransomware-related filings worth nearly $1.2 billion in 2021, a 188% jump from the year before.

Out of 793 ransomware incidents reported to FinCEN in the second half of 2021, 75% "had a nexus to Russia, its proxies, or persons acting on its behalf," the report said.

Washington last week hosted a meeting with officials from 36 countries and the European Union, as well as 13 global companies to address the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, including the illicit use of cryptocurrencies.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-says-many-ransomware-attacks-late-2021-were-connected-russian-actors-2022-11-01/

• Exposed: The Global Hacking Network That Targets VIPs

Private investigators linked to the City of London are using an India-based computer hacking gang to target British businesses, government officials and journalists.

The Sunday Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have been given access to the gang’s database, which reveals the extraordinary scale of the attacks. It shows the criminals targeted the private email accounts of more than 100 victims on behalf of investigators working for autocratic states, British lawyers and their wealthy clients. Critics of Qatar who threatened to expose wrongdoing by the Gulf state in the run-up to this month’s World Cup were among those hacked.

It is the first time the inner workings of a major “hack-for-hire” gang have been leaked to the media and it reveals multiple criminal conspiracies. Some of the hackers’ clients are private investigators used by major law firms with bases in the City of London.

The investigation — based on the leaked documents and undercover work in India — reveals:

• Orders went out to the gang to target the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason in May, three weeks after his appointment was announced.

• The president of Switzerland and his deputy were targeted just days after he met Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in Downing Street to discuss Russian sanctions.

• Philip Hammond, then chancellor, was hacked as he was dealing with the fallout of Russia’s novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

• A private investigator hired by a London law firm acting for the Russian state ordered the gang to target a British-based oligarch fleeing President Putin.

• Michel Platini, the former head of European football, was hacked shortly before he was due to talk to French police about corruption allegations relating to this year’s World Cup.

• The hackers broke into the email inboxes of the Formula One motor racing bosses Ruth Buscombe, the British head of race strategy at the Alfa Romeo team, and Otmar Szafnauer, who was chief executive of the Aston Martin team.

• The gang seized control of computers owned by Pakistan’s politicians, generals and diplomats and eavesdropped on their private conversations apparently at the behest of the Indian secret services.

The commissioning of hacking is a criminal offence punishable with a maximum sentence of ten years in jail in Britain. The Metropolitan Police was tipped off about the allegations regarding Qatar in October last year, yet chose not to take any action. David Davis, the former cabinet minister, said that the force should reopen its investigation into the cyber attacks against British citizens. Davis said the investigation exposed how London has become “the global centre of hacking”.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/exposed-the-global-hacking-network-that-targets-vips-nff67j67z

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Wannacry, the hybrid malware that brought the world to its knees. Let’s not forget! - Security Affairs

• International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2022 Joint Statement | The White House

• Oreo Giant Mondelez Settles NotPetya 'Act of War' Insurance Suit (darkreading.com)

• Extortion fears after hacker stole patient files from Dutch mental health clinics (bitdefender.com)

• Ransomware activity and network access sales in Q3 2022 - Security Affairs

• Ransomware costs top $1 billion as White House inks new threat-sharing initiative - CyberScoop

• Stopping C2 communications in human-operated ransomware through network protection - Microsoft Security Blog

• FIN7 Cyber crime Group Likely Behind Black Basta Ransomware Campaign (darkreading.com)

• Everything You Need to Know About LockBit (darkreading.com)

• Yanluowang ransomware gang goes dark after leaks (techtarget.com)

• LockBit 3.0 gang claims to have stolen data from Thales - Security Affairs

• Ransomware cost US banks $1.2 billion last year • The Register

• Australia sees rise in cyber crimes on back of 'destructive' ransomware, state actors | ZDNET

• Listed car dealer Pendragon has ‘contained’ cyber attack – but new deadline for data release issued by hackers – Car Dealer Magazine

• Hackers Target Australian Defense Communications Platform With Ransomware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• LockBit Dominates Ransomware Campaigns in 2022: Deep Instinct - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• BlackByte ransomware group hit Asahi Group Holdings, a precision metal manufacturing and metal solution provider - Security Affairs

• Australian Defence Department Impacted In Ransomware Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• LockBit ransomware gang claims the hack of the Continental automotive group - Security Affairs

• Cyber attack Strikes Global Copper Conglomerate (darkreading.com)

• ALMA Observatory shuts down operations due to a cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Osaka Hospital Halts Services After Ransomware Attack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Outmanoeuvring cyber criminals by recognizing mobile phishing threats’ telltale markers - Help Net Security

• Robin Banks phishing service returns to steal banking accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Attackers leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 to phish users - Help Net Security

• Phishers Abuse Microsoft Voicemail Service to Trick Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• CISA Urges Organisations to Implement Phishing-Resistant MFA | SecurityWeek.Com

• 130 private Dropbox GitHub repos copied after phish attack • The Register

• As Twitter brings on $8 fee, phishing emails target verified accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

BEC – Business Email Compromise

• New Crimson Kingsnake gang impersonates law firms in BEC attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Double-check those demand-payment emails from law firms • The Register

Malware

• RomCom RAT malware campaign impersonates KeePass, SolarWinds NPM, Veeam (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Emotet botnet has returned with a vengeance | TechRadar

• Emotet botnet starts blasting malware again after 4 month break (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Drinik banking malware returns: Things you can do to keep your data safe | Mint (livemint.com)

• Hacking group abuses antivirus software to launch LODEINFO malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• This stealthy hacking campaign uses a new trick to deliver its malware | ZDNET

• Cranefly threat group uses innocent-looking info-stealer • The Register

• 250+ US news sites spotted spreading FakeUpdates malware in a supply-chain attack - Security Affairs

• New Azov data wiper tries to frame researchers and BleepingComputer

• Dozens of PyPI packages caught dropping 'W4SP' info-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Inside Raccoon Stealer V2 (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• Android Apps With a Million Downloads Led Users to Phishing Sites - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• US govt employees exposed to mobile attacks from outdated Android, iOS (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Samsung Galaxy Bug Secretly Let Hackers Install Apps on Targeted Devices (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber-Threat Actor Uses Booby-Trapped VPN App to Deploy Android Spyware (darkreading.com)

• Malicious dropper apps on Play Store totaled 30.000+ installations - Security Affairs

• New SandStrike spyware infects Android devices via malicious VPN app (bleepingcomputer.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• IoT devices can undermine your security. Here are four ways to boost your defences | ZDNET

• Understanding The Importance Of Cyber Resilience In Smart Buildings - IT Security Guru

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Royal Mail customer data leak shutters online Click and Drop • The Register

• Vodafone Italy discloses data breach after reseller hacked (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LockBit 3.0 gang claims to have stolen data from Thales - Security Affairs

• Dropbox discloses breach after hacker stole 130 GitHub repositories (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Data Breach of Missile Maker MBDA May Have Been Real: CloudSEK - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Experian tool exposed partial Social Security numbers, putting customers at risk - CyberScoop

• Label Giant Multi-Color Corporation Discloses Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com

• Bed Bath & Beyond Discloses Data Breach to SEC (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• US Hacker Group Indicted For Million-Dollar RICO Conspiracy - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Four-year cyber crime campaign targeting African banks netted $30 million - CyberScoop

• French-speaking crooks stole $30m in bank cyber-heist spree • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• New clipboard hijacker replaces crypto wallet addresses with lookalikes (bleepingcomputer.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Fraudulent Instruction Losses Spike in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Former Apple worker pleads guilty to $17m fraud charges • The Register

Insurance

• Mondelez, Zurich settle $100m+ NotPetya insurance lawsuit • The Register

Dark Web

• German cops arrest student in dark-web marketplace bust • The Register

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• NCSC issues fresh guidance following recent rise in supply chain cyber attacks – Intelligent CISO

• Hundreds of US news sites push malware in supply-chain attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• You can up software supply chain security by implementing these measures - Help Net Security

• W4SP Stealer Stings Python Developers in Supply Chain Attack (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• FBI: Hacktivist DDoS attacks had minor impact on critical orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• CISA, FBI, MS-ISAC Publish Guidelines For Federal Agencies on DDoS Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• DDoS Attacks are Upgrading 70% with The Help of CLDAP (analyticsinsight.net)

Cloud/SaaS

• Why Identity & Access Management Governance is a Core Part of Your SaaS Security (thehackernews.com)

• Top 4 priorities for cloud data protection - Help Net Security

• Zscaler's Cloud-Based Cyber security Outages Showcase Redundancy Problem (darkreading.com)

API

• Why Are Zombie APIs and Shadow APIs So Scary? (darkreading.com)

Open Source

• Last Years Open Source - Tomorrow's Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Air New Zealand warns of an ongoing credential stuffing attack - Security Affairs

Social Media

• As Twitter brings on $8 fee, phishing emails target verified accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Can You Nudge Employees Toward Better Cyber security? New Research Says Yes (darkreading.com)

Travel

• Data capture by border agencies can and will happen – are your on-the-road employees prepared? | CSO Online

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• ICO Slashes Government Data Breach Fine - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• SolarWinds reaches $26m settlement, expects SEC action • The Register

• How to Prepare for New SEC Cyber security Disclosure Requirements | SecurityWeek.Com

Careers, Working in Cyber and Information Security

• How Microsoft works to grow the next generation of cyber defenders - Microsoft Security Blog

• Economic Uncertainty Isn't Stopping Cyber crime Recruitment — It's Fueling It (darkreading.com)

• How to Narrow the Talent Gap in Cyber security (darkreading.com)

• Is there a problem with stress and burnout in cyber security? - IT Security Guru

• A Third of Security Leaders Considering Quitting Their Current Role - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• German cops arrest student in dark-web marketplace bust • The Register

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

• Russia has declared hybrid war on Britain (telegraph.co.uk)

• Will cyber saber-rattling drive us to destruction? - Help Net Security

• British cyber warriors defend Ukraine | News | The Times

• No.10 WhatsApp Use Is Critical Danger To Security (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Oreo Giant Mondelez Settles NotPetya 'Act of War' Insurance Suit (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Threat Actor Uses Booby-Trapped VPN App to Deploy Android Spyware (darkreading.com)

• New SandStrike spyware infects Android devices via malicious VPN app (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian missile strikes overshadow cyber attacks as Ukraine reels from blackouts | CNN Politics

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Liz Truss 's phone was allegedly hacked by Russian spies - Security Affairs

• MPs 'constantly' warned their phones are national security risk (telegraph.co.uk)

• US Treasury thwarted attack by Russian hacker group last month-official | Reuters

• Russia tries to impose switch to Linux from Windows (freethink.com)

• Ukraine war: British spies playing key role in defending Kyiv from Russian cyber attacks | UK News | Sky News

Nation State Actors – China

• China-Backed APT10 Supercharges Spy Game With Custom Fileless Backdoor (darkreading.com)

• Chinese Hackers Using New Stealthy Infection Chain to Deploy LODEINFO Malware (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Microsoft Warns on Zero-Day Spike as Nation-State Groups Shift Tactics (darkreading.com)

---

Vulnerability Management

• The most frequently reported vulnerability types and severities - Help Net Security

• Last Years Open Source - Tomorrow's Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Microsoft Warns on Zero-Day Spike as Nation-State Groups Shift Tactics (darkreading.com)

---

Vulnerabilities

• The OpenSSL security update story – how can you tell what needs fixing? – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Critical ConnectWise Vulnerability Affects Thousands of Internet-Exposed Servers | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fortinet fixed 16 vulnerabilities, 6 rated as high severity - Security Affairs

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Bugs in Email, Identity, Web Security Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• You Need to Update Google Chrome, Windows, and Zoom Right Now | WIRED UK

• The Sky Is Not Falling: Disclosed OpenSSL Bugs Are Serious but Not Critical (darkreading.com)

• Splunk Patches 9 High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Product | SecurityWeek.Com

• OpenSSL downgrades horror bug after week of speculation • The Register

• Follina Exploit Leads to Domain Compromise (thedfirreport.com)

• Patch Now: Dangerous RCE Bug Lays Open ConnectWise Server Backup Managers (darkreading.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• NCSC Annual Review 2022 - NCSC.GOV.UK

• Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2022 | Microsoft Security

• Psychology of Passwords 2022: Proactive Cyber security - LastPass

• APT trends report Q3 2022 | Securelist

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 3 (trendmicro.com)

• 2022 Cyber Threat Report Details Growing Trends | TechRepublic

• Volatile Geopolitics Shake the Trends of the 2022 Cyber security Threat Landscape — ENISA (europa.eu)

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Other News

• Meet fundamental cyber security needs before aiming for more - Help Net Security

• NCSC Issued 34 Million Cyber Alerts in Past Year - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Multi-factor authentication fatigue can blow open security • The Register

• WiFi security flaw lets a drone track devices through walls | Engadget

• Now That EDR Is Obvious, What Comes Next? (darkreading.com)

• The Art of Calculating the Cost of Risk (darkreading.com)

• Build Security Around Users: A Human-First Approach to Cyber Resilience (darkreading.com)

• The Role of Ethical Hacking in Cyber security (bolton.ac.uk)

• Top 10 Ethical Hacking Trends and Predictions for 2023 (analyticsinsight.net)

• British govt is scanning all Internet devices hosted in UK (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Red Cross Eyes Digital Emblem for Cyber space Protection | SecurityWeek.Com

• CISA releases cyber security performance goals to reduce risk and impact of adversarial threats | CSO Online

• Security hygiene and posture management requires new tools (techtarget.com)

• Most Online Shoppers Would Leave Retailer Following Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Offense Gets the Glory, but Defence Wins the Game | SecurityWeek.Com

• The 7 Core Pillars of a Zero-Trust Architecture (techtarget.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.

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.

Cyber Awareness Month Promotion on Popular Training Sessions

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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 28 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

• ‘Biggest Cyber Risk Is Complacency, Not Hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner Issues Warning as Construction Company Fined £4.4 Million

The UK Information Commissioner has warned that companies are leaving themselves open to cyber attack by ignoring crucial measures like updating software and training staff.

The warning comes as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a fine of £4,400,000 to Interserve Group Ltd, a Berkshire based construction company, for failing to keep personal information of its staff secure. This is a breach of data protection law.

The ICO found that the company failed to put appropriate security measures in place to prevent a cyber attack, which enabled hackers to access the personal data of up to 113,000 employees through a phishing email.

The compromised data included personal information such as contact details, national insurance numbers, and bank account details, as well as special category data including ethnic origin, religion, details of any disabilities, sexual orientation, and health information.

John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, said:

 “The biggest cyber risk businesses face is not from hackers outside of their company, but from complacency within their company. If your business doesn't regularly monitor for suspicious activity in its systems and fails to act on warnings, or doesn't update software and fails to provide training to staff, you can expect a similar fine from my office.

 “Leaving the door open to cyber attackers is never acceptable, especially when dealing with people’s most sensitive information. This data breach had the potential to cause real harm to Interserve’s staff, as it left them vulnerable to the possibility of identity theft and financial fraud.

 “Cyber attacks are a global concern, and businesses around the world need to take steps to guard against complacency. The ICO and NCSC already work together to offer advice and support to businesses, and this week I will be meeting with regulators from around the world, to work towards consistent international cyber guidance so that people’s data is protected wherever a company is based.”

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2022/10/biggest-cyber-risk-is-complacency-not-hackers/

• Ransomware Threat Shifts from US to EMEA and APAC

The volume of ransomware detections in Q3 2022 was the lowest in two years, but certain geographical regions have become bigger targets as attacks on US organisations wane, according to SonicWall. The security vendor used its own threat detection network, including over one million security sensors in more than 200 countries, to reveal the current landscape.

The good news is that global malware volumes have remained flat for the past three quarters, amounting to a total of over four billion detections in the year to date. Of these, ransomware is also trending down after a record-breaking 2021. Even so, SonicWall detected 338 million compromise attempts in the first three quarters of the year.

Year-to-date ransomware attempts in 2022 have already exceeded the full-year totals from four of the past five years, the vendor claimed. While attacks on US organisations dipped by 51% year-on-year during the period, they increased significantly in the UK (20%), EMEA (38%) and APAC (56%).

The cyber-warfare battlefront continues to shift, posing dangerous threats to organisations of all sizes. With expanding attack surfaces, growing numbers of threats and the current geopolitical landscape, it should be no surprise that even the most seasoned IT professional can feel overwhelmed.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-threat-shifts-from-us/

• Phishing Attacks Increase by Over 31% In Third Quarter

Email security and threat detection company Vade has found that phishing emails in the third quarter this year increased by more than 31% quarter on quarter, with the number of emails containing malware in the first three quarters surpassing the 2021 level by 55.8 million.

Malware emails in the third quarter of 2022 alone increased by 217% compared to same period in 2021. Malware email volume peaked in July, reaching 19.2 million, before month-over-month declines in August and September, with numbers dropping to 16.8 million and 16.5 million respectively.

According to the report, email is the preferred attack vector for phishing and malware, as it gives hackers a direct channel to users, the weakest link in an organisation’s attack surface. The report analyses phishing and malware data captured by Vade, which does business internationally.

As attacks become more sophisticated, Vade said, they also become increasingly capable of evading the basic security offered by email providers, which almost eight in 10 businesses still rely on, according to Vade’s research.

While the activity of threat actors fluctuates, Vade’s research found that impersonating trusted and established brands remains the most popular strategy for hackers. In the third quarter of 2022, Facebook was the most impersonated brand for the second consecutive quarter, followed by Google, MTB, PayPal, and Microsoft.

The financial services sector remains the most impersonated industry, representing 32% of phishing emails detected by Vade, followed by cloud at 25%, social media at 22%, and internet/telco at 13%.

As phishing attacks increase, the techniques used by threat actors continue to evolve. While phishing campaigns were traditionally large scale and random, more recent campaigns seen by Vade suggest that hackers have pivoted to using more targeted campaigns.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3678311/phishing-attacks-increase-by-over-31-in-third-quarter-report.html#tk.rss_news

• UK Urged to Watch for Fraud as People Aim to Make Extra Cash in Cost of Living Crisis

Brits have been warned to “stay alert for fraud” as more people are out to make extra cash as the cost of living rises across the country.

UK Finance said that more than half (56%) of people admitted that they are likely to look for opportunities to make extra money in the coming months, which could leave some people more susceptible to fraud.

According to the trade association’s Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign, one in six, or 16%, of people said the rising cost of living means they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone offering an investment opportunity or a loan.

Young people were more likely to be at risk, the data suggested, which surveyed 2,000 people across the UK. More than a third (34%) of 18 to 34-year-olds said they are more likely to respond to an unprompted approach from someone, with three in 10 (30%) also more likely to provide their personal or financial details to secure the arrangement.

Overall, three in five people (60%) said they are concerned about falling victim to financial fraud or a scam. It comes as recent figures from UK Finance showed that £609.8m was lost due to fraud and scams in the first half of this year.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-watch-for-fraud-extra-cash-cost-of-living-crisis-230154352.html

• HR Departments Play a Key Role in Cyber Security

A common shortcoming of human resources (HR) departments is that — despite being an operation designed to put humans at the centre of how an organisation is run — they often fail to adequately align with their IT counterparts and the core technology systems that define how a business is run and protected from cyber-risk.

Insufficient coordination between HR and IT processes and procedures remains common and gives rise to security gaps that can represent some of the most dangerous vulnerabilities on a company's attack surface. Let's examine the scope of the challenge and some key cyber-asset management priorities that can close the schism for a more robust cyber security posture.

Gone are the days when HR's role in securing the enterprise relied on basic tutorials for employees about protecting passwords on company equipment. Today's threat environment intersects with the workforce in more ways than ever — from bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and authentication gaps to user vulnerabilities that make spear-phishing seem quaint. Traditional social engineering attacks are now being augmented by zero-click exploits that compromise employee devices without the user ever having to click a link or take any action at all.

Beyond malicious threats, even routine HR processes can introduce risk to the organisation when they're not adequately aligned with the IT processes in an organisation. As just one example, when an employee leaves a company, the offboarding goes far beyond just the exit interview to also include removing access to multiple enterprise systems, accounts, and devices — all of which require close coordination between HR and IT personnel and systems.

To better secure the enterprise, it's mission-critical to get HR and IT more united in a common and advanced understanding of cyber hygiene and risk mitigation. This relies on enhanced awareness of the impact that HR processes have on cyber assets in other parts of the organisation, as well as the HR role in access management for employees and contractors. This requires asset visibility that must be ongoing and in real time, since our roles, devices, and access to data and systems may change multiple times over the course of our employment.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/hr-departments-play-a-key-role-in-cybersecurity

• The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Ransomware Attacks

Northwave has conducted scientific research into the psychological effects of a ransomware crisis on both organisations and individuals. The findings reveal the deep marks that a ransomware crisis leaves on all those affected. It also shows how their IT and security teams can turn in disarray long after the crisis itself has passed.

The research reveals how the psychological impact of ransomware attacks can persist on people in affected organisations for a very long time. It shows that crisis team members may develop serious symptoms far later. Top management and HR need to take measures against this, in fact right from the very beginning of the crisis. They are the ones bearing responsibility for the well-being of their staff.

They also discovered how teams have fallen apart some time after the crisis, with members leaving or staying home on sick-leave. The study reveals that effects can linger throughout the organisation. All in all the investigation shows that this invisible impact of a cyber crisis is an issue for the general business management, and certainly also for HR.

Northwave regards the response to a cyber attack as occurring in three phases. First comes the actual crisis situation, which evolves into an incident phase after about a week. A plan of action is then in place, and recovery measures are launched. The fire has been largely extinguished after a month or so, with the first (basic) functionalities available again.

Full recovery can take one to two years. Each phase has its specific effects on the minds and bodies of those involved, and by extension, on the organisation or parts of it. “On average a company is down for three weeks following a malware attack,” notes Van der Beijl. “But it surprised us that the impact persists for so long afterwards. Psychological issues are still surfacing a year after the actual crisis.”

One of every seven employees involved in the attack, either directly or indirectly, exhibits severe enough symptoms several months later, at a level considered to be above the clinical threshold at which professional trauma treatment help is needed. One in five employees say they would actually have needed more professional help subsequently in coming to terms with the attack. One in three liked to have more knowledge and concrete tools to deal with the psychological effects of the attack.

A ransomware attack has enduring psychological effects on the way employees view the world. Two-thirds of employees, including those not actually involved in the attack, now believe the world is less safe. As one IT manager pointed out, “I’ve become far more suspicious. The outside world is a dangerous place.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/25/psychological-effects-ransomware/

• 7 Hidden Social Media Cyber Risks for Enterprises

Whether they use it to amplify the brand, recruit new employees, advertise new products, or even sell directly to consumers, corporate brands love social media.

According to recent figures, brand advertising on social media is up by 53% in the last year, and that's not accounting for further investments that brands are making in developing and distributing content. They're pushing viral videos, funny memes, podcasts, written material, and more to increase engagement with their customers.

And brands are doing it across not only the old reliable social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but also emerging platforms like TikTok. In fact, according to another recent study, in 2022 marketers are expanding their horizons, with their increased content investments focused on areas like live streaming, long-form and short-form video content, virtual reality and augmented reality content, experimental content, and live audio chat rooms. The top platforms they're focused on most for increasing spending are now TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

With the broadening of these social-media marketing strategies comes more risk. Whether an organisation uses social media to amplify its brand, or its executives and employees leverage social channels to bolster their professional and personal brands, these marketing platforms are a breeding ground for a wide range of cyber attacks and scams, including in the areas of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and biometrics.

Cyber criminals, fraudsters, spies, and activists work around the clock to take advantage of emerging attack surfaces that arise from enterprise use of social media. The article below presents just a few avenues that organisations may overlook when they double-down on their social media investments.

https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/7-hidden-social-media-cyber-risks-enterprises

• 54% of Staff Would Reconsider Working for a Firm That Had Experienced a Cyber Breach, Research Finds

Over half (54%) of office workers would reconsider working for a company that had recently experienced a cyber breach. That's according to a new study by cyber security technology provider, Encore.

An independent study of 100 C-level executives, 100 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and 500 office workers in the US and the UK, conducted by Censuswide, sought to uncover the gap that remains between boards and security teams when it comes to addressing cyber demands.

Only a third (33%) of staff said they would be "completely unphased" if their employer suffered a cyber break-in. The majority (57%) of C-level executives polled said they have been breached in the last 12 months alone. Most office workers, however, were unaware, with only 39% believing their organisation had been the victim of a successful attack.

The immediate financial cost of a cyber-attack remains the number one concern for businesses, but security teams are learning that there is a long tail to these breaches, with employees at risk of losing faith in their company, its ethics and values and its overarching responsibilities to the general public. In a competitive market, this is a stark warning to businesses across the world. Keeping your staff in the dark about cyber risk is a fundamental error, not to mention the additional impact of delayed disclosure to customers.

41% of C-level executives polled named reputational damage as one of the biggest costs to their business following a cyber-attack, with 34% agreeing that loss of clientele or their trust was a significant cost.

Despite many admitting to suffering a cyber breach in the last year, the overwhelming majority (92%) of CISOs and C-level executives polled believe their business is secure at any given moment. Encore believes that a mindset shift is needed at an organisational level, treating cyber incidents and the security of employee and customer data as a fundamental part of normal business operations, not a function that sits on the outside, looking in.

https://www.darkreading.com/careers-and-people/54-of-staff-would-reconsider-working-for-a-firm-that-had-experienced-a-cyber-breach-research-finds

• Evolve as Fast as the Cyber Criminals: Protect Your Business Now, Before It’s Too Late

According to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report, 2021 saw a global average increase of 105% in the number of ransomware attacks. Proofpoint's 2022 State of the Phish report said that a staggering 82% of UK businesses that experienced a ransomware attack sent payment to the cyber criminals – believing this was the cheapest and easiest way to regain access to their data. However, in many cases criminals simply took the payment without restoring access and the organisation finds itself on criminal target lists as it has demonstrated that attacks pay off. Even when decryption keys are handed over it can take an extended period of time to restore data.

One attack, on a hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany, was implicated in the death of a patient who had to be diverted to an alternative site as the A&E department had been forced to close due to the loss of core computer systems. It appears that the attack had been misdirected, and the hackers – who were quickly apprehended by the police – handed over the encryption keys immediately when they realised what had happened. Nevertheless, the decryption process was slow. It began in the early hours of September 11 and by September 20 the hospital was still unable to add or retrieve information, or even send emails. 30 servers had been corrupted.

The methods and techniques required to conduct a cyber-attack have never been more accessible. Whether it is on the darknet or through open-source content, the ability to purchase material that allows a malicious user to conduct a cyber-attack is readily available. Conducting a ransomware attack and using it to extort money from companies and government services alike, is now viewed as a viable business model by organised criminals.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/28/evolve-as-fast-as-the-cybercriminals-protect-your-business-now-before-its-too-late/

• Enterprise Ransomware Preparedness Improving but Still Lacking

The majority of organisations have made ransomware preparedness a top-five business priority, yet only half believe their preparedness is stronger than it was two years ago. That is according to a recent survey, "The Long Road Ahead to Ransomware Preparedness" by Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget.

Despite warnings and available preparedness resources, ransomware continues to distress companies. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they suffered a successful attack within the last year, and 73% reported they had one or more attacks that caused negative financial impact or disrupted business operations in the same time period.

The good news is the board and the C-suite are finally getting the message that more needs to be done to address impending ransomware attempts. In fact, 79% of respondents said business leaders made ransomware preparedness a top business priority, and 82% of organisations plan to invest more in ransomware preparedness over the next 12 to 18 months.

With preparedness investments expected to grow, the survey asked how organisations currently tackle ransomware. Respondents said the most important prevention tactics involve efforts in the following:

• network security (43%)

• backup infrastructure security (40%)

• endpoint security (39%)

• email security (36%)

• data encryption (36%)

Ongoing activities cited included data recovery testing, employee security awareness training, response readiness assessments, incident response functional exercises, penetration testing, incident planning and playbook development, phishing simulation programs, tabletop exercises, and blue/red/purple team engagements.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/Enterprise-ransomware-preparedness-improving-but-still-lacking

• Why Are There So Many Data Breaches? A Growing Industry of Criminals is Brokering in Stolen Data

New details have emerged on the severity of the Australian Medibank hack, which has now affected all users. Optus, Medibank, Woolworths, and, last Friday, electricity provider Energy Australia are all now among the Australian household names that have fallen victim to a data breach.

If it seems like barely a week goes by without news of another incident like this, you would be right. Cyber crime is on the rise – seven major Australian businesses were affected by data breaches in the past month alone.

But why now? And who is responsible for this latest wave of cyber attacks?

In large part, the increasing number of data breaches is being driven by the growth of a global illicit industry that trades in your data. In particular, hackers known as “initial access brokers” specialise in illegally gaining access to victim networks and then selling this access to other cyber criminals.

Hackers and initial access brokers are just one part of a complex and diversifying cyber crime ecosystem. This ecosystem contains various cyber criminal groups who increasingly specialise in one particular aspect of online crime and then work together to carry out the attacks.

Ransomware attacks are complex, involving up to nine different stages. These include gaining access to a victim’s network, stealing data, encrypting a victim’s network, and issuing a ransom demand. Increasingly, these attacks are carried out not by lone cyber criminal groups, but rather by networks of different cyber crime groups, each of which specialises in a different stage of the attack.

Initial access brokers will often carry out the first stage of a ransomware attack. Described by Google’s Threat Analysis Group as “the opportunistic locksmiths of the security world”, it’s their job to gain access to a victim’s network.

https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-data-breaches-a-growing-industry-of-criminals-is-brokering-in-stolen-data-193015

• How The "pizza123" Password Could Take Down an Organisation

Criminal hackers took responsibility for a recent FastCompany breach, saying they exploited an easily guessed default password, "pizza123." The business magazine reused the weak password across a dozen WordPress accounts, according to the hackers, who described the attack in their own article on FastCompany.com before the publication took the site down.

The breach, the bitter taste of pizza123, and the plight of malicious push notifications, demand caution when selecting and managing passwords.

The hackers claimed to have used the vulnerable password pizza123 to access authentication tokens, Apple News API keys, and Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) tokens. Then they sent offensive push notifications to the home screens of subscribers of the FastCompany channel on the Apple News service.

After decades of investment in sculpting the organisation's brand image, a business can watch its reputation flounder in the face of an obscene push notification. The sentiment of millions of faithful customers can turn sour in an instant. By the time organisations block the messages and make public apologies, the harm is done.

Customers can swap to a competitor, or even sue for the offence when they have entrusted a publisher to provide safe content. Regulatory bodies can fine organisations. The company can spend time and money defending itself in court and restoring its image. But malicious push notifications can do a lot worse than offend customers—criminal hackers can load messages with malware and infect consumer devices, leading to privacy violations and consumer financial fraud.

People often build passwords using the first word that comes to mind and a brief series of numbers. Pizza123 is a perfect example of an easy-to-guess password. Employees will create passwords already appearing on breached password lists. Criminal hackers use brute force attacks to confirm working passwords from the same lists.

Nearly two-thirds of employees reuse their passwords. The more they reuse them across business and personal accounts, the more likely criminal hackers will breach them and test them on the organisation. Hackers know to try the same passwords on different companies they hack because of password reuse.

Robust password management enables fine-grained password policies and policy customisation. With a custom password policy, organisations can increase complexity requirements, like length and previous-password change minimums. A custom password policy with increased complexity requirements will block 95% of weak and breached passwords.

Password length is a particularly critical component of strong passwords. Ninety-three percent of the passwords used in brute force attacks include eight or more characters. A custom password policy can require a minimum password length, decreasing password entropy.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/how-the-pizza123-password-could-take-down-an-organization/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• SonicWall: Ransomware down this year, but there’s a catch • The Register

• Medibank cyber-attack: should the health insurer pay a ransom for its customers’ data? | Health | The Guardian

• Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register

• Microsoft links Raspberry Robin worm to Clop ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to detect Windows worm that now distributes ransomware • The Register

• Ransomware Barrage Aimed at US Healthcare Sector, Feds Warn (darkreading.com)

• BlackByte ransomware affiliate also steals victims' data • The Register

• Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs

• OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• CISA warns of ransomware attacks on healthcare providers (techtarget.com)

• Industrial Ransomware Attacks: New Groups Emerge, Manufacturing Pays Highest Ransom | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ransom Cartel - REvil Rebrand? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Addressing Ransomware in Hospitals & Medical Devices (trendmicro.com)

• Australian Clinical Labs says patient data stolen in ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Vice Society Hackers Confess To Education Sector Ransomware Attacks (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why Ransomware in Education on the Rise and What That Means for 2023 (thehackernews.com)

• Largest EU copper producer Aurubis suffers cyber attack, IT outage (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hive Ransomware Hackers Begin Leaking Data Stolen from Tata Power Energy Company (thehackernews.com)

• Ransomware Gangs Ramp Up Industrial Attacks in US (darkreading.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• DHL Replaces LinkedIn As Most Imitated Brand in Phishing Attempts - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Social engineering attacks anybody could fall victim to - Help Net Security

• Twilio Says Employees Targeted in Separate Smishing, Vishing Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

Malware

• Threat Groups Repurpose Banking Trojans into Backdoors (darkreading.com)

• Types of cloud malware and how to defend against them (techtarget.com)

• Cranefly Hackers Use Stealthy Techniques to Deliver and Control Malware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Thousands Of Fake PoC Exploits In GitHub Repositories Deliver Malware – (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Chrome extensions with 1 million installs hijack targets’ browsers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers use Microsoft IIS web server logs to control malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Apple Releases Patch for New Actively Exploited iOS and iPadOS Zero-Day Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• These Dropper Apps On Play Store Targeting Over 200 Banking and Cryptocurrency Wallets (thehackernews.com)

• Android Hacking Warning As Criminals Target TikTok And PayPal For (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• IoT Fingerprinting Helps Authenticate and Secure All Those Devices (darkreading.com)

• IoT security strategy from enterprises using connected devices | Network World

• Security by design vital to protecting IoT, smart cities around the world, says CEO of UK NCSC | CSO Online

• Your CCTV devices can be hacked and weaponized - Help Net Security

• Critical Flaws in Abode Home Security Kit Allow Hackers to Hijack, Disable Cameras | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Thomson Reuters leaked at least 3TB of sensitive data | Cybernews

• See Tickets discloses 2.5 years-long credit card theft breach (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Twilio discloses another hack from June, blames voice phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Seven months after it found out, FamilySearch tells users their personal data has been breached • Graham Cluley

• Bed Bath & Beyond reviewing possible data breach | Reuters

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Ukrainian charged for operating Raccoon Stealer malware service (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Interpol says metaverse opens up new world of cyber crime | Reuters

• From Bounty to Exploit Observations About Cyber criminal Contests (trendmicro.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Researchers uncover cryptojacking campaign targeting Docker, Kubernetes cloud servers | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Purpleurchin: Cryptocurrency miners scour GitHub, Heroku • The Register

• Cryptomining campaign abused free GitHub account trials (techtarget.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• New York Post hacked? No, the culprit is an employee - Security Affairs

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• UK Anti-fraud Efforts Failing (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Dealers Report Dramatic Increase in Identity Fraud: Most Lack Effective Protection (darkreading.com)

• Economic strife fuels cyber anxiety - Help Net Security

• LinkedIn Releases New Security Features To Combat Fraud (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Beware Of SCAMS As Cost Of Living Bites Finances, Expert Comments (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Insurance

• Health insurer Medibank's infosec diagnosis is getting worse • The Register

• Cyber Insurance Market 2022: FAQs & Updates with iBynd (trendmicro.com)

Dark Web

• Notorious ‘BestBuy’ hacker arraigned for running dark web market (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Student arrested for running one of Germany’s largest dark web markets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dark Web Forum Busts Come Days Apart (darkreading.com)

• British hacker arraigned for running The Real Deal dark web marketplace - Security Affairs

Software Supply Chain

• Supply Chain Attacks Or Vulnerabilities Experienced By 80% Of Organisations (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How the Software Supply Chain Security is Threatened by Hackers (thehackernews.com)

• Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)

• Consumer behaviours are the root of open source risk - Help Net Security

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Key observations on DDoS attacks in H1 2022 - Help Net Security

• Meet the Windows servers that have been fuelling massive DDoSes for months | Ars Technica

Cloud/SaaS

• Everything you Need to Know about Cloud Hacking and its Methodologies (analyticsinsight.net)

• It’s time to prioritize SaaS security | InfoWorld

• Top Cloud Security Challenges & How to Beat Them (trendmicro.com)

• Atlassian Vulnerabilities Highlight Criticality of Cloud Services (darkreading.com)

• Threat Actors Target AWS EC2 Workloads to Steal Credentials (trendmicro.com)

• Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)

• Cloud Providers Throw Their Weight Behind Confidential Computing (darkreading.com)

Hybrid Working

• Balancing remote work privacy vs. productivity monitoring (techtarget.com)

• Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Attack Surface Management

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 2 (trendmicro.com)

• Asset risk management: Getting the basics right - Help Net Security

Encryption

• New Critical Vuln In Component That Allow Encryption Across Internet - (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Can a new form of cryptography solve the internet’s privacy problem? | Data protection | The Guardian

API

• Thousands Of Publicly Exposed API Tokens Could Threaten Software Integrity (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Key API Security Principles And How To Implement Them (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Open Source

• Open Source Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Software Supply Chain Security (darkreading.com)

• 4 Reasons Open Source Matters for Cloud Security (darkreading.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Why it's time to expire mandatory password expiration policies (techtarget.com)

• Feds say Ukrainian man running malware service amassed 50M unique credentials | Ars Technica

Biometrics

• ICO Warns of "Immature" Biometric Tech - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Social Media

• LinkedIn Phishing Spoof Bypasses Google Workspace Security (darkreading.com)

• LinkedIn's new security features combat fake profiles, threat actors (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cyber security event cancelled after scammers disrupt LinkedIn live chat (bitdefender.com)

• Expert Opinion: What Does Musk's Takeover Mean For Cyber security? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Cyber attackers Target Instagram Users With Threats of Copyright Infringement (darkreading.com)

Cyber Bullying, Cyber Stalking and Sextortion

• Ex-cop abused police tool in Snapshot sextortion plot that stole sexually explicit photos and videos (bitdefender.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• UK Construction Biz Fined £4.4m for Serious Security Failings - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Australia Flags New Corporate Penalties for Privacy Breaches | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Protection

• What consumers expect from organisations that handle their personal data - Help Net Security

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• Criminals are starting to exploit the metaverse, says Interpol. So police are heading there too | ZDNET

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

• Ukraine: Russian cyber attacks aimless and opportunistic (techtarget.com)

• Unknown Actors are Deploying RomCom RAT to Target Ukrainian Military (thehackernews.com)

• Slovak, Polish Parliaments Hit by Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Norway arrests man accused of being Russian spy - BBC News

• Cuba ransomware affiliate targets Ukraine, CERT-UA warns - Security Affairs

• Ukraine Warns of Cuba Ransomware Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Russia says Starlink satellites could become military target • The Register

• Calls for inquiry mount after reports that Truss’s phone was hacked | Financial Times

• OldGremlin Ransomware Fierce Comeback Against Russian Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese spy duo charged in Huawei case as US condemns ‘egregious’ interference | China | The Guardian

• Chinese Connected Cyber Crew Unleashes Disinformation Campaign Ahead of US Elections - MSSP Alert

• Federal bans don't stop US states from buying Chinese kit • The Register

• Chinese Spies Indicted for Coercing Nationals Living in US to Return as Agents of the PRC - MSSP Alert

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Kimsuky Hackers Spotted Using 3 New Android Malware to Target South Koreans (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iranian government blames 'foreign country' for hack-and-leak of nuclear information - CyberScoop

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Vulnerability Management

• Outpost24: How Pentesting-as-a-Service finds vulnerabilities before they're exploited (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Protecting organisations by understanding end-of-life software risks - Help Net Security

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Vulnerabilities

• OpenSSL to fix the second critical flaw ever - Security Affairs

• Urgent: Google Issues Emergency Patch for Chrome Zero-Day (darkreading.com)

• Multiple RCE Vulnerabilities Discovered in Veeam Backup & Replication App - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ConnectWise fixes RCE bug exposing thousands of servers to attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical authentication bug in Fortinet products actively exploited in the wild | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• Apple megaupdate: Ventura out, iOS and iPad kernel zero-day – act now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Windows Mark of the Web Zero-Days Remain Patchless, Under Exploit (darkreading.com)

• 22-Year-Old Vulnerability Reported in Widely Used SQLite Database Library (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco warns admins to patch AnyConnect flaws exploited in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Exploit released for critical VMware RCE vulnerability, patch now (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco Confirms In-the-Wild Exploitation of Two VPN Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Incoming OpenSSL critical fix: Organisations, users, get ready! - Help Net Security

• Cisco Users Informed of Vulnerabilities in Identity Services Engine | SecurityWeek.Com

• VMware fixes critical RCE in VMware Cloud Foundation - Security Affairs

• VMware Patches Critical Vulnerability in End-of-Life Product | SecurityWeek.Com

• Multiple vulnerabilities affect the Juniper Junos OS - Security Affairs

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Q3 2022 Phishing and Malware Report: Phishing Volumes Increase 31% (vadesecure.com)

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 2 (trendmicro.com)

• Justice response inadequate to meet scale of fraud epidemic - Committees - UK Parliament

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Other News

• Cyber Security Risks & Stats This Spooky Season (darkreading.com)

• Cyber Certification Skills Are For Life, Not Just For Linkedin (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• 8 hallmarks of a proactive security strategy | CSO Online

• Implementing Defence in Depth to Prevent and Mitigate Cyber Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber security’s importance and impact reaches all levels of the tech workforce - Help Net Security

• Stress Is Driving Cyber Security Professionals to Rethink Roles (darkreading.com)

• Equifax's Lessons Are Still Relevant, 5 Years Later (darkreading.com)

• Why dark data is a growing danger for corporations - Help Net Security

• Know the dangers you're facing: 4 notable TTPs used by cyber criminals worldwide - Help Net Security

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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.

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·       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 21 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

• Gen Z, Millennials Really Don’t Care About Workplace Cyber Security

When it comes to cyber security in the workplace, younger employees don’t really seem to care that much, which is putting their organisations in serious harm’s way, new research has claimed.

Surveying approximately 1,000 workers using devices issued by their employers, professional services firm EY found Gen Z enterprise employees were more apathetic about cyber security than their Boomer counterparts in adhering to their employer's safety policies.

This is despite the fact that four in five (83%) of all those surveyed claimed to understand their employer’s security protocol.

When it comes to implementing mandatory IT updates, for example, 58% of Gen Z’ers and 42% of millennials would disregard them for as long as possible. Less than a third (31%) of Gen X’ers, and just 15% of baby boomers said they do the same.

Apathy in the young extends to password reuse between private and business accounts. A third of Gen Z and millennial workers surveyed admitted to this, compared to less than a quarter of all Gen X’ers and baby boomers.

Some say the apathy of young people towards technology is down to their over-familiarity with technology, and never having been without it. Being too comfortable with tech undoubtedly makes an enterprise's younger employees a major target for cyber criminals looking to exploit any hole in security. 

If an organisation's cyber security practices aren't upheld strongly, threat actors can compromise huge networks with simple social engineering attacks.

https://www.techradar.com/news/younger-workers-dont-care-about-workplace-cybersecurity

• Supply Chain Attacks Increased Over 600% This Year and Companies Are Falling Behind

The number of documented supply chain attacks involving malicious third-party components has increased 633% over the past year, now sitting at over 88,000 known instances, according to a new report from software supply chain management company Sonatype. Meanwhile, instances of transitive vulnerabilities that software components inherit from their own dependencies have also reached unprecedented levels and plague two-thirds of open-source libraries.

“The networked nature of dependencies highlights the importance of having visibility and awareness about these complex supply chains” Sonatype said in its newly released State of the Software Supply Chain report. “These dependencies impact our software, so having an understanding of their origins is critical to vulnerability response. Many organisations did not have the needed visibility and continued their incident response procedures for Log4Shell well beyond the summer of 2022 as a result.”

Log4Shell is a critical vulnerability discovered in November 2021 in Log4j, a widely popular open-source Java library used for logging and bundled in millions of enterprise applications and software products, often as an indirect dependency. According to Sonatype’s monitoring, as of August 2022, the adoption rate for fixed versions of Log4j sits at around 65%. Moreover, this doesn’t even account for the fact that the Log4Shell vulnerability originated in a Java class called JndiManager that is part of Log4j-core, but which has also been borrowed by 783 other projects and is now found in over 19,000 software components.

Log4Shell served as a watershed moment, highlighting the inherent risks that exist in the open-source software ecosystem – which sits at the core of modern software development – and the need to manage them properly. It also led to several initiatives to secure the software supply chain by private organisations, software repository managers, the Linux Foundation, and government bodies. Yet, most organisations are far from where they need to be in terms of open-source supply chain management.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3677228/supply-chain-attacks-increased-over-600-this-year-and-companies-are-falling-behind.html#tk.rss_news

• Cyber-Enabled Crimes Are Biggest Police Concerns

Cyber-related crimes such as money laundering, ransomware and phishing pose the biggest threat to society, according to the first ever Interpol Global Crime Trend report.

The inaugural study was compiled from data received from the policing organisation’s 195 member countries, as well as information and analysis from external sources.

Money laundering was ranked the number one threat, with 67% of respondents claiming it to be a “high” or “very high” risk. Ransomware came second (66%) but was the crime type that most (72%) expected to increase in the next 3–5 years.

Of the nine top crime trends identified in the report, six are directly cyber-enabled, including money laundering, ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, computer intrusion and child sexual exploitation.

Interpol warned that the pandemic had fomented new underground offerings like “financial crime-as-a-service,” including digital money laundering tools which help to lower the barrier to entry for criminal gangs. It also claimed that demand for online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) content surged during the pandemic. Some 62% of respondents expect it to increase or significantly increase in the coming years.

The findings represent something of a turnaround from pre-pandemic times, when drug trafficking regularly topped the list of police concerns. Thanks to a surge in corporate digitalisation, home working and online shopping, there are now rich pickings to be had from targeting consumers and business users with cyber-scams and attacks, Interpol claimed.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberenabled-crimes-are-biggest/

• List of Common Passwords Accounts for Nearly All Cyber Attacks

Half of a million passwords from the RockYou2021 list account for 99.997% of all credential attacks against a variety of honeypots, suggesting attackers are just taking the easy road.

Tens of millions of credential-based attacks targeting two common types of servers boiled down to a small fraction of the passwords that formed a list of leaked credentials, known as the RockYou2021 list.

Vulnerability management firm Rapid7, via its network of honeypots, recorded every attempt to compromise those servers over a 12-month period, finding that the attempted credential attacks resulted in 512,000 permutations. Almost all of those passwords (99.997%) are included in a common password list — the RockYou2021 file, which has 8.4 billion entries — suggesting that attackers, or the subset of threat actors attacking Rapid7's honeypots, are sticking to a common playbook.

The overlap in all the attacks also suggest attackers are taking the easy road, said Rapid7. "We know now, in a provable and demonstrable way, that nobody — 0% of attackers — is trying to be creative when it comes to unfocused, untargeted attacks across the Internet," they said. "Therefore, it's very easy to avoid this kind of opportunistic attack, and it takes very little effort to take this threat off the table entirely, with modern password managers and configuration controls."

Every year, security firms present research suggesting users are continuing to pick bad passwords. In 2019, an evaluation of passwords leaked to the Internet found that the top password was "123456," followed by "123456789" and "qwerty," and unfortunately things have not got much better since then.

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/a-common-password-list-accounts-for-nearly-all-cyberattacks

• Shared Responsibility or Shared Fate? Decentralised IT Means We Are All Cyber Defenders

Does your organisation truly understand the shared responsibility model? Shared responsibility emerged from the early days of cloud computing as a way to delineate responsibilities between cloud providers and their customers, but often there's a gap between what shared responsibility means and how it is interpreted. With the decentralisation of IT, this gap is getting worse.

Applications, servers, and overall technology used to be under the purview and control of the IT department, yet with the shift to cloud, and specifically software-as-a-service (SaaS), this dynamic has changed. Whether it's the sales team bringing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system like Salesforce, or the HR department operating a human resources information system (HRIS) like Workday, there's a clear "expanding universe" of IT that no longer sits where it used to. Critical business workflows exist in separate business units far from IT and security and are managed as such. Our corporate IT footprints have become decentralised.

This is not some minor, temporary trend. With the ease and speed of adopting new SaaS applications and the desire to "lift and shift" code into cloud-based environments, this is the future. The future is decentralised.

The shift to business-owned and -operated applications puts security teams in a position where risk management is their responsibility; they are not even able to log into some of these critical systems. It's like asking your doctor to keep you healthy but not giving her access to your information or having regular check-ups. It doesn't work that way.

Beyond the challenging human skills gap, there's technical entropy and diversity everywhere, with different configuration settings, event logs, threat vectors, and data sensitivities. On the access side, there are different admins, users, integrations, and APIs. If you think managing security on Windows and Mac is a lot, try it across many huge applications.

With this reality, how can the security team be expected to combat a growing amount of decentralised business technology risk?

We must operate our technology with the understanding that shared responsibility is the vertical view between cloud provider and customer, but that enterprise-owned piece of shared responsibility is the burden of multiple teams horizontally across an organisation. Too often the mentality is us versus them, availability versus security, too busy to care about risk, too concerned with risk to understand "the business."

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/shared-responsibility-or-shared-fate-decentralized-it-means-we-are-all-cyber-defenders

• Ukraine War Cuts Ransomware as Kremlin Co-Opts Hackers

The Ukraine war has helped reduce global ransomware attacks by 10pc in the last few months, a British cyber security company has said.

Criminal hacking gangs, usually engaged in corporate ransomware activities, are increasingly being co-opted by the Russian military to launch cyber attacks on Ukraine, according to Digital Shadows. “The war is likely to continue to motivate ransomware actors to target government and critical infrastructure entities,” according to the firm. Such attacks partly contributed to a 10pc drop in the number of ransomware threats launched during the three months to September, said the London-based company.

The drop in ransomware may also partly be caused by tit-for-tat digital attacks between rival hacking gangs. Researchers said the Lockbit gang, who recently targeted LSE-listed car retailer Pendragon with a $60m (£53.85m) ransom demand, were the target of attacks from their underworld rivals. The group is increasingly inviting resentment from competing threat groups and possibly former members.

Some cyber criminals’ servers went offline in September after what appeared to be an attack from competitors. In the world of cyber criminality, it is not uncommon for tensions to flare among rival groups.

Officials from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre have said ransomware is one of the biggest cyber threats facing the UK. Figures published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport this year revealed the average costs to businesses caused by ransomware attacks is around £19,000 per incident.

US-based cyber security company Palo Alto Networks, however, warned that the average ransom payment it saw in the early part of this year was $925,000 (£829,000).

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/10/23/ukraine-war-cuts-ransomware-kremlin-co-opts-hackers/

• 96% Of Companies Report Insufficient Security for Sensitive Cloud Data

The vast majority of organisations lack confidence in securing their data in cloud, while many companies acknowledge they lack sufficient security even for their most sensitive data, according to a new report by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).

The CSA report surveyed 1,663 IT and security professionals from organisations of various sizes and in various locations. "Only 4% report sufficient security for 100% of their data in the cloud. This means that 96% of organisations have insufficient security for at least some of their sensitive data," according to the report, which was sponsored by data intelligence firm BigID.

Apart from struggling with securing sensitive data, organisations are also having trouble tracking data in the cloud. Over a quarter of organisations polled aren’t tracking regulated data, nearly a third aren’t tracking confidential or internal data, and 45% aren’t tracking unclassified data, the report said.

“This suggests that organisations’ current methods of classifying data aren’t sufficient for their needs. However, if the tracking is this low, it could be a contributing factor to the issue of dark data. Organisations need to utilise data discovery and classification tools to properly understand the data they have and how to protect it,” the CSA study noted.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3677491/96-of-companies-report-insufficient-security-for-sensitive-cloud-data.html#tk.rss_news

• Your Microsoft Exchange Server Is a Security Liability

With endless vulnerabilities, widespread hacking campaigns, slow and technically tough patching, it's time to say goodbye to on-premise Exchange.

Once, reasonable people who cared about security, privacy, and reliability ran their own email servers. Today, the vast majority host their personal email in the cloud, handing off that substantial burden to the capable security and engineering teams at companies like Google and Microsoft. Now, cyber security experts argue that a similar switch is due - or long overdue - for corporate and government networks. For enterprises that use on-premise Microsoft Exchange, still running their own email machine somewhere in a closet or data centre, the time has come to move to a cloud service, if only to avoid the years-long plague of bugs in Exchange servers that has made it nearly impossible to keep determined hackers out.

The latest reminder of that struggle arrived earlier this week, when Taiwanese security researcher Orange Tsai published a blog post laying out the details of a security vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange. Tsai warned Microsoft about this vulnerability as early as June of 2021, and while the company responded by releasing some partial fixes, it took Microsoft 14 months to fully resolve the underlying security problem. Tsai had earlier reported a related vulnerability in Exchange that was massively exploited by a group of Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Hafnium, which last year penetrated more than 30,000 targets by some counts. Yet according to the timeline described in Tsai’s post this week, Microsoft repeatedly delayed fixing the newer variation of that same vulnerability, assuring Tsai no fewer than four times that it would patch the bug before pushing off a full patch for months longer. When Microsoft finally released a fix, Tsai wrote, it still required manual activation and lacked any documentation for four more months.

Meanwhile, another pair of actively exploited vulnerabilities in Exchange that were revealed last month still remain unpatched after researchers showed that Microsoft’s initial attempts to fix the flaws had failed. Those vulnerabilities were just the latest in a years-long pattern of security bugs in Exchange’s code. And even when Microsoft does release Exchange patches, they’re often not widely implemented, due to the time-consuming technical process of installing them.

The result of those compounding problems, for many who have watched the hacker-induced headaches of running an Exchange server pile up, is a clear message: An Exchange server is itself a security vulnerability, and the fix is to get rid of it.

“You need to move off of on-premise Exchange forever. That’s the bottom line,” says Dustin Childs, the head of threat awareness at security firm Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), which pays researchers for finding and reporting vulnerabilities in commonly used software and runs the Pwn2Own hacking competition. “You’re not getting the support, as far as security fixes, that you would expect from a really mission-critical component of your infrastructure.”

https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-exchange-server-vulnerabilities/

• Are Cyber Security Vendors Pushing Snake Oil?

Survey: 96 percent of cyber security decision makers confused by vendor marketing.

The availability of new security products increases, the amount of budget spent on cyber security grows, and the number of security breaches seems to outpace both. This basic lack of correlation between increasing cyber security spend and any clear increase in cyber security effectiveness is the subject of a new analytical survey from Egress.

With 52 million data breaches in Q2 2022 alone (Statista), Egress questioned 800 cyber security and IT leaders on why vendor claims and reality aren’t aligned. The headline response in the survey is that 91% of decision makers have difficulty in selecting cyber security vendors due to unclear marketing about their specific offerings.

The financial investment cycle doesn’t help in this. For many investors, the strength of the management team is more important than the product. The argument is not whether this product is a cyber security silver bullet, but whether this management can take the company to a point where it can exit with serious profits.

If investment is achieved, much of it will go into marketing. That marketing must compete against existing, established vendors – so it tends to be louder, more aggressive, and replete with hyperbole. Marketing noise can lead to increased valuation, which can lead to a successful and profitable exit by the investors.

Of course, this is an oversimplification and doesn’t always happen. The point, however, is that it does happen and has no relevance to the real effectiveness of the product in question. Without any doubt, there are many products that have been over-hyped by marketing funds provided by profit-driven investors.

https://www.securityweek.com/are-cybersecurity-vendors-pushing-snake-oil

• Ransomware Preparedness: What Are You Doing Wrong?

Axio released its 2022 State of Ransomware Preparedness research report, revealing that although notable improvements have been made since Axio’s 2021 report, organisational ransomware preparedness continues to be insufficient to keep pace with new attack vectors.

The report reveals that the lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, including critical vulnerability patching and employee cyber security training, continues to undermine organisational attempts to improve ransomware defences.

“Ransomware continues to wreak havoc on global organisations, regardless of size or industry,” remarked the report’s co-author David White, President of Axio. “As the number of attacks will most likely continue on an exponential trajectory, it’s more important than ever for companies to re-evaluate their cyber security practices and make the needed improvements to help combat these attacks.”

The report identifies several emerging patterns that yield insights into why organisations are increasingly susceptible to ransomware attacks. In 2021, seven key areas where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices were identified, and these patterns dominated the 2022 study results as well:

• Managing privileged access

• Improving basic cyber hygiene

• Reducing exposure to supply chain and third-party risk

• Monitoring and defending networks

• Managing ransomware incidents

• Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner

• Improving cyber security training and awareness

Overall, most organisations surveyed are not adequately prepared to manage the risk associated with a ransomware attack. Key data findings include:

• The number of organisations with a functional privileged access management solution in place increased by 10% but remains low at 33% overall.

• Limitations on the use of service and local administrator accounts remain average overall, with nearly 50% of organisations reporting implementing these practices.

• Approximately 40% of organisations monitor third-party network access, evaluate third-party cyber security posture, and limit the use of third-party software.

• Less than 50% of respondents implement basic network segmentation and only 40% monitor for anomalous connections.

• Critical vulnerability patching within 24 hours was reported by only 24% of organisations.

• A ransomware-specific playbook for incident management is in place for only 30% of organisations.

• Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/20/insufficient-ransomware-preparedness/

• NSA Cybersecurity Director's Six Takeaways from the War in Ukraine

From the warning banner ‘Be afraid and expect the worst’ that was shown on several Ukrainian government websites on January 13, 2022, after a cyber-attack took them down, the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) cybersecurity director, Rob Joyce, knew that something was going to be different, and very aggressive, between Ukraine and Russia, and that it would be happening in the cyber space as well.

Ten months on, he was invited to speak at one of Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange's (mWISE) opening keynotes on October 18, 2022. Joyce shared six takeaways from the Russia-Ukraine cyber-conflict in terms of what we learned from it and its impact on how nations should protect their organisations.

1. Both espionage and destructive attacks will occur in conflict

2. The cyber security industry has unique insight into these conflicts

3. Sensitive intelligence can make a decisive difference

4. You can develop resiliency skills

5. Don’t try to go it alone

6. You have not planned enough yet for the contingencies

Toward the end of the keynote, Joyce suggested the audience simulate a scenario based on what happened in Ukraine with the China-Taiwan conflict escalating and see what they should put in place to better prepare for such an event.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nsa-6-takeaways-war-ukraine/

• Microsoft Confirms Server Misconfiguration Led to 65,000+ Companies' Data Leak

Microsoft this week confirmed that it inadvertently exposed information related to thousands of customers following a security lapse that left an endpoint publicly accessible over the internet sans any authentication.

"This misconfiguration resulted in the potential for unauthenticated access to some business transaction data corresponding to interactions between Microsoft and prospective customers, such as the planning or potential implementation and provisioning of Microsoft services," Microsoft said in an alert.

Microsoft also emphasised that the B2B leak was "caused by an unintentional misconfiguration on an endpoint that is not in use across the Microsoft ecosystem and was not the result of a security vulnerability."

The misconfiguration of the Azure Blob Storage was spotted on September 24, 2022, by cyber security company SOCRadar, which termed the leak BlueBleed. Microsoft said it's in the process of directly notifying impacted customers.

The Windows maker did not reveal the scale of the data leak, but according to SOCRadar, it affects more than 65,000 entities in 111 countries. The exposure amounts to 2.4 terabytes of data that consists of invoices, product orders, signed customer documents, partner ecosystem details, among others.

https://thehackernews.com/2022/10/microsoft-confirms-server.html

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Сryptocurrency and Ransomware — The Ultimate Friendship (thehackernews.com)

• Venus Ransomware targets publicly exposed Remote Desktop services (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Pendragon being held to $60m ransom by dark web hackers – Car Dealer Magazine

• Magniber Ransomware Is Targeting Home PC (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert

• TommyLeaks and SchoolBoys: Two sides of the same ransomware gang (bleepingcomputer.com)

• With Conti gone, LockBit takes lead of the ransomware threat landscape | CSO Online

• Tactics Tie Ransom Cartel Group to Defunct REvil Ransomware (darkreading.com)

• Wholesale giant METRO hit by IT outage after cyber attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The link between Ransom Cartel and REvil ransomware gangs - Security Affairs

• Deadbolt Ransomware Targets NAS Devices - IT Security Guru

• Black Basta Ransomware Hackers Infiltrate Networks via Qakbot to Deploy Brute Ratel C4 (thehackernews.com)

• How Vice Society Got Away With a Global Ransomware Spree | WIRED

• Microsoft warns over unusual ransomware attacks | ZDNET

• Defenders beware: A case for post-ransomware investigations - Microsoft Security Blog

• Ransomware crews regrouping as LockBit rise continues (computerweekly.com)

• Singapore Creates Counter Ransomware Task Force to Tackle Threats - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ransom Cartel linked to notorious REvil ransomware operation (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackney Council Ransomware Attack £12m+ Recovery - IT Security Guru

• Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert

• Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register

• New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Japanese tech firm Oomiya hit by LockBit 3.0 - Security Affairs

• Ransomware attack halts circulation of some German newspapers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware Insurance Security Requirement Strategies (trendmicro.com)

• Australian insurance firm Medibank confirms ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ransomware attack impacted some CommonSpirit sites, but few details released | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• BlackByte ransomware uses new data theft tool for double-extortion (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register

• Phishing Mitigation Can Cost Businesses More Than $1M Annually (darkreading.com)

• Securing your organisation against phishing can cost up to $85 per email | CSO Online

• How phishing campaigns abuse Google Ad click tracking redirects - Help Net Security

• Attackers switch to self-extracting password-protected archives to distribute email malware | CSO Online

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Amazon customers warned about text message scam that is trying to steal personal details | The Northern Echo

Malware

• VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica

• Microsoft’s out-of-date driver list left Windows PCs open to malware attacks for years - The Verge

• Ursnif malware switches from bank account theft to initial access (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Experts spotted a new undetectable PowerShell Backdoor - Security Affairs

• Emotet Botnet Distributing Self-Unlocking Password-Protected RAR Files to Drop Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Typosquat campaign mimics 27 brands to push Windows, Android malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Thousands of GitHub repositories deliver fake PoC exploits with malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers use new stealthy PowerShell backdoor to target 60+ victims (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hijacking of Popular Minecraft Launcher by Rogue Developer Raises Malware Fears - IGN

• URSNIF (aka Gozi) banking trojan morphs into backdoor • The Register

• What is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan)? | Definition from TechTarget

Mobile

• QR codes could unlock phone to hackers, security expert warns (nypost.com)

• These 16 Clicker Malware Infected Android Apps Were Downloaded Over 20 Million Times (thehackernews.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Riskiest IoT Devices - Cameras, VoIP And Video Conferencing (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• NCSC CEO Calls for International Standards on IoT Security - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Securing IoT devices against attacks that target critical infrastructure - Microsoft Security Blog

• 74% say connected cars and EV chargers need cyber security ratings | Ars Technica

Data Breaches/Leaks

• The companies most likely to lose your data - Help Net Security

• Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security

• Medibank hack turned into a data breach: The attackers are demanding money - Help Net Security

• Mormon Church Hit By Cyber attack, Personal Data Exposed (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Keystone Health Data Breach Impacts 235,000 Patients | SecurityWeek.Com

• Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Client Data Exfiltrated In Advanced NHS cyber Attack (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Optus tells customers affected by data breach they can no longer use passports as online ID | Optus | The Guardian

• Australian Wine Dealer Suffers Data Breach, 500,000 Customers May Be (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Advocate Aurora Health in potential 3 million patient leak • The Register

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Cyber criminals jailed for cryptocurrency theft, death threats (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Israeli cyber intel firm shines bright light on new, shadowy cyber crime collective | The Times of Israel

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Why Crypto Winter is No Excuse to Let Your Cyber Defences Falter (thehackernews.com)

• North Korea’s Lazarus Group Attacks Japanese Crypto Firms - Decrypt

• Coinbase users scammed out of $21M in crypto sue company for negligence | Ars Technica

• SIM Swappers Sentenced to Prison for Hacking Accounts, Stealing Cryptocurrency | SecurityWeek.Com

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Financial losses to synthetic identity-based fraud to double by 2024 | CSO Online

• AI is Key to Tackling Money Mules and Disrupting Fraud: Industry Group | SecurityWeek.Com

• Cops Arrest Suspected Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Mastermind - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Deepfakes

• Deepfakes: What they are and how to spot them - Help Net Security

• Phishing works so well crims won't use deepfakes: Sophos • The Register

Insurance

• Ransomware Insurance Security Requirement Strategies (trendmicro.com)

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• How supply chain threats will evolve in 2023 - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• Software Supply Chain Attacks Soar 742% In Three Years (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• SBOMs: An Overhyped Concept That Won't Secure Your Software Supply Chain (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Pro-Russia Hackers DDoS Bulgarian Government - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Microsoft Data-Exposure Incident Highlights Risk of Cloud Storage Misconfiguration (darkreading.com)

• 3 cloud security posture questions CISOs should answer (techtarget.com)

• 10 Steps to Securing the Cloud - MSSP Alert

Attack Surface Management

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 1 (trendmicro.com)

Identity and Access Management

• What Is the Difference Between Identity Verification and Authentication? (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• The quantum computing threat is real. Now we need to act. - CyberScoop

API

• Thousands of Publicly Exposed API Tokens Could Threaten Software Integrity - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Open banking API security: Best practices to ensure a safe journey - Help Net Security

Open Source

• New security concerns for the open-source software supply chain - Help Net Security

• Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)

• Researchers find 633% increase in cyber-attacks aimed at open source repositories | The Daily Swig (portswigger.net)

• 3 Ways to Help Customers Defend Against Linux-Based Cyber attacks - MSSP Alert

• OldGremlin hackers use Linux ransomware to attack Russian orgs (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Most People Still Reuse Their Passwords Despite Years Of Hacking (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Password Report: Honeypot Data Shows Bot Attack Trends Against RDP, SSH | SecurityWeek.Com

• Eight RTX 4090s Can Break Passwords in Under an Hour | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Security Awareness Urged to Grow Beyond Compliance (darkreading.com)

• Raising cyber security awareness is good for everyone - but it needs to be done better | ZDNET

• Millennials, Gen Z blamed for poor company security • The Register

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Amazon and the Rise of ‘Luxury Surveillance’ - The Atlantic

• Google sued over biometric data collection without consent (bleepingcomputer.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Fines are not enough! Data breach victims want better security - Help Net Security

• Fashion brand SHEIN fined $1.9m for lying about data breach – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• New York fines EyeMed $4.5 million for 2020 email hack, data breach | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Health insurer pays out $4.5m over bungled data security • The Register

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

• INTERPOL-led Operation Takes Down 'Black Axe' Cyber Crime Organisation (thehackernews.com)

• Law enforcement arrested 31 suspects for stealing cars by hacking key fobs - Security Affairs

• Cops Arrest Suspected Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Mastermind - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Interpol is setting up its own metaverse to learn how to police the virtual world | Euronews

• Brazilian Police Nab Suspected Member of Lapsus$ Group (darkreading.com)

• Interpol Report: "Financial Crime-as-a-Service" an Emerging Threat - MSSP Alert

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

• Ransomware Now Deployed as a Precursor to Physical War - MSSP Alert

• US, China, Russia, more meet at Singapore infosec event • The Register

• NSA cyber chief says Ukraine war is compelling more intelligence sharing with industry - CyberScoop

• China-Linked Cyber-Espionage Team Homes In on Hong Kong Government Orgs (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Novel Ransomware Attacking Ukraine, Poland - MSSP Alert

• Hackers target Asian casinos in lengthy cyber espionage campaign (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Prestige ransomware hits victims of HermeticWiper • The Register

• Pro-Russia Hackers DDoS Bulgarian Government - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• OldGremlin Ransomware Targeted Over a Dozen Russian Entities in Multi-Million Scheme (thehackernews.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Ukraine war: Life appears normal in Moscow... but a sinister undercurrent exists as Putin's conflict drags on | World News | Sky News

• Ukraine's cyber chief calls for global anti-fake news fight • The Register

• German Cyber security Boss Sacked Over Kremlin Connection (darkreading.com)

• Killing Starlink! Russian Media Says Over 4000 Missiles Required To Destroy Starlink Service; Experts Say 'Mission Impossible' (eurasiantimes.com)

• New ransomware targets transportation sectors in Ukraine, Poland | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Bulgaria hit by a cyber attack originating from Russia - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – China

• As China-Taiwan tensions mount, how's your cyber defence? • The Register

• Chinese 'Spyder Loader' Malware Spotted Targeting Organisations in Hong Kong (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers compromised Hong Kong govt agency network for a year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• WIP19 Threat Group Cyber attacks Target IT Service Providers, Telcos - MSSP Alert

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea’s Lazarus Group Attacks Japanese Crypto Firms - Decrypt

Nation State Actors – Iran

• FBI Warns of Iranian Cyber Firm's Hack-and-Leak Operations | SecurityWeek.Com

• 'FurBall' Spyware Being Used Against Iranian Citizens (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Compare vulnerability assessment vs. vulnerability management (techtarget.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• 45,654 VMware ESXi servers reached End of Life on Oct. 15 - Security Affairs

• VMware bug with 9.8 severity rating exploited to install witch’s brew of malware | Ars Technica

• Hackers Started Exploiting Critical "Text4Shell" Apache Commons Text Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Text message verification flaws in your Windows Active Directory (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Apache Commons Vulnerability: Patch but Don't Panic (darkreading.com)

• Zoom for Mac patches sneaky “spy-on-me” bug – update now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• ProxyLogon researcher details new Exchange Server flaws (techtarget.com)

• Over 17000 Fortinet devices exposed online are very likely vulnerable to CVE-2022-40684 - Security Affairs

• Exploited Windows zero-day lets JavaScript files bypass security warnings (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Dozen High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in F5 Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Oracle Releases 370 New Security Patches With October 2022 CPU | SecurityWeek.Com

• Palo Alto Networks fixed a high-severity flaw in PAN-OS - Security Affairs

• Hackers exploit critical VMware flaw to drop ransomware, miners (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Zimbra Patches Under-Attack Code Execution Bug | SecurityWeek.Com

• WordPress Security Update 6.0.3 Patches 16 Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Python vulnerability highlights open source security woes (techtarget.com)

• Critical Flaw Reported in Move Virtual Machine Powering the Aptos Blockchain Network (thehackernews.com)

• Analysis of a Remote Code Execution (RCE) Vulnerability in Cobalt Strike 4.7.1 (securityintelligence.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Financial and cyber crimes top global police concerns, says new INTERPOL report

• Post-Quantum Cryptography: Anticipating Threats and Preparing the Future — ENISA (europa.eu)

• Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 1 (trendmicro.com)

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Other News

• Zero trust is misused in security, say Cloudflare, Zscaler - Protocol

• How to manage and reduce secret sprawl (techtarget.com)

• Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million (computerweekly.com)

• Infosec still (mostly) a boys club • The Register

• Cyber security Workforce Gap Grows by 26% in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• VPN use prevails despite interest in VPN alternatives (techtarget.com)

• JP Morgan Bans Staff From Working Remotely In Hotels and Coffee Shops-But Not Airbnbs | Inc.com

• Experts discovered millions of .git folders exposed to public - Security Affairs

• Microsoft Defender is lacking in offline detection capabilities, says AV-Comparatives | TechSpot

• Internet connectivity worldwide impacted by severed fiber cables in France (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK's Remote Shetland Mysteriously Lose Phone, Internet After Cable Cut (businessinsider.com)

• CISOs, rejoice! Security spending is increasing - Help Net Security

• Equifax surveilled 1,000 remote workers, fired 24 found juggling two jobs | Ars Technica

• Do You Think Businesses Must Do More To Boost Cyber Defences, Says Nadhim (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• NATO Just Deployed Its First Killer Ground Robot (futurism.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

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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 Advisory 19/10/2022 – Support for VMware ESXi 6.5 and 6.7 reaches end-of-life

Executive Summary

VMware is a large supplier of virtualisation products which are used to run a variety of different services. On October 15th, VMware ESXi 6.5 and 6.7 reached end-of-life, meaning that VMware will no longer provide security or software updates to those who do not have an extended support contract. The extended support is limited to one annual security patch, which only includes catastrophic/critical security fixes.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

VMware is the biggest player within the hosted virtualisation platform market. It is highly likely that services purchased through third party suppliers, excluding AWS and Azure, will be using VMware under the hood. So far this year VMware products have been targeted by different ransomware groups, with various exploits being made public which affect this software. It is very important that security updates are still being provided for this critical infrastructure to help to mitigate and address these growing threats.

What can I do?

Ensure that if VMware ESXi is being used either internally or externally through a service provider, that the version is one which is currently supported by VMware, which are versions 7 and above. It is important to note that VMware often drops support for older hardware with newer versions of it’s vSphere ESXi software, meaning that an upgrade to supported hardware may also be required.

Further technical information on supported versions of VMware ESXi can be found here: Product Lifecycle Matrix (vmware.com), with details on the extended support package listed here: VMware Extended Support Datasheet

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 14 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

• Ransomware Report: Most Organisations Unprepared for an Attack, Lack Incident Playbook, Research Finds

Some organisations have made significant improvements to their ransomware readiness profile in the last year, Axio said in a newly released report. However, a lack of fundamental cyber security practices and controls, inadequate vulnerability patching and employee training continues to leave ransomware defences lacking in potency.

Axio’s report reveals that only 30% of organisations have a ransomware-specific playbook for incident management in place. In 2021’s report Axio, maker of a cloud-based cyber management software platform, identified seven key areas emerged where organisations were deficient in implementing and sustaining basic cyber security practices.

The same patterns showed up in the 2022 report:

• Managing privileged access.

• Improving basic cyber hygiene.

• Reducing exposure to supply chain and third-party risk.

• Monitoring and defending networks.

• Managing ransomware incidents.

• Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner.

• Improving cyber security training and awareness.

Overall, most organisations surveyed are not adequately prepared to manage the risk associated with a ransomware attack. Key data findings include:

• The number of organisations with a functional privileged access management solution in place increased by 10% but remains low at 33% overall.

• Limitations on the use of service and local administrator accounts remain average overall, with nearly 50% of organisations reporting implementing these practices.

• Approximately 40% of organisations monitor third-party network access, evaluate third-party cyber security posture, and limit the use of third-party software.

• Less than 50% of respondents implement basic network segmentation and only 40% monitor for anomalous connections.

• Critical vulnerability patching within 24 hours was reported by only 24% of organisations.

• Active phishing training has improved but is still not practiced by 40% of organisations.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/most-organizations-unprepared-for-ransomware-attack-lack-incident-playbook-axio-reports/

• LinkedIn Scams, Fake Instagram Accounts Hit Businesses, Execs

Business owners with public social media accounts are easy targets for scammers who lift information to create fake accounts. The arduous process for removing fraudulent accounts leaves victims frustrated and vulnerable to further data privacy issues. Victims say platform providers, particularly Facebook and Instagram, must improve their responses to reports of fraud.

Impersonation of a brand or executive contributed to more than 40% of all phishing and social media incidents in the second quarter, according to the Agari and Phish Labs Quarterly Threat Trends and Intelligence Report released in August. Q2 marks the second quarter that impersonation attacks have represented the majority of threats, despite a 6.1% decrease from Q1.

Executive impersonation has been on the rise over the past four quarters — representing more than 15% of attacks, according to the report — as impersonating a corporate figure or company on social media is simple and effective for threat actors.

Thom Singer, CEO for the Austin Technology Council and a public speaker, was recently impersonated on Instagram. A scammer created a fake Instagram account with his name and photos, creating a handle with an extra "r" at the end of Singer. That account appeared to amass over 2,300 followers – nearly as many as Singer's own account – lending to its appearance of authenticity.

He learned of the fake account from a contact who texted to ask if he'd reached out on Instagram, which wasn't a channel Singer typically uses to communicate. Singer reported the fraudulent account using the platform's report button and asked his followers to do the same.

"You can't reach anyone at these platforms, so it takes days to get a fake account removed," Singer said. "These social media sites have no liability, nothing to lose when fraud is happening. They need to up their game and have a better process to get [fraud] handled in a timely manner."

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/LinkedIn-scams-fake-Instagram-accounts-hit-businesses-execs

• Study Highlights Surge in Identity Theft and Phishing Attacks

A new study from behavioural risk firm CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) has been launched and it highlights an alarming surge in phishing and identity theft attacks.

The report, titled ‘Oh, Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors report’, studied the opinions of 3,000 individuals across the US, the UK and Canada towards cyber security and revealed that nearly half (45%) of users are connected to the internet all the time, however, this has led to a surge in identity theft with almost 1 in 4 people being affected by the attack.

Furthermore, 1 in 3 (36%) respondents revealed they have lost money or data due to a phishing attack. Yet the study also revealed that 70% of respondents feel confident in their ability to identify a malicious email, but only 45% will confirm the authenticity of a suspicious email by reaching out to the apparent sender.

When it comes to implementing cyber security best practices, only 33% of respondents revealed they use a unique password for important online accounts, while only 16% utilise passwords of over 12 characters in length. Furthermore, only 18% of participants have downloaded a stand-alone password manager, while 43% of respondents have not even heard of multi-factor authentication.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/12/study-highlights-surge-in-identity-theft-and-phishing-attacks/

• Increase in Cyber Liability Insurance Claims as Cyber Crime Skyrockets

A cyber insurer, Acuity Insurance, is reporting an increased need for cyber liability insurance across both personal and business policyholders. From June 2021 to June 2022, the insurer saw cyber liability insurance claims on its commercial insurance policies increase by more than 50%. For personal policies, they saw more than a 90% increase in cyber claims being reported in 2021 compared with 2020.

Our lives, homes and businesses are more connected than ever before. Being connected leads to a greater risk of cyber attacks, which aren't covered under standard homeowners or business insurance policies.

The insurance experts caution that everyone is at risk — whether you are a small business owner or an individual — as cyber attacks continue to pose a serious financial threat. From 2019 to 2021, cyber attacks were up 50% from the previous year, according to recent research. Wire fraud and gift card scams are two of the most common types of cyber attacks impacting both businesses and individuals.

Scams involving social engineering are some of the easiest to fall for, as fraudsters exploit a person's trust to obtain money or personal information, which can then be used for unauthorised withdrawals of money. Cyber insurance can protect you from financial loss caused by wire transfer fraud, phishing attacks, cyber extortion, cyberbullying and more, Acuity reported.

While all cyber crimes have a financial impact, fraudulent wire transfers often come with greater losses. Banks are typically not responsible for funds lost as a result of a fraudulent wire transfer inadvertently authorised by the customer. Whether it's a wrongful money transfer by a business or an individual, cyber insurance can help mitigate some of the financial loss caused by these scams.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/acuity-reports-increase-in-cyber-liability-insurance-claims-as-cybercrime-skyrockets

• UK Government Urges Action to Enhance Supply Chain Security

The UK government has warned organisations to take steps to strengthen their supply chain security.

New National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance has been issued amid a significant increase in supply chain attacks in recent years, such as the SolarWinds incident in 2020. The NCSC cited official government data showing that just over one in 10 businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers (13%), while the proportion covering the wider supply chain is just 7%.

Aimed at medium-to-large organisations, the document sets out practical steps to better assess cyber security across increasingly complex supply chains. This includes a description of typical supplier relationships and ways that organisations are exposed to vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks via the supply chain, and the expected outcomes and key steps needed to assess suppliers’ approaches to security.

The new guidance followed a government response to a call for views last year which highlighted the need for further advice. Supply chain attacks are a major cyber threat facing organisations and incidents can have a profound, long-lasting impact on businesses and customers. With incidents on the rise, it is vital organisations work with their suppliers to identify supply chain risks and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-government-supply-chain-security/

• For Most Companies Ransomware Is the Scariest Of All Cyber Attacks

SonicWall released the 2022 SonicWall Threat Mindset Survey which found that 66% of customers are more concerned about cyber attacks in 2022, with the main threat being focused on financially motivated attacks like ransomware.

“No one is safe from cyber attacks — businesses or individuals,” said SonicWall Executive Chairman of the Board Bill Conner. “Today’s business landscape requires persistent digital trust to exist. Supply-chain attacks have dramatically changed the attack surface of the typical enterprise in the past few years, with more suppliers and service providers touching sensitive data than ever before.

“It’s likely we’ll see continued acceleration and evolution of ransomware tactics, as well as other advanced persistent threats (APTs), as cyber crime continues to scale the globe seeking both valuable and weak targets.”

Companies are not only losing millions of dollars to unending malware and ransomware strikes, but cyber attacks on essential infrastructure are impacting real-world services. Despite the growing concern of cyber attacks, organisations are struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving threat landscape as they orient their business, networks, data and employees against unwavering cyber attacks.

“The evolving cyber threat landscape has made us train our staff significantly more,” said Stafford Fields, IT Director, Cavett Turner & Wyble. “It’s made us spend more on cyber security. And what scares me is that an end-user can click on something and bring all our systems down — despite being well protected.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/12/customers-concerned-ransomware/

• EDR Is Not a Silver Bullet

Old lore held that shooting a werewolf, vampire, or even just your average nasty villain with a silver bullet was a sure-fire takedown: one hit, no more bad guy.

As cyber security professionals, we understand – much like folks in the Old West knew – that there are no panaceas, no actual silver bullets. Yet humans gravitate towards simple solutions to complex challenges, and we are constantly (if unconsciously) seeking silver bullet technology.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools have become Standard Operating Procedures for cyber security regimes. They are every CIO’s starting point, and there’s nothing wrong with this. In a recent study by Cymulate of over one million tests conducted by customers in 2021, the most popular testing vector was EDR.

Yet cyber security stakeholders should not assume that EDR is a silver bullet. The fact is that EDR’s efficacy and protective prowess as a standalone solution has been slowly diminished over the decade since the term was first coined by Gartner. Even as it became a mainstay of enterprise and SMB/SME security posture – attacks have skyrocketed in frequency, severity, and success. Today, EDR is facing some of its greatest challenges, including threats laser-targeting EDR systems like the highly-successful Grandoiero banking trojan.

While EDR should not be your only line of defence against advanced threats, including it in a defence solution array is paramount. It should be installed on all organisational servers – including Linux-based ones. Yet installation is not enough. Your organisation is at significant risk if the underlying OS and EDR are not both implemented and fine-tuned.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/10/11/edr-is-not-a-silver-bullet/

• Attackers Use Automation to Speed from Exploit to Compromise

A report from Laceworks examines the cloud security threat landscape over the past three months and unveils the new techniques and avenues cyber criminals are exploiting for profit at the expense of businesses. In this latest edition, the Lacework Labs team found a significantly more sophisticated attacker landscape, with an increase in attacks against core networking and virtualisation software, and an unprecedented increase in the speed of attacks following a compromise. Key trends and threats identified include:

• Increased speed from exposure to compromise: Attackers are advancing to keep pace with cloud adoption and response time. Many classes of attacks are now fully automated to capitalise on timing. Additionally, one of the most common targets is credential leakage. In a specific example from the report, a leaked AWS access key was caught and flagged by AWS in record time. Despite the limited exposure, an unknown adversary was able to log in and launch tens of GPU EC2 instances, underscoring just how quickly attackers can take advantage of a single simple mistake.

• Increased focus on infrastructure, specifically attacks against core networking and virtualisation software: Commonly deployed core networking and related infrastructure consistently remains a key target for adversaries. Core flaws in infrastructure often appear suddenly and are shared openly online, creating opportunities for attackers of all kinds to exploit these potential targets.

• Continued Log4j reconnaissance and exploitation: Nearly a year after the initial exploit, the Lacework Labs team is still commonly observing vulnerable software targeted via OAST requests. Analysis of Project Discovery (interact.sh) activity revealed Cloudflare and DigitalOcean as the top originators.

https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/attackers-use-automation-to-speed-from-exploit-to-compromise-according-to-lacework-labs-cloud-threat-report

• Rising Premiums, More Restricted Cyber Insurance Coverage Poses Big Risk for Companies

Among the many consequences of the rising number of costly data breaches, ransomware, and other security attacks are pricier premiums for cyber security insurance. The rise in costs could put many organisations out of the running for this essential coverage, a risky proposition given the current threat landscape.

Cyber insurance is a type of specialty insurance that protects organisations against a variety of risks related to information security attacks such as ransomware and data breaches. Ordinarily, these types of risks aren’t included with traditional commercial general liability policies or are not specifically defined in these insurance plans.

Given the rise in attacks, the growing sophistication of these incidents and the potential financial impact, having cyber insurance coverage has become critical for many organisations. Premiums for these plans have been on the rise because of the increase in security-related losses and rising demand for coverage.

Cyber insurance premiums increased by an average of 28% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), an association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries.

Among the primary drivers for the continued price increases were a reduced carrier appetite for the risk and high demand for coverage, CIAB said. The high demand for cyber coverage is in part fueled by greater awareness among companies of the threat cyber risk poses for businesses of all sizes, it said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/companies-are-finding-it-harder-to-get-cyber-insurance-.html

• Why CISO Roles Require Business and Technology Savvy

Listening and communicating to both the technical and business sides is critical to successfully leading IT teams and business leaders to the same end-goal.

Of all the crazy postings that advertise for CISO jobs, the one asking for a CISO to code in Python was probably the most outrageous example of the disconnect about a CISO’s role, says Joe Head, CISO search director at UK-based search firm, Intaso. This was a few years ago, and one can only guess that the role had been created by a technologist who didn’t care about or didn’t understand the business — or, inversely by a businessperson who didn’t understand enough about technology.

In either case, the disconnect is real. However, Head and other experts say that when it comes to achieving the true, executive role and reporting to the CEO and board, business skills rule. That doesn’t mean, however, that most CISOs know nothing about technology, because most still start out with technology backgrounds.

In the 2022 CISO survey by executive placement firm, Heidrick & Struggles, most CISOs come from a functional IT background that reflects the issues of the time. For example, in 2022 10% of CISOs came from software engineering backgrounds, which tracks with the White House directive to protect the software supply chain. The report notes that the majority of CISOs have experience in the financial services industry, which has a low risk tolerance and where more money is spent on security.

The survey also indicates that only a small core of CISOs (working primarily for the Fortune 500) rise to the executive level with the combination of business and technical responsibilities that come with the role. In it, more than two-thirds of CISOs responding to the survey worked for companies worth over $5 billion. So, instead of bashing a CISO’s lack of IT skills, the real need lies in developing business skills for the technologists coming up the ranks.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3675952/why-ciso-roles-require-business-and-technology-savvy.html#tk.rss_news

• Wi-Fi Spy Drones Used to Snoop on Financial Firm

Modified off-the-shelf drones have been found carrying wireless network-intrusion kit in a very unlikely place.

The idea of using consumer-oriented drones for hacking has been explored over the past decade at security conferences like Black Hat 2016, in both the US and in Europe, but now these sort of attacks are actually taking place. A security researcher recently recounted an incident that occurred over the summer at a US East Coast financial firm focused on private investment.

The hacking incident was discovered when the financial firm spotted unusual activity on its internal Atlassian Confluence page that originated from within the company's network. The company's security team responded and found that the user whose MAC address was used to gain partial access to the company Wi-Fi network was also logged in at home several miles away. That is to say, the user was active off-site but someone within Wi-Fi range of the building was trying to wirelessly use that user's MAC address, which is a red flag. The team then took steps to trace the Wi-Fi signal and used a Fluke system to identify the Wi-Fi device.

This led the team to the roof, where two modified commercially available consumer drones series were discovered. One drone was in fine condition and had a modified Wi-Fi Pineapple device, used for network penetration testing. The second drone was carrying a case that contained a Raspberry Pi, several batteries, a GPD mini laptop, a 4G modem, and another Wi-Fi device. It had landed near the building's heating and ventilation system and appeared to be damaged but still operable.

During their investigation, they determined that the first drone had originally been used a few days prior to intercept a worker's credentials and Wi-Fi, and this data was then hard coded into the tools that were deployed on the second drone.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/drone-roof-attack/

• Magniber Ransomware Attacking Individuals and Home Users

A recent analysis shows that Magniber ransomware has been targeting home users by masquerading as software updates.

Reports have shown a ransomware campaign isolated by HP Wolf Security in September 2022 saw Magniber ransomware spread. The malware is known as a single-client ransomware family that demands $2,500 from victims. Magniber was previously primarily spread through MSI and EXE files, but in September 2022 HP Wolf Security began seeing campaigns distributing the ransomware in JavaScript files.

HP Wolf Security reported that some malware families rely exclusively on JavaScript, but have done so for some time. Currently, analysts are also seeing more HTML smuggling, such as with Qakbot and IcedID. This technique also makes use of JavaScript to decode malicious content. The only difference is that the HTML file is executed in the context of the browser and therefore usually requires further user interaction.

Remarkably, HP Wolf Security said, the attackers used clever techniques to evade detection, such as running the ransomware in memory, bypassing User Account Control (UAC) in Windows, and bypassing detection techniques that monitor user-mode hooks by using syscalls instead of standard Windows API libraries.

It appears that with the UAC bypass, the malware deletes the infected system’s shadow copy files and disables backup and recovery features, preventing the victim from recovering their data using Windows tools.

Having recently described the ransomware campaign in a recent interview, HP Wolf noted that the infection chain starts with a web download from an attacker-controlled website.

https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2022/10/14/https-www-infosecurity-magazine-com-news-magniber-ransomware-adopts/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

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

• Why paying the ransom is a mistake - Help Net Security

• Ransomware: Undeniably Top of Mind - MSSP Alert

• Black Basta Ransomware Gang Infiltrates Networks via QAKBOT, Brute Ratel, and Cobalt Strike (trendmicro.com)

• Magniber ransomware now infects Windows users via JavaScript files (bleepingcomputer.com)

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

• It was LockBit that forced NHS tech supplier to shut down • The Register

• Ransomware posing as Windows antivirus update will just empty your wallet | TechRadar

• Microsoft: New Prestige ransomware targets orgs in Ukraine, Poland (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BlackByte ransomware uses new EDR evasion technique (techtarget.com)

• Prevent Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure (trendmicro.com)

• Microsoft Exchange servers hacked to deploy LockBit ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Harvard Business Publishing licensee hit by ransomware - Security Affairs

• LockBit affiliates compromise Microsoft Exchange servers to deploy ransomware - Security Affairs

• Police tricks DeadBolt ransomware out of 155 decryption keys (bleepingcomputer.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Caffeine service lets anyone launch Microsoft 365 phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Kaspersky Warns Of A New Wave Of Malicious Email Campaign, Spreading The (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• A whole load of phishing emails make it past Microsoft Defender, researchers say | TechRadar

• Google Forms abused in new COVID-19 phishing wave in the U.S. (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US election workers hit with phishing, malware emails • The Register

• Cyber criminals are having it easy with phishing-as-a-service - Help Net Security

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• BazarCall Call Back Phishing Attacks Constantly Evolving Its Social Engineering Tactics (thehackernews.com)

• Hackers Using Vishing to Trick Victims into Installing Android Banking Malware (thehackernews.com)

Malware

• How a Microsoft blunder opened millions of PCs to potent malware attacks | Ars Technica

• Banks face their 'darkest hour' as crimeware powers up • The Register

• Emotet Rises Again With More Sophistication, Evasion (darkreading.com)

• QAKBOT Attacks Spike Amid Concerning Cyber Criminal Collaborations (darkreading.com)

• Hackers behind IcedID malware attacks diversify delivery tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Eternity threat group’s LilithBot: A criminal multitool • The Register

• New Report Uncovers Emotet's Delivery and Evasion Techniques Used in Recent Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• Here's another excellent reason not to browse adult websites at work | TechRadar

• Experts analysed the evolution of the Emotet supply chain - Security Affairs

• Mirai Botnet Targeted Wynncraft Minecraft Server, Cloudflare Reports - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Report Uncovers Emotet's Delivery and Evasion Techniques Used in Recent Attacks (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• Modified WhatsApp App Caught Infecting Android Devices with Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Meta uncovers 400 malicious apps on Android and iOS apps   | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• ‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg

• Mullvad: Android may leak information when connected to a VPN - gHacks Tech News

• Android Security Updates Patch Critical Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hackers Using Vishing to Trick Victims into Installing Android Banking Malware (thehackernews.com)

• Mystery iPhone update patches against iOS 16 mail crash-attack – Naked Security (sophos.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• Smart buildings may be your cyber security downfall - Help Net Security

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Client data exfiltrated in Advanced NHS cyber attack (digitalhealth.net)

• Mormon Church data stolen in 'state-sponsored' cyber attack • The Register

• Singtel's Australian IT Firm Dialog Suffers Data Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• 2K Customer Data Stolen, Sold Online After Support Desk Scam (kotaku.com)

• Toyota discloses data leak after access key exposed on GitHub (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Fast Company says Executive Board member info was not stolen in attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• State Bar of Georgia Confirms Data Breach Following Ransomware Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

• Singtel's second unit faces cyber attack weeks after Optus data breach | Reuters

• Zoetop pays $1.9m to settle customer data theft case • The Register

• CommonSpirit Health IT still suffering after cyber attack • The Register

• Over 80,000 DJI drone IDs exposed in data leak: Report (dronedj.com)

• High-Value Targets: String of Aussie Telco Breaches Continues (darkreading.com)

• Data of 380K patients compromised in hack of 13 anesthesia practices | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Australian police secret agents exposed in Colombian data leak (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 64,000 Additional Patients Impacted by Omnicell Data Breach - What is Your Data Breach Action Plan? (thehackernews.com)

• Toyota Reveals Data Leak of 300,000 Customers - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Intel Processor UEFI Source Code Leaked (darkreading.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• INTERPOL arrests ‘Black Axe’ cyber crime syndicate members (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Caffeine Phishing-as-a-Service toolkit available in the underground - Security Affairs

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• North Korea's Crypto Hackers Are Paving the Road to Nuclear Armageddon - CNET

• Fake Solana Phantom security updates push crypto-stealing malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 'Baby Al Capone' to pay $22m to SIM-swap crypto-heist victim • The Register

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• A New Wave of PayPal Invoice Scams Using Crypto Disguise - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Alternative payment methods are creating new fraud risks - Help Net Security

• Prison inmate charged with $11m fraud via cell phone • The Register

• Mastercard moves to protect ‘risky and frisky’ transactions • The Register

Deepfakes

• DeepFakes Are The Cyber criminal Economy’s Latest Business Line - Security Affairs

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• GCHQ boss: China could use Digital Yuan to swerve sanctions • The Register

Insurance

• Australian insurer takes systems offline over possible hacking | Cybersecurity News | Al Jazeera

Dark Web

• Darkweb market BidenCash gives away 1.2 million credit cards for free (bleepingcomputer.com)

Software Supply Chain

• Novel npm Timing Attack Allows Corporate Targeting (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• The Nation State Threat — Philip Ingram Discusses DDoS and the Possibilities of Cyber War - IT Security Guru

• US airports' sites taken down in DDoS attacks by pro-Russian hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud Data Breaches Are Running Rampant. What Are the Common Characteristics? (darkreading.com)

Encryption

• Microsoft Office 365 uses insecure block ciphers • The Register

• Microsoft Office 365 email encryption could expose message content (bleepingcomputer.com)

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• AI and Residual Finger Heat Could Be a Password Cracker's Latest Tools (darkreading.com)

Social Media

• Young people using TikTok is no problem, GCHQ chief says | TikTok | The Guardian

Training, Education and Awareness

• Phishing Simulations Do Not Give Users Enough Context As To Why They Are (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How to improve employees' cyber security behaviour - Help Net Security

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Client-side scanning to detect child abuse material harmful • The Register

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking

• Student jailed for hacking female classmates’ email, Snapchat accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• India set to extend deadline for verbose infosec reporting • The Register

Backup and Recovery

• Microsoft Teams: A channel for sensitive business information sharing that needs better backup - Help Net Security

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

• Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war has begun and the West must be ready | Evening Standard

• The Nation State Threat — Philip Ingram Discusses DDoS and the Possibilities of Cyber War - IT Security Guru

• Internet outages hit Ukraine following Russian missile strikes (bitdefender.com)

• Seven 'Creepy' Backdoors Used by Lebanese Cyberspy Group in Israel Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Researchers Uncover Custom Backdoors and Spying Tools Used by Polonium Hackers (thehackernews.com)

• We must tackle Europe’s winter cyber threats head-on – POLITICO

• Starlink helped restore energy, communications infrastructure in parts of Ukraine - official | Reuters

• Researchers Detail Malicious Tools Used by Cyber Espionage Group Earth Aughisky (thehackernews.com)

• Ukraine Enhances Cooperation With EU Cybersecurity Agencies - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• ‘Zero-Click’ Spyware Emerges as a Menacing Mobile Threat - Bloomberg

• SpaceX’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine back online after outages | Financial Times

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• German Cyber security Chief Accused of Russian Contact Faces Sacking - IT Security Guru

• Russian DDoS attack project pays contributors for more firepower (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Extreme Networks admits sales to banned Russian arms maker • The Register

Nation State Actors – China

• UK Spy Chief to Warn of 'Huge' China Tech Threat | SecurityWeek.Com

• China’s attack motivations, tactics, and how CISOs can mitigate threats | CSO Online

• China will manipulate new tech for global influence, warns GCHQ boss | Metro News

• UK telcos legally required to remove Huawei equipment • The Register

• Chinese-linked hackers targeted U.S. state legislature, researchers say - CyberScoop

• New Chinese Malware Attack Framework Targets Windows, macOS, and Linux Systems (thehackernews.com)

• Feature-Rich 'Alchimist' Cyber attack Framework Targets Windows, Mac, Linux Environments (darkreading.com)

• China's cyber assault on Taiwan - 60 Minutes - CBS News

• UK to designate China a ‘threat’ in hawkish foreign policy shift | Foreign policy | The Guardian

• WIP19, a new Chinese APT targets IT Service Providers and Telcos - Security Affairs

• China-linked Budworm APT returns to target a US entity - Security Affairs

• We must tackle China’s satellite-busting technology, says GCHQ chief | News | The Times

• GCHQ boss: China could use Digital Yuan to swerve sanctions • The Register

• Young people using TikTok is no problem, GCHQ chief says | TikTok | The Guardian

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea's Crypto Hackers Are Paving the Road to Nuclear Armageddon - CNET

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Mormon Church data stolen in 'state-sponsored' cyber attack • The Register

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Vulnerability Management

• Apple's Constant Battles Against Zero-Day Exploits (darkreading.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Concerns Over Fortinet Flaw Mount; PoC Released, Exploit Activity Grows (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft October 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used in attacks, 84 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Addresses Zero-Days, but Exchange Server Exploit Chain Remains Unpatched (darkreading.com)

• Auth bypass bug in FortiOS, FortiProxy is exploited in the wild (CVE-2022-40684) - Help Net Security

• Chrome 106 Update Patches Several High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Researchers Detail Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability Patched Last Month (thehackernews.com)

• SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Commerce, Manufacturing Execution Products | SecurityWeek.Com

• Almost 900 servers hacked using Zimbra zero-day flaw (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Patch Tuesday: Critical Flaws in ColdFusion, Adobe Commerce | SecurityWeek.Com

• Aruba fixes critical RCE and auth bypass flaws in EdgeConnect (bleepingcomputer.com)

• WordPress Vulnerability In Shortcodes Ultimate Impacts 700,000 Sites (searchenginejournal.com)

• Critical Open Source vm2 Sandbox Escape Bug Affects Millions (darkreading.com)

• VMware vCenter Server bug disclosed last year still not patched (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Other News

• Board members should make CISOs their strategic partners - Help Net Security

• 5 Attack Elements Every Organisations Should Be Monitoring (darkreading.com)

• Ukraine’s Starlink problems show the dangers of digital dependency | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Here's 5 of the world's riskiest connected devices - Help Net Security

• 2FA is over. Long live 3FA! - Help Net Security

• White House to unveil ambitious cyber security labeling effort modeled after Energy Star - CyberScoop

• Older, Stored Data Is Cyber Security Risk, Report Warns - MSSP Alert

• What the Uber Breach Verdict Means for CISOs in the US (darkreading.com)

• Increasing network visibility is critical to improving security posture - Help Net Security

• What the Uber Hack can teach us about navigating IT Security (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Consumers want more transparency on how companies manage their data - Help Net Security

• Gaming Is Booming. That’s Catnip for Cyber criminals. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• 91% of Cyber Pros Experience Mental Health Challenges at Work - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Fear of cyber criminals drives cyber security improvements - Help Net Security

• The next Ford Mustang won’t be easy to tune; blame cyber security | Ars Technica

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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 Advisory 03/10/2022 – Microsoft Exchange Zero-Days

Updated on 02/11/2022 to reflect the updated mitigation from Microsoft

Updated on 04/10/2022 with additional information on Mitigations and risk to Hybrid Cloud setups.

Updated on 05/10/2022 with updated information on Mitigations from Microsoft

Executive Summary

Two zero-day vulnerabilities have been identified which affect Microsoft Exchange on-premises servers. One of the zero-days allow an attacker to remotely trigger the second zero-day, which would allow a malicious actor to remotely execute code on the server. Both vulnerabilities require authentication with the exchange server, meaning that the attacker would need to already have standard user working credentials.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities would grant an attacker the ability to remotely execute code on the underlying server, allowing them to perform reconnaissance on the environment and exfiltrate data off the network.

What can I do?

Microsoft is currently working on patches for the vulnerabilities and has released mitigations which are detailed below. Microsoft also recommends disabling remote PowerShell access for non-administrator users to further lower the attack surface. Update: Security researchers have identified that affected Exchange servers are still vulnerable with the Microsoft recommended mitigations in place, and recommend using a more specific block URL when applying the Microsoft Mitigation: “(?=.*autodiscover)(?=.*powershell)” Update 2: Microsoft has updated their mitigation guidance and associated scripts. Please see the “Customer Guidance for Reported Zero-Day” linked below for the latest guidance.

Technical Summary

Microsoft Exchange Online users are not affected by this vulnerability. Update: Hybrid setups which combine Exchange Online with Exchange on-premise are vulnerable to exploitation. The first vulnerability CVE-2022-41040, is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability, which allows an authenticated attacker to remotely trigger the second vulnerability, which is identified as CVE-2022-41082, and allows Remote Code Execution (RCE) through PowerShell.

Further information on the zero-day vulnerabilities can be found here: Warning: New attack campaign utilized a new 0-day RCE vulnerability on Microsoft Exchange Server | Blog | GTSC - Cung cấp các dịch vụ bảo mật toàn diện (gteltsc.vn) with the recommended mitigations are available here Update 2: this link has been updated by Microsoft with the latest guidance: : Customer Guidance for Reported Zero-day Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server – Microsoft Security Response Center Update: Information on latest recommended mitigations can be found here: Microsoft Exchange server zero-day mitigation can be bypassed (bleepingcomputer.com)

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 30 September 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

• UK Organisations, Ukraine's Allies Warned of Potential "Massive" Cyber Attacks By Russia

The head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Lindy Cameron has given an update on Russia’s cyber activity amid its war with Ukraine. Her speech at Chatham House last week came just a few days after Ukraine’s military intelligence agency issued a warning that Russia was “preparing massive cyber attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and its allies.” This coincides with a new Forrester report that reveals the extent to which the cyber impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has expanded beyond the conflict zone with malware attacks propagating into European entities.

Addressing Russian cyber activity this year, Cameron stated that, while we have not seen the “cyber-Armageddon” some predicted, there has been a “very significant conflict in cyber space – probably the most sustained and intensive cyber campaign on record – with the Russian State launching a series of major cyber attacks in support of their illegal invasion in February.”

Russian cyber forces from their intelligence and military branches have been busy launching a huge number of attacks in support of immediate military objectives.

Since the start of the year, the NCSC has been advising UK organisations to take a more proactive approach to cyber security in light of the situation in Ukraine. “There may be organisations that are beginning to think ‘is this still necessary?’ as in the UK we haven’t experienced a major incident related to the war in Ukraine. My answer is an emphatic yes,” Cameron said.

In response to significant recent battlefield set-backs, Putin has been reacting in unpredictable ways, and so we shouldn’t assume that just because the conflict has played out in one way to date, it will continue to go the same way, Cameron added. “There is still a real possibility that Russia could change its approach in the cyber domain and take more risks – which could cause more significant impacts in the UK.” UK organisations and their network defenders should therefore be prepared for this period of elevated alert with a focus on building long-term resilience, which is a “marathon not a sprint,” she said.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3674871/ncsc-chief-warns-uk-organizations-ukraine-s-allies-of-possible-massive-cyberattacks-by-russia.html#tk.rss_news

• Cyber Criminals See Allure in BEC Attacks Over Ransomware

While published trends in ransomware attacks have been contradictory — with some firms tracking more incidents and other fewer — business email compromise (BEC) attacks continue to have proven success against organisations.

BEC cases, as a share of all incident-response cases, more than doubled in the second quarter of the year, to 34% from 17% in the first quarter of 2022. That's according to Arctic Wolf's "1H 2022 Incident Response Insights" report, published on 29 September, which found that specific industries — including financial, insurance, business services, and law firms, as well as government agencies — experienced more than double their previous number of cases, the company said.

Overall, the number of BEC attacks encountered per email box has grown by 84% in the first half of 2022, according to data from cyber security firm Abnormal Security.

Meanwhile, so far this year, threat reports released by organisations have revealed contradictory trends for ransomware. Arctic Wolf and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) have seen drops in the number of successful ransomware attacks, while business customers seem to be encountering ransomware less often, according to security firm Trellix. At the same time, network security firm WatchGuard had a contrary take, noting that its detection of ransomware attacks skyrocketed 80% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with all of last year.

The surging state of BEC landscape is unsurprising because BEC attacks offer cyber criminals advantages over ransomware. Specifically, BEC gains do not rely on the value of cryptocurrency, and attacks are often more successful at escaping notice while in progress. Threat actors are unfortunately very opportunistic.

For that reason, BEC — which uses social engineering and internal systems to steal funds from businesses — continues to be a stronger source of revenue for cyber criminals. In 2021, BEC attacks accounted for 35%, or $2.4 billion, of the $6.9 billion in potential losses tracked by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), while ransomware remained a small fraction (0.7%) of the total.

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/cybercriminals-see-allure-bec-attacks-ransomware

• Most Hackers Need 5 Hours or Less to Break Into Enterprise Environments

A new survey of 300 ethical hackers provides insight into not only the most common means of initial access, but how a complete end-to-end attack happens.

Around 40% of ethical hackers recently surveyed by the SANS Institute said they can break into most environments they test, if not all. Nearly 60% said they need five hours or less to break into a corporate environment once they identify a weakness.

The SANS ethical hacking survey, done in partnership with security firm Bishop Fox, is the first of its kind and collected responses from over 300 ethical hackers working in different roles inside organisations, with different levels of experience and specialisations in different areas of information security. The survey revealed that on average, hackers would need five hours for each step of an attack chain: reconnaissance, exploitation, privilege escalation and data exfiltration, with an end-to-end attack taking less than 24 hours.

The survey highlights the need for organisations to improve their mean time-to-detect and mean-time-to-contain, especially when considering that ethical hackers are restricted in the techniques they're allowed to use during penetration testing or red team engagements. Using black hat techniques, like criminals do, would significantly improve the success rate and speed of attack.

When asked how much time they typically need to identify a weakness in an environment, 57% of the polled hackers indicated ten or fewer hours: 16% responded six to ten hours, 25% three to five hours, 11% one to two hours and 5% less than an hour.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3675535/most-hackers-need-5-hours-or-less-to-break-into-enterprise-environments.html#tk.rss_news

• Global Firms Deal with 51 Security Incidents Each Day

Security operations (SecOps) teams are struggling to respond to dozens of cyber security incidents every single day, according to a new report from Trellix.

The security vendor polled 9000 security decision makers from organisations with 500+ employees across 15 markets to compile its latest study, ‘XDR: Redefining the future of cyber security’.

It found that the average SecOps team has to manage 51 incidents per day, with 36% of respondents claiming they deal with 50 to 200 daily incidents. Around half (46%) agreed that they are “inundated by a never-ending stream of cyber-attacks.”

Part of the problem is the siloed nature of security and detection and response systems, the study claimed. Some 60% of respondents argued that poorly integrated products mean teams can’t work efficiently, while a third (34%) admitted they have blind spots. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that 60% admitted they can’t keep pace with the rapid evolution of security threats.

This could be having a major impact on the bottom line. The vast majority (84%) of security decision makers that Trellix spoke to estimated that their organisation lost up to 10% of revenue from security breaches in the past year.

Medium size businesses ($50–$100m in revenue) lost an average of 8% in revenue, versus 5% for large businesses with a turnover of $10bn–$25bn. That could mean hundreds of millions of dollars are being thrown away each year due to inadequate SecOps.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-firms-51-security-incidents/

• Phishing Attacks Crushed Records Last Quarter, Driven by Mobile

Last quarter saw a record-shattering number of observed phishing attacks, fuelled in large part by attempts to target users on their mobile devices.

The latest Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) "Phishing Activity Trends Report" for the second quarter of 2022 found 1,097,811 observed phishing attacks, the most the group has ever measured in its history.

The financial sector remained the top target for phishing lures (27.6%), along with other bombarded sectors, including webmail and software-as-a-service providers, social media sites, and cryptocurrency.

But much of the rise in phishing volume is due to a new threat actor focus on mobile devices, specifically vishing (voice phishing) and smishing (SMS phishing) attacks, the report noted.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/phishing-attacks-crushed-records-last-quarter

• Why Paying the Ransom is Still the Most Common Response to a Ransomware Attack

According to new data from Databarracks, 44% of the organisations who experienced a ransomware assault paid the demanded ransom. 22% made use of ransomware decryption software, while 34% restored data from backups.

The Databarracks 2022 Data Health Check produced the results. The annual report has been collecting data on ransomware, cyber, backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity from more than 400 UK IT decision-makers since 2008.

From the victim’s standpoint, it’s logical why you may pay a ransom. You are unable to handle orders or provide customer support, and losses mount swiftly. Downtime expenses can easily surpass the ransom.

Organisations may believe that paying the ransom will solve the issue more quickly, allowing them to resume operations as usual. This strategy is faulty for a number of causes.

First of all, there is no assurance that your data will be returned. Second, once criminals know an organisation is an easy target, they frequently attack it again. Finally, it conveys the incorrect message. By paying, you are assisting the crooks by demonstrating that their strategies are effective.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/study-research/why-paying-the-ransom-is-still-the-most-common-response-to-a-ransomware-attack/

• Ransomware Attacks Continue Increasing: 20% of All Reported Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months

Nearly a quarter of businesses have suffered a ransomware attack, with a fifth occurring in the past 12 months, according to a latest annual report from cyber security specialist Hornetsecurity.

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

Cyber attacks are happening more frequently. Last year's ransomware survey revealed one in five (21%) 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. The survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security as bad actors develop new techniques.

The 2022 Ransomware Report highlighted a lack of knowledge on the security available to businesses. A quarter (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 back up their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks.

Industry responses showed the widespread lack of preparedness from IT professionals and businesses. There has been an increase in businesses not having a disaster recovery plan in place if they do succumb to the heightened threat of a cyber attack.

In 2021, 16% of respondents reported having no disaster recovery plan in place. In 2022, this grew to 19%, despite the rise in attacks.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-attacks-continue-increasing-20-of-all-reported-attacks-occurred-in-the-last-12-months---new-survey

• More Than Half of Security Pros Say Risks Higher in Cloud Than On Premise

A recent survey from machine identity solutions provider Venafi aimed to explore the complexity of cloud environments and the resulting impact on cyber security.

Venafi surveyed 1,101 security decision makers (SDMs) in firms with more than 1,000 employees and found that eighty-one percent of companies have experienced a cloud security incident in the last year. Forty-five percent have suffered at least four security incidents in the same period. More than half of security decision makers believe that security risks are higher in the cloud than on-premise.

Twenty-four percent of the firms have more than 10,000 employees. Ninety-two percent of the SDMs are at manager level or above, with 49% at c-suite level or higher.

Most of the firms surveyed believe the underlying issue is the increasing complexity of their cloud deployments. Since these companies already host 41% of their applications in the cloud, and expect to increase this to 57% over the next 18 months, the problem is only likely to worsen in the future.

The ripest target of attack in the cloud is identity management, especially machine identities. Each of these cloud services, containers, Kubernetes clusters and microservices needs an authenticated machine identity – such as a TLS certificate – to communicate securely. If any of these identities is compromised or misconfigured, it dramatically increases security and operational risks.

Respondents reported that the most common cloud incidents are security incidents during runtime (34%), unauthorised access (33%), misconfigurations (32%), vulnerabilities that have not been remediated (24%), and failed audits (19%).

Their primary operational concerns are hijacking of accounts, services or traffic (35%), malware or ransomware (31%), privacy/data access issues such as those from GDPR (31%), unauthorised access (28%), and nation state attacks (26%).

https://www.securityweek.com/more-half-security-pros-say-risks-higher-cloud-premise

• How To Outsmart Increasingly Complex Cyber Attacks

Threat detection is harder today than it was two years ago. Next year will be harder than this year. Why? It’s a compounding effect from skills shortages and threat varieties that’s making it more challenging for any one product to handle key security wins. And cyber security is a constantly evolving sector with 2022 a devastating year for cyber security. Both hackers and security experts are always in a battle to outsmart each other.

Even for businesses with good IT departments, data protection can too quickly become an afterthought. Today’s threat landscape is growing, not just in the frequency of attacks (and the number of high-profile breaches recorded in the media) but so is the complexity of any given threat. A recent piece of research found that in 93 percent of cases, an external attacker can breach an organisation’s network perimeter and gain access to local network resources. Following increasing levels of cyber-attacks, it’s a case of “not if I will be hit by a ransomware attack,” but “when…” Organisations need to do something to mitigate the risk and protect their businesses, and they need to do it now. 

Planning and executing a better defence to outsmart attackers and win more security battles doesn’t have to feel like a military operation – but it does require the right service coverage to remove blind spots and reduce emerging risks before they escalate. 

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/how-to-outsmart-increasingly-complex-cyber-attacks/

• Top Issues Driving Cyber Security: Growing Number of Cyber Criminals, Variety of Attacks

Fortifying cyber security defences remains a work in progress for many organisations, who acknowledge their shortcomings but have yet to commit the necessary resources to the effort, according to new research from CompTIA.

While a majority of respondents in each of seven geographic regions feels that their company’s cyber security is satisfactory, CompTIA’s “State of Cybersecurity” shows that a much smaller number rank the situation as “completely satisfactory.” Nearly everyone feels that there is room for improvement.

“Companies are aware of the threats they face and the potential consequences of an attack or breach,” said Seth Robinson, VP of industry research, CompTIA. “But they may be underestimating their exposure and how much they need to invest in cyber security. Risk mitigation is the key, the filter through which everything should be viewed.”

Two of the top three issues driving cyber security considerations are the growing volume of cyber criminals, cited by 48% of respondents, and the growing variety of cyber attacks (45%). Additionally, ransomware and phishing have quickly become major areas of concern as digital operations have increased and human error has proven more costly.

“Digital transformation driven by cloud and mobile adoption requires a new strategic approach to cyber security, but this poses significant challenges, both tactically and financially,” Robinson said. “As IT operations and strategy have grown more complex, so has the management of cyber security.”

As cyber security is more tightly integrated with business objectives, zero trust is the overarching policy that should be guiding modern efforts, though its adoption will not take place overnight because it requires a drastically different way of thinking and acting. The report suggests there is small progress in recognising a holistic zero trust approach, but better progress in adopting some elements that are part of an overarching zero trust policy.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/30/top-issues-driving-cybersecurity/

• Cyber Threats Top Business Leaders' Biggest Concerns

Cyber threats are the number one concern for business decision makers, beating worries over economic uncertainty, rising energy costs and hiring, according to insurance provider Travelers. The firm polled over 1200 business leaders to compile its 2022 Travelers Risk Index report.

This is the third time in four years that cyber has emerged as the top concern, with more than half (57%) of respondents believing a future cyber-attack on their organisation is inevitable. A quarter (26%) said their company had already been a breach victim, the seventh successive year this figure has risen.

The top two cyber-related concerns were suffering a security breach (57%), and a system glitch causing computers to crash (55%). Becoming a cyber-extortion victim rose from eighth position to third this year.

However, despite general concern about cyber-threats, business decision-makers may also be guilty of overconfidence in their organisation’s security posture.

Nearly all respondents (93%) said they’re confident their company has implemented best practices to prevent or mitigate a cyber event. Yet most have not deployed endpoint detection and response tools (64%), they haven’t conducted a vendor cyber-assessment (59%), and don’t have an incident response plan (53%). Further, while 90% said they’re familiar with multi-factor authentication (MFA), only 52% had implemented it for remote access. This increasingly matters, not only to mitigate cyber-risk but also to reduce insurance premium costs and increase coverage.

Cyber attacks can shut down a company for a long period of time or even put it out of business, and it’s imperative that companies have a plan in place to mitigate any associated operational and financial disruptions.

Effective measures that have proven to reduce the risk of becoming a cyber victim are available, but based on these survey results, not enough companies are taking action. It’s never too late, and these steps can help businesses avoid a devastating cyber-event.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyberthreats-top-business-big/

• Fired Admin Cripples Former Employer's Network Using Old Credentials

After being laid off, an IT system administrator disrupted the operations of his former employer, a high-profile financial company in Hawaii, hoping to get his job back.

Casey K Umetsu, aged 40, worked as a network admin for the company between 2017 and 2019, when his employer terminated his contract. The US Department of Justice says in a press release that the defendant pled guilty to accessing his former employer's website and making configuration changes to redirect web and email traffic to external computers.

To prolong the business disruption for several more days, Umetsu performed additional actions that essentially locked out the firm's IT team from the website administration panel. In the end, the victimised company learned who was responsible for the sabotage after reporting the cyber security incident to the FBI.

Umetsu is awaiting sentence for his wrongdoings on January 19, 2023. He faces a maximum of 10 years of prison time and a fine of up to $250,000.

While Umetsu's actions are condemnable, the company's security practices cannot be overlooked since Umetsu used credentials that should have been invalidated the moment he got fired.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fired-admin-cripples-former-employers-network-using-old-credentials/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Ransomware data theft tool may show a shift in extortion tactics (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The various ways ransomware impacts your organization - Help Net Security

• New Royal Ransomware emerges in multi-million dollar attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Research: 20% of All Reported Ransomware Attacks Occurred in the Last 12 Months - MSSP Alert

• BlackCat Ransomware Attackers Spotted Fine-Tuning Their Malware Arsenal (thehackernews.com)

• Noberus ransomware gets info-stealing upgrades • The Register

• Personal Data Of Duchess Of York, Clarkson And Attenborough Leaked In Ransomware Attack On Luxury Company (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• SQL Server admins warned to watch for Fargo ransomware • The Register

• BlackCat/ALPHV Gang Adds Wiper Functionality as Ransomware Tactic (darkreading.com)

• 'Disgruntled insider' shared REvil information with researchers, helped law enforcement (cyberscoop.com)

• Leaked LockBit 3.0 builder used by ‘Bl00dy’ ransomware gang in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• NCC Group: IceFire ransomware gang ramping up attacks (techtarget.com)

• MS SQL servers are getting hacked to deliver ransomware to orgs - Help Net Security

• TAP Air Portugal confirms hack, as Ragnar Locker gang leaks data - including that of Portuguese president (bitdefender.com)

• ‘The Ransomware Hunting Team’: Book Excerpt (nymag.com)

• Hackers Leak French Hospital Patient Data in Ransom Fight | SecurityWeek.Com

• Oxford Health: Cyber attack continues to hit NHS trust's services - BBC News

• LA School District Ransomware Attackers Now Threaten to Leak Stolen Data (darkreading.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Phishing activity exploded in Q2 2022 - Help Net Security

• Fake US govt job offers push Cobalt Strike in phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Germany arrests hacker for stealing €4 million via phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Capital One Phish Showcases Growing Bank-Brand Targeting Trend (darkreading.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• How cyber criminals use public online and offline data to target employees | CSO Online

• Beware Revolut frozen card scams sent via SMS text • Graham Cluley

• IRS warns Americans of massive rise in SMS phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

Malware

• Office exploits continue to spread more than any other category of malware - Help Net Security

• This credit card-stealing malware is spreading like wildfire | Digital Trends

• VMWare Releases Guidance for VirtualPITA, VirtualPIE, and VirtualGATE Malware Targeting vSphere | CISA

• Hacking group hides backdoor malware inside Windows logo image (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers now sharing cracked Brute Ratel post-exploitation kit online (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cobalt Strike malware campaign targets job seekers (techtarget.com)

• New Botnet 'Chaos' Targeting Linux, Windows Systems (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register

• Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft Sway Pages Weaponized to Perform Phishing and Malware Delivery - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Quantum Builder tool helps criminals spread Windows RATs • The Register

• Unit 42 finds polyglot files delivering IcedID malware (techtarget.com)

• Hackers use PowerPoint files for 'mouseover' malware delivery (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Does AI-powered malware exist in the wild? Not yet (techtarget.com)

• Hackers Backdoor Pirated Windows OS With Cryptominer and Xtreme RAT - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Erbium password-stealing malware spreads as game cracks, cheats (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs

• Hackers Use NullMixer and SEO to Spread Malware More Efficiently - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs

Mobile

• WhatsApp 0-Day Bug Let Hackers Execute an Arbitary Code Remotely (gbhackers.com)

• Adware on Google Play and Apple Store installed 13 million times (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Samsung facing class action suit after customer data leak • The Register

• Inside a cyber attack method that targets your cellphone - The Washington Post

Internet of Things – IoT

• Embedded IoT security threats and challenges - Help Net Security

• Manufacturers Failing to Address Cyber security Vulnerabilities Liable Under New European Rules - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Watchfinder warns customers that hackers stole their data • Graham Cluley

• Samsung Fails Consumers in Preventable Back-to-Back Data Breaches, According to Federal Lawsuit (darkreading.com)

• Shangri-La hotels Customer Database Hacked | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hacker Behind Optus Breach Releases 10,200 Customer Records in Extortion Scheme (thehackernews.com)

• Australia government wants Optus to pay for data breach | ZDNET

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Ukraine Arrests Cyber Crime Group for Selling Data of 30 Million Accounts (thehackernews.com)

• Middle-class migrant trap as traffickers lure white collar workers into bogus overseas jobs (telegraph.co.uk)

• New hacking group ‘Metador’ lurking in ISP networks for months (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Scams targeting crypto enthusiasts are becoming increasingly common - Help Net Security

• Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)

• Hackers Backdoor Pirated Windows OS With Cryptominer and Xtreme RAT - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber sleuth alleges $160M Wintermute hack was an inside job (cointelegraph.com)

• Crypto-Thieves Cost Victims 53 Times What They Make - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Preventing Cryptocurrency Cyber Extortion (trendmicro.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Recent cases highlight need for insider threat awareness and action | CSO Online

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Online fraudsters adapt tactics to exploit UK cost of living crisis | UK cost of living crisis | The Guardian

• Identities Stolen From 1 In 4 Internet Users (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Fake Sites Siphon Millions of Dollars in 3-Year Scam (darkreading.com)

• Man jailed over involvement in identity theft syndicate that laundered millions of dollars | Crime - Australia | The Guardian

• Here’s how crooks are using deepfakes to scam your biz • The Register

Deepfakes

• Reshaping the Threat Landscape: Deepfake Cyber attacks Are Here (darkreading.com)

• The deepfake danger: When it wasn’t you on that Zoom call | CSO Online

Software Supply Chain

• With the Software Supply Chain, You Can't Secure What You Don't Measure (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• DDoS Threat Intelligence Report: More Than 6 Million Cyber attacks in First Half of 2022 - MSSP Alert

• Hackers are making DDoS attacks sneakier and harder to protect against | ZDNET

• UK's MI5 website briefly hit by denial of service attack - BBC | Reuters

• Chaos Malware Resurfaces With All-New DDoS & Cryptomining Modules (darkreading.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Cloud security trends: What makes cloud infrastructure vulnerable to threats? - Help Net Security

• 81% of Companies Suffered A Cloud Security Incident Last Year – (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• What Lurks in the Shadows of Cloud Security? (darkreading.com)

• The current state of cloud security - Help Net Security

Open Source

• Open source projects under attack, with enterprises as the ultimate targets - Help Net Security

• Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Numerous orgs hacked after installing weaponized open source apps | Ars Technica

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• The Country Where You Live Impacts Password Choices (darkreading.com)

• Five Steps to Mitigate the Risk of Credential Exposure (thehackernews.com)

Social Media

• Fake CISO Profiles on LinkedIn Target Fortune 500s – Krebs on Security

• Fake Accounts Are Not Your Friends! (darkreading.com)

• Ofcom chair says tech firms must prioritise safety alongside clicks | Ofcom | The Guardian

• UK may fine TikTok $29 million for failing to protect children's privacy | Reuters

Training, Education and Awareness

• Time to Change Flawed Approach to Security Awareness (darkreading.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• TikTok could face £27m fine for failing to protect children’s privacy | TikTok | The Guardian

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Australia flags privacy overhaul after huge cyber attack on Optus | Reuters

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• 10 PCI DSS best practices to weigh as new standard rolls out (techtarget.com)

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

• Cyber Warfare Rife in Ukraine, But Impact Stays in Shadows | SecurityWeek.Com

• Russia prepares massive cyber attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and its allies - Security Affairs

• State-Sponsored Hackers Likely Exploited MS Exchange 0-Days Against ~10 Organisations (thehackernews.com)

• NCSC: UK Organisations Can Learn from Ukraine’s Impressive Cyber Defences - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Facebook Shuts Down Covert Political 'Influence Operations' from Russia and China (thehackernews.com)

• Mystery hackers are “hyperjacking” targets for insidious spying | Ars Technica

• Cyber espionage group developed backdoors tailored for VMware ESXi hypervisors | CSO Online

• Taiwanese citizens prepare for possible cyber war (axios.com)

• Malware targets VMware users for espionage, Mandiant says • The Register

• Espionage Group Wields Steganographic Backdoor Against Govs, Stock Exchange (darkreading.com)

• Can Kaspersky survive the Ukraine war? - CyberScoop

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Researchers Identify 3 Hacktivist Groups Supporting Russian Interests (thehackernews.com)

• APT28 relies on PowerPoint Mouseover to deliver Graphite malware - Security Affairs

• Meta dismantles massive Russian network spoofing Western news sites (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• Chinese Cyberespionage Group 'Witchetty' Updates Toolset in Recent Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• China’s infosec researchers may have dodged vuln report ban` • The Register

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• Lazarus Lures Aspiring Crypto Pros With Fake Exchange Job Postings (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft: Lazarus hackers are weaponizing open-source software (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Lazarus APT continues to target job seekers with macOS malware - Security Affairs

• Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)

Nation State Actors – Iran

• 'Our Conflict With Iran Is Unparalleled', Say Israel's Elite Cyber Unit Commanders - Israel News - Haaretz.com

• OpIran:Anonymous declares war on Iran amid Mahsa Amini’s death - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Hunting for Unsigned DLLs to Find APTs (paloaltonetworks.com)

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Vulnerabilities

• Exchange Server zero-day being actively exploited • The Register

• Microsoft Confirms Pair of Blindsiding Exchange Zero-Days, No Patch Yet (darkreading.com)

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Networking Software | SecurityWeek.Com

• Sophos fixes critical code injection bug under exploit • The Register

• Zoho ManageEngine flaw is actively exploited, CISA warns | CSO Online

• Lazarus hackers abuse Dell driver bug using new FudModule rootkit (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Google Quashes 5 High-Severity Bugs With Chrome 106 Update (darkreading.com)

• Critical WhatsApp Bugs Could Have Let Attackers Hack Devices Remotely (thehackernews.com)

• Go Update iOS, Chrome, and HP Computers to Fix Serious Flaws | WIRED

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• 2022 State of Bot Mitigation Report: Growing Majority of Companies (69%) (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

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Other News

• High-Profile Hacks Show Effectiveness of MFA Fatigue Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Poll Of IT Security Pros Suggests Gaps In UK Cyber Defence (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Why Organisations Need Both EDR and NDR for Complete Network Protection (thehackernews.com)

• Lessons From the GitHub Cyber Security Breach (darkreading.com)

• Data security trends: 7 statistics you need to know - Help Net Security

• Why does a Legacy WAF Fail to “Catch” Sophisticated Attacks? (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Akamai finds 13 million malicious newly observed domains a month | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Opinion | The Uber Hack Exposes More Than Failed Data Security - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• Cyber security Study Sees “Siloed” Security As Organisational Weak Spot - MSSP Alert

• The key differences between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan - Help Net Security

• 3 types of attack paths in Microsoft Active Directory environments - Help Net Security

• 97% of enterprises say VPNs are prone to cyber attacks: Study | CSO Online

• Collaboration in Cyber Security is the Key to Combatting the Growing Cyber Threat. Here’s Why - IT Security Guru

• 65% of companies are considering adopting VPN alternatives - Help Net Security

• Spoofing cyber attack can make cameras see things that aren’t there | New Scientist

• Zero Trust is the Goal But Much Ground Yet to Cover, CompTIA 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 Advisory 30/09/2022 – Microsoft SQL Servers Targeted by FARGO Ransomware

Executive Summary

Unsecured Microsoft SQL servers have been identified as the target for FARGO Ransomware (aka Mallox, aka TargetCompany). This ransomware strain attempts to shut down various processes and services on affected machines before encrypting the data and supplying a ransom note, which contains a warning that data may be published on the public domain if payment is not received.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

At current the threat actors appear to be targeting vulnerable Microsoft SQL servers and gain initial access through either credential brute forcing or through known vulnerabilities that have not been patched. If the threat actor gains access to this server and successfully delivers the ransomware, then data could be encrypted and published on the public domain.

What can I do?

Ensure that leading practices are followed for securing Microsoft SQL servers, including both timely patching of security vulnerabilities when made available, and ensuring that server administrator accounts are protected with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication where available.

Technical Summary

The attack unfolds by first a threat actor having initial access to the MS-SQL process, allowing them to execute a .net file through either CMD or Powershell. This file downloads additional malware, which then generates a .BAT file that shuts down certain processes and services. The ransomware is then injected into AppLaunch.exe, which is a normal windows program. It attempts to delete a registry key, executes recovery deactivation and closes some additional processes including the MS-SQL server. This allows access to the database offline, which allows for the files to be encrypted with the .FARGO3 extension. A ransomware note named ‘RECOVERY FILES.TXT’ is then generated, detailing payment, with a warning that data will be published on the public domain if the payment is not received.

Further information on this ransomware strain is available here, including Indicators of Compromise: FARGO Ransomware (Mallox) Being Distributed to Unsecured MS-SQL Servers - ASEC BLOG (ahnlab.com)

Need help understanding your gaps, or just want some advice? Get in touch with us.

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 23 September 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

• Cyber Insurers Clamp Down on Clients' Self-Attestation of Security Controls

After one company suffered a breach that could have been headed off by the MFA it claimed to have, insurers are looking to confirm claimed cyber security measures.

A voided lawsuit from a cyber insurance carrier claiming its customer misled it on its insurance application could potentially pave the way to change how underwriters evaluate self-attestation claims on insurance applications.

The case — Travelers Property Casualty Company of America v. International Control Services Inc. (ICS) — hinged on ICS claiming it had multifactor authentication (MFA) in place when the electronics manufacturer applied for a policy. In May the company experienced a ransomware attack. Forensics investigators determined there was no MFA in place, so Travelers asserted it should not be liable for the claim. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois on July 6 and at the end of August, the litigants agreed to void the contract, ending ICS's efforts to have its insurer cover its losses.

This case was unusual in that Travelers maintained the misrepresentation "materially affected the acceptance of the risk and/or the hazard assumed by Travelers" in the court filing. Taking a client to court is a departure from other similar cases where an insurance company simply denied the claim.

Sean O'Brien of Yale Law School notes that security should be proactive, stopping possible breaches before they occur rather than simply responding to each successful attack. The insurance industry is likely to become more and more pernickety as cyber security claims rise, defending their bottom line and avoiding reimbursement wherever possible. This has always been the role of insurance adjusters, of course, and their business is in many ways adversarial to your organisation's interests after the dust settles from a cyber attack.

That said, organisations should not expect a payout for poor cyber security policies and practices, he notes.

https://www.darkreading.com/edge/cyber-insurers-clamp-down-on-clients-self-attestation-of-security-controls

• Survey Shows CISOs Losing Confidence in Ability to Stop Ransomware Attacks

Despite an 86% surge in budget resources to defend against ransomware, 90% of organisations were impacted by attacks last year, a survey reveals.

An annual survey of CISOs from Canada, the UK, and US reveals that security teams are starting to lose hope that they can defend against the next ransomware attack. The survey was conducted by SpyCloud, and it showed that although budgets to protect against cyber attacks have swelled by 86%, a full 90% of organisations surveyed said they had been impacted by a ransomware over the past year.

More organisations have implemented 'Plan B' measures this year, from opening cryptocurrency accounts to purchasing ransomware insurance. These findings suggest that organisations realise threats are slipping through their defences and a ransomware attack is inevitable.

The survey did show some bright spots on the cyber security front — nearly three-quarters of those organisations surveyed are using multifactor authentication (MFA), with an increase from 44% to 73% year-over-year. The report added that respondents said they are focused on stopping credential-stealing malware, particularly on unmanaged network devices.

https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/survey-cisos-losing-confidence-stop-ransomware-attacks

• MFA Fatigue: Hackers’ New Favourite Tactic in High-Profile Breaches

Hackers are more frequently using social engineering attacks to gain access to corporate credentials and breach large networks. One component of these attacks that is becoming more popular with the rise of multi-factor authentication is a technique called MFA Fatigue.

When breaching corporate networks, hackers commonly use stolen employee login credentials to access VPNs and the internal network. The reality is that obtaining corporate credentials is far from difficult for threat actors, who can use various methods, including phishing attacks, malware, leaked credentials from data breaches, or purchasing them on dark web marketplaces.

To counter this, enterprises have increasingly adopted multi-factor authentication to prevent users from logging into a network without first entering an additional form of verification. This additional information can be a one-time passcode, a prompt asking you to verify the login attempt, or the use of hardware security keys.

While threat actors can use numerous methods to bypass multi-factor authentication, most revolve around stealing cookies through malware or man-in-the-middle phishing attack frameworks. However, a social engineering technique called 'MFA Fatigue' is growing more popular with threat actors as it does not require malware or phishing infrastructure and has proven to be successful in attacks.

An MFA Fatigue attack is when a threat actor runs a script that attempts to log in with stolen credentials over and over, causing what feels like an endless stream of MFA push requests to be sent to the account's owner's mobile device. The goal is to keep this up, day and night, to break down the target's cyber security posture and inflict a sense of "fatigue" regarding these MFA prompts.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mfa-fatigue-hackers-new-favorite-tactic-in-high-profile-breaches/

• Credential Stuffing Accounts for One-third Of Global Login Attempts

Okta’s global State of Secure Identity Report has found that credential stuffing is the top threat against customer accounts, outpacing legitimate login traffic in some countries. The report presents trends, examples and observations unearthed from the billions of authentications on Okta’s Auth0 platform.

Credential stuffing is when attacks take advantage of the practice of password reuse. It begins with a stolen login or password pair, then threat actors use these credentials across other common sites, using automated tooling used to “stuff” credential pairs into login forms. When an account holder reuses the same (or similar) passwords on multiple sites, it creates a domino effect in which a single credential pair can be used to breach multiple applications.

Across all industries globally, Okta found there were almost 10 billion credential stuffing attempts in the first 90 days of 2022, which amounts to 34% of authentication traffic.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/study-research/credential-stuffing-accounts-for-one-third-of-global-login-attempts-okta-finds/

• Ransomware Operators Might Be Dropping File Encryption in Favour of Corrupting Files

Corrupting files is faster, cheaper, and less likely to be stopped by endpoint protection tools than encrypting them.

A recent attack that involved a threat actor believed to be an affiliate of the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation was found to use a data exfiltration tool dubbed Exmatter. Exmatter is a tool that allows attackers to scan the victim computer's drives for files with certain extensions and then upload them to an attacker-controlled server in a unique directory created for every victim. The tool supports several exfiltration methods including FTP, SFTP, and webDAV.

The way the Eraser function works is that it loads two random files from the list into memory and then copies a random chunk from the second file to the beginning of the first file overwriting its original contents. This doesn't technically erase the file but rather corrupts it. The researchers believe this feature is still being developed because the command that calls the Eraser function is not yet fully implemented and the function’s code still has some inefficiencies. Since the selected data chunk is random, it can sometimes be very small, which makes some files more recoverable than others.

Why destroy files by overwriting them with random data instead of deploying ransomware to encrypt them? At a first glance these seem like similar file manipulation operations. Encrypting a file involves overwriting it, one block at a time, with random-looking data (the ciphertext). However, there are ways to detect these encryption operations when done in great succession and many endpoint security programs can now detect when a process exhibits this behaviour and can stop it. Meanwhile, the kind of file overwriting that Exmatter does is much more subtle.

The act of using legitimate file data from the victim machine to corrupt other files may be a technique to avoid heuristic-based detection for ransomware and wipers, as copying file data from one file to another is much more plausibly benign functionality compared to sequentially overwriting files with random data or encrypting them.

Another reason is that encrypting files is a more intensive task that takes a longer time. It's also much harder and costly to implement file encryption programs, which ransomware essentially are, without bugs or flaws that researchers could exploit to reverse the encryption. There have been many cases over the years where researchers found weaknesses in ransomware encryption implementations and were able to release decryptors. This has happened to BlackMatter, the Ransomwware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operation with which the Exmatter tool has been originally associated.

With data exfiltration now the norm among threat actors, developing stable, secure, and fast ransomware to encrypt files is a redundant and costly endeavour compared to corrupting files and using the exfiltrated copies as the means of data recovery.

It remains to be seen if this is the start of a trend where ransomware affiliates switch to data destruction instead of encryption, ensuring the only copy is in their possession, or if it's just an isolated incident where BlackMatter/BlackCat affiliates want to avoid mistakes of the past. However, data theft and extortion attacks that involve destruction are not new and have been widespread in the cloud database space. Attackers have hit unprotected S3 buckets, MongoDB databases, Redis instances, and ElasticSearch indexes for years, deleting their contents and leaving behind ransom notes so it wouldn't be a surprise to see this move to on-premises systems as well.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3674848/ransomware-operators-might-be-dropping-file-encryption-in-favor-of-corrupting-files.html#tk.rss_news

• Revolut Hack Exposes Data Of 50,000 Users, Fuels New Phishing Wave

Revolut has suffered a cyber attack that gave an unauthorised third party access to personal information of tens of thousands of clients. The incident occurred over a week ago, on Sunday night, and has been described as "highly targeted."

Founded in 2015, Revolut is a financial technology company that has seen a rapid growth, now offering banking, money management, and investment services to customers all over the world. In a statement a company spokesperson said that an unauthorised party had access "for a short period of time" to details of only a 0.16% of its customers.

"We immediately identified and isolated the attack to effectively limit its impact and have contacted those customers affected. Customers who have not received an email have not been impacted" , Revolut said.

According to the breach disclosure to the State Data Protection Inspectorate in Lithuania, where Revolut has a banking license, 50,150 customers have been impacted. Based on the information from Revolut, the agency said that the number of affected customers in the European Economic Area is 20,687, and just 379 Lithuanian citizens are potentially impacted by this incident.

Details on how the threat actor gained access to the database have not been disclosed but it appears that the attacker relied on social engineering. The Lithuanian data protection agency notes that the likely exposed information includes:

• Email addresses

• Full names

• Postal addresses

• Phone numbers

• Limited payment card data

• Account data

However, in a message to an affected customer, Revolut says that the type of compromised personal data varies for different customers. Card details, PINs, or passwords were not accessed.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/revolut-hack-exposes-data-of-50-000-users-fuels-new-phishing-wave/

• Researchers Say Insider Threats Play a Larger Role In Security Incidents

Insider threats are becoming an increasingly common part of the attack chain, with malicious insiders and unwitting assets playing critical roles in incidents over the past year, according to Cisco Talos research.

In a blog post, Cisco Talos researchers said organisations can mitigate these types of risks via education, user-access control, and ensuring proper processes and procedures are in place when and if employees leave the organisation.

There are a variety of reasons a user may choose to become a malicious insider, and unfortunately many of them are occurring today. The most obvious being financial distress, where a user has a lot of debt and selling the ability to infect their employer can be a tempting avenue. There have been examples of users trying to sell access into employer networks for more than a decade, having spotted them on dark web forums. The current climate, with the economy tilting toward recession, is ripe for this type of abuse.

The cyber crime underground remains a hot spot for insider threat recruitment efforts because of the relative anonymity, accessibility, and low barrier of entry it affords. Malicious actors use forums and instant messaging platforms to advertise their insider services or, vice versa, to recruit accomplices for specific schemes that require insider access or knowledge.

By far, the most popular motivation for insider threats is financial gain. There are plenty of examples of financially-motivated threat actors seeking employees at companies to provide data and access to sell in the underground or leverage against the organisation or its customers. There have also been instances where individuals turn to underground forums and instant messaging platforms claiming to be employees at notable organisations to sell company information.

https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/insider-threat/researchers-say-insider-threats-play-a-larger-role-in-security-incidents

• SMBs vs. Large Enterprises: Not All Compromises Are Created Equal

Attackers view smaller organisations as having fewer security protocols in place, therefore requiring less effort to compromise. Lumu has found that compromise is significantly different for small businesses than for medium-sized and large enterprises.

There is no silver bullet for organisations to protect themselves from compromise, but there are critical steps to take to understand your potential exposure and make sure that your cyber security protocols are aligned accordingly.

Compromise often stay undetected for long periods of time – 201 days on average with compromise detection and containment taking approximately 271 days. It’s critical for smaller businesses to know they are more susceptible and to get ahead of the curve with safeguards.

Results from the Lumu Ransomware Assessment show a few reasons why attacks continue to stay undetected for such long periods of time:

·       58% of organisations aren’t monitoring roaming devices, which is concerning with a workforce that has embraced remote working

·       72% of organisations either don’t or only partially monitor the use of network resources and traffic, which is problematic given that most compromises tend to originate from within the network

·       Crypto-mining doesn’t appear to be a concern for the majority of organisations as 76% either do not know or only partially know how to identify it; however, this is a commonly used technique for cyber criminals

Additionally, threat data unveils attack techniques used and how they vary based on the size of the organisation.

Small businesses are primarily targeted by malware attacks (60%) and are also at greater risk of Malware, Command and Control, and Crypto-Mining. Medium-sized businesses and large enterprises don’t see as much malware and are more susceptible to Domain Generated Algorithms (DGA). This type of attack allows adversaries to dynamically identify a destination domain for command and control traffic rather than relying on a list of static IP addresses or domains.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/22/smaller-organizations-security-protocols/

• Cyber Attack Costs for Businesses up by 80%

In seven out of eight countries, cyber attacks are now seen as the biggest risk to business — outranking COVID-19, economic turmoil, skills shortages, and other issues. The "Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022," which assesses how prepared businesses are to fight back against cyber incidents and breaches, polled more than 5,000 corporate cyber security professionals in the US, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands. These experts had some enlightening things to say.

According to the report, IT pros are more worried about cyber attacks (46%) than the pandemic (43%) or skills shortages (38%). And the data prove it. The survey indicates that in the past 12 months, US businesses weathered a 7% increase in cyber attacks. Approximately half of all US businesses (47%) suffered an attack in the past year.

Remote work has caused many smaller organisations to use cloud solutions instead of utilizing in-house IT services. However, with more cloud applications and APIs in use, the attack surface has broadened, too, making these organisations more vulnerable to cyber crime.

Although the proportion of staff working remotely almost halved in the past year — from 62% of the workforce in 2021 to 39% in 2022 — overall IT expenditures doubled, from $11.5 million in 2021 to $24.2 million this year. "Despite 61% of survey respondents now being back in the office, businesses are still experiencing a hangover from the pandemic," Hiscox said in a statement. "Remote working provided a year-long Christmas for cyber criminals, and we can see the results of their cyber-feast in the increased frequency and cost of attacks. As we move into a new era of hybrid working, we all have an increased responsibility to continue learning, and managing our own cyber security."

It may come as no surprise that as more organisations evolve and scale their digital business models, the median cost of an attack has surged — from $10,000 last year to $18,000 in 2022. The US is bearing the brunt of generally higher cyber attack costs, with 40% of attack victims incurring costs of $25,000 or higher. The most common vulnerability — i.e., the entry point for cyber criminals — was a cloud-based corporate server.

However, in terms of attack costs, the report reveals major regional disparities. While one organisation in the UK suffered total attack costs of $6.7 million, the hardest-hit firms in Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands paid out more than $5 million. In turn, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain all experienced stable or lower median costs.

https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/cyberattack-costs-for-us-businesses-up-by-80-

• Morgan Stanley Fined $35m By SEC For Data Security Lapse, Sold Devices Full of Customer PII

American financial services giant Morgan Stanley agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a $35m penalty on Tuesday over data security lapses.

According to the SEC's complaint, the firm would have allowed roughly 1000 unencrypted hard drives (HDDs) and about 8000 backup tapes from decommissioned data centres to be resold on auction sites without first being wiped.

The improper disposal of the devices reportedly started in 2016 and per the SEC complaint, was part of an "extensive failure" that exposed 15 million customers' data.

In fact, instead of destroying the hard drives or employing an internal IT team to erase them, Morgan Stanley would have contracted an unnamed third–party moving company with allegedly no experience in decommissioning storage media to take care of the hardware.

The moving company initially subcontracted an IT firm to wipe the drives, but their business relationship went sour, so the mover started selling the storage devices to another firm that auctioned them online without erasing them.

"This is an astonishing security mistake by one of the world's most prestigious banks, who would be expected to have well–established procedures in system life cycle management," Jordan Schroeder, managing CISO at Barrier Networks, told Infosecurity Magazine.

"Not only does the situation mean that the bank put customer data at risk, but it also demonstrates the organisation was not following an expected policy which explained the secure disposing of IT equipment."

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/morgan-stanley-pay-dollar35m-sec/

• Eyeglass Reflections Can Leak Information During Video Calls

A group of academic researchers have devised a method of reconstructing text exposed via participants’ eyeglasses and other reflective objects during video conferences.

Zoom and other video conferencing tools, which have been widely adopted over the past couple of years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, may be used by attackers to leak information unintentionally reflected in objects such as eyeglasses, the researchers say.

Using mathematical modelling and human subjects experiments, this research explores the extent to which emerging webcams might leak recognizable textual and graphical information gleaming from eyeglass reflections captured by webcams.

Dubbed ‘webcam peeking attack’, a threat model devised by academics shows that it is possible to obtain an accuracy of over 75% when reconstructing and recognizing text with heights as small as 10 mm, captured by a 720p webcam.

According to the academics, attackers can also rely on webcam peeking to identify the websites that the victims are using. Moreover, they believe that 4k webcams will allow attackers to easily reconstruct most header texts on popular websites.

To mitigate the risk posed by webcam peeking attacks, the researchers propose both near- and long-term mitigations, including the use of software that can blur the eyeglass areas of the video stream. Some video conferencing solutions already offer blurring capabilities, albeit not fine-tuned.

https://www.securityweek.com/eyeglass-reflections-can-leak-information-during-video-calls

• Uber Says It Was Likely Hacked by Teenage Hacker Gang LAPSUS$

Uber has published additional information about how it was hacked, claiming that it was targeted by LAPSUS$, a cyber criminal gang with a hefty track record that is thought to be composed largely of teenagers.

Last week, someone broke into Uber’s network and used the access to cause all sorts of chaos. The culprit, who claims to be 18 years old, managed to spam company staff with vulgar Slack messages, post a picture of a penis on the company’s internal websites, and leak images of Uber’s internal environment to the web. Now, the ride-share giant has released a statement providing details on its ordeal.

In its update, the company has clarified how it was hacked, largely confirming an account made by the hacker themself. Uber says that the hacker exploited the login credentials of a company contractor to initially gain access to the network. The hacker may have originally bought access to those credentials via the dark web, Uber says. The hacker then used them to make multiple login attempts to the contractor’s account. The login attempts prompted a slew of multi-factor authentication requests for the contractor, who ultimately authenticated one of them. The hacker has previously claimed that it conducted a social engineering scheme to convince the contractor to authenticate the login attempt.

Security experts have called this an “MFA fatigue” attack. This increasingly common intrusion tactic seeks to overwhelm a victim with authentication push requests until they validate the hacker’s illegitimate login attempt.

Most interestingly, Uber has also claimed that whoever was behind this hacking episode is affiliated with the cyber crime gang “LAPSUS$.” It’s not totally clear how Uber knows that.

https://gizmodo.com/uber-says-it-was-hacked-by-teenage-hacker-gang-lapsus-1849554679

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Microsoft Issues Out-of-Band Patch for Flaw Allowing Lateral Movement, Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft SQL servers hacked in TargetCompany ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BlackCat ransomware’s data exfiltration tool gets an upgrade (bleepingcomputer.com)

• SpyCloud Report: 90% of Companies Affected by Ransomware in 2022 - MSSP Alert

• Netflix-style Ransomware Makes Your Organisation’s Data The Prize In A (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Ransomware: The Latest Chapter (darkreading.com)

• How to Dodge New Ransomware Tactics (darkreading.com)

• Colonial Pipeline hackers add startling new capabilities to ransomware operation - The Record by Recorded Future

• LockBit ransomware builder leaked online by “angry developer” (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How to Prevent Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) Attacks (trendmicro.com)

• The Risk of Ransomware Supply Chain Attacks (trendmicro.com)

• Europol and Bitdefender Release Free Decryptor for LockerGoga Ransomware (thehackernews.com)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina investigating alleged ransomware attack on parliament - The Record by Recorded Future

• Vice Society Demands Ransom From LAUSD Two Weeks After Hack (gizmodo.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Microsoft: Exchange servers hacked via OAuth apps for phishing (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LinkedIn Smart Links abused in evasive email phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• BBC Warns Of Cost-of-living Phishing, Expert Weighs In (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Microsoft 365 phishing attacks impersonate US govt agencies (bleepingcomputer.com)

• How DKIM records reduce email spoofing, phishing and spam (techtarget.com)

• Security alert: new phishing campaign targets GitHub users | The GitHub Blog

• American Airlines learned it was breached from phishing targets (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Email-based threats: A pain point for organisations - Help Net Security

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Energy bill rebate scams spread via SMS and email • Graham Cluley

Malware

• IT giants warn of ongoing Chromeloader malware campaigns - Security Affairs

• SEO poisoning campaign directs search engine visitors from multiple industries to JavaScript malware | CSO Online

• Fake sites fool Zoom users into downloading deadly code • The Register

• Malicious NPM package discovered in supply chain attack (techtarget.com)

• How botnet attacks work and how to defend against them (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• This dangerous Android spyware could affect millions of devices | TechRadar

• Banking Users Faced With Rewards Phishing Scam - IT Security Guru

• Malicious Apps With Millions of Downloads Found in Apple App Store, Google Play (darkreading.com)

• Don't Wait for a Mobile WannaCry (darkreading.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Cyber Attack Steals Passenger Data From Portuguese Airline | SecurityWeek.Com

• American Airlines discloses data breach after employee email compromise (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Significant cyber attack hits Australian telco Optus • The Register

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• London Police Arrested 17-Year-Old Hacker Suspected of Uber and GTA 6 Breaches (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber Mercenary Group Void Balaur Continues Hack-For-Hire Campaigns - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Ukraine dismantles hacker gang that stole 30 million accounts (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The Deep Roots of Nigeria’s Cyber Security Problem | WIRED

• Cambodian authorities crack down on cyber slavery • The Register

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Cryptocurrency world's Wintermute loses $160m in cyber-heist • The Register

• South Korean prosecutors ask Interpol to issue red notice for Do Kwon | Financial Times (ft.com)

• "Fake crypto millionaire" charged with alleged $1.7M cryptomining scam (bitdefender.com)

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• Risk management focus shifts from external to internal exposure - Help Net Security

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Authorized Push Payment Surges to 75% of Banking Fraud - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Multi-million dollar credit card fraud operation uncovered (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Large-Scale Click Fraud Campaign Targeting Gamers (thehackernews.com)

• The impact of location-based fraud - Help Net Security

• How does identity crime affect victims? - Help Net Security

• Two-Fifths of US Consumers Suffer Personal Data Theft - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cyber crime cost American seniors $3 billion last year, a 62% jump (usatoday.com)

Insurance

• Cyber Security Insurance Trends: Key Takeaways for MSPs - MSSP Alert

• D&O insurance not yet a priority despite criminal trial of Uber’s former CISO | CSO Online

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• The Risk of Ransomware Supply Chain Attacks (trendmicro.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• DDoS and bot attacks in 2022: Business sectors at risk and how to defend (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Record DDoS Attack with 25.3 Billion Requests Abused HTTP/2 Multiplexing (thehackernews.com)

• Imperva mitigated long-lasting, 25.3 billion request DDoS attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Mitigating Risk and Communicating Value in Multicloud Environments (darkreading.com)

• How to keep public cloud data secure - Help Net Security

Encryption

• Quantum Computing Already Putting Data at Risk, Cyber Pros Agree - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

API

• What could be the cause of growing API security incidents? - Help Net Security

Open Source

• Open-source software usage slowing down for fear of vulnerabilities, exposures, or risks - Help Net Security

• Open Source Repository Attacks Soar 700% in Three Years - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Neglecting Open Source Developers Puts the Internet at Risk (darkreading.com)

• 350K Open-Source Projects At Risk of Supply Chain Vulnerability - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Privacy, Surveillance and Mass Monitoring

• Pressure mounts against Europol over data privacy • The Register

• San Francisco cops can use private cameras for surveillance • The Register

• Revealed: US Military Bought Mass Monitoring Tool That Includes Internet Browsing, Email Data (vice.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Child Predators Use Amazon’s Twitch to Systematically Track Kids Who Stream (bloomberg.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• 5 Data Privacy Laws That Could Affect Your Business (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• France and Germany fall foul of EU data retention rules • The Register

• Morgan Stanley fined millions for selling off devices full of customer PII – Naked Security (sophos.com)

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

• Russia Makes Veiled Threat to Destroy SpaceX's Starlink (pcmag.com)

• Researchers Uncover New Metador APT Targeting Telcos, ISPs, and Universities (thehackernews.com)

• Russian Sandworm hackers pose as Ukrainian telcos to drop malware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Anonymous claims hacked website of Russian Ministry of Defence - Security Affairs

• Pro-Ukraine Hacktivists Claim to Have Hacked Notorious Russian Mercenary Group (vice.com)

• European Spyware Investigators Criticize Israel and Poland | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hackathon finds dozens of Ukrainian refugees trafficked online | Ars Technica

• Researchers Uncover Mysterious 'Metador' Cyber-Espionage Group (darkreading.com)

• This dangerous Android spyware could affect millions of devices | TechRadar

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Inside Russia’s Vast Surveillance State: ‘They Are Watching’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

• Russian Cyberspies Targeting Ukraine Pose as Telecoms Providers | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – China

• USA labels two more Chinese carriers national security risks • The Register

Nation State Actors – Iran

• FBI: Iranian hackers lurked in Albania’s govt network for 14 months (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Whatsapp and Instagram restricted in Iran • The Register

• International Law Enforcement Warns of Iran-backed Hacking Crews Targeting Critical Infrastructure - MSSP Alert

• NATO's Team in Albania to Help on Iran-Alleged Cyber Attack | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Feds Sound Alarm on Rising OT/ICS Threats From APT Groups (darkreading.com)

• Researchers Uncover New Metador APT Targeting Telcos, ISPs, and Universities (thehackernews.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Vulnerability Management Fatigue Fuelled by Non-Exploitable Bugs | SecurityWeek.Com

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Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft Issues Out-of-Band Patch for Flaw Allowing Lateral Movement, Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• New Firmware Vulnerabilities Affecting Millions of Devices Allow Persistent Access | SecurityWeek.Com

• Hackers Actively Exploiting New Sophos Firewall RCE Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• CISA adds Zoho ManageEngine flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogue - Security Affairs

• AttachMe: a critical flaw affects Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) - Security Affairs

• Atlassian Confluence bug CVE-2022-26134 exploited in cryptocurrency mining campaign - Security Affairs

• BIND Updates Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• 15-year-old Python flaw found in 'over 350,000' projects • The Register

• CISA warns of critical ManageEngine RCE bug used in attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical Magento vulnerability targeted in new surge of attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• VMware Global Incident Response Report 2022

• 2022 Ransomware Defence Report | SpyCloud

• Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022 | Hiscox Group

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Other News

• How Organisational Structure, Personalities and Politics Can Get in the Way of Security | SecurityWeek.Com

• Why Even Big Tech Companies Keep Getting Hacked—and What They Plan to Do About It - WSJ

• 20/20 visibility is paramount to network security - Help Net Security

• Domain shadowing becoming more popular among cyber criminals (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Multi-factor authentication fatigue attacks are on the rise: How to defend against them | CSO Online

• Uber Is Hiring For Over 80 Cyber Security Jobs After Being Hacked Last Week (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• What's behind the different names for cyber hacker groups (axios.com)

• IT services group Wipro fires 300 employees moonlighting for competitors | TechCrunch

• Microsoft Teams' GIFShell Attack: What Is It and How You Can Protect Yourself from It (thehackernews.com)

• How can organisations benefit from full-stack observability? - Help Net Security

• Quantifying ROI in Cyber Security Spend | SecurityWeek.Com

• Firing Your Entire Cyber Security Team? Are You Sure? (thehackernews.com)

• Cyber criminals launching more MFA bypass attacks (techtarget.com)

• Microsoft (MSFT) Says Managers Shouldn’t Spy on Staff to Ensure They’re Working - Bloomberg

• A third of enterprises globally don’t prioritize digital trust: ISACA | CSO Online

• Slack’s and Teams’ Lax App Security Raises Alarms | WIRED

• How Malware Hides in Images and What You Can Do About It (gizmodo.com)

• International cooperation is key to fighting threat actors and cyber crime | 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 16 September 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

• CFOs’ Overconfidence in Cyber Security Can Cost Millions

Kroll announced its report entitled ‘Cyber Risk and CFOs: Over-Confidence is Costly’ which found chief financial officers (CFOs) to be woefully in the dark regarding cyber security, despite confidence in their company’s ability to respond to an incident.

The report, conducted by StudioID of Industry Dive, exposed three key themes among the 180 senior finance executives surveyed worldwide:

1. Ignorance is bliss. Eighty-seven percent of CFOs are either very or extremely confident in their organisation’s cyber attack response. This is at odds with the level of visibility CFOs have into cyber risk issues, given only four out of 10 surveyed have regular briefings with their cyber teams.

2. Wide-ranging damages. 71% of the represented organisations suffered more than $5 million in financial losses stemming from cyber incidents in the previous 18 months, and 61% had suffered at least three significant cyber incidents in that time. Eighty-two percent of the executives in the survey said their companies suffered a loss of 5% or more in their valuations following their largest cyber security incident in the previous 18 months.

3. Increasing investment in cyber security. Forty-five percent of respondents plan to increase the percentage of their overall IT budget dedicated to information security by at least 10%.

According to Kroll: “We often see that CFOs are not aware enough of the financial risk presented by cyber threats until they face an incident. At that point, it’s clear that they need to be involved not only in the recovery, including permitting access to emergency funds and procuring third-party suppliers, but also in the strategy and investment around cyber both pre- and post-incident.”

“Ultimately, cyber attacks represent a financial risk to the business, and incidents can have a significant impact on value. It is, therefore, critical that this is included in wider business risk considerations. A CFO and CISO should work side-by-side, helping the business navigate the operational and financial risk of cyber.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/14/cfos-cybersecurity-confidence/

• Cyber Security Outflanks Inflation, Talent, Logistics in Business Worries

Nearly six in 10 IT leaders in a new study view cyber security as their top business concern, ranking it higher than inflation, retaining talent and supply chain/logistics management.

Less than half of respondents (43%) believe their critical data and assets are protected from cyber threats despite increased cyber security investments by their organisations, greater board visibility and increased collaboration between the security team and the C-suite, Rackspace said in its new survey of 1,420 IT professionals worldwide.

The multi-cloud technology services specialist said that a “large majority” of the survey respondents report being either unprepared or only “somewhat prepared” to respond to major threats, such as identifying and mitigating threats and areas of concern (62%), recovering from cyber attacks (61%) or preventing lapses and breaches (63%).

Cloud native security is where organisations are most likely to rely on an outside partner, such as a managed security service provider, for expertise.

Here are more of the survey’s findings:

• The top three cyber security challenges their organisation is facing: migrating and operating apps (45%); shortage of workers with cyber security skills (39%); lack of visibility of vulnerabilities across all infrastructure (38%).

• 70% of survey respondents report that their cyber security budgets have increased over the past three years.

• The leading recipients of new investment are cloud native security (59%); data security (50%), consultative security services (44%); and application security (41%).

• Investments align closely with the areas where organisations perceive their greatest concentration of threats, led by network security (58%), closely followed by web application attacks (53%) and cloud architecture attacks (50%).

• 70% of respondents said there has been an increase in board visibility for cyber security over the past five years, while 69% cite better collaboration between the security team and members of the C-suite.

• Only 13% of respondents said there were significant communications gaps between the security team and C-suite, while 69% of IT executives view their counterparts in the C-suite as advocates for their concerns.

The authors stated “We are seeing a major shift in how organisations are allocating resources to address cyber threats, even as budgets increase. The cloud brings with it a new array of security challenges that require new expertise, and often reliance on external partners who can help implement cloud native security tools, automate security, provide cloud native application protection, offer container security solutions and other capabilities”.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/cybersecurity-outflanks-inflation-talent-logistics-in-business-worries-rackspace-research/

• Attackers Can Compromise Most Cloud Data in Just 3 Steps

An analysis of cloud services finds that known vulnerabilities typically open the door for attackers, while insecure cloud architectures allow them to gain access to the crown jewels.

Companies and their cloud providers often leave vulnerabilities open in their system and services, gifting attackers with an easy path to gain access to critical data.

According to an Orca Security analysis of data collected from major cloud services, attackers only need on average three steps to gain access to sensitive data, the so-called "crown jewels," starting most often — in 78% of cases — with the exploitation of a known vulnerability.

While much of the security discussion has focused on the misconfigurations of cloud resources by companies, cloud providers have often been slow to plug vulnerabilities.

The key is to fix the root causes, which is the initial vector, and to increase the number of steps that they attacker needs to take. Proper security controls can make sure that even if there is an initial attack vector, you are still not able to reach the crown jewels.

The report analysed data from Orca's security research team using data from a "billions of cloud assets on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud," which the company's customers regularly scan. The data included cloud workload and configuration data, environment data, and information on assets collected in the first half of 2022.

https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/cyberattackers-compromise-most-cloud-data-3-steps

• Cyber Insurance Premiums Soar 80% As Claims Surge

Cyber insurance premiums have soared in the past year as claims surged in response to a rise in damaging attacks by hackers.

The cost of taking out cyber cover had doubled on average every year for the past three years, said global insurance broker Marsh. Honan Group, another broker, pointed to an 80 per cent rise in premiums in the past 12 months, following a 20 per cent increase in the cost of cover in each of the previous two years.

Brokers are calling cyber “the new D&O”, referring to sharp rises in directors and officers insurance premiums since 2018. Brokers were hopeful premiums would ease, but have warned insurers would continue to demand companies prove they had strong security systems and policies in place before agreeing to sell them insurance.

There’ll be a number of insurance companies that won’t even look at a business that doesn’t have a bunch of security measures in place. They’ll just turn around and say, ‘we’re not going to insure you’. The chief reason for the price rises is the increase in the number and size of claims relating to ransomware, where criminals use malicious software to block access to an organisation’s computer system until a sum of money is paid. In addition, some insurers left the market, while remaining players attempted to recoup the cost of under-priced contracts written in previous years.

The rise in the premiums is mainly due to ransomware and cyber attacks across the board have risen sharply over the past few years.

https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/management/cyber-insurance-premiums-soar-80pc-as-claims-surge-20220908-p5bglo

• One In 10 Employees Leaks Sensitive Company Data Every 6 Months

Departing employees are most likely to leak sensitive information to competitors, criminals or the media in exchange for cash.

Insider threats are an ongoing menace that enterprise security teams need to handle. It's a global problem but especially acute in the US, with 47 million Americans quitting their jobs in 2021. The threat of ex-employees taking sensitive information to competitors, selling it to criminals in exchange for cash, and leaking files to media is making data exfiltration a growing concern. 

About 1.4 million people who handle sensitive information in their organisation globally were tracked over the period from January to June 30 this year by cyber security firm Cyberhaven to find out when, how and who is involved in data exfiltration.

On average, 2.5% of employees exfiltrate sensitive information in a month, but over a six-month period, nearly one in 10, or 9.4% of employees, do so, Cyberhaven noted in its report. Data exfiltration incidents occur when data is transferred outside the organisation in unapproved ways.

Among employees that exfiltrated data, the top 1% most prolific “super stealers” were responsible for 7.7% of incidents, and the top 10% were responsible for 34.9% of incidents.

North America accounted for the highest number of incidents at 44%, followed by the Asia Pacific region at 27%. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa accounted for 24% of incidents while 5% of incidents were recorded in South America.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3673260/one-in-10-employees-leaks-sensitive-company-data-every-6-months-report.html#tk.rss_news

• Business Application Compromise and the Evolving Art of Social Engineering

Social engineering is hardly a new concept, even in the world of cyber security. Phishing scams alone have been around for nearly 30 years, with attackers consistently finding new ways to entice victims into clicking a link, downloading a file, or providing sensitive information.

Business email compromise (BEC) attacks iterated on this concept by having the attacker gain access to a legitimate email account and impersonate its owner. Attackers reason that victims won't question an email that comes from a trusted source — and all too often, they're right.

But email isn't the only effective means cyber criminals use to engage in social engineering attacks. Modern businesses rely on a range of digital applications, from cloud services and VPNs to communications tools and financial services. What's more, these applications are interconnected, so an attacker who can compromise one can compromise others, too. Organisations can't afford to focus exclusively on phishing and BEC attacks — not when business application compromise (BAC) is on the rise.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/business-application-compromise-the-evolving-art-of-social-engineering

• SMBs Are Hardest-Hit By Ransomware

Coalition announced the mid-year update to its 2022 Cyber Claims Report detailing the evolution of cyber trends, revealing that small businesses have become bigger targets, overall incidents are down, and ransomware attacks are declining as demands go unpaid.

During the first half of 2022, the average cost of a claim for a small business owner increased to $139,000, which is 58% higher than levels during the first half of 2021.

“Across industries, we continue to see high-profile attacks targeting organisations with weak or exposed infrastructure — which has become exacerbated by today’s remote working culture and companies’ dependence on third-party vendors,” said Coalition’s Head of Claims.

“Small businesses are especially vulnerable because they often lack resources. For these businesses, avoiding downtime and disruption is essential, and they must understand that Active Insurance is accessible.”

The good news: both Coalition and the broader insurance industry observed a decrease in ransomware attack frequency and the amount of ransom demanded between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. Ransomware demands decreased from $1.37M in H2 2021 to $896,000 in H1 2022.

“Organisations are increasingly aware of the threat ransomware poses. They have started to implement controls such as offline data backups that allow them to refuse to pay the ransom and restore operations through other means,” said Coalition’s Head of Incident Response. “As ransomware is on the decline, attackers are turning to reliable methods. Phishing, for example, has skyrocketed – and only continues to grow.”

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/15/small-businesses-ransomware-targets/

• 65% Say Legacy Backup Solutions Aren’t Up To Ransomware Challenges

HYCU researchers are reporting 65% of respondents lack full confidence in their legacy backup solutions (HYCU is a multi-cloud backup-as-a-service provider).

According to the report, 65% of surveyed enterprise organisations are increasing spending on detection, prevention and recovery, and respondents are beginning to understand that air-gapped or immutable backups are the only ways to ensure that the backups themselves don’t fall prey to encryption worms when ransomware hits.

Key findings include:

• 52% of ransomware victims suffered data loss

• 63% of victims suffered an operational disruption

• Just 41% air gap their backups

• Just 47% routinely test their backups

• Only 35% of respondents believe their current backup and recovery tools are sufficient.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/expert-comments/65-say-legacy-backup-solutions-arent-up-to-ransomware-challenges/

• Four-Fifths of Firms Hit by Critical Cloud Security Incident

Some 80% of organisations suffered a “severe” cloud security incident over the past year, while a quarter worry they’ve suffered a cloud data breach and aren’t aware of it, according to new research from Snyk.

The developer security specialist polled 400 cloud engineering and security practitioners from organisations of various sizes and sectors, to compile its State of Cloud Security Report.

Among the incidents flagged by respondents over the past 12 months were breaches, leaks, intrusions, crypto-mining, compliance violations, failed audits and system downtime in the cloud.

Startups (89%) and public sector organisations (88%) were the most likely to have suffered such an incident over the period.

The bad news is that 58% of respondents predict they will suffer another severe incident in the cloud over the coming year. Over three-quarters (77%) of those questioned cited poor training and collaboration as a major challenge in this regard.

“Many cloud security failures result from a lack of effective cross-team collaboration and team training. When different teams use different tools or policy frameworks, reconciling work across those teams and ensuring consistent enforcement can be challenging,” the report argued.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/fourfifths-firms-critical-cloud/

• Homeworkers Putting Home and Business Cyber Safety at Risk

BlackBerry published a European research report exposing the cyber security risk created by cost-conscious homeworkers who prioritise security behind price, usability and ease of set up in their purchase of domestic smart devices.

32% of European home workers who own a smart device surveyed said security was a top three factor when choosing a smart device, compared to 50% who prioritised price. 28% of businesses aren’t putting adequate security provisions in place to extend cyber protection as far as homes. This heightens the risk of cyber attacks for businesses and their employees, as hybrid and home working become the norm.

The survey of 4,000 home workers in the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands revealed that 28% of people say that their employer has not done or communicated anything about protecting their home network or smart devices, or they don’t know if they are protected.

Furthermore, 75% of Europeans say their employers have taken no steps to secure the home internet connection or provide software protection for home devices. This failure to extend network security to home devices increases risk of the vulnerabilities created by hybrid and home working being successfully exploited. These are particularly sobering findings for small and mid-sized businesses who face upwards of eleven cyber attacks per device, per day, according to the research.

Through even the most innocent of devices, bad actors can access home networks with connections to company devices – or company data on consumer devices – and seize the opportunity to steal data and intellectual property worth millions. It’s likely businesses will bear the brunt of cyber attacks caused by unsecured home devices, with knock-on effects to employees themselves.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/12/homeworkers-smart-devices-security/

• Uber Hacked, Internal Systems Breached and Vulnerability Reports Stolen

Uber suffered a cyber attack Thursday afternoon with an allegedly 18-year-old hacker downloading HackerOne vulnerability reports and sharing screenshots of the company's internal systems, email dashboard, and Slack server.

The screenshots shared by the hacker and seen by BleepingComputer show what appears to be full access to many critical Uber IT systems, including the company's security software and Windows domain.

Other systems accessed by the hacker include the company's Amazon Web Services console, VMware vSphere/ESXi virtual machines, and the Google Workspace admin dashboard for managing the Uber email accounts.

The threat actor also breached the Uber Slack server, which he used to post messages to employees stating that the company was hacked. However, screenshots from Uber's slack indicate that these announcements were first met with memes and jokes as employees had not realised an actual cyber attack was taking place.

Uber has since confirmed the attack, tweeting that they are in touch with law enforcement and will post additional information as it becomes available. "We are currently responding to a cyber security incident. We are in touch with law enforcement and will post additional updates here as they become available," tweeted the Uber Communications account.

The New York Times, which first reported on the breach, said they spoke to the threat actor, who said they breached Uber after performing a social engineering attack on an employee and stealing their password. The threat actor then gained access to the company's internal systems using the stolen credentials.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/uber-hacked-internal-systems-breached-and-vulnerability-reports-stolen/

• IHG Hack: 'Vindictive' Couple Deleted Hotel Chain Data for Fun

Hackers have told the BBC they carried out a destructive cyber-attack against Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) "for fun".

Describing themselves as a couple from Vietnam, they say they first tried a ransomware attack, then deleted large amounts of data when they were foiled. They accessed the FTSE 100 firm's databases thanks to an easily found and weak password, Qwerty1234. An expert says the case highlights the vindictive side of criminal hackers.

UK-based IHG operates 6,000 hotels around the world, including the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Regent brands. On Monday last week, customers reported widespread problems with booking and check-in. For 24 hours IHG responded to complaints on social media by saying that the company was "undergoing system maintenance".

Then on the Tuesday afternoon it told investors that it had been hacked.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-62937678

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• How prepared are organisations to tackle ransomware attacks? - Help Net Security

• Lorenz ransomware breaches corporate network via phone systems (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 3 Iranian nationals are accused of ransomware attacks on US victims (cnbc.com)

• Emotet botnet now pushes Quantum and BlackCat ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cisco confirms Yanluowang ransomware leaked stolen company data (bleepingcomputer.com)

• DEV-0270 Hacker Group Uses Windows BitLocker Feature to Encrypt Systems (gbhackers.com)

• New York ambulance service discloses data breach after ransomware attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

• The ransomware problem won't get better until we change one thing | ZDNET

• Iranian Hackers Used Victims’ Printers to Issue Ransom Demands, DOJ Says (vice.com)

• Transparency, disclosure key to fighting ransomware (techtarget.com)

• Researchers Warn of 674% Surge in Deadbolt Ransomware - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Over Three-Quarters of Retailers Hit by Ransomware in 2021 - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Cisco Data Breach Attributed to Lapsus$ Ransomware Group (darkreading.com)

• Ransomware Group Leaks Files Stolen From Cisco | SecurityWeek.Com

• The LA School District Cyber Attack Keeps Unravelling – Expert Comments (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• Revolut hit by ‘phishing’ cyber attack | Business | The Times

• Crooks are using lures related to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in phishing attacks - Security Affairs

• Phishing page embeds keylogger to steal passwords as you type (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers now use ‘sock puppets’ for more realistic phishing attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Phishers take aim at Facebook page owners - Help Net Security

• New Spear Phish Methodology Relies on PuTTY SSH Client to Infect Systems - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Real Estate Phish Swallows 1,000s of Microsoft 365 Credentials (darkreading.com)

• Death of Queen Elizabeth II exploited to steal Microsoft credentials (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Potential phishing activity update - NCSC.GOV.UK

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Serious Breach at Uber Spotlights Hacker Social Deception | SecurityWeek.Com

Malware

• Hackers Are Using WeTransfer Links To Spread Malware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• New malware bundle self-spreads through YouTube gaming videos (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Linux variant of the SideWalk backdoor discovered - Help Net Security

• Malware on Pirated Content Sites a Major WFH Risk for Enterprises (darkreading.com)

• How to spot and avoid scams and malware in search results - The Washington Post

• Gay hookup site typosquatted to push dodgy Chrome extensions, scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

Mobile

• Google Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Pixel Phones | SecurityWeek.Com

• Apple patches iPhone and macOS flaws under active attack • The Register

Internet of Things – IoT

• Securing your IoT devices against cyber attacks in 5 steps (bleepingcomputer.com)

• EU Wants to Toughen Cyber Security Rules for Smart Devices | SecurityWeek.Com

Data Breaches/Leaks

• Uber hacked, internal systems breached and vulnerability reports stolen (bleepingcomputer.com)

• LastPass says hackers had internal access for four days (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hacker sells stolen Starbucks data of 219,000 Singapore customers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• U-Haul discloses data breach exposing customer driver licenses (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Hackers Compromise Employee Data at PVC-Maker Eurocell - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

• Chinese-linked cyber crims nab $529 million from India • The Register

• Cyber Crime Forum Admins Steal from Site Users - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Police arrest man for laundering tens of millions in stolen crypto (bleepingcomputer.com)

• US regulators say multi-billion-dollar crypto lender Celsius was operating like a ponzi scheme | PC Gamer

• Hackers Targeting WebLogic Servers and Docker APIs for Mining Cryptocurrencies (thehackernews.com)

• Fake cryptocurrency giveaway sites have tripled this year (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Crypto Scams Skyrocket - IT Security Guru

• A Post-exploitation Look at Coinminers Abusing WebLogic Vulnerabilities (trendmicro.com)

• DOJ drops report on cryptocurrency crime efforts (techtarget.com)

• 76% Of Financial Institutions Plan On Using Crypto In The Next 3 Years (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• How Can You Tell if a Cryptocurrency is Legitimate? Read Our Guide To Find Out - IT Security Guru

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

• 5 Ways to Mitigate Your New Insider Threats in the Great Resignation (thehackernews.com)

• Ex-Broadcom engineer asks for no prison in trade secret case • The Register

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• Microsoft Edge’s News Feed ads abused for tech support scams (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Cops Raid Suspected Fraudster Penthouses - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• How to spot and avoid scams and malware in search results - The Washington Post

• Tax fraud ring leader jailed for selling children’s stolen identities (bleepingcomputer.com)

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• Spanish police arrest ‘one of Europe’s biggest money launderers’ | Financial Times (ft.com)

Insurance

• Coalition Cyber Insurance - Small Businesses Prime Targets (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Dark Web

• Documents For Sale on the Dark Web - IT Security Guru

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Hackers breach software vendor for Magento supply-chain attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• WordPress sites backdoored after FishPig supply chain attack • The Register

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• DDoS Attacks on UK Firms Surge During Ukraine War - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Akamai stopped new record-breaking DDoS attack in Europe (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• 5 ways to improve your cloud security posture (techtarget.com)

• Excess privilege in the cloud is a universal security problem, IBM says | CSO Online

• Organisations lack visibility into unauthorised public cloud data access - Help Net Security

• One-third of enterprises don’t encrypt sensitive data in the cloud | CSO Online

Attack Surface Management

• Cyber attack trends vs. growing IT complexity - Help Net Security

• Outdated infrastructure remains a problem against sophisticated cyber attacks - Help Net Security

Shadow IT

• Use shadow IT discovery to find unauthorized devices and apps (techtarget.com)

Encryption

• Keep Today's Encrypted Data From Becoming Tomorrow's Treasure (darkreading.com)

API

• Hackers Targeting WebLogic Servers and Docker APIs for Mining Cryptocurrencies (thehackernews.com)

• API security—and even visibility—isn’t getting handled by enterprises | CSO Online

• Bad bots are coming at APIs! How to beat the API bot attacks? - Help Net Security

Open Source

• When It Comes to Security, Don’t Overlook Your Linux Systems | SecurityWeek.Com

• 40% of pros scaled back back open source use over security • The Register

• You never walk alone: The SideWalk backdoor gets a Linux variant | WeLiveSecurity

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• IHG Was Hacked Using Password “Qwerty1234” - LoyaltyLobby

Social Media

• Thwarting attackers in their favourite new playground: Social media - Help Net Security

• Twitter whistleblower tells Senate of ‘egregious’ security failings by company | Twitter | The Guardian

• Cyber attackers Abuse Facebook Ad Manager in Savvy Credential-Harvesting Campaign (darkreading.com)

Training, Education and Awareness

• Security Awareness Training Must Evolve to Align With Growing E-Commerce Security Threats (darkreading.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Cyber Crime Fears for Children as Cost-of-Living Bites - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• 10 Steps to Successfully Navigate Cyber Security Compliance - MSSP Alert

Models, Frameworks and Standards

• Don’t Put Preparation on Pause: CMMC 2.0 is Coming Quicker Than You Think - MSSP Alert

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

• Montenegro Under Cyber Attack, Russia Blamed, All NATO States Would Be (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• DDoS Attacks on UK Firms Surge During Ukraine War - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• New Cyberespionage Group 'Worok' Targeting Entities in Asia | SecurityWeek.Com

• ShadowPad Threat Actors Return With Fresh Government Strikes, Updated Tools (darkreading.com)

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Montenegro Wrestles With Massive Cyber Attack, Russia Blamed | SecurityWeek.Com

• Russia’s cyber future connected at the waist to Soviet military industrial complex | CSO Online

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korea-linked APT spreads tainted versions of PuTTY via WhatsApp - Security Affairs

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Iranian cyber spies use multi-persona impersonation in phishing threads | CSO Online

• Albania says Iranian hackers hit the country with another cyber attack - CyberScoop

• US, UK, Canada and Australia Link Iranian Government Agency to Ransomware Attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Iranian Hackers Target High-Value Targets in Nuclear Security and Genomic Research (thehackernews.com)

• Iranian Hackers Used Victims’ Printers to Issue Ransom Demands, DOJ Says (vice.com)

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Vulnerability Management

• Backlogs larger than 100K+ vulnerabilities but too time-consuming to address - Help Net Security

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Vulnerabilities

• Microsoft September 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used in attacks, 63 flaws (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Adobe Patches 63 Security Flaws in Patch Tuesday Bundle | SecurityWeek.Com

• CISA orders agencies to patch vulnerability used in Stuxnet attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Chrome 105 Update Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities | SecurityWeek.Com

• Microsoft Teams stores auth tokens as cleartext in Windows, Linux, Macs (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Quashes Actively Exploited Zero-Day, Wormable Critical Bugs (darkreading.com)

• Apple fixed the eighth actively exploited zero-day this year - Security Affairs

• Cisco Patches High-Severity Vulnerability in SD-WAN vManage | SecurityWeek.Com

• Over 280,000 WordPress Sites Attacked Using WPGateway Plugin Zero-Day Vulnerability (thehackernews.com)

• Over 280,000 WordPress sites may have been hijacked by zero-day hiding in popular plugin | TechRadar

• High-Severity Firmware Security Flaws Left Unpatched in HP Enterprise Devices (thehackernews.com)

• CISA added 2 more security flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog - Security Affairs

• ManageEngine Password Management Vulnerability and Patch: Details for MSPs, MSSPs - MSSP Alert

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Reports Published in the Last Week

• Falcon OverWatch Threat Hunting Report 2022 | CrowdStrike

• Cyber Security: Benchmarking Security Gaps & Privileged Access (delinea.com)

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Other News

• MSPs and cyber security: The time for turning a blind eye is over - Help Net Security

• Red Teaming to Reduce Cyber Risk (trendmicro.com)

• Organisations should fear misconfigurations more than vulnerabilities - Help Net Security

• Companies need data privacy plan before joining metaverse (techtarget.com)

• Lens reflections may betray your secrets in Zoom video calls • The Register

• US Government Wants Security Guarantees From Software Vendors | SecurityWeek.Com

• Serious Security: Browser-in-the-browser attacks – watch out for windows that aren’t! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• The Cyber Security Head Game | Psychology Today South Africa

• Cyber Security Report: Average Data Breach in US Costs $9.4 Million - MSSP Alert

• 5 Best Practices for Building Your Data Loss Prevention Strategy (darkreading.com)

• Hands-on cyber attacks jump 50%, CrowdStrike reports | CSO Online

• Penetration Testing Report: Security Misconfiguration Is "Top Vulnerability" - MSSP Alert

• Twitter whistleblower: Lack of access, data controls invite exploitation | SC Media (scmagazine.com)

• Cost of Living Crisis Impact on Online Activity - IT Security Guru

• Attacker Apparently Didn't Have to Breach a Single System to Pwn Uber (darkreading.com)

• Zoom outage left users unable to sign in or join meetings (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Five ways your data may be at risk — and what to do about it (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Notepad++ Plugins Allow Attackers to Infiltrate Systems, Achieve Persistence - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Twitter's ex-security boss Zatko disses biz as dysfunctional • The Register

• Don't Let Your Home Wi-Fi Get Hacked. Here's What to Do - CNET

• How serious are organisations about their data sovereignty strategies? - Help Net Security

• Undermining Microsoft Teams Security By Mining Tokens (informationsecuritybuzz.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

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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 Alert 15/09/2022 – NCSC Warns of Phishing Attacks relating to the Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Executive Summary

The death last week of Queen Elizabeth II has drawn global attention and may result in cyber criminals exploiting the historically significant event to spread phishing emails and other scams, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The NCSC, part of GCHQ, has issued public cyber guidance for the current period of national mourning, saying that during the coming weeks there may be an increase in incidents linked in some way to the Queen.

What’s the risk to me or my business?

Cyber criminals will often play on people’s emotions to get their targets to click on a scam email and with many people affected by the death of the Queen, attackers may take this opportunity to do just that.

“As with all major events, criminals may seek to exploit the death of Her Majesty the Queen for their own gain,” the agency said.

What can I do?

Whilst the NCSC has not yet seen extensive evidence of this, your staff should be reminded to be vigilant and be made aware that phishing attacks of this nature are a real possibility. Staff should be remined to be attentive to emails, text messages, and other communications concerning the death of Her Majesty the Queen and arrangements for her funeral.

NCSC warns public of potential Queen-related phishing attacks (computerweekly.com)

Potential phishing activity update - NCSC.GOV.UK

Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 09 September 2022

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

Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

• Why It’s Mission-Critical That All-Sized Businesses Stay Cyber Secure

A study analysing millions of emails across thousands of companies found that on average, employees of small businesses with less than 100 employees experience 350% more social engineering attacks than employees of larger enterprises. 57% of these are phishing attacks – the most prevalent social engineering attack of 2021.

Add to the mix that the global average cost of a data breach for businesses has skyrocketed. According to IBM Security’s annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average global cost is now a phenomenal $4.35 million.

Generally, larger corporations tend to have bigger security budgets, making them less of a target than smaller businesses with lesser budgets, and as such, more attractive to cyber criminals. This means that for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – with fewer resources and money – protection from cyber-attacks is now a matter of survival.

Ease of attack is not the only reason why criminals attack SMEs either. SMEs are often an entry point to target bigger organisations within the same supply chain. These larger corporations can either be crucial partners, suppliers, or customers, making SMEs prime targets.

But with efficient cyber security measures, every business regardless of size can keep themselves and their network safe.

https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/articles/why-its-mission-critical-that-all-sized-businesses-stay-cyber-secure/

• Half of Firms Report Supply Chain Ransomware Compromise

Over half (52%) of global organisations know a partner that has been compromised by ransomware, yet few are doing anything to improve the security of their supply chain, according to Trend Micro.

The security vendor polled nearly 3,000 IT decision makers across 26 countries to produce its latest report, ‘Everything is connected: Uncovering the ransomware threat from global supply chains’.

It revealed that 90% of global IT leaders believe their partners and customers are making their own organisation a more attractive ransomware target.

That might be down in part to the fact that SMBs comprise a significant chunk of the supply chain for 52% of respondents. The security of SMBs is generally thought to be less effective than protection in larger, better resourced companies.

However, despite their concerns, less than half (47%) of respondents said they share knowledge about ransomware attacks with their suppliers, while a quarter (25%) claimed they don’t share potentially useful threat information with partners.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/half-firms-supply-chain-ransomware/

• Vulnerability Exploits, Not Phishing, Are the Top Cyber Attack Vector for Initial Compromise

Breaches involving phishing and credential compromise have received a lot of attention in recent years because of how frequently threat actors have employed the tactics in executing both targeted and opportunistic attacks. But that doesn't mean that enterprise organisations can afford to lessen their focus on vulnerability patching one bit.

A report from Kaspersky this week identified more initial intrusions last year resulting from exploitation of vulnerabilities in Internet-facing applications than breaches involving malicious emails and compromised accounts combined. And data that the company has collected through the second quarter of 2022 suggests the same trend might be playing out this year as well.

Kaspersky's analysis of its 2021 incident-response data showed that breaches involving vulnerability exploits surged from 31.5% of all incidents in 2020 to 53.6% in 2021. Over the same period, attacks associated with the use of compromised accounts to gain initial access declined from 31.6% in 2020 to 17.9% last year. Initial intrusions resulting from phishing emails decreased from 23.7% to 14.3% during the same period.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/vulnerability-exploits-phishing-top-attack-vector-initial-compromise

• Uber’s Ex-Security Chief Faces Landmark Trial Over Data Breach That Hit 57m Users

Uber’s former security officer, Joe Sullivan, is standing trial this week in what is believed to be the first case of an executive facing criminal charges in relation to a data breach.

The US district court in San Francisco will start hearing arguments on whether Sullivan, the former head of security at the ride-share giant, failed to properly disclose a 2016 data breach affecting 57 million Uber riders and drivers around the world.

At a time when reports of ransomware attacks have surged and cyber security insurance premiums have risen, the case could set an important precedent regarding the culpability of US security staffers and executives for the way the companies they work for handle cyber security incidents.

The breach first came to light in November 2017, when Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, revealed that hackers had gained access to the driver’s licence numbers of 600,000 US Uber drivers as well as the names, email addresses and phone numbers of as many as 57 million Uber riders and drivers.

Public disclosures like Khosrowshahi’s are required by law in many US states, with most regulations mandating that the notification be made “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay”.

But Khosrowshahi’s announcement came with an admission: a whole year had passed since the information had been breached.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/06/uber-joe-sullivan-trial-security-data-breach

• Over 10% of Enterprise IT Assets Found With Missing Endpoint Protection

More than 10% of enterprise IT assets are missing endpoint protection and roughly 5% are not covered by enterprise patch management solutions.

The figures come from new research by Sevco Security, which the company has compiled in the State of the Cybersecurity Attack Surface report.

"Attackers are very adept at exploiting enterprise vulnerabilities. Security and IT teams already have their hands full mitigating the vulnerabilities that they know about, and our data confirms that this is just the tip of the iceberg," Sevco told Infosecurity Magazine.

The document analyses data aggregated from visibility into more than 500,000 IT assets, and underlines existential and underreported cyber security issues in relation to securing enterprises’ assets.

“The uncertainty of enterprise inventory – the elements that make up an organisation’s cyber security attack surface – upends the foundation of every major security framework and presents a challenge to security teams: it’s impossible to protect what you can’t see,” they said.

For instance, the data found that roughly 3% of all IT assets are “stale” in endpoint protection, while 1% are stale from the perspective of patch management coverage.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/enterprise-assets-miss-endpoint/

• Some Employees Aren't Just Leaving Companies — They're Defrauding Them

Since the Great Resignation in 2021, millions of employees have left their roles with current employers in search of better ones. According to Microsoft, 40% of employees reported they are considering leaving their current roles by the end of 2022. With many still working in remote or hybrid positions due to the pandemic, larger businesses have started implementing measures to gain a better understanding of employee morale and sentiment to prevent turnover.

While most employees leave companies on good terms, some may become extremely unhappy or disgruntled prior to their departure and are more likely to defraud the company either before leaving or on their way out the door. The unfortunate reality is that no business is immune to fraud, but luckily, there are several steps you can take to prevent it from happening.

According to the Cressey Fraud Triangle, fraudulent behaviour often occurs due to three contributing factors. These include pressure or motive to commit a fraud (usually a personal financial problem), perceived opportunity within the organisation to commit a fraud (poor oversight or internal controls), and rationalisation (the ability to justify the crime to make it seem acceptable).

Very often, a fraudster needs all three sides of the triangle to successfully commit a crime. Therefore, it is extremely important for organisations to do their best to create controls and understand the risk associated with each of these areas. For example, an employee may be disgruntled and also have personal financial issues. However, if internal controls are robust and the employee doesn't have access to financial instruments, valuable assets or software systems, their ability to defraud the company is extremely limited or will get identified immediately.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/some-employees-aren-t-just-leaving-companies-they-re-defrauding-them

• Ransomware Gangs Switching to New Intermittent Encryption Tactic

A growing number of ransomware groups are adopting a new tactic that helps them encrypt their victims' systems faster while reducing the chances of being detected and stopped.

This tactic is called intermittent encryption, and it consists of encrypting only parts of the targeted files' content, which would still render the data unrecoverable without using a valid decryption key.

For example, by skipping every other 16 bytes of a file, the encryption process takes almost half of the time required for full encryption but still locks the contents for good.

Additionally, because the encryption is milder, automated detection tools that rely on detecting signs of trouble in the form of intense file IO operations are more likely to fail.

SentinelLabs has posted a report examining a trend started by LockFile in mid-2021 and now adopted by the likes of Black Basta, ALPHV (BlackCat), PLAY, Agenda, and Qyick.

These groups actively promote the presence of intermittent encryption features in their ransomware family to entice affiliates to join the RaaS operation.

"Notably, Qyick features intermittent encryption, which is what the cool kids are using as you read this. Combined with the fact that is written in Go, the speed is unmatched," describes a Qyick advertisement on hacking forums.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ransomware-gangs-switching-to-new-intermittent-encryption-tactic/

• How Posting Personal and Business Photos Can Be a Security Risk

Image geotags, metadata, and location information can allow competitors, cyber criminals, and even nation-state threat actors to gain knowledge they can use against organisations.

Marketers in every industry enjoy evidencing their reach to their superiors and providing tangible examples of their width and breadth of influence via social networks, media, and other means of engagement. Photos of both customers and employees engaging at hosted social events, trade shows, conferences, and direct one-on-one encounters are often viewed as gold. Couple this with the individual employee’s or customer’s photos working their way onto social network platforms for others to see and admire, and the value of that gold increases, success being quantified by impressions, views and individual engagements.

The value of that gold doubles when not only does the company harvest data and call it a success, but their competitors also analyse such photos capturing a plethora of useful data points, including geotagged data, metadata of the photo, and identity of the individuals caught in the frame. They, too, call it a success. Yes, the digital engagement involving location data and or location hints within photos is a double-edged sword.

It isn’t just competitors who harvest the data. Criminal elements and nation-state intelligence and security elements do as well. Francis Bacon’s adage, “Knowledge itself is power,” applies. With location, time and place, and identity, competitors, criminals, and nation-states are given their initial tidbits of openly acquired information from which to begin to build their mosaic. 

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3672869/how-posting-personal-and-business-photos-can-be-a-security-risk.html#tk.rss_news

• Your Vendors Are Likely Your Biggest Cyber Security Risk

As speed of business increases, more and more organisations are looking to either buy companies or outsource more services to gain market advantage. With organisations expanding their vendor base, there is a critical need for holistic third-party risk management (TPRM) and comprehensive cyber security measures to assess how much risk vendors pose.

While organisations assess and manage risk on a multitude of layers, none present bigger threats to business resiliency than third-party risk and a lack of robust cyber security controls. Breaches and service interruptions tied to these risk areas have brought down critical systems of major organisations. In 2021, 53% of CISOs surveyed by Black Kite reported being hit by at least one ransomware attack.

It bears repeating: Cyber security and third-party risk are the two biggest problems facing your long-term viability. Businesses need to be able to tackle these risk vectors individually to gain a complete view of their risk profile. A cross-functional process is essential to managing the overlap between these risk areas to better protect your organisation and increase workflow efficiency.

Ensuring that the cyber security practices of your vendors align with your organisation’s standards is critical to safeguarding your systems and data. In fact, it is just as important as how stable the business is or how well it delivers products and services.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/05/vendors-cybersecurity-risk/

• A Recent Chinese Hack Is a Wake-up Call for the Security of the World’s Software Supply Chain

It’s perhaps only a coincidence that there’s a famous Chinese saying ‘No one knows, not even the ghosts’ that neatly summarises a recent hack on MiMi, a Chinese messaging app. According to recent reports, a Chinese state-backed hacking group inserted malicious code into this messaging app, essentially pulling off the equivalent of the infamous SolarWinds hack. Users of MiMi were served a version of the app with malicious code added, thanks to attackers taking control of the servers that delivered the app. In short, this was a software supply chain attack in which the software delivery pipeline was compromised.

Observers could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another hack. Chinese hacking groups, and those of Western countries too, have developed a reputation over the past two decades for spying, surveillance, and sabotage. But this attack is different than typical hacking fare because the attackers rode in on the back of a trusted piece of software. This is a software supply chain attack, where the attackers tamper with either source code, the software build system, or the software publishing pipeline, all of which have become essential to the functioning of the world’s digital economy.

Software supply chain attacks have been rapidly growing in frequency. Twenty years ago, there might have been one or two a year. These days, depending on the methodology, there are either hundreds or thousands a year, and that’s only counting the reported attacks. And increasingly anybody who depends upon software (read: everybody) is or shortly will be a victim: the U.S. government, Microsoft, thousands of other companies and, apparently in this MiMi attack, individuals.

https://thediplomat.com/2022/09/a-recent-chinese-hack-is-a-wake-up-call-for-the-security-of-the-worlds-software-supply-chain/

• Massive Hotels Group IHG Struck by Cyber Attack Which Disrupts Booking Systems

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and many others, has had its IT systems breached by malicious hackers.

In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, the multinational hospitality company reported that "parts of the company's technology systems have been subject to unauthorised activity."

As a result, the company said, "IHG's booking channels and other applications have been significantly disrupted since [Monday], and this is ongoing."

The first indication that the company was experiencing problems appeared early on Monday morning UK time, when anyone who tried to book a hotel room via the company's website or app, or access their IHG One Rewards account was greeted by a maintenance message.

Although it has made no declaration regarding the nature of the security breach, in its filing with the London Stock Exchange, IHG mentioned they were "working to fully restore all systems". This would fit into the scenario of IHG having hit been hit with ransomware, which may not only have encrypted data - locking the company out of its systems and demanding a ransom be paid - but could have also caused even more problems.

https://www.bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/massive-hotels-group-ihg-struck-by-cyberattack-which-disrupts-booking-systems/

• London's Biggest Bus Operator Hit by Cyber "Incident"

Travellers in London were braced for more delays last week after the city’s largest bus operator revealed it has been hit by a “cyber security incident,” according to reports.

Newcastle-based transportation group Go-Ahead shared a statement with the London Stock Exchange indicating “unauthorised activity” had been discovered on its network yesterday.

“Upon becoming aware of the incident, Go-Ahead immediately engaged external forensic specialists and has taken precautionary measures with its IT infrastructure whilst it continues to investigate the nature and extent of the incident and implement its incident response plans,” it stated. “Go-Ahead will continue to assess the potential impact of the incident but confirms that there is no impact on UK or International rail services which are operating normally.”

However, the same may not be true of its bus services. Sky News reported that bus and driver rosters may have been impacted by the attack, which could disrupt operations.

Go-Ahead operates multiple services in the South, South West, London, North West, East Anglia, East Yorkshire and its native North East. It is London’s largest bus company, operating over 2400 buses in the capital and employing more than 7000 staff.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/londons-biggest-bus-operator-hit/

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Threats

Ransomware and Extortion

• Ransomware remains the number one threat to businesses and government organisations - Help Net Security

• Interpol dismantles sextortion ring, warns of increased attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Play Ransomware Attack Playbook Similar to that of Hive, Nokoyawa (trendmicro.com)

• Ransomware attacks on Linux to surge - Help Net Security

• LockBit gang leads the way for ransomware (techtarget.com)

• Some Members of Conti Group Targeting Ukraine in Financially Motivated Attacks (thehackernews.com)

• How to Improve Mean Time to Detect for Ransomware | SecurityWeek.Com

• Google: Former Conti ransomware members attacking Ukraine (techtarget.com)

• Hackers Are Using NASA Telescope Images To Push Ransomware (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• Ransomware gang's Cobalt Strike servers DDoSed with anti-Russia messages (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Everything You Need To Know About BlackCat (AlphaV) (darkreading.com)

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers encrypt Windows systems using BitLocker (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft Warns of Ransomware Attacks by Iranian Phosphorus Hacker Group (thehackernews.com)

• Clarion Housing: Anger over landlord silence since cyber attack - BBC News

• New Ransomware Hits Windows, Linux Servers Of Chile Govt Agency (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

• QNAP warns new Deadbolt ransomware attacks exploiting 0day - Security Affairs

• Second largest U.S. school district LAUSD hit by ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Windows Defender identified Chromium, Electron apps as Hive Ransomware - Security Affairs

• BlackCat Ransomware Linked to Italy's Energy Services Firm Hack - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

• EvilProxy Commodifies Reverse-Proxy Tactic for Phishing, Bypassing 2FA (darkreading.com)

• Criminals harvest users' PI by impersonating popular brands - Help Net Security

• Lampion malware returns in phishing attacks abusing WeTransfer (bleepingcomputer.com)

• A new phishing scam targets American Express cardholders - Security Affairs

• EvilProxy phishing-as-a-service with MFA bypass emerged on the dark web - Help Net Security

• GIFShell attack creates reverse shell using Microsoft Teams GIFs (bleepingcomputer.com)

Other Social Engineering; Smishing, Vishing, etc

• Defeat social engineering attacks by growing your cyber resilience - Help Net Security

Malware

• Cyber criminals targeting Minecraft fans with malware • The Register

• Next-Gen Linux Malware Takes Over Devices With Unique Tool Set (darkreading.com)

• TeslaGun Primed to Blast a New Wave of Backdoor Cyber attacks (darkreading.com)

• New Linux malware evades detection using multi-stage deployment (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Bumblebee malware adds post-exploitation tool for stealthy infections (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Botnets in the Age of Remote Work (darkreading.com)

• North Korean Hackers Deploying New MagicRAT Malware in Targeted Campaigns (thehackernews.com)

Mobile

• In-app browser security risks, and what to do about them | CSO Online

• Fake Antivirus and Cleaner Apps Caught Installing SharkBot Android Banking Trojan (thehackernews.com)

• SharkBot Malware Resurfaces on Google Play to Steal Users' Credentials - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Internet of Things – IoT

• New Stealthy Shikitega Malware Targeting Linux Systems and IoT Devices (thehackernews.com)

Data Breaches/Leaks

• NATO docs sold on darkweb after they were stolen from Portugal - Security Affairs

• Criminals claim they've stolen NATO missile plans • The Register

• TikTok denies data breach following leak of user data - Security Affairs

• IRS mistakenly published confidential info for roughly 120K taxpayers - Security Affairs

• Samsung US Says Customer Data Compromised in July Data Breach | SecurityWeek.Com

• Digital Identity Provider SDK Leaves Hundreds Of Thousands Of Biometric (informationsecuritybuzz.com)

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

• Scammers live-streamed on YouTube a fake Apple crypto event - Security Affairs

• FBI: Crooks are using these DeFi flaws to steal your money | ZDNET

• Feds freeze $30m in cryptocurrency stolen from Axie Infinity • The Register

• New Rules for Crypto Exchanges to Stop Sanctions Evaders - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime

• 62% of consumers see fraud as an inevitable risk of online shopping - Help Net Security

• Islanders in Jersey lose nearly £400,000 to romance fraud | ITV News Channel

• The Advantages of Threat Intelligence for Combating Fraud | SecurityWeek.Com

AML/CFT/Sanctions

• UK forces crypto exchanges to report suspected sanction breaches | Cryptocurrencies | The Guardian

• US Treasury sanctioned Iran ’s Ministry of Intelligence over Albania cyber attack - Security Affairs

Insurance

• Lloyd’s of London defends cyber insurance exclusion for state-backed attacks | Financial Times (ft.com)

• Global Cyber security Insurance Market Size Expected to Top $32.6 Billion by 2028 - MSSP Alert

• With cyber insurance costs increasing, can smaller firms avoid getting priced out? - Help Net Security

Supply Chain and Third Parties

• Supply chain risk is a top security priority as confidence in partners wanes - Help Net Security

• KeyBank: Hackers of third-party provider stole customer data | The Seattle Times

• Government guide for supply chain security: The good, the bad and the ugly - Help Net Security

Software Supply Chain

• Report Highlights Prevalence of Software Supply Chain Risks (darkreading.com)

Denial of Service DoS/DDoS

• Ransomware gang's Cobalt Strike servers DDoSed with anti-Russia messages (bleepingcomputer.com)

Cloud/SaaS

• Defenders Be Prepared: Cyber attacks Surge Against Linux Amid Cloud Migration (darkreading.com)

• Hybrid Cloud Security Challenges & Solutions (trendmicro.com)

• 3 Critical Steps for Reducing Cloud Risk (darkreading.com)

Identity and Access Management

• There is no secure critical infrastructure without identity-based access - Help Net Security

Encryption

• A Pragmatic Response to the Quantum Threat (darkreading.com)

API

• 6 Top API Security Risks! Favoured Targets for Attackers If Left Unmanaged (thehackernews.com)

• API Security for the Modern Enterprise - IT Security Guru

Open Source

• New Linux malware combines unusual stealth with a full suite of capabilities | Ars Technica

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

• Are Default Passwords Hiding in Your Active Directory? Here's how to check (bleepingcomputer.com)

• 200,000 North Face accounts hacked in credential stuffing attack (bleepingcomputer.com)

Social Media

• TikTok denies security breach after hackers leak user data, source code (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Facebook Engineers Admit They Don’t Know What They Do With Your Data (vice.com)

• Meta axes Responsible Innovation team charged with addressing ethical problems with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp | Fortune

Privacy

• You should know that most websites share your in-site search queries with third parties - Help Net Security

• Meta Fined $400m in Ireland For Children's Privacy Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

Parental Controls and Child Safety

• Google’s image-scanning illustrates how tech firms can penalise the innocent | John Naughton | The Guardian

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Stalking

• ‘I didn’t want it anywhere near me’: how the Apple AirTag became a gift to stalkers | Apple | The Guardian

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

• Tear up decades-old law to save Britain from hackers, say cyber experts (telegraph.co.uk)

• UK Privacy Regulator Fines Halfords for Spam Deluge - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

• Meta Fined $400m in Ireland For Children's Privacy Breach - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com)

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

• Google Details Recent Ukraine Cyber attacks | SecurityWeek.Com

• Ukraine dismantles more bot farms spreading Russian disinformation (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Ukraine is under attack by hacking tools repurposed from Conti cyber crime group | Ars Technica

• Sprawling, multi-year Iranian cyberespionage and surveillance group exposed in new report - CyberScoop

• Iranian APT42 Launched Over 30 Espionage Attacks Against Activists and Dissidents (thehackernews.com)

• Newly discovered cyber spy group targets Asia • The Register

• New Iranian hacking group APT42 deploys custom Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Israeli Defence Minister's Cleaner Sentenced for Spying Attempt | SecurityWeek.Com

• An interview with Ukrainian hacker 'Herm1t' on countering pro-Kremlin attacks - The Record by Recorded Future

• Researchers Find New Android Spyware Campaign Targeting Uyghur Community (thehackernews.com)

• Anonymous hacked Yandex taxi causing a traffic jam in Moscow - Security Affairs

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Nation State Actors

Nation State Actors – Russia

• Raspberry Robin Malware Connected to Russian Evil Corp Gang (darkreading.com)

Nation State Actors – China

• US bans ‘advanced tech’ firms from building facilities in China for a decade | Technology sector | The Guardian

Nation State Actors – North Korea

• North Korean Hackers Deploying New MagicRAT Malware in Targeted Campaigns (thehackernews.com)

• North Korea's Lazarus Targets Energy Firms With Three RATs | SecurityWeek.Com

Nation State Actors – Iran

• Microsoft: Iranian hackers encrypt Windows systems using BitLocker (bleepingcomputer.com)

• UK condemns Iran for reckless cyber attack against Albania - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• US Treasury sanctioned Iran ’s Ministry of Intelligence over Albania cyber attack - Security Affairs

• NATO Condemns Alleged Iranian Cyber attack on Albania | SecurityWeek.Com

• New Iranian hacking group APT42 deploys custom Android spyware (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Microsoft investigates Iranian attacks against the Albanian government - Microsoft Security Blog

• Microsoft Warns of Ransomware Attacks by Iranian Phosphorus Hacker Group (thehackernews.com)

Nation State Actors – Misc

• Nation-state attacks are a growing threat to video conferencing - Help Net Security

• Use of machine identities is growing in state-sponsored cyber attacks - Help Net Security

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Vulnerability Management

• High-profile vulnerabilities encourage organisations to improve security posture - Help Net Security

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Vulnerabilities

• CISA adds 12 new flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog - Security Affairs

• September 2022 Patch Tuesday forecast: No sign of cooling off - Help Net Security

• High-risk ConnectWise Automate vulnerability fixed, admins urged to patch ASAP - Help Net Security

• Hackers Exploit Zero-Day in WordPress BackupBuddy Plugin in ~5 Million Attempts (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco Releases Security Patches for New Vulnerabilities Impacting Multiple Products (thehackernews.com)

• Mirai Variant MooBot Botnet Exploiting D-Link Router Vulnerabilities (thehackernews.com)

• Cisco won’t fix authentication bypass zero-day in EoL routers (bleepingcomputer.com)

• Critical RCE Vulnerability Affects Zyxel NAS Devices — Firmware Patch Released (thehackernews.com)

• Chrome and Edge fix zero-day security hole – update now! – Naked Security (sophos.com)

• Google Patches Sixth Chrome Zero-Day of 2022 | SecurityWeek.Com

• QNAP patches zero-day used in new Deadbolt ransomware attacks (bleepingcomputer.com)

• HP fixes severe bug in pre-installed Support Assistant tool (bleepingcomputer.com)

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Other News

• Top 5 Cyber crime Cases in 2022 (techgenix.com)

• The Heartbleed bug: How a flaw in OpenSSL caused a security crisis | CSO Online

• Cyber Security - the More Things Change, the More They Are The Same | SecurityWeek.Com

• CISOs say stress and burnout are their top personal risks (cnbc.com)

• How to deal with unprecedented levels of regulatory change - Help Net Security

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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.

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