10 January 2023
2022
Paper reveals a quarter of the world's internet users rely on infrastructure that is susceptible to attacks
University of California - San Diego
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-05-paper-reveals-quarter-world-internet.html
Excerpt:
‘About a quarter of the world's internet users live in countries that are more susceptible than previously thought to targeted attacks on their internet infrastructure. Many of the at-risk countries are located in the Global South.”
Unknown APT group has targeted Russia repeatedly since Ukraine invasion
Threat Intelligence Team
Excerpt:
“An unknown Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group has targeted Russian government entities with at least four separate spear phishing campaigns since late February, 2022.”
Chicago students lose data to ransomware attackers
Christopher Boyd
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/ransomware/2022/05/chicago-students-lose-data-to-ransomware-attackers/
Excerpt:
“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) disclosed on Friday that students may have had their data taken in a ransomware incident involving one of its vendors.”
Record level of bad bot traffic contributing to rise of online fraud
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/20/bad-bots-website-traffic/
Excerpt:
“Bad bots, software applications that run automated tasks with malicious intent, accounted for a record-setting 27.7% of all global website traffic in 2021, up from 25.6% in 2020, an Imperva report reveals. The three most common bot attacks were account takeover (ATO), content or price scraping, and scalping to obtain limited-availability items.”
How to ensure that the smart home doesn’t jeopardize data privacy?
Henk Muller
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/20/smart-home-data-privacy/
Excerpt:
“The smart home has been much hyped for what feels a very long-time, but I think it is fair to say that the smart home era is now truly upon us. This status has been almost entirely driven by the rise of the smart speaker – the first truly mass-market smart home device.”
65% of IT help desk teams report unsustainable levels of stress
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/18/it-help-desk-stress/
Excerpt:
“Over the past two years, IT departments have served on the business frontlines, helping organizations quickly implement digital transformation strategies to enable a fully remote and now distributed workforce. According to a Splashtop’s report, that has come at a cost as 65% of IT help desk teams throughout the U.S are reporting an increase in the number of team members reporting unsustainable levels of stress.”
5 critical questions to test your ransomware preparedness
Nate Drier
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/18/anti-ransomware-efforts/
Excerpt:
“I’m a pentester – that is, a professional penetration tester. Some call me an ethical hacker, a white hat, or red teamer. In the heat of the moment, I’ve been called much worse – because I’ve spent countless hours attacking organizations like yours with ransomware.”
Cardiologist charged for use and sale of ransomware
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/17/cardiologist-charged-for-use-and-sale-of-ransomware/
Excerpt:
“The US Attorney’s Office is charging a Venezuelan cardiologist with attempted computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit computer intrusions. The charges stem from his use and sale of ransomware, as well as his extensive support of, and profit sharing arrangements with, the cybercriminals who used his ransomware programs.”
Ransomware gang threatens to overthrow Costa Rica government
Javier Córdoba
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-05-ransomware-gang-threatens-costa-rica.html
Excerpt:
“A ransomware gang that infiltrated some Costa Rican government computer systems has upped its threat, saying its goal is now to overthrow the government.”
How a pentester’s attempt to be ‘as realistic as possible’ alarmed cybersecurity firms
Jonathan Greig
Excerpt:
“Over the last several weeks, researchers at multiple security firms have been scratching their heads trying to figure out who was targeting German companies with what appeared to be a supply chain attack.”
APT gang 'Sidewinder' goes on two-year attack spree across Asia
Simon Sharwood
https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/12/sidewinder_apt_attack_spree/
Excerpt:
“BLACK HAT ASIA The advanced persistent threat gang known as SideWinder has gone on an attack spree in the last two years, conducting almost 1,000 raids and deploying increasingly sophisticated attack methods.”
APT34 targets Jordan Government using new Saitama backdoor
Threat Intelligence Team
Excerpt:
“On April 26th, we identified a suspicious email that targeted a government official from Jordan’s foreign ministry. The email contained a malicious Excel document that drops a new backdoor named Saitama. Following our investigation, we were able to attribute this attack to the known Iranian Actor APT34.”
Ransomware has gone down because sanctions against Russia are making life harder for attackers
Danny Palmer
Excerpt:
“The number of ransomware attacks has gone down in recent months because sanctions against Russia are making it harder for cyber criminals to organise attacks and receive ransom payments, Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency (NSA), has revealed.”
All internet service providers in US must block 3 pirate streaming sites, federal judge rules
Ebra Cassens Weiss
Excerpt:
“A federal judge in New York City has ordered every internet service provider in the United States to block three pirate streaming services that are rebroadcasting copyrighted Israeli shows in this country.”
Ukraine’s IT Army is disrupting Russia's alcohol distribution
Bill Toulas
Excerpt:
“Hacktivists operating on the side of Ukraine have focused their DDoS attacks on a portal that is considered crucial for the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Russia.”
3 most dangerous types of Android malware
Lukas Stefanko
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2022/05/04/3-most-dangerous-types-android-malware/
Excerpt:
“These days, the device in your pocket can do far more than call or send text messages. Your smartphone stores almost every aspect of your life, from memories captured as photos to personal notes and schedules, login details and various other kinds of sensitive data.”
A lone-wolf researcher has turned the table on the hackers
Sead Fadilpašić
Excerpt:
“A researcher going by the name hyp3rlinx has discovered that some of the most popular ransomware strains, such as Conti, REvil, LockBit, including many others, carry a flaw that makes them vulnerable to DLL hijacking.”
The 6 steps to a successful cyber defense
Daniel Spicer
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/04/map-cybersecurity/
Excerpt:
“The Ransomware Spotlight Year-End Report from Ivanti, conducted in partnership with Cyber Security Works and Cyware, found that there is now a total of 157 ransomware families – an increase of 32 from the previous year.”
A checklist to help healthcare organizations respond to a serious cyberattack
Zeljka Zorz
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/04/healthcare-respond-cyberattack/
Excerpt:
“How should organizations in the healthcare sector respond to outage due to a serious cyberattack? The Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council’s (HSCC) Cybersecurity Working Group (CWG) has released a tactical checklist aimed at helping operational staff and executive management of healthcare organizations execute response and recovery in the best possible way.”
Lockbit ransomware attack cripples parts of German library service
Graham Cluley
Excerpt:
“One of the largest library services in Germany, EKZ Bibliotheksservice, has been impacted by a ransomware attack that has left book lovers unable to rent and borrow eBooks, audio books, and electronic magazines.”
Russia to Rent Tech-Savvy Prisoners to Corporate IT?
Brian Krebs
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/05/russia-to-rent-tech-savvy-prisoners-to-corporate-it/
Excerpt:
“Faced with a brain drain of smart people fleeing the country following its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation is floating a new strategy to address a worsening shortage of qualified information technology experts: Forcing tech-savvy people within the nation’s prison population to perform low-cost IT work for domestic companies.”
55% of people rely on their memory to manage passwords
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/02/password-management-habits/
Excerpt:
“Bitwarden announced the results of its global password management survey, in advance of World Password Day on May 5th, 2022. While receptive to the importance of security, individuals continue to struggle with embracing password management habits that could better protect their data.”
Cybersecurity skills shortage: Could training, certifications and diversity be a solution?
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/05/02/cybersecurity-skills-shortage-challenges/
Excerpt:
“Fortinet released a report which reveals that the cybersecurity skills shortage continues to have multiple challenges and repercussions for organizations, including the occurrence of security breaches and subsequently loss of money. As a result, the skills gap remains a top concern for C-level executives and is increasingly becoming a board-level priority. The report also suggests ways the skills gap can be addressed, such as through training and certifications to increase employees’ education.”