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Before yesterdaySecurity

Blood, Sweat, & Beers - BSW #188

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Corey Thuen, Founder of Gravwell, to discuss The Power of Context & Collaboration in a Data Driven World! In the second segment, Michael Santarcangelo and Sam Estrella join us to discuss the anatomy of an acquisition! A listener request, Michael will walk us through the Security Weekly acquisition by CyberRisk Alliance to understand the key criteria, processes, and challenges of an acquisition, especially during COVID-19!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/bsw188

Visit https://securityweekly.com/gravwell to learn more about them!

 

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  • September 22nd 2020 at 21:00

German Ransomware, Wicked Panda, & Dark Overlord Sentenced - SWN #67

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug talks Zerologon, Wicked Panda, OSINT, Doom found to run on Xbox, and Dark Overlord! Jason Wood returns for Expert Commentary on why to Think Twice Before Using Facebook, Google, or Apple to Sign In Everywhere!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/swn67

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  • September 22nd 2020 at 19:08

One Love, One Fuzz - ASW #122

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Justin Massey, Product Manager, Security Monitoring at Datadog, to discuss Visualizing and Detecting Threats For Your Custom Application! In the Application Security News, Microsoft announces new Project OneFuzz framework, an open source developer tool to find and fix bugs at scale, Bluetooth Spoofing Bug Affects Billions of IoT Devices, Firefox bug lets you hijack nearby mobile browsers via WiFi, Safeguarding Secrets Within the Pipeline, and more!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/asw122

Visit https://securityweekly.com/datadog to learn more about them!

 

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  • September 22nd 2020 at 17:00

Slightly broken overlay phishing, (Mon, Sep 21st)

At the Internet Storm Center, we often receive examples of interesting phishing e-mails from our readers. Of course, this is not the only source of interesting malicious messages in our inboxes – sometimes the phishing authors “cut out the middleman” and send their creations directly to us. Last week, this was the case with a slightly unusual (and slightly broken) phishing, which tries to use legitimate pages overlaid with a fake login prompt.
  • September 21st 2020 at 10:51

Analysis of a Salesforce Phishing Emails, (Sun, Sep 20th)

Over the past week, I have noticed several phishing emails linked to Salesforce asking to confirm the recipient’s email address.
  • September 20th 2020 at 19:30

11 Tons of Typewriters - PSW #667

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome we welcome Mike Ware, Senior Director of Technology at Synopsys, to talk about the Key Findings From The Newly Released BSIMM11 Report! In our second segment, we welcome James Spiteri, Solutions Architect and Cyber Security Specialist Global Solutions Lead at Elastic, to discuss how Elastic Security Opens Public Detections Rules Repo! In the Security News, Three Cybersecurity Lessons from a 1970s KGB Key Logger, MFA Bypass Bugs Opened Microsoft 365 to Attack, How Hackers Can Pick Your LocksJust By Listening, U.S. House Passes IoT Cybersecurity Bill, the Largest Hacking Campaign Since 2015 Targeted Magento Stores Via Unpatched Bug, and 5 Security Lessons Humans Can Learn From Their Dogs!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/psw667

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Visit https://securityweekly.com/synopsys to learn more about them!

 

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  • September 18th 2020 at 21:00

QAnon Shut Down, Mozi Botnet, & Trump Bans TikTok - Wrap Up - SWN #66

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug discusses Microsoft OneFuzz, Tik Tok, QAnon, Mozi, and more news from the sunny shores of Venus!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/swn66

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes!

 

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  • September 18th 2020 at 18:49

This Week in Security News: AWS Outposts Ready Launches With 32 Validated Partners and Staples Hit by a Data Breach

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about how solutions from 32 Amazon Web Services partners – including Trend Micro – are now available for AWS customers to use with their deployments of AWS Outposts. Also, read about a data breach at U.S. office-supply retailer Staples.

 

Read on:

Boosting Impact for Profit: Evolving Ransomware Techniques for Targeted Attacks

As described in Trend Micro’s 2020 Midyear Roundup, the numbers pertaining to ransomware no longer tell the full story. While the number of infections, company disclosures, and ransomware families has gone down, the estimated amount of money exchanged for the retrieval of encrypted data has steadily gone up. By going after institutions and companies with the urgent need to retrieve their data and get their systems running again, cybercriminals are able to demand exorbitant amounts of ransom.

AWS Outposts Ready Launches with 32 Validated Partners

Solutions from 32 Amazon Web Services partners, including Trend Micro, are available now for AWS customers to use with their deployments of AWS Outposts, the on-premises version of the industry’s leading public cloud.

Analysis of a Convoluted Attack Chain Involving Ngrok

The Trend Micro Managed XDR team recently handled an incident involving one of Trend Micro’s customers. The incident revealed how a malicious actor incorporated certain techniques into an attack, making it more difficult for blue teams and security researchers alike to analyze the chain of events in a clean and easily understandable manner. In this blog, Trend Micro further analyzes the attack.

39% of Employees Access Corporate Data on Personal Devices

A large proportion of employees are using their own devices to access data belonging to their company, according to a new study by Trend Micro. Researchers found that 39% of workers use personal smartphones, tablets, and laptops to access corporate data, often via services and applications hosted in the cloud.

A Blind Spot in ICS Security: The Protocol Gateway Part 2: Vulnerability Allowing Stealth Attacks on Industrial Control Systems

In this blog series, Trend Micro analyzes the impacts of the serious vulnerabilities detected in the protocol gateways and shares the security countermeasures that security administrators in smart factories must take. In the second part of this series, Trend Micro presents an overview of the verification methods, results of this research, and describes “flaws in the protocol conversion function,” one of the security risks revealed through Trend Micro’s experiments.

Staples Hit by Data Breach: What to Do Now

U.S. office-supply retailer Staples says its recent data breach affected fewer than 2,500 customers. Australian security researcher Troy Hunt, who runs the HaveIBeenPwned website, used his Twitter account to post a copy of an email message sent to an unknown number of Staples online customers.

“Zerologon” and the Value of Virtual Patching

A new CVE was released recently that has made quite a few headlines – CVE-2020-1472, also known as Zerologon. This CVE can allow an attacker to take advantage of the cryptographic algorithm used in the Netlogon authentication process and impersonate the identity of any computer when trying to authenticate against the domain controller.

Billions of Devices Vulnerable to New ‘BLESA’ Bluetooth Security Flaw

Billions of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and IoT devices are using Bluetooth software stacks that are vulnerable to a new security flaw disclosed this summer. Named BLESA (Bluetooth Low Energy Spoofing Attack), the vulnerability impacts devices running the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. BLE is a slimmer version of the original Bluetooth (Classic) standard but designed to conserve battery power while keeping Bluetooth connections alive as long as possible.

California Elementary Kids Kicked Off Online Learning by Ransomware

As students head back to the classroom, the wave of ransomware attacks against schools is continuing. The latest is a strike against a California school district that closed down remote learning for 6,000 elementary school students, according to city officials. The cyberattack, against the Newhall School District in Valencia, affected all distance learning across 10 different grade schools.

Mobile Messengers Expose Billions of Users to Privacy Attacks

When installing a mobile messenger like WhatsApp, new users can instantly start texting existing contacts based on the phone numbers stored on their device. For this to happen, users must grant the app permission to access and regularly upload their address book to company servers in a process called mobile contact discovery. A new research study shows that currently deployed contact discovery services severely threaten the privacy of billions of users.

Should employees be able to access company data via their personal devices? Share your thoughts in the comments below or follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation: @JonLClay.

The post This Week in Security News: AWS Outposts Ready Launches With 32 Validated Partners and Staples Hit by a Data Breach appeared first on .


A Mix of Python & VBA in a Malicious Word Document, (Fri, Sep 18th)

A few days ago, Didier wrote an interesting diary about embedded objects into an Office document[1]. I had a discussion about an interesting OLE file that I found. Because it used the same technique, I let Didier publish his diary first. Now, let's have a look at the document.
  • September 18th 2020 at 05:43

Pointing Fingers - ESW #199

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, first we talk Enterprise News, discussing Acunetix new data retention policies, 5 things you should ask your web app pen test provider, Microsoft's open source tool for sniffing out Windows 10 bugs, Datadog unveils support for distributed tracing for AWS Step Functions via AWS X-Ray, and Gravwell's Data Fusion platform breaks the mold of legacy data ingestion engines! In our second segment, we welcome Ferruh Mavituna, CEO of Netsparker, to discuss Current Security Needs Of Modern Enterprise Companies! In our final segment, we welcome Jimmy Mesta, Director of Security Research at Signal Sciences, to discuss Securing Enterprise Digital Transformations!

 

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw199

Visit https://securityweekly.com/netsparker to learn more about them!

Visit https://securityweekly.com/signalsciences to learn more about them!

 

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

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  • September 17th 2020 at 09:00

Suspicious Endpoint Containment with OSSEC, (Thu, Sep 17th)

When a host is compromised/infected on your network, an important step in the Incident Handling process is the “containment” to prevent further infections.  To place the device into a restricted environment is definitively better than powering off the system and, probably, lose some pieces of evidence.
  • September 17th 2020 at 05:36

Wrong Movie - SCW #43

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome David King, Founding Member and Owner at Cyber Support Alliance and Governing Goliath Media, to discuss How We Lost the Cybersecurity War (and What Happens Next), in this two part interview!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/scw43

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/scw for all the latest episodes!

 

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  • September 16th 2020 at 21:00

Do Vulnerabilities Ever Get Old? Recent "Mirai" Variant Scanning for 20 Year Old Amanda Version?, (Wed, Sep 16th)

We always say how network security is changing every day. Take a long lunch, and you may miss a critical exploit. But sometimes, time appears to stand still. We just passed 1.6 Billion seconds in the Unix Epoch. Back when the Unix timestamp still had 9 digits, in the late 90s also known as "pre Y2K", one of the servers you may have used for backups was Amanda (Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver). Still active and alive today, back then Amanda V 2.3 was current. 
  • September 16th 2020 at 14:53

Ransom from Home – How to close the cyber front door to remote working ransomware attacks

By Trend Micro

Coronavirus has caused a major shift to our working patterns. In many cases these will long outlast the pandemic. But working from home has its own risks. One is that you may invite ransomware attacks from a new breed of cyber-criminal who has previously confined his efforts to directly targeting the corporate network. Why? Because as a remote worker, you’re increasingly viewed as a soft target—the open doorway to extorting money from your employer.

So how does ransomware land up on your front doorstep? And what can a home worker do to shut that door?

The new ransomware trends

Last year, Trend Micro detected over 61 million ransomware-related threats, a 10% increase from 2018 figures. But things have only gotten worse from there. There has been a 20% spike in ransomware detections globally in the first half of 2020, rising to 109% in the US. And why is that?

At a basic level, ransomware searches for and encrypts most of the files on a targeted computer, so as to make them unusable. Victims are then asked to pay a ransom within a set time frame in order to receive the decryption key they need to unlock their data. If they don’t, and they haven’t backed-up this data, it could be lost forever.

The trend of late, however, has been to focus on public and private sector organizations whose staff are working from home (WFH). The rationale is that remote workers are less likely to be able to defend themselves from ransomware attacks, while they also provide a useful stepping-stone into high-value corporate networks. Moreover, cybercriminals are increasingly looking to steal sensitive data before they encrypt it, even as they’re more likely to fetch a higher ransom for their efforts than they do from a typical consumer, especially if the remote employee’s data is covered by cyber-insurance.

Home workers are also being more targeted for a number of reasons:

  • They may be more distracted than those in the office.
  • Home network and endpoint security may not be up to company levels.
  • Home systems (routers, smart home devices, PCs, etc.,) may not be up-to-date and therefore are more easily exposed to exploits.
  • Remote workers are more likely to visit insecure sites, download risky apps, or share machines/networks with those who do.
  • Corporate IT security teams may be overwhelmed with other tasks and unable to provide prompt support to a remote worker.
  • Security awareness programs may have been lacking in the past, perpetuating bad practice for workers at home.

What’s the attack profile of the remote working threat?

In short, the bad guys are now looking to gain entry to the corporate network you may be accessing from home via a VPN, or to the cloud-hosted systems you use for work or sharing files, in order to first steal and then encrypt company data with ransomware as far and wide as possible into your organization. But the methods are familiar. They’ll

  • Try to trick you into dangerous behavior through email phishing—the usual strategy of getting you to click links that redirect you to bad websites that house malware, or getting you to download a bad file, to start the infection process.
  • Steal or guess your log-ins to work email accounts, remote desktop tools (i.e., Microsoft Remote Desktop or RDP), and cloud-based storage/networks, etc., before they deliver the full ransomware payload. This may happen via a phishing email spoofed to appear as if sent from a legitimate source, or they may scan for your use of specific tools and then try to guess the password (known as brute forcing). One new Mac ransomware, called EvilQuest, has a keylogger built into it, which could capture your company passwords as you type them in. It’s a one-two punch: steal the data first, then encrypt it.
  • Target malware at your VPN or remote desktop software, if it’s vulnerable. Phishing is again a popular way to do this, or they may hide it in software on torrent sites or in app stores. This gives them a foothold into your employer’s systems and network.
  • Target smart home devices/routers via vulnerabilities or their easy-to-guess/crack passwords, in order to use home networks as a stepping-stone into your corporate network.

How can I prevent ransomware when working from home?

The good news is that you, the remote worker, can take some relatively straightforward steps up front to help mitigate the cascading risks to your company posed by the new ransomware. Try the following:

  • Be cautious of phishing emails. Take advantage of company training and awareness courses if offered.
  • Keep your home router firmware, PCs, Macs, mobile devices, software, browsers and operating systems up to date on the latest versions – including remote access tools and VPNs (your IT department may do some of this remotely).
  • Ensure your home network, PCs, and mobile devices are protected with up-to-date with network and endpoint AV from a reputable vendor. (The solutions should include anti-intrusion, anti-web threat, anti-spam, anti-phishing, and of course, anti-ransomware features.)
  • Ensure remote access tools and user accounts are protected with multi-factor authentication (MFA) if used and disable remote access to your home router.
  • Disable Microsoft macros where possible. They’re a typical attack vector.
  • Back-up important files regularly, according to 3-2-1 rule.

How Trend Micro can help

In short, to close the cyber front door to ransomware, you need to protect your home network and all your endpoints (laptops, PCs, mobile devices) to be safe. Trend Micro can help via

  • The Home Network: Home Network Security (HNS) connects to your router to protect any devices connected to the home network — including IoT gadgets, smartphones and laptops — from ransomware and other threats.
  • Desktop endpoints: Trend Micro Security (TMS) offers advanced protection from ransomware-related threats. It includes Folder Shield to safeguard valuable files from ransomware encryption, which may be stored locally or synched to cloud services like Dropbox®, Google Drive® and Microsoft® OneDrive/OneDrive for Business.
  • Mobile endpoints: Trend Micro Mobile Security (also included in TMS) protects Android and iOS devices from ransomware.
  • Secure passwords: Trend Micro Password Manager enables users to securely store and recall strong, unique passwords for all their apps, websites and online accounts, across multiple devices.
  • VPN Protection at home and on-the-go: Trend Micro’s VPN Proxy One (Mac | iOS) solution will help ensure your data privacy on Apple devices when working from home, while its cross-platform WiFi Protection solution will do the same across PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices when working from home or when connecting to public/unsecured WiFi hotspots, as you venture out and about as the coronavirus lockdown eases in your area.

With these tools, you, the remote worker, can help shut the front door to ransomware, protecting your work, devices, and company from data theft and encryption for ransom.

The post Ransom from Home – How to close the cyber front door to remote working ransomware attacks appeared first on .

Zoom Rolls Out 2FA, Fancy Bear Returns, & Massive Mailfire Leak - SWN #65

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug talks Candiru fish, Office Phishing attacks with a twist, Fancy Bear, Zhenhua data leaks, TikTok and Oracle, and Big Eyed Beans from Venus! Jason Wood returns for Expert Commentary on a Russian hacker selling a how-to video on exploiting unsupported Magento installations to skim credit card details for $5,000!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/swn65

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes!

 

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  • September 15th 2020 at 20:40

Deep Cover - BSW #187

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome back John Loucaides, VP of Research & Development at Eclypsium, to discuss Cracks in the Foundation: Understanding the New Endpoint Challenge! In the Leadership and Communications section, we're playing 3 questions - Does Your Board Really Understand Your Cyber Risks?, How can the C-suite support CISOs in improving cybersecurity?, Think You're Spending Enough on Security?, and more!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/bsw187

Visit https://securityweekly.com/eclypsium to learn more about them!

 

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  • September 15th 2020 at 18:00

The Wire Stripper - ASW #121

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Frank Catucci, Sr. Director GTP of Application Security at Gartner, to discuss The People & Process of DevOps! In the Application Security News, BLURtooth vulnerability lets attackers overwrite Bluetooth authentication keys, Microsoft Patch Tuesday, Sept. 2020 Edition, XSS->Fix->Bypass: 10000$ bounty in Google Maps, Academics find crypto bugs in 306 popular Android apps, none get patched, using CRYLOGGER to detect crypto misuses dynamically, Remote Code Execution as SYSTEM/root via Backblaze, and more!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/asw121

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  • September 14th 2020 at 21:00

Not Everything About ".well-known" is Well Known, (Mon, Sep 14th)

More than 10 years ago, a first RFC was published describing the ".well-known" directory for web servers. The idea is pretty simple: Provide a standard location for files that are mostly intended for signaling and automatic retrieval. Before the introduction of .well-known, these files often ended up litering the document root, like for example robots.txt being probably the most popular example. Currently, .well-known is defined by RFC8615 [https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8615] . 
  • September 14th 2020 at 15:49

1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)

When we published our 2020 Predictions report in December, we didn’t realize there was a global pandemic brewing that would give cybercriminals an almost daily news cycle to take advantage of in their attacks against people and organizations around the world. Malicious actors have always taken advantage of big news to use as lures for socially engineered threats, but these events tend to be fairly short news cycles.

When Covid-19 started making headlines in early 2020, we started seeing new threats using this in the attacks. As you see below, April was the peak month for email-based Covid-19 related threats.

The same was true for phishing URLs related to Covid-19, but for files using Covid-19 in their naming convention, the peak month in the first half was June.

Impact on Cybercrime

The constant 24×7 news around cases, cures and vaccines makes this pandemic unique for cybercriminals. Also, the shift to remote working and the challenges posed to supply chains all gave cybercriminals new content they could use as lures to entice victims into infecting themselves.

As we’ve seen for many years now, email-based threats were the most used threat vector by malicious actors, which makes sense as the number one infection vector to penetrate an organization’s network is to use a socially engineered email against an employee.

We even saw malicious mobile apps being developed using Covid-19 as a lure, as you see below.

In this case it was supporting potential cures for the virus, which many people would have wanted.

Other Highlights in 1H 2020

While Covid-19 dominated the threat landscape in the 1H 2020, it wasn’t the only thing that defined it. Ransomware actors continued their attacks against organizations, but as we’ve been seeing over the past year, they’ve become much more selective in their victims. The spray and pray model using spam has been shifted to a more targeted approach, similar to how nation-state actors and APT groups perform their attacks. Two things showcase this trend:

  1. The number of ransomware detections has dropped significantly from 1H 2019 to 1H 2020, showing that ransomware actors are not looking for broad infection numbers.

 

 

2. The ransom amounts have increased significantly over the years, showing ransomware actors are selecting their victims around how much they feel they can extort them for and whether they are more likely to pay a ransom.

 

Home network attacks are another interesting aspect of the threat landscape in the first half of this year. We have millions of home routers around the world that give us threat data on events coming into and out of home networks.

Threat actors are taking advantage of more remote workers by launching more attacks against these home networks. As you see below, the first half of 2020 saw a marked increase in attacks.

Many of these attacks are brute force login attempts as actors try to obtain login credentials for routers and devices within the home network, which can allow them to do further damage.

The above are only a small number of security events and trends we saw in just six months of 2020. Our full roundup of the security landscape so far this year is detailed out in our security roundup report – Securing the Pandemic-Disrupted Workplace. You can read about all we found to help prepare for many of the threats we will continue to see for the rest of the year.

The post 1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic appeared first on .

This Week in Security News: First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)
week in security

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about Trend Micro’s midyear roundup report which found that published vulnerabilities in the first half of 2020 grew to 786, compared to 583 during the same time period last year. Also, read about vulnerabilities in Cisco’s Jabber app that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

 

Read on:

1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic

When thinking about 2020 security predictions, no one thought that there was a global pandemic brewing that would give cybercriminals an almost daily news cycle to take advantage of in their attacks against people and organizations around the world. While Covid-19 dominated the threat landscape in the first half of 2020, it wasn’t the only threat that defined it. Learn more about the 2020 threat landscape in Trend Micro’s recent blog.

Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely

Networking equipment maker Cisco has released a new version of its Jabber video conferencing and messaging app for Windows that includes patches for multiple vulnerabilities—which, if exploited, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. The flaws, which were uncovered by cybersecurity firm Watchcom during a pentest, affect all currently supported versions of the Jabber client (12.1-12.9) and has since been fixed by the company.

The Life Cycle of a Compromised (Cloud) Server

Trend Micro Research has developed a go-to resource for all things related to cybercriminal underground hosting and infrastructure. This week, Trend Micro released the second report in a three-part series which details the what, how, and why of cybercriminal hosting. Trend Micro dives into the common life cycle of a compromised server from initial compromise to the different stages of monetization preferred by criminals.

Instagram ‘Help Center’ Phishing Scam Pilfers Credentials

Turkish-speaking cybercriminals are sending Instagram users seemingly legitimate messages from the social media company, with the aim of stealing their Instagram and email credentials. Trend Micro researchers said that the campaign has been targeting hundreds of celebrities, startup business owners, and other entities with sizeable followings on Instagram.

What is a VPN and How Does it Increase Your Online Security and Privacy?

The number of VPN users has grown considerably over the past few years. According to a report from Go-Globe, 25% of netizens worldwide have used a VPN at least once in the last 30 days. Recently, VPN usage has surged in many countries and its popularity may see VPN usage surpass the estimated profit of USD$27.10 billion by the end of 2020. In this blog, Trend Micro takes a deeper look at all of the benefits a VPN can provide.

First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities: Report

Published vulnerabilities in January through June of 2020 grew to 786, compared to 583 during the same time period last year, according to Trend Micro’s midyear cybersecurity report. Bad actors most often targeted enterprise software, including Apache Struts and Drupal frameworks, between 2017 and the first half of this year. In this article, Trend Micro’s director of global threat communications, Jon Clay, shares his thoughts on the first half of 2020.

A Blind Spot in ICS Security: The Protocol Gateway Part 1: Importance of the Protocol Gateway

Trend Micro released a white paper summarizing potential protocol gateway security risks in early August. This blog series follows up on that paper, analyzing the impacts of the serious vulnerabilities detected in the protocol gateways essential when shifting to smart factories and outlining the security countermeasures that security administrators in factories must take. In the first blog of this series, part one describes the importance of the protocol gateway in ICS environments.

Evilnum Group Targets FinTech Firms with New Python-Based RAT

Evilnum, a group known for targeting financial technology companies, has added new malware and infection tricks to its arsenal, researchers warn. The group is suspected of offering APT-style hacker-for-hire services to other entities, a growing and worrying trend that’s changing the threat landscape.

Are Employees the Weakest Link in Your Security Strategy?

Email is the number one threat vector. Data from Trend Micro Smart Protection Network shows that for the first five months of 2020, 92% of all the cyberthreats leveraging Covid-19 were spam or phishing email messages. Email scams can have a big impact, both on the organization and the individual. This was highlighted in a recent report from BBC News where a finance professional from Glasgow, Scotland was targeted by a business email compromise (BEC) scam.

55% of Cybersquatted Domains are Malicious or Potentially Fraudulent

In a single month, cyber-squatters registered almost 14,000 domain names, more than half of which went on to host malicious or likely fraudulent content, Palo Alto Networks states in a report released this week. The company, which collected information on newly registered domains in December 2019, found 13,857 domains classified by its software as cybersquatting based on lexical analysis.

What are your thoughts on Evilnum’s APT-style hacker-for-hire services? Share your thoughts in the comments below or follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation: @JonLClay.

The post This Week in Security News: First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely appeared first on .

Creating patched binaries for pentesting purposes, (Sun, Sep 13th)

When doing pentestings, the establishment of backdoors is vital to be able to carry out lateral movements in the network or to reach the stage of action on objectives. This is usually accomplished by inviting someone to click on a commonly used executable on the computer using social engineering techniques.
  • September 14th 2020 at 03:38

Office Documents with Embedded Objects, (Sat, Sep 12th)

A reader asked about another malicious file, thinking it is an intentionally corrupt ZIP file.
  • September 12th 2020 at 13:35

One Hell of a Show - PSW #666

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome we welcome David Asraf, C++ Developer at Vicarius, and Roi Cohen, Co-Founder & VP Sales at Vicarius, to discuss The Patchless Horseman! In our second segment, we welcome back Sumedh Thakar, President and Chief Product Officer at Qualys, to talk about Building Security Into the DevOps Lifecycle! In the Security News, Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerability in Jabber for Windows, Expert found multiple critical issues in MoFi routers, TeamTNT Gains Full Remote Takeover of Cloud Instances, Bluetooth Bug Opens Devices to Man-in-the-Middle Attacks, Former NSA chief General Keith Alexander is now on Amazon’s board, and the Legality of Security Research is to be Decided in a US Supreme Court Case!

 

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  • September 11th 2020 at 21:00

Insider Threats, BLURtooth Flaw, & More 0-Days - Wrap Up - SWN #64

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug talks Cisco patching Jabber Flaw, Insider Threats are huge, BLURtooth, Apple COVID-19 opt ins, and pretty much everyone is trying to interfere with the election!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/swn64

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  • September 11th 2020 at 17:52

This Week in Security News: Microsoft Fixes 129 Vulnerabilities for September’s Patch Tuesday and Trend Micro’s XDR Offerings Simplify and Optimize Detection and Response

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, read about this month’s Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft. Also, learn about Trend Micro’s Worry-Free XDR: a new version of its XDR platform designed to extend the power of correlated detection and response beyond the endpoint for smaller businesses.

Read on:

Exposed Docker Server Abused to Drop Cryptominer, DDoS Bot

Malicious actors continue to target environments running Docker containers. Trend Micro recently encountered an attack that drops both a malicious cryptocurrency miner and a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) bot on a Docker container built using Alpine Linux as its base image. A similar attack was also reported by Trend Micro in May; in that previous attack, threat actors created a malicious Alpine Linux container to also host a malicious cryptocurrency miner and a DDoS bot.

Microsoft Fixes 129 Vulnerabilities for September’s Patch Tuesday

Microsoft released patches for 129 CVEs (common vulnerabilities and exposures) as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday rollout. Dustin Childs from Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative shared that this marks seven consecutive months of more than 110 bugs fixed and brings the yearly total close to 1,000.

Purple Fox EK Relies on Cloudflare for Stability

A year ago, Trend Micro talked about Purple Fox malware being delivered by the Rig exploit kit. Malwarebytes later found evidence that it had its own delivery mechanism, and thus named it the Purple Fox exploit kit. Trend Micro recently found a spike in the Purple Fox exploit kit with improved delivering tactics in our telemetry. Some of the improvements include use of full HTTPS infrastructure based on Cloudflare as frontend, fully encrypted landing page, and disguised redirection.

New Raccoon Attack Could Let Attackers Break SSL/TLS Encryption

A group of researchers has detailed a new timing vulnerability in Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol that could potentially allow an attacker to break the encryption and read sensitive communication under specific conditions. Dubbed “Raccoon Attack,” the server-side attack exploits a side-channel in the cryptographic protocol (versions 1.2 and lower) to extract the shared secret key used for secure communications between two parties.

War of Linux Cryptocurrency Miners: A Battle for Resources

The Linux ecosystem is regarded as more secure and reliable than other operating systems, which possibly explains why Google, NASA, and the US Department of Defense (DoD) utilize it for their online infrastructures and systems. Unfortunately, the adoption of Linux systems is also an attractive target for cybercriminals. In this blog, learn about the ruthless battle for computing power among the different cryptocurrency-mining malware that target Linux systems. 

Trend Micro’s XDR Offerings Simplify and Optimize Detection and Response

Trend Micro announced Worry-Free XDR is a new version of its XDR platform designed to extend the power of correlated detection and response beyond the endpoint for smaller businesses. This unmatched channel offering is available now as a standalone or managed solution tailored for SMBs.

Securing Enterprise Security: How to Manage the New Generation of Access Control Devices

Enterprises are increasingly deploying contactless security solutions to control access to their spaces, especially now in the midst of a pandemic. These solutions mostly rely on devices that use facial recognition to manage entry to enterprise premises in an effective and efficient manner. Considering that these access control devices are the first line of defense for employees and assets on enterprise premises, Trend Micro set out to test the security of the devices and to find out whether they are susceptible to cyber as well as physical attacks.

Zeppelin Ransomware Returns with New Trojan on Board

The Zeppelin ransomware has sailed back into relevance, after a hiatus of several months. A wave of attacks were spotted in August by Juniper Threatlab researchers, making use of a new trojan downloader. These, like an initial Zeppelin wave observed in late 2019, start with phishing emails with Microsoft Word attachments (themed as “invoices”) that have malicious macros on board. Once a user enables macros, the infection process starts.

Published New Ebook: Strategic Investment to Secure Smart Factories

Security is undergoing a digital transformation in the manufacturing industry. As the fusion of the cyber world and the physical world progresses, various security issues are mounting. Manufacturing executives must view security as a management issue, not as a system issue. Trend Micro has published an ebook that focuses on security issues in the convergence of IT and OT.

Ransomware Accounted for 41% of All Cyber Insurance Claims in H1 2020

Ransomware incidents have accounted for 41% of cyber insurance claims filed in the first half of 2020, according to a report published today by Coalition, one of the largest providers of cyber insurance services in North America. The high number of claims comes to confirm previous reports from multiple cybersecurity firms that ransomware is one of today’s most prevalent and destructive threats.

What do you think about the Zeppelin ransomware attacks and the rise in ransomware overall? Share your thoughts in the comments below or follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation: @JonLClay.

The post This Week in Security News: Microsoft Fixes 129 Vulnerabilities for September’s Patch Tuesday and Trend Micro’s XDR Offerings Simplify and Optimize Detection and Response appeared first on .

What's in Your Clipboard? Pillaging and Protecting the Clipboard, (Fri, Sep 11th)

Recently I happened to notice that the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client clears the clipboard if you paste a password into it.  (Note - if you know and can type any of your passwords in 2020, you should at least partially examine your life choices).  Several password managers also do this "right thing" - retaining passwords in the clipboard is a great way for folks to accidentally paste that information into the worst possible place after login (like say into something that'll post that info into clear text log files), or in the worst case allows it to get stolen post-login.
  • September 11th 2020 at 12:39

The Impossible Traveler - ESW #198

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, first we talk Enterprise News, discussing how Yubico Delivers New Security Key the YubiKey 5C NFC, ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus now supports MFA for VPNs to protect remote workforce, Sysdig partners with VulnDB to strengthen vulnerability intelligence reporting, 3 Signs it’s Time for a Penetration Test, and CrowdStrike Expands Support for AWS Workloads and Container Deployments! In our second segment, we welcome Corey Williams, VP Marketing/Idaptive by CyberArk at CyberArk, to talk about Exploring Identity Security and Its Role in the Modern Enterprise! In our final segment, we welcome Bradon Rogers, SVP of Global Pre-Sales Engineering at Mimecast, to discuss Cloud Based Cyber Resiliency!

 

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw198

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  • September 9th 2020 at 21:00

A First Look at macOS 11 Big Sur Network Traffic (New! Now with more GREASE!), (Wed, Sep 9th)

In the next couple of months, Apple will likely release its next major update to macOS, "Big Sur" or also called macOS 11. I was able to install the most recent beta version of the operating system in a virtual machine to look at some of the network traffic. This should help you get ready for any oddities you may be seeing as users upgrade.
  • September 9th 2020 at 13:45

The Dark Side - SCW #42

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Oleg Shomonko, Head of Business Development, Co-founder at Ekran System for an interview! Ekran System is a universal insider threat protection platform that combines three essential insider security controls: activity monitoring, access management, and identity management. Functionality is provided in a single universal software platform delivering light-weight agents for all types of endpoints. This segment is sponsored by Ekran System.

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/scw42

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  • September 8th 2020 at 22:00

WhatsApp Bugs, Argentina Ransomware, & Cisco Jabber RCE - SWN #63

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug talks Security Weekly sold to Cyber Risk Alliance, Argentina and Newcastle ransomwared, Cisco Jabber, the NSA wants to educate you, and Jason Wood returns for Expert Commentary on how Creepy ‘Geofence’ Finds Anyone Who Went Near a Crime Scene!

 

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  • September 8th 2020 at 20:58

Microsoft September 2020 Patch Tuesday, (Tue, Sep 8th)

This month we got patches for 129 vulnerabilities. Of these, 23 are critical and none of them was previously disclosed or is being exploited according to Microsoft.
  • September 8th 2020 at 17:54

Will Robo-Helpers Help Themselves to Your Data?

Over the coming years, organizations will experience growing disruption as threats from the digital world have an impact on the physical. Invasive technologies will be adopted across both industrial and consumer markets, creating an increasingly turbulent and unpredictable security environment. The requirement for a flexible approach to security and resilience will be crucial as a hybrid threat environment emerges.

While robots may seem like the perfect helpers, by 2022, the Information Security Forum (ISF) anticipates that a range of robotic devices, developed to perform a growing number of both mundane and complex human tasks, will be deployed in organizations and homes around the world. Friendly-faced, innocently-branded, and loaded with a selection of cameras and sensors, these constantly connected devices will roam freely. Poorly secured robo-helpers will be weaponized by attackers, committing acts of corporate espionage and stealing intellectual property. Attackers will exploit robo-helpers to target the most vulnerable members of society, such as the elderly or sick at home, in care homes or hospitals, resulting in reputational damage for both manufacturers and corporate users.

Organizations will be caught unawares as compromised robo-helpers such as autonomous vacuum cleaners, remote telepresence devices and miniature delivery vehicles roam unattended and unmonitored. The potential for these invasive machines to steal intellectual property and corporate secrets through a range of onboard cameras and sensors will become a significant concern. Organizations developing and using care-bots, a type of robo-helper designed for healthcare, will face significant financial and reputational damage when vulnerable individuals suffer emotional, physical, psychological and financial harm when care-bots are compromised.

This proliferation of robo-helpers into the home, offices, factories and hospitals will provide attackers with a range of opportunities to make financial gains and cause operational damage. Nation states and competitors will target robo-helpers that have access to sensitive areas in order to steal critical information. Organized criminal groups and hackers will also use manipulative techniques to frighten and coerce individuals into sending money or giving up sensitive information.

Imagine this scenario: the building maintenance division of a large pharmaceutical organization decides to replace its staff at the research and development (R&D) site with a range of outsourced, automated robots. These robo-helpers carry out building maintenance and sanitation operations in place of their human counterparts. Each unit is fitted with cameras and sensors and requires network connectivity in order to operate. Shortly after their deployment, details of an early phase experimental drug trial are leaked to the media.

Are you sure that your robo-helpers are secure?

What is the Justification for This Threat?

The extent to which robo-helpers are adopted and used, especially in homes and office spaces, currently differs significantly depending on geography and culture. Japan, China and South Korea, amongst other Asian nations, are typically more accepting of robots, whereas Western nations are currently less so. Robo-helpers are particularly seen in a positive light in Japan, with The International Federation of Robotics attributing the cultural influence of the Japanese religion of Shinto – where both people and objects are believed to possess a spirit – as a key enabler for the high rate of robotics adoption in Japan. China, the US and Japan are currently the biggest exporters of robots in the world, with overall growth expected to increase worldwide.

There is a growing acceptance of robots in the home and workplace, which may indicate that organizations are ready to accelerate the rate of robo-helper adoption. In offices and homes, a growing number of semi-autonomous robo-helpers are due to hit global consumer markets as early as 2020, all built with a range of networked cameras and sensors. As with poorly secured IoT devices that are constantly connected to an organization’s network, a security flaw or vulnerability in a robo-helper will further broaden attack surfaces, presenting yet another access point for attackers to exploit.

Robotics have been used in manufacturing for decades, but as they become more popular these robo-helpers will perform a greater range of tasks, giving them access to a wealth of sensitive data and locations. In the education sector robots will soon be used in schools, with developers in Silicon Valley creating robo-helpers for teachers that can scan students’ facial expressions and provide one-to-one support for logical subjects such as languages and mathematics. In healthcare there have also been breakthroughs – in November 2019 the world’s first brain aneurysm surgery using a robo-helper was completed, demonstrating that robot-assisted procedures enhance flexibility, control and precision.

As these robots gain greater autonomy and perform a greater number of surgeries over time, the need to secure them will become ever more urgent. In logistics, delivery-bots have seen significant investment and improvement, now using onboard cameras and sensors to navigate difficult terrain and unfamiliar environments.

Robo-helpers will make their way into the lives of more vulnerable individuals in care homes, schools and community centers and people will increasingly feel comfortable sharing sensitive information about their lives with them. Attackers will realize this, aiming to exploit these non-tech-savvy members of society into transferring funds or giving up sensitive information. Organizations developing these products or using them in their business will face serious reputational damage, as well as legal and financial repercussions when their customers become victims.

With the proliferation of robo-helpers across a growing number of countries and into a greater number of industries and homes, the opportunities for attackers to compromise individuals and organizations that use them will be alarming.

How Should Your Organization Prepare?

Organizations using robo-helpers in their business, or providing them to others, should ensure that devices are properly protected against attacks and cannot be used to compromise the privacy and rights of customers.

In the short term, organizations should restrict robo-helper access to sensitive locations. We recommend that they segregate access and monitor traffic between robo-helpers and the corporate network and ensure that robo-helpers using cameras and sensors comply with data protection regulations. Finally, dispose of robo-helpers securely.

In the long term, gain assurance over robo-helpers used in the organization and limit the capabilities of robo-helpers to ensure that ethical norms are not breached. Monitor specific robo-helpers for signs of fraudulent or dangerous activities and provide training and awareness around appropriate use and behaviors.

About the author: Steve Durbin is Managing Director of the Information Security Forum (ISF). His main areas of focus include strategy, information technology, cyber security and the emerging security threat landscape across both the corporate and personal environments. Previously, he was senior vice president at Gartner.

Copyright 2010 Respective Author at Infosec Island
  • September 8th 2020 at 08:20

Office: About OLE and ZIP Files, (Mon, Sep 7th)

A reader asked if a particular Emotet sample was a malformed ZIP file. It is not, and I will explain why you might think it is in this diary entry.
  • September 7th 2020 at 16:41

This Week in Security News: First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. This week, learn about Trend Micro’s midyear roundup report which found that published vulnerabilities in the first half of 2020 grew to 786, compared to 583 during the same time period last year. Also, read about vulnerabilities in Cisco’s Jabber app that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Read on:

1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic

When thinking about 2020 security predictions, no one thought that there was a global pandemic brewing that would give cybercriminals an almost daily news cycle to take advantage of in their attacks against people and organizations around the world. While Covid-19 dominated the threat landscape in the first half of 2020, it wasn’t the only threat that defined it. Learn more about the 2020 threat landscape in Trend Micro’s recent blog.

Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely

Networking equipment maker Cisco has released a new version of its Jabber video conferencing and messaging app for Windows that includes patches for multiple vulnerabilities—which, if exploited, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. The flaws, which were uncovered by cybersecurity firm Watchcom during a pentest, affect all currently supported versions of the Jabber client (12.1-12.9) and has since been fixed by the company.

The Life Cycle of a Compromised (Cloud) Server

Trend Micro Research has developed a go-to resource for all things related to cybercriminal underground hosting and infrastructure. This week, Trend Micro released the second report in a three-part series which details the what, how, and why of cybercriminal hosting. Trend Micro dives into the common life cycle of a compromised server from initial compromise to the different stages of monetization preferred by criminals.

Instagram ‘Help Center’ Phishing Scam Pilfers Credentials

Turkish-speaking cybercriminals are sending Instagram users seemingly legitimate messages from the social media company, with the aim of stealing their Instagram and email credentials. Trend Micro researchers said that the campaign has been targeting hundreds of celebrities, startup business owners, and other entities with sizeable followings on Instagram.

What is a VPN and How Does it Increase Your Online Security and Privacy?

The number of VPN users has grown considerably over the past few years. According to a report from Go-Globe, 25% of netizens worldwide have used a VPN at least once in the last 30 days. Recently, VPN usage has surged in many countries and its popularity may see VPN usage surpass the estimated profit of USD$27.10 billion by the end of 2020. In this blog, Trend Micro takes a deeper look at all of the benefits a VPN can provide.

First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities: Report

Published vulnerabilities in January through June of 2020 grew to 786, compared to 583 during the same time period last year, according to Trend Micro’s midyear cybersecurity report. Bad actors most often targeted enterprise software, including Apache Struts and Drupal frameworks, between 2017 and the first half of this year. In this article, Trend Micro’s director of global threat communications, Jon Clay, shares his thoughts on the first half of 2020.

A Blind Spot in ICS Security: The Protocol Gateway Part 1: Importance of the Protocol Gateway

Trend Micro released a white paper summarizing potential protocol gateway security risks in early August. This blog series follows up on that paper, analyzing the impacts of the serious vulnerabilities detected in the protocol gateways essential when shifting to smart factories and outlining the security countermeasures that security administrators in factories must take. In the first blog of this series, part one describes the importance of the protocol gateway in ICS environments.

Evilnum Group Targets FinTech Firms with New Python-Based RAT

Evilnum, a group known for targeting financial technology companies, has added new malware and infection tricks to its arsenal, researchers warn. The group is suspected of offering APT-style hacker-for-hire services to other entities, a growing and worrying trend that’s changing the threat landscape.

Are Employees the Weakest Link in Your Security Strategy?

Email is the number one threat vector. Data from Trend Micro Smart Protection Network shows that for the first five months of 2020, 92% of all the cyberthreats leveraging Covid-19 were spam or phishing email messages. Email scams can have a big impact, both on the organization and the individual. This was highlighted in a recent report from BBC News where a finance professional from Glasgow, Scotland was targeted by a business email compromise (BEC) scam.

55% of Cybersquatted Domains are Malicious or Potentially Fraudulent

In a single month, cyber-squatters registered almost 14,000 domain names, more than half of which went on to host malicious or likely fraudulent content, Palo Alto Networks states in a report released this week. The company, which collected information on newly registered domains in December 2019, found 13,857 domains classified by its software as cybersquatting based on lexical analysis.

What are your thoughts on Evilnum’s APT-style hacker-for-hire services? Share your thoughts in the comments below or follow me on Twitter to continue the conversation: @JonLClay.

The post This Week in Security News: First Half of 2020 Led to Nearly 800 Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Cisco Jabber Bug Could Let Hackers Target Windows Systems Remotely appeared first on .

The Squeegee Guy - PSW #665

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Fredrick "Flee" Lee, Chief Security Officer at Gusto, to discuss Lovable Security: Be a Data Custodian, Not a Data Owner! In our second segment, we welcome Justin Armstrong, Security Architect at MEDITECH, to talk about Cybersecurity & Patient Safety! In the Security News, The NSA Makes Its Powerful Cybersecurity Tool Open Source, The bizarre reason Amazon drivers are hanging phones in trees near Whole Foods, Elon Musk Confirms Serious Russian Bitcoin Ransomware Attack On Tesla, Foiled By The FBI, Attackers are exploiting two zero-day flaws in Cisco enterprise-grade routers, and the FBI is investigating after an alarmed pilot tells the LAX tower: We just passed a guy in a jet pack!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/psw665

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  • September 4th 2020 at 09:00

A blast from the past - XXEncoded VB6.0 Trojan, (Fri, Sep 4th)

While going over what my e-mail malware quarantine caught during this week, I found a message which made me feel rather nostalgic. Among the usual maldocs, ZIPs and ACEs, there was also an e mail carrying an XXE file in its attachment.
  • September 4th 2020 at 07:38

Tesla Dodges Attack, 'Sepulcher' Malware, & Snowden Vindicated? - Wrap Up - SWN #62

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, Dr. Doug talks Snowden Vindicated? Hermain Cain tweets from beyond the grave, APT TA413, Iranian cats again, Carolyn Meinel, hard coded credentials, and KryptoCibule!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/swn62

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  • September 4th 2020 at 00:00

Absolute Nightmare - ESW #197

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, first we talk Enterprise News, discussing Proofpoint's $300 Million buyback program, LogRhythmn Power Users share their use cases, Bitdefender Enhances MDR Service to Increase Proactive Protection and Advanced Detection, Anchore Unveils Enterprise 2.4 With Expanded & Updated Capabilities, and Auth0's new bot detection! In our second segment, we air two pre recorded interviews from Security Weekly Virtual Hacker Summer Camp with Corey Bodzin from Deepwatch, and Michael Sanders from Extrahop! In our final segment, we air two more pre-recorded interviews from Security Weekly Virtual Hacker Summer Camp with Ian McShane of Crowdstrike, and Michael Borohovski from Synopsys!

 

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw197

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isit https://www.deepwatch.com/lens-score/ to try deepwatch Lens Score for free!

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  • September 3rd 2020 at 23:30

Sandbox Evasion Using NTP, (Thu, Sep 3rd)

I'm still hunting for interesting (read: "malicious") Python samples. By reading my previous diaries, you know that I like to find how attackers implement obfuscation and evasion techniques. Like yesterday, I found a Python sample that creates a thread to run a malicious shellcode[1]. But before processing the shellcode, it performs suspicious network traffic:
  • September 3rd 2020 at 08:54

Pound Sand - SCW #41

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Priya Chaudhry, Jedi Warrior Princess, at ChaudhryLaw PLLC (Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer), to discuss the Uber Indictments in a special two part interview!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/scw41

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  • September 2nd 2020 at 21:00

1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic

By Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)

When we published our 2020 Predictions report in December, we didn’t realize there was a global pandemic brewing that would give cybercriminals an almost daily news cycle to take advantage of in their attacks against people and organizations around the world. Malicious actors have always taken advantage of big news to use as lures for socially engineered threats, but these events tend to be fairly short news cycles.

When Covid-19 started making headlines in early 2020, we started seeing new threats using this in the attacks. As you see below, April was the peak month for email-based Covid-19 related threats.

The same was true for phishing URLs related to Covid-19, but for files using Covid-19 in their naming convention, the peak month in the first half was June.

Impact on Cybercrime

The constant 24×7 news around cases, cures and vaccines makes this pandemic unique for cybercriminals. Also, the shift to remote working and the challenges posed to supply chains all gave cybercriminals new content they could use as lures to entice victims into infecting themselves.

As we’ve seen for many years now, email-based threats were the most used threat vector by malicious actors, which makes sense as the number one infection vector to penetrate an organization’s network is to use a socially engineered email against an employee.

We even saw malicious mobile apps being developed using Covid-19 as a lure, as you see below.

In this case it was supporting potential cures for the virus, which many people would have wanted.

Other Highlights in 1H 2020

While Covid-19 dominated the threat landscape in the 1H 2020, it wasn’t the only thing that defined it. Ransomware actors continued their attacks against organizations, but as we’ve been seeing over the past year, they’ve become much more selective in their victims. The spray and pray model using spam has been shifted to a more targeted approach, similar to how nation-state actors and APT groups perform their attacks. Two things showcase this trend:

  1. The number of ransomware detections has dropped significantly from 1H 2019 to 1H 2020, showing that ransomware actors are not looking for broad infection numbers.
  2. The ransom amounts have increased significantly over the years, showing ransomware actors are selecting their victims around how much they feel they can extort them for and whether they are more likely to pay a ransom.

Home network attacks are another interesting aspect of the threat landscape in the first half of this year. We have millions of home routers around the world that give us threat data on events coming into and out of home networks.

Threat actors are taking advantage of more remote workers by launching more attacks against these home networks. As you see below, the first half of 2020 saw a marked increase in attacks.

Many of these attacks are brute force login attempts as actors try to obtain login credentials for routers and devices within the home network, which can allow them to do further damage.

The above are only a small number of security events and trends we saw in just six months of 2020. Our full roundup of the security landscape so far this year is detailed out in our security roundup report – Securing the Pandemic-Disrupted Workplace. You can read about all we found to help prepare for many of the threats we will continue to see for the rest of the year.

The post 1H 2020 Cyber Security Defined by Covid-19 Pandemic appeared first on .

Python and Risky Windows API Calls, (Wed, Sep 2nd)

The Windows API is full of calls that are usually good indicators to guess the behavior of a script. In a previous diary, I wrote about some examples of "API call groups" that are clearly used together to achieve malicious activities[1]. If it is often used in PowerShell scripts, here is an interesting sample in Python that uses the same technique. It calls directly Windows API though 'ctypes'. 
  • September 2nd 2020 at 09:14

Across State Lines - BSW #186

By paul@securityweekly.com

This week, we welcome Carlos Becerra, Co-Founder at CB Universal, to discuss Role of the CISO, Why Do You Need a vCISO? In the Leadership and Communications section, the lucky 7's have it: 7 Keys to Effective Leadership in Our New Normal, The 7 elements of an enterprise cybersecurity culture, 7 Quotes from Military Leaders to Help You Win at Life, and more!

 

Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/bsw186

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  • September 2nd 2020 at 09:00

Securing the Hybrid Workforce Begins with Three Crucial Steps

The global shift to a remote workforce has redefined the way organizations structure their business models. As executives reestablish work policies to accommodate remote employees well beyond the initially anticipated duration, a new era of work will emerge: the hybrid workforce, one more largely split between office and remote environments. While this transition brings a wave of opportunity for organizations and employees, it also opens new doors for bad actors to capitalize on strained IT departments who have taken on additional responsibility to ensure sensitive data remains secure, whether on or off the corporate network.

While threats to company data range in attack method, ransomware continues to be the most prominent risk known to organizations worldwide, with a 41% increase in 2019 alone. It’s important that companies focus on acknowledging this threat and deploying strategies to prepare, defend and repair incidents, before adapting to a hybrid workforce model. This process will prevent organizations from falling victim to attacks where data loss or ransom payment are the only unfortunate options. To win the war on ransomware, organizations should incorporate a plan for IT organizations that ensures they have the resilience needed to overcome any attack. Let’s explore three crucial steps for ransomware resilience in more detail.

Focus on education first, avoid reactive approaches to threats later

Education – beginning after threat actors are identified – should be the first step taken on the path towards resilience. To avoid being caught in a reactive position, should a ransomware incident arise, it’s important to understand the three main mechanisms for entry: internet-connected RDP or other remote access, phishing attacks and software vulnerabilities. Once organizations know where the threats lie, they can tactfully approach training with strategies to refine IT and user security, putting additional preparation tactics in place. Identifying the top three mechanisms can help IT administration isolate RDP servers with backup components, integrate tools to assess the threat of phishing attacks to help spot and respond correctly, and inform users on recurrent updates to critical categories of IT assets, such as operating systems, applications, databases and device firmware.

Additionally, preparing how to use the ransomware tools in place will help IT organizations familiarize themselves with different restore scenarios. Whether it be a secure restore process that will abort when malware is detected or software that can detect ransomware ahead of restoring a system, the ability to perform different restore scenarios will become invaluable to organizations. When an attack does happen, they will recognize, understand and have confidence in the process of working towards recovery. By taking the education aspect of these steps seriously, organizations can decrease the ransomware risks, costs and pressure of dealing with a ransomware incident unprepared.

Implement backup solutions that maintain business continuity 

An important part of ransomware resiliency is the implementation of backup infrastructure to create and maintain strong business continuity. Organizations need to have a reliable system in place that protects their servers and keeps them from ever having to pay to get their data back. Consider keeping the backup server isolated from the internet and limit shared accounts that grant access to all users. Instead, assign specific tasks within the server that are relevant for users and require two-factor authentication for remote desktop access. Additionally, backups with an air-gapped, offline or immutable copy of data paired with the 3-2-1 rule will provide one of the most critical defenses against ransomware, insider threats and accidental deletion.

Furthermore, detecting a ransomware threat as early as possible gives IT organizations a significant advantage. This requires tools in place to flag possible threat activity. For endpoint devices displaced remotely, backup repositories that are set up to identify risks will give IT further insight into an incredible surface area to analyze for potential threat introduction. If implementations don’t prohibit attacks, another viable option is encrypting backups wherever possible for an additional layer of protection – threat actors charging ransom to prevent leaking data do not want to have to decrypt it. When it comes to a ransomware incident, there isn’t one single way to recover, but there are many options aside from these that organizations can take. The important thing to remember is that resiliency will be predicated on how backup solutions are implemented, the behavior of threat and the course of remediation. Take time to research the options available and ensure that solutions are implemented to protect your company.

Prepare to remediate an incident in advance

Even when there are steps in place that leverage education and implementation techniques to combat ransomware before an attack hits, organizations should still be prepared to remediate a threat if introduced. Layers of defense against attacks are invaluable, but organizations need to also map out specifically what to do when a threat is discovered. Should a ransomware incident happen, organizations need to have support in place to guide the restore process so that backups aren’t put at risk. Communication is key, having a list of security, incident response, and identity management contacts in place if needed – inside the organization or externally – will help ease the process towards remediation.

Next, have a pre-approved chain of decision makers in place. When it comes time to make decisions, like whether to restore or to fail over company data in an event of an attack, organizations should know who to turn to for decision authority. If conditions are ready to restore, IT should be familiar with recovery options based on the ransomware situation. Implement additional checks for safety before putting systems on the network again – like an antivirus scan before restoration completes – and ensure the right process is underway. Once the process is complete, implement a sweeping forced change of passwords to reduce the threat resurfacing.

The threat that ransomware poses to organizations both large and small is real. While no one can predict when or how an attack will happen, IT organizations that have a strong, multi-layered defense and strategy in place have a greater chance for recovery. With the right preparation, the steps outlined here can increase any organization’s resiliency – whether in office, remote or a combination of the two – against a ransomware incident and avoid data loss, financial loss, business reputation damage or more.

About the author: Rick Vanover is senior director of product strategy for Veeam.

Copyright 2010 Respective Author at Infosec Island
  • September 2nd 2020 at 08:30
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