Microsoft Adds Default Protection Against RDP Brute-Force Attacks in Windows 11

Microsoft is now taking steps to prevent Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) brute-force attacks as part of the latest builds for the Windows 11 operating system in an attempt to raise the security baseline to meet the evolving threat landscape. To that end, the default policy for Windows 11 builds – particularly, Insider Preview builds 22528.1000 and newer – will automatically lock accounts for 10

Racoon Stealer is Back — How to Protect Your Organization

The Racoon Stealer malware as a service platform gained notoriety several years ago for its ability to extract data that is stored within a Web browser. This data initially included passwords and cookies, which sometimes allow a recognized device to be authenticated without a password being entered. Racoon Stealer was also designed to steal auto-fill data, which can include a vast trove of

An Easier Way to Keep Old Python Code Healthy and Secure

Python has its pros and cons, but it's nonetheless used extensively. For example, Python is frequently used in data crunching tasks even when there are more appropriate languages to choose from. Why? Well, Python is relatively easy to learn. Someone with a science background can pick up Python much more quickly than, say, C. However, Python's inherent approachability also creates a couple of

Hackers Target Ukrainian Software Company Using GoMet Backdoor

A large software development company whose software is used by different state entities in Ukraine was at the receiving end of an "uncommon" piece of malware, new research has found. The malware, first observed on the morning of May 19, 2022, is a custom variant of the open source backdoor known as GoMet and is designed for maintaining persistent access to the network. "This access could be

Atlassian Rolls Out Security Patch for Critical Confluence Vulnerability

Atlassian has rolled out fixes to remediate a critical security vulnerability pertaining to the use of hard-coded credentials affecting the Questions For Confluence app for Confluence Server and Confluence Data Center. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2022-26138, arises when the app in question is enabled on either of two services, causing it to create a Confluence user account with the username "

FBI Seizes $500,000 Ransomware Payments and Crypto from North Korean Hackers

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced the seizure of $500,000 worth of Bitcoin from North Korean hackers who extorted digital payments from several organizations by using a new ransomware strain known as Maui. "The seized funds include ransoms paid by healthcare providers in Kansas and Colorado," the DoJ said in a press release issued Tuesday. The recovery of the bitcoin ransoms

Apple Releases Security Patches for all Devices Fixing Dozens of New Vulnerabilities

Apple on Wednesday rolled out software fixes for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS to address a number of security flaws affecting its platforms. This includes at least 37 flaws spanning different components in iOS and macOS that range from privilege escalation to arbitrary code execution and from information disclosure to denial-of-service (DoS). <!--adsense--> Chief among them is CVE-2022-

Cisco Releases Patches for Critical Flaws Impacting Nexus Dashboard for Data Centers

Cisco on Wednesday released security patches for 45 vulnerabilities affecting a variety of products, some of which could be exploited to execute arbitrary actions with elevated permissions on affected systems. Of the 45 bugs, one security vulnerability is rated Critical, three are rated High, and 41 are rated Medium in severity.  The most severe of the issues are CVE-2022-20857, CVE-2022-20858,

This Cloud Botnet Has Hijacked 30,000 Systems to Mine Cryptocurrencies

The 8220 cryptomining group has expanded in size to encompass as many as 30,000 infected hosts, up from 2,000 hosts globally in mid-2021. "8220 Gang is one of the many low-skill crimeware gangs we continually observe infecting cloud hosts and operating a botnet and cryptocurrency miners through known vulnerabilities and remote access brute forcing infection vectors," Tom Hegel of SentinelOne 

Experts Uncover New CloudMensis Spyware Targeting Apple macOS Users

Cybersecurity researchers have taken the wraps off a previously undocumented spyware targeting the Apple macOS operating system. The malware, codenamed CloudMensis by Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET, is said to exclusively use public cloud storage services such as pCloud, Yandex Disk, and Dropbox for receiving attacker commands and exfiltrating files. "Its capabilities clearly show that the

Security Experts Warn of Two Primary Client-Side Risks Associated with Data Exfiltration and Loss

Two client-side risks dominate the problems with data loss and data exfiltration: improperly placed trackers on websites and web applications and malicious client-side code pulled from third-party repositories like NPM.  Client-side security researchers are finding that improperly placed trackers, while not intentionally malicious, are a growing problem and have clear and significant privacy

New Air-Gap Attack Uses SATA Cable as an Antenna to Transfer Radio Signals

A new method devised to leak information and jump over air-gaps takes advantage of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) or Serial ATA cables as a communication medium, adding to a long list of electromagnetic, magnetic, electric, optical, and acoustic methods already demonstrated to plunder data. "Although air-gap computers have no wireless connectivity, we show that attackers can use

Pakistani Hackers Targeting Indian Students in Latest Malware Campaign

The advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Transparent Tribe has been attributed to a new ongoing phishing campaign targeting students at various educational institutions in India at least since December 2021. "This new campaign also suggests that the APT is actively expanding its network of victims to include civilian users," Cisco Talos said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

Microsoft Warns of Large-Scale AiTM Phishing Attacks Against Over 10,000 Organizations

Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed that a large-scale phishing campaign targeted over 10,000 organizations since September 2021 by hijacking Office 365's authentication process even on accounts secured with multi-factor authentication (MFA). "The attackers then used the stolen credentials and session cookies to access affected users' mailboxes and perform follow-on business email compromise (BEC)