Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Large-scale cyberattack on Iran probably originated from U.S., official says (Tehran Times) A senior civil defense official says the large-scale cyberattack that recently targeted Iran’s infrastructure probably originated from the U.S.
Iran Foils Major Cyber Attack from US: Official - Politics news (Tasnim News Agency) Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said the recent large-scale cyber attack targeting the country’s infrastructure carried out by the US government has been foiled.
Pentagon, FBI, DHS to jointly expose a North Korean hacking effort (CyberScoop) The Pentagon, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security plan to publicly identify a North Korean hacking campaign, CyberScoop has learned.
()
()
Google removes 500+ malicious Chrome extensions from the Web Store (ZDNet) A network of malicious Chrome extensions was injecting malicious ads in millions of Chrome installs.
500 Chrome extensions secretly uploaded private data from millions of users (Ars Technica) Extensions were part of a long-running ad-fraud and malvertising network.
Nasty Android malware reinfects its targets, and no one knows how (Ars Technica) Users report that xHelper is so resilient it survives factory resets.
Here’s your latest reminder that Android security is a joke (BGR) The pile of Android threats to watch out for has been mounting at a pretty rapid clip so far this year, with apps sneaking into the Google Play Store that can do everything from log in to your Goog…
Parallax RAT: Common Malware Payload After Hacker Forums Promotion (BleepingComputer) A remote access Trojan named Parallax is being widely distributed through malicious spam campaigns that when installed allow attackers to gain full control over an infected system.
Official: Puerto Rico govt loses $2.6M in phishing scam (AP NEWS) Puerto Rico's government has lost more than $2.6 million after falling for an email phishing scam, according to a senior official. The finance director of the...
Puerto Rico online scam targeted more than $4M amid crisis (NBC News) Authorities have frozen at least $2.9 million, an official said. The government has not said how much money was seized by the hacker.
Attackers Expand Coronavirus-Themed Attacks and Prey on Conspiracy Theories (Proofpoint US) Proofpoint researchers continue to monitor the latest news and reports around the global Coronavirus outbreak for malicious activity.
Defending Against Coronavirus Phishing and Malware Attacks (OneSpan) At OneSpan, we have been concerned and saddened by the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
New phishing scam targets Alaska USA Federal Credit Union members (Webcenter 11) According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, the scammers send a text or email claiming the recipient's account has been suspended. The messages say the recipient must click on a link that will allow them to reactivate their account.
SweynTooth Bug Collection Affects Hundreds of Bluetooth Products (BleepingComputer) Security researchers have disclosed a dozen flaws in the implementation of the Bluetooth Low Energy technology on multiple system-on-a-chip (SoC) circuits that power at least 480 from various vendors.
Sophisticated Emotet malware loader thriving on unsophisticated passwords (Techxplore) Emotet has evolved. And that's not good. The worm is winning the attention of security watchers this month, as an exploit of Wi-Fi networks. It hops. It spreads. Its triggers are insecure passwords on routers and Windows PCs.
Schneider Electric Modicon Ethernet Serial RTU (CISA) 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CVSS v3 8.6
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low skill level to exploit
Vendor: Schneider Electric
Equipment: Modicon BMXNOR0200H
Vulnerabilities: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions, Improper Access Control
2. RISK EVALUATION
Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution or cause a denial-of-service condition.
()
US non-profit for international study exposes private documents of thousands of students: report (Security Discovery) The Institute of International Education (IIE), a US nonprofit that focuses on foreign exchange study and scholarship, exposed a database on the web containing thousands of logs and links to private student documents. The database...
Nedbank data breach potentially affects 1.7 million clients (The South African) According to a statement issued by Nedbank on Thursday 13 February, a subset of the allegedly compromised data at a third-party service provider included the personal information of 1.7m Nedbank clients.
New alarming texting scam: scammers pose as Verizon Wireless, ask for personal information (WKBW) According to Howtogeek.com, a scammer texts people with an "account security" message. The message takes you to a site that looks like Verizon's website.
()
'Sloppy' Mobile Voting App Used in Four States Has 'Elementary' Security Flaws (Vice) MIT researchers say an attacker could intercept and alter votes, while making voters think their votes have been cast correctly, or trick the votes server into accepting connections from an attacker.
Documents reveal DNC was 'intimately involved' in development of troubled Iowa caucus app (Yahoo News) Internal correspondence provided to Yahoo News demonstrates that national party officials had extensive oversight over the development of the technology.
No, Pete Buttigieg Is Not a CIA Asset (Foreign Policy) The agency’s history of bloody-handed bungling abroad has come back to haunt U.S. politics.
Leading Singapore Online Florist Floristique Recovers from Cyber-Attack (Business Insider Singapore) Cybercrimes have been disrupting hundreds of businesses for years. Singapore-based Floristique's journey to recovery post the detrimental cyberattack.Services back online and stronger than ever to cater for Valentine's Day.
Dozens of Rutter's locations affected by data breach (WHP) Rutter's is notifying customers that the company experienced a data breach in 2018 and 2019. Most customers may have been impacted by the breach if they shopped at Rutter's stores between October 1, 2018 and May 29, 2019. At nine locations, access to data may have begun as early as September 20, 2018. At one location, the breach may go back as far as August 30, 2018. Rutter's has provided a list of locations affected, including time frames for each one.
1 in 6 Massachusetts Communities Hit by ‘Ransomware’ Attacks (NBC Boston) One January morning two years ago, hackers seized control of the Bedford Police Department’s electronic records. They were holding them hostage, and time was ticking; the longer the town waited to pay up, the higher the ransom demand would climb.
()
Confederation College students get scam phone calls and emails after malware incident (CBC) The man in charge of cleaning up after malware incident at Confederation College says IT services should be fully restored in a few days. But Rob Zuback says some students have received automated phone calls and spam emails referencing the incident.
()
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
WordPress GDPR Cookie Consent plugin fixed vulnerability. (NinTechNet) The WordPress GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, which has 700,000+ active installations, fixed a vulnerability affecting version 1.8.2 and below that could lead to authenticated stored XSS and privilege escalation.
Almost 2 billion malware installs thwarted by Google Play Protect in 2019 (WeLiveSecurity) Google Play Protect blocked more than 1.9 billion malicious app installs from outside of the official Android marketplace last year, while stopping almost 800,000 bad apps from reaching Google Play.
Google Nest users will be required to follow 2F-authentication (Includes interview) (Digital Journal) Within a few months, Google Nest users will be required to use two-factor authentication (2FA) to access their devices. This has come a little late, but is still welcomed by Pulse Secure CMO Scott Gordon.
Cyber Trends
Number of Records Exposed in 2019 Hits 15.1 Billion (Risk Based Security) Today, we released our 2019 Year End Data Breach QuickView Report, which finds that the total number of records exposed increased by 284% compared to 2018.
In total, there were over 15.1 billion records exposed shattering industry projections. There were 7,098 breaches reported in 2019, a 1% inc
()
Cybercrime Cost Business $3.5B, Says FBI: It's a Massive Underestimate (Computer Business Review) New figures from the FBI suggest that cybercrime cost the US businesses $3.5 billion in 2019, with business email compromise (BEC) the most costly attack.
One in five Brits has secretly logged into their ex's social media accounts (Mirror) A new survey by Google has revealed that almost a fifth of Brits have secretly logged into their ex’s social media accounts
Cybersecurity top digital focus for upstream industry: poll (Offshore Technology) Upstream oil professionals have named cybersecurity as one of their biggest digital concerns in a poll, with AI to be the next big area of investment.
Marketplace
Cisco Isn’t Bidding for FireEye, Contrary to Rumors (Barron's) The stock of the security software company FireEye rose following a report that Cisco might buy it.
Cisco Prepares Acquisition Bid For Cybersecurity Firm FireEye: Report (CRN) Cisco is putting together an offer to purchase platform security vendor FireEye and expects to present the bid in the coming weeks, according to OKDIARIO.
London-based OutThink snaps up €1.4 million to expand its human risk intelligence platform (EU-Startups) UK startup OutThink, the startup behind one of the world’s first Predictive Human Risk Intelligence SaaS Platforms, has announced the completion of its €1.4 million seed funding round, led by Forward Partners. OutThink was founded by CISOs for CISOs as an alternative to traditional security awareness computer-based training.
Top UK cyber insurance providers - Information Age (Information Age) With cyber insurance developing as a market in response to rising cyber attacks, we look at the top cyber insurance providers in the UK
RSA 2020: The Show Must Go On (BankInfo Security) While public health concerns over the spread of the coronavirus are leading to the cancellation of some international events, the RSA Conference 2020 will proceed
BAE to Protect Digital Files From Cyber Threats (National Defense) BAE to Protect Digital Files From Cyber Threats
Defense contractor BAE Systems is hiring ‘cryptocurrency exploiters’ (TokenPost) BAE Systems, the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc an international defense, security and aerospace company, is looking for a cryptocurrency exploiter.The company, which is counted among the worlds largest defense...
Should the Pentagon stop playing the role of venture capitalist? (Defense News) In this commentary, a reader discusses what role the government should serve when it comes to working with startups on defense projects.
Want to make £££ in IT? Go into quality assurance, security, architecture or programme management (Computing) Then work your way up to CIO - but avoid the helpdesk, which (as always) offers the worst-paid roles in IT
WSJ News Exclusive | Google in Talks to Pay Publishers for Content in Premium News Product (Wall Street Journal) Most of the publishers in talks with Google are outside the U.S., including in France and Europe.
France to open new cyber campus next year (The Daily Swig) C’est la cyber
New York turns to Israeli start-ups to become capital of cybersecurity (The Jerusalem Post) Innovation: The concrete jungle with an Israeli state of mind
As hackers’ tactics intensify, the city invests $30M to become a cybersecurity hub (Crain's New York Business) Inside a cast-iron SoHo building, up a staircase designed by Apple Store architect Peter Bohlin, you’ll find a bustling tech hub packed with busy young entrepreneurs preparing for their auditions.
Many of them are developing and selling cybersecurity solutions, which are what just about…
Darktrace appoints Catherine Graham as CFO (Back End News) Cyber AI company Darktrace recently announced that Cathy Graham will join as its new chief financial officer (CFO) this month. Previously at 2U, an education technology firm, Graham has broad exper…
Terbium Labs Adds Industry Veteran Ayesha Prakash to Executive Team as Chief Revenue Officer (MarTechSeries) Prakash, an award-winning executive, will play key role as Terbium Labs enters its next stage of growth Terbium Labs, a leading digital risk protection company, announced that it has named Ayesha Prakash as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Prakash will be responsible for overseeing Terbium's revenue generation strategy and execution in order to increase the company's momentum and customer acquisition. Prakash comes to Terbium Labs from Flashpoint, a Business Risk Intelligence Company, where she was the Head of Worldwide Channels and Partnerships. She built and then spearheaded the 150% year-over-year growth of the organization's award-winning SPARK Partner Alliance program. Marketing Technology
Products, Services, and Solutions
Devo Technology Introduces Next-Gen Security Operations Platform to Transform the SOC and Scale Security Analyst Effectiveness | Devo.com (Devo.com) Advanced analytics and streamlined workflow amplify analyst knowledge, significantly reducing time between detection and response CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—February 12, 2020—Devo Technology today announced Devo Security Operations, … Devo Technology Introduces Next-Gen Security Operations Platform to Transform the SOC and Scale Security Analyst Effectiveness Read More »
iProov’s Cross-platform Biometric Technology Now Available Beyond Mobile (BusinessWire) iProov, a leading provider of biometric authentication technology, today announces that its Verifier product is now available to organisations needing
Thycotic Leads the Way for Cloud-Based Privileged Access Management (AiThority) Thycotic, provider of privileged access management solutions to more than 10,000 organizations, including 25 of the Fortune 100, announced its 2019
Bitdefender Joins ThreatConnect Developer Partner Program (Bitdefender) Bitdefender Advanced Threat Intelligence to be accessible via ThreatConnect platform
Spirent Expands CyberFlood Data Breach Assessment Solution with Even Greater Capabilities for Evaluating Network Security Attack Exposure (BusinessWire) Spirent expands CyberFlood Data Breach Assessment solution with even greater capabilities for evaluating network eSecurity attack exposure
Veracode Static Analysis Doubles Down on Developers’ Need for Speed with New Pipeline Scan (Veracode) Veracode Static Analysis meets the needs of DevSecOps programs with three scan types delivering fast, accurate results at all stages of the development lifecycle
Appdome Launches MobileTRUST Alliance to Find and Fix Vulnerabilities in Any Mobile App (PR Newswire) /PRNewswire/ -- Appdome, the industry defining, no-code mobile integration and solutions platform, today launched the MobileTRUST Alliance, a mobile app...
A10 Networks | A10 Networks Delivers Highest-Performance Virtual DDoS Defence Solution to Protect 5G and Cloud Infrastructures (RealWire) Thunder Threat Protection System (TPS) Enables Service Providers to Build and Operate Elastic DDoS Defences with 100 Gbps in a Single Virtual Appliance
What Makes AMULET ™ Technology Unique and Different? (Cynapsis) Simple explainer on what makes our patented cybersecurity unique. The term "digital asset" is used in the video, but think of this as a file - which could be a Word doc, an image, an audio recording, etc.
Pulse Secure offers free remote access software to firms in midst of Coronavirus (Security Brief) Pulse Secure is offering organizations means to quickly obtain Free PCS software licenses for 90-day use by their Asia Pacific-based employees.
A10 Networks Unveils Thunder Threat Protection System (TPS) (Dark Reading) Virtual DDoS defense solution protects 5G and cloud infrastructures.
Microsoft to secure New Zealand’s democratic elections (Technology Record) Microsoft will provide all New Zealand political parties and non-governmental organisations that conduct political analysis or education with free access to its AccountGuard security service ahead of the country’s upcoming general elections.
The service helps customers engaged in the electoral process with threat detection and provides guidance on improving cybersecurity practices.
AccountGuard was first deployed in the United States in 2018 to address the growing threats...
Signal Is Finally Bringing Its Secure Messaging to the Masses (Wired) The encryption app is putting a $50 million infusion from WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton to good use, building out features to help it go mainstream.
Pan-European partnership to help beat telecoms and IoT security fraud threats launched in Belgium (Telemedia Online) Last year, telecoms fraud cost the industry €29 billion. In addition to that, cyber-attacks are increasingly targeting service providers and subscriber
New infosec products of the week: February 14, 2020 (Help Net Security) The featured products this week are from the following vendors: RSA, Farsight Security, Tufin, ZeroFOX and Devo Technology.
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
Nevada’s Democrats Settle on a New System for Caucus Results After Iowa Debacle (Wall Street Journal) Nevada’s Democratic Party will use iPads and a Google web form to report results for next week’s caucuses, a system devised after the state party ditched an app similar to the one that failed in Iowa.
Nevada Democrats reveal Google Forms-based plan for transmitting early vote data, caucus results (Nevada Independent) A party official said Nevada Democrats consulted with Google on how they plan to use the company’s technology to carry out the caucus process and have been assured by them that it is a “secure process” and that the company is “comfortable” with it. The official added that Google did not specifically develop anything new for the caucus calculator and that it is “off the shelf technology.”
Ensuring cyber security during mergers and acquisitions (IT PRO) A lack of due diligence when bringing two companies together can lead to major IT and security issues down the line
GDPR Compliance: Should CISO Serve as DPO? (BankInfo Security) As organizations settle into the third year of enforcement of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, some are struggling to define and understand the role
()
BIML Releases First Risk Framework for Securing Machine Learning Systems (BIML) The Berryville Institute of Machine Learning (BIML), a research think tank dedicated to safe, secure and ethical development of AI technologies, today released the first-ever risk framework to guide development of secure ML.
()
Design and Innovation
The World's Second Largest Wikipedia Is Written Almost Entirely by One Bot (Vice) 'Wikipedia consensus is that an unedited machine translation, left as a Wikipedia article, is worse than nothing.'
Research and Development
Facebook Delivers Long-Awaited Trove of Data to Outside Researchers (Wall Street Journal) After a series of delays, Facebook is allowing a select group of academics to study internal data about how content gets shared on its platform, which could lead to a better understanding of patterns in fake news, researchers say.
Academia
New Lab Opens at Purdue, Expands Capabilities (Inside INdiana Business) Purdue University’s CERIAS (Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security the edition of a new laboratory. The new SOL4CE facility dramatically increases Purdue’s cyber-physi
Cybersecurity Professionals Help Scottish Teachers Deliver Cyber Lessons (Digit) The industry professionals will work with Skills Development Scotland to raise awareness of cybersecurity careers and develop children's cyber skills.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
On data protection, the UK says it will go it alone. It probably won't (ZDNet) The Prime Minister listed data protection as an area that the UK could legislate on following Brexit - but diverging from European Union rules on privacy would only complicate things.
Siemens, Allianz, Telekom: „Charter of Trust“ kämpft für mehr Cybersicherheit (Handelsblatt) Die Initiative von Siemens und der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz nimmt weitere Mitglieder auf und gibt sich Regeln für die Sicherheit von neuen Produkten.
Why more research is needed to craft good cyber policy (Fifth Domain) How cyber operations pertain to geopolitical interaction and act as a tool of statecraft is still largely not understood despite decades of cyber activity, experts said Feb. 12.
To Bolster Cybersecurity, the US Should Look to Estonia (Wired) The tiny European nation has come a long way after crippling cyberattacks in 2007. Now, it offers key lessons in attracting tech talent and educating citizens.
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: The U.S. is going after Huawei, but it isn't changing allies' minds (Washington Post) New accusations and indictments this week aren't making an impact abroad
Trump wants US to be less reliant on GPS with new executive order (C4ISRNET) The federal government wants to ensure that critical infrastructure isn't vulnerable to any GPS outage.
Tech firms must do more on child abuse, European police chiefs say (Reuters) European police chiefs have thrown their support behind British demands for tech...
Sen. Gillibrand proposes a new government agency to protect privacy on the internet (CNBC) New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's new privacy legislation would not preempt state laws, an idea opposed by many Republicans.
The U.S. Needs a Data Protection Agency (Medium) Companies and foreign adversaries want to exploit your data. Someone should be looking out for you.
Privacy Experts Skeptical of Proposed Data Protection Agency (Threatpost) A new Data Protection Agency would overhaul federal regulation efforts around data privacy – but experts are skeptical that the U.S. government can get it right.
Why aren’t presidential candidates talking about cybercrime? - CyberScoop (CyberScoop) Op-ed: The American electorate says reducing cybercrime is a top priority of theirs. It's time for the candidates to start talking about it.
()
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
China’s Huawei Charged With Racketeering, Stealing Trade Secrets (Wall Street Journal) Huawei Technologies and two of its U.S. subsidiaries were charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to steal trade secrets in a new federal indictment.
US charges Huawei with racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets (ZDNet) US updates charges against Huawei, adds racketeering and IP theft allegations against the Chinese telco provider and its CFO.
The US is charging Huawei with racketeering (TechCrunch) Ratcheting up its pressure campaign against Huawei and its affiliates, the Department of Justice and the FBI announced today that it has brought 16 charges against Huawei in a sprawling case with major geopolitical implications (you can read the full 56-page indictment here). Huawei is being charge…
Looks Like Huawei Might Be Screwed This Time (Gizmodo) The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it was unsealing a superseding indictment against Chinese tech giant Huawei, charging the company and several of its affiliates under a law traditionally used to take down sprawling criminal syndicates that operated under multiple layers of secrecy.
Analysis: Indictments in Equifax Hack (BankInfo Security) The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the indictments of four Chinese military officers in connection with the 2017 Equifax data breach. Also
Twitter, Facebook fined for not moving user data to Russia (AP NEWS) A court in Moscow fined Twitter and Facebook 4 million rubles each Thursday for refusing to store the personal data of Russian citizens on servers in Russia, the largest penalties...
()
()
Man who refused to decrypt hard drives is free after four years in jail (Ars Technica) Court holds that jail time to force decryption can't last more than 18 months.
DOJ charges Ohio man with laundering over $300 million via bitcoin (The Verge) Mixing, or tumbling, cryptocurrency is often done to hide illegal activity
United States of America v. Larry Dean Harmon (US District Court for the District of Columbia) 1. Defendant LARRY DEAN HARMON ("HARMON") was a resident of Ohio and Belize. 2. Starting in or about April 2014, HARMON owned and operated a Darknet search engine called Grams.
Call us immediately if your child uses Kali Linux, squawks West Mids Police (Register) Maybe stick to walking the beat instead of infosec advice, eh?