Ukrainian hackers claim attack against Moscow ISP. SEC’s X account compromised.

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Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

Ukrainian hackers claim attack against Moscow ISP.
SEC’s X account compromised.
Personal data of Brazilians exposed online.
FTC prohibits data broker from selling location data.

Ukrainian hackers claim attack against Moscow ISP.

“Blackjack,” a hacker group tied to the Security Service of Ukraine, has claimed responsibility for an attack against Russian internet provider M9 Telecom, Reuters reports. The hackers claim to have deleted 20 terabytes of the company’s data, disrupting service for customers in Moscow. The group says the attack was in retaliation for a Russian cyberattack against Ukrainian telecom Kyivstar last month. Reuters notes that it’s unclear when Blackjack’s attack against M9 took place.

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SEC’s X account compromised.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) X account was compromised yesterday and used to tweet that the SEC was granting approval for Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on all registered national securities exchanges, the AP reports. The phony tweet caused the price of Bitcoin to spike to $48,000.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler tweeted on his personal account soon afterwards, “The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”

X’s Safety account tweeted last night, “Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems, but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party. We can also confirm that the account did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time the account was compromised.”

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Personal data of Brazilians exposed online.

Researchers at Cybernews discovered a publicly accessible Elasticsearch instance containing personal information belonging to 223 million Brazilians (possibly the country’s entire population). The data included full names, dates of birth, and taxpayer identification numbers. The researchers note, “While the data is no longer publicly available, in the hands of a malicious actor, the exposed data could have been misused for identity theft, fraud, and targeted cybercrimes.”

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FTC prohibits data broker from selling location data.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday reached a settlement with Virginia-based data broker Outlogic (formerly X-Mode Social) barring the company from sharing or selling any sensitive location data, the Record reports. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan stated, “The FTC’s action against X-Mode makes clear that businesses do not have free license to market and sell Americans’ sensitive location data. By securing a first-ever ban on the use and sale of sensitive location data, the FTC is continuing its critical work to protect Americans from intrusive data brokers and unchecked corporate surveillance.”

Notes.

Today's issue includes events affecting China, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.

Selected Reading

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Ukrainian “Blackjack” Hackers Take Out Russian ISP (Infosecurity Magazine) State-backed Ukrainian hacking group Blackjack has launched a destructive attack against a Moscow-based ISP in retaliation for Kyivstar attack

Fidelity National Financial says hackers stole data on 1.3 million customers (TechCrunch) The November cyberattack knocked the real estate servicing giant offline for a week, freezing the company's operations.

Entire population of Brazil possibly exposed in massive data leak (Security Affairs) The private data of hundreds of millions of Brazilian citizens were publicly accessible to threat actors, putting individuals at risk.

SEC has not approved bitcoin ETFs: Gary Gensler (MarketWatch) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was compromised on Tuesday and published an unauthorized post...

AI-powered misinformation is the world's biggest short-term threat, Davos report says (AP News) The World Economic Forum says false and misleading information supercharged with cutting-edge artificial intelligence is the top immediate risk to the global economy.

China says state-backed experts crack Apple's AirDrop (Digital Journal) Chinese state-backed experts have found a way to identify people who use Apple's encrypted AirDrop messaging service.

Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates

Apache Struts Vulnerability CVE-2023-50164: Cybersecurity Advisory (Uptycs) Explore the critical Apache Struts vulnerability CVE-2023-50164: impact, exploitation & essential mitigation strategies for robust security.

January Patch Tuesday: New year, more Windows bugs (The Register) Nothing under exploit… The calm before the storm?

Marketplace

HPE to acquire Juniper Networks for $14 billion (CNBC) HPE said that buying Juniper, a lingering competitor, would boost margins and speed up revenue growth as it goes up against Cisco

SYN Ventures Appoints Former SAP Chief Security Officer Tim McKnight as Operating Partner (Yahoo Finance) WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., January 09, 2024--SYN Ventures adds third former Fortune 500 CISO as partner with appointment of former SAP chief strategy officer Tim McKnight as Operating Partner.

Veriti Appoints Seasoned Cybersecurity Expert Scott Kasper as Chief Revenue Officer to Spearhead Market Expansion Initiatives (PR Newswire) /PRNewswire/ -- Veriti, a prominent leader in the realm of consolidated security platforms, today announced the appointment of Scott Kasper as its new Chief...

Products, Services, and Solutions

TrustCloud Named Security Innovation of the Year (SMB) by the Cloud Awards (TrustCloud) TrustCloud has been recognized with the Security Innovation of the Year (SMB) award in the 2023-2024 Cloud Awards program. TrustCloud makes compliance more accessible for thousands of businesses, and provides GRC leaders with clear visibility into their program status, audit readiness, risk posture, and ROI for easier communication with leadership.

BlackDice and Orion Telekom Collaboration Marks a Significant Leap Forward in Cybersecurity (GlobeNewswire News Room) LEEDS, United Kingdom, Jan. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackDice Holdings Corp. (

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

NSA: Benefits of generative AI in cyber security will outweigh the bad (ITPro) The use of generative AI in cyber security will enable practitioners to tackle threats more effectively, but attackers are also ramping up their use of the technology

AI Helps U.S. Intelligence Track Hackers Targeting Critical Infrastructure (WSJ) Chinese hackers, trying to burrow into U.S. ports and pipelines, use techniques that would be difficult to detect without AI, NSA cybersecurity official says.

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

FTC Order Prohibits Data Broker X-Mode Social and Outlogic from Selling Sensitive Location Data (Federal Trade Commission) Data broker X-Mode Social and its successor Outlogic will be prohibited from sharing or selling any sensitive location data to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company sold prec

Industry Events

For a complete running list of events, please visit the Event Tracker.

Events

The International Conference on Cyber Security 2024 (New York, New York, USA, Jan 8 - 10, 2024) The International Conference on Cyber Security (ICCS) is the premier global cybersecurity event spanning three days, with over 50 distinguished speakers from the government, the private sector, and academia. It is an unparalleled opportunity for global cyber threat analysis, operations, research, and law enforcement leaders to coordinate and share their efforts to create a more secure world.

SANS Cloud Defender 2024 (Virtual, Jan 8 - 13, 2024) At SANS Cloud Defender 2024, choose from 41 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications!

SANS Classic 2024 (Virtual, Jan 15 - 20, 2024) At SANS Classic 2024, choose from 41 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications!

Insider Threat Program Development, Management & Optimization Live Web Based Training Course (Virtual, Jan 17 - 18, 2024) This highly sought after and very comprehensive 1 day training course will ensure that the Insider Threat Program (ITP) Manager and others who support the ITP (Insider Threat Analyst, FSO, CSO, CISO, Human Resources, CIO - IT, Network Security, Counterintelligence Investigators, Behavioral Science Professionals, Legal Etc.), have the Core Knowledge, Blueprint, Resources needed for developing, managing, enhancing an ITP / ITP Working Group.

SANS Cyber Security Mountain: January 2024 (Virtual, Jan 22 - 27, 2024) At SANS Cyber Security Mountain: January 2024, choose from 41 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications!

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Daily Briefing for 01.10.24