Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
“Anonymous” attacks Italian state website because of pipeline transporting gas from Azerbaijan (Panorama) State website of Italian region Apulia was attacked by the members of the international network of activists “Anonymous,” who protested against Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, Italian news agency ANSA reports
United Nations World Tourism Organization hacked and forum members’ data dumped (Office of Inadequate Security) The United Nations World Tourism Organization has reportedly been defaced, hacked, and forum data dumped by TeaMp0isoN. A TeaMp0isoN spokesperson alerted DataBreaches.net to the incident
Sony Pictures hackers linked to breaches in China, India, Japan: report (Reuters) The perpetrators of the 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment were not activists or disgruntled employees, and likely had attacked other targets in China, India, Japan and Taiwan, according to a coalition of security companies that jointly investigated the Sony case for more than a year
CTB-Locker/Critroni Finds New Legs Targeting Websites (Threatpost) After months of relative dormancy, ransomware CTB-Locker or Critroni is back and this time finding new life targeting websites
An Android Trojan Raises Serious Concerns (BankInfoSecurity) Experts describe evolving worldwide threat and what to do about it
Porn clicker trojans keep flooding Google Play (We Live Security) ESET researchers have found 343 malicious porn clicker trojans, which ESET detects as Android/Clicker, on Google Play over the last seven months – and their numbers keep rising
Why the Linux Mint hack is an indicator of a larger problem (Tech Republic) Security vulnerabilities at the Linux Mint project highlight substantial issues with the popular Linux distribution, and the difficulty of maintaining a Linux distribution as a hobbyist project
Malicious websites exploit Silverlight bug that can pwn Macs and Windows (Ars Technica) Code execution exploit for just-fixed bug makes encore appearance in Angler
Mousejacking: What you need to know (Naked Security) US startup Bastille Networks boldly claims to be “the first and only company to completely secure the Enterprise,” even though it doesn’t have any products on its website yet
Phishers Spoof CEO, Request W2 Forms (KrebsOnSecurity) With tax filing season in the United States well underway, scammers who specialize in tax refund fraud have a new trick up their sleeves: Spoofing emails from a target organization’s CEO, asking human resources and accounting departments for employee W-2 information
The Habits Of Hackers: When You're Most Likely To Get Attacked (LifeHacker) When are you most likely to be hit by a cyberattack? What methods and tools do cybercriminals prefer to use when they are targeting an individual or an organisation? Security specialist Proofpoint has looked at some common trends to come out of recent attacks to reveal the habits of hackers
Cybercriminals use mobile apps to gather data for enterprise spear-phishing attacks (FierceMobileIT) Mobile apps are being used to gather information in order to launch spear-phishing attacks against enterprises as part of advanced persistent threat attacks, warned mobile app security firm Appthority in its Q1 2016 Enterprise Mobile Threat Report
Avast set up rogue access points at Mobile World Congress to prove people suck at security (Geek) You might think that the kind of tech heads who attend CES and Mobile World Congress have a clue about security. Avast set up an experiment to prove that’s not necessarily the case
I got hacked mid-air while writing an Apple-FBI story (USA Today) “I don’t really need to worry about online privacy,” I used to think. “I’ve got nothing to hide. And who would want to know what I’m up to, anyway?”
I dared two expert hackers to destroy my life. Here’s what happened. (Fusion) Several months ago, while I was typing a few e-mails at my dining room table, my laptop spoke to me
Baltimore hackers say they reveal potentially deadly cybersecurity weaknesses at area hospitals (Baltimore Sun) Area hospitals are riddled with cybersecurity flaws that could allow attackers to hack into medical devices and kill patients, a team of Baltimore-based researchers has concluded after a two-year investigation
Securing mobile health records remains a significant challenge (CSO) Healthcare organizations are investing big into mobile medical records, but are they keeping them secure?
Breach of millions of kids’ images and messages sparks disclosure spat at uKnowKids (Naked Security) The bad news: millions of messages and images of 1,700 kids were exposed by a site that – ironically! – helps parents babysit their offsprings’ mobile chats, social media doings and locations
Nissan LEAF cloud security fail leaves drivers exposed (Naked Security) The Nissan LEAF is a popular all-electric vehicle: you have to charge it up from a power supply, and it can’t run on an alternative fuel if the battery goes flat
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Critical Vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS (Internet Storm Center) Yesterday, Palo Alto Networks released an update to PAN-OS, which addresses five different vulnerabilities. The security researcher who identified the vulnerabilities will publish details about these issues at a conference on March 16th. You MUST patch affected systems before that date
Security Advisories (Palo Alto Networks) This section provides a listing of all security vulnerabilities identified in currently supported Palo Alto Networks products. Each vulnerability is given a criticality rating and an updated status on any updates or mitigations regarding each discovered vulnerablity. Each vulnerability listing also provides a list of the versions of PAN OS the vulnerability is known to affect
Drupal Core - Critical - Multiple Vulnerabilities - SA-CORE-2016-001 (Drupal) Vulnerability: Multiple vulnerabilities
Outdated payment terminals exempted by Mozilla from SHA-1 certificate ban (IDG via CSO) Mozilla will allow Symantec to issue new certificates signed with the weak SHA-1 algorithm to payment processor Worldpay
Cyber Trends
Firms detect breaches sooner, but attackers have gotten nastier (CSO) Firms are detecting breaches sooner, according to a new report from Mandiant
An industry in turmoil: Poor cyberthreat prep puts patients in danger (FierceHealthIT) Study: Hospitals plagued by lack of security funding, personnel, training
Securing Hospitals: A research study and blueprint (Independent Security Evaluators) The research results from our assessment of 12 healthcare facilities, 2 healthcare data facilities, 2 active medical devices from one manufacturer, and 2 web applications that remote adversaries can easily deploy attacks that target and compromise patient health
Leaky Apps Far Riskier Than Mobile Malware (Dark Reading) Even top enterprise apps are rampant with data leakage and privacy-invasive behavior
2015 Highlights and Trends in the Deep & Dark Web (Flashpoint) 2015 was a year of escalating activity in the Deep & Dark Web. Illicit goods marketplaces matured and new, specialized marketplaces emerged. Novel schemes for fraud and financial cybercrime appeared, as did offerings, and business models allowed a larger class of less sophisticated actors to engage in cybercrime
Verizon: Mobile Beaches Cost More than $9K Each (IT Business Edge) The issue of mobile device security is huge, complex and very important. And, according to a new study by Verizon, the problem even may be worse than though
Understanding The Weapons Of Mobile Warfare (TechWeek Europe) As enterprises go increasingly mobile, it’s inevitable that cybercrime will follow
How to Identify and Authenticate in the Expanding IoT Ecosystem (CloudTweeks) It is a necessity to protect IoT devices and their associated data
Devices Running Insecure Software: Study (eSecurity Planet) Study of two million devices reveals that more than half are running outdated, vulnerable software
Twitter Can Only Lose When It Polices Abuse (Bloomberg View) Less than a year ago, in those innocent, dewy-eyed days before Donald Trump had become the front-runner for the Republican nomination, I wrote about an issue that seemed important at the time: Twitter’s harassment problem
Marketplace
Someone is posting images of dead unicorns in the heart of Silicon Valley (Quartz) Taped on multiple lampposts on University Avenue in the downtown district is a directive for employees of Palantir—which is headquartered here in the heart of Silicon Valley—to “stand up for startup employee rights”
Innovative Cybersecurity Startups Boosted by New, Big-League Investment Group (IBM Security Intelligence) It’s a cyber startup’s wildest dream: An investment group led by InfoSec powerhouses is willing to supply pro bono services along with big cash infusions. As noted by SecurityWeek, that dream will become a reality in 2016 due to Strategic Cyber Ventures (SCV), which is already seeking innovators in the authentication, mobile and intrusion detection space. So, how do cybersecurity startups get their products on SCV’s radar?
Vera secures $17 million in series B financing (Help Net Security) Vera, a top 10 finalist for the Innovation Sandbox competition at RSA Conference 2016, has closed $17 million in Series B financing, led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from existing investors Battery Ventures, Clear Venture Partners, and Amplify Partners
KEYW soars after Q4 beat; strategic review underway for Hexis (Seeking Alpha) KEYW Holding (KEYW +21.3%) used its Q4 report to state it's "exploring strategic alternatives" for its Hexis Cyber Solutions unit, which is responsible for the company's HawkEye G threat-detection and malware-removal solution
New KEYW CEO starts overhaul with $12M sale of business line (Baltimore Business Journal) Hanover-based cybersecurity and intelligence contractor KEYW Holding Corp. is selling one of its business lines for $12 million and looking at unloading another, it said Wednesday as it released fourth-quarter earnings capping a tumultuous year
Feature: iovation and the story behind one of Nevada’s deepest regulatory investigations (Gaming Intelligence) For the first time since the UltimateBet poker scandal hit, iovation founder and chief executive Greg Pierson tells his story about the painful road to redemption
Threat Intelligence Innovator Norse Corp. Releases Findings of Investigative Review, Uncovers Serious Errors in Recent Coverage of the Company (BusinessWire) Norse Corp. today announced the findings of a comprehensive forensic review conducted to examine details cited in a blog post on the company, written by veteran security reporter Brian Krebs and published on Krebs on Security
Force 3 Awarded ITES-3H Contract (Benzinga) Force 3 today announced that it was awarded an ITES-3H contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command
Iron Bow Secures U.S. Army’s $5B ITES-3H Contract (Sys-Con Media) Iron Bow Technologies, an information technology solutions provider, today announced that the United States Army Contracting Command has awarded the company the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-3 Hardware (ITES-3H) contract, valued at $5 billion
Air Force awards SIGINT contract (C4ISR & Networks) Assured Information Security has been awarded a $9.8 million Air Force contract for research into signals intelligence (SIGINT)
NIKSUN to Form Key Components of the U.S. Government's New Cyber Security Architecture (NIKSUN) NIKSUN, the world leader in cyber security and network performance monitoring solutions, announced today that it has become the chosen primary provider of full packet capture capability for the U.S. Government's new network protection program, the Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS)
Ireland can be cybersecurity capital of the world – report (Silicon Republic) Adding to its tech portfolio, in a somewhat more niche way, a new report claims that Ireland could become a major hub for cybersecurity companies
Raytheon Intell Segment Lead Dave Wajsgras Chosen to 2016 Wash100 for Commercial Cyber Leadership (GovConExec) Executive Mosaic is pleased to introduce Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon‘s intelligence, information and services business segment into the 2016 edition of the Wash100 — Executive Mosaic’s annual selection of influential leaders in government contracting
Virtustream Appoints New Executives to Accelerate Global Growth (BusinessWire) Following most successful year to date, company names new COO and head of global markets to drive worldwide expansion
ThreatStream Announces Two New Executive Hires (MarketWired) Management team expanded to support burgeoning threat analysis platform
Products, Services, and Solutions
Google Wants to Save News Sites From Cyberattacks—For Free (Wired) Mehdi Yahyanejad thought that after Iranians voted on June 12, 2009, he would finally get some rest
LookingGlass Delivers Next Generation of Intelligence-Driven Network Security Solutions (BusinessWire) Integrated network security appliances and applications offer the industry’s only contextual threat visibility combined with threat intelligence-driven dynamic defense solutions
Operationalizing Threat Intelligence at the Network Layer (Cyveillance Blog) By integrating threat intelligence into the network layer, security and network operations teams often find that both their effectiveness and efficiencies improve. Today we are pleased to announce an update to LookingGlass’ suite of threat mitigation applications dubbed the ‘NetX’ product line
Lieberman Software Provides Unified Solution To Control Privileged Access In On-Premises, Cloud And Hybrid Environments (HostReview) Lieberman Software Corporation today announced significant new cloud security capabilities incorporated in its Privileged Access Management (PAM) product, Enterprise Random Password Manager™ (ERPM)
Morphisec Launches MTD-Based Endpoint Threat Prevention Solution, Enabling Companies to Seize the Cyber Advantage from Hackers (IT Business Net) Game-changing technology revealed prior to West Coast security conferences
Webroot launches enterprise cybersecurity threat investigator BrightCloud (ZDNet) The solution has been designed to find "needle in the haystack" critical security threats to enterprise systems
TrustPipe fine tunes its security software to target enterprise (Network World) Endpoint software blocks zero days, creates new ID markers to catch them faster the next time
CEO: Corero’s new product will be a “very important tool” for DDos protection (Proactive Investors) Ashley Stevenson, chief executive of cyber security specialist Corero Network Security (LON:CNS), speaks to Proactive about the launch the beta version of its latest software monitoring solution
Blue Coat and NetApp to provide high-density storage for industry-leading security incident response and forensics solution (CSO) Blue Coat Systems, Inc., a market leader in enterprise security, and NetApp, a leader in enterprise storage, today announced the companies are working together to provide high-density storage solutions that enable extended network forensic analysis
SentinelOne Introduces First Next Generation Endpoint Protection Built for Linux Servers (Yahoo! Finance) Platform combines best-in-class detection, prevention and remediation against sophisticated malware and exploit-based attacks
BlackBerry Launches New Professional Cybersecurity Services Practice to Expand Portfolio (BlackBerry) BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a global leader in secure mobile communications, today announced the launch of its new Professional Cybersecurity Services practice that will further expand BlackBerry’s security portfolio by offering organizations new consulting services, tools and best practices to assess and thwart ever-changing cybersecurity risks
Fortscale Joins FireEye Fuel Cyber Security Coalition (BusinessWire) Integrates Fortscale UBA into FireEye Global Threat Management Platform
Varonis Announces Interoperability With LogRhythm to Protect File Data Before Cyberattacks Materialize (Nasdaq) Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRNS), a leading provider of software solutions that protect data from insider threats and cyberattacks, today announced the interoperability of its DatAdvantage and DatAlert solutions with the LogRhythmSecurity Intelligence Platform
Encrypted Email Startup Tutanota Reaches 1 Million Users (Hack Read) The trend for using encrypted email service started after Snowden leaks. Several firms took on the NSA and came up with end-to-end email encryption system
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
Operation Blockbuster security biz: We'll get you, Sony hackers (Register) Or neutralise? At the very least, we'll slow you down
Defending Your Network Against DDoS Attacks (Tripwire: the State of Security) There is nothing more frustrating to a customer or client who is unable to access the website of a company, bank or retailer. Multiple emails and attempts to “check out” often lead to the viewpoint of “forget them; I will just go to another e-retailer to see if they have it in stock"
‘Ten Commandments’ of Cyber Security Can Enhance Safety (Knowledge@Wharton) Hacker attacks such as the one on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center show how easily digital platforms can be turned against organizations, but taking 10 steps can augment security, write RANE founder David Lawrence and his co-authors in this opinion piece
Bugcrowd CEO Casey Ellis on bug bounty programs (FedScoop) Cybersecurity Insights & Perspectives host Kevin Greene speaks with Bugcrowd CEO Casey Ellis about the challenges and opportunities of bug bounty programs
The Importance of Source Code Analysis for Investigations (Part 2) (Legaltech News) Joe Sremack examines the types of source code analysis that can be performed and how you can integrate that analysis into an investigation
Security Lessons From My Doctor (Dark Reading) Why it's hard to change risky habits like weak passwords and heavy smoking, even when advice is clear
Avoiding the Internet of spam still requires human intelligence (Control) If AI becomes an agent of spam—meaningless messages that require no action—the time and resources expended on data analysis will have been wasted
Design and Innovation
Apple Is Said to Be Working on an iPhone Even It Can’t Hack (New York Times) Apple engineers have already begun developing new security measures that would make it impossible for the government to break into a locked iPhone using methods similar to those now at the center of a court fight in California, according to people close to the company and security experts
Research and Development
Galois-Led TAMBA Project to Test DARPA Data Privacy Program Brandeis (ExecutiveBiz) Galois has been awarded a $6.2 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to test the privacy of systems for DARPA’s Brandeis program
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
European companies sold powerful surveillance technology to Egypt, report says (Verge) Privacy International investigation sheds light on Egyptian intelligence agency that operates in total secrecy
Appropriators appear to back more cyber spending (FCW) Lawmakers at a budget hearing appeared cautious but receptive to proposed increases to the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity budget as Secretary Jeh Johnson continued to pitch them on the progress made last year
Justice asks for $38M to build encryption-breaking tools (Federal Times) No matter which way it goes, no one believes the current court (and public) battle between Apple and the FBI over access to an iPhone used by a terrorist involved in the San Bernardino shooting will be the end of the debate over encryption
Lawmakers propose commission to settle encryption debate (Federal Times) As feds and private companies come to grips with the dueling security issues at the heart of the encryption debate, two lawmakers are preparing to create a commission to find answers to the major questions
Washington Has a Very Washington-Like Solution for the Apple-FBI Crypto War (Foreign Policy) Despite being locked in an acrimonious fight over the government’s ability to access encrypted communications, both Apple and the FBI say they agree on one basic principle: the need to strike a balance between privacy and national security interests. The problem is that no one can agree on what that should look like
The economics of backdoors (CSO) Why it’s bad for U.S. corporations and the U.S. economy
The privacy vs. security battle, reignited (PBS Newshour) As Apple’s standoff with federal courts reignites the debate over privacy versus security, some may wonder just how much American intelligence policies have changed since Sept. 11. Hari Sreenivasan talks with former CIA Director Michael Hayden about the constitutional cost of national security, the efficacy of drone strikes and the human element within the Central Intelligence Agency
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Forget the 1st Amendment, Apple to plead the 5th in iPhone crypto flap (Ars Technica) It's a novel constitutional legal argument versus an unprecedented government demand
Apple May Use a First Amendment Defense in That FBI Case. And It Just Might Work (Wired) Apple's lawyers indicated yesterday that they plan to use a First Amendment defense in the San Bernardino iPhone case, arguing that if code is speech, then the government is compelling the company to say something it doesn’t want to by forcing it to cooperate in cracking the phone’s password. That might sound like a weak argument on which to hang a critical data privacy case. But experts say the company might actually be onto something
Apple: FBI Wants Access To Many Different iPhones (InformationWeek) Despite the FBI's insistence that it's focused on the San Bernardino terrorism case, authorities want access to more than one iPhone
Tim Cook: An iPhone Master Key Would Be the 'Software Equivalent of Cancer' (Gizmodo) Apple CEO Tim Cook told ABC World News Tonight’s David Muir that he remains opposed to giving the FBI a skeleton key that would allow it to break into one of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhones
Verizon supports 'strong encryption with no backdoors': CEO (Reuters) Verizon Communications Inc supports "the availability of strong encryption with no backdoors," Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said on Wednesday, weighing in the showdown between Apple Inc and U.S. authorities over mobile device encryption
Hands Off Our iPhones! (Spiked) The FBI is trying to strongarm Apple into compromising user privacy
Arizona prosecutor: We’re not buying any more iPhones over Apple and DOJ dispute (Ars Technica) Maricopa Co.: Apple is "on side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety"
Spy agencies say Clinton emails closely matched top secret documents: sources (Reuters) U.S. spy agencies have told Congress that Hillary Clinton's home computer server contained some emails that should have been treated as "top secret" because their wording matched sections of some of the government's most highly classified documents, four sources familiar with the agency reports said
Confirmed: Carnegie Mellon University Attacked Tor, Was Subpoenaed By Feds (Motherboard) In November, Motherboard reported that a “university-based research institute” provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that led to the identification of criminal suspects on the so-called dark web
FBI subpoenaed Carnegie Mellon University for Tor-using suspect’s IP address (Help Net Security) A court order in the case of U.S. vs Brian Farrell, a man charged with conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs while he was allegedly an administrator of the Silk Road 2.0 website, has provided official confirmation that the FBI identified him thanks to the IP address provided by the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, who did some research on the Tor network
FTC And Asus Settle Router Security Case (Threatpost) The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with ASUSTeK Computer over sloppy security settings tied to its routers that left the personal data of 12,900 consumers’ publicly available
Navy engineer with secret access accused of concealing double life as Iranian citizen (Navy Times) A 30-year Navy engineer with access to government secrets has been indicted on charges of lying about his dual Iranian citizenship and creating false identities to conceal his ongoing ties and money he received from overseas
UK businesses and police growing cyber capabilities, summit told (ComputerWeekly) UK businesses and police are getting better at building cyber capabilities, but there is still work to be done, according to the deputy head of the Met Police's Falcon unit