Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Someone Could Definitely Hack the Emergency Warning System. Here's Why They'd Do It. (Popular Mechanics) The false alarms of North Korean attacks against Japan and Hawaii look like innocuous mistakes. But there are plenty of good reasons why someone might want to mess with emergency alerts.
Yes, Hawaii emergency management stuck a password on a sticky note (Naked Security) … and nobody bothered to vet the photo taken of that sticky note and distributed by AP.
It’s raining fake missiles: Japan follows Hawaii with mistaken alert (Naked Security) First the US state of Hawaii; now Japanese broadcaster NHK has issued an erroneous warning about a North Korean missile attack.
Russian cyber meddling extends well beyond elections (FCW) Fake FCC comments are yet another sign of Russia's ongoing destabilization campaign against U.S. targets, a social media expert told Congress.
Attackers Use Microsoft Office Vulnerabilities to Spread Zyklon Malware (Threatpost) Hackers are exploiting three Microsoft Office vulnerabilities to spread the Zyklon HTTP malware .
Exobot Author Calls It Quits and Sells Off Banking Trojan Source Code (BleepingComputer) Things are about to get a lot worse for Android users after the source code of a highly advanced Android banking trojan has been sold to different parties on a well-known hacking forum.
New botnet infects cryptocurrency mining computers, replaces wallet address (Ars Technica) Attacker has generated about $2,000 in digital coin so far in a scam that remains active.
Satori variant hacks into mining rigs, steals ETH by replacing wallet address (Help Net Security) Qihoo 360 Netlab researchers warn about a new variant of the Satori ETH mining malware. Since its emergence, the malware has earned its developer nearly 2 ETH, but so far he "collected" just one, amounting to a little over $810.
BlackWallet cryptocurrency site loses users’ money after DNS hijack (Naked Security) Another site in the booming cryptocurrency wallet sector has been hacked after what looks like a simple DNS hijacking attack.
Security researcher finds new Mac malware (Computing) Macs increasingly targeted by hackers
Serious Flaws Found in Phoenix Contact Industrial Switches (Security Week) Vulnerabilities in Phoenix Contact industrial switches can allow hackers to disrupt operations
Norton notes 'You won' malware scam crosses from PC to Android (iTWire) With Android seen as the Windows of the mobile world, it's no surprise to see Windows-type malware being redesigned for Android devices. The Norton se...
Cloud computing: Why a major cyber-attack could be as costly as a hurricane (ZDNet) The economic costs of a large cyber-attack could be as large as the impact of a major natural disaster.
Lessons to be learned from the Elasticsearch data breach (Techgenix) An Elasticsearch data breach exposed sensitive information on more than 1,000 NFL players and agents. What are the lessons from this attack?
Norwegian health authority hacked, patient data of nearly 3 million citizens possibly compromised (Help Net Security) Hackers have breached the systems of the Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Sør-Øst RHF), and possibly made off with personal information and health records of some 2.9 million Norwegians.
Singing River Health System Still Recovering 2 Days After Cyber Attack (Health Leaders) Workers shut down the entire computer network Monday night to thwart what the organization described as attempted extortion.
Twitter denies claims that it snoops on your private messages (Naked Security) Twitter has pushed back against allegations that its employees “view everything” users post on their servers, including private messages
Hijackers DM @realDonaldTrump from former Fox News hosts’ accounts (Naked Security) The hackers tweeted out love for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “We love turkish soldiers, we love Erdogan, we love Turkey.”
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - January 2018 (Oracle) A Critical Patch Update is a collection of patches for multiple security vulnerabilities. Critical Patch Update patches are usually cumulative, but each advisory describes only the security fixes added since the previous Critical Patch Update advisory. Thus, prior Critical Patch Update advisories should be reviewed for information regarding earlier published security fixes.
Oracle January CPU Analysis: 64% of Patches Affect Business-Critical Applications (Onapsis Security Blog) Today Oracle released its first Critical Patch Update of 2018, the first of four in the year (one per quarter). Included patched bugs in Oracle E-Business Suite this month are two critical vulnerabilities that were found by Onapsis Research Labs.
Analyzing Oracle Security – Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2018 (ERPScan) Today Oracle has released its quarterly patch update for January 2018. It fixes a total of 237 vulnerabilities.
Don't panic! Oracle releases 237 patches fixing 153 vulnerabilities in business-critical applications (Computing) Critical flaws in Fusion Middleware, PeopleSoft and MICROS retail applications fixed in Oracle's latest Critical Patch Update.
Oracle Ships 237 Fixes in Latest Critical Patch Update (Threatpost) Enterprise applications from Oracle and others could be becoming juicier targets for attackers.
JOLTandBLEED Details and PoC (ERPScan) On November 15, 2017, Oracle published urgent critical updates related to JOLTandBLEED vulnerability (CVE 2017-10269). Today we released its proof of concept. As you remember, this vulnerability allows an attacker to gain full access to all data stored in the following ERP systems:
Vulnerability in ISC BIND leads to DoS, patch today! (Help Net Security) ISC has released security updates for BIND, the most widely used DNS software on the Internet, and a patch for ISC DHCP, its open source software that implements the DHCP for connection to an IP network.
Cyber Trends
Conflict among world powers a growing concern, experts say (Tampa Bay Times) The World Economic Forum says a new survey found more than nine in 10 experts are expressing concerns about worsening economic or political confrontation between world powers in 2018
2018 State of the Phish (Wombat Security) The Wombat Security 2018 State of the Phish Report provides the latest on phishing attacks, ransomware, and end user risk management.
Gemalto and Ponemon Institute Study: Big gaps emerge between countries on attitudes towards data protection in the cloud (Business Insider) Study reveals regional disparities in adoption of cloud security: German businesses almost twice as likely to secure confidential or sensitive information in the cloud (61%) than British (35%), Brazilian (34%) and Japanese (31%) organizations
Roughly Half of Cybersecurity Incidents Due to Employee Negligence and Weak IT Security Policies (Security Intelligence) Only 12 percent of employees fully understand their organization's IT security policies and human error accounts for nearly half of all cybersecurity incidents, according to a recent report.
Marketplace
List of 200 cybersecurity startups that received venture capital in 2017 (CSO Online) VC firms and corporate investors are fueling a trillion-dollar cybersecurity market.
Under threat: Cyber security startups fall on harder times (Reuters) A wave of cyber attacks by criminals, spies and hacker activists should make these heady days for U.S. cyber security startups.
There's No Public Evidence Huawei Spies on Americans, But the Company Is Getting Blackballed Anyway (Motherboard) Telecom companies scrapping plans to sell Huawei phones reeks of hysteria and protectionism.
Hehe, still writing code for a living? It's 2018. You could be earning x3 as a bug bounty hunter (Register) Oh, yeah, and learning new tricks and protecting stuff, sure
The 2018 Hacker Report (HackerOne) We are in the age of the hacker. Hackers are lauded as heroes, discussed daily in the media, villainized at times, and portrayed by Hollywood - anything but ignored.
One Identity Acquires Balabit to Bolster Privileged Access Management Solutions (Quest Community) Acquisition of Balabit enables One Identity to direct future development and create even more powerful solutions customers and partners can leverage to solve...
WatchGuard Buys DNS-Filtering Company Percipient Networks (Dark Reading) Percipient's 'Strongarm' to become part of WatchGuard's SMB security services.
RigNet (RNET) Announces Acquisition of Intelie (Street Insider) RigNet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNET) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Intelie Soluções em Informática SA, a real-time, predictive analytics company that is an award-winning, early pioneer in deep machine learning and planning optimization
Allot Communications Expands Cybersecurity Business with Startup Acquisition (CTECH) The communications equipment company will add Tel Aviv-based Netonomy's connected home security software to its product offering
Anomali secures $40 million Series D led by Lumia Capital to scale threat detection solution (TechCrunch) Anomali, a threat detection and mitigation company, announced a hefty $40 million Series D investment today led by Lumia Capital. The company was previously..
With $13M in Initial Funding, VDOO Aims to Secure the Internet of Things (IoT) (BusinessWire) Dell EMC and Greylock are backing VDOO, a company with a new approach to IoT security.
Workday Expands Security Toolset with Duo Partnership (Duo Security) Workday, Inc., a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today announced a partnership with Duo Security, a cybersecurity leader specializing in trusted access and multi-factor authentication (MFA) technologies that are easy to use, yet powerful in ensuring the right people are accessing the right applications.
Booz Allen books $165M Cybercom support order (Washington Technology) Booz Allen Hamilton takes in a potential five-year, $165 million contract to support planning and policy efforts at U.S. Cyber Command.
Longtime Cisco chief John Chambers launches Palo Alto-based VC firm (Silicon Valley Business Journal) John Chambers, who led networking giant Cisco Systems or 20 years, announced this week that he's launching a Palo Alto-based venture firm.
Momentum Cyber Launches As Industry’s Premier Cybersecurity Advisory Firm (BusinessWire) Momentum Partners and Dave DeWalt today announced the launch of a new advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the cybersecurity industry called Momentu
Deloitte Upsizes Its Emerging Europe Cyber Intelligence Team (Emerging-Europe.com) Professional services provider Deloitte has established a Cyber Intelligence Centre (CIC) in Budapest for managing cybersecurity in Central Europe, to counter threats targeting financial institutions and other sectors...
IBM May Finally Stop Shrinking. But Is It a Turnaround? (New York) For five and half years IBM has reported a steady erosion of revenue, a losing streak that analysts predict will end on Thursday.
enSilo Enters 2018 with Accelerating Growth, Strategic Partnerships and Industry Recognition (PRNewswire) enSilo, the company that protects endpoints pre- and post-infection and...
BitSight Closes Record Year as Industry Analysts Recognize Security Ratings as Critical Component to Risk Management (4-Trader) BitSight, the Standard in Security Ratings, today announced a record 2017 with over 90% worldwide sales growth, 75% customer growth and 96% customer satisfaction, further validating market leadership.
Trident Capital Cybersecurity Promotes Will Lin To Principal (Business Insider) Trident Capital Cybersecurity (TCC), a venture fund investing in cybersecurity companies, announced today the promotion of Will Lin to Principal.
KeyW hires ManTech vet Wallen to head advanced cyber (Washington Technology) KeyW Corp. hires former ManTech International executive Dave Wallen to lead the advanced cyber business.
Products, Services, and Solutions
Telos Ghost® provides unique ability to investigate cyber threats and securely collaborate, leaving no digital footprint (Telos) New product from Telos Corporation hides user location and anonymizes internet activity.
Cylance and JASK Partner to Integrate Endpoint Security Solution into JASK’s Autonomous Security Operations Center Platform (BusinessWire) JASK’s Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC) platform will integrate with the CylancePROTECT® AI-powered endpoint security platform.
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity DPI Solution Enables Security and Traffic Control of Critical Enterprise Cloud Applications (Ipoque) Barracuda’s cloud-ready firewalls utilize the deep packet inspection (DPI) engine R&S PACE 2 to achieve reliable application visibility which allows for controlling network traffic and facilitating the secure delivery of critical cloud business applications.
Meltdown Fixes Take Away Performace. Solarflare Gives It Back. (BusinessWire) Solarflare, a pioneer in the development of Linux acceleration technology, today announced the ability to give back server performance taken by Linux
A10 Networks Launches Full Spectrum Cloud Scrubbing and On-premise Enterprise DDoS Protection Solution (BusinessWire) A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN), a Secure Application Services™ company, today announced the A10 DDoS Protection Cloud, powered by Verisign™, and the A10 Th
Cloudflare Access aims to replace corporate VPNs (TechCrunch) If you're part of a big company, chances are that there are resources that are only available via the internal network, or whatever your company calls it. The..
Thycotic Launches New Privilege Account Management Software Empowering DevOps and Security Teams to Improve IT Security, and Least Privilege Solution to Protect Endpoints Without Impacting Productivity (PRNewswire) Thycotic, a provider of privileged access management (PAM) solutions for...
KnowBe4 is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature, Reporting APIs (KnowBe4) KnowBe4 is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature, Reporting APIs
Comodo Dragon Internet Browser: Fast, Versatile, Secure. (File Hippo) We review Comodo Dragon browser – a solid choice for increased online security and privacy.
Action1 Launches Free Cloud-based Endpoint Security Platform Arming Small Businesses with Instant Threat Detection and Response Capabilities. (PRNewswire) Action1 Corporation, a Cloud-based cybersecurity solution provider, today...
Bitdefender signs accord with American router producer Netgear (ACT Media) The software producer Bitdefender signed a technology licence partnership with the American equipment producer for Netgear networks, which will include in its products security solutions for smart devices, developed in Romania under the name of Netgear Armor.
Fingerprints Collaborates on Biometric Payment Card Market Trial in the USA (FIngerprints) World leading biometrics company Fingerprint Cards (Fingerprints(TM)) is proud to collaborate with Visa on the first market trial of dual-interface biometric payment cards in the USA, together with Mountain America Credit Union.
Embedded Cybersecurity to Include Anomaly Detection (Automation World) Bedrock’s Open Secure Automation control system is getting an upgrade to help assure users that nobody is tampering with the automation.
Google announces cloud expansion plans (Computing) Google will also lay three new subsea cables
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
World Economic Forum Publishes Cyber Resiliency Playbook (Security Week) World Economic Forum publishes playbook for developing cyber resiliency through public/private collaboration
Researchers Offer a 'VirusTotal for ICS' (Dark Reading) Free online sandbox, honeypot tool simulates a real-world industrial network environment.
Synopsys Publishes CISO Report; Identifies Four Distinct Approaches to the CISO Role (Business Insider) Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) today published the inaugural CISO Report, the result of a two-year data-driven study exploring the roles of information security leaders and the organizational dynamics that affect them.
Why GDPR will drive a best practice approach (Help Net Security) If you're looking for a GDPR best practice approach, you'll need to take many things into consideration. Instead of seeing GDPR as a threat, many businesses see it as a welcome chance to get their house in order.
Will U.S. Corporations Ever Take Cybersecurity Seriously? (IEEE Spectrum) Incentives still haven’t reached a tipping point, but Europe's new data protection regulation might help
Design and Innovation
Firefox locks down its future with HTTPS ‘secure contexts’ (Naked Security) Firefox developers must start using ‘secure contexts’ for new features “effective immediately.”
In new book, Microsoft cautions humanity to develop AI ethics guidelines now (GeekWire) It’s 2038 and — like most businesses these days — a tech company is using artificial intelligence to scan job applicants. The system was trained with public employment records, an ostensibly unbiased…
Research and Development
Air Force contract goes to central NY technology firm (News Tribune) Information technology company based in central New York inks contract with Air Force worth nearly $48 million for the nation's cybersecurity.
ONR seeks to speed development of cryptographic software (GCN) Galois is creating a suite of tools that will improve the development and testing of new cryptographic algorithms.
Academia
IBM Joins New York Cyber Fellows Program to Hack Cyber Skills Shortage (Security Intelligence) IBM has joined the New York Cyber Fellows program to address the shortage of highly trained technical professionals across the U.S.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
Senate hears from IC nominees as spy authority renewal is set to pass (FCW) President Trump’s nominees for two key intelligence community oversight roles offered support of section 702 reauthorization during a smooth confirmation hearing.
House Bill Would Create More Oversight on Efforts to Disclose Cyber Vulnerabilities (Roll Call) A bill would expand congressional oversight over how the Department of Homeland Security works with the private sector to disclose cyber vulnerabilities.
21 states sue FCC to restore net neutrality rules (Ars Technica) A long legal process starts now.
Senators Press Justice Department on Chinese State Media Outlets Registering as Foreign Agents (Foreign Policy) If Russian outlets have to file, lawmakers ask, why not Chinese ones?
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
House Report Concluded Pakistanis Made ‘Unauthorized Access’ To Congressional Servers (The Daily Caller) House investigators concluded that Democratic IT aides made unauthorized access to congressional servers in 2016, allegedly accessing the data of members for whom they did not work, logging in as memb
Ex-C.I.A. Officer Suspected of Compromising Chinese Informants Is Arrested (New York Times) The arrest of the former officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53, capped an intense F.B.I. investigation that began around 2012 after the C.I.A. began losing its agents in China.
Is this "Ponzi scheme scammer" to blame for bitcoin's price crash? (Newsweek) The YouTube personality CryptoNick has been labeled a shill for promoting the cryptocurrency "Ponzi scheme" Bitconnect.
Bitconnect, which has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme, shuts down (TechCrunch) Bitconnect, the lending and exchange platform that was long suspected by many in the crypto community of being a Ponzi scheme, has announced it's shutting..
Govt to setup Cyber Police Force to monitor cyberspace (Indian Awaaz) Taking serious note of rising incidents of sharing pornography over the internet, the Central Government has decided to set up Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Cyber Police Force to monitor cyberspace.
Contractor hacks former employer, destroys and corrupts data (CSO Online) Edward Soybel was let go by W. W. Grainger and subsequently hacked his way back into the company to access customer databases to destroy and corrupt the data.
The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, Google and Amazon (Wall Street Journal) Facebook, Google and Amazon dominate their worlds just as Standard Oil and AT&T once did. Critics say they should get the same treatment. The answer to the antitrust question depends on a narrow test: Are consumers worse off?
'Don't Be Evil'? Google Is Becoming A Police State (The Federalist) Google employees are creating their own enclave of mandatory wokeness, but they're not content to keep this ideological policing within their own walls.
Nation States and Criminals Silencing the Fourth Estate (Security Boulevard) Nation states or criminals acting at the behest of nation states will continue to target journalists who are shining light on illegal or unethical behavior using all tools available to them.
Facebook Agrees to Widen Probe of Brexit Vote Fake News (The Bull) British lawmakers probing possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum revealed Wednesday that Facebook had agreed to broaden its own investigation into fake news around the vote, after the social media platform's initial efforts drew criticism.
Payout for YouTube star Chrissy Chambers over revenge p[0]rn (Times) An American YouTube star has been awarded substantial damages by the High Court in a landmark “revenge p[0]rn” claim after her British former boyfriend posted videos on a p[0]rnographic website of them...