Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
US carried out cyberattack on Iranian backed militia (CNN) The US military conducted a major cyberattack on Iranian proxy group with forces in Iraq, Syria and inside Iran in the days after Iran shot down a US drone last week, according to two US officials with knowledge of what happened.
Iran Denies Being Hit by US Cyber Attack (SecurityWeek) Iran claims no cyber attack against the Islamic republic has ever succeeded, after American media reported the US launched one last week amid a standoff between the two countries.
Iran Increases Cyber Attacks on U.S. Gov't, Infrastructure: Cyber Security Firms (Insurance Journal) Iran has increased its offensive cyber attacks against the U.S. government and critical infrastructure as tensions have grown between the two nations,
U.S. Cyberattack on Iran Just Put a Target on American Businesses (VICE News) “There is a swathe of targets available to [Iran] with very simple tools and techniques”
LokiBot & NanoCore being distributed via ISO disk image files (Netskope) Netskope Threat Research Labs has been tracking multiple similar malspam campaigns that began in April 2019. The spam campaign contains an ISO image file as an attachment containing the next level payload. This blog post details both the campaign and the payload. MalSpam Campaign The malspam campaign began in April 2019, with a generic message …
Payment-Card Fraud Funds Terrorism and Other Transnational Crimes (BusinessWire) Researchers at the premier dark web data intelligence company, Terbium Labs, have released the findings of new research that examines the deeply inter
The Next Generation of Criminal Financing (Terbium Labs) Payment fraud is used to launder money for organized crime syndicates, subsidize the costs of trafficking in drugs, guns, and humans, and provide material support for terrorist groups.
Tracing the Supply Chain Attack on Android (KrebsOnSecurity) Earlier this month, Google disclosed that a supply chain attack by one of its vendors resulted in malicious software being pre-installed on millions of new budget Android devices.
Huawei Telecom Gear Much More Vulnerable to Hackers Than Rivals' Equipment, Report Says (Wall Street Journal) Telecommunications gear made by China’s Huawei Technologies is far more likely to contain flaws that could be leveraged by hackers for malicious use than equipment from rival companies, according to new research.
Finite State Supply Chain Assessment (Finite State) Read our large-scale study of the cybersecurity-related risks embedded within Huawei network devices done by analyzing their firmware at an unprecedented scale.
Microsoft: We're fighting Windows malware spread via Excel in email with bad macro (ZDNet) Don't enable macros, Microsoft warns, because a new malware campaign is aiming at fully patched Windows PCs.
Newly-Discovered Malware Targets Unpatched MacOS Flaw (Threatpost) Researchers have found samples of malware that targets a recently-disclosed, unpatched MacOS vulnerability.
OSX/Linker Malware Exploits macOS GateKeeper (The Mac Observer) Security researchers have discovered a piece of Mac malware called OSX/Linker that can exploit a zero day vulnerability in macOS GateKeeper.
Flaw in Outlook for Android Allows for Data Theft (SecurityWeek) A vulnerability recently addressed in Outlook for Android allows an attacker to steal information from the affected device.
Flaws in Phoenix Contact Automationworx Allow Code Execution via Malicious Files (SecurityWeek) Several vulnerabilities affecting the Phoenix Contact Automationworx automation software suite can be exploited for remote code execution using specially crafted project files.
Dramatic Increase in Abuse of File Sharing Services (Infosecurity Magazine) FireEye reveals use of legitimate services to deliver malware
DDoS-for-Hire Services Doubled in Q1 (Dark Reading) Impact of FBI's takedown of 15 'booter' domains last December appears to have been temporary.
Recipe for Disaster as Tech Support Scammers Use Paid Search (Infosecurity Magazine) Cyber-criminals use search ads for recipes to lure victims
Mobile stalkerware: a long history of detection (Malwarebytes Labs) Does Malwarebytes detect stalkerware? Absolutely, and for good reason. Moreover, we've been doing so for a long time—but it's time to up our efforts.
New Research Shows Surge in Mac Malware, Malicious Office Documents and Web Application Exploits in Q1 2019 (Yahoo) WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in network security and intelligence, secure Wi-Fi and multi-factor authentication, today announced the.
Various Google Play 'Beauty Camera' Apps Send Users Pornographic Content, Redirect Them to Phishing Websites and Collect Their Pictures (TrendLabs Security Intelligence Blog) We discovered several beauty camera apps (detected as AndroidOS_BadCamera.HRX) on Google Play that are capable of accessing remote ad configuration servers that can be used for malicious purposes.
Silex malware targeting IoT devices spotted by security researchers (Computing) Silex attacks any Unix-like system with default login credentials
Second Florida city pays giant ransom to ransomware gang in a week (ZDNet) Lake City officials give in and agree to pay nearly $500,000 to ransomware gang.
Lake City agrees to pay $460K ransom in cyberattack (WJAX) Lake City is about to pay nearly half-million dollars to the hackers who crippled its computer system.
Breach at Dominion National Likely Began in 2010 (Infosecurity Magazine) Dominion National announced that it is addressing a security incident.
Notice of Data Security Incident (Dominion National) Safeguarding the privacy of your personal information is a top priority for us, and we make every effort to protect your information. Despite these efforts, Dominion National experienced a data security incident.
Security firms demonstrate subdomain hijack exploit vs. EA/Origin (Ars Technica) Two security firms graphically demonstrate the danger of subdomain hijacking.
How to protect your Steam account from hackers: Cyber experts warn of "free game" account hijacks (Newsweek) The campaign, which is designed to hijack login details, is currently being circulated to Steam inboxes by accounts compromised to spew out spam messages.
A hacker invaded 2 CBS reporters' lives without writing a single line of code (CBS News) She is a social engineer and a master of disguise who is paid to think like a criminal in order to "hack" the human psyche.
Why Wednesday Could be the Riskiest Day for Your Business (Infosecurity Magazine) Are we placing too much pressure on people to act, and act perfectly, 100% of the time?
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
ABB Patches Many Vulnerabilities in HMI Products (SecurityWeek) Swiss industrial tech company ABB has patched a dozen vulnerabilities, including serious issues, in some of its HMI products.
VideoLAN Patches Critical Vulnerability in VLC Media Player (SecurityWeek) VideoLAN has addressed a critical double-free vulnerability in the VLC media player that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on target systems.
Cyber Trends
What the Top 25% of Cybersecurity Pros do Differently in Strategy, Risk and Communication (Bricata) A benchmarking study found the top cybersecurity pros tend to be better aligned with business strategy, take a risk-based approach and communicate with leaders effectively.
Report: Orgs not completely clear on what IT security incidents to report (The State of Security) When a cyber incident hits your organization, do you know if needs to be disclosed to the public? To find out, we asked 298 IT security professionals.
Major Study of Cybersecurity Operations Professionals Reveals Heavy Workload, Lack of Maturity in Four out of Five Businesses (West) The research report from Siemplify and Cyentia Institute highlights the biggest SecOps burdens and challenges hindering progress for enterprises and MSSPs, including lack of automation and orchestration
Putting a value on the 50x coder (Fifth Domain) The Pentagon's best coders address problems unburdened by traditional thinking, in innovative ways, maximizing the dual-purpose of digital tools, and can generate decisive cyber effects. So how should the Pentagon protect them?
Safety and Security in Industry 4.0 – Are You Ready? (Infosecurity Magazine) A fundamental challenge remains about how advances should be secured
New Survey by Screen Education and JCC Association of North America Finds Over 90% of Teens Are Relieved to Escape Social Media While Attending Phone-Free Overnight Summer Camp (PR Newswire) A new national survey finds that 11- to 16-year-olds who attended overnight summer camps that ban smartphones nearly...
Marketplace
“Help Me, Help You”: Defense Department Advises Contractors That Cybersecurity Is An Allowable Cost [VIDEO] (The National Law Review) During a presentation at the Professional Services Council Federal Acquisition Conference on June 13, 2019, a high-ranking Department of Defense (“DoD”) official announced, with dramatic f
You don't just acquire a company, but also its cybersecurity posture (Help Net Security) Global research survey discovers that 65% of respondents experience buyers’ remorse after closing an M&A deal due to cybersecurity concerns.
8 tech providers form Vietnamese security group (Channel Asia Singapore) The Vietnam Information Security Association has established the Vietnam Information Security Inspection and Evaluation Club with eight founding members.
U.S. Tech Companies Sidestep a Trump Ban, to Keep Selling to Huawei (NYTimes) Chip makers’ deals underscore how difficult it is to clamp down on companies that the administration considers a national security threat.
Exclusive: In push to replace Huawei, rural U.S. carriers are talking with Nokia and Ericsson (Reuters) About a dozen rural U.S. telecom carriers that depend on Huawei for network gear...
Huawei is going to increase its 5G investment (CNET) Despite a ban in the US, Huawei is pushing further into 5G.
Huawei says two-thirds of 5G networks outside China now use its gear (TechCrunch) As 5G networks begin rolling out and commercializing around the world, telecoms vendors are rushing to get a headstart. Huawei equipment is now behind two-thirds of the commercially launched 5G networks outside China, said president of Huawei’s carrier business group Ryan Ding on Tuesday at a…
Sting Catches Another Ransomware Firm — Red Mosquito — Negotiating With “Hackers” (ProPublica) We recently wrote about two U.S. firms that promised high-tech ransomware solutions but instead paid the cyber-attacker. A U.K. company appears to do the same.
Ransomware Recovery Firm Caught Wanting to Pay Off Hacker (PCMAG) A sting operation from a security researcher has uncovered evidence that a ransomware recovery provider in the UK has been paying off the hackers to release the computers — and then charging clients to pay an inflated fee.
Vulcan Cyber Raises Additional $10M to Combat Breaches from Known and Emerging Vulnerabilities by Automating and Streamlining Remediation Process (BusinessWire) Israeli startup Vulcan Cyber today announced raising $10 million in Series A funding, enabling the company to continue its mission to help enterprises
Delve Labs Closes Funding Round Led by 3dot6 Ventures and Desjardins Capital (PR Newswire) Delve Labs, the pioneer in AI-based vulnerability management and prioritization, today announced they have ...
Ballston-based Cybersecurity Company Receives Investment Boost (ARLnow.com) Ballston-based ThreatConnect — a cybersecurity company helping other companies fend off hackers — is planning to ramp up its operations thanks to an investment from Providence Strategic Growth (PSG).
CrowdStrike And The Crowded Market (Podcast) (Seeking Alpha) One of the stealthier hot IPOs of this season has been CrowdStrike, a security provider with impressive growth. The stock has been one of the many to start its
Cisco Explains The Wow Factor Behind Its Duo Security Acquisition (CRN) CRN chats with Cisco's Steve Benvenuto and Duo Security Co-Founder Jon Oberheide about the recent acquisition.
On Heels of IGP Deal, Cellebrite To Bolster Israeli R&D With 100 People (CTECH) Israel Growth Partners (IGP) has recently paid $110 million for a 25% stake in the Israel-based mobile forensic company
Is Boston A Cloud Security Hub? (WBUR) Boston is a Hub of a lot of businesses, including cyber and cloud security. But what exactly is cloud security and why is Boston a leader in it?
Why CrowdStrike's CEO is joining HPE's board (CRN) George Kurtz appointed to boost vendor's cloud and cybersecurity credentials
EY Announces Rich Mahler of Revolutionary Security Named Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2019 Award Winner in Greater Philadelphia (Yahoo) Revolutionary Security, a cybersecurity services firm dedicated to helping enterprises outpace cyber threats using proactive defense capabilities, today announced that Rich Mahler, President & CEO of Revolutionary Security, received the Entrepreneur Of The
Products, Services, and Solutions
Coalfire Partners with Qualys, Inc. to Bolster Its Secure Cloud Automation Services Offering (Qualys) Qualys’ vulnerability management and continuous monitoring capabilities will further strengthen Coalfire’s cloud automation services
BitDam Offers Free Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) Service for Emai (PRWeb) BitDam, provider of cybersecurity solutions that protect enterprise communications from advanced threats hidden in files and links, today announced that it...
DYMEC's New Line of NSA Cyber-Secure Industrial Ethernet Switches & Routers (Yahoo) DYMEC has released a new line of NSA Cyber-Secure Industrial Ethernet Switches and Routers. The new temperature hardened; ruggedized line of Industrial ...
OPAQ and PSA Insurance & Financial Services Partner to Provide Turnkey Cyber Security for SMBs (Yahoo) OPAQ Always-on, “Firewall Anywhere” Protection from the Cloud Available as Part of PSA’s CyberON Cyber Risk Management Program
Stellar Cyber Launches Starlight 3.1, First Unified Security Analytics Solution with Enhanced AI and Machine Learning (Yahoo) Security professionals have long struggled with cyber defense activities like manual threat detection and extreme firewall noise – until now. Security analytics provider Stellar Cyber today announced Starlight™ 3.1, the first Unified Security Analytics Platform that leverages artificial intelligence
Passwordless Login and Advanced Multi-Factor Authentication Capabilities Expanded in Ping Identity's Latest Cloud Identity Solution (Yahoo) Ping Identity, the leader in Identity Defined Security, today announced a significant update to PingOne for Customers, the cloud-delivered Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) offering built for developers. The API-first solution can now deliver seamless and secure push notifications from custom mobile applications
ISO 28001:2013 Information Security Management Certificate supports Bittium’s strategy in all its product and service areas (DotMed) Bittium has been granted the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management Certificate that includes Bittium’s business and support processes, information security, personnel and premises safety, as well as continuous improvement methods.
ThreatModeler Announces Integrated Compensating Controls Technology which Greatly Improves Organization's Ability to Quickly Identify the Right Mitigation Strategy (Yahoo) Groundbreaking Technology Enables Users to Objectively Determine the Effectiveness of Existing or Planned Security Controls in a Continuously Evolving Threat Landscape
Cybera Ensures Shell Network Readiness for Outdoor EMV (AiThority) Cybera, the leader in SD-WAN application and security services for the network edge, announced it will provide a comprehensive network solution to prepare for outdoor EMV
Massive Networking Demand in Multi-Location Businesses Driving Impressive Growth for Netsurion SD-WAN Solution (West) Over 2,500 SD-WAN devices installed in first year with 50% operated by MSPs
CyberGRX Launches Partner Program to Deliver Centralized Third-Party Cyber Risk Management to Global Market (BusinessWire) CyberGRX announces their new Global Partner Program to accelerate CyberGRX's expansion into the global market.
Code Dx and AdaCore Partner to Provide an Ada Application Security Testing Toolsuite (West) Code Dx, Inc., provider of an award-winning application security management solution that automates and accelerates the discovery, prioritization, and risk management of software vulnerabilities, today announced its partnership with AdaCore, a trusted provider of software development and verification tools for the Ada, C, and C++ programming languages.
NeuVector adds container runtime security to AWS infrastructure (SiliconANGLE) Container network security firm NeuVector Inc. today said it’s integrating its security tools with some of Amazon Web Services Inc.’s public cloud infrastructure services to help companies running Kubernetes workloads better protect those deployments.
Anqlave Has Announced the Launch of Anqlave Data Vault (ADV), The First Virtual HSM Stored in Azure Cloud Infrastructure That Leverages Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) Technology. (Yahoo) The ADV product is available for deployment in Azure Marketplace confidential computing. The keys used to encrypt and decrypt this data, whether to achieve transparent data encryption or to achieve geo-replication, have to be protected at all costs. HSMs with hardware cryptographic modules can be used
Ping Identity Secures Global Enterprises with New Intelligent Multi-Factor Authentication Capabilities (BusinessWire) Ping Identity, the leader in Identity Defined Security, today announced updates to its multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution, PingID, providing n
Facebook’s searchable political ads archive is now global (TechCrunch) Facebook has announced it’s rolled out a basic layer of political ads transparency globally, more than a year after launching the publicly searchable ads archive in the US. It is also expanding what it dubs “proactive enforcement” on political ads to countries where elections or r…
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
Government agencies still send sensitive files via hackable .zips (Naked Security) Senator Ron Wyden has written to NIST asking for guidance and training for government staff in how to share files securely.
Global Cyber Alliance And Center For Internet Security Launch Free Toolkit To Help States And Local Election Offices Bolster Cybersecurity (Yahoo) Today, the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), in partnership with Craig Newmark Philanthropies and the Center for Internet Security,® Inc. (CIS®), announces a FREE toolkit aimed at providing election authorities with additional easy-to-use solutions that will help mitigate
NormShield Research Finds Presidential Candidates Making The Most Of Cybersecurity Investments (PR Newswire) The list of declared Presidential candidates is long and diverse but all seem to be on the same page when it comes...
Why We Wrote the World’s First Cyber Breach Communication Playbook (LinkedIn) When we looked at how 14 large organisations managed the fallout from a major cyber breach – the media coverage and public perception – what we saw was not pretty. As the former head of Australia’s Internet Industry Association for nearly 15 years, I’ve struggled with
Contactless Card Security: How It Works And What It Can Do For You (Bankrate) Contactless cards make for faster payments, but do you know their security implications?
Top 8 security mistakes in SAP environments (CSO Online) The complexity of modern SAP footprints and common security failures have left many organizations exposed to avoidable risks.
How to use the new Microsoft 365 Business Conditional Access feature (CSO Online) Microsoft 365 Conditional Access lets you automate conditional access controls for cloud applications. If you haven't enabled it yet, you should.
Design and Innovation
F-Secure’s new unit focuses on ‘Goldilocks zone’ of tactical defence (Intelligent CIO Europe) Cybersecurity provider F-Secure is creating a new unit dedicated to building on the company’s tradition of providing industry leading protection. The new team, called the Tactical Defense Unit, com…
Exclusive: LinkedIn goes niche (Axios) Users may have noticed that their notifications or engagements on LinkedIn have increased.
Microsoft and Google’s new cloud security solutions change the game for SIEM (www.SecurityInfoWatch.com) Tech giants to make technology more approachable, affordable for organizations
IBM, Orbs, ConsenSys Work Together On Global Blockchain Settlement Platform For Telecoms (Forbes) The ITW Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF) announced Monday the launch of a blockchain-based platform known as the Communications Blockchain Network (CBN). IBM, Orbs, ConsenSys and others will help build the blockchain platform for CBN.
Research and Development
Seven ways websites trick us to buy (Computing) Dark patterns use interface design to coerce, steer or deceive users into making decisions that benefit the site but not necessarily the user
Dark Patterns at Scale: Findings from a Crawl of 11K Shopping Websites (Web Transparency) Dark patterns are user interface design choices that benefit an online service by coercing, steering, or deceiving users into making unintended and potentially harmful decisions.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
North Korea says it won't surrender to US-led sanctions (AP NEWS) North Korea said Wednesday it won't surrender to U.S.-led sanctions and accused Washington of trying to "bring us to our knees." The statement is yet another...
Iran says new US sanctions mean end of diplomacy as way forward (Military Times) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani described the White House as
We Don’t Need Airstrikes to Restore Deterrence in the Strait of Hormuz (Defense One) Recent history shows that a restrained, multilateral military response can help restore stability.
Why this tiny Baltic nation is building a digital embassy half a continent away (NBC News) Estonia is entrusting terabytes of information on its citizens to an ally in the hope of improving the security of its crucial government systems.
Government in Myanmar shuts down mobile data networks (Big News Network.com) The government in Myanmar has shut down mobile data networks in nine conflict areas townships of Rakhine and Chin States
Myanmar shuts down internet in conflict areas as UN expert warns of potential abuses (CNN) A top United Nations official has warned of "serious implications for human rights" in parts of Myanmar after the government shut down mobile data networks.
G20 leaders urged to embrace cryptocurrency regulation (IT-Online) G20 leaders must take decisive steps towards a multilateral cryptocurrency regulatory framework – failure to do so would be negligent. This is the message from Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, speaking ahead of the G20 summit taking place in Osaka, Japan, this week. He comments: “Due to the astonishing and quickening …
Brazil Promotes Cyberthreat Information Sharing (Dialogo Americas) NATO uses software that the Brazilian Cyber Defense Command selected and will be implemented jointly in 10 partner nations.
China mulls new law on cryptography
(Xinhua) China's top legislature is considering a new law to promote the steady and sound development of cryptography.
Mossad chief Yossi Cohen: Cyber intel is main tool against terrorism (Jerusalem Post) The comments from the head of the Mossad are unique in that he rarely addresses public events.
China's Secret Tunnel into the Heart of America's Defense Industry (The National Interest) The Defense Department and federal intelligence agencies need to be more transparent about which companies pose risks to national security and how much they rely on them.
UK law review eyes abusive trends like deepfaked porn and cyber flashing (TechCrunch) The UK government has announced the next phase of a review of the law around the making and sharing of non-consensual intimate images, with ministers saying they want to ensure it keeps pace with evolving digital tech trends. The review is being initiated in response to concerns that abusive and of…
Klobuchar, Warner introduce bill to limit foreign involvement in US political ads (TheHill) Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced legislation on Tuesday aimed at preventing foreign nationals from purchasing political advertisements, the latest move by Senate Democrats pushing for election security legislation.
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Elizabeth Warren aims for the fences on election security (Washington Post) But the proposal probably goes too far for many lawmakers.
Pentagon’s top IT official formally nominated for his own job (C4ISRNET) Dana Deasy will now have to go through a Senate confirmation process.
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
ICO Issues Notices After Met Police Contravenes GDPR (Infosecurity Magazine) London police force failing to deal promptly with subject access requests
The Census Bureau Must Correct Fundamental Cloud Security Deficiencies in Order to Better Safeguard the 2020 Decennial Census (U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General Office of Audit and Evaluation) We found that the Bureau’s cloud-based IT systems—which will support the 2020 Census—contained fundamental security deficiencies that violated federal standards and U.S. Department of Commerce policies.
NSA Improperly Collected U.S. Phone Records a Second Time (Wall Street Journal) The National Security Agency collected data about calls and text messages that it wasn’t authorized to obtain last year, in a second such incident, renewing privacy concerns about its phone-surveillance program.
Repeated mistakes in phone record collection led NSA to shutter controversial program (Washington Post) The counterterrorism surveillance effort was disclosed by Edward Snowden in 2013, but doubts about its value have stretched back years.
FedEx files suit against Commerce Department over Huawei restrictions (Washington Post) The suit comes after FedEx refused to ship a Huawei phone from Britain to the United States, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded answers.
Explosive emails, spy allegations and a $5bn lawsuit: Mike Lynch to take the stand in tech’s trial of the century (The Telegraph) He has been described by HP as a “controlling and demanding individual” who left his employees feeling so paranoid, that they suspected he had bugged their offices in a bid to monitor their conversations.
Mueller to testify to Congress in open session about his investigation (Washington Post) The former special counsel will appear publicly before two committees on July 17 — a made-for-TV moment that Democrats have been craving for months.
Former McAfee employees conspired to take 'secret sauce' to Tanium, lawsuit says (CyberScoop) McAfee has filed a lawsuit against former employees, accusing them of conspiracy and stealing trade secrets before starting new positions at a competitor.
Personal information for 22 million people was exposed. A court blames a federal agency. (Washington Post) The ruling criticized the Office of Personnel Management and revived a lawsuit that could lead to monetary awards for victims.
A Judge Just Ruled You Can Sue The Media Over Facebook Comments From Readers (BuzzFeed) Former youth detainee Dylan Voller is suing News Corp, Fairfax Media and Sky News.
Justice Department targets frauds in many forms (Federal News Network) Fraud against the elderly is a growing concern to several federal agencies. But anyone can get scammed, as Tom Temin recently found out.
