Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Japan's Hoya Corporation Suffers Cyber Attack, Computers Used for Cryptocurrency Mining - BeInCrypto (BeInCrypto) Hoya Corporation has just reported that it suffered a serious cyber attack in late February, when attackers tried to mine cryptocurrency.
Inside the 2014 hack of a Saudi embassy (CSO Online) According to documents seen by CSO, an unknown attacker took control of the official email account of the Saudi embassy in The Netherlands and demanded a ransom of $50 million for ISIS.
DHS official sounds alarm on authoritarian states ‘operationalizing their tech sectors’ (CyberScoop) The willingness of authoritarian governments to leverage native tech companies to achieve their national goals has forced U.S. officials to adapt in how they view risk from those companies, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official.
5G cyber-attack: How chaotic could it be? (BBC News) Two cyber-security experts talk through the consequences of a major attack on a future 5G network.
Analysis | Why 5G Phones Are Arriving With Subplot of Espionage (Washington Post) The 5G wireless technology now being introduced by phone companies promises to bring a world of innovations to mobile service -- from connected appliances to self-driving cars -- just as cable transformed television generations ago with hundreds of new channels. It also promises to bring a new global round of technology competition -- one that overlaps with arguments over security that have pitted the U.S. against China and raised tensions in Europe, to the dismay of telecom executives who fear
Chinese 5G will be a ‘loaded gun’ of cyber concerns, NSA official says (Washington Business Journal) It's not a matter of if there will be a threat. It's guaranteed, he says.
Why U.S. Concerns About Huawei are Justified (International Policy Digest) Chinese companies have a long history of doing Beijing's bidding.
Phishing Campaign Targeting Verizon Mobile Users (Dark Reading) Lookout Phishing AI, which discovered the attack, says it has been going on since late November.
Pick-Six: Intercepting a FIN6 Intrusion, an Actor Recently Tied to Ryuk
and LockerGoga Ransomware « Pick-Six: Intercepting a FIN6 Intrusion, an Actor Recently Tied to Ryuk
and LockerGoga Ransomware (FireEye) FireEye Managed Defense detected and responded to a FIN6 intrusion at a customer within the engineering industry.
Streaming Services Among the Most Targeted by Credential Stuffing Attacks According to Akamai Report (Akamai) According to the Akamai 2019 State of the Internet / Security: Credential Stuffing: Attacks and Economies report talks about Largest Attacks Indicate Testing of Stolen Credentials; Report Notes Online Tutorials and All-in-One Applications Supporting Market-Specific Hacking Efforts
Credential Stuffing: Attacks and Economies (Akamai) Akamai recorded nearly 30 billion credential stuffing attacks in 2018. Each attack represented an attempt by a person or computer to log in to an account with a stolen or generated username and password. The vast majority of these attacks were performed by botnets or all-in-one applications.
Ongoing DNS hijackings target Gmail, PayPal, Netflix, banks and more [Updated] (Ars Technica) Three waves of attacks all come from people abusing Google cloud service, researcher says.
Ongoing DNS hijacking campaign targeting consumer routers (Badpackets) Over the last three months, our honeypots have detected DNS hijacking attacks targeting various types of consumer routers. All exploit attempts have originated from hosts on the network of Google Cloud Platform (AS15169). In this campaign, we've identified four distinct rogue DNS servers being used
Radware: DDoS amplification attacks increasing, evolving (SearchSecurity) Radware's Daniel Smith sheds light on DDoS attack trends, including the rise of amplification attacks, and offers best practices for mitigating such attacks.
SAS 2019: Exodus Spyware Found Targeting Apple iOS Users (Threatpost) The surveillance tool was signed with legitimate Apple developer certificates.
The Social Engineering Behind Operation Sharpshooter, Rising Sun (Security Boulevard) We are learning more about Operation Sharpshooter, an espionage campaign that targeted financial services, government and critical infrastructure primarily focused in German, Turkey, the UK and the US. It is important to show how easily this attack was delivered to end users and how quickly it can infect your enterprise. Despite millions invested in user The post The Social Engineering Behind Operation Sharpshooter, Rising Sun appeared first on Bromium.
Cryptojacking Attacks: Who's Mining on Your Coin? (Security Intelligence) X-Force data revealed that while browser-based cryptojacking was increasingly popular through most of 2018, cryptomining malware made a resurgence at the end of 2018 and into Q1 2019.
TrickBot malware attacks are ramping up ahead of Tax Day (TechCrunch) A powerful data-stealing malware campaign with a tax theme is on the rise to target unsuspecting filers ahead of Tax Day. TrickBot, a financially motivated trojan, infects Windows computers through a malicious Excel document sent by a specially crafted email. Once infected, the malware targets vuln…
Cybercriminals Spoof Major Accounting and Payroll Firms in Tax Season Malware Campaigns (Security Intelligence) IBM X-Force researchers observed cybercriminals engaging in three tax-themed malware campaigns likely aimed at businesses but with the potential to spread to consumers as well.
Security Awareness: 4 Tax Scams Making the Rounds Now (Security Boulevard) Now that tax season is upon us, users must be vigilant about not falling for tax-related scams. Here are some of the common tactics and hooks.
Beware of Calls Saying Your Social Security Number is Suspended (BleepingComputer) A common phone call scam that people have been receiving states that your Social Security number is suspended for suspicious activity. It then prompts you to speak to a government agent in order to receive help resolving the issue.
Podcast: Chris Vickery on UpGuard's Discovery of Millions of Facebook Records (Threatpost) Chris Vickery with UpGuard, who discovered two datasets exposing millions of Facebook records, discusses his findings and the implications of data collection with Threatpost.
Facebook’s Own Algorithms Boosted Cybercriminal Groups (Gizmodo) You might have a certain idea of where cybercriminals congregate. Maybe you imagine a black hoodie operator working at night on the dark net or something out of Mr. Robot. In fact, these things are often much more simple and mundane than they seem.
Sextortion Scams Now Using Password Protected Evidence Files (BleepingComputer) New variants of the sextortion scams are now attaching password protected zip files that contain alleged proof that the sender has a video recording of the recipient. While you cannot view the individual files in the archive, you can see what they are named, which can cause recipients to become scared enough to make a payment.
Control system cyber attacks have become more stealthy and dangerous - and less detectable (Control Global) We need to rethink how we secure control systems in a holistic manner as control system cyber attacks have become more stealthy and dangerous - and less detectable. This includes appropriate control system cyber security policies, procedures, training, and technologies as some do not yet exist.
Norsk Hydro's Production Near Normal after Cyber Attack (Claims Journal) Production at Norwegian aluminum maker Norsk Hydro was back to near normal after a cyber attack last month, the company said on Friday. The group halted
Cyberattack diverts almost $500,000 out of city of Tallahassee payroll account (USA TODAY) Almost half a million dollars was diverted out of the Tallahassee’s employee payroll Wednesday after a suspected foreign cyber-attack.
Airbnb guest found hidden surveillance camera by scanning Wi-Fi network (Ars Technica) Airbnb initially didn't ban offender despite rule against undisclosed cameras.
Attention: Cyber Attacks can Destroy Your Small Business (Small Business Trends) Predators pursue
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Apache Patches Serious Privilege Escalation Flaw (Decipher) Apache has fixed a root privilege escalation vulnerability in its popular web server software, which runs on millions of servers.
Cisco Finally Patches Router Bugs As New Unpatched Flaws Surface (Threatpost) Cisco re-patched its RV320 and RV325 routers to protect against two high-severity vulnerabilities at the same time reported two new mediums-severity bugs with no fixes.
Cyber Trends
Most IT Bosses Hold Off Critical Patches To Keep Business Operational - Study (Silicon UK) Patchy patching. Tanium's study reveals the scale of security compromises made by IT departnments, just to keep businesses running
We aren't prepared for the next wave of cybersecurity risks (TheHill) Our government must lead the way.
Russia: Moscow's CIO Discusses Huawei 5G Risks, Facial Recognition And Driverless Cars (Forbes) Moscow looks set to take on Beijing, as government minister Eduard Lysenko confirms plans for 5G pilots in 2019, as well as 105,000 facial recognition cameras across the city. But as for Huawei, are they in or out?
Marketplace
A Top Progressive Consulting Firm Is Doing PR for an Israeli Spy Company (The Intercept) SKDKnickerbocker is running communications for NSO Group, an Israeli company known for selling surveillance technology to authoritarian governments.
CHINA: Does Chinese Tech Giant Huawei Have a Future (Asia Media) The CFO of Huawei, Mengwan Zhou, was arrested by Canadian officials on December 1st, 2018, for allegedly covering up violations of sanctions for Iran. Now she is facing extra…
The Improbable Rise of Huawei (Foreign Policy) How did a private Chinese firm come to dominate the world’s most important emerging technology?
VCs say these 30 cybersecurity startups will blow up in 2019 (Business Insider) VCs say these 30 cybersecurity startups will blow up in 2019
Dropbox uncovers 264 vulnerabilities in HackerOne Singapore bug hunt (ZDNet) Cloud storage vendor forks out $319,300 in a one-day bug bounty programme that galvanised 45 HackerOne members in Singapore, where two hackers discussed their strategy and offered advice for businesses to better secure their systems.
Products, Services, and Solutions
Wiley Collaborates with Google Cloud on Certification (Wiley News Room) John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (NYSE:JWA)(NYSE:JWB) today announced a new collaboration with Google Cloud aimed at providing a range of resources to support learners in the fast-growing market for Google’s Cloud certifications.
Review | Die, robocalls, die: A how-to guide to stop spammers and exact revenge (Washington Post) We tested six apps and services to find the best way to fight back against spam bots, telemarketers and fraud.
14 top providers of AI- and ML-driven data security systems (Health Data Management) Some of the leading providers of software for vulnerability management, security monitoring, endpoint and network security.
How Amazon Web Services runs security at a global scale (ZDNet) AWS CISO told ZDNet that security is job zero for the cloud behemoth.
‘Why am I receiving this email?’ Agari applies behavioral analysis to BEC scams (Daily Swig) Cybercriminals are getting less technical and focusing on exploiting human trust
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
The Robocall Crisis Will Never Be Totally Fixed (WIRED) Over 5 billion robocalls were made in March 2019 alone. But new tools to minimize it—if not kill it off entirely—are on the way. For real this time.
Mueller report is over, but authoritarian threat to our elections is not: How to fight it (TheHill) Foreign interference in American democracy is, unfortunately, the new normal.
Facebook promises pre-election fake news crackdown (CRN Australia) Blocks foreign political ad buys, cranks up crank detector.
What keeps federal cyber experts up at night about CDM (FedScoop) The future of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program remains unclear as early adopters like NASA seek more funding to maintain its cybersecurity tools moving forward. Started by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012, CDM initially focused on asset and identity and access management across agencies before moving onto network security and data protection. …
Vulnerability Scanning: What It Is and How to Do It Right (eSecurity Planet) Everything you need to know about vulnerability scanning: What it is, how it works, and how to use it as part of a vulnerability management program.
What happens if hackers target an Army base? (Fifth Domain) The Army wants its cyber SWAT teams to better protect the water, electric, power that support military installations from cyberattacks.
Lack of security clearances hampers federal election panel (POLITICO) A massive backlog in security clearances applications raises questions on whether federal advisers can effectively combat cyberattacks
Experts Explore Mystery of Security Metrics (SIGNAL Magazine) Organizations want secure systems are but aren't sure how to measure their security system.
Risk-Based Security Scores that Matter to your Business (Infosecurity Magazine) How can you correlate CVSS with the threats you face?
Cybersecurity Implementation Versus Organizational Layers of Leadership (Infosecurity Magazine) How can a CEO ensure the successful implementation and buy-in to digital transformation adoption
Security Culture Questions to Consider (Government Technology) Here are three basic questions that security leaders need to keep coming back to in order to assess enterprise security culture and ongoing cyber-risk.
Stalkerware and spying – Why you should change your password after a breakup (My Broadband) Attacks can come from places we never expected and people we have trusted with sensitive information – such as a significant other.
How to identify & protect yourself from online dating scams (HackRead) The Internet is an addictive world due to its unlimited and lucrative opportunities for people from almost every facet of life.
Top tips : What should identity theft victims do? (Gulf News) Steps victims need to take to mitigate the effects of the damaging crime
Design and Innovation
The New Technology Promising a Secure and Private Internet (PR Newswire) In the last 6 months Microsoft, IBM and MasterCard have announced investments in a new technology, that was known...
Intel may never make a CPU we can trust, but others might (Digital Trends) Remember the Spectre and Meltdown security exploits from last year? Intel and AMD really hopes you don’t. Despite what they want you to believe, these speculative execution exploits aren’t going away, at least not with the solutions proposed so far.
Google to pull plug on AI ethics council (Reuters) Alphabet Inc's Google said on Thursday it was dissolving a council it had f...
Research and Development
Scientists advance quantum key distribution tech to strengthen cyber security (Security Boulevard) Researchers from the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore are helping advance a technique involving pairs of entangled light particles to enable stronger cyber security. The project, driven by the NUS-Singtel Cyber Security Research & Development Laboratory, has long been in the making, but only now the final breakthroughs have made it into a paper
Academia
WVU researcher awarded NSF CAREER grant to develop new techniques to secure cyberspace (My Buckhannon) Yanfang (Fanny) Ye, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering at West Virginia University, has been awarded a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in support of her work to enhance the security of cyberspace. The award comes with $500,000 in funding over a five-year period. As the Internet becomes increasingly ubiquitous, …
University to offer cybersecurity summer camp (Indiana Gazette) Thanks to a fourth year of funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency, Indiana University of Pennsylvania will offer a free, one-week GenCyber cybersecurity camp for
Cyber Competition Team Creates Lasting Bonds For California Middle School Girls (MarketWatch) This week, thousands of students from across the country will compete in the Air Force Association's...
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
Europe to pilot AI ethics rules, calls for participants (TechCrunch) The European Commission has announced the launch of a pilot project intended to test draft ethical rules for developing and applying artificial intelligence technologies to ensure they can be implemented in practice. It’s also aiming to garner feedback and encourage international consensus bu…
Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace: essential, but is it realistic? (Army Technology) The French president has launched the Paris Call initiative to tackle malicious actors in cyberspace. How realistic is it?
Facebook, Google in Crosshairs of New U.K. Policy to Control Tech Giants (Wall Street Journal) The U.K. government plans to create a new regulatory body to force the removal of harmful content from the internet, one of the most far-reaching legislative proposals from a host of countries trying to put a tighter leash on global tech companies.
Britain to have 'toughest internet laws in world' as Government backs duty of care (The Telegraph) Britain will have the toughest internet laws in the world, ministers pledge today, as the Government brings in new legislation to protect children online in the wake of the Telegraph's campaign for a statutory duty of care.
Websites to face GDPR-style fines over 'online harms' (Computing) Online Harms White Paper intended to tackle illegal and unacceptable content
Duty of Care: What the new rules will mean for tech firms (The Telegraph) Tens of thousands of tech firms – from social media giants such as Facebook and search engines such as Google to games such as Fortnite, messaging apps such as Snapchat and online forums such asTripadvisor – will be subject to a statutory duty of care to protect their users from online harms.
New law will punish social media companies for users’ violent content (Naked Security) Australian law makers have responded very quickly to the Christchurch shootings.
Japan, the unlikely hero of global data governance (VentureBeat) Shinzo Abe is pushing to build rules for the global digital economy. But is the rest of the world willing to meet the challenge?
Secure identities can boost inclusivity in the digital economy (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) As countries use digital identities to spur e-commerce, they should ensure the human rights of the people they seek to serve are protected.
UK could ban Huawei from core of 5G networks over 'very shoddy' security (Computing) GCHQ's Dr Ian Levy: Huawei is 'engineering like it's back in the year 2000'
First 5G, now supply chains: Trump administration considers blacklist to battle China (Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines) Amid intensifying warnings about foreign spies and criminals infiltrating new 5G networks and the military supply chain, the Pentagon has been considering publicly releasing a “black list” of companies it believes could pose risks to its weapons based on using risky suppliers.
Huawei’s security troubles are hardening into a fight between the US and China (The Verge) The focus isn’t on the company, but the legal system that governs it
Huawei allegations driven by politics not evidence: U.N. telecoms... (Reuters) U.S. security concerns about 5G mobile networks built by Chinese telecoms giant ...
EU States Test and Strengthen Readiness for Election Cyber Threats (BleepingComputer) EU member states tested their crisis plans and response to potential EU elections cybersecurity incidents during an exercise organized today in collaboration with the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the EU Agency for cybersecurity (ENISA).
Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen has resigned (Federal News Network) President Donald Trump says Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is leaving her job, amid growing frustration by the administration over the number of southern border crossings…
Read Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation letter (Los Angeles Times) Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen left her position Sunday. Here’s the text of her resignation letter.
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Nielsen departure could deal a blow to Trump administration's cybersecurity efforts (Washington Post) It leaves a void of cybersecurity experts in Trump's top ranks.
DHS' Krebs, DOE's Evans detail priorities for addressing emerging threats, election security (Inside Cybersecurity) Christopher Krebs, the director of DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency, stressed his agency's focus on emerging threats involving the supply chain and industrial controls systems on Thursday, while Karen Evans, the top cybersecurity official at the Department of Energy, outlined DOE's major cybersecurity projects currently in the works.
Senators’ Bill Aims Swift Sanctions at Election Meddlers (Infosecurity Magazine) DETER Act looks to punish Russia and other rogue nations
Lawmaker alleges political payback in failed 'deepfakes' measure (TheHill) A congressional push to examine the threat of so-called deepfake videos was derailed last year after a key House lawmaker blocked a measure that would have provided government funding to study the insidious technology.
24th, 25th Air Force to Merge This Summer (Air Force Magazine) After mulling the change for about three years, the Air Force announced Thursday its two organizations overseeing cyber, intelligence, electronic warfare, and more will merge to create a new numbered Air Force for information warfare.
Inside Prince William's Top Secret Internship at Britain's Intelligence Agencies (Harper's BAZAAR) The Duke of Cambridge is “humbled” after spending three weeks with the agencies protecting the U.K. and its allies.
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Feds warn: China sending ‘thousands’ of spies to US colleges (Washington Examiner) Chinese intelligence services have sent “thousands” of people to U.S. colleges under the guise of college students and professors, federal officials said.
Russia's WTO "national security" victory cuts both ways for Trump (Reuters) Russia won a dispute about "national security" at the World Trade Organization on Friday, in a ruling over a Ukrainian transit dispute that may also affect global automobile tariffs that could be imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Former Democratic aide pleads guilty to ‘doxing’ GOP senators, threatening employee (Washington Post) Ex-Senate staffer carried out “extensive” data theft of personal information after being fired; growing angry watching Kavanaugh confirmation hearings
Russian Foreign Minister Says Snowden Was Threatened with ‘Electric Chair.' He Wasn’t. (POLYGRAPH.info) Apart from the rhetoric of a former CIA director, the U.S. Justice Department confirmed in writing that Snowden never faced capital punishment. Lavrov falsely connects the Magnitsky Act to the Snowden affair.
Potentially damaging information in Mueller report ushers in new political fight (Washington Post) Members of the special counsel’s team have voiced frustration with the limited information the attorney general has released from the still-confidential report.
Ecuador denies it will imminently expel Assange from embassy (Reuters) Ecuador's government said late on Friday that it rejected reports that it w...
You take in that narcissist Julian Assange to stick it to the Yanks . . . and suddenly it all goes wrong (Times) Where do the lefties find the time for all these protests? There seems to be one every day, with largely the same people attending. I assume they all work in the public sector doing jobs that we...
Indian Railways’ first cyber crime cell to start in Pune - Times of India (The Times of India) PUNE: The first cyber cell of the Indian Railways will open in Pune within a month.
London Borough of Newham fined £145,000 over gang members' data leak (Computing) Incidents of gang violence, including murder, increased in the aftermath of the Newham Council data breach