Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
50,000 enterprise firms running SAP software vulnerable to attack (ZDNet) 9 out of 10 SAP production systems are believed to be vulnerable to new exploits.
DDoS Botnet Targeting Electrum Servers Grows to 152,000 Infected Hosts (Security Intelligence) A DDoS botnet targeting servers used by the Electrum bitcoin wallet reached 152,000 infected hosts at the end of April.
Database Exposes Medical Info, PII Data of 137k People in U.S. (BleepingComputer) A publicly accessible Elasticsearch database discovered on March 27 exposed various types of personally identifiable information (PII) and medical info of more than 100,000 individuals.
D.C. Metro Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks (Security Today) The inspector general believes D.C.'s transportation system is at a higher risk of cybersecurity attacks.
Austrian construction group Porr hit by cyber attack (The Mighty 790 KFGO) VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian construction company Porr detected a cyber attack on its communication infrastructure on Thursday and its telephone lines and emails were disrupted, the company said.
The disruption was caused by a virus, which has been identified, a company spokeswoman said. Technicians were working to find a solution, but the spokes...
Further details on Wipro phishing attack revealed (SC Media) The phishing attack that struck the Indian IT firm Wipro in April may have had the unexpected goal of conducting gift card fraud, according to a new Flashpoint report.
Attackers Used Red-Team, Pen-Testing Tools to Hack Wipro (Dark Reading) Breach of India-based outsourcing giant involved a remote access tool and a post-exploitation tool, according to an analysis by Flashpoint.
Flashpoint - Wipro Threat Actors Active Since 2015 (Flashpoint) Evidence uncovered by Flashpoint researchers links the threat actors behind the Wipro breach to other activity dating back as early as 2015.
Crooks using hacked Microsoft email accounts to steal cryptocurrency (Naked Security) Hacked Microsoft email accounts are being used by criminals to compromise victims’ cryptocurrency exchange accounts and empty their funds.
JavaScript card sniffing attacks spread to other e-commerce platforms (ZDNet) OpenCart, OSCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify are also being targeted.
Why credit card data stealing point-of-sale malware is still such a big problem (ZDNet) They're some of the simplest forms of cyberattacks out there, but credit card stealing POS malware remains highly effective.
Poisoned Apples: Email Subject Lines That Snooker Recipients (Email Insider) LinkedIn spoofing and lines that address the victim's concerns pull high click rates, security firm KnowBe4 finds.
Millions of consumer smart devices exposed by serious security flaw (Naked Security) This IoT software flaw could render millions of consumer devices, including baby monitors and webcams, open to remote discovery and hijack.
Hackers lurked in Citrix systems for six months (ZDNet) Social Security numbers and financial data may have been stolen.
Going Toe-to-Toe With Ukraine’s Separatist Hackers (Foreign Policy) The proliferation of cyberespionage tools empower even small breakaway regions to run digital intelligence operations.
Flashpoint - Wipro Threat Actors Active Since 2015 (Flashpoint) Evidence uncovered by Flashpoint researchers links the threat actors behind the Wipro breach to other activity dating back as early as 2015.
Threat Spotlight: Account Takeover (Barracuda) This Threat Spotlight reveals a startling rise in account takeover attacks, looking at how account takeover work and where attacks are coming from.
Updated: This DDoS Attack Unleashed the Most Packets Per Second Ever. Here’s Why That’s Important. (Blog) (Updated April 30, 2019 with new data from an even larger attack. Skip directly to the bottom to learn more.) DDoS attacks are usually measured by the amount of bandwidth involved, such as the 1.35 Terabits per second (maximum) attack directed at GitHub last year, the largest DDoS attack ever at the time. However, in …
Polymorphic Magecart skimmer capable of attacking 57 payment systems uncovered (Computing) Researchers have described it as the most advanced payments skimmer to date, tracing it back to Ukraine
Sodinokibi Ransomware Exploits WebLogic Server Vulnerability (CloudTweaks) Attackers are actively exploiting a recently disclosed vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic to install a new variant of ransomware called “Sodinokibi.” Sodinokibi attempts to encrypt data in a user’s…
Job recruitment site Ladders exposed 13 million user profiles (TechCrunch) Ladders, one of the most popular job recruitment sites in the U.S. specializing in high-end jobs, has exposed more than 13.7 million user records following a security lapse. The New York-based company left an Amazon -hosted Elasticsearch database exposed without a password, allowing anyone to acces…
Diabetics are hunting down obsolete insulin pumps with a security flaw (Naked Security) The flaw makes it possible to overwrite the devices’ programming and insert an algorithm that turns them into artificial pancreases.
Texas Cities Struggle To Defend Against Cyber Crime With Sparse Resources (Texas Public Radio) Across the country, one in four cities reported being attacked by cyber criminals every hour. That’s according to a 2016 survey, but attacks against cities
The Difficulty of Gauging Health Care Cybersecurity Risk (IoT World Today) While the threat of hacked medical devices has drummed up headlines, commodity malware could be a bigger health care cybersecurity threat.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Cisco's warning: Patch now, critical SSH flaw affects Nexus 9000 fabric switches (ZDNet) Cisco alerts customers to a 9.8/10 flaw among a number of security bugs affecting Nexus 9000 fabric switches.
Cyber Trends
55% of Small Business Owners Would Pay for their Data in a Ransomware Attack (Small Business Trends) Businesses value their data so much more than half will pay cyber criminals to get it back.
Growing Cyber Threats Drive Need for Advanced Security Defenses (Oracle) Policy makers and C-Suite executives believe U.S. should invest more in advanced cybersecurity technology
Industry Invasions: Fraud & Security Incidents By Business Size... (Merchant Machine) Security is one of the biggest issues facing businesses and their customers, with advancing technology making attacks harder to defend against. We've outlined some the impacts this has and the industries that suffer most. Fraud & Security By Business Size. Depending on how big your company is...
A History of Major Computer Viruses from the 1970s to the Present (The Devolutions Blog) A couple of years ago, I wrote about the history of programming. It was fascinating to see how far things have come since Charles Babbage conceived the very first analytical engine back in 1837. Now, ...
Marketplace
Coalfire Expands Partnership with University of Washington through Information Security and Risk Management Program (Yahoo) Coalfire, a trusted provider of cybersecurity advisory and assessment services, announced today that it has expanded its partnership with the University of Washington through the university's Information Security and Risk Management (ISRM) program.
What's driving Maryland cybersecurity's economic growth? (Technical.ly Baltimore) Macro factors and local talent combine to make cybersecurity a growing industry that the state is looking to expand.
Microsoft's security chief explains why the company is eliminating passwords (CNBC) Microsoft's Bret Arsenault, who serves as its top cybersecurity executive, discussed the top issues facing his company and its clients, and offers advice for smaller firms on how they can get better at eliminating the simplest, most devastating attacks.
The Pentagon Is Flubbing Its Pitch to Silicon Valley (Defense One) Appeals to patriotism won’t move America’s tech industry. Other approaches might work better.
Wall Street spending big to protect against hacking: report (New York Post) Wall Street’s biggest companies are pumping more cash into cybersecurity, as the industry’s brass openly frets that hackers are the next major threat to the financial system. Financial middlemen li…
FireEye Joins Team to Provide Defensive and Cyber Threat Intelligence Operations Support to U.S. Army Cyber Command (AP NEWS) As part of a new $905 million, five-year award, Perspecta Inc. has subcontracted with FireEye to enhance cyber operations and global mission support for ARCYBER.
Financial Firms Spend Up to $3,000 Per Employee on Cybersecurity (Bloomberg) Big banks and other financial firms spend as much as $3,000 per employee to defend computer networks from cyber criminals, a survey found, as the industry remains the primary target of such attacks.
Google can now automatically delete your location, app, and search activity data (VentureBeat) Google's new control automatically deletes location, activity, and services data collected by its suite of mobile and web apps.
Mark Zuckerberg Wants Facebook’s Future to Be Private (WIRED) At F8, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a subtle redesign for Facebook that places more emphasis on Groups and new products like Secret Crush.
At F8, Facebook focuses on privacy — and little else (Interface) F8 is a conference where Facebook executives talk about the future — and at Facebook, the future is flexible. In 2015, the future was video. The next year, the future was bots. The year after that, the future was augmented reality — and also a project to let you hear with your skin. All of those technologies eventually found their way into Facebook's products, in some form — well, all except the skin hearing thing. But none really shifted the company away from its core product: an infinitely scro
The Woman Who Saved John McAfee from an Epically Bad Deal (WIRED) He was going to sell his antivirus software company to Symantec for $20 million. But Sonja Hoel had a smarter, better offer.
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Here's the one thing Republicans and Democrats could agree on during Barr hearing (Washington Post) They wanted the attorney general's commitment to improving election security.
Aryaka Raises $50M to Accelerate Global Managed SD-WAN Expansion (Yahoo) Series F, Led by Goldman Sachs, Enables Company to Quickly Grow Revenues, Headcount & Global Footprint
Products, Services, and Solutions
SolarWinds adds Mac capabilities to dashboards (SecurityBrief) Ability to manage both Mac and Windows devices on the same dashboard will streamline monitoring and management for MSPs.
Secureworks launches new cybersecurity analytics application (Intelligent CIO) Secureworks, a leading cybersecurity company that keeps organisations safe in the digitally connected world, has announced the launch of a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application that will transform the way companies detect, investigate and respond to cyberthreats.
Recorded Future Debuts Library of Intelligence Use Cases (Channelnomics) Visit the post for more.
WatchGuard Expands Award-Winning WatchGuardONE Partner Program With New Specializations and Financial Incentives (PR Newswire) WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in network security and intelligence, secure Wi-Fi and multi-factor...
Unisys Announces Integration of Unisys Stealth® Security with Industry-Leading Cyber Recovery Software for Improved Cyber Resilience (Unisys) Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced at Dell Technologies World 2019 that its award-winning Unisys Stealth® security software suite has been integrated with Dell EMC Cyber Recovery software to provide enhanced protection to clients' cyber recovery operations.
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
5 threat detection and response technologies are coming together (CSO Online) Organizations use too many disparate point tools to detect and respond to cyber threats in a timely manner. As a result, CISOs want tight integration and interoperability across five cybersecurity technologies.
Do You Need a WAF, or Something Better than a WAF? (Security Boulevard) “The king is dead! Long live the king!” The jarring conflict embodied in this timeless hoorah is about to apply to the application security space. Subjects are giving up on the old king—the web application firewall (WAF) technology—as their primary appsec tool, for several reasons. First, because WAFs are too complicated. Second, because attackers have …
Creating A Roadmap For Hardware Security (Semiconductor Engineering) Government and private organizations developing blueprints for semiconductor industry as threat level rises.
Home - Password Day (Password Day) Treat everyday like Password Day and #LayerUp your login to make the Internet a more secure place. Identity theft is one of the world’s fastest growing crimes, but adding strong authentication to your password can prevent it. Whether you’re protecting your bank account, your email, or your social media, put the brakes on ID theft...
World Password Day: We Need to Talk (Juniper Networks) Passwords are the foundation upon which much of modern IT security is built, and what better day to discuss the topic than World Password Day, an event which occurs on the first Thursday of May every year.
Keeping your data safe when traveling (Naked Security) Our data is especially vulnerable when we ourselves are too: at border crossings and when in unfamiliar environments.
Design and Innovation
Cyber Defense Media Group Announces Black Unicorn Awards for 2019 Are (PRWeb) Cyber Defense Media Group (CDMG), the industry’s leading electronic information security media group, is announcing that the annual Black Unicorn awards are now open. Innovative information security companies of any size, that have not yet gone public, with a public market valuation of $1B USD or more may apply for this prestigious award.
Research and Development
Funding dries up for DHS emerging tech investments (FCW) The department's Silicon Valley Innovation Program is notifying participants that solicitations could be cancelled due to lack of funding.
Academia
Why the Air Force Is Embedding Airmen at Carnegie Mellon (WIRED) In an interview with WIRED editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson expounds on surveillance, drones, and the cutting edge of plane-painting.
Air National Guard partners with UMass Dartmouth on cybersecurity (DVIDS) DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing to establish collaborative programs in the field of cybersecurity on Monday, April 29, 2019. The MOU creates a partnership that aims to mutually benefit both organizations for years to come.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
Putin signs Runet law to cut Russia's internet off from rest of world (ZDNet) Russia's sovereign internet bill has been signed into law, giving authorities an easier way to block content.
TSA preps new guidelines on pipeline cyber (FCW) The Transportation Security Administration has developed a plan to more regularly update its cybersecurity guidelines for oil, natural gas and hazardous materials pipeline operators.
Evaluating the GDPR experiment (SC Media) Companies are keeping their eyes on fines and gauging how GDPR compliance, or lack thereof, might impact them. Allen Bernard reports. We are starting to
White House has signaled it may seek permanent renewal of controversial surveillance power (Washington Post) The Trump administration was prepared to ask Congress to reauthorize Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Expert Reaction On UK Government Plans To Improve Security Of IoT Devices (Information Security Buzz) The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is consulting on regulatory proposals regarding consumer Internet of Things security.
Defense Department Cyber Requires Speed, Precision and Agility (SIGNAL Magazine) The JFHQ-DODIN maintains a broad-based security approach to defending defense cyber assets.
Agency Cyber Pros Welcome DHS’ Leadership If It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All (Nextgov.com) Homeland Security is well-positioned to lead governmentwide cyber acquisitions and standards, so long as they work with agencies as individuals, officials said.
Killer Apps (Foreign Affairs) The real danger of an AI arms race isn't that another country would win; it's that unsafe technologies would make everyone lose.
US warns Moscow against propping up Maduro regime (Times) The United States has warned Russia to stop meddling in Venezuela and has again raised the possibility of direct military action to oust the Maduro regime after Tuesday’s failed coup. John Bolton...
Juan Guaidó Calls Venezuelans to the Streets (Foreign Policy) A transcript of the opposition leader’s remarks from La Carlota Air Base.
Venezuela’s Suicide (Foreign Affairs) Socialism and declining oil prices are often blamed for Venezuela’s catastrophe. In reality, it was decades of destructive leadership under Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, that transformed Venezuela into a poor country and criminalized state beholden to a foreign power.
CORRECTED-New Czech minister sees no one ruled out of 5G, nuclear... (Reuters) The Czech Republic should not initially rule out any Chinese or Russian companie...
British Prime Minister Theresa May fires Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson after Huawei leak (CNBC) "The Prime Minister's decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorised disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council," Downing Street said in a statement.
Theresa May sacks Gavin Williamson over Huawei leak (Times) Gavin Williamson blamed a vendetta by Britain’s most senior civil servant for his dismissal as defence secretary yesterday. Mr Williamson became the first cabinet minister in more than 30 years to...
First female defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has armed forces in her blood (Times) Penny Mordaunt has become Britain’s first female defence secretary only months after speculation that she could resign from the government over Theresa May’s Brexit deal. The staunch Eurosceptic...
Government unveils new laws for IoT and internet-connected devices (Computing) Government IoT proposals would introduce security labeling to internet-connected devices
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Here's the one thing Republicans and Democrats could agree on during Barr hearing (Washington Post) They wanted the attorney general's commitment to improving election security.
CISA wants more funding for critical infrastructure activities (FCW) Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the agency's focus on election security operations is a good model for other critical infrastructure sectors.
Army multi-domain task force could spell acquisition changes (FCW) A new focus on interoperability with allies and partners could alter buying practices as it matures.
Senate Passes Bill to Allow Cyber Talent to Rotate Through Agencies (Nextgov.com) The bipartisan legislation would allow certain cybersecurity-related personnel to rotate across various federal agencies.
FCC Dem demands info on location sharing by phone carriers (TheHill) A Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is demanding information from wireless companies about their location data practices.
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Judge blasts Assange for jumping bail, sentences him to almost one year (Ars Technica) The Wikileaks founder's legal troubles are far from over.
Zuckerberg Sued Over Privacy Scandals, Alleged Insider Trades (Bloomberg Law) Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook Inc.‘s other top executives have been hit with a lawsuit accusing them of insider trading and blaming them for the privacy scandals that have rocked the social media giant and its stock value since 2016.
Julian Assange legal team begin 'big fight' over extradition (Guardian) Supporters of WikiLeaks founder ready for long battle after he is jailed for bail breach
Julian Assange to fight US extradition from his jail cell (Times) Julian Assange will begin his battle against extradition to the US from a high-security British prison today after he was jailed for more than 11 months for breach of bail. The Wikileaks founder...
Barr testifies about the Mueller investigation (Washington Post) Follow our live coverage.
Mueller complained that Barr’s letter did not capture ‘context’ of Trump probe (Washington Post) In a letter and phone call, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and Attorney General William P. Barr went back and forth over Mueller’s concerns. “The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public . . . did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions,” Mueller wrote.
US attorney-general William Barr dismisses Robert Mueller claims over collusion inquiry (Times) The US attorney-general said that he was “not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people” when pushed by Democrats yesterday on whether President Trump covered up an...
