Krebs on Security
DECEMBER 14, 2020
Communications at the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments were reportedly compromised by a supply chain attack on SolarWinds , a security vendor that helps the federal government and a range of Fortune 500 companies monitor the health of their IT networks. Given the breadth of the company’s customer base, experts say the incident may be just the first of many such disclosures.
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 18, 2020
The NSA has published an advisory outlining how “malicious cyber actors” are “are manipulating trust in federated authentication environments to access protected data in the cloud.” This is related to the SolarWinds hack I have previously written about , and represents one of the techniques the SVR is using once it has gained access to target networks.
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Joseph Steinberg
DECEMBER 14, 2020
The U.S. government instructed all of its civilian agencies to immediately shut off various popular network and system management products being exploited as part of an ongoing cyberattack. Russian government hackers are believed to have poisoned with malware updates of the SolarWinds Orion products used in many government agencies and in over 80% of the Fortune 500, introducing vulnerabilities that the hackers then exploited to conduct espionage and to pilfer extremely sensitive materials.
Adam Levin
DECEMBER 16, 2020
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected–and do the best we can in a rapidly changing world. That’s always the case when it comes to cybersecurity. Here are 12 New Year Resolutions for a safer and more secure digital you in 2021: Think before you click that email link: 2020 was a record-breaking year for ransomware, malware, and phishing , and many, if not most of these attacks were launched with the click on a link in an email.
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Krebs on Security
DECEMBER 18, 2020
U.S. government cybersecurity agencies warned this week that the attackers behind the widespread hacking spree stemming from the compromise at network software firm SolarWinds used weaknesses in other, non-SolarWinds products to attack high-value targets. According to sources, among those was a flaw in software virtualization platform VMware , which the U.S.
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Gizmodo is reporting that schools in the US are buying equipment to unlock cell phones from companies like Cellebrite: Gizmodo has reviewed similar accounting documents from eight school districts, seven of which are in Texas, showing that administrators paid as much $11,582 for the controversial surveillance technology. Known as mobile device forensic tools (MDFTs), this type of tech is able to siphon text messages, photos, and application data from student’s devices.
Cyber Security Informer brings together the best content for cyber security professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
The Last Watchdog
DECEMBER 13, 2020
One legacy of the ongoing global pandemic is that companies now realize that a secured and well-supported remote workforce is possible. Recently, the University of Illinois and the Harvard Business School conducted a study, and 16% of companies reported switching their employees to work at home from offices at least twice a week. Related: SASE translates into secure connectivity.
Krebs on Security
DECEMBER 16, 2020
A key malicious domain name used to control potentially thousands of computer systems compromised via the months-long breach at network monitoring software vendor SolarWinds was commandeered by security experts and used as a “killswitch” designed to turn the sprawling cybercrime operation against itself, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Austin, Texas-based SolarWinds disclosed this week that a compromise of its software update servers earlier this year may have resulted in malicious code
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 17, 2020
The New York Times has more details. About 18,000 private and government users downloaded a Russian tainted software update – a Trojan horse of sorts – that gave its hackers a foothold into victims’ systems, according to SolarWinds, the company whose software was compromised. Among those who use SolarWinds software are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Justice Department, parts of the Pentagon and a number of utility companies.
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 17, 2020
The COVID-19 crisis enabled scammers to take advantage of the guileless, as bad actors were able to extract personal information from targets, according to a new report from First Orion.
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Adam Shostack
DECEMBER 16, 2020
As we look at what’s happened with the Russian attack on the US government and others via Solarwinds, I want to shine a spotlight on a lesson we can apply to threat modeling. An example of asset-driven thinking leads the article Hack may have exposed deep US secrets; damage yet unknown. And I don’t want to pick on this article in particular — anyone can fall into this trap: Some of America’s most deeply held secrets may have been stolen in a disciplined, monthslong operation being bl
Security Affairs
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Threat actors continue to trade critical medical data in the Dark Web while organizations are involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cybercrime organizations continue to be very active while pharmaceutical organizations are involved in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and medicines to cure the infections. Experts from Cyble discovered in several forums on the dark web, the offer for enormous repositories of critical medical that wee stolen from multiple organizations.
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 15, 2020
This is interesting : Toward the end of the second incident that Volexity worked involving Dark Halo, the actor was observed accessing the e-mail account of a user via OWA. This was unexpected for a few reasons, not least of which was the targeted mailbox was protected by MFA. Logs from the Exchange server showed that the attacker provided username and password authentication like normal but were not challenged for a second factor through Duo.
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 15, 2020
Jack Wallen explains why he's not worried that the rise in popularity of the Linux operating system will mean your open source platforms will be vulnerable to attacks.
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How many people would you trust with your house keys? Chances are, you have a handful of trusted friends and family members who have an emergency copy, but you definitely wouldn’t hand those out too freely. You have stuff that’s worth protecting—and the more people that have access to your belongings, the higher the odds that something will go missing.
SecureWorld News
DECEMBER 15, 2020
When news broke a few days ago that IT management company SolarWinds was compromised in a supply chain cyber attack, we discovered that attackers accessed both the U.S Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce. Read the related story. Now we know that was just the start. Here are updates coming in: CISA emergency directive to unplug SolarWinds Orion products.
Security Affairs
DECEMBER 12, 2020
Threat actors are actively exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the popular Easy WP SMTP WordPress plugin installed on more than 500,000 sites. Hackers are actively exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the popular Easy WP SMTP WordPress plugin to reset passwords for admin accounts. The SMTP WordPress plugin is installed on more than 500,000 sites, but despite the security patch has been released earlier this week many sites are yet to be patched.
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 17, 2020
Sophisticated spyware, sold by surveillance tech companies to Mexican government agencies, are ending up in the hands of drug cartels : As many as 25 private companies — including the Israeli company NSO Group and the Italian firm Hacking Team — have sold surveillance software to Mexican federal and state police forces, but there is little or no regulation of the sector — and no way to control where the spyware ends up, said the officials.
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 17, 2020
Biases in decision-making can contribute to adverse cybersecurity outcomes. Find out why being empathetic and giving others the benefit of the doubt are key when addressing these biases.
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In a recent study, IDC found that 64% of organizations said they were already using open source in software development with a further 25% planning to in the next year. Most organizations are unaware of just how much open-source code is used and underestimate their dependency on it. As enterprises grow the use of open-source software, they face a new challenge: understanding the scope of open-source software that's being used throughout the organization and the corresponding exposure.
Dark Reading
DECEMBER 14, 2020
An unprecedented 2020 has shaken up security leaders' usual list of must-have technologies. What's on the horizon? They share with us their spending plans for 2021.
Security Affairs
DECEMBER 16, 2020
Microsoft, FireEye, and GoDaddy have partnered to create a kill switch for the Sunburst backdoor that was employed in the recent SolarWinds hack. Microsoft, FireEye, and GoDaddy have created a kill switch for the Sunburst backdoor that was used in SolarWinds supply chain attack. Last week, Russia-linked hackers breached SolarWinds, the attackers had used a trojanized SolarWinds Orion business software updates to distribute the backdoor tracked as SUNBURST (aka Solarigate (Microsoft)).
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 15, 2020
The press is reporting a massive hack of US government networks by sophisticated Russian hackers. Officials said a hunt was on to determine if other parts of the government had been affected by what looked to be one of the most sophisticated, and perhaps among the largest, attacks on federal systems in the past five years. Several said national security-related agencies were also targeted, though it was not clear whether the systems contained highly classified material. […].
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 14, 2020
The bill would increase protection for the billions of connected devices "owned or controlled by the government" in homes and businesses.
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TrustArc
DECEMBER 15, 2020
On 17 November 2020, the Canadian Minister of Information Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains, introduced bill C-11, the long-awaited update to the federal Canadian privacy legislation. For many years, this legislative update had been rumoured, and now that it was finally put on the table, we can see some sweeping changes. The Digital Charter […].
Security Affairs
DECEMBER 17, 2020
FBI says DoppelPaymer ransomware gang is harassing victims who refuse to pay, threatening to send individuals to their homes. FBI is warning of a new escalation in the extortion activities of the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang, the operators have been calling victims, threatening to send individuals to their homes if they don’t pay the ransom. According to a private industry notification alert (PIN), sent by the FBI to private organizations, the Bureau is aware of extortion activities that h
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 14, 2020
This is a weird story of a building owner commissioning an artist to paint a mural on the side of his building — except that he wasn’t actually the building’s owner. The fake landlord met Hawkins in person the day after Thanksgiving, supplying the paint and half the promised fee. They met again a couple of days later for lunch, when the job was mostly done.
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 17, 2020
A heatmap shows PHP has the most flaws followed by C++, then Java,Net, JavaScript, and Python in Veracode's annual security report.
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Dark Reading
DECEMBER 17, 2020
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) could be the security management technology of your dreams.or not. What makes this technical 'evolution' so interesting to so many companies?
Security Affairs
DECEMBER 15, 2020
Experts discovered a new Windows info-stealer, named PyMICROPSIA, linked to AridViper group that is rapidly evolving to target other platforms. Experts from Palo Alto Networks’s Unit 42 discovered a new Windows info-stealing malware, named PyMICROPSIA, that might be used soon to also target Linux and macOS systems. Experts spotted the PyMICROPSIA info stealer while investigating attacks of the AridViper group (also tracked as Desert Falcon and APT-C-23 ).
Schneier on Security
DECEMBER 16, 2020
The SF Chronicle is reporting (more details here ), and the FBI is confirming, that a Melbourne mathematician and team has decrypted the 1969 message sent by the Zodiac Killer to the newspaper. There’s no paper yet, but there are a bunch of details in the news articles. Here’s an interview with one of the researchers: Cryptologist David Oranchak, who has been trying to crack the notorious “340 cipher” (it contains 340 characters) for more than a decade, made a crucial bre
Tech Republic Security
DECEMBER 16, 2020
Cybercriminals are clever, and AI cannot always account for that. This is where cybersecurity and AI professionals come in.
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Within the past few years, ransomware attacks have turned to critical infrastructure, healthcare, and government entities. Attackers have taken advantage of the rapid shift to remote work and new technologies. Add to that hacktivism due to global conflicts and U.S. elections, and an increased focus on AI, and you have the perfect recipe for a knotty and turbulent 2024.
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