Attacks

Advise employees not to open links arriving in unexpected SMS messages. If a business sends an unexpected text, look up their number online and call them back to verify if they sent the message. Suspicious links should only be opened in a controlled, safe environment, such as a resettable virtual machine image. That way, if the link points to malicious code, it won’t execute on a device that contains sensitive information. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/activision-confirms-data-breach-exposing-employee-and-game-info/

Phishing continues to be a focal point of initial access for threat actors. This campaign emphasizes the importance of a phishing awareness program and monitoring processes such as PowerShell and Procdump for potential misuse or abuse. LOLBIN usage can allow attackers to blend in with normal activity. Organizations are recommended to employ detections and mitigations for the post exploitation phase of an attack to try and weed out misuse of these programs. https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/hydrochasma-asia-medical-shipping-intelligence-gathering

While patches for new vulnerabilities are released nearly every day, it is up to organizations themselves to implement these patches. Organizations are recommended to implement the recommended patch from Vmware as quickly as feasible. All patches are recommended to be tested on selected machines ahead of deployment as per standard enterprise practices. The Threat Hunting and Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services offered by Binary Defense represent an effective way to incorporate a post-exploitation focus…

To protect against ransomware attacks, organizations should:• Regularly back up data, air gap, and password protect backup copies offline.• Ensure copies of critical data are not accessible for modification or deletion• Implement network segmentation.• Implement a recovery plan to maintain and retain multiple copies of sensitive or proprietary data and servers in a physically separate, segmented, secure location• Install updates/patch operating systems, software, and firmware as soon as possible• Implement monitoring of security events on…

Binary Defense has regularly covered info stealer malware. While the user experience for Stealc seems to be particularly well developed and therefore lends itself to rapid adoption as a Malware as a Service offering (MaaS), the techniques and behaviors this malware uses are not novel. Keeping Detection and Response systems (EDR/MDR/XDR/etc.) up-to-date will go a long ways discovering campaigns like this. Additionally, netflow analysis and DNS monitoring can help detect C2 and exfiltration activity. This…

The city has already taken some steps to prevent future scams, such as implementing multi-factor authentication and providing additional training for employees. However, they may also want to consider conducting regular security audits, hiring a third-party cybersecurity firm to assess their vulnerabilities, and establishing a response plan for potential future incidents. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/17/hilliard-ohio-fires-finance-director-phishing-scam/11282093002

Although the service was launched in October 2022, it is believed to have facilitated the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from the Horizon and other North Korea-linked cyberattacks. According to data released by Chainalysis, the nation-state group sent 1,429.6 Bitcoin worth about $24.2 million to the mixer during the two months from December 2022 to January 2023. The overlaps in the wallet addresses utilized, their connections to Russia, and the similarities in how…

To protect best against a campaign such as this, it is recommended to provide user education into common phishing tactics as well as overall emerging cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. It is important to employ a defense-in-depth strategy to detect this activity at a different portion of the attack chain, such as detecting lateral movement or reconnaissance activity. Binary Defense’s MDR and Threat Hunting services are an excellent solution to assist with such a program. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/coinbase-cyberattack-targeted-employees-with-fake-sms-alert/