Data Breaches

Security researchers have started seeing attack campaigns that use a relatively new malware-as-a-service (MaaS) tool called AresLoader. The malicious program appears to be developed and used by several members of a pro-Russia hacktivist group and is typically distributed inside decoy installers for legitimate software. Security researchers from threat intelligence firm Intel 471 first spotted AresLoader in November when it was advertised by a user with the monikers AiD Lock and DarkBLUP on Telegram and two…

Intel has introduced its 13th Generation Core processor line, which the company claims is the first to build threat detection into hardware. In combination with endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms from Intel partners, the new vPro processors promise a 70% reduction in attack surface compared to four-year-old PCs. Windows 11 systems can also take advantage of vPro’s memory encryption to provide better virtualization-based security. In tests conducted by SE Labs and commissioned by Intel,…

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued advisories on 49 vulnerabilities in eight industrial control systems (ICS) this week, which are used across multiple critical infrastructure sectors. The vulnerabilities identified by CISA were tracked in products from ICS providers including Siemens, Hitachi, Rockwell, Delta Electronics, VISAM, and Keysight. Many of the vulnerabilities in CISA’s advisory are remotely exploitable, involve low attack complexity, and allow attackers to take control of affected systems, manipulate…

Splunk is adding new security and observability features to its Observability Cloud and Mission Control to identify threats and incidents more efficiently. The company’s Observability Cloud, which offers AIops-based infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring (APM) and intelligence, will get new features that will help IT operation and development operation teams troubleshoot faster and with increased visibility, to enable a unified approach to incident response, the company said. The company has added new autodetect capabilities inside…

Deploying security patches as quickly as possible remains one of the best ways to prevent most security breaches, as attackers usually rely on exploits for publicly known vulnerabilities that have a patch available — the so-called n-day exploits. But mitigating the risk from vulnerabilities unknown to the affected software developers and don’t have a patch available — the zero-day flaws — requires a careful analysis of the types of actors exploiting them, the geography and…

The UK and Israeli governments have signed a landmark agreement to define bilateral relations between the two countries and boost mutual cybersecurity advancement until 2030. The 2030 Roadmap for Israel-UK Bilateral Relations is the culmination of efforts that began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2021 to work more closely over the next decade on security, technology, trade, and defense. The Roadmap seeks to ensure the partnership remains modern and continues…

Organizations in developed countries are not as prepared for cybersecurity incidents compared to those in developing countries, according to Cisco’s Cybersecurity Readiness Index, released today. Countries that were found to be most mature in their overall cybersecurity readiness included Asia-Pacific countries such as Indonesia, with 39% of organizations in what Cisco considers a “mature stage” of security preparedness; Philippines and Thailand, both with 27% of organizations in the mature stage; and India, with 24% of…

Cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM) or external attack surface management (EASM) solutions are designed to quantify the attack surface and minimize and harden it. The goal with CAASM tools is to give the adversary as little information about the security posture of the business as possible while still maintaining critical business services. If you’ve ever watched a heist film, step one in executing the score of the century is casing the place: observing security…