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“The Ransomware Documentary” – brand new video series from Sophos starting now!

by Matt Fairbanks Ransomware – as readers here know only too well – is one of the biggest cybercrime challenges we collectively face today. That’s why Sophos has recently visited cities around the globe to dive deep into the real story behind ransomware. We captured more than 100 hours of interviews with cybercriminals, cybersecurity experts, industry analysts, and policy makers to provide a full 360-degree perspective. The result is Think You Know Ransomware?, a three-part…

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Beware bad passwords as attackers co-opt Linux servers into cybercrime

by Paul Ducklin Researchers at Korean anti-malware business AhnLab are warning about an old-school attack that they say they’re seeing a lot of these days, where cybercriminals guess their way into Linux shell servers and use them as jumping-off points for further attacks, often against innocent third parties. The payloads unleashed by this crew of otherwise unsophisticated crooks could not only cost you money through unexpected electricity bills, but also tarnish your reputation by leaving…

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Apple patch fixes zero-day kernel hole reported by Kaspersky – update now!

by Paul Ducklin Right at the start of June 2023, well-known Russian cybersecurity outfit Kaspersky reported on a previously unknown strain of iPhone malware. Most notable about the original story was its strapline: Targeted attack on [Kaspersky] management with the Triangulation Trojan. Although the company ultimately said, “We’re confident that Kaspersky was not the main target of this cyberattack”, the threat hunting it was called upon to do wasn’t on customer devices, but on its…

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Apple Patches iOS Flaws Used in Kaspersky ‘Operation Triangulation’ 

Apple has rolled out a major security-themed iOS update to fix remote code execution vulnerabilities that have already been exploited in the wild. The patches address a pair of vulnerabilities reported by Russian anti-malware vendor Kaspersky and follow the public documentation of ‘Operation Triangulation,’ a digital spy campaign that used zero-click iMessage exploits. The patches – iOS 16.5.1, iPadOS 16.5.1, iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS15.7.7 – cover security defects in kernel and WebKit and have been…

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Why Malware Crypting Services Deserve More Scrutiny

If you operate a cybercrime business that relies on disseminating malicious software, you probably also spend a good deal of time trying to disguise or “crypt” your malware so that it appears benign to antivirus and security products. In fact, the process of “crypting” malware is sufficiently complex and time-consuming that most serious cybercrooks will outsource this critical function to a handful of trusted third parties. This story explores the history and identity behind Cryptor[.]biz,…

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Passwords out, passkeys in: are you ready to make the switch?

With passkeys poised for prime time, passwords seem passé. What are the main benefits of ditching one in favor of the other? Chances are good that many of us have had enough of passwords. In a world where we have to manage access for scores of online accounts, passwords no longer seem fit for purpose. Many of us reuse the same, easy-to-remember login credentials across these apps and websites and commit other password-related mistakes, which…

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ASUS warns router customers: Patch now, or block all inbound requests

by Paul Ducklin ASUS is a well-known maker of popular electronics products, ranging from laptops and phones to home routers and graphics cards. This week, the company published firmware updates for a wide range of its home routers, along with a strong warning that if you aren’t willing or able to update your firmware right now, then you need to: [Disable] services accessible from the WAN side to avoid potential unwanted intrusions. These services include…

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VMware Confirms Live Exploits Hitting Just-Patched Security Flaw

Less than two weeks after shipping urgent patches to cover security defects in its Aria Operations for Networks product, VMware says hackers have started launching exploits in the wild. The virtualization technology giant on Tuesday updated a critical-level bulletin with a blunt warning to businesses running the network monitoring software: “VMware has confirmed that exploitation of CVE-2023-20887 has occurred in the wild.” The live exploits, first flagged by GreyNoise, target the CVE-2023-20887 command injection vulnerability…

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Megaupload duo will go to prison at last, but Kim Dotcom fights on…

by Paul Ducklin For the third time in about a week, cybersecurity law-and-order news includes a criminal case that’s been brewing for more than a decade. This time, the news is prison sentences for two of the main four original defendants in the infamous Megaupload saga. If you weren’t following cybersecurity a decade ago, we’ll recap directly from the article we published at the time of the site’s takedown by the FBI in early 2012:…

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Asus Patches Highly Critical WiFi Router Flaws

Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer Asus on Monday shipped urgent firmware updates to address vulnerabilities in its WiFi router product lines and warned users of the risk of remote code execution attacks. In an advisory, Asus documented at least nine security defects and multiple security weaknesses that allow code execution, denial-of-service, information disclosure and authentication bypasses. The most serious of the nine vulnerabilities, a highly critical bug with a CVSS severity rating of 9.8/10, dates back…

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