Insights

Meet Ika & Sal: The Bulletproof Hosting Duo from Hell

In 2020, the United States brought charges against four men accused of building a bulletproof hosting empire that once dominated the Russian cybercrime industry and supported multiple organized cybercrime groups. All four pleaded guilty to conspiracy and racketeering charges. But there is a fascinating and untold backstory behind the two Russian men involved, who co-ran the world’s top spam forum and worked closely with Russia’s most dangerous cybercriminals. From January 2005 to April 2013, there…

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Happy 14th Birthday, KrebsOnSecurity!

KrebsOnSecurity celebrates its 14th year of existence today! I promised myself this post wouldn’t devolve into yet another Cybersecurity Year in Review. Nor do I wish to hold forth about whatever cyber horrors may await us in 2024. But I do want to thank you all for your continued readership, encouragement and support, without which I could not do what I do. As of this birthday, I’ve officially been an independent investigative journalist for longer…

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CISA Releases Microsoft 365 Secure Configuration Baselines and SCuBAGear Tool

CISA has published the finalized Microsoft 365 Secure Configuration Baselines, designed to bolster the security and resilience of organizations’ Microsoft 365 (M365) cloud services. This guidance release is accompanied by the updated SCuBAGear tool that assesses organizations’ M365 cloud services per CISA’s recommended baselines. Today’s release incorporates stakeholder input from last year’s public comment period and pilot effort with federal agencies. Changes to the draft Microsoft 365 Secure Configuration Baselines were integrated with the SCuBAGear…

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BlackCat Ransomware Raises Ante After FBI Disruption

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disclosed today that it infiltrated the world’s second most prolific ransomware gang, a Russia-based criminal group known as ALPHV and BlackCat. The FBI said it seized the gang’s darknet website, and released a decryption tool that hundreds of victim companies can use to recover systems. Meanwhile, BlackCat responded by briefly “unseizing” its darknet site with a message promising 90 percent commissions for affiliates who continue to work with…

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CISA and FBI Release Advisory on ALPHV Blackcat Affiliates

Today, CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), #StopRansomware: ALPHV Blackcat, to disseminate known ALPHV Blackcat affiliates’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) identified through FBI investigations as recently as Dec. 6, 2023. The advisory also provides updates to the FBI FLASH BlackCat/ALPHV Ransomware Indicators of Compromise released April 19, 2022. ALPHV Blackcat affiliates have extensive networks and experience with ransomware and data extortion operations.…

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FBI, CISA, and ASD’s ACSC Release Advisory on Play Ransomware

Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), #StopRansomware: Play Ransomware, to disseminate Play ransomware group’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) identified through FBI investigations as recently as October 2023. Play ransomware actors employ a double-extortion model, encrypting systems after exfiltrating data and have impacted a wide range…

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CISA Releases Advisory on Cyber Resilience for the HPH Sector

Today, CISA released a Cybersecurity Advisory, Enhancing Cyber Resilience: Insights from the CISA Healthcare and Public Health Sector Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, that details findings from our risk and vulnerability assessments of a Health and Public Health (HPH) Sector organization. CISA encourages all critical infrastructure organizations as well as software manufacturers to review the advisory and apply recommendations. The recommendations detail how organizations can harden networks to improve cyber resilience and reduce the likelihood of domain…

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CISA Secure by Design Alert Urges Manufacturers to Eliminate Default Passwords

Today, CISA published guidance on How Manufacturers Can Protect Customers by Eliminating Default Passwords as a part of our new Secure by Design (SbD) Alert series. This SbD Alert urges technology manufacturers to proactively eliminate the risk of default password exploitation by implementing principles one and three of the joint guidance, Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Secure by Design Software: Take ownership of customer security outcomes. Build organizational structure and…

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Ten Years Later, New Clues in the Target Breach

On Dec. 18, 2013, KrebsOnSecurity broke the news that U.S. retail giant Target was battling a wide-ranging computer intrusion that compromised more than 40 million customer payment cards over the previous month. The malware used in the Target breach included the text string “Rescator,” which also was the handle chosen by the cybercriminal who was selling all of the cards stolen from Target customers. Ten years later, KrebsOnSecurity has uncovered new clues about the real-life…

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FortiGuard Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products

FortiGuard has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple FortiGuard products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply necessary updates: FG-IR-23-196: Double free in cache management FG-IR-22-038: FortiMail, FortiNDR, FortiRecorder, FortiSwitch, FortiVoice – Cross-site scripting forgery (CSRF) in HTTPd CLI console FG-IR-23-138: FortiOS, FortiProxy – Format String Bug in HTTPSd

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