Insights

CISA, NSA, FBI, and MS-ISAC Release Phishing Prevention Guidance

Today, the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released a joint guide, Phishing Guidance: Stopping the Attack Cycle at Phase One. The joint guide outlines phishing techniques malicious actors commonly use and provides guidance for both network defenders and software manufacturers to reduce the impact of phishing techniques used in obtaining credentials and deploying malware.…

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Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 Blog Series | Updating Software

Credit: NIST It’s week three in our Cybersecurity Awareness Month blog series! This week, we interviewed NIST’s Michael Ogata (Computer Scientist) and Paul Watrobski (IT Security Specialist) about the importance of updating software. This week’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is ‘updating software.’ How does your work/specialty area at NIST tie into this behavior? NIST’s Applied Cybersecurity Division’s core mission is to explore, measure, and evaluate both the cybersecurity guidance NIST provides as well as industry…

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Tech CEO Sentenced to 5 Years in IP Address Scheme

Amir Golestan, the 40-year-old CEO of the Charleston, S.C. based technology company Micfo LLC, has been sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud. Golestan’s sentencing comes nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to using an elaborate network of phony companies to secure more than 735,000 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), the nonprofit which oversees IP addresses assigned to entities in the U.S., Canada, and parts…

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CISA, FBI, and MS-ISAC Release Joint Advisory on Atlassian Confluence Vulnerability CVE-2023-22515

Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) in response to the active exploitation of CVE-2023-22515. This critical vulnerability affects certain versions of Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server, enabling malicious threat actors to obtain initial access to Confluence instances by creating unauthorized Confluence administrator accounts. CISA strongly encourages upgrading to a fixed version or taking servers offline to apply…

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Cisco Releases Security Advisory for IOS XE Software Web UI

Cisco released a security advisory to address a vulnerability (CVE-2023-20198) affecting IOS XE Software Web UI. A cyber threat actor can exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected device. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Cisco security advisory, apply the necessary recommendations, hunt for any malicious activity and report any positive findings to CISA, and apply patches when made available. See the following for additional guidance and resources:  BOD 23-02: Mitigating…

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CISA, NSA, FBI, and International Partners Release Updated Secure by Design Guidance

Today, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released an update to Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Security-by- Design and -Default with the following international partners: Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) Netherland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL) Norway’s National Cyber…

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CISA Releases Nineteen Industrial Control Systems Advisories

CISA released nineteen Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on October 12, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS. ICSA-23-285-01 Siemens SIMATIC CP products ICSA-23-285-02 Siemens SCALANCE W1750D ICSA-23-285-03 Siemens SICAM A8000 Devices ICSA-23-285-04 Siemens Xpedition Layout Browser ICSA-23-285-05 Siemens Simcenter Amesim ICSA-23-285-06 Siemens SICAM PAS/PQS ICSA-23-285-07 Siemens RUGGEDCOM APE180 ICSA-23-285-08 Siemens SINEC NMS ICSA-23-285-09 Siemens CPCI85 Firmware of SICAM A8000 Devices ICSA-23-285-10 Siemens Tecnomatix Plant Simulation  ICSA-23-285-11…

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CISA Releases New Resources Identifying Known Exploited Vulnerabilities and Misconfigurations Linked to Ransomware

Today, as part of the Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot (RVWP), CISA launched two new resources for combating ransomware campaigns: A “Known to be Used in Ransomware Campaigns” column in the KEV Catalog that identifies KEVs associated with ransomware campaigns. A “Misconfigurations and Weaknesses Known to be Used in Ransomware Campaigns” table on StopRansomware.gov that identifies misconfigurations and weaknesses associated with ransomware campaigns. The table features a column that identifies the Cyber Performance Goal (CPG) action for each misconfiguration…

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FBI and CISA Release Update on AvosLocker Advisory

Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), #StopRansomware: AvosLocker Ransomware (Update) to disseminate known indicators of compromise (IOCs), tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and detection methods associated with the AvosLocker variant identified through FBI investigations as recently as May 2023. This release updates the March 17, 2022 joint CSA, Indicators of Compromise Associated with AvosLocker ransomware, released by FBI, CISA, and the…

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Patch Tuesday, October 2023 Edition

Microsoft today issued security updates for more than 100 newly-discovered vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and related software, including four flaws that are already being exploited. In addition, Apple recently released emergency updates to quash a pair of zero-day bugs in iOS. Apple last week shipped emergency updates in iOS 17.0.3 and iPadOS 17.0.3 in response to active attacks. The patch fixes CVE-2023-42724, which attackers have been using in targeted attacks to elevate their…

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