Malware

08 Feb

Threat group targets over 1,000 companies with screenshotting and infostealing malware

Data Breaches, Malware, Social Engineering

Researchers warn that a new threat actor has been targeting over a thousand organizations since October with the goal of deploying credential-stealing malware. The attack chain also involves reconnaissance components including a Trojan that takes screenshots of the desktops of infected computers. Tracked as TA866 by researchers from security firm Proofpoint, the group’s tooling seems to have similarities to other campaigns reported in the past under different names going as far back as 2019. Even…

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08 Feb

CISA and FBI Release ESXiArgs Ransomware Recovery Guidance

Attacks, Insights, Malware

Original release date: February 8, 2023 Today, CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory, ESXiArgs Ransomware Virtual Machine Recovery Guidance. This advisory describes the ongoing ransomware campaign known as “ESXiArgs.” Malicious cyber actors may be exploiting known vulnerabilities in unpatched and out-of-service or out-of-date versions of VMware ESXi software to gain access to ESXi servers and deploy ESXiArgs ransomware. The ransomware encrypts configuration files on ESXi servers, potentially rendering…

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08 Feb

New QakNote Attacks Push Qakbot Malware via Microsoft OneNote Files

Attacks, Malware

Since the disabling of Office macros by Microsoft, a variety of new techniques have arisen to gain remote code execution on a host, with OneNote attachments becoming one of the more prominent techniques seen. As it is rather uncommon for OneNote files to be sent through email, many researchers recommend blocking these extensions altogether. However, for organizations where that is not possible, other options are available. One potential monitoring solution would be to monitor all…

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08 Feb

Research Reveals 12% of Online Stores Expose Backup Data

Attacks, Malware

Administrators of websites, and especially online stores, should regularly evaluate possible data exposure on their sites. Any time sensitive data is found by an administrator, passwords should be rotated for not only users but databases as well. Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) can help mitigate any exposure of administrator login information. Analyzing logs for the web-server software in use can reveal unusually high activity from individual IP addresses. Rate limiting based on IP addresses and using…

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08 Feb

CISA Releases Recovery Script for ESXiArgs Ransomware Victims

Attacks, Malware

To assist users in recovering their servers, CISA released an ESXiArgs-Recover script on GitHub to automate the recovery process. “CISA is aware that some organizations have reported success in recovering files without paying ransoms. CISA compiled this tool based on publicly available resources, including a tutorial by Enes Sonmez and Ahmet Aykac,” explains CISA. “This tool works by reconstructing virtual machine metadata from virtual disks that were not encrypted by the malware.” While the GitHub…

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08 Feb

Growing number of endpoint security tools overwhelm users, leaving devices unprotected

Data Breaches, Malware, Social Engineering

Enterprises that use endpoint security and management technologies face a problem of growing marketplace “sprawl,” as new tools proliferate and options multiply, according to a study released today by the Enterprise Services Group. Between the ongoing influence of remote work and IoT, the number and diversity of devices that have to be managed by endpoint security tools is on the rise. As a consequence, the number of available tools to manage them has also risen.…

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08 Feb

Cohesity Data Cloud 7.0 enhances privileged access authentication, ransomware recovery

Data Breaches, Malware, Social Engineering

Data security and management vendor has announced the 7.0 software release of its Cohesity Data Cloud platform. The release provides customers with enhanced cyber resiliency capabilities to help protect and secure data against cyberattacks, the firm stated in its announcement. Expanded features include privileged access hardening, accelerated ransomware recovery for files and objects, and attack surface reduction via AWS GovCloud support, Cohesity added. Cohesity 7.0 focuses on a “data-centric” approach to cyber resilience In a…

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08 Feb

Surge of swatting attacks targets corporate executives and board members

Data Breaches, Malware, Social Engineering

At around 8:45 pm on February 1, 2023, a caller to the Groveland, Massachusetts, 911 emergency line told dispatchers that he harmed someone in a home on Marjorie Street in the upscale small town 34 miles north of Boston. The caller also said he would harm first responders, too. Groveland police chief Jeffrey Gillen summoned the police, fire, and emergency mutual aid of the nearby towns of Ipswich, Rowley, Topsfield, and Haverhill. Police evacuated neighboring…

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07 Feb

CISA Releases ESXiArgs Ransomware Recovery Script

Attacks, Insights, Malware

Original release date: February 7, 2023 CISA has released a recovery script for organizations that have fallen victim to ESXiArgs ransomware. The ESXiArgs ransomware encrypts configuration files on vulnerable ESXi servers, potentially rendering virtual machines (VMs) unusable. CISA recommends organizations impacted by ESXiArgs evaluate the script and guidance provided in the accompanying README file to determine if it is fit for attempting to recover access to files in their environment. Organizations can access the recovery…

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07 Feb

VMware ESXi Servers Targeted by Linux Variant of Royal Ransomware

Attacks, Malware

Hypervisors like ESXi continue to become more ubiquitous due to the power and convenience of managing virtual machines rather than physical ones. Unfortunately, that power and convenience also attract threat actors. The compromise of a hypervisor also implies the compromise of every virtual machine housed within. In a single stroke, dozens to hundreds of critical virtual machines could be encrypted and held for ransom. ESXi servers are particularly vulnerable, inciting the recent trend of ransomware…

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