Malware

APT groups use ransomware TTPs as cover for intelligence gathering and sabotage

State-sponsored threat groups increasingly use ransomware-like attacks as cover to hide more insidious activities. Russian advanced persistent threat (APT) group Sandworm used ransomware programs to destroy data multiple times over the past six months while North Korea’s Lazarus group used infrastructure previously associated with a ransomware group for intelligence gathering campaigns. At the same time, some Chinese APTs that were traditionally targeting entities in Asia shifted their focus to European companies, while Iran-based groups that…

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New “MITRE ATT&CK-like” framework outlines software supply chain attack TTPs

A new open framework has been launched to outline a comprehensive and actionable way for businesses and security teams to understand attacker behaviors and techniques specifically impacting the software supply chain. The Open Software Supply Chain Attack Reference (OSC&R) initiative, led by OX Security, evaluates software supply chain security threats, covering a wide range of attack vectors including vulnerabilities in third-party libraries and components, supply chain attacks on build and deployment systems, and compromised or…

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New Chromebook Exploit Allows Users to Unenroll Managed Devices

As Sh1mmer requires a USB in order to function, it is unlikely that an attacker is going to add this exploit to their toolkit. However, it is possible that an attacker may socially engineer a user into performing this exploit on their own device. From an organizational standpoint, however, the biggest risk comes from users unenrolling their devices on their own to bypass security restrictions, which would then leave their device vulnerable to further compromise.…

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Potential KeePass Flaw Discovered Allowing Plaintext Vault Export

This “vulnerability” is controversial from the perspective of KeePass and other information security practitioners. Both parties point out that a user’s failure to secure write access to the KeePass configuration file isn’t an inherent vulnerability with KeePass itself. Furthermore, if a threat actor is able to access a properly protected configuration file, the potential to steal the contents of the victims KeePass vault is nearly endless. For example, a threat actor could replace the KeePass…

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Hackers Use New IceBreaker Malware to Breach Gaming Companies

At this time, not much is known about the IceBreaker group, but Security Joes decided to publish a report on their findings and share all captured IoCs (indicators of compromise) to help defenders detect and tackle this threat. The researchers have published a technical report describing the threat actor’s modus operandi and how their backdoor works. YARA rules have also been published to help organizations detect the malware. Additionally, Security Joes recommends companies suspecting a…

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VMware Releases Security Update for VMware vRealize Operations

Original release date: February 1, 2023 VMware released a security update that addresses a cross-site request forgery bypass vulnerability affecting VMware vRealize Operations. A malicious user could exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review VMware Security Advisory VMSA-2023-0002 and apply the necessary updates. This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.

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Misconfiguration and vulnerabilities biggest risks in cloud security: Report

The two biggest cloud security risks continue to be misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, which are being introduced in greater numbers through software supply chains, according to a report by Sysdig.  While zero trust is a top priority, data showed that least privilege access rights, an underpinning of zero trust architecture, are not properly enforced. Almost 90% of granted permissions are not used, which leaves many opportunities for attackers who steal credentials, the report noted.  The data…

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Why you might not be done with your January Microsoft security patches

The January patching window for your firm has probably come and gone. But has it? While January included a huge release of patches, several releases in other months have provided more than one headache for the patch management community. These are the patches and updates you need to evaluate if you haven’t already done so. BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability In January, additional information came out about CVE-2022-41099, the BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. If…

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US DOJ applies carrot-and-stick approach to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act policy

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken a carrot-and-stick approach to its corporate enforcement policy in regard to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in an effort to entice companies to self-report when in violation of the FCPA. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., shared the 2022 success of the Criminal Division of the DOJ in its pursuit of corrupt and criminal activities within corporations that “threaten the public safety and national security, [and] wrongfully…

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United States No Fly List Shared on Hacking Forum

This list has always been kept away from the public eye. Now that it has been posted publicly and released, the U.S. government and TSA have all began investigation into the leak and into the threat actor behind the leak. The threat actor took their attack one step further by claiming to have pivoted from the AWS server into gaining access to more critical systems that would allow them to delay or cancel flights. Air…

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