CyberSecurity Updates

Navigating the security and privacy challenges of large language models

Business Security Organizations that intend to tap the potential of LLMs must also be able to manage the risks that could otherwise erode the technology’s business value Phil Muncaster 06 Nov 2023  •  , 5 min. read Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT, Bard and generative AI as such. But after the hype inevitably comes the reality check. While business and IT leaders alike are abuzz with the disruptive potential of the technology in areas like customer…

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CISA Releases Guidance for Addressing Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway Vulnerability CVE-2023-4966, Citrix Bleed

Today, CISA, in response to active, targeted exploitation, released guidance for addressing Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway vulnerability CVE-2023-4966. The vulnerability, also known as Citrix Bleed, could allow a cyber actor to take control of an affected system. CISA recommends organizations patch unmitigated appliances, hunt for any malicious activity, and report any positive findings to CISA. Review CISA’s guidance for more information.

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FEMA and CISA Release Joint Guidance on Planning Considerations for Cyber Incidents

Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the joint guide Planning Considerations for Cyber Incidents: Guidance for Emergency Managers to provide state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) emergency managers with foundational knowledge of cyber incidents to increase cyber preparedness efforts in their jurisdictions. Emergency managers should be able to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of cyber incidents on their communities and emergency operations. FEMA…

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Federal Push for Secure-by-Design: What It Means for Developers

Secure-by-design as a requirement is coming. Developers should start preparing for it now. The March 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) includes, “In setting cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure, regulators are encouraged to drive the adoption of secure-by-design principles…” There are two important elements to this. The concept of secure-by-design is introduced but not defined; and it is implied that this undefined concept will be enforced on the critical infrastructure by regulations that are yet to…

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Who’s Behind the SWAT USA Reshipping Service?

Last week, KrebsOnSecurity broke the news that one of the largest cybercrime services for laundering stolen merchandise was hacked recently, exposing its internal operations, finances and organizational structure. In today’s Part II, we’ll examine clues about the real-life identity of “Fearlless,” the nickname chosen by the proprietor of the SWAT USA Drops service. Based in Russia, SWAT USA recruits people in the United States to reship packages containing pricey electronics that are purchased with stolen…

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CISA Published When to Issue VEX Information

Today, CISA published When to Issue Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange (VEX) Information, developed by a community of industry and government experts with the goal to offer some guidance and structure for the software security world, including the large and growing global SBOM community. This guide explains the circumstances and events that could lead an entity to issue VEX information and describes the entities that create or consume VEX information. Whether, and when, to issue VEX information…

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Exploitation of Critical Confluence Vulnerability Begins

The first in-the-wild exploitation attempts targeting a recent vulnerability in Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Confluence Server were observed over the weekend, threat intelligence firm GreyNoise warns. Patched a week ago, the critical security defect tracked as CVE-2023-22518 (CVSS score of 9.1) is an improper authorization flaw that could lead to “significant data loss”, Atlassian warned. The issue impacts all Confluence versions. Less than five days after releasing the patch, Atlassian issued a second warning,…

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The mysterious demise of the Mozi botnet – Week in security with Tony Anscombe

Video Various questions linger following the botnet’s sudden and deliberate demise, including: who actually initiated it? 03 Nov 2023 This week, ESET researchers described what they had aptly called “a fascinating case of cyberforensics” – the sudden and mysterious shutdown of the Mozi botnet. One of the world’s most notorious IoT botnets experienced a sudden drop in activity in August, first in India and then in China. This ultimately led the researchers to the discovery…

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Okta Hack Blamed on Employee Using Personal Google Account on Company Laptop

Okta is blaming the recent hack of its support system on an employee who logged into a personal Google account on a company-managed laptop, exposing credentials that led to the theft of data from multiple Okta customers. A brief post-mortem from Okta security chief David Bradbury said the internal lapse was the “most likely avenue” for the breach that ensnared hundreds of Okta customers, including cybersecurity companies BeyondTrust and Cloudflare. “We can confirm that from…

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Russian Reshipping Service ‘SWAT USA Drop’ Exposed

The login page for the criminal reshipping service SWAT USA Drop. One of the largest cybercrime services for laundering stolen merchandise was hacked recently, exposing its internal operations, finances and organizational structure. Here’s a closer look at the Russia-based SWAT USA Drop Service, which currently employs more than 1,200 people across the United States who are knowingly or unwittingly involved in reshipping expensive consumer goods purchased with stolen credit cards. Among the most common ways…

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