CyberSecurity Updates

18 Oct

Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 Blog Series | Updating Software

Insights

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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18 Oct

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

Attacks, Insights, Malware

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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17 Oct

Tech CEO Sentenced to 5 Years in IP Address Scheme

Information, Insights

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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17 Oct

Prove Identity Snags $40M Funding for ID Verification Tech

Information, News

Prove Identity, a late-stage startup with roots in the ecommerce mobile payments space, on Tuesday closed a $40 million funding round as it continues a major pivot to the digital identity verification and authentication market. The New York-based company, previously known as Payfone, said the latest investment round led by MassMutual Ventures and Capital One Ventures.  To date, Prove Identity has raised more than $215 million and rebranded itself as an enterprise vendor targeting banks, retailers…

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16 Oct

Signal Pours Cold Water on Zero-Day Exploit Rumors

Information, News

Privacy-focused messaging firm Signal is pouring cold water on widespread rumors of a zero-day exploit in its popular encrypted chat app. “We have seen the vague viral reports alleging a Signal 0-day vulnerability. After responsible investigation *we have no evidence that suggests this vulnerability is real* nor has any additional info been shared via our official reporting channels,” Signal said late Sunday night. Rumors of a Signal zero-day started circulating over the weekend with what…

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16 Oct

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

Attacks, Insights, Malware

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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16 Oct

Cisco Releases Security Advisory for IOS XE Software Web UI

Attacks, Insights, Malware

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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16 Oct

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

Attacks, Insights, Malware

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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14 Oct

Staying on top of security updates – Week in security with Tony Anscombe

Information

Video Why keeping software up to date is a crucial security practice that should be followed by everyone from individual users to SMBs and large enterprises 13 Oct 2023 This week, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added five new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, citing solid evidence of active exploitation by attackers. The vulnerabilities, for which patches are available, affect Adobe Acrobat and Reader. One of them can be…

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13 Oct

CISA Now Flagging Vulnerabilities, Misconfigurations Exploited by Ransomware

Information, News

The US cybersecurity agency CISA is stepping up its efforts to prevent ransomware by making it easier for organizations to learn about vulnerabilities and misconfigurations exploited in these attacks. As part of its Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot (RVWP) program launched in March, the agency has released two new resources to help organizations identify and eliminate security flaws and weaknesses known to be exploited by ransomware groups. “Through the RVWP, CISA determines vulnerabilities that are commonly…

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