CyberSecurity Updates

A cybercriminal group calling itself Diicot is performing mass SSH brute-force scanning and deploying a variant of the Mirai IoT botnet on compromised devices, according to researchers. The group also deploys a cryptocurrency mining payload on servers with CPUs that have more than four cores. “Although Diicot have traditionally been associated with cryptojacking campaigns, Cado Labs discovered evidence of the group deploying an off-the-shelf Mirai-based botnet agent, named Cayosin,” researchers from Cado Security said in…

Trend Micro has announced the integration of generative AI into its flagship Vision One platform with the new AI tool, Companion. Companion uses advanced AI/machine learning analytics and correlated detection models to enhance extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities, according to the cybersecurity vendor. It has been designed to amplify security operations, improve accessibility and efficiency, and quicken threat hunting speeds for analysts of varying skill levels, Trend Micro claimed in a press release. The…

Team Cymru has launched Pure Signal Scout, an external threat-hunting and malicious infrastructure analysis tool to “level up” security operations centers (SOCs). Under the promise of being the “fastest” tool available for threat insights, Pure Signal Scout is expected to save analysts’ time by providing fast answers to complex queries. “We are now achieving in one working day what used to take several,” Josh Picolet, team leader of Team Cymru’s S2 Threat Research, said in…

In the latest cyber incident affecting the US federal government, two arms of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and, according to press reports, the US Department of Agriculture and the Office of Personnel Management, have been swept up in a sprawling spree of attacks by the Russia-based Clop ransomware gang. The Clop organization is exploiting vulnerabilities in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer security file transfer platform to attack dozens of public and private sector organizations…

The recent arrest of US Air Force airman Jack Teixeira following his illegal sharing of classified information just to show off to his buddies shone a spotlight on the conversation surrounding access control. In Teixeira’s case, all the ingredients necessary to protect the classified information were in place, but sadly they appear to have been ignored and abused by Teixeira and his superiors. In the mythical land of Nirvana, where everything is perfect, CISOs would…

The cybersecurity sector has been battling a workforce shortage for years with cybersecurity training and certifications provider (ISC)2 estimating that the global skills gap currently sits at 3.4 million. There are over 600,000 current cyber-related job openings in the US alone, and the supply-to-demand ratio stands at 69%, the lowest it has been since 2010, according to Cyberseek. Security leaders in organizations large and small often cite hiring and keeping security personnel as one of…