Google has bolstered the security of Android devices with a significant update to Google Play Protect. According to the tech giant, this development is in response to the growing prevalence of cyber-threats targeting mobile devices. Google Play Protect is an existing security feature that scans approximately 125 billion apps daily for malware and unwanted software.
Month: October 2023
Oct 18, 2023NewsroomCyber Attack / Malware The North Korea-linked Lazarus Group (aka Hidden Cobra or TEMP.Hermit) has been observed using trojanized versions of Virtual Network Computing (VNC) apps as lures to target the defense industry and nuclear engineers as part of a long-running campaign known as Operation Dream Job. “The threat actor tricks job seekers
Cybersecurity experts at Kaspersky have unveiled a covert and highly advanced espionage campaign, codenamed “TetrisPhantom.” The persistent operation has specifically targeted government institutions in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), utilizing a unique method involving secure USB drives for data infiltration. Kaspersky’s findings are part of their latest quarterly APT threat landscape report. The clandestine campaign, which
ESET Research ESET researchers reveal a growing sophistication in threats affecting the LATAM region by employing evasion techniques and high-value targeting 17 Oct 2023 • , 3 min. read Much like the life and mysterious demise of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, the threat landscape in Latin America (LATAM) remains shrouded in mystery.
Oct 17, 2023NewsroomMalware / APT In what’s the latest evolution of threat actors abusing legitimate infrastructure for nefarious ends, new findings show that nation-state hacking groups have entered the fray in leveraging the social platform for targeting critical infrastructure. Discord, in recent years, has become a lucrative target, acting as a fertile ground for hosting
Unpatched WS_FTP servers exposed to the internet have become prime targets for ransomware attacks, with threat actors exploiting a critical vulnerability. Writing on Infosec Exchange last Thursday, Sophos X-Ops’ incident responders described an attempted ransomware attack by the self-proclaimed Reichsadler Cybercrime Group. The attack reportedly utilized a stolen LockBit 3.0 builder to create ransomware payloads. Despite Progress
Oct 16, 2023NewsroomVulnerability / Hacking Pro-Russian hacking groups have exploited a recently disclosed security vulnerability in the WinRAR archiving utility as part of a phishing campaign designed to harvest credentials from compromised systems. “The attack involves the use of malicious archive files that exploit the recently discovered vulnerability affecting the WinRAR compression software versions prior
A new vulnerability in the User Submitted Posts WordPress plugin (versions 20230902 and below) has been discovered by the Patchstack team. With over 20,000 active installations, this popular plugin is used for user-generated content submissions and is developed by Plugin Planet. The vulnerability, discussed by Patchstack security researcher Rafie Muhammad in an advisory published today,
Oct 13, 2023NewsroomAPT / Malware The advanced persistent threat (APT) actor known as ToddyCat has been linked to a new set of malicious tools that are designed for data exfiltration, offering a deeper insight into the hacking crew’s tactics and capabilities. The findings come from Kaspersky, which first shed light on the adversary last year,
Email security provider Cofense has discovered a new phishing campaign comprising over 800 emails and using LinkedIn Smart Links. The campaign was active between July and August 2023 and involved various subject themes, such as financial, document, security, and general notification lures, reaching users’ inboxes across multiple industries. The financial, manufacturing and energy sectors are
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
Oct 14, 2023NewsroomAuthentication / Endpoint Security Microsoft has announced that it plans to eliminate NT LAN Manager (NTLM) in Windows 11 in the future, as it pivots to alternative methods for authentication and bolster security. “The focus is on strengthening the Kerberos authentication protocol, which has been the default since 2000, and reducing reliance on
The UK’s financial regulator has fined Equifax Ltd. over £11m ($13.4m) for failing to protect UK consumer data stolen in the notorious 2017 data breach. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the financial penalty on October 13, 2023. The FCA stated that Equifax’s UK business failed to take appropriate action to protect the personal data
Business Security How CISOs and their peers can better engage with boards to get long-term buy-in for strategic initiatives Phil Muncaster 11 Oct 2023 • , 4 min. read Building a safer digital world requires action on several fronts. Initiatives like Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) are great opportunities to remind the general public of important
Oct 13, 2023NewsroomEndpoint Security / Cyber Attack European Union military personnel and political leaders working on gender equality initiatives have emerged as the target of a new campaign that delivers an updated version of RomCom RAT called PEAPOD. Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro attributed the attacks to a threat actor it tracks under the name Void
CISO salary growth has slowed with 20% receiving no raise at all in 2023, according to a new study by IANS Research and Artico Search. The research found an average total compensation increase of 11% over the past 12 months. This represents a reduction of 14% from the previous year. The average base salary increase
Cybercrime Security researchers, global organizations, law enforcement and other government agencies need to have the right conversations and test potential scenarios without the pressure of an actual attack Cameron Camp 11 Oct 2023 • , 3 min. read Squashing malware groups involves imposing steep costs on small ad hoc groups. But those actions are slowly
A malicious package hosted on the NuGet package manager for the .NET Framework has been found to deliver a remote access trojan called SeroXen RAT. The package, named Pathoschild.Stardew.Mod.Build.Config and published by a user named Disti, is a typosquat of a legitimate package called Pathoschild.Stardew.ModBuildConfig, software supply chain security firm Phylum said in a report
In a recent security alert, the team behind the popular open-source tool curl has announced the release of fixes for two vulnerabilities: CVE-2023-38545 and CVE-2023-38546. Today’s release marks a crucial step in addressing these security concerns. Curl, a command-line tool for data transfer supporting various network protocols, plays a vital role in countless applications, with
Digital Security Late nights at VB2023 featured intriguing interactions between security experts and the somewhat enigmatic world of grayware purveyors Cameron Camp 10 Oct 2023 • , 3 min. read Late night at VB2023 is when the goblins come out – crafted visages of carefully-played fans cum lures foisted by the industry of potentially unwanted
Oct 11, 2023NewsroomWebsite Security / Hacking More than 17,000 WordPress websites have been compromised in the month of September 2023 with malware known as Balada Injector, nearly twice the number of detections in August. Of these, 9,000 of the websites are said to have been infiltrated using a recently disclosed security flaw in the tagDiv
Flagstar Bank, a prominent Michigan-based financial services provider, has warned 837,390 of its US customers about a data breach that occurred through a third-party service provider, Fiserv. The breach exposed the personal information of a substantial number of customers. It was traced back to vulnerabilities in MOVEit Transfer, a file transfer software used by Fiserv
FortiGuard Labs, the research arm of security firm Fortinet, has uncovered a significant evolution in the IZ1H9 Mirai-based DDoS campaign. Discovered in September and described in an advisory published on Monday, the new campaign has reportedly rapidly updated its arsenal of exploits, incorporating 13 distinct payloads, targeting various vulnerabilities across different Internet of Things (IoT)
Social Media One of the biggest threats to watch out for on social media is fraud perpetrated by people who aren’t who they claim to be. Here’s how to recognize them. Phil Muncaster 06 Oct 2023 • , 5 min. read Some 4.5 billion people worldwide, or almost 55 percent of the global population, have
Digital Security Your preparedness to deal with cyberattacks is key for lessening the impact of a successful incident – even in home and small business environments Tony Anscombe 09 Oct 2023 • , 3 min. read Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) is upon us again. Much like European Cyber Security Month (ECSM), this important initiative is
Oct 10, 2023NewsroomPassword Security / Technology Google on Tuesday announced the ability for all users to set up passkeys by default, five months after it rolled out support for the FIDO Alliance-backed passwordless standard for Google Accounts on all platforms. “This means the next time you sign in to your account, you’ll start seeing prompts
Oct 10, 2023NewsroomServer Security / Vulnerability Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cloudflare, and Google on Tuesday said they took steps to mitigate record-breaking distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that relied on a novel technique called HTTP/2 Rapid Reset. The layer 7 attacks were detected in late August 2023, the companies said in a coordinated disclosure. The cumulative
Two leading US government security agencies have shared the top 10 most common cybersecurity misconfigurations, in a bid to improve baseline security among public and private sector organizations. The report from the NSA and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was compiled from their red and blue team assessments, as well agency hunt and incident
Ensuring sensitive data remains confidential, protected from unauthorized access, and compliant with data privacy regulations is paramount. Data breaches result in financial and reputational damage but also lead to legal consequences. Therefore, robust data access security measures are essential to safeguard an organization’s assets, maintain customer trust, and meet regulatory requirements. A comprehensive Data Security
Video The backdoor can exfiltrate files, manipulate Windows registry keys, and execute commands that are capable of performing various actions on a victim’s machine 06 Oct 2023 This week, ESET researchers released their findings about a cyberespionage campaign that took aim at a Guyanese governmental entity. Named Operation Jacana by ESET, the campaign deployed a