Amazon earlier this April addressed a critical vulnerability in its Kindle e-book reader platform that could have been potentially exploited to take full control over a user’s device, resulting in the theft of sensitive information by just deploying a malicious e-book. “By sending Kindle users a single malicious e-book, a threat actor could have stolen
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No attack type has been as impactful as ransomware in 2021. According to a panel of experts at the DEF CON 29 conference, the rising notoriety and impact of ransomware in 2021 has accelerated the need for both government and the private sector to act—though there was no clear consensus on the panel on exactly
by Paul Ducklin If you like a touch of irony in your cybersecurity news, then this has been the week for it. Yesterday, we wrote about an exploitable security hole… …inside a hacking tool that helps you exploit security holes. Today, we’re writing about a ransomware-related data breach that leaked organisational information… …from inside a
Excel-based malware has been around for decades and has been in the limelight in recent years. During the second half of 2020, we saw adversaries using Excel 4.0 macros, an old technology, to deliver payloads to their victims. They were mainly using workbook streams via the XLSX file format. In these streams, adversaries were able to enter code straight into cells (that’s why they were called macro-formulas). Excel 4.0 also used API level functions like
Why companies and their security teams need to engage with a lawyer before an incident occurs Presentations at Black Hat often involve slides full of data or code. Rarely, or maybe never, have I seen a slide that details parts of a policy, contract or general legal text. Nick Merker, a partner at ICE Miller
Apple on Thursday said it’s introducing new child safety features in iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS as part of its efforts to limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in the U.S. To that effect, the iPhone maker said it intends to begin client-side scanning of images shared via every Apple device for
by Paul Ducklin If you’re a regular reader of Naked Security and Sophos News, you’ll almost certainly be familiar with Cobalt Strike, a network attack tool that’s popular with cybercriminals and malware creators. For example, by implanting the Cobalt Strike “Beacon” software on a network they’ve infiltrated, ransomware crooks can not only surreptitiously monitor but
If you are part of an organization aspiring to evolve and modernize your SecOps practice with greater efficiencies with XDR, this read is for you. So, what’s all the continuous hype about XDR? Is it for you and what does it mean to your organization? If you haven’t already, I invite you to read our
Drowning in spam? A study presented at Black Hat USA 2021 examines if sharing your personal information with major companies contributes to the deluge of nuisance emails, texts and phone calls. Every day my inbox seems to receive more and more spam. Understanding what generates it and how to avoid it is essential in the
VMware has released security updates for multiple products to address a critical vulnerability that could be exploited to gain access to confidential information. Tracked as CVE-2021-22002 (CVSS score: 8.6) and CVE-2021-22003 (CVSS score: 3.7), the flaws affect VMware Workspace One Access (Access), VMware Identity Manager (vIDM), VMware vRealize Automation (vRA), VMware Cloud Foundation, and vRealize
Summary Ransomware attacks have evolved as threat actors continually seek ways to expand the scope of their operations and increase profitability. The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model became popular because the use of affiliates enables ransomware operators to attack more victims with little effort. It also created opportunities for threat actors with limited technical skills to benefit
McAfee Enterprise is pleased to announce that the Network Security Platform (NSP), our industry leading next-gen Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solution, has been awarded Miercom Certified Secure for superior security and performance. About Miercom Miercom has been reviewing network products for over 30 years, forming standardized test programs that have grown into a worldwide evaluation
How is Black Hat USA 2021 different from the past editions of the conference and what kinds of themes may steal the show this year? Black Hat this year is, well, sparse. I get it… With masks at every turn and some attending virtually, it’s hard to have a conference, especially with the uncertainty of
Networking equipment major Cisco has rolled out patches to address critical vulnerabilities impacting its Small Business VPN routers that could be abused by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code and even cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The issues, tracked as CVE-2021-1609 (CVSS score: 9.8) and CVE-2021-1610 (CVSS score: 7.2), reside in the web-based management
The majority of insider data breaches are non-malicious, according to new research released today by American cybersecurity software company Code42 in partnership with Aberdeen Research. The report Understanding Your Insider Risk and the Value of Your Intellectual Property found that at least one in three (33%) reported data breaches involve someone with authorized access to the impacted data. A key finding of the
The Biden administration has announced the cancellation of a $10bn massive cloud-computing contract awarded to Microsoft. After Microsoft won a lengthy bidding process for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract in 2019, competing contractor Amazon Web Services (AWS) complained that the decision wasn’t fair. Yesterday the DoD issued a statement declaring that the contract had passed its sell-by date
The United States has been given leave to appeal a British court’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Paul Assange to America. In Westminster Magistrate’s court in January, district judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Australian citizen Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face 17 charges under the Espionage Act and one charge under the
Microsoft has now released a patch for all Windows versions affected by the PrintNightmare zero-day, but researchers have already found a way to bypass the fix in attacks. As predicted, Microsoft this week pushed an out-of-band patch for CVE-2021-34527, which now has a CVSS “high severity” score of 8.2. The incomplete initial release on Tuesday
The UK’s data protection regulator has launched an investigation into whether the former health secretary broke the law in using his private email account to conduct official departmental business. Concerns were raised by the Labour Party late last month after Matt Hancock resigned following leaked CCTV footage showing the married Tory MP in a romantic
Nearly two-thirds (36%) of IT leaders are not disclosing breaches for fear that they may lose their job, complicating efforts to enhance security, according to new research. Keeper Security polled 1000 UK IT decision-makers at businesses of between 100 and 5000 employees to compile its 2021 Cybersecurity Census Report. It revealed that security breaches are widespread: 92%
A new study has revealed that nearly all security professionals operating in a multi-cloud environment believe it’s riskier than relying on a single cloud provider. The research, published today by global security and compliance solutions provider Tripwire, is based on a June 2021 survey of 314 security professionals with direct responsibility for the security of public cloud
Cyber-scammers are exploiting public interest in the latest Marvel movie to spread malware infections. The eagerly anticipated premiere of Disney’s Black Widow is scheduled to take place simultaneously offline in movie theaters and online via streaming services tomorrow. However, cyber-criminals have been illegally monetizing interest in the new flick for months, according to research by
by Paul Ducklin You’re almost certainly familiar with vishing, a phone-based scam in which cybercriminals leave messages on your voicemail in the hope that you’ll call them back later to find out what’s going on. In fact, if you have a long-standing phone number, like we do, you may well get more of these scam
Hyperautomation is a process where artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), event-driven software, and other tools are used to automate as many business and IT processes as possible. Forecasted by Gartner to reach $596.6 billion by 20221, hyperautomation and the global software market that enables it show no signs of slowing. The myriad of technologies
Cybersecurity researchers on Wednesday disclosed 14 vulnerabilities affecting a commonly-used TCP/IP stack used in millions of Operational Technology (OT) devices manufactured by no fewer than 200 vendors and deployed in manufacturing plants, power generation, water treatment, and critical infrastructure sectors. The shortcomings, collectively dubbed “INFRA:HALT,” target NicheStack, potentially enabling an attacker to achieve remote code
Enabling Zero Trust Access with End-to-end Data Security and Continuous Risk Assessment The current business transformation and remote workforce expansion require zero trust access to corporate resources, with end-to-end data security and continuous risk assessment to protect applications and data across all locations – public clouds, private data centers, and user devices. MVISION Private Access
A story of how easily hackers could hit a hole-in-one with the computer network of a premier golf club in the UK. Golf clubs and cybercrime couldn’t really sound further apart, but when it comes to cybersecurity, businesses of all sizes are targets and their owners must never assume anything is completely watertight. Golf is, however, more associated with business, so when I was recently asked to investigate and test the cybersecurity of an
Cybersecurity researchers on Monday disclosed a set of nine vulnerabilities known as “PwnedPiper” that left a widely-used pneumatic tube system (PTS) vulnerable to critical attacks, including a possibility of complete takeover. The security weaknesses, disclosed by American cybersecurity firm Armis, impact the Translogic PTS system by Swisslog Healthcare, which is installed in about 80% of
With vacations in full swing, cybercriminals will be looking to scam vacationers looking for that perfect accommodation. Summer vacation planning is in full swing, and most of us are looking to travel again while adhering to the preventive measures that countries have in place regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. And traveling, of course, means looking for
A cyber attack that derailed websites of Iran’s transport ministry and its national railway system earlier this month, causing widespread disruptions in train services, was the result of a never-before-seen reusable wiper malware called “Meteor.” The campaign — dubbed “MeteorExpress” — has not been linked to any previously identified threat group or to additional attacks,