Detecting Account Takeover Botnets

A botnet is a network of compromised computers - known as bots - usually controlled by a command and control computer, that work together in coordination for a malicious purpose. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to detect botnets used for account takeover ATO, an attack used to obtain the val...

It's alive: Threat actors cobble together open-source pieces into monstrous Frankenstein campaign

This blog was authored by Danny Adamitis, David Maynor and Kendall McKay. Executive summary Cisco Talos recently identified a series of documents that we believe are part of a coordinated series of cyber attacks that we are calling the "Frankenstein" campaign. We assess that the attackers carried...

Recent MuddyWater-associated BlackWater campaign shows signs of new anti-detection techniques

This blog was authored by Danny Adamitis, David Maynor, and Kendall McKay Executive summary Cisco Talos assesses with moderate confidence that a campaign we recently discovered called "BlackWater" is associated with suspected persistent threat actor MuddyWater. Newly associated samples from April...

Hacking the GCHQ Backdoor

Last week, I evaluated the security of a recent GCHQ backdoor proposal for communications systems. Furthering the debate, Nate Cardozo and Seth Schoen of EFF explain how this sort of backdoor can be detected: In fact, we think when the ghost feature is active­ -- silently inserting a secret...

Detecting Fake Videos

This story nicely illustrates the arms race between technologies to create fake videos and technologies to detect fake videos: These fakes, while convincing if you watch a few seconds on a phone screen, aren't perfect yet. They contain tells, like creepily ever-open eyes, from flaws in their...

Neptune Exploit Kit Dropping Cryptocurrency Miners Through Malvertisements

Despite a marked decrease in activity, exploit kits haven’t completely disappeared just yet. The Neptune, or Terror Exploit Kit, is alive and well; during the last month, researchers have observed the kit as part of a campaign to abuse a legitimate popup ad service to drop cryptocurrency miners...

How to Become a Master Threat Hunter

Editor’s Note: The text appears in the free eBook: “Threat Hunting for Dummies.” After you’ve been threat hunting in an environment forsix months, a year, or more, you’re going to become a senior in most circles. You’re expanding your skills and knowledge, you’re building and using tools, and...

Cyber Espionage is Alive and Well: APT32 and the Threat to Global Corporations

Cyber espionage actors, now designated by FireEye as APT32 OceanLotus Group, are carrying out intrusions into private sector companies across multiple industries and have also targeted foreign governments, dissidents, and journalists. FireEye assesses that APT32 leverages a unique suite of...

Detecting Advanced Persistent Threat with Network Traffic Analysis

A high degree of stealthiness over a prolonged duration of operation in order to do a successful cyber attack can be defined as Advanced Persistent Threat. The attack objectives therefore typically extend beyond immediate financial gain, and compromised systems continue to be of service even afte...