Facebook Cracks Down on Spyware Vendors from U.S., China, Russia, Israel, and India

Meta Platforms disclosed that it took down no less than 200 covert influence operations since 2017 spanning roughly 70 countries across 42 languages. The social media conglomerate also took steps to disable accounts and block infrastructure operated by spyware vendors, including in China, Russia,...

Google Takes Gmail Security to the Next Level with Client-Side Encryption

Google on Friday announced that its client-side encryption for Gmail is in beta for Workspace and education customers as part of its efforts to secure emails sent using the web version of the platform. The development comes at a time when concerns about online privacy and data security are at an...

Samba Issues Security Updates to Patch Multiple High-Severity Vulnerabilities

Samba has released software updates to remediate multiple vulnerabilities that, if successfully exploited, could allow an attacker to take control of affected systems. The high-severity flaws, tracked as CVE-2022-38023, CVE-2022-37966, CVE-2022-37967, and CVE-2022-45141, have been patched in...

Trojanized Windows 10 Installer Used in Cyberattacks Against Ukrainian Government Entities

Government entities in Ukraine have been breached as part of a new campaign that leveraged trojanized versions of Windows 10 installer files to conduct post-exploitation activities. Mandiant, which discovered the "socially engineered supply chain" attack around mid-July 2022, said the malicious I...

Ex-Twitter employee Gets 3.5 Years Jail for Spying on Behalf of Saudi Arabia

A former Twitter employee who was found guilty of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia by sharing data pertaining to specific individuals has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Ahmad Abouammo, 45, was convicted earlier this August on various criminal counts, including money launderin...

Cyber Security Is Not a Losing Game – If You Start Right Now

Reality has a way of asserting itself, irrespective of any personal or commercial choices we make, good or bad. For example, just recently, the city services of Antwerp in Belgium were the victim of a highly disruptive cyberattack. As usual, everyone cried "foul play" and suggested that proper...

GitHub Announces Free Secret Scanning for All Public Repositories

GitHub on Thursday said it is making available its secret scanning service to all public repositories on the code hosting platform for free. "Secret scanning alerts notify you directly about leaked secrets in your code," the company said, adding it's expected to complete the rollout by the end of...

Goodbye SHA-1: NIST Retires 27-Year-Old Widely Used Cryptographic Algorithm

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST, an agency within the Department of Commerce, announced Thursday that it's formally retiring the SHA-1 cryptographic algorithm. SHA-1, short for Secure Hash Algorithm 1, is a 27-year-old hash function used in cryptography and has since...

Minecraft Servers Under Attack: Microsoft Warns About Cross-Platform DDoS Botnet

Microsoft on Thursday flagged a cross-platform botnet that's primarily designed to launch distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks against private Minecraft servers. Called MCCrash, the botnet is characterized by a unique spreading mechanism that allows it to propagate to Linux-based devices...

CISA Alert: Veeam Backup and Replication Vulnerabilities Being Exploited in Attacks

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has added two vulnerabilities impacting Veeam Backup & Replication software to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities KEV Catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation in the wild. The now-patched critical flaws, tracked as...

Researchers Uncover MirrorFace Cyber Attacks Targeting Japanese Political Entities

A Chinese-speaking advanced persistent threat APT actor codenamed MirrorFace has been attributed to a spear-phishing campaign targeting Japanese political establishments. The activity, dubbed Operation LiberalFace by ESET, specifically focused on members of an unnamed political party in the natio...

Microsoft Reclassifies SPNEGO Extended Negotiation Security Vulnerability as 'Critical'

Microsoft has revised the severity of a security vulnerability it originally patched in September 2022, upgrading it to "Critical" after it emerged that it could be exploited to achieve remote code execution. Tracked as CVE-2022-37958 CVSS score: 8.1, the flaw was previously described as an...

Android Malware Campaign Leverages Money-Lending Apps to Blackmail Victims

A previously undocumented Android malware campaign has been observed leveraging money-lending apps to blackmail victims into paying up with personal information stolen from their devices. Mobile security company Zimperium dubbed the activity MoneyMonger, pointing out the use of the cross-platform...

Top 5 Web App Vulnerabilities and How to Find Them

Web applications, often in the form of Software as a Service SaaS, are now the cornerstone for businesses all over the world. SaaS solutions have revolutionized the way they operate and deliver services, and are essential tools in nearly every industry, from finance and banking to healthcare and...

Hackers Bombard Open Source Repositories with Over 144,000 Malicious Packages

NuGet, PyPi, and npm ecosystems are the target of a new campaign that has resulted in over 144,000 packages being published by unknown threat actors. "The packages were part of a new attack vector, with attackers spamming the open source ecosystem with packages containing links to phishing...

FBI Charges 6, Seizes 48 Domains Linked to DDoS-for-Hire Service Platforms

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ on Wednesday announced the seizure of 48 domains that offered services to conduct distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks on behalf of other threat actors, effectively lowering the barrier to entry for malicious activity. It also charged six suspects – Jeremi...

Hackers Using SVG Files to Smuggle QBot Malware onto Windows Systems

Phishing campaigns involving the Qakbot malware are using Scalable Vector Graphics SVG images embedded in HTML email attachments. The new distribution method was spotted by Cisco Talos, which said it identified fraudulent email messages featuring HTML attachments with encoded SVG images that...

New GoTrim Botnet Attempting to Break into WordPress Sites' Admin Accounts

A new Go-based botnet has been spotted scanning and brute-forcing self-hosted websites using the WordPress content management system CMS to seize control of targeted systems. "This new brute forcer is part of a new campaign we have named GoTrim because it was written in Go and uses ':::trim:::' t...

Ransomware Attackers Use Microsoft-Signed Drivers to Gain Access to Systems

Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed it took steps to implement blocking protections and suspend accounts that were used to publish malicious drivers that were certified by its Windows Hardware Developer Program. The tech giant said its investigation revealed the activity was restricted to a number of...

Why PCI DSS 4.0 Should Be on Your Radar in 2023

Protecting customer data is critical for any business accepting online payment information. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard PCI DSS, created by leading credit card companies, establishes best practices for protecting consumers' information. By adhering to these standards,...

December 2022 Patch Tuesday: Get Latest Security Updates from Microsoft and More

Tech giant Microsoft released its last set of monthly security updates for 2022 with fixes for 49 vulnerabilities across its software products. Of the 49 bugs, six are rated Critical, 40 are rated Important, and three are rated Moderate in severity. The updates are in addition to 24 vulnerabiliti...

Hackers Actively Exploiting Citrix ADC and Gateway Zero-Day Vulnerability

The U.S. National Security Agency NSA on Tuesday said a threat actor tracked as APT5 has been actively exploiting a zero-day flaw in Citrix Application Delivery Controller ADC and Gateway to take over affected systems. The critical remote code execution vulnerability, identified as CVE-2022-27518...

New Actively Exploited Zero-Day Vulnerability Discovered in Apple Products

Apple on Tuesday rolled out security updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and Safari web browser to address a new zero-day vulnerability that could result in the execution of malicious code. Tracked as CVE-2022-42856, the issue has been described by the tech giant as a type confusion issue in the...

Google Launches OSV-Scanner Tool to Identify Open Source Vulnerabilities

Google on Tuesday announced the open source availability of OSV-Scanner, a scanner that aims to offer easy access to vulnerability information about various projects. The Go-based tool, powered by the Open Source Vulnerabilities OSV database, is designed to connect "a project's list of dependenci...

Serious Attacks Could Have Been Staged Through This Amazon ECR Public Gallery Vulnerability

A critical security flaw has been disclosed in Amazon Elastic Container Registry ECR Public Gallery that could have been potentially exploited to stage a multitude of attacks, according to cloud security firm Lightspin. "By exploiting this vulnerability, a malicious actor could delete all images ...

Cybersecurity Experts Uncover Inner Workings of Destructive Azov Ransomware

Cybersecurity researchers have published the inner workings of a new wiper called Azov Ransomware that's deliberately designed to corrupt data and "inflict impeccable damage" to compromised systems. Distributed through another malware loader known as SmokeLoader, the malware has been described as...

Malware Strains Targeting Python and JavaScript Developers Through Official Repositories

An active malware campaign is targeting the Python Package Index PyPI and npm repositories for Python and JavaScript with typosquatted and fake modules that deploy a ransomware strain, marking the latest security issue to affect software supply chains. The typosquatted Python packages all...

Fortinet Warns of Active Exploitation of New SSL-VPN Pre-auth RCE Vulnerability

Fortinet on Monday issued emergency patches for a severe security flaw affecting its FortiOS SSL-VPN product that it said is being actively exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2022-42475 CVSS score: 9.3, the critical bug relates to a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that could allow an...

Researchers Demonstrate How EDR and Antivirus Can Be Weaponized Against Users

High-severity security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in different endpoint detection and response EDR and antivirus AV products that could be exploited to turn them into data wipers. "This wiper runs with the permissions of an unprivileged user yet has the ability to wipe almost any file on...

Top 4 SaaS Security Threats for 2023

With 2022 coming to a close, there is no better time to buckle down and prepare to face the security challenges in the year to come. This past year has seen its fair share of breaches, attacks, and leaks, forcing organizations to scramble to protect their SaaS stacks. March alone saw three...

Google Adds Passkey Support to Chrome for Windows, macOS and Android

Google has officially begun rolling out support for passkeys, the next-generation passwordless login standard, to its stable version of Chrome web browser. "Passkeys are a significantly safer replacement for passwords and other phishable authentication factors," the tech giant's Ali Sarraf said...

Cryptocurrency Mining Campaign Hits Linux Users with Go-based CHAOS Malware

A cryptocurrency mining attack targeting the Linux operating system also involved the use of an open source remote access trojan RAT dubbed CHAOS. The threat, which was spotted by Trend Micro in November 2022, remains virtually unchanged in all other aspects, including when it comes to terminatin...

Keep Your Grinch at Bay: Here's How to Stay Safe Online this Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, online shopping and gift-giving are at the top of many people's to-do lists. But before you hit the "buy" button, it's important to remember that this time of year is also the peak season for cybercriminals. In fact, cybercriminals often ramp up their efforts...

Royal Ransomware Threat Takes Aim at U.S. Healthcare System

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has cautioned of ongoing Royal ransomware attacks targeting healthcare entities in the country. "While most of the known ransomware operators have performed Ransomware-as-a-Service, Royal appears to be a private group without any affiliates whi...

Hack-for-Hire Group Targets Travel and Financial Entities with New Janicab Malware Variant

Travel agencies have emerged as the target of a hack-for-hire group dubbed Evilnum as part of a broader campaign aimed at legal and financial investment institutions in the Middle East and Europe. The attacks, which took place during 2020 and 2021 and likely went as far back as 2015, involved a...

Researchers Detail New Attack Method to Bypass Popular Web Application Firewalls

A new attack method can be used to circumvent web application firewalls WAFs of various vendors and infiltrate systems, potentially enabling attackers to gain access to sensitive business and customer information. Web application firewalls are a key line of defense to help filter, monitor, and...

Cisco Warns of High-Severity Unpatched Flaw Affecting IP Phones Firmware

Cisco has released a new security advisory warning of a high-severity flaw affecting IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series firmware that could be potentially exploited by an unauthenticated attacker to cause remote code execution or a denial-of-service DoS condition. The networking equipment major said...

Using XDR to Consolidate and Optimize Cybersecurity Technology

Businesses know they need cybersecurity, but it seems like a new acronym and system is popping up every day. Professionals that aren't actively researching these technologies can struggle to keep up. As the cybersecurity landscape becomes more complicated, organizations are desperate to simplify...

New TrueBot Malware Variant Leveraging Netwrix Auditor Bug and Raspberry Robin Worm

Cybersecurity researchers have reported an increase in TrueBot infections, primarily targeting Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, and the U.S. Cisco Talos said the attackers behind the operation have moved from using malicious emails to alternative delivery methods such as the exploitation of a now-patche...

Why is Robust API Security Crucial in eCommerce?

API attacks are on the rise. One of their major targets is eCommerce firms like yours. APIs are a vital part of how eCommerce businesses are accelerating their growth in the digital world. ECommerce platforms use APIs at all customer touchpoints, from displaying products to handling shipping. Owi...

Researchers Uncover New Drokbk Malware that Uses GitHub as a Dead Drop Resolver

The subgroup of an Iranian nation-state group known as Nemesis Kitten has been attributed as behind a previously undocumented custom malware dubbed Drokbk that uses GitHub as a dead drop resolver to exfiltrate data from an infected computer, or to receive commands. "The use of GitHub as a virtual...

What Stricter Data Privacy Laws Mean for Your Cybersecurity Policies

For today's businesses data privacy is already a big headache, and with modern privacy laws expanding to more of the world's population, regulatory compliance is on track to become a more complicated, high-stakes process touching on every aspect of an organization. In fact, Gartner predicts that ...

MuddyWater Hackers Target Asian and Middle East Countries with Updated Tactics

The Iran-linked MuddyWater threat actor has been observed targeting several countries in the Middle East as well as Central and West Asia as part of a new spear-phishing activity. "The campaign has been observed targeting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Tajikistan,...

Researchers Uncover Darknet Service Allowing Hackers to Trojanize Legit Android Apps

Researchers have shed light on a new hybrid malware campaign targeting both Android and Windows operating systems in a bid to expand its pool of victims. The attacks entail the use of different malware such as ERMAC, Erbium, Aurora, and Laplas, according to a ThreatFabric report shared with The...

COVID-bit: New COVert Channel to Exfiltrate Data from Air-Gapped Computers

An unconventional data exfiltration method leverages a previously undocumented covert channel to leak sensitive information from air-gapped systems. "The information emanates from the air-gapped computer over the air to a distance of 2 m and more and can be picked up by a nearby insider or spy wi...

Apple Boosts Security With New iMessage, Apple ID, and iCloud Protections

Apple on Wednesday announced a raft of security measures, including an Advanced Data Protection setting that enables end-to-end encrypted E2EE data backups in its iCloud service. The headlining feature, when turned on, is expected to secure 23 data categories using E2EE, including device and...

Best Year-End Cybersecurity Deals from Uptycs, SANS Institute, and Bitdefender

Looking to up your cybersecurity game in the new year? Do not just buy electronics this vacation season, improve your cybersecurity! The end of the year is a great time to re-evaluate your cybersecurity strategy and make some important investments in protecting your personal and professional data...

Google Warns of Internet Explorer Zero-Day Vulnerability Exploited by ScarCruft Hackers

An Internet Explorer zero-day vulnerability was actively exploited by a North Korean threat actor to target South Korean users by capitalizing on the recent Itaewon Halloween crowd crush to trick users into downloading malware. The discovery, reported by Google Threat Analysis Group researchers...

Iranian Hackers Strike Diamond Industry with Data-Wiping Malware in Supply-Chain Attack

An Iranian advanced persistent threat APT actor known as Agrius has been attributed as behind a set of data wiper attacks aimed at diamond industries in South Africa, Israel, and Hong Kong. The wiper, referred to as Fantasy by ESET, is believed to have been delivered via a supply-chain attack...

Vice Society Ransomware Attackers Targeted Dozens of Schools in 2022

The Vice Society cybercrime group has disproportionately targeted educational institutions, accounting for 33 victims in 2022 and surpassing other ransomware families like LockBit, BlackCat, BianLian, and Hive. Other prominent industry verticals targeted include healthcare, governments,...