'EmoCrash' Exploit Stoppered Emotet For 6 Months

A researcher was able to exploit a vulnerability in Emotet – effectively causing the infamous malware to crash and preventing it from infecting systems for six months. Emotet, which first emerged in 2014 and has since then evolved into a full fledged botnet that’s designed to steal account...

Wiper Malware Called "Coronavirus" Spreads Among Windows Victims

A new Windows malware has emerged that makes disks unusable by overwriting the master boot record MBR. It takes its cue from the COVID-19 pandemic, calling itself simply “Coronavirus.” Overwriting the MBR is the same trick that the infamous NotPetya wiper malware used in 2017 in a campaign that...

New ‘CacheOut’ Attack Targets Intel CPUs

Researchers have identified a new speculative execution type attack, dubbed CacheOut, that could allow attackers to trigger data leaks from most Intel CPUs. The more serious of the two bugs, revealed Monday, is rated medium severity by Intel, who said fixes for both flaws are on the way. The more...

News Wrap: Office 365 Voicemail Phish and Bed Bath and Beyond Breach

Threatpost editors Tara Seals and Lindsey O’Donnell break down the top security news of this week, from data breaches to advanced persistent threat APT activity. Top stories include: A Microsoft alert that APT group Fancy Bear has targeted anti-doping authorities and sporting organizations around...

ICS Attackers Set To Inflict More Damage With Evolving Tactics

Future attacks on industrial control system ICS networks may inflict even more damage in the long run, according to new research. Analysts expect them to evolve from attacks that have immediate, direct impact to those with multiple stages and attack vectors that are more stealthy. While it remain...

Religious Website Data Exposed for Months

Religious website service Clover Sites exposed customer data for at least six to seven months, with the dataset found twice in two separate, insecure cloud databases. Clover offers a content management system for building and managing faith-based websites, with a “Clover Donations” module for...

Google Triples Some Bug Bounty Payouts

Google is upping the ante for its Chrome bug bounty rewards program, doubling payouts from $15,000 to $30,000 for “high-quality” reports. It is also tripling baseline payouts for Chrome to $15,000. The bug-bounty pay raise is part of Google’s Chromium open-source project, which supplies the vast...

Newly-Discovered Malware Targets Unpatched MacOS Flaw

Researchers have discovered never-before-seen Mac malware samples, which they believe are being developed to target a recently-disclosed vulnerability in the MacOS operating system. The vulnerability, a bypass that was disclosed in May and has yet to be patched by Apple, exists in the MacOS...

Google Stored G Suite Passwords in Plaintext Since 2005

Google stored G Suite passwords in plaintext for almost 15 years, the cloud giant acknowledged on Tuesday evening. G Suite, Google’s brand of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products, has more than 5 million users as of February. Google said that it recently...

Slack Bug Allows Remote File Hijacking, Malware Injection

A remotely exploitable vulnerability in the Windows desktop app version of the Slack collaboration platform has been uncovered, which allows attackers to alter where files from Slack are downloaded. Nefarious types could redirect the files to their own SMB server; and, they could manipulate the...

TP-Link Routers Vulnerable to Zero-Day Buffer Overflow Attack

Two models of TP-Link’s budget routers are vulnerable to zero-day flaws that allow attackers to take control of both. The routers in question are models TP-Link WR940N and TL-WR941ND, according IBM Security, which found the bugs and posted a technical analysis on its discoveries on Monday. “In th...

Necurs Botnet Evolves to Hide in the Shadows, with New Payloads

Necurs, the prolific and globally dispersed spam and malware distribution botnet, has been spotted using a fresh hiding technique to avoid detection while quietly adding more bots to its web. According to research from Black Lotus Labs, which is telecom and ISP provider CenturyLink’s network...

Microsoft January Patch Tuesday Update Fixes 16 Critical Bugs

Thanks to Meltdown and Spectre, January has already been an extremely busy month of patching for Microsoft. Today Microsoft tackled dozens more bugs, part of its regular Patch Tuesday release covering Microsoft Edge, Windows, Office, ASP.NET and the macOS version of Office. Sixteen of Microsoft’s...

Dirty Cow Vulnerability Patched in Android Security Bulletin

The Dirty Cow vulnerability lived in Linux for close to a decade, and while it was patched in October in the kernel and in Linux distributions, Android users had to wait for more than a month for their fix. Today, Google included a patch for CVE-2016-5195 in the monthly Android Security Bulletin,...

Patched Windows Machines Exposed to Stuxnet LNK Flaw All Along

A five-year-old Microsoft patch for the .LNK vulnerability exploited by Stuxnet failed to properly protect Windows machines, leaving them exposed to exploits since 2010. Microsoft today is expected to release a security bulletin, MS15-020, patching the vulnerability CVE-2015-0096. It is unknown...

Microsoft Shuts Down Patch Tuesday Advanced Notifications

Microsoft today pulled the plug on its Advanced Notification Service ANS, offering it going forward only to paying Premier customers. ANS preceded the release of Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday security bulletins; on the Thursday prior, Microsoft would provide users via its security website a...

How I Got Here: Katie Moussouris

Dennis Fisher talks with Katie Moussouris of Microsoft about her childhood exploits with Commodore 64 programming, ignoring her Barbies, growing up as a hacker, her days as a pen tester and the challenges of working on security at Microsoft. Download: 12moussouris.mp3 Microsoft image via Robert...

Richard Boscovich on the Zeus Botnet Takedown

Dennis Fisher talks with Richard Boscovich of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit about the operation to take down the Zeus botnet, how the company works with partners and law enforcement on these operations and the importance of getting the word out to consumers about the danger of botnets. Podcas...

Another Windows 7 Zero-Day Released

Microsoft’s security response team is investigating the release of a new zero-day flaw that exposes Windows 7 users to blue-screen crashes or code execution attacks. The flaw could be exploited by local attackers to cause a denial-of-service or potentially gain elevated privileges, according to a...

Microsoft develops secure Windows XP for military

Microsoft has developed an ultra-secure version of Windows XP, with many settings locked down by default. But the hardened OS isn’t for sale to the general public; it’s made specifically for the military. Microsoft built the secure version of XP a few years ago at the direction of the Air Force,...

Two Active Directory Bugs Lead to Easy Windows Domain Takeover

A proof-of-concept tool has been published that leverages two Windows Active Directory bugs fixed last month that, when chained, can allow easy Windows domain takeover. In a Monday alert, Microsoft urged organizations to immediately patch the pair of bugs, tracked as CVE-2021-42287 and...

Windows 10 Privilege-Escalation Zero-Day Gets Unofficial Fix

A partially unpatched security bug in Windows that could allow local privilege escalation from a regular user to System remains unaddressed fully by Microsoft – but an unofficial micropatch from oPatch has hit the scene. The bug CVE-2021-34484 was originally disclosed and patched as part of...

Millions of Routers, IoT Devices at Risk from BotenaGo Malware

Newly surfaced malware that is difficult to detect and written in Google’s open-source programming language has the potential to exploit millions of routers and IoT devices, researchers have found. Discovered by researchers at AT&T AlienLabs, BotenaGo can exploit more than 30 different...

100m T-Mobile Customer Records Purportedly Up for Sale

A threat actor is selling what they claim to be 30 million T-Mobile customers’ Social Security and driver license numbers on an underground web forum. The collection is a subset of the purported 100 million records contained in stolen databases. The seller told Motherboard – which first reported...

sLoad Malware Revamped as Powerful 'StarsLord' Loader

The sLoad malware downloader, a PowerShell-based trojan first spotted in May 2018, has a new, polished version that comes with “more powerful features, posing even higher risk,” Microsoft researchers are warning. After discovering it being used in several campaigns over the holidays, researchers...

Sudo Bug Opens Root Access on Linux Systems

A vulnerability in Sudo, a core command utility for Linux, could allow a user to execute commands as a root user even if that root access has been specifically disallowed. Sudo is a utility that allows a system administrator to give certain users or groups of users the ability to run commands in...

Phish Uses Google's URL Decoding to Swim Past Defenses

A phishing campaign that takes advantage of Google’s ability to decode non-ASCII URL data on the fly is making the rounds – looking to fool the unsavvy by effectively hiding the website address of the campaign’s phishing page. The campaign makes use of what’s called percentage-based URL encoding ...

Intel Patches High-Severity Flaw in Processor Diagnostic Tool

Intel has patched a high-severity vulnerability in its processor diagnostic tool, which could allow local attackers to launch several malicious attacks on affected devices, such as escalation of privilege or denial of service. The Intel Processor Diagnostic tool is a free product that allows user...

WannaCry-Infested Laptop Starts at $1.13M in Art Auction

Malware as high art? Stranger things have happened, but a Windows laptop infected with six high-profile pieces of malware think WannaCry and BlackEnergy is nonetheless looking to fetch more than $1 million in public art-auction bids. A project called “The Persistence of Chaos,” mounted by artist...

Alpine Linux Docker Images Shipped for 3 Years with Root Accounts Unlocked

For three years, some Alpine Linux Docker images have shipped with a root account and no password, opening the door for attackers to easily access vulnerable servers and workstations provisioned for the images. Affected versions of Alpine Linux Docker distros include 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8...

Cisco Fixes Critical Flaw in Wireless VPN, Firewall Routers

Cisco is urging customers to update their wireless VPN and firewall routers, after patching a critical vulnerability that could allow unauthenticated, remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability, CVE-2019-1663, has a CVSS score of 9.8 and impacts the Cisco RV110W Wireless-N VPN...

Clever Phishing Attack Enlists Google Translate to Spoof Login Page

UPDATE Recently-discovered phishing emails scoop up victims’ Facebook and Google credentials and hides its malicious landing page via a novel method – Google Translate. The phishing campaign uses a two-stage attack to target both Google and Facebook usernames and passwords, according to researche...

Anthem, Apple and the Pentagon: A Data-Breach Cornucopia

Like pumpkin spice and turning leaves, data breaches have become a theme for the fall. This season is shaping up to be no exception, with Anthem, Apple and, worryingly, the Pentagon all making headlines in the last few days. It is, of course, part of the “new normal” as cyberattackers continue to...

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft Addresses Two Zero-Days in 60-Flaw Roundup

Microsoft has rolled out its August Patch Tuesday fixes, addressing 19 critical vulnerabilities, including fixes for two zero-day vulnerabilities that are under active attack. Overall, the company patched a total of 60 flaws, spanning Microsoft Windows, Edge, Internet Explorer IE, Office, .NET...

New Magniber Ransomware Targets South Korea, Asia Pacific

Researchers identified a new ransomware family called Magniber that uniquely targets only users in South Korea and the Asia-Pacific regions. The ransomware is primarily being distributed by the Magnitude exploit kit, a primary distribution vehicle in the past for Cerber ransomware. Because of...

Microsoft Patches Windows Flaw Exploited by Duqu

Microsoft on Tuesday released 13 security bulletins, including three for critical flaws in Windows Media and in the Windows kernel-mode drivers. The company had planned on releasing 14 bulletins in December’s Patch Tuesday shipment, but officials said that one of the planned fixes was causing a...

Sandworm APT Hunts for ASUS Routers with Cyclops Blink Botnet

The modular botnet known as Cyclops Blink, linked to the same advanced persistent threat APT behind the NotPetya wiper attacks, is expanding its device targeting to include ASUS routers. Further, it’s likely that the botnet’s purpose is far more sinister than the average Mirai-knockoff’s penchant...

Toyota to Close Japan Plants After Suspected Cyberattack

What was potentially a cyberattack hit one of Toyota’s parts suppliers, causing the company to move to shut down about a third of the company’s global production tomorrow, the company announced on Monday. Toyota doesn’t know how long the 14 plants will be unplugged. The closure will mean that the...

Critical Cisco StarOS Bug Grants Root Access via Debug Mode

Cisco released a security update warning about a handful of vulnerabilities lurking in its networking technology, led by a critical bug in the company’s StarOS debug services. Cisco pushed out a fix for its Cisco StarOS Software on Wednesday. Jan. 19. In its advisory, the company said that the fl...

Microsoft Yanks Buggy Windows Server Updates

Microsoft has yanked the Windows Server updates it issued on Patch Tuesday after admins found that the updates had critical bugs that break three things: They trigger spontaneous boot loops on Windows servers that act as domain controllers, break Hyper-V and render ReFS volume systems unavailable...

SAP Stomps Out Critical RCE Flaw in Manufacturing Software

Enterprise software giant SAP pushed out fixes for a critical-severity vulnerability in its real-time data monitoring software for manufacturing operations. If exploited, the flaw could allow an attacker to access SAP databases, infect end users with malware and modify network configurations. The...

Google Patches Actively Exploited Flaw in Chrome Browser

Google has fixed a high-severity vulnerability in its Chrome browser and is warning Chrome users that an exploit exists in the wild for the flaw. The vulnerability is one of 47 security fixes that the tech giant rolled out on Tuesday in Chrome 89.0.4389.72, including patches for eight high-severi...

From Triton to Stuxnet: Preparing for OT Incident Response

From an irked former contractor in Australia sabotaging a sewage plant in 2000, to the more high-level 2017 Triton malware attacks on Saudi Arabian petrochemical plants, operational technology OT for critical infrastructure has increasingly been a cybersecurity concern. But now, the COVID-19...

'Lamphone' Hack Uses Lightbulb Vibrations to Eavesdrop on Homes

Researchers have discovered a novel way to spy on conversations that are happening in houses from almost a hundred feet away. The hack stems simply from a lightbulb hanging in the home. The hack, dubbed “lamphone,” is performed by analyzing the tiny vibrations of a hanging lightbulb, which are...

Magecart Cyberattack Targets NutriBullet Website

A faction under the Magecart umbrella, Magecart Group 8, targeted the website of the blender manufacturer, NutriBullet, in an attempt to steal the payment-card data of its online customers. Yonathan Klijnsma, threat researcher with RiskIQ, said in a Wednesday post that a JavaScript web skimmer co...

7 Tips for Maximizing Your SOC

It takes a special sort of person to be a security analyst. The person must be detail-oriented, curious, intelligent and hard-working, and with a quick reaction time as constant attacks unfold. These analysts have deep expertise that they use during their long shifts to sort through what’s worth...

Employers Beware: Microsoft Word 'Resume' Phish Delivers Malware

Employers who receive an email from someone purporting to be a job applicant, with an attached resume, could fall victim to a difficult-to-detect phishing campaign peddling a remote-access tool used often for espionage. Researchers with Cofense said they have recently spotted emails with maliciou...

News Wrap: Which Companies Are Doing Privacy Right and Which Aren't?

The Threatpost team breaks down the top data privacy-related news this week, including: Google’s acknowledgement that G Suite passwords had been stored in plaintext – since 2005. The database of golfing app Game Golf left misconfigured, exposing millions of data points on games played plus...

Shade Ransomware Expands to U.S. Targets

Shade, a ransomware known to target Russian victims, has been spotted in several recent campaigns scoping out new locations – including in the U.S. and Japan. The ransomware, first spotted in late 2014 by Kaspersky Lab researchers, has been known for focusing on Russian victims – but more recent...

Amazon Employees Given 'Broad Access' to Personal Alexa Info

Employees at Amazon can access geolocation information for Alexa users, according to reports – thus uncovering their home addresses and even satellite pictures of their houses generated from a service such as Google Earth. Alexa is the built-in voice assistant shipped with devices like Amazon Ech...