Ever-Changing Emotet Evolves Again with Fresh Evasion Tactic

The Emotet trojan has seen a spike in activity in the last month, with a campaign that once again showcases its ability to evolve quickly: It’s now employing a different delivery mechanism than has previously been seen, in what appears to be an effective tactic for evasion. Emotet, which has beco...

Mac "CookieMiner" Malware Aims to Gobble Crypto Funds

A newly-discovered malware is targeting Mac users’ web cookies and credentials in hopes of withdrawing funds on their cryptocurrency exchange accounts. The malware, discovered this month and aptly named “CookieMiner,” collects cryptocurrency-related cookies – in addition to compromised credential...

Patch Released for Critical Apache Struts Bug

The Apache Software Foundation has patched a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting all versions of the popular application development framework Struts since 2008. All web applications using the framework’s REST plugin are vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade their Apache...

November 2014 Microsoft Patch Tuesday Security Bulletins

A busy Microsoft Patch Tuesday arrived today with an extra sense of urgency and a complication. Among 14 bulletins, four of which are rated critical by Microsoft, is a patch for the OLE zero-day vulnerability being used in a number of targeted attacks. The zero-day is being spread via email...

FreeBSD Patches TCP Processing DoS Vulnerability

FreeBSD has patched a denial-of-service vulnerability that could affect a host of third-party packages built atop the UNIX-like operating system. The vulnerability—found in the way FreeBSD processes TCP packets—was discovered by a member of Juniper Networks’ incident response team. FreeBSD’s...

Microsoft Reads User Email without Warrant

Late last week it emerged that Microsoft had searched through the contents of a French blogger’s Hotmail account in order to track down the source of a leak of proprietary information from the Redmond, Wash., tech giant. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and transparency advocates have expressed...

Pwn2Own IE Vulnerabilities Missing from Microsoft Patch Tuesday Updates

UPDATE – In an unexpected turn, Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday security updates released today did not include patches for Internet Explorer vulnerabilities used during the Pwn2Own contest one month ago. The popular hacker contest attracted researchers from all over who were targeting all the...

Waves of Attacks Target Adobe Reader Bug From 2010

Thanks to the wonderful tendency of users not to update their applications, old vulnerabilities never die, they just get overtaken by newer and shinier ones. The attackers know this well, and every once in a while they serve up a nice reminder to the rest of us. The most recent one of these is a...

Microsoft Pushes Emergency Patch For ASP.NET Flaw

Microsoft has released the emergency out-of-band patch for the ASP.NET padding oracle attack, less than two weeks after a pair of researchers discussed the flaw and a reliable attack against it at a security conference in Argentina. The patch for the ASP.NET bug is only available through...

After attacks, Microsoft readies security patches

From CIO Robert McMillan Corporate IT staffers will get a double whammy next week, as both Microsoft and Oracle are set to release critical security updates cio.com on the same day, including a likely fix for an Excel bug that has been used by cybercriminals. This month, Oracle’s quarterly softwa...

Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’

Users of Apple’s Instagram and Facebook iOS apps are being warned that both use an in-app browser that allows parent company Meta to track ‘every single tap’ users make with external websites accessed via the software. Researcher Felix Krause, who outlined how Meta tracks users in a blog posted...

Microsoft Nov. Patch Tuesday Fixes Six Zero-Days, 55 Bugs

Microsoft reported a total of 55 vulnerabilities, six of which are rated critical, with the remaining 49 being rated important. The flaws are found in Microsoft Windows and Windows Components, Azure, Azure RTOS, Azure Sphere, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Edge Chromium-based, Exchange Server,...

Attackers Actively Exploiting Realtek SDK Flaws

Threat actors zeroing in on command injection vulnerabilities reported in Realtek chipsets just days after multiple flaws were discovered in the software developers kits SDK deployed across at least 65 separate vendors. On Aug. 16 multiple Realtek vulnerabilities were disclosed by IoT Inspector...

HPE Fixes Critical Zero-Day in SIM

Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE has fixed a critical zero-day remote code execution RCE flaw in its HPE Systems Insight Manager SIM software for Windows that it originally disclosed in December. HPE SIM is a tool that enables remote support automation and management for a variety of HPE servers,...

WeSteal: A Cryptocurrency-Stealing Tool That Does Just That

Some cybercriminals try, at least, to cover their dirty work with a threadbare “this will throw off the lawsuits” blanket of legitimacy. For example, phone-tracking tools that silently install and operate and which are supposedly meant for parents to legally watch out for their kids in actuality,...

North Korea Targets Security Researchers in Elaborate 0-Day Campaign

Hackers linked to North Korea are targeting security researchers with an elaborate social-engineering campaign that sets up trusted relationships with them — and then infects their organizations’ systems with custom backdoor malware. That’s according to Google’s Threat Analysis Group TAG, which...

Linux Devices Under Attack by New FreakOut Malware

Researchers are warning a novel malware variant is targeting Linux devices, in order to add endpoints to a botnet to then be utilized in distributed-denial-of-service DDoS attacks and cryptomining. The malware variant, called FreakOut, has a variety of capabilities. Those include port scanning,...

Zoom Takes on Zoom-Bombers Following FTC Settlement

Zoom has once again upped its security controls to prevent “Zoom-bombing” and other cyberattacks on meetings. The news comes less than a week after Zoom settled with the Federal Trade Commission over false encryption claims. Two of the new features allow moderators to act as “club bouncers,” givi...

Echobot IoT Botnet Casts a Wide Net with Raft of Exploit Additions

A variant of the Mirai Internet of Things IoT botnet known as “Echobot” has added 13 more vulnerability exploits to its bag of infiltration tricks, according to researchers. These target a range of devices, including routers, firewalls, IP cameras, server management utilities, a programmable logi...

Privacy Experts: Facebook's $5B Fine Unlikely to Do Much

The $5 billion fine that the Federal Trade Commission has slapped on Facebook for privacy violations may be the largest ever levied by the agency, but it’s being derided as “chump change” and ineffective by lawmakers and privacy analysts. The settlement, reported Friday evening, stems from...

Apple Issues Silent Update Removing Zoom's Hidden Server

Apple has pushed a silent update to Mac users that removes a hidden web server from Zoom users’ machines. The Zoom web- and video-conferencing service has come under scrutiny for its handling of a zero-day bug CVE-2019–13450 found by researcher Jonathan Leitschuh, which would allow an attacker to...

Post-Ransomware Attack, Florida City Pays $600K

A Florida city, hit by a ransomware attack that crippled its computer systems for three weeks, voted this week to pay the attackers the requested ransom of $600,000. Riviera Beach, a city in Florida populated by 35,000, was hit by the ransomware attack May 29 after a city employee clicked on a...

Financial Apps are Ripe for Exploit via Reverse Engineering

A white hat hacker reverse engineered 30 mobile financial applications and found sensitive data buried in the underlying code of nearly all apps examined. With this information a hacker could, for example, recover application programming interface API keys and use them to attack the vendor’s...

Uber Deployed 'Surfcam Spyware' in Australia to Crush the Competition – Report

A rogue employee at rideshare behemoth Uber created and deployed a piece of information-gathering software in order to help his company get a leg up on the local competition in Australia, according to a report. The so-called “secret spyware program” was dubbed Surfcam, and was developed by the...

RSAC 2019: New Operation Sharpshooter Data Reveals Higher Complexity, Scope

SAN FRANCISCO – An insidious reconnaissance campaign discovered in 2018, dubbed Operation Sharpshooter, is much more widespread than previously thought, researchers said. Operation Sharpshooter was first disclosed in December 2018, using a never-before-seen implant framework to infiltrate global...

Podcast: RSA Conference 2019 Preview

The RSA 2019 conference is right around the corner, kicking off next week in San Francisco. As they prepare to cover the show, Threatpost editors Lindsey O’Donnell, Tom Spring and Tara Seals break down the biggest news, stories and trends – from artificial intelligence and government security to...

Office Zero Day Delivering FINSPY Spyware to Victims in Russia

Since at least January, unidentified state-sponsored attackers have been targeting victims in Russia with FINSPY spyware delivered in exploits for an Office and WordPad zero-day vulnerability patched on Tuesday by Microsoft. Separately, the same zero-day has been leveraged in financially motivate...

OpenSSL Patches High-Severity OCSP Bug, Mitigates SWEET32 Attack

A vulnerability in the OpenSSL implementation of the Online Certificate Status Protocol OCSP was patched this week, closing a denial-of-service weakness in affected servers. The patch was the most severe of 14 released yesterday by OpenSSL. OCSP is an alternative in many cases to Certificate...

Facebook Releases osquery to Open Source

Facebook is in a giving mood today. The social networking giant announced today that it will release to open source a framework that detects and logs state changes in an operating system likely caused by an attack or performance meltdown. It also announced that it will hand out up to $300,000 nex...

Researchers Warn of New Windows 7 Vulnerability

Researchers are warning about a new remotely exploitable vulnerability in 64-bit Windows 7 that can be used by an attacker to run arbitrary code on a vulnerable machine. The bug was first reported a couple of days ago by an independent researcher and confirmed by Secunia. In a message on Twitter,...

NSA Warns Public Networks are Hacker Hotbeds

The U.S. National Security Agency is offering advice to security teams looking for wireless best practices to protect corporate networks and personal devices. The recommendations, while pedestrian in scope, do offer system administrators a solid cheat sheet to share with their work-from-home crow...

Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome Roll Out Password Protection Tools

Two major browsers –Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome – are rolling out default features, which they say will better help notify users if their password has been compromised as part of a breach or database exposure. Edge and Chrome’s moves signify a bigger push by browsers to solve the big “passwo...

Microsoft Exchange, Outlook Under Siege By APTs

New, sophisticated adversaries are switching up their tactics in exploiting enterprise-friendly platforms — most notably Microsoft Exchange, Outlook Web Access OWA and Outlook on the Web – in order to steal business credentials and other sensitive data. Both Microsoft’s Exchange mail server and...

NSA Mass Surveillance Program Illegal, U.S. Court Rules

A U.S. federal appeals court ruled that the controversial National Security Agency NSA mass surveillance program exposed in 2013 was illegal – and may have even been unconstitutional. The call comes seven years after former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden outed the mass surveillan...

Government VPN Servers Targeted in Zero-Day Attack

As the Chinese government turns to virtual private networks VPNs to provide access to official resources for those working remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the DarkHotel APT has seized the opportunity to target those VPNs in a zero-day attack, researchers said. According to security analysts...

IoT Insecurity: When Your Vacuum Turns on You

SAN FRANCISCO – Hackable Internet of Things IoT devices are on full display this week at the RSA Conference 2020. They include everything from baby monitors to Wi-Fi chips. One such device is a connected vacuum cleaner, the Trifo Ironpie M6. According to researchers with Checkmarx, the vacuum has...

It’s Time for Your SOC to Level Up

Given an ever-increasing cyberattack surface, a global security workforce shortage, as well as an increased frequency and sophistication of attacks, security operations centers SOCs need to leverage better tools – namely artificial intelligence AI – in order to manage threats. An organization’s S...

Rooster Teeth Attack Showcases New Magecart Approach

The online store for the Rooster Teeth video-streaming service has been hit with a malicious web redirect attack by Magecart, which allowed the cybercriminals to harvest users’ payment-card details. The attack marks a slight departure from the group’s typical tactics. Rooster Teeth, which offers...

APT33 Mounts Focused, Highly Targeted Botnet Attacks Against U.S. Victims

The Iran-linked, espionage-focused advanced threat group known as APT33 has been spotted using more than a dozen obfuscated botnets to carry out narrowly targeted attacks against government and academic targets in the Middle East, the U.S. and Asia. Each botnet, linked to its own...

Mirai Botnet Sees Big 2019 Growth, Shifts Focus to Enterprises

The infamous Mirai internet of things botnet is spiking in growth while changing up its tactics, techniques and procedures so far in 2019, to target more and more enterprise-level hardware, It’s a state of affairs that presents a greater concern than ever before given the ongong migration to the...

Is 'Sign in with Apple' Marketing Spin or Privacy Magic? Experts Weigh In

Apple’s “Sign in with Apple” feature promises to protect user privacy – and while many are looking at that claim as more of a marketing move than anything else, authentication experts say it has the potential to have an enormous impact on the data privacy ecosystem. The giant from Cupertino took...

Grindr Poses National Security Risk, U.S. Gov Says

UPDATE The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States CFIUS has named the ownership of popular gay dating app Grindr a national security risk, according to a report. Grindr describes itself as “the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.” A...

Thunderclap Flaws Shatter Peripheral Security

UPDATE A set of vulnerabilities collectively dubbed “Thunderclap” is putting computers at risk from weaponized peripheral devices think network cards, storage and graphics cards, and even chargers and video projectors. The flaws reside in the Thunderbolt hardware interface developed by Intel in...

Google Ditches Passwords in Latest Android Devices

Half of all Android users can now log into apps and websites on their devices – without having to remember a cumbersome password. On Monday, Google and the Fast IDentity Online FIDO Alliance announced that devices running Android 7 or later are certified by the FIDO2 standard, meaning that users...

Impact of New Linux Kernel DCCP Vulnerability Limited

Linux providers are busy developing and pushing out patches for a vulnerability in an obscure networking protocol that could allow a local attacker to crash the kernel and elevate privileges. Google software engineer Andrey Konovalov privately disclosed the vulnerability on Monday. The...

'Dropping Elephant' APT Attackers Targets Old Windows Flaws

Don’t judge an APT by its exploits alone. That’s the takeaway from a report that details a unique advanced persistent threat that leverages a kludge of unsophisticated, outdated and rudimentary attack tools to conduct cyber espionage. The target of the attacks are government and diplomatic agenci...

Swagger Vulnerability Leads to Arbitrary Code Injection

An unexpected behavior in a relatively new and popular open source API framework called Swagger could lead to code execution, researchers at Rapid7 said. The company today disclosed some details on the vulnerability, and released a Metasploit exploit module and a proposed patch written by...

ZeroAccess Returns, Resumes Click-Fraud Activity

Long thought dead, the peer-to-peer P2P ZeroAccess botnet has resurfaced, and as of just a few weeks ago, has returned to propagating click-fraud scams. Researchers with Dell’s SecureWorks revealed Wednesday that they witnessed the botnet restart itself from March 21 to July 2, 2014 and that...

Microsoft Publishes Information Sharing Framework

Microsoft earlier this week published a 25-page framework offering guidance on how to effectively share information and what kinds of information need to be shared in order to reduce overall risk. Information sharing has been an oft-repeated refrain in security and policy-making circles for the...

April Patch Tuesday Fixes 11 Vulnerabilities, Last Updates for XP

As expected, Microsoft issued its final epitaph for Windows XP today, pushing out four security bulletins for 11 vulnerabilities, including the last updates for the oft-maligned, thirteen-year-old operating system. Despite it being XP’s last gasp from a security standpoint, it’s actually a...