April 2014 Oracle Critical Patch Update

Software maker and database management company Oracle yesterday released its quarterly Critical Patch Update. The release resolves more than 100 security vulnerabilities, many of which received high common vulnerability scoring system base scores and should be applied as soon as possible. Product...

Complete Microsoft EMET Bypass Developed

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers at Bromium Labs are expected to announce today they have developed an exploit that bypasses all of the mitigations in Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit EMET. Principal security researcher Jared DeMott is scheduled to deliver a presentation this morning...

February 2014 Microsoft Patch Tuesday Security Bulletins

The expected continued respite from deploying Internet Explorer patches was apparently a mirage as Microsoft changed course from last Thursday’s advance notification and added two more bulletins to the February 2014 Patch Tuesday security updates, including the first IE rollup of 2014. IE had...

Microsoft Reveals Blue Hat Prize Finalists

Microsoft has announced the three finalists for its $200,000 Blue Hat Prize contest and all three of the researchers in the running for the win submitted technologies designed to defeat ROP return-oriented programming exploits. Each of the entrants takes a different tack with his ROP defense and ...

New Flaw Found in Microsoft SharePoint

There is a cross-site scripting flaw in SharePoint 2007, Microsoft’s collaboration product, which could give an attacker the ability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code on a machine through a browser. High-Tech Bridge, a Swiss security firm, published an advisory about the vulnerability on...

30 Mins or Less: Rapid Attacks Extort Orgs Without Ransomware

In less time than it takes to get a stuffed crust pizza delivered, a new group called SnapMC can breach an organization’s systems, steal their sensitive data, and demand payment to keep it from being published, according to a new report from NCC Group’s threat intelligence team — no ransomware...

Microsoft, CISA Urge Mitigations for Zero-Day RCE Flaw in Windows

Both Microsoft and federal cybersecurity officials are urging organizations to use mitigations to combat a zero-day remote control execution RCE vulnerability in Windows that allows attackers to craft malicious Microsoft Office documents. Microsoft has not revealed much about the MSHTML bug,...

Amazon’s Plan to Track Worker Keystrokes: A Sign of Controls to Come?

Data theft, insider threats and imposters accessing sensitive customer data have apparently gotten so bad inside Amazon, the company is considering rolling out keyboard-stroke monitoring for its customer-service reps. A confidential memo from inside Amazon explained that customer service credenti...

Phish Swims Past Email Security with Milanote Pages

The Milanote app, billed as the “Evernote for creatives” by reviewers, has attracted the notice of cybercriminals who are abusing it to carry out credential-stealing campaigns that skate past secure email gateways SEGs, researchers said. Milanote is a tool for organizing and collaborating on...

SonicWall Warns Firewall Hardware Bugs Under Attack

Security vendor SonicWall is warning customers to patch its enterprise firewall hardware to thwart an “imminent ransomware campaign using stolen credentials” that’s exploiting security holes in current models and those running legacy firmware. Targeted are the company’s Secure Mobile Access SMA 1...

Critical Security Bugs Fixed in Virtual Learning Software

Netop, the company behind a popular software tool designed to let teachers remotely access student computers, has fixed four security bugs in its platform. Researchers said that the critical vulnerabilities in the company’s Netop Vision Pro system could allow attackers to hijack school networks,...

Hackers Update Age-Old Excel 4.0 Macro Attack

Hackers have updated the age-old Excel malware attack technique with a new passwordless twist. Researchers have identified a new method that no longer requires victims to enter a password to open a danger document, more readily exposing them to potential malware infection. Researchers from securi...

Microsoft Warns of Critical Windows Zero-Day Flaws

Microsoft is warning of critical zero-day flaws in its Windows operating system that could enable remote code execution. The unpatched flaws are being exploited by attackers in “limited, targeted” attacks, the company said. According to Microsoft, two remote code execution vulnerabilities exist i...

James Clapper: Lessons Learned in a Post-Snowden World

LAS VEGAS – The 2013 leaks by Edward Snowden highlight holes in the U.S. government around transparency and proactively dealing with insider threats, former national intelligence director James Clapper acknowledged. The U.S. intelligence community needs to be more transparent with the public, whi...

HP Touchpoint Analytics Opens PCs to Code Execution Attack

A security flaw, discovered in an open-source software program that is a key component of HP’s TouchPoint Analytics service, is opening up a wide swath of HP computers to attack. The vulnerability, if exploited by local attackers with administrative privileges, can allow them to execute arbitrary...

Vulnerable Twitter API Leaves Tens of Thousands of iOS Apps Open to Attacks

Researchers are warning that an old Twitter API still used by popular iOS mobile apps that could be abused as part of a man-in-the-middle attack. It could be used to hijack Twitter accounts and compromise other third-party apps that are linked to the same “login with Twitter” feature. According t...

Microsoft Blacklists Dozens of New File Extensions in Outlook

Microsoft is banning almost 40 new types of file extensions on its Outlook email platform. The aim is to protect email users from what it deems “at-risk” file attachments, which are typically sent with malicious scripts or executables. The move will prevent users from downloading email attachment...

ThreatList: Apple Adware, Phishing, APT Attacks Threaten macOS Users

While macOS is often touted as “safer” on the cybersecurity front compared to Windows-based systems, cybercriminals are in fact increasingly targeting Apple’s ecosystem. The number of attacks on macOS users through malicious and potentially unwanted programs has been increasing annually since 201...

FunkyBot Malware Intercepts Android Texts, 2FA Codes

An Android malware dubbed “FunkyBot” has started making the scene in Japan, operated by the same attackers responsible for the FakeSpy malware. It intercepts SMS messages sent to and from infected devices. According to FortiGuard Labs, the malware named after logging strings found in the...

Black Hat: LeapFrog Tablet Flaws Let Attackers Track, Message Kids

LAS VEGAS – Serious vulnerabilities have been disclosed in LeapFrog’s tablet for kids, the LeapPad Ultimate, once again throwing child data privacy into the spotlight. The LeapPad Ultimate is a rugged tablet made by LeapFrog that targets children with an array of education, game and eBook apps...

FDA Warns of Potentially Fatal Flaws in Medtronic Insulin Pumps

The Food and Drug Administration FDA has issued an emergency alert, warning that Medtronic MiniMed insulin pumps are vulnerable to potentially life-threatening cyberattacks. Specifically impacted are Medtronic’s MiniMed insulin pumps, the MiniMed 508 insulin pump and MiniMed Paradigm series insul...

Zebrocy: A Russian APT Specializing in Victim Profiling, Access

Zebrocy, the Russian speaking threat group that shares similarities and overlaps with both the Sofacy and BlackEnergy APTs, is once again roaming the wide plain of government, foreign-affairs and military targets. Researchers have spotted the group using a new first-stage malware dropper in recen...

Google Play Boots Italian Spyware Apps That Infected Hundreds

Google has removed more than a dozen malicious apps harboring Android spyware from its Google Play marketplace. The spyware appears to have been developed by an Italian firm, which is now under investigation for its development. Researchers allege that the apps have infected several hundred – up ...

Threatlist: IMAP-Based Attacks Compromising Accounts at 'Unprecedented Scale'

Attackers mounting password-spraying campaigns are turning to the legacy Internet Message Access Protocol IMAP to avoid multi-factor authentication obstacles – thus more easily compromising cloud-based accounts. That’s according to researchers with Proofpoint, who found that in the past half year...

Intel CPUs Undermined By Fresh Speculative Execution Flaws

UPDATE Three new speculative execution design flaws in Intel CPUs were disclosed today, this time impacting Intel’s Software Guard Extensions SGX technology, its OS and system management mode SMM and hypervisor software. The three vulnerabilities would allow attacks on Intel Core and Xeon...

Cisco Confirms Critical Firewall Software Bug Is Under Attack

Attackers are trying to exploit a critical vulnerability in Cisco’s Adaptive Security Appliance firewall software, the company has confirmed. Cisco has updated its advisory for the vulnerability, which was first revealed on Jan. 29 and has been logged as CVE-2018-0101, on Feb. 7. “The Cisco Produ...

Malvertising Campaign Redirects Browsers To Terror Exploit Kit

Security experts are warning some “Quit Smoking” and “20 Minute Fat Loss” ads online are delivering more than sales pitches. According to researchers at Zscaler, ads are redirecting browsers to malicious landing pages hosting the Terror exploit kit. The campaigns have been sustained, with the...

Oracle Patches 250 Bugs in Quarterly Critical Patch Update

Oracle patched 250 vulnerabilities across hundreds of different products as part of its quarterly Critical Patch Update released today. Rounding out the list of products with the most patches is Oracle Fusion Middleware with 38, Oracle Hospitality Applications with 37 and Oracle MySQL with 25. Of...

Two New Edge Exploits Integrated into Sundown Exploit Kit

Six months of relative quiet around exploit kits recently changed when a public proof-of-concept attack disclosed by a Texas startup was integrated into the Sundown Exploit Kit. The proof-of-concept exploit was developed by Theori, a research and development firm in Austin, which opened its doors...

FruityArmor APT Group Used Recently Patched Windows Zero Day

One of the four zero-day vulnerabilities Microsoft patched last week was being used by an APT group called FruityArmor to carry out targeted attacks, escape browser-based sandboxes, and execute malicious code in the wild. Anton Ivanov, a researcher at Kaspersky Lab, was credited by Microsoft for...

NIST Recommends SMS Two-Factor Authentication Deprecation

A U.S. government agency said the end is nigh for SMS-based two-factor authentication, citing a lack of security around the feature. The latest draft version of the Digital Authentication Guideline issued this week by the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology NIST said the practice...

Microsoft Releases Free Threat Modeling Tool 2014

Threat modeling has been part of the security culture at Microsoft for the better part of a decade, an important piece of the Security Development Lifecycle that’s at the core of Trustworthy Computing. Today, Microsoft updated its free Threat Modeling Tool with a number of enhancements that bring...

Pirated Windows 7 builds botnet with Trojan

From eWEEK Brian Prince Attackers pushing pirated, malware-laced copies of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 operating system have been actively trying to build a botnet. According to researchers at Damballa, attackers hid a Trojan inside of pirated copies of the operating system and began circulati...

CISA Orders Federal Agencies to Fix Actively Exploited Windows Bug

CISA is putting the thumbscrews on federal agencies to get them to patch an actively exploited Windows vulnerability. On Friday, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA announced that it added the vulnerability – tracked as CVE-2022-21882 and with a CVSS criticality rating ...

Apple Lawsuit Amps Up Pressure on Pegasus Spyware-Maker

In the wake of a zero-click zero-day exploit that was deployed against iPhone users, Apple has filed a lawsuit against NSO Group. The complaint alleges that the maker of the infamous Pegasus mobile spyware is responsible for the illegal surveillance of Apple users. The computing giant is looking...

3.1M Neiman Marcus Customer Card Details Breached

Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group is known worldwide as the go-to luxury retailer for the well-heeled. But their reputation for impeccable quality just took a big hit with revelations that the company was breached by an attacker back in May 2020. It took 17 months for the retailer to notice. Just...

GriftHorse Money-Stealing Trojan Takes 10M Android Users for a Ride

More than 10 million Android users have been saddled with a malware called GriftHorse that’s trojanizing various applications and secretly subscribing victims to premium mobile services – a type of billing fraud that researchers categorize as “fleeceware.” Zimperium uncovered more than 130...

NPM Package Steals Chrome Passwords

A credentials-stealing code bomb that uses legitimate password-recovery tools in Google’s Chrome web browser was found lurking in the npm open-source code repository, waiting to be planted within the sprawling galaxy of apps that pull code from that source. Researchers caught the malware filching...

Unpatched, Critical RCE Bug Allows Utility Takeovers

A critical remote code-execution RCE vulnerability in Schneider Electric programmable logic controllers PLCs has come to light, which allows unauthenticated cyberattackers to gain root-level control over PLCs used in manufacturing, building automation, healthcare and enterprise environments. If...

How To Defend the Extended Network Against Web Risks

Smart cybercriminals are going after web servers and browsers, more so than after individuals. Unfortunately, these types of attacks often go ignored, as they’re harder to test for in terms of pen-testing. With much of the world now working remotely, this threat has intensified. Attackers use...

Shadow IT: Why It’s Still a Major Risk in Today’s Environments

Shadow IT is nothing new. Employees have long adopted software applications or cloud services without the knowledge or approval of their organization’s IT department, most often in search of easier ways to get their jobs done. People typically utilize unsanctioned apps not because they’re seeking...

Microsoft Teams Impersonation Attacks Flood Inboxes

A convincing cyberattack that impersonates notifications from Microsoft Teams in order to steal the Office 365 credentials of employees is making the rounds, according to researchers. Two separate attacks have targeted as many as 50,000 different Teams users, according to findings from Abnormal...

Cloudflare Axes Google reCAPTCHA Due to Privacy, Price

Cloudflare is nixing Google’s reCAPTCHA tool and replacing it with what the network services company’s CEO calls “a better CAPTCHA” service, hCaptcha. Google’s reCAPTCHA is a type of CAPTCHA an acronym for “Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart” that uses...

Defying Covid-19’s Pall: Pwn2Own Goes Virtual

Covid-19 has brought the world to grinding halt, but for the hacking competition Pwn2Own, that wasn’t the case. The event, planned for CanSecWest this week in Vancouver, went virtual along with the conference itself. Faced with travel restrictions and new social-distancing guidelines, contestants...

New 'Haken' Malware Found On Eight Apps In Google Play Store

Researchers have identified eight malicious Android apps in the official Google Play marketplace distributing a new malware family. The “Haken” malware exfiltrates sensitive data from victims and covertly signs them up for expensive premium subscription services. The eight apps in question, which...

GitLab Doles Out Half a Million Bucks to White Hats

GitLab has awarded a total of $565,650 in security bug bounties to 171 researchers who reported valid vulnerabilities in the past year — and has announced the winners of its latest hacking contest. GitLab, which started out as a web-based Git repository manager before moving into the DevOps...

Office 365 Admins Targeted in Ongoing Phishing Scam

A phishing campaign that uses legitimate organizations’ Office 365 infrastructure to send emails has emerged onto the cyberscam scene. According to Michael Tyler at PhishLabs, cybercriminals are looking to compromise Microsoft Office 365 administrator accounts to send out phishing lures – thus...

Trump, Putin and Politics Name-Dropped to Peddle Malware

With the U.S. presidential elections looming, bad actors are tapping into the political craze with several malware distribution campaigns, using high-profile political names to tap into victims’ emotions and convince them to click on malicious links. Researchers have uncovered hundreds of...

Fin7 Cybergang Retools With New Malicious Code

The Fin7 cybercrime group has ramped up its offensive capabilities by adding new malicious code to its malware arsenal. Researchers said that this is evidence that Fin7 is still a growing threat despite the arrest of several Fin7 members in 2018. The notorious group has adopted a new dropper samp...

Masad Spyware Uses Telegram Bots for Command-and-Control

A freshly discovered commercial spyware dubbed the “Masad Clipper and Stealer” is using Telegram bots as its command-and-control C2 hub. Masad harvests information from Windows and Android users and also comes with a full cadre of other malicious capabilities, including the ability to steal...