Critical Flaws Haunt Adobe Shockwave Player

Adobe’s run on the patching treadmill continued this week with a “critical” update to fix a pair of code execution holes in its Shockwave Player. The vulnerabilities affect Adobe Shockwave Player 11.5.2.602 and earlier versions, on the Windows and Mac operating systems. According to an Adobe...

Five Critical Bulletins Coming on MS Patch Tuesday

Microsoft’s September batch of security updates will include fixes for a multiple “critical” vulnerabilities affecting the Windows operating system. In all, the software maker will release five bulletins with patches for a range of flaws that could expose users to remote code execution attacks. T...

Malicious Npm Packages Tapped Again to Target Discord Users

Threat actors once again are using the node package manager npm repository to hide malware that can steal Discord tokens to monitor user sessions and steal data on the popular chat and collaboration platform, researchers have found. A campaign discovered this week by Kaspersky researchers is hidi...

Office 365 Config Loophole Opens OneDrive, SharePoint Data to Ransomware Attack

Researchers are warning attackers can abuse Microsoft Office 365 functionality to target files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive in ransomware attacks. Those files, stored via “auto-save” and backed-up in the cloud, typically leave end users with the impression data is shielded from a ransomware...

Google: 2021 was a Banner Year for Exploited 0-Day Bugs

Google Project Zero reported 58 exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in 2021, a record in the short time the team of security researchers has been keeping tabs. In a year-in-review report on the number instances a zero-day bug has been exploited in the wild, researchers noted the number a twofold...

Rethinking Cyber-Defense Strategies in the Public-Cloud Age

The pandemic has fast-tracked migration to the public cloud, including Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Platform and Microsoft Azure. But the journey hasn’t exactly been smooth as silk: The great migration has brought a raft of complex security challenges, which have led to headline-grabbing...

Three Plugins with Same Bug Put 84K WordPress Sites at Risk

Researchers have discovered three WordPress plug-ins with the same vulnerability that allows an attacker to update arbitrary site options on a vulnerable site and completely take it over. Exploiting the flaw does require some action from the site administrator, however. On Nov. 5, 2021, the...

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...

Critical Linux Kernel Bug Allows Remote Takeover

A critical heap-overflow security vulnerability in the Transparent Inter Process Communication TIPC module of the Linux kernel could allow local exploitation and remote code execution, leading to full system compromise. TIPC is a peer-to-peer protocol used by nodes within a Linux cluster to...

NFT Collector Tricked into Buying Fake Banksy

An attacker was apparently able to breach the site for famed street artist Banksy and sell a fake non-fungible token NFT of the artist’s work for more than $336,000. The fraudster has since returned the ill-gotten cash, less a “transaction fee.” But the incident has delivered an invaluable lesson...

Web Censorship Systems Can Facilitate Massive DDoS Attacks

Researchers are warning internet censorship systems are ripe for abuse by a new type of distributed denial of service DDoS attack. The potential for abuse is concerning, researchers say, because attacks would take advantage of a type of reflection and amplification, which would be “extremely...

Hackers Crack Pirated Games with Cryptojacking Malware

A new Monero cryptojacking malware distributed via “cracked” versions of popular online games is wiping out antivirus programs AVs and surreptitiously mining cryptocurrency in more than a dozen countries, researchers have found. Dubbed “Crackonosh,” the malware — which has been active since June...

Call of Duty Cheats Expose Gamers to Malware

Activision, the company behind Call of Duty: Warzone, has issued a warning that a threat actor is taking out ads for cheat tools, which instead turn out to be remote-access trojan RAT malware . The scam was first floated in March when a cyberattacker posted in hacking forums that they had a free,...

Fraud Ring Launders Money Via Fake Charity Donations

A money-laundering fraud ring is targeting donation sites, taking advantage of the outpouring of charity sparked by the global pandemic. Dubbed Cart Crasher by the Sift security firm, the fraud ring leverages guest checkout options on donation sites to steal money and launder stolen payment cards...

Fake Ad Blocker Delivers Hybrid Cryptominer/Ransomware Infection

At its previous peak in February, the Monero Miner cryptocurrency ransominer was targeting more than 2,500 users a day, disguised as an antivirus installer. Now, the tricky hybrid malware is on the rise again, this time impersonating an ad blocker and OpenDNS service. In total, it has infected mo...

Apple’s Device Location-Tracking System Could Expose User Identities

Two vulnerabilities in a crowdsourced location-tracking system that helps users find Apple devices even when they’re offline could expose the identity of users, research claim. Offline Finding, a proprietary app introduced by Apple in 2019 for its iOS, macOS and watchOS platforms, enables the...

Singtel Suffers Zero-Day Cyberattack, Damage Unknown

Singtel, Tier 1 telecom carrier throughout Asia and owner of Australian telco Optus, has been impacted by a software security hole in a third-party file transfer appliance targeted by attackers. Singtel is one of multiple organizations affected by the bug, including an Australian medical research...

SAP Commerce Critical Security Bug Allows RCE

SAP is warning of a critical vulnerability in its SAP Commerce platform for e-commerce businesses. If exploited, the flaw could allow for remote code execution RCE that ultimately could compromise or disrupt the application. SAP Commerce organizes data – such as product information – to be...

Cisco DNA Center Bug Opens Enterprises to Remote Attack

A cross-site request forgery CSRF vulnerability in the Cisco Digital Network Architecture DNA Center could open enterprise users to remote attack and takeover. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2021-1257, exists in the web-based management interface of the Cisco DNA Center, which is a centralized...

Discord-Stealing Malware Invades npm Packages

Three malicious software packages have been published to npm, a code repository for JavaScript developers to share and reuse code blocks. The packages represent a supply-chain threat given that they may be used as building blocks in various web applications; any applications corrupted by the code...

NSA Urgently Warns on Industrial Cyberattacks, Triconex Critical Bug

The U.S. National Security Agency NSA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA have issued an alert warning that adversaries could be targeting critical infrastructure across the U.S. Separately, ICS-CERT issued an advisory on a critical security bug in the Schneider Electric...

8 U.S. City Websites Targeted in Magecart Attacks

Researchers are warning that the websites of eight U.S. cities – across three states – have been compromised with payment card-stealing Magecart skimmers. The websites all utilize Click2Gov municipality payment software, which was previously involved in data breaches. Unlike other skimmers, which...

Lazarus Group Hides macOS Spyware in 2FA Application

The North Korea-linked cyberthreat group known as Lazarus Group has added a new variant of the Dacls remote-access trojan RAT to its arsenal of spy gear, designed specifically for the Mac operating system. Dacls was first discovered last December targeting Windows and Linux platforms. The new...

Millions of Brute-Force Attacks Hit Remote Desktop Accounts

A rash of brute-forcing attempts aimed at users of Microsoft’s proprietary Remote Desktop Protocol RDP has come to light, striking millions per week. The attacks are a likely offshoot of cybercriminals looking to take advantage of the unprecedented numbers of employees working from home amid the...

Coronavirus-Themed APT Attack Spreads Malware

An advanced persistent threat APT group is leveraging the coronavirus pandemic to infect victims with a previously unknown malware, in a recently discovered campaign that researchers call “Vicious Panda.” Researchers identified two suspicious Rich Text Format files RTF — a text file format used b...

Sodinokibi Ransomware Group Sponsors Hacking Contest

White hats aren’t alone in holding hacking contests. Russian-language cybercriminals are known for running similar competitions on underground forums. However, an analysis of Dark Web activity has uncovered a trend towards offering increasingly high-stakes prizes during such battles. At the same...

Bezos, WhatsApp Cyberattacks Show Growing Mobile Sophistication

NEW ORLEANS – Sophisticated nation-state groups are increasingly using mobile devices as an infection vector. Oded Vanunu, head of products vulnerability research at Check Point research, told Threatpost during CPX 360 this week that because mobile devices come equipped with varying technologies,...

Mandatory IoT Security in the Offing with U.K. Proposal

The U.K. government has unveiled a proposed law aimed at securing internet of things IoT devices, which have historically been riddled with basic security issues. The drafted law, announced on Monday, comprises three main mandates for IoT manufacturers. First, all consumer IoT device passwords mu...

Stealthy MacOS Malware Tied to Lazarus APT

Researchers have identified new MacOS malware that can execute remote code in memory that they believe is the work of the powerful North Korean APT group Lazarus, they said Thursday. Security researcher Dinesh Devadoss on Twitter posted a hash for a MacOS trojan he discovered that hides behind a...

Managing the Human Security Factor in the Age of Ransomware

Security analysts have determined that cybercrime cost the global economy $1.5 trillion in 2018. Ransomware, in particular, is estimated to grow by as much as 350 percent over the next year. And while the ransom for a generic ransomware attack has now risen to nearly $13,000, with recent targeted...

Apache Solr Bug Gets Bumped Up to High Severity

A bug impacting the Linux enterprise-search platform called Apache Solr has been revised from low to high-severity after researchers discovered a new remote code execution exploit. The warning comes from Tenable, which is reporting that the newly-identified default configuration vulnerability cou...

Cash App Twitter Giveaway a Haven for Stealing Money

Scammers looking to piggyback on the CashAppFriday trending topic on Twitter are stealing between $10 to $1,000 from each victim that falls for their efforts. According to researchers at Tenable, the scams include phishing with some links garnering up to 500 clicks each, a hoax called...

Magecart 5 Linked to Carbanak Gang

Researchers have linked Magecart Group 5, the credit-card skimming cybercriminals behind the Ticketmaster breach, to Dridex phishing campaigns and the infamous Carbanak group. Magecart – which is an umbrella group encompassing several different affiliates all using the same modus operandi – injec...

ThreatList: Half of All Social Media Logins Are Fraud

More than half of logins 53 percent on social-media sites are fraudulent; and 25 percent of all new account applications on social media are fake, according to a recent analysis. Those numbers far outstrip the overall rate of 10 percent of interactions being fraudulent. The Arkose Labs Q3 Fraud a...

Google Launches Open-Source Browser Extension for Ad Transparency

Google is launching an experimental, open-source browser extension aimed at increasing transparency around online advertising by displaying information about the ads that are shown to users. The browser extension is an integral part of a new Google initiative announced Thursday to develop a set o...

WannaCry Hero Pleads Guilty to Kronos Malware Charges

Marcus Hutchins, the researcher hailed for squashing the WannaCry ransomware outbreak in May 2017, pleaded guilty to charges relating to the creation of the Kronos malware. The 24-year-old researcher filed a plea agreement admitting guilt to two of 10 counts in the Eastern District of Wisconsin o...

ThreatList: Game of Thrones, a Top Malware Conduit for Cybercriminals

As Game of Thrones’ eighth season approaches, fans are getting ready for the ultimate clash of living vs. dead, fire vs. ice, human vs. monster. But they should be careful where they get their Jon Snow fix from; fresh analysis has concluded that the fantasy series is cybercriminals’ favorite targ...

RSAC 2019: The Dark Side of Machine Learning

SAN FRANCISCO – The same machine-learning algorithms that made self-driving cars and voice assistants possible can be hacked to turn a cat into guacamole or Bach symphonies into audio-based attacks against a smartphone. These are examples of “adversarial attacks” against machine learning systems...

Google Pulls Data-Chugging App From iOS Devices

Google has found itself in hot water for a research app that may have violated Apple’s policies by collecting user data in exchange for gift cards. The tech giant said it has now disabled Screenwise Meter“audience measurement” app – which voluntarily collects data from users’ phones, browsers and...

2019 and Beyond: The (Expanded) RSAC Advisory Board Weighs in on What’s Next

Just when we thought we’d escaped 2018 without an attack on the scale of WannaCry, NotPetya or Equifax, we were struck by Marriott’s November news of a breach affecting 500 million guests and once again reminded that complacency is the enemy of cybersecurity. We were also reminded that predicting...

IDenticard Zero-Days Allow Corporate Building Access, Location Recon

UPDATE Most denizens of corporate America are pretty familiar with building security, and the requirement to swipe a badge to enter a building or an office suite; and as a result, most workers likely go about their day feeling secure that their stuff is physically secure from outsiders...

Juniper Issues Security Alert Tied to Routers and Switches

Juniper Networks warned customers Thursday of a high-risk vulnerability in the GD graphics library that could allow a remote attacker to take control of systems running certain versions of the Junos OS. The alert was in conjunction with a warning from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team...

Apple Patches 'BroadPwn' Bug in iOS 10.3.3

Apple released iOS 10.3.3 Wednesday, which serves as a cumulative update that includes patches for multiple vulnerabilities including the high-profile BroadPwn bug that allowed an attacker to seize control of a targeted iOS device. BroadPwn was revealed earlier this month as a flaw in Broadcom...

Average Bug Bounty Payments Growing

HackerOne said Monday its average dollar payouts to participants are up, and cross site scripting vulnerabilities cause the biggest headaches for companies. The bug bounty platform provider culled data from the past four years, analyzing 50,000 reported bugs and more than $17 million in payouts t...

Apple Patches Dozens of Flaws in iOS 8.4, OS X 10.10.4

Apple has released new versions of iOS and OS X, both of which include a significant number of security patches, several for bugs that can lead to remote code execution and other serious issues. Version 8.4 of iOS contains fixes for more than 30 security vulnerabilities, including bugs in the iOS...

Windows Kernel-Mode Driver Flaw Exploitable With One Bit

The vulnerabilities addressed in this month’s Patch Tuesday security bulletins from Microsoft have been a mashup of critical bugs affecting most supported versions of Windows and Internet Explorer that could pave the way for attackers to gain complete control of affected systems. Sounds like most...

Microsoft's Threat Management Gateway is a mixed bag

Microsoft’s initial move into the security products market, the ISA Server, has evolved well beyond its firewall roots. Now known as the Threat Management Gateway, the product is being positioned as a comprehensive Web security gateway. But as Eric Ogren writes in his review of the Threat...

Patchable and Preventable Security Issues Lead Causes of Q1 Attacks

Eighty-two percent of attacks on organizations in Q1 2022 were caused by the external exposure of a known vulnerabilities in the victim’s external-facing perimeter or attack surface. Those unpatched bugs overshadowed breach-related financial losses tied to human error, which accounted for 18...

‘Fully Undetected’ SysJoker Backdoor Malware Targets Windows, Linux & macOS

A brand-new multiplatform malware, likely distributed via malicious npm packages, is spreading under the radar with Linux and Mac versions going fully undetected in VirusTotal, researchers warned. The Windows version, according to a Tuesday writeup from Intezer, has only six detections as of this...

Transnational Fraud Ring Bilks U.S. Military Service Members Out of Millions

More than 3,300 U.S. military service members, military dependents and civilians employed by the Department of Defense were compromised as part of a transnational cybercrime ring created to defraud them out of $1.5 million in military benefits from the DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs. ...