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IT Security News Blast – 10-5-2021
This is the IT Security News Blast.
A brief situational awareness summary for key sectors, threats and vulnerabilities, noteworthy events. Security, Privacy, Surveillance. Sign up for the blast here:
https://www.criticalinsight.com/resources/daily-news
Company That Routes Billions of Text Messages Quietly Says It Was Hacked
"Syniverse is a common exchange hub for carriers around the world passing billing info back and forth to each other," the source, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to talk to the press, told Motherboard. "So it inevitably carries sensitive info like call records, data usage records, text messages, etc.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xpm8/company-that-routes-billions-of-text-messages-quietly-says-it-was-hacked
Coinbase says hackers stole cryptocurrency from at least 6,000 customers
Unauthorized third parties exploited a flaw in the company's SMS account recovery process to gain access to the accounts, and transfer funds to crypto wallets not associated with Coinbase, the company said.
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/coinbase-says-hackers-stole-cryptocurrency-least-6000-customers-2021-10-01/
Healthcare Organizations Deprioritize Third-Party Risk Management
Over 82 percent of respondents reported recognizing that third-party threats exposed their organizations to risk, only half of respondents said that their organizations actually prioritize those risks. Over the next five years, respondents estimated that their organizations will share approximately 41 percent of critical data with third-party entities.
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/healthcare-organizations-deprioritize-third-party-risk-management
Cyberattacks Disable IT Networks at 2 Indiana Hospitals
A receptionist answering the phone at Johnson Memorial on Monday told Information Security Media Group that "all" the hospital's IT systems were still down. But the organization did not immediately respond to ISMG's request for more details about the incident and the entity's recovery status.
https://www.govinfosecurity.com/cyberattacks-disable-networks-at-2-indiana-hospitals-a-17671
A closer look at the changing landscape of cyberattacks and what they mean for worldwide security
He cautions that this order could price smaller and potential new companies out of the government contractor market. "The added costs for new contractors to comply with the order could tip the balance to those that already have a compliance infrastructure," he said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-cyberattacks-mean-for-worldwide-security-2021-10
ACAMS conference: 'Defend yourselves' against ransomware , US security official says
Implement basic cyber-hygiene practices, look at your framework, look at your architecture, and make some decisions about the cybersecurity measures that can be put in place, implementing measures like multi-factor authentication… can really help to defend against cybercrime,” House said, adding that it also is critical that institutions share information with authorities when they become aware of a ransomware attack or related ransom payment.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/acams-conference-defend-yourselves-7657962/
How finance regulatory agencies can help the sector mitigate security risks
Cyberthreat actors are quickly adopting techniques, tools and procedures to exploit security blind spots that have resulted from expanding capabilities in the cloud, creating new avenues to infiltrate organization networks that financial organizations share to conduct daily business.
https://www.fedscoop.com/how-finance-regulatory-agencies-can-help-the-sector-mitigate-security-risks/
Q + A: Expert Advice for Reducing Risk of Cyberattacks
Very often those businesses don’t have large or sophisticated IT or risk management departments that are actively engaged in maintaining defensive security for the business. Also, the impact of the financial losses can be much more significant for a small- or medium-size enterprise than a larger organization that may be able to absorb the financial impact.
https://www.probuilder.com/interview-monleith
Trucking giant Forward Air reports ransomware data breach
An SEC filing by Forward Air states that the company lost $7.5 million of less than load (LTL) freight revenue "primarily because of the Company’s need to temporarily suspend its electronic data interfaces with its customers."
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/trucking-giant-forward-air-reports-ransomware-data-breach/
4 steps to protect the C-suite from business email compromise attacks
“The combination of social engineering and clever use of email made to look like it's from the boss/CEO is a real threat in BECs,” Thompson tells CSO. The added importance of securing these accounts, he says, comes with the “greater vulnerability and risk to the organization, which will be exposed to ransomware, email spoofing, and related threats.”
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3634776/4-steps-to-protect-the-c-suite-from-business-email-compromise-attacks.html
Organizations Offer Best Practices for State and Local Incident Response Plans
Attackers see state and local governments as easy targets because they may have scarce cybersecurity expertise — and cybersecurity may become even less important as budgets are cut due to the pandemic and lower tax revenues. Attacks on state and local governments are unauthorized attempts, whether successful or not, to gain access to, modify, destroy, delete or render unavailable any network or system resource.
https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2021/10/organizations-offer-best-practices-state-and-local-incident-response-plans
Senate lawmakers introduce FISMA reforms, including cyber incident reporting for agencies, contractors
The legislation would update FISMA for the first time since 2014. It aims to codify the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s central role in federal cybersecurity response efforts, as CISA only became an independent agency in 2018.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/cybersecurity/2021/10/senate-lawmakers-introduce-fisma-reforms-including-cyber-incident-reporting-for-agencies-contractors/
White House to convene 30-country cybersecurity meeting
The topics of the meeting, Biden said, will include combating cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, building trusted 5G technology and better securing supply chains.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/white-house-to-convene-30-country-cybersecurity-meeting/
Protecting Critical Infrastructure in the Digital Battlefield
Physical casualties are not the only risk; instead, critical infrastructure is increasingly the most vulnerable target on the digital battlefield. Countries have increased their investment in their own intrusion sets. While they’ve not admitted it, the Cosy Bear and Lazarus hacker groups, famous for the Wannacry and Sunburst attacks, are believed to be backed by the Russian and North Korean governments.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/protecting-critical-infrastructure/
UK plans to invest £5 billion in retaliatory cyber-attacks
Cyber-warfare is being embraced as the “fifth domain” of international conflict and is being incorporated in the core functional aspects of nations, including the military. This includes having the same level of funding and attention as more traditional divisions.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/uk-plans-to-invest-5-billion-in-retaliatory-cyber-attacks/
FCC Issues Order on Security Reviews Ahead of U.S.-China Engagement
The commission voted Thursday on the order that lays out a series of questions companies with at least 5% foreign ownership interest will have to answer when applying for FCC licenses. Applicants would need to submit extensive personally identifiable information for all non-U.S. persons with access to submarine cable facilities, among other information.
https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2021/10/fcc-issues-order-security-reviews-ahead-us-china-engagement/185838/
Russia is building its own kind of sovereign internet — with help from Apple and Google
But many experts have been sceptical; US researcher Evgeny Morozov famously called cyber-utopianism a “delusion”. This scepticism has increased in recent years, with mounting evidence of a conflict between democratic values and the core business model of for-profit tech companies.
https://theconversation.com/russia-is-building-its-own-kind-of-sovereign-internet-with-help-from-apple-and-google-169115
Global internet freedom is in decline, according to new report
The report concludes that “internet freedom declined globally for the 11th consecutive year.” The report assesses the situation of human rights in the digital space across 70 countries. What are the report's conclusions on Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan? Here is a closer look.
https://globalvoices.org/2021/10/04/global-internet-freedom-is-in-decline-according-to-new-report/
Creating Wireless Signals with Ethernet Cable to Steal Data from Air-Gapped Systems
Dubbed "LANtenna Attack," the novel technique enables malicious code in air-gapped computers to amass sensitive data and then encode it over radio waves emanating from Ethernet cables just as if they are antennas. The transmitted signals can then be intercepted by a nearby software-defined radio (SDR) receiver wirelessly, decode the data, and send it to an attacker who is in an adjacent room.
https://thehackernews.com/2021/10/creating-wireless-signals-with-ethernet.html
There Is No Escape From America's Robocall Hell
In addition to outright scams, there’s also corporate telemarketers that aren’t technically scammers, but often behave just like them. There’s also unwanted robocallers that are annoying but legal, such as debt collectors or charitable foundations looking for donations. Then there’s the legal robocalls we do want, like doctor or pharmacy reminders.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7e9va/there-is-no-escape-from-americas-robocall-hell
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