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Zero-day flaws in virtual event platforms provide access to personal, corporate data
Researchers at Huntress have uncovered software flaws and misconfigurations in two of the top five virtual event platforms: VFairs, which counts among its customers Ford, T-Mobile, IEEE and Pearson, and 6Connex. Among the issues identified are information disclosure or personal identifiable information leakage, direct access to databases and potential remote code execution.
https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/zero-day-flaws-in-virtual-event-platforms-provide-access-to-personal-corporate-data/
5 minutes with Mike Hamilton – The biggest threats to the critical infrastructure
In my view, the biggest threats are the effect of several conditions that are combined. First, the shift to extortion using ransomware, rather than stealing and monetizing records (PII, health, etc.). The second is the commoditization of tools used to perform this crime, including the as-a-service model. Additionally, the fact that many of our most critical organizations – local governments and the health sector in particular – do not have the funding to compete for human or technology resources.
https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94672-minutes-with-mike-hamilton-the-biggest-threats-to-the-critical-infrastructure
COVID pandemic causes spike in cyberattacks against hospitals, medical companies
According to IBM researchers, attacks against organizations crucial to coronavirus research and treatment experienced double the 'usual' rate of attacks in 2020. These entities include hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical companies, and energy firms involved in the COVID-19 supply chain.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/covid-pandemic-prompts-rise-in-cyberattacks-against-hospitals-medical-companies/
Dark Web Analysis: Healthcare Risks Tied to Database Leaks, Credentials
The research sheds light on hackers’ planning efforts for fraud, ransomware, and other attacks through stolen credentials, leaked database files, and other elements provided from specialized sources from dark web markets. The findings provide further insights into recent findings from CTIL, which showed demand and sale of backdoor access to healthcare networks spiked last year.
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/dark-web-analysis-healthcare-risks-tied-to-database-leaks-credentials
Along with COVID, France’s Hospitals Battle Cyberattacks
He said he was concerned that the whole country was targeted by cyberattacks and said 27 French hospitals suffered them in 2020. Worse, he said, French authorities have been monitoring one cyberattack per week against hospitals since the beginning of the year. France is not the only country facing the cyber criminality threat.
https://www.voanews.com/europe/along-covid-frances-hospitals-battle-cyberattacks
State-of-the-Field Conference on Cyber Risk to Financial Stability
In a panel entitled “What Are We Learning?,” moderator Anna Kovner, New York Fed, invited participants to discuss their ongoing research on cyber systemic risk, demonstrating diverse analytical approaches to assessing the impact of cyber threats on the financial system and the broader economy.
https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2021/02/state-of-the-field-conference-on-cyber-risk-to-financial-stability.html
You Are Only as Strong as the Weakest Link: A Vendor Due Diligence Checklist for CUs
It is recommended to commit the same vetting process level to vendor selection as you commit to hiring key employees. Once selected, vendors should be managed effectively and treated as trusted members of your team. If the vendor is resistant to this level of partnership, we suggest you look elsewhere.
https://www.cutimes.com/2021/02/24/you-are-only-as-strong-as-the-weakest-link-a-vendor-due-diligence-checklist-for-cus/
Massive SolarWinds Hack Prompts Calls for U.S. Law Requiring Cyber Breach Reporting
A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday recommended that the U.S. consider requiring companies to disclose when they have been hacked. At the first public hearing before Congress since a massive cyber-attack by suspected Russian hackers was disclosed in December, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat, was joined by the vice chairman of the committee, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, in calling for the measure.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2021/02/24/602600.htm
How the National Cyber Director Position Is Going to Work: Frequently Asked Questions
The prominence of the role has fluctuated across administrations, with some declining, at times, to fill the position at all. These changes have prevented the persistence and consistency needed to establish enduring policy and strategy. While these issues were cast in stark relief when the Trump administration abolished the position, the fundamental problem is more systemic and long term than any one administration’s actions.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-national-cyber-director-position-going-work-frequently-asked-questions
After Russian Cyberattack, Looking for Answers and Debating Retaliation
At a White House briefing last week, Anne Neuberger, President Biden’s new national security adviser for cyber and emerging threats, said the White House was preparing a comprehensive response because of “the ability of this to become disruptive.” She was referring to the possibility that the same access that gave the Russians the ability to steal data could, in the next phase of an operation, enable them to alter or destroy it
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/us/politics/solarwinds-hack-senate-intelligence-russia.html
Coast Guard updates Vessel Cyber Risk Management Work Instruction
The Work Instruction was updated to include a compliance timeline for Non Safety Management System vessels that are subject to the Marine Transportation Safety Act of 2002. These vessels are required to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities within their Vessel Security Assessment no later than Dec. 31, 2021.
https://www.workboat.com/government/coast-guard-updates-vessel-cyber-risk-management-work-instruction
Ukraine reports cyber-attack on government document management system
Ukrainian officials said the attackers uploaded documents on this portal that contained macro scripts. If users downloaded any of these documents and allowed the scripts to execute (usually by pressing the "Enable Editing" button inside Office apps), the macros would secretly download malware that would allow the hackers to take control of a victim's computer.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ukraine-reports-cyber-attack-on-government-document-management-system/
Britain's GCHQ cyber spies embrace the AI revolution
Britain's cyber spies at the GCHQ eavesdropping agency say they have fully embraced artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover patterns in vast amounts of global data to counter hostile disinformation and snare child abusers. [...] The world's biggest spy agencies in the United States, China, Russia and Europe are in a race to embrace the might of the technological revolution to bolster their defensive and offensive capabilities in the cyber realm.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/britains-gchq-cyber-spies-embrace-223704908.html
China Wants Your Data — And May Already Have It
"Most Americans have probably had their data compromised by the cyber intelligence units of the Chinese government and Chinese military intelligence," said April Falcon Doss who worked at the National Security Agency and wrote the book Cyber Privacy:Who Has Your Data And Why You Should Care. Falcon Doss said China is collecting detailed personal information on a massive scale for multiple reasons: to boost its economy, advance its technology and to support its espionage efforts.
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/24/969532277/china-wants-your-data-and-may-already-have-it
Net neutrality law to take effect in California after judge deals blow to telecom industry
The ruling amounts to a major victory for advocates of rules that require AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other telecom giants to treat all Web traffic equally, potentially setting the stage for states nationwide to follow California’s lead and adopt tough new protections of their own.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/23/net-neutrality-law-take-effect-california-after-judge-deals-blow-telecom-industry/
McDonald’s Secretive Intel Team Spies on ‘Fight for $15’ Workers, Internal Documents Show
According to documents obtained by Motherboard, McDonald’s has a goal of collecting "strategic intelligence" on "counter-parties" as well as "political intelligence on difficult political landscapes in complex markets that could cause significant business disruption and impact returns on investment."
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdkz9/mcdonalds-secretive-intel-team-spies-on-fight-for-15-workers
This botnet is abusing Bitcoin blockchains to stay in the shadows
Akamai says that botnet operators are able to hide backup C2 IP addresses via the blockchain, and this is described as a "simple, yet effective, way to defeat takedown attempts." The attack chain begins with the exploit of remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities impacting software including Hadoop Yarn and Elasticsearch, such as CVE-2015-1427 and CVE-2019-9082.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-botnet-is-abusing-bitcoin-blockchains-to-stay-in-the-shadows/
You can control an armed Spot robot online, and Boston Dynamics is not happy
Now an artsy startup has finally gone ahead and combined the light and dark sides of the company's robotic dog, Spot, into a chaotic online event. Starting at 10 a.m. PT Wednesday, random visitors to a website will be able to control a Spot robot equipped with a paintball gun as it ransacks an art gallery set up for the purpose. [...] Every two minutes, control of Spot via the app will be passed to a random viewer on the website.
https://www.cnet.com/news/you-can-control-an-armed-spot-robot-online-and-boston-dynamics-is-not-happy/
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