Welcome to v059 : It’s Cyber Budget Time
November 12, 2024
v030 hits another milestone! I love to roll over a digit. This version digs into Cybercrime, one of my favorite subjects. Read about how the Ragnar-Locker operation was dismantled, the continued rise of ransomware, ChatGPT’s usage in phishing, and how threats of physical violence have entered social engineering. Don’t miss the articles on CIS-hardened images for cloud and how often you should be vulnerability scanning. Also, if you’re a Baracuda user, check Vulnerability Vortex section.
Alleged Developer of the Ragnar Locker Ransomware Arrested
| A joint international law enforcement investigation led to the arrest of a malware developer who was involved in the Ragnar Locker ransomware operation. |  |
The Rise of S3 Ransomware: How to Identify and Combat It
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In today’s digital landscape, around 60% of corporate data now resides in the cloud, with Amazon S3 standing as the backbone of data storage for many major corporations. |
ChatGPT-written phishing emails are already scary good
| ChatGPT is already pretty good at writing believable phishing emails, despite efforts to limit its ability to do harm, according to new IBM research. |  |
*** ChatGPT Quip of the Week *** |
Prompt: In a single paragraph, explain Why small and medium sized organizations seeing an increase in cyber attacks? Response: Small and medium-sized organizations are experiencing a surge in cyber attacks due to their often limited resources, which can result in inadequate cybersecurity measures. These organizations are appealing targets for cybercriminals because they frequently lack comprehensive security protocols and dedicated IT staff. Additionally, a lack of awareness about evolving cyber threats, combined with the increasing connectivity of these businesses, creates vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals also exploit the valuable data handled by smaller organizations, including customer information and financial records. Furthermore, the rise in ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, and supply chain vulnerabilities further exacerbates the risks, making small and medium-sized businesses prime targets in the cyber threat landscape. |
Octo Tempest Group Threatens Physical Violence as Social Engineering Tactic
| The financially motivated English-speaking threat actors use advanced social engineering techniques, SIM swapping, and even threats of violence to breach targets. |  |
ExelaStealer: A New Low-Cost Cybercrime Weapon Emerges
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A new information stealer named ExelaStealer has become the latest entrant to an already crowded landscape filled with various off-the-shelf malware designed to capture sensitive data from compromised Windows systems. |
Vulnerability Scanning: How Often Should I Scan?
| The time between a vulnerability being discovered and hackers exploiting it is narrower than ever – just 12 days. So it makes sense that organizations are starting to recognize the importance of not leaving long gaps between their scans, and the term “continuous vulnerability scanning” is becoming more popular. |  |
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CIS Hardened Images are virtual machine (VM) images that are pre-configured to meet the robust security recommendations of the associated CIS Benchmark. They provide users with a secure, on-demand, and scalable computing environment. CIS Hardened Images are available on major cloud service provider marketplaces. |
Malvertisers Using Google Ads to Target Users Searching for Popular Software
| Details have emerged about a malvertising campaign that leverages Google Ads to direct users searching for popular software to fictitious landing pages and distribute next-stage payloads. |  |
Hands on Review: LayerX’s Enterprise Browser Security Extension
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The browser has become the main work interface in modern enterprises. It’s where employees create and interact with data, and how they access organizational and external SaaS and web apps. As a result, the browser is extensively targeted by adversaries. They seek to steal the data it stores and use it for malicious access to organizational SaaS apps or the hosting machine. Additionally, unintentional data leakage via the browser has become a critical concern for organizations as well. |
Vulnerability Vortex
CISA: ‘Submarine’ Backdoor Torpedoes Barracuda Email Security
| A China-nexus cyber-espionage campaign rages on with the fourth backdoor to surface in the wild that takes advantage of the CVE-2023-2868 zero-day security bug — with severe threat of lateral movement, CISA warns. |  |
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