Security Boulevard

What is the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA)? The Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA) is a state law created to protect the privacy of Delaware residents by regulating the collection, use, storage, and sharing of personal data by businesses. Designed to keep pace with modern data privacy standards, the DPDPA provides individuals with […]

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Authors/Presenters: Aaron "dyn" Grattafiori, Ivan Evtimov, Joanna Bitton, Maya Pavlova

Our sincere appreciation to DEF CON, and the Presenters/Authors for publishing their erudite DEF CON 32 content. Originating from the conference’s events located at the Las Vegas Convention Center; and via the organizations YouTube channel.

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As CEO, I couldn’t be more proud of the entire HYAS team. Because of their hard work, and dedication to protecting the industry from cyber threats, our company was just recognized with another full sweep of awards from Cyber Defense Magazine including:

1. Best Product: Critical Infrastructure Protection
2. Best Solution: Protective DNS
3. Best Product: Security Investigation Platform
4. Hot Company: Threat Actor Infrastructure Mapping
5. Market Leader: Threat Detection, Incident Response, Hunting and Triage Platform
6. Cutting Edge: Threat Intelligence

First and foremost, a big thank you to Cyber Defense Magazine for the recognition. It’s an honor and privilege to be acknowledged for our innovation and focus, and recognized as the experts in infrastructure intelligence, as well as the solutions we deliver around the world based on that expertise.  

But let’s take a closer look at each of these recognitions, why HYAS earned them, and what we’re doing around the world to protect not only our customers, but improve the entire cybersecurity industry with the awarded solutions.

Threat Intelligence and Investigation

Looking at the four covering threat intelligence and investigations, it reminded me of a comment that was made to me, quite recently actually, by the vCISO for a US-based MSSP and long-time client:

"I have a ton of tools. But none of them do what HYAS does. You are the glue that connects all other intel tools.”

Infrastructure, related IOCs, and the intelligence around an adversary’s use of them are at the heart of all security, fraud, and intel investigations. Criminals must create and establish infrastructure for command-and-control before launching their attacks. Various related IOCs help either pinpoint that infrastructure or otherwise identify various aspects of an attack, from how and where to even potentially when and who, as well as which direction to go in for further investigation or action.

Every company needs its focus, a central thesis that makes it and its intellectual property unique and different from everyone else’s. For HYAS it’s our focus on infrastructure and IOC intelligence. HYAS believes that understanding adversary infrastructure, its creation and evolution, and how attackers weaponize and utilize it, is the first and necessary step to understanding and ultimately preventing cyber criminal activity. As such, the HYAS Adversary Infrastructure Platform is the attacker's Achilles heel. It enables key infrastructure intelligence and insights focused on “VRA” or Verdicts, Related Infrastructure, and Actor Attribution; this ultimately powers HYAS Insight, the investigation solution that won all of the awards.  Analysts around the world, across different verticals and organizations, utilize it to answer the hard questions they can’t answer anywhere else – as a Director at a Financial Services company said to me, “HYAS provides us with the critical visibility, intelligence, and answers that we can't get anywhere else.”  Cutting Edge and Market Leader indeed.

Protective DNS and Protection of Critical Infrastructure

But let’s not forget the other two–Best Product Critical Infrastructure Protection and Best Solution Protective DNS. There are lots of other companies that claim product solutions in these categories, some of which are significantly larger in size and resources than HYAS. So, what distinguished HYAS from the rest, leading to these award wins?

Ultimately it came down to the same reason that HYAS won so many awards for threat intelligence. The Achilles heel for cyber criminals is their reliance on adversary infrastructure. As the expert in infrastructure intelligence, as well as the related IOCs that go with it, HYAS is able to defend organizations better than anyone. Whereas most other companies in these categories protect their clients via “hope”–they hope that they can discover what is good and bad, and update their allow and deny lists, before their clients are impacted and affected–HYAS delivers proven, tested, accurate knowledge in advance of the attack. That focus on “VRA” enables HYAS to know what is going to be used as nefarious adversary infrastructure before it gets weaponized and deployed. That unique infrastructure intelligence is how HYAS delivers better accuracy and correctness than anyone else, as proven through independent testing by AV-TEST, and why critical infrastructure providers and leading organizations around the world utilize HYAS Protect as a key component in their security stack.  

Adapting to the Ever-Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape

In a world where AI is rapidly improving attackers’ efficacy, and criminals are continually finding new techniques to evade detection and penetrate organizations, security practitioners need to augment their approach to not only proactively protect themselves against what’s going to happen, but fundamentally transform their approach to resilience and threat anticipation. Security professionals should have the ability to go to sleep at night with the confidence that if something nefarious occurs, it will be rapidly detected and stopped. Protective DNS is becoming a “must have” capability in this brave new world, whether part of a zero-trust model, for overall cyber resiliency, or simply as increased intelligence to bolster the existing security stack. HYAS Protect is currently deployed on four different continents, protecting various verticals across CISA’s critical infrastructure sectors, and we’re thrilled to be recognized by Cyber Defense Magazine, not just for the innovation, but for the good we’re doing around the world with it.

We Don’t Plan to Fail, We Fail to Plan

As we look to put a wrap on 2024, there are three major questions you should ask yourself:  How confident are you in your current security posture and your ability to proactively address tomorrow’s unknown threat? What are your biggest concerns heading into 2025? And how can HYAS support you with some award-winning solutions in addressing these challenges?

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A special message from Rob Thomas, CEO of Team Cymru, thanking our Community for their efforts and dedication to joining our Mission to...

The post Celebrating a Milestone – Over 1.5 Billion Daily Queries on Our IP to ASN Mapping Service appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Authors/Presenters: Jacob Shams

Our sincere appreciation to [DEF CON][1], and the Presenters/Authors for publishing their erudite [DEF CON 32][2] content. Originating from the conference’s events located at the [Las Vegas Convention Center][3]; and via the organizations [YouTube][4] channel.

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via the respected Software Engineering expertise of Mikkel Noe-Nygaard and the lauded Software Engineering / Enterprise Agile Coaching work of Luxshan Ratnaravi at Comic Agilé!

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Authors/Presenters: S1nn3r

Our sincere appreciation to DEF CON, and the Presenters/Authors for publishing their erudite DEF CON 32 content. Originating from the conference’s events located at the Las Vegas Convention Center; and via the organizations YouTube channel.

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The post DEF CON 32 – Smishing Smackdown: Unraveling the Threads of USPS Smishing and Fighting Back appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Oh, the holidays! A time for cheer, a time for joy, a time for ... a whole lot of shopping. As gift lists grow, shoppers are hitting the internet in search of the most popular items, hoping to score the perfect deal along the way. 

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At AI Summit Vancouver, experts explored AI ethics, security practices, and balancing innovation with a responsibility to shape a safer AI-empowered future.

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CISA is warning about a spear-phishing campaign that spreads malicious RDP files. Plus, OWASP is offering guidance about deepfakes and AI security. Meanwhile, cybercriminals have amplified their use of malware for fake software-update attacks. And get the latest on CISA’s international plan, Interpol’s cyber crackdown and ransomware trends.

Dive into six things that are top of mind for the week ending Nov. 8.

1 - CISA: Beware of nasty spear-phishing campaign

Proactively restrict outbound remote-desktop protocol (RDP) connections. Block transmission of RDP files via email. Prevent RDP file execution.

Those are three security measures cyber teams should proactively take in response to an ongoing and “large scale” email spear-phishing campaign targeting victims with malicious RDP files, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

A foreign threat actor is carrying out the campaign. Several vertical sectors, including government and IT, are being targeted.

“Once access has been gained, the threat actor may pursue additional activity, such as deploying malicious code to achieve persistent access to the target’s network,” CISA’s alert reads.
 

Other CISA recommendations include:

• Adopt phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as FIDO tokens, and try to avoid SMS-based MFA
• Educate users on how to spot suspicious emails
• Hunt for malicious activity in your network looking for indicators of compromise (IoCs) and tactics, techniques and procedures

Although CISA didn’t name the hacker group responsible for this campaign, its alert includes links to related articles from Microsoft and AWS that identify it as Midnight Blizzard. Also known as APT29, this group is affiliated with Russia’s government.

To get more details, check out the CISA alert “Foreign Threat Actor Conducting Large-Scale Spear-Phishing Campaign with RDP Attachments.”

For more information about securing RDP tools:

• “Commonly Exploited Protocols: Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)” (Center for Internet Security)
• “What is remote desktop protocol (RDP)?” (TechTarget)
• “Wondering Whether RDP IS Secure? Here's a Guide to Remote Desktop Protocol” (AllBusiness)
• “Why remote desktop tools are facing an onslaught of cyber threats” (ITPro)
• “'Midnight Blizzard' Targets Networks With Signed RDP Files” (Dark Reading)

2 - OWASP issues AI security resources

How should your organization respond to deepfakes? What’s the right way of establishing a center of excellence for AI security in your organization? Where can you find a comprehensive guide of tools to secure generative AI applications?

These questions are addressed in a new set of resources for AI security from the Open Worldwide Application Security Project’s OWASP Top 10 for LLM Application Security Project. 

The new resources are meant to help organizations securely adopt, develop and deploy LLM and generative AI systems and applications “with a comprehensive strategy encompassing governance, collaboration and practical tools,” OWASP said in a statement.

These are the new resources:

• “The Guide for Preparing and Responding to Deepfake Events,” which unpacks four types of deepfake schemes – financial fraud, job interview fraud, social engineering and misinformation – and offers guidance about each one in these areas:
  • preparation
  • detection and analysis
  • containment eradication and recovery
  • post-incident activity
• “The LLM and GenAI Center of Excellence Guide,” which aims to help CISOs and fellow organization leaders create a center of excellence for generative AI security that facilitates collaboration among various teams, including security, legal, data science and operations, so they can develop:
  • Generative AI security policies
  • Risk assessment and management processes
  • Training and awareness
  • Research and development
• “The AI Security Solution Landscape Guide,” which offers security teams a comprehensive catalog of open source and commercial tools for securing LLMs and generative AI applications.

To get more details, read OWASP’s announcement “OWASP Dramatically Expands GenAI Security Guidance.”

For more information about protecting your organization against deepfakes:

• “How to prevent deepfakes in the era of generative AI” (TechTarget)
• “Deepfake scams escalate, hitting more than half of businesses” (Cybersecurity Dive)
• “The AI Threat: Deepfake or Deep Fake? Unraveling the True Security Risks” (SecurityWeek)
• “How deepfakes threaten biometric security controls” (TechTarget)
• “Deepfakes break through as business threat” (CSO)

3 - Fake update variants dominate list of top malware in Q3

Hackers are doubling down on fake software-update attacks.

That’s the main takeaway from the Center for Internet Security’s list of the 10 most prevalent malware used during the third quarter.

Malware variants used to carry out fake browser-update attacks took the top four spots on the list: SocGholish, LandUpdate808, ClearFake and ZPHP. Collectively, they accounted for 77% of the quarter’s malware infections. It's the first time LandUpdate808 and ClearFake appear on this quarterly list.

(Source: “Top 10 Malware Q3 2024”, Center for Internet Security, October 2024)

In a fake software-update attack, a victim gets duped into installing a legitimate-looking update for, say, their preferred browser, that instead infects their computers with malware.

Here’s the full list, in descending order:

• SocGholish, a downloader distributed through malicious websites that tricks users into downloading it by offering fake software updates 
• LandUpdate808, a JavaScript downloader distributed through malicious websites via fake browser updates
• ClearFake, another JavaScript downloader used for fake browser-update attacks
• ZPHP, another JavaScript downloader used for fake software-update attacks
• Agent Tesla, a remote access trojan (RAT) that captures credentials, keystrokes and screenshots
• CoinMiner, a cryptocurrency miner that spreads using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
• Arechclient2, also known as SectopRAT, is a .NET RAT whose capabilities include multiple stealth functions
• Mirai, a malware botnet that compromises IoT devices to launch DDoS attacks
• NanoCore, a RAT that spreads via malspam as a malicious Excel spreadsheet
• Lumma Stealer, an infostealer used to swipe personally identifiable information (PII), credentials, cookies and banking information

To get more information, the CIS blog “Top 10 Malware Q3 2024” offers details, context and indicators of compromise for each malware strain.

For details on fake update attacks:

• “Fake browser updates spread updated WarmCookie malware” (BleepingComputer)
• “Beware: Fake Browser Updates Deliver BitRAT and Lumma Stealer Malware” (The Hacker News)
• “Hackers Use Fake Browser Updates for AMOS Malware Attacks Targeting Mac Users” (MSSP Alert)
• “Malware crooks find an in with fake browser updates, in case real ones weren't bad enough” (The Register)
• “Fake Google Chrome errors trick you into running malicious PowerShell scripts” (BleepingComputer)

VIDEO

Fake Chrome Update Malware (The PC Security Channel)

4 - CISA’s first international plan unveiled

CISA has released its first-ever international plan, which outlines a strategy for boosting the agency’s collaboration with cybersecurity agencies from other countries.

Aligning cybersecurity efforts and goals with international partners is critical for tackling cyberthreats in the U.S. and abroad, according to the agency.

The three core pillars of CISA’s “2025 - 2026 International Strategic Plan” are:

• Help make more resilient other countries’ assets, systems and networks that impact U.S. critical infrastructure
• Boost the integrated cyber defenses of the U.S. and its international partners against their shared global cyberthreats
• Unify the coordination of international activities to strengthen cyberdefenses collectively

The plan will allow CISA to “reduce risk to the globally interconnected and interdependent cyber and physical infrastructure that Americans rely on every day,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.

5 - Interpol hits phishers, ransomware gangs, info stealers

Interpol and its partners took down 22,000 malicious IP addresses and seized thousands of servers, laptops, and mobile phones used by cybercriminals to conduct phishing scams, deploy ransomware and steal information.

The four-month global operation, titled Synergia II and announced this week, involved law enforcement agencies and private-sector partners from 95 countries and netted 41 arrests.

“Together, we’ve not only dismantled malicious infrastructure but also prevented hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey to cybercrime,” Neal Jetton, Director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate, said in a statement.

In Hong Kong, more than 1,000 servers were taken offline, while authorities in Macau, China took another 291 servers offline. Meanwhile, in Estonia, authorities seized 80GB of server data, which is now being analyzed for links to phishing and banking malware.

For more information about global cybercrime trends:

• “AI-Powered Cybercrime Cartels on the Rise in Asia” (Dark Reading)
• “AI Now a Staple in Phishing Kits Sold to Hackers” (MSSP Alert)
• “The Business of Cybercrime Explodes” (BankDirector)
• “Nation state actors increasingly hide behind cybercriminal tactics and malware” (CSO)

6 - IST: Ransomware attacks surged in 2023

Ransomware gangs went into hyperdrive last year, increasing their attacks by 73% compared with 2022, according to the non-profit think tank Institute for Security and Technology (IST).

The IST attributes the sharp increase in attacks to a shift by ransomware groups to “big game hunting” – going after prominent, large organizations with deep pockets. 

“Available evidence suggests that government and industry actions taken in 2023 were not enough to significantly reduce the profitability of the ransomware model,” reads an IST blog.

Global Ransomware Incidents in 2023

Another takeaway: The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model continued to prove extremely profitable in 2023, and it injected dynamism into the ransomware ecosystem. 

The RaaS model prompted ransomware groups “to shift allegiances, form new groups, or iterate existing variants,” the IST blog reads.

The industry sector that ransomware groups hit the hardest was construction, followed by hospitals and healthcare, and by IT services and consulting. Financial services and law offices rounded out the top five.

To learn more about ransomware trends:

• “Ransomware Is ‘More Brutal’ Than Ever in 2024” (Wired)
• “Ransomware on track for record profits, even as fewer victims pay” (SC Magazine)
• “How Can I Protect Against Ransomware?” (CISA)
• “How to prevent ransomware in 6 steps” (TechTarget)
• “Steps to Help Prevent & Limit the Impact of Ransomware” (Center for Internet Security)

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Insight #1:  Time for a new SIEM? Make it ADR-compatible

When evaluating modern security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, prioritize those with robust integrations for Application Detection and Response (ADR). This ensures comprehensive security coverage, faster incident response and reduced complexity by combining the strengths of both SIEM and ADR.

 

Insight #2: Don’t blindly trust automatic updates for critical infrastructure

To mitigate the risks of automatic updates in critical infrastructure, organizations should demand greater transparency from vendors regarding update content and potential impacts. They should also implement robust testing procedures in staging environments before deploying updates to production systems.

  Insight #3: Where’s your sense of humanity?

To improve cybersecurity posture, organizations should prioritize human-centered security design by understanding user behaviors, providing tailored security awareness training, and designing secure systems that are user-friendly and aligned with human workflows.

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CWEs and CVEs have similarities and differences. Understanding both can help you keep your organization secure. Staying ahead of vulnerabilities is critical for any cybersecurity pro tasked with protecting an organization’s assets and data in a constantly shifting threat landscape. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system and the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) are...

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The Open Source Initiative has published (news article here) its definition of “open source AI,” and it’s terrible. It allows for secret training data and mechanisms. It allows for development to be done in secret. Since for a neural network, the training data is the source code—it’s how the model gets programmed—the definition makes no sense.

And it’s confusing; most “open source” AI models—like LLAMA—are open source in name only. But the OSI seems to have been co-opted by industry players that want both corporate secrecy and the “open source” label. (Here’s one ...

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How observability empowers security and explore the continuous monitoring, automated response mechanisms and deep insights it provides to effectively address threats in real time.

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Cyber resilience is all about how well an organization can withstand attacks and operate successfully, even while navigating cybersecurity incidents.

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The chief information security officer (CISO) role has changed dramatically from just a few short years ago. Once confined to technical security, CISOs have emerged as key strategic partners in the C-suite.

The post The CISO Evolution: From Tactical Defender to Strategic Business Partner appeared first on Security Boulevard.

I had a tremendous time at the InCyber Montreal forum. The speakers, panels, fellow practitioners, and events were outstanding!

I bumped into Dan Lohrmann and Nancy Rainosek before their panel with Sue McCauley on CISO challenges. We had some very interesting discussions throughout the day. Always great to hang out with Dan and Nancy.

Then it was my turn on a panel, led by Nataliya Khylenko, discussing how to strike a balance when protecting data in the age of AI. Fellow panelists Sandra Estok, Tania Tanic, and Brandon Pugh were brilliant in providing diverse and relevant perspectives.

By the end of the day, I was able to spend some quality time with Diane M Janosek, Christophe Foulon, and Evgeniy Kharam.

One of my favorite talks was from the passionate Sumona Banerji, who discussed the evolving risks of child online grooming and victimization.

I also caught glimpses of Alexa Charles who leads the coordination of this massive event and keeps all us speakers happy! She is a true superstar!

The Gala Cocktail was spectacular. A local mariachi band, not what I expected in Montreal Canada, played lively tunes and the discussions were flowing among the cybersecurity professionals!

Last but not least Vincent Riou and Shigeru Kitamura, former National Security Advisor of Japan, announced an expansion of the InCyber events to include San Antonio and Japan for 2025!

I am looking forward to both next year!

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Over the past few years, businesses have rapidly expanded their digital infrastructure to accommodate distributed workforces and implemented a slew of modernization initiatives to bring them into the digital era. This has fueled a shift from on-premises data storage to […]

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