Recent News – Page 4

Hacker Requests For Wire Transfers Are Topping Email Scams

September 13, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are a major threat, costing business nearly three billion dollars a year.

This form of attack primarily targets the C-Suite in order to impersonate them.

In the world of BEC attacks, those that employ requests for wire transfers are almost devastatingly effective.

Asaf Cidon, the Vice President of Content Security at Barracuda Networks, explains why:

“Criminals use business email compromise attacks to obtain access to a business email account and imitate the owner’s identity, in order to defraud the company and its employees, customers, or partners. In most cases, scammers focus efforts on employees with access to company finances or payroll data and other personally identifiable information.”

The attack unfolds when the hacker, pretending to be a company CEO or other high-ranking official requests immediate payment, usually via wire transfer.

Again, per Asaf Cidon:

“The sense of urgency, a request for action, or a financial implication used in BEC schemes tricks targets into falling for the trap. For example, an accountant may receive a fraudulent email request for a wire transfer from the company CEO, which includes a spoofed version of the CEO’s email address and even the CEO’s own email signature.”

According to a 2016 report published by Trend Micro, a successful BEC attack nets the hacker an average of $140,000. Given how easy they are to pull off (and how low-tech), don’t expect this type of attack to show any signs of decline in the foreseeable future.

What makes BEC attacks even more troublesome is the fact that law enforcement officials believe that few attacks of this type are ever reported, and that the losses to business could be up to four times the figure we cited earlier.

Worst of all, these types of attacks appear to be increasing in their frequency. Unfortunately, C-Suite employees are notoriously resistant to basic security training, meaning that there are no easy solutions to this large and growing problem.

Joseph Martin

President & CEO
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New Versions Of Ransomware Continue To Wreak Havoc

September 12, 2018 by Joseph Martin

2017 was “The Year of Ransomware.” It saw an incredible number of ransomware attacks and infections, paired with a tremendous number of innovations.

Although 2018 hasn’t seen quite the same level of ransomware activity, it’s still a major threat with one company coming under attack about every ten minutes.

Although there haven’t been as many innovations so far this year, that doesn’t mean they’re not occurring, and some of the new ransomware strains are particularly nasty.

Of interest, this year has seen a rise in ‘Cryptojacking’, which is a variant of a classic ransomware attack where the malware mass encrypts files on the victim’s machine while simultaneously installing cryptocurrency mining software.

This should come as no surprise given the rise in popularity of cryptocurrency, but it does add a disturbing new wrinkle to ransomware attacks. Even after you get your files back, lurking in the background there is a rogue process that’s slowing your system and ultimately putting money into the bank accounts of the hackers.

Most recently, an Obama-themed cryptojacker has been making the rounds.

The ransomware itself is nothing out of the ordinary. It predictably locks your files, demands payment, and installs a Monero miner in the background.

Obama is not the first world leader to unwittingly become the face of ransomware. In 2016, Candidate Trump was featured in a malware strain that proved to be a work in progress. It would infect machines, but didn’t actually encrypt files. It’s unclear if a working version was ever deployed in the wild.

The Obama strain contains code fragments that indicate Chinese origin. There’s circumstantial evidence that leads some security researchers to believe it may be the work of a Chinese hacker known only as “Rocke,” but so far, there’s no definitive proof.

As things stand now, there’s no good defense against this most recent threat, save for continued vigilance.

Joseph Martin

Some Apple iPhone 8’s May Have A Manufacturer Defect

September 10, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Do you own an iPhone 8? If so, you may have problems. Apple has recently reported that a small percentage of iPhone 8s “contain logic boards with a manufacturing defect.

Affected devices may experience unexpected restarts, a frozen screen, or won’t turn on.”

The company has isolated the defect to phones manufactured between September 2017 to March 2018, in Hong Kong, India, Japan, China, New Zealand, Macau, and the United States.

To find out if you’ve got one of the impacted iPhone 8s, head to the company’s website and use the tool they’ve placed there, entering your phone’s serial number. If your phone is one of the defective devices, Apple will repair it free of charge for up to three years after the sale.

Note, however, that some types of damage may incur fees to repair, specifically in the instance of a cracked screen or similar.

Apple’s handling of the issue has so far been quite good. They were quick to acknowledge the mistake and isolate it to a very specific frame of time, and equally quick to create a checking tool. Their repair policy is generous, as is the impressive three-year window.

It’s unfortunate that the manufacturing error occurred. However, the reality is that many companies would not have been as forthcoming as Apple has been, nor as generous with their repair policy.

Kudos to Apple for their handling of the issue. If you’re considering buying a new iPhone, don’t let this hiccup change your mind. Although the company isn’t perfect, you’ll find few companies that can top Apple in terms of taking care of their customers. There’s a reason their customers are more like fans, and companies of all shapes and sizes would do well to emulate Apple as best they can.

Joseph Martin

Most Small Businesses Can’t Recover From Cyber Breaches

September 10, 2018 by Joseph Martin

A new study recently published by Sitchfast Technologies paints a grim picture of the threat landscape for small and medium-sized business. Their key finding? A staggering 60 percent of small businesses that suffer a data breach of any magnitude go out of business within six months. Worse, one business owner in three does not have a plan or safeguards in place to prevent a breach.

The single biggest weak link in the small business landscape is the fact that most employees who work for smaller companies are woefully uneducated about the dangers, how to identify them and how to avoid them. The study noted that among small business employees, more than a third (35 percent ) haven’t changed their passwords in over a year. In addition, 19 percent of small business employees share their passwords with colleagues, with a similar percentage using weak passwords based on personally identifiable information. Put those elements together, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

The authors of the report had this to say on the matter:

“Today’s cyber criminals employ a variety of complex attack methods to exploit business weaknesses and target employees with bad cyber hygiene, whether it’s the CEO or an intern, bypassing the basic security measures most companies have in place.

Until they recognize they are prime targets for hackers and adjust their security strategies, small businesses will continue to fall victim to rampant cyber attacks.”

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions, but the report clearly points to two areas where you can make immediate improvements:

Currently, 65 percent of small to medium sized businesses have never run a phishing email test.

Only 21 percent of small to medium sized businesses provide cybersecurity training to their employees.

Both of these are incredibly easy to remedy, and if you perform these two simple steps, you’ll be miles ahead of your peers.

Joseph Martin

Vulnerability Found In Major Manufacturers Of Android Phones

September 8, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Researchers operating out of the University of Florida, Stony Brook University and Samsung Research America have made a disturbing discovery. Millions of Android smartphones manufactured by eleven different OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) were found to be vulnerable to attack via AT Commands.

If you’re not sure what an “AT Command” is, you’re not alone. Part of the Hayes Command Set, ATtention Commands were developed in the early 1980s and designed to be transmitted via phone lines to issue commands to modems.

Most people aren’t even aware of the fact that their high-tech smartphones contain a basic modem within them, which allows the high-tech wonder to connect to the internet. While AT Commands have been standardized, many vendors have added custom AT Commands to their devices, and unfortunately, these commands can control a surprising variety of advanced features including the built-in camera and the touchscreen interface.

The AT Commands can be accessed via the phone’s USB interface. This means that a would-be attacker would have to gain physical access to the device, or place a malicious component inside a user’s charger, charging station, or USB dock.

Once a hacker is connected in this manner to the victim’s phone, he could use one of the AT Commands to steal data, unlock the screen, mimic touchscreen events, or even rewrite the phone’s firmware.

The research team has complied a database of phone models and firmware versions that are vulnerable to this type of attack. They have contacted all the vendors, and are continuing their testing.

Initially, the team tested AT Commands via the USB interface. Phase two of the research will test to see if those commands can be issued via WiFi or Bluetooth connections. The team has also published the Shell script they used in their original testing, available on GitHub.

So far, none of the OEMs contacted have released any information or given a timetable for a fix.

Joseph Martin

Security Issues Abound – Texas Voter Registration Records Leaked

September 7, 2018 by Joseph Martin

The great state of Texas has 15.2 million registered voters. Unfortunately, personal details belonging to nearly all of them (14.8 million) have been compromised, but don’t blame the state’s election officials.

This staggering breach was caused by the carelessness of a conservative-focused data firm, ironically named “The Data Trust.” They left their research file completely exposed and unprotected on a server that anyone could access with no password required. It’s hard to see how the exposure could have been more damaging or all-inclusive.

The Single, massive file contained the following details:

Voter name

Voter address

Gender

Voting history for past elections, including primaries and presidential elections

According to the independent New Zealand researcher who discovered it, who goes by the name of “Flash Gordon,” the file also contained indications of voter views on abortion, immigration, the Second Amendment, and whether or not the voter in question trusted Hillary Clinton.

Bill Evans, the VP of the security firm “One Identity,” had this to say about the incident:

“The idea of having a database like this sitting with no password is such an incredible lapse in judgement today. While we all know that keeping up with password best practices can be somewhat annoying – forgetting and resetting them in a broken cycle – it is inexcusable and maybe illegal to leave data that contains personal information like this completely unprotected.

It is a good reminder, however, and call to action for any organization that is storing sensitive data, that it is their responsibility to ensure security, as well as authentication to access it. There are four basic security measures that should be part and parcel of doing business today. Those include end-user education, multi-factor authentication, privileged-access management, and access governance to ensure only the right people have the right access to the right things at the right time.”

Indeed.

Joseph Martin

Hackers Now Targeting Point Of Sale Systems

September 6, 2018 by Joseph Martin

There’s a new threat to point of sale (POS) systems coming out of Russia, according to security researchers from Booz Allen Hamilton. The malware, which they’re calling “RtPOS” isn’t bleeding edge technology, and does not approach the level of sophistication of other recently discovered strains, but that doesn’t mean it should be taken lightly. These strains include RawPOS, MajikPOS, UDPOS, and Treasure hunter.

In its current incarnation, it has a limited feature set and is basically a RAM scrapper. Once deployed, it will watch a PC’s RAM looking for text patterns, which are saved to a local DAT file. Of interest, it doesn’t currently appear to have any sort of networking capability, so when the data is collected and stored, it has no means of actually porting it to a command and control server (yet).

There are two competing theories as to why this software is the way it is. One theory is that it’s simply a rough draft. A work in progress. Although relatively benign in its current incarnation, it would be quite easy for the authors to add enhancements to the code, and possibly to update the software remotely, turning this “nonthreatening” software into a true menace in the blink of an eye.

Another theory is that RtPOS is one part of a multi-part, much more subtle attack. The purpose of the software is simply to infect and collect data, leaving it to a separate process to exfiltrate the data at irregular intervals, which would be more difficult to detect, and unlikely to draw attention.

At present, there’s no clear indication which theory is correct, but both ideas are disturbing. As ever, vigilance is the key. Hardly a day goes by that researchers somewhere in the world don’t discover some new threat. This is but the latest.

Joseph Martin

Hackers Make More Money Than Is Spent On Cybersecurity

September 5, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Quick question – how much do the world’s cyber criminals make every sixty seconds?

If you guessed a quarter of a million dollars, you’d be wrong. If you doubled that value, you’d be wrong again.

According to research conducted by RiskIQ, cybercriminals are raking in a cool million dollars per minute, compared with businesses spending $171,233 per minute on security measures. It’s a lopsided battle, and businesses aren’t winning.

Some other interesting tidbits culled from the company’s research. Every sixty seconds:

Four new potentially vulnerable web components are discovered.

A new website appears running the CoinHive cryptocurrency mining script.

1.5 companies fall victim to a ransomware attack, with an average cost to the victimized company of $15,221.

In addition to that, RiskIQ discovered that a site running the CoinHive script was deleted every ten minutes, and that a new phishing domain appears about every five minutes.

Raef Meeuwisse, a security researcher and author, had this to say about the report and its findings:

“Cybercrime and cybersecurity co-exist in a constant cycle of innovation. As one particular criminal trend towards a particular technique increases, so the security functions create or strengthen the required defenses.

However, it is evident at both the level of personal and organizational cybersecurity that spending is unusually low. In fact, most of these cybercriminals are not going after the hard targets with great defenses, they are targeting the low hanging fruit – and there is still far too much of it.”

The simple truth is that until and unless we start taking cybersecurity more seriously, and until the aforementioned “low hanging fruit” ramps up spending to properly secure their systems, we can expect to see the number of cybercrimes continue to increase. Unfortunately, despite the crimewave, there doesn’t seem to be much motivation to do that.

Joseph Martin

High Frequency Audio Computer Monitors May Expose Screen Activity

September 4, 2018 by Joseph Martin

It may sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie, but recently, researchers have made a disturbing discovery. Using nothing more than an off-the-shelf microphone, it’s possible for an attacker to determine what content you’re viewing on your computer monitor.

The researchers tested a variety of LCD screens (with both LED and CCFL backlighting) and observed that the high-pitched noise made by the monitors changed as the content displayed on the screen changed.

The research team tested a variety of methods of recording audio data from the monitors in question, and found that they could capture sufficient data with a few methods. First, a smartphone positioned near the screen, second a compromised smart virtual assistant (like Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa), and third, using a parabolic microphone from up to ten meters distant.

Even more disturbing, the researchers discovered that an attacker could correctly identify the website a victim was looking at with up to 97 percent accuracy if the microphone was close to the monitor, and with 90.9 percent accuracy with microphones placed at some distance.

Worst of all, subtle changes in the pitch of your display screen make it possible for hackers to identify what specific characters are being displayed with an accuracy that ranged from 88 percent (more distant microphones) to 98 percent (microphones in close proximity to the monitor). This makes it entirely possible to glean passwords and other sensitive information.

Granted, this is an extremely exotic form of attack that requires a great deal of advance preparation by the attacker. Because of this, it’s unlikely that it will see widespread use anytime soon. Even so, it’s something that a careful and determined hacker could do right now using off the shelf technology, and there’s very little the victim could do to prevent it.

While we’re unlikely to see equipment manufacturers take the necessary steps to mask acoustic emanations, robust on-site physical security measures would make detection of this type of attack fairly easy.

Joseph Martin

Millions Of T-Mobile Customers Data May Have Been Leaked

September 4, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Telecommunications giant T-Mobile is the latest victim of a large-scale data breach, with personal data belonging to more than two million of its customers having been leaked. The exposed information included customer name, phone number, email address, billing zip code, account number and whether the account was pre-paid or post-paid.

As bad as that is, it could have been far worse. Fortunately, no financial information, passwords, or social security numbers were compromised.

According to the official statement released by T-Mobile, their security team shut down the “unauthorized capture of some information” on August 20th of this year. The statement did not provide specific details about how the hackers got into the company’s servers, and only provided an estimate of the total number of customer records impacted.

The statement read, in part:

“We take the security of your information very seriously and have a number of safeguards in place to protect your personal information from unauthorized access. We truly regret that this incident occurred and are so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.”

T-Mobile has reached out to law enforcement and has contacted all customers who were impacted by the breach.

Although no passwords were compromised, if you received a notification from the company that information about your account was compromised, it would be wise to change your password just to be safe. Be on guard against phishing attacks that may target you based on the information that was gleaned via the breach.

This is but the latest in a long and growing stream of high profile breaches this year, but it is by no means the largest. Earlier this year, for example, Car phone Warehouse suffered a breach that impacted all of its ~10 million customers. As ever, vigilance is the key.

Joseph Martin

Hacker Requests For Wire Transfers Are Topping Email Scams

New Versions Of Ransomware Continue To Wreak Havoc

Some Apple iPhone 8’s May Have A Manufacturer Defect

Most Small Businesses Can’t Recover From Cyber Breaches

Vulnerability Found In Major Manufacturers Of Android Phones

Security Issues Abound – Texas Voter Registration Records Leaked

Hackers Now Targeting Point Of Sale Systems

Hackers Make More Money Than Is Spent On Cybersecurity

High Frequency Audio Computer Monitors May Expose Screen Activity

Millions Of T-Mobile Customers Data May Have Been Leaked

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