The Hacker News - Cybersecurity News and Analysis

An amalgam of multiple state-sponsored threat groups from China may have been behind a string of targeted attacks against Russian federal executive authorities in 2020. The latest research, published by Singapore-headquartered company Group-IB, delves into a piece of computer virus called " Webdav-O " that was detected in the intrusions, with the cybersecurity firm observing similarities between the tool and that of popular Trojan called " BlueTraveller ," that's known to be connected to a Chinese threat group called TaskMasters and deployed in malicious activities with the aim of espionage and plundering confidential documents. "Chinese APTs are one of the most numerous and aggressive hacker communities," researchers Anastasia Tikhonova and Dmitry Kupin  said . "Hackers mostly target state agencies, industrial facilities, military contractors, and research institutes. The main objective is espionage: attackers gain access to confidential data

A threat actor presumed to be of Chinese origin has been linked to a series of 10 attacks targeting Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Canada, and the U.S. from January to July 2021 that involve the deployment of a remote access trojan (RAT) on infected systems, according to new research. The intrusions have been attributed to an advanced persistent threat named APT31 (FireEye), which is tracked by the cybersecurity community under the monikers Zirconium (Microsoft), Judgement Panda (CrowdStrike), and Bronze Vinewood (Secureworks). The group is a "China-nexus cyber espionage actor focused on obtaining information that can provide the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises with political, economic, and military advantages,"  according  to FireEye. Positive Technologies, in a  write-up  published Tuesday, revealed a new malware dropper that was used to facilitate the attacks, including the retrieval of next-stage encrypted payloads from a remote command-and-control server,

Cybersecurity researchers on Wednesday disclosed 14 vulnerabilities affecting a commonly-used TCP/IP stack used in millions of Operational Technology (OT) devices manufactured by no fewer than 200 vendors and deployed in manufacturing plants, power generation, water treatment, and critical infrastructure sectors. The shortcomings, collectively dubbed "INFRA:HALT," target NicheStack, potentially enabling an attacker to achieve remote code execution, denial of service, information leak, TCP spoofing, and even DNS cache poisoning. NicheStack (aka InterNiche stack) is a closed-source TCP/IP stack for embedded systems that is designed to provide internet connectivity industrial equipment, and is incorporated by major industrial automation vendors like Siemens, Emerson, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, Rockwell Automation, and Schneider Electric in their programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other products. "Attackers could disrupt a building's HVAC system or take

Three distinct clusters of malicious activities operating on behalf of Chinese state interests have staged a series of attacks to target networks belonging to at least five major telecommunications companies located in Southeast Asian countries since 2017. "The goal of the attackers behind these intrusions was to gain and maintain continuous access to telecommunication providers and to facilitate cyber espionage by collecting sensitive information, compromising high-profile business assets such as the billing servers that contain Call Detail Record (CDR) data, as well as key network components such as the Domain Controllers, Web Servers and Microsoft Exchange servers," Cybereason's Lior Rochberger, Tom Fakterman, Daniel Frank, and Assaf Dahan  revealed  in a technical analysis published Tuesday. The Boston-based cybersecurity firm linked the campaigns, collectively named "DeadRinger," to three different Chinese threat actors, namely  Gallium  (aka Soft Cell)

As cyber incidents increase in scope and impact, more and more organizations come to realize that outsourcing their defenses is the best practice—significantly increasing the Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) market opportunities. Until recently, IT integrators, VARs, and MSPs haven't participated in the growing and profitable MSSP market as it entailed massive investments in building an in-house skilled security team. However, this is beginning to change as a result of certain security vendors, like Cynet, that provide a purpose-built partner offering that enables IT integrators, VARs, and MSPs to provide managed security service with zero investment in hardware or personnel. Their offering includes a 24/7 SOC that trains and supports the partner's existing team and a security platform that consolidates and automates breach protection (including endpoint, user, and network security), making it simple to operate by any IT professional. To learn more about th

Cybersecurity researchers on Monday disclosed a set of nine vulnerabilities known as " PwnedPiper " that left a widely-used pneumatic tube system (PTS) vulnerable to critical attacks, including a possibility of complete takeover. The security weaknesses, disclosed by American cybersecurity firm Armis, impact the Translogic PTS system by Swisslog Healthcare, which is installed in about 80% of all major hospitals in North America and in no fewer than 3,000 hospitals worldwide. "These vulnerabilities can enable an unauthenticated attacker to take over Translogic PTS stations and essentially gain complete control over the PTS network of a target hospital," Armis researchers Ben Seri and Barak Hadad said. "This type of control could enable sophisticated and worrisome ransomware attacks, as well as allow attackers to leak sensitive hospital information." Pneumatic tube systems are internal logistics and transport solutions that are used to securely transpor

A new highly capable and persistent threat actor has been targeting major high-profile public and private entities in the U.S. as part of a series of targeted cyber intrusion attacks by exploiting internet-facing Microsoft Internet Information Services ( IIS ) servers to infiltrate their networks. Israeli cybersecurity firm Sygnia, which identified the campaign, is tracking the advanced, stealthy adversary under the moniker "Praying Mantis" or "TG2021." "TG1021 uses a custom-made malware framework, built around a common core, tailor-made for IIS servers. The toolset is completely volatile, reflectively loaded into an affected machine's memory and leaves little-to-no trace on infected targets," the researchers  said . "The threat actor also uses an additional stealthy backdoor and several post-exploitations modules to perform network reconnaissance, elevate privileges, and move laterally within networks."  Besides exhibiting capabilities