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Russian security vendor Kaspersky has said it's exiting the U.S. market nearly a month after the Commerce Department announced a ban on the sale of its software in the country citing a national security risk. News of the closure was first reported by journalist Kim Zetter. The company is expected to wind down its U.S. operations on July 20, 2024, the same day the ban comes into effect. It's also expected to lay off less than 50 employees in the U.S. "The company has carefully examined and evaluated the impact of the U.S. legal requirements and made this sad and difficult decision as business opportunities in the country are no longer viable," the company said in a statement. In late June 2024, the Commerce Department said it was enforcing a ban after what it said was an "extremely thorough investigation." The company was also added to the Entity List, preventing U.S. enterprises from conducting business with it. It's currently not known what was

The nascent malware known as SSLoad is being delivered by means of a previously undocumented loader called PhantomLoader, according to findings from cybersecurity firm Intezer. "The loader is added to a legitimate DLL, usually EDR or AV products, by binary patching the file and employing self-modifying techniques to evade detection," security researchers Nicole Fishbein and Ryan Robinson said in a report published this week. SSLoad, likely offered to other threat actors under a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) model owing to its different delivery methods, infiltrates systems through phishing emails, conducts reconnaissance, and pushes additional types of malware down to victims. Prior reporting from Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 and Securonix has revealed the use of SSLoad to deploy Cobalt Strike, a legitimate adversary simulation software often used for post-exploitation purposes. The malware has been detected since April 2024. The attack chains typically involve the use o

As a vCISO, you are responsible for your client's cybersecurity strategy and risk governance. This incorporates multiple disciplines, from research to execution to reporting. Recently, we published a comprehensive playbook for vCISOs, "Your First 100 Days as a vCISO – 5 Steps to Success" , which covers all the phases entailed in launching a successful vCISO engagement, along with recommended actions to take, and step-by-step examples.  Following the success of the playbook and the requests that have come in from the MSP/MSSP community, we decided to drill down into specific parts of vCISO reporting and provide more color and examples. In this article, we focus on how to create compelling narratives within a report, which has a significant impact on the overall MSP/MSSP value proposition.  This article brings the highlights of a recent guided workshop we held, covering what makes a successful report and how it can be used to enhance engagement with your cyber security clients.

Threat actors have been observed making use of fake websites masquerading as legitimate antivirus solutions from Avast, Bitdefender, and Malwarebytes to propagate malware capable of stealing sensitive information from Android and Windows devices. "Hosting malicious software through sites which look legitimate is predatory to general consumers, especially those who look to protect their devices from cyber attacks," Trellix security researcher Gurumoorthi Ramanathan  said . The list of websites is below - avast-securedownload[.]com, which is used to deliver the  SpyNote trojan  in the form of an Android package file ("Avast.apk") that, once installed, requests for intrusive permissions to read SMS messages and call logs, install and delete apps, take screenshot, track location, and even mine cryptocurrency bitdefender-app[.]com, which is used to deliver a ZIP archive file ("setup-win-x86-x64.exe.zip") that deploys the  Lumma  information stealer malw

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new cryptojacking campaign that employs vulnerable drivers to disable known security solutions (EDRs) and thwart detection in what's called a Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver ( BYOVD ) attack. Elastic Security Labs is tracking the campaign under the name REF4578 and the primary payload as GHOSTENGINE. Previous research from Chinese cybersecurity firm Antiy Labs has codenamed the activity as HIDDEN SHOVEL. "GHOSTENGINE leverages vulnerable drivers to terminate and delete known EDR agents that would likely interfere with the deployed and well-known coin miner," Elastic researchers Salim Bitam, Samir Bousseaden, Terrance DeJesus, and Andrew Pease said . "This campaign involved an uncommon amount of complexity to ensure both the installation and persistence of the XMRig miner." It all starts with an executable file ("Tiworker.exe"), which is used to run a PowerShell script that retrieves an obfuscated Power

Follow this real-life network attack simulation, covering 6 steps from Initial Access to Data Exfiltration. See how attackers remain undetected with the simplest tools and why you need multiple choke points in your defense strategy. Surprisingly, most network attacks are not exceptionally sophisticated, technologically advanced, or reliant on zero-day tools that exploit edge-case vulnerabilities. Instead, they often use commonly available tools and exploit multiple vulnerability points. By simulating a real-world network attack, security teams can test their detection systems, ensure they have multiple choke points in place, and demonstrate the value of networking security to leadership. In this article, we demonstrate a real-life attack that could easily occur in many systems. The attack simulation was developed based on the MITRE ATT&CK framework, Atomic Red Team,  Cato Networks ' experience in the field, and public threat intel. In the end, we explain why a holistic secur

A new malware campaign has been exploiting the updating mechanism of the eScan antivirus software to distribute backdoors and cryptocurrency miners like XMRig through a long-standing threat codenamed GuptiMiner targeting large corporate networks. Cybersecurity firm Avast said the activity is the work of a threat actor with possible connections to a North Korean hacking group dubbed  Kimsuky , which is also known as Black Banshee, Emerald Sleet, and TA427. "GuptiMiner is a highly sophisticated threat that uses an interesting infection chain along with a couple of techniques that include performing DNS requests to the attacker's DNS servers, performing sideloading, extracting payloads from innocent-looking images, signing its payloads with a custom trusted root anchor certification authority, among others," Avast  said . The intricate and elaborate infection chain, at its core, leverages a security shortcoming in the update mechanism of Indian antivirus vendor eScan to

A new Google malvertising campaign is leveraging a cluster of domains mimicking a legitimate IP scanner software to deliver a previously unknown backdoor dubbed  MadMxShell . "The threat actor registered multiple look-alike domains using a typosquatting technique and leveraged Google Ads to push these domains to the top of search engine results targeting specific search keywords, thereby luring victims to visit these sites," Zscaler ThreatLabz researchers Roy Tay and Sudeep Singh  said . As many as 45 domains are said to have been registered between November 2023 and March 2024, with the sites masquerading as port scanning and IT management software such as Advanced IP Scanner, Angry IP Scanner, IP scanner PRTG, and ManageEngine. While this is  not the first time  threat actors are  banking  on  malvertising techniques  to serve malware via lookalike sites, the development marks the first time the delivery vehicle is being used to propagate a sophisticated Windows backdoo

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new Raspberry Robin campaign wave that has been propagating the malware through malicious Windows Script Files ( WSFs ) since March 2024. "Historically, Raspberry Robin was known to spread through removable media like USB drives, but over time its distributors have experimented with other initial infection vectors," HP Wolf Security researcher Patrick Schläpfer  said  in a report shared with The Hacker News. Raspberry Robin, also called QNAP worm, was  first spotted  in September 2021 that has since  evolved into a downloader  for various other payloads in recent years, such as SocGholish, Cobalt Strike, IcedID, BumbleBee, and TrueBot, and also serving as a precursor for ransomware. While the malware was initially distributed by means of USB devices containing LNK files that retrieved the payload from a compromised QNAP device, it has since  adopted other methods  such as social engineering and malvertising. It's attribute

As SaaS applications dominate the business landscape, organizations need optimized network speed and robust security measures. Many of them have been turning to SASE, a product category that offers cloud-based network protection while enhancing network infrastructure performance. However, a new report: "Better Together: SASE and Enterprise Browser Extension for the SaaS-First Enterprise" ( Download here ), challenges SASE's ability to deliver comprehensive security against web-borne cyber threats on its own. From phishing attacks to malicious extensions and account takeovers, traditional network traffic analysis and security falls short. The report sheds light on these limitations and introduces the role of secure browser extensions as an essential component in a comprehensive security strategy. SASE Advantages and Limitations SASE takes on a dual role in addressing both infrastructure and security. However, while SASE offers clear advantages in security, it may not e

A new phishing campaign has been observed leveraging a novel loader malware to deliver an information stealer and keylogger called  Agent Tesla . Trustwave SpiderLabs said it identified a phishing email bearing this attack chain on March 8, 2024. The message masquerades as a bank payment notification, urging the user to open an archive file attachment. The archive ("Bank Handlowy w Warszawie - dowód wpłaty_pdf.tar.gz") conceals a malicious loader that activates the procedure to deploy Agent Tesla on the compromised host. "This loader then used obfuscation to evade detection and leveraged polymorphic behavior with complex decryption methods," security researcher Bernard Bautista  said  in a Tuesday analysis. "The loader also exhibited the capability to bypass antivirus defenses and retrieved its payload using specific URLs and user agents leveraging proxies to further obfuscate traffic." The tactic of embedding malware within seemingly benign files is

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an updated variant of a stealer and malware loader called  BunnyLoader  that modularizes its various functions as well as allow it to evade detection. "BunnyLoader is dynamically developing malware with the capability to steal information, credentials and cryptocurrency, as well as deliver additional malware to its victims," Palo Alto Networks Unit 42  said  in a report published last week. The new version, dubbed BunnyLoader 3.0, was announced by its developer named Player (or Player_Bunny) on February 11, 2024, with rewritten modules for data theft, reduced payload size, and enhanced keylogging capabilities. BunnyLoader was  first documented  by Zscaler ThreatLabz in September 2023, describing it as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) designed to harvest credentials and facilitate cryptocurrency theft. It was initially offered on a subscription basis for $250 per month. The malware has since undergone frequent updates that are aimed

Cybersecurity researchers have detected in the wild yet another variant of the Phobos ransomware family known as  Faust . Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, which detailed the latest iteration of the ransomware, said it's being propagated by means of an infection that delivers a Microsoft Excel document (.XLAM) containing a VBA script. "The attackers utilized the Gitea service to store several files encoded in Base64, each carrying a malicious binary," security researcher Cara Lin  said  in a technical report published last week. "When these files are injected into a system's memory, they initiate a file encryption attack." Faust is the latest addition to several ransomware variants from the Phobos family, including Eking, Eight, Elbie, Devos, and 8Base. It's worth noting that Faust was  previously documented  by Cisco Talos in November 2023. The cybersecurity firm described the variant as active since 2022 and "does not target specific industries or re

A new Go-based malware loader called  CherryLoader  has been discovered by threat hunters in the wild to deliver additional payloads onto compromised hosts for follow-on exploitation. Arctic Wolf Labs, which discovered the new attack tool in two recent intrusions, said the loader's icon and name masquerades as the legitimate CherryTree note-taking application to dupe potential victims into installing it. "CherryLoader was used to drop one of two privilege escalation tools,  PrintSpoofer  or  JuicyPotatoNG , which would then run a batch file to establish persistence on the victim device," researchers Hady Azzam, Christopher Prest, and Steven Campbell  said . In another novel twist, CherryLoader also packs modularized features that allow the threat actor to swap exploits without recompiling code. It's currently not known how the loader is distributed, but the attack chains examined by the cybersecurity firm show that CherryLoader ("cherrytree.exe") and i

Cybersecurity researchers have identified a "lightweight method" called  iShutdown  for reliably identifying signs of spyware on Apple iOS devices, including notorious threats like NSO Group's  Pegasus , QuaDream's  Reign , and Intellexa's  Predator .  Kaspersky, which analyzed a set of iPhones that were compromised with Pegasus, said the infections left traces in a file named "Shutdown.log," a text-based system log file available on all iOS devices and which records every reboot event alongside its environment characteristics. "Compared to more time-consuming acquisition methods like forensic device imaging or a full iOS backup, retrieving the Shutdown.log file is rather straightforward," security researcher Maher Yamout  said . "The log file is stored in a sysdiagnose (sysdiag) archive." The Russian cybersecurity firm said it identified entries in the log file that recorded instances where "sticky" processes, such as

A new Mirai-based botnet called  NoaBot  is being used by threat actors as part of a crypto mining campaign since the beginning of 2023. "The capabilities of the new botnet, NoaBot, include a wormable self-spreader and an SSH key backdoor to download and execute additional binaries or spread itself to new victims," Akamai security researcher Stiv Kupchik said in a report shared with The Hacker News. Mirai , which had its source code leaked in 2016, has been the progenitor of a number of botnets, the most recent being  InfectedSlurs , which is capable of mounting distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. There are indications that NoaBot could be linked to another botnet campaign involving a Rust-based malware family known as  P2PInfect , which recently received an update to target routers and IoT devices. This is based on the fact that threat actors have also experimented with dropping P2PInfect in place of NoaBot in recent attacks targeting SSH servers, indicating likely at