Multi-factor Authentication | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a "critical" security vulnerability in Microsoft's multi-factor authentication (MFA) implementation that allows an attacker to trivially sidestep the protection and gain unauthorized access to a victim's account. "The bypass was simple: it took around an hour to execute, required no user interaction and did not generate any notification or provide the account holder with any indication of trouble," Oasis Security researchers Elad Luz and Tal Hason said in a report shared with The Hacker News. Following responsible disclosure, the issue – codenamed AuthQuake – was addressed by Microsoft in October 2024. While the Windows maker supports various ways to authenticate users via MFA, one method involves entering a six-digit code from an authenticator app after supplying the credentials. Up to 10 consequent failed attempts are permitted for a single session. The vulnerability identified by Oasis, at its core, concerns...

Privileged accounts are well-known gateways for potential security threats. However, many organizations focus solely on managing privileged access—rather than securing the accounts and users entrusted with it. This emphasis is perhaps due to the persistent challenges of Privileged Access Management (PAM) deployments. Yet, as the threat landscape evolves, so must organizational priorities. To prevent trust from becoming a liability, the next step in securing privileged access must become a critical focus. In this blog, we explore why managing privileged access alone is insufficient and provide actionable insights to help you craft a security-first strategy for privileged access. The Evolution of PAM Privileged Access Management (PAM) has long been a cornerstone of securing an organization's privileged users and critical resources. PAM's primary goal is to control, monitor, and safeguard privileged accounts, which often have elevated access to critical systems and data. These accou...

Vulnerability Management (VM) has long been a cornerstone of organizational cybersecurity. Nearly as old as the discipline of cybersecurity itself, it aims to help organizations identify and address potential security issues before they become serious problems. Yet, in recent years, the limitations of this approach have become increasingly evident.  At its core, Vulnerability Management processes remain essential for identifying and addressing weaknesses. But as time marches on and attack avenues evolve, this approach is beginning to show its age. In a recent report, How to Grow Vulnerability Management into Exposure Management (Gartner, How to Grow Vulnerability Management Into Exposure Management, 8 November 2024, Mitchell Schneider Et Al.), we believe Gartner® addresses this point precisely and demonstrates how organizations can – and must – shift from a vulnerability-centric strategy to a broader Exposure Management (EM) framework. We feel it's more than a worthwhile read an...

Google's cloud division has announced that it will enforce mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users by the end of 2025 as part of its efforts to improve account security. "We will be implementing mandatory MFA for Google Cloud in a phased approach that will roll out to all users worldwide during 2025," Mayank Upadhyay, vice president of engineering and distinguished engineer at Google Cloud, said in a statement. "To ensure a smooth transition, Google Cloud will provide advance notification to enterprises and users along the way to help plan MFA deployments." The rollout process is scheduled to take place over three stages, starting from this month and until the end of 2025 - Phase 1 (Starting November 2024), when administrators will be provided information to prepare for the security upgrade  Phase 2 (Early 2025), when Google will begin requiring MFA for all new and existing Google Cloud users who sign in with a password Phase 3 (En...

Sometimes, it turns out that the answers we struggled so hard to find were sitting right in front of us for so long that we somehow overlooked them. When the Department of Homeland Security, through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in coordination with the FBI, issues a cybersecurity warning and prescribes specific action, it's a pretty good idea to at least read the joint advisory. In their advisory AA24-242A, DHS/CISA and the FBI told the entire cybercriminal-stopping world that to stop ransomware attacks, organizations needed to implement phishing-resistant MFA and ditch SMS-based OTP MFA.  The Best Advice I Never Followed  This year, we have experienced an astonishing surge in ransomware payments, with the average payment increasing by a staggering 500%. Per the "State of Ransomware 2024" report from cybersecurity leader Sophos, the average ransom has jumped by 5X reaching $2 million from $400,000 last year. Even more troubling, RISK &...

As technology adoption has shifted to be employee-led, just in time, and from any location or device, IT and security teams have found themselves contending with an ever-sprawling SaaS attack surface, much of which is often unknown or unmanaged. This greatly increases the risk of identity-based threats, and according to a recent report from CrowdStrike, 80% of breaches today use compromised identities, including cloud and SaaS credentials. Given this reality, IT security leaders need practical and effective  SaaS security solutions  designed to discover and manage their expanding SaaS footprint. Here are 5 key ways Nudge Security can help. Close the visibility gap Knowing the full scope of SaaS apps in use is the foundation of a modern IT governance program. Without an understanding of your entire SaaS footprint, you cannot say with confidence where your corporate IP is stored (Did someone sync their desktop to Dropbox?), you cannot make assumptions about your customer da...

Threat actors constantly change tactics to bypass cybersecurity measures, developing innovative methods to steal user credentials. Hybrid password attacks merge multiple cracking techniques to amplify their effectiveness. These combined approaches exploit the strengths of various methods, accelerating the password-cracking process.  In this post, we'll explore hybrid attacks — what they are and the most common types. We'll also discuss how your organization can defend against them. The blended approach of hybrid attacks Threat actors are always looking for better, more successful ways to crack passwords — and hybrid attacks allow them to combine two different hacking techniques into a single attack. By integrating attack methodologies, they can take advantage of the strengths associated with each method, increasing their chances of success. And hybrid attacks aren't just limited to cracking passwords. Cybercriminals regularly combine technical cyberattacks with other tactics, ...

The interest in passwordless authentication has increased due to the rise of hybrid work environments and widespread digitization. This has led to a greater need for reliable data security and user-friendly interfaces. Without these measures, organizations are at risk of experiencing data breaches, leaks, and significant financial losses.  While traditional password-based systems offer protection, they are susceptible to security threats like phishing and identity theft which drives the consideration of going passwordless. Additionally, users often have difficulty remembering multiple passwords, which further jeopardizes security as they tend to reuse the same one for accessing multiple business systems and devices. However, passwordless methods such as biometrics, smartcards, and multi-factor authentication prioritize both data security and user satisfaction. Nevertheless, not all passwordless authentication systems are the same and exhibit their own challenges.  The need...

Even as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, the number one attack vector for unauthorized access remains phished credentials ( Verizon DBIR, 2024 ). Solving this problem resolves over 80% of your corporate risk, and a solution is possible.  However, most tools available on the market today cannot offer a complete defense against this attack vector because they were architected to deliver probabilistic defenses. Learn more about the characteristics of Beyond Identity that allow us to deliver deterministic defenses.  The Challenge: Phishing and Credential Theft Phishing attacks trick users into revealing their credentials via deceptive sites or messages sent via SMS, email, and/or voice calls. Traditional defenses, such as end-user training or basic multi-factor authentication (MFA), lower the risk at best but cannot eliminate it. Users may still fall prey to scams, and stolen credentials can be exploited. Legacy MFA is a particularly urgent problem, given that ...

SonicWall has revealed that a recently patched critical security flaw impacting SonicOS may have come under active exploitation, making it essential that users apply the patches as soon as possible. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-40766, carries a CVSS score of 9.3 out of a maximum of 10. "An improper access control vulnerability has been identified in the SonicWall SonicOS management access and SSLVPN, potentially leading to unauthorized resource access and in specific conditions, causing the firewall to crash," SonicWall said in an updated advisory. With the latest development, the company has revealed that CVE-2024-40766 also impacts the firewall's SSLVPN feature. The issue has been addressed in the below versions - SOHO (Gen 5 Firewalls) - 5.9.2.14-13o Gen 6 Firewalls - 6.5.2.8-2n (for SM9800, NSsp 12400, and NSsp 12800) and 6.5.4.15.116n (for other Gen 6 Firewall appliances) The network security vendor has since updated the bulletin to reflect the p...

The North Korea-linked threat actor known as Kimsuky has been linked to a new set of attacks targeting university staff, researchers, and professors for intelligence gathering purposes. Cybersecurity firm Resilience said it identified the activity in late July 2024 after it observed an operation security (OPSEC) error made by the hackers. Kimsuky, also known by the names APT43, ARCHIPELAGO, Black Banshee, Emerald Sleet, Springtail, and Velvet Chollima, is just one of the myriad offensive cyber teams operating under the direction of the North Korean government and military. It's also very active, often leveraging spear-phishing campaigns as a starting point to deliver an ever-expanding set of custom tools to conduct reconnaissance, pilfer data, and establish persistent remote access to infected hosts. The attacks are also characterized by the use of compromised hosts as staging infrastructure to deploy an obfuscated version of the Green Dinosaur web shell, which is then used...

Identity-based threats on SaaS applications are a growing concern among security professionals, although few have the capabilities to detect and respond to them.  According to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), 90% of all cyberattacks begin with phishing, an identity-based threat. Throw in attacks that use stolen credentials, over-provisioned accounts, and insider threats, and it becomes quite clear that identity is a primary attack vector. To make matters worse, it's not just human accounts that are being targeted. Threat actors are also hijacking non-human identities, including service accounts and OAuth authorizations, and riding them deep into SaaS applications.  When threat actors get through the initial defenses, having a robust Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) system in place as an integral part of Identity Security can prevent massive breaches. Last month's Snowflake breach is a perfect example. Threat actors took advanta...

Last week, the notorious hacker gang, ShinyHunters, sent shockwaves across the globe by allegedly plundering 1.3 terabytes of data from 560 million users. This colossal breach, with a price tag of $500,000, could expose the personal information of a massive swath of a live event company's clientele, igniting a firestorm of concern and outrage.  Let's review the facts: two large organizations announced that they suffered a data breach, identifying unauthorized activity within a third-party cloud database environment. The accessed business records contained critical information on some employees, a large number of customers and other key business data.  The cloud connection  What might link these two breaches is the cloud data company Snowflake, which counts among its users both organizations. Snowflake did publish a warning with CISA , indicating a "recent increase in cyber threat activity targeting customer accounts on its cloud data platform." Snowflake issued a reco...

Tom works for a reputable financial institution. He has a long, complex password that would be near-impossible to guess. He's memorized it by heart, so he started using it for his social media accounts and on his personal devices too. Unbeknownst to Tom, one of these sites has had its password database compromised by hackers and put it up for sale on the dark web. Now threat actors are working hard to link these leaked credentials back to real-life individuals and their places of work. Before long, a threat actor will use Tom's legitimate email account to send a spear-phishing link to his CEO. This is a common account takeover scenario where malicious attackers gain unauthorized access to the organization's systems, putting critical information and operations at risk. It usually starts with compromised credentials. We'll run through why account takeover is so hard to stop once it starts and why strong password security is the best prevention.  Why are account takeover attacks so...