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Law enforcement officials in the U.K. have arrested a 17-year-old boy from Walsall who is suspected to be a member of the notorious Scattered Spider cybercrime syndicate. The arrest was made "in connection with a global cyber online crime group which has been targeting large organizations with ransomware and gaining access to computer networks," West Midlands police said . "The arrest is part of a global investigation into a large-scale cyber hacking community which has targeted a number of major companies which includes MGM Resorts in America." The teen's arrest, carried out in coordination with the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), comes a little over a month after another 22-year-old member of the e-crime gang from the U.K. was apprehended in Spain. Scattered Spider, an offshoot of a loose-knit group called The Com, has evolved into an initial access broker and affiliate, delivering ransomware familie

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has disclosed that it's in possession of more than 7,000 decryption keys associated with the LockBit ransomware operation to help victims get their data back at no cost. "We are reaching out to known LockBit victims and encouraging anyone who suspects they were a victim to visit our Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov," FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran said in a keynote address at the 2024 Boston Conference on Cyber Security (BCCS). LockBit, which was once a prolific ransomware gang, has been linked to over 2,400 attacks globally, with no less than 1,800 impacting entities in the U.S. Earlier this February, an international law enforcement operation dubbed Cronos led by the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) dismantled its online infrastructure. Last month, a 31-year-old Russian national named Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev was outed by authorities as the group's administrator and developer, a

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.

Russian organizations are at the receiving end of cyber attacks that have been found to deliver a Windows version of a malware called Decoy Dog . Cybersecurity company Positive Technologies is tracking the activity cluster under the name Operation Lahat, attributing it to an advanced persistent threat (APT) group called HellHounds . "The Hellhounds group compromises organizations they select and gain a foothold on their networks, remaining undetected for years," security researchers Aleksandr Grigorian and Stanislav Pyzhov said . "In doing so, the group leverages primary compromise vectors, from vulnerable web services to trusted relationships." HellHounds was first documented by the firm in late November 2023 following the compromise of an unnamed power company with the Decoy Dog trojan. It's confirmed to have infiltrated 48 victims in Russia to date, including IT companies, governments, space industry firms, and telecom providers. There is evidence indi

Progress Software has rolled out updates to address a critical security flaw impacting the Telerik Report Server that could be potentially exploited by a remote attacker to bypass authentication and create rogue administrator users. The issue, tracked as CVE-2024-4358 , carries a CVSS score of 9.8 out of a maximum of 10.0. "In Progress Telerik Report Server, version 2024 Q1 (10.0.24.305) or earlier, on IIS, an unauthenticated attacker can gain access to Telerik Report Server restricted functionality via an authentication bypass vulnerability," the company said in an advisory. The shortcoming has been addressed in Report Server 2024 Q2 (10.1.24.514). Sina Kheirkhah of Summoning Team, who is credited with discovering and reporting the flaw, described it as a "very simple" bug that could be exploited by a "remote unauthenticated attacker to create an administrator user and login." Besides updating to the latest version, Progress Software is urging cust

Google on Monday announced that it's simplifying the process of enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for users with personal and Workspace accounts. Also called 2-Step Verification ( 2SV ), it aims to add an extra layer of security to users' accounts to prevent takeover attacks in case the passwords are stolen. The new change entails adding a second step method, such as an authenticator app or a hardware security key, before turning on 2FA, thus eliminating the need for using the less secure SMS-based authentication. "This is particularly helpful for organizations using Google Authenticator (or other equivalent time-based one-time password (TOTP) apps)," the company  said . "Previously, users had to enable 2SV with a phone number before being able to add Authenticator." Users with hardware security keys have two options to add them to their accounts, including by registering a FIDO1 credential on the hardware key or by assigning a passkey (i.e., a F

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the threat of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks looms more significant than ever. As these cyber threats grow in sophistication, understanding and countering them becomes crucial for any business seeking to protect its online presence. To address this urgent need, we are thrilled to announce our upcoming webinar, " Uncovering Contemporary DDoS Attack Tactics—How to Fight Back ," featuring the expertise of Andrey Slastenov, Head of Security at Gcore. What You Will Learn: Understanding the Threat:  Explore the escalated risks DDoS attacks pose to your business, including recent advancements in attack strategies like IoT botnets and amplification tactics. Real-World Consequences:  Hear firsthand accounts of businesses that faced these attacks and the impacts on their operations and reputation. Proactive Defense Strategies:  Learn actionable steps to enhance your cybersecurity posture and effectively mitigate po

Introduction The modern software supply chain represents an ever-evolving threat landscape, with each package added to the manifest introducing new attack vectors. To meet industry requirements, organizations must maintain a fast-paced development process while staying up-to-date with the latest security patches. However, in practice, developers often face a large amount of security work without clear prioritization - and miss a significant portion of the attack surface altogether. The primary issue arises from the detection and prioritization methods used by traditional Static Code Analysis (SCA) tools for vulnerabilities. These methods lack the organizational-specific context needed to make an informed scoring decision: the score, even if critical, might not  actually  be critical for an organization because its infrastructure works in a unique way - affecting the actual impact the vulnerability might have.  In other words, since these tools depend on a relatively naive methodol

The threat actors behind the Mispadu banking Trojan have become the latest to exploit a now-patched Windows SmartScreen security bypass flaw to compromise users in Mexico. The attacks entail a new variant of the malware that was first observed in 2019, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said in a report published last week. Propagated via phishing mails, Mispadu is a Delphi-based information stealer known to specifically infect victims in the Latin American (LATAM) region. In March 2023, Metabase Q  revealed  that Mispadu spam campaigns harvested no less than 90,000 bank account credentials since August 2022. It's also part of the larger family of LATAM banking malware, including  Grandoreiro , which was dismantled by Brazilian law enforcement authorities last week. The latest infection chain identified by Unit 42 employs rogue internet shortcut files contained within bogus ZIP archive files that leverage CVE-2023-36025 (CVSS score: 8.8), a high-severity bypass flaw in Windows Smar

The 2023/2024 Axur Threat Landscape Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the latest cyber threats. The information combines data from the platform's surveillance of the Surface, Deep, and Dark Web with insights derived from the in-depth research and investigations conducted by the Threat Intelligence team. Discover the full scope of digital threats in the Axur Report 2023/2024. Overview In 2023, the cybersecurity landscape witnessed a remarkable rise in cyberattacks.  One notable shift was the cyber risk integration with business risk, a concept gaining traction in boardrooms worldwide. As the magnitude of losses due to cyberattacks became evident, organizations started reevaluating their strategies.  Geopolitical factors played a significant role in shaping information security. The conflicts between nations like Russia and Ukraine had ripple effects, influencing the tactics of cybercriminals. It was a year where external factors intertwined with digital threats. Ran

Conor Brian Fitzpatrick has been sentenced to time served and 20 years of supervised release for his role as the creator and administrator of BreachForums. Fitzpatrick, who went by the online alias "pompompurin," was arrested in March 2023 in New York and was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and possession of child pornography. He was later released on a $300,000 bond, and in July 2023, he pleaded guilty to the charges. BreachForums was a major cyber crime marketplace that facilitated the trafficking of stolen data since March 2022. Prior to its shutdown exactly a year later, the website boasted of over 340,000 members. Among the stolen items commonly sold on the platform were bank account information, Social Security numbers, personally identifying information (PII), hacking tools, breached databases, and account login information for compromised online accounts with service providers and merchants. BreachForums also advertised servic

While intended for convenience and efficient communication, email auto-forwarding rules can inadvertently lead to the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive information to external entities, putting confidential data at risk of exposure to unauthorized parties. Wing Security (Wing), a SaaS security company,  announced yesterday  that their SaaS shadow IT discovery methods now include a solution that solves for auto-email forwarding as well. While Wing's shadow IT solution is  offered as a free tool  that can be onboarded and used as a self-service, users willing to upgrade will be able to enjoy the company's new Gmail and Outlook integrations, which broaden the company's discovery capabilities and extend their data security features. The risks of email auto-forwarding rules Auto-forwarding emails is a great way to save time on repetitive tasks and are therefore very popular among employees who regularly collaborate and share information with external business partners.

QNAP has released security updates to address two critical security flaws impacting its operating system that could result in arbitrary code execution. Tracked as  CVE-2023-23368  (CVSS score: 9.8), the vulnerability is described as a command injection bug affecting QTS, QuTS hero, and QuTScloud. "If exploited, the vulnerability could allow remote attackers to execute commands via a network," the company said in an advisory published over the weekend. The shortcoming spans the below versions - QTS 5.0.x (Fixed in QTS 5.0.1.2376 build 20230421 and later) QTS 4.5.x (Fixed in QTS 4.5.4.2374 build 20230416 and later) QuTS hero h5.0.x (Fixed in QuTS hero h5.0.1.2376 build 20230421 and later) QuTS hero h4.5.x (Fixed in QuTS hero h4.5.4.2374 build 20230417 and later) QuTScloud c5.0.x (Fixed in QuTScloud c5.0.1.2374 and later) Also fixed by QNAP is another command injection flaw in QTS, Multimedia Console, and Media Streaming add-on ( CVE-2023-23369 , CVSS score: 9.0) th

The Iranian nation-state actor known as  MuddyWater  has been linked to a new spear-phishing campaign targeting two Israeli entities to ultimately deploy a legitimate remote administration tool from N-able called  Advanced Monitoring Agent . Cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct, which disclosed details of the attacks,  said  the campaign "exhibits updated TTPs to previously reported MuddyWater activity," which has, in the past, used similar attack chains to distribute other remote access tools like  ScreenConnect, RemoteUtilities, Syncro , and  SimpleHelp . While the latest development marks the first time MuddyWater has been observed using N-able's remote monitoring software, it also underscores the fact that the largely unchanged modus operandi continues to yield some level of success for the threat actor. The findings have also been separately confirmed by cybersecurity company Group-IB in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter). The state-sponsored group is a  cyber

The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) has officially announced  CVSS v4.0 , the next generation of the Common Vulnerability Scoring System standard, more than eight years after the release of CVSS v3.0 in June 2015. "This latest version of  CVSS 4.0  seeks to provide the highest fidelity of vulnerability assessment for both industry and the public," FIRST  said  in a statement. CVSS essentially provides a way to capture the principal technical characteristics of a security vulnerability and produce a numerical score denoting its severity. The score can be translated into various levels, such as low, medium, high, and critical, to help organizations prioritize their vulnerability management processes. One of the core updates to CVSS v3.1,  released  in July 2019, was to  emphasize and clarify  that "CVSS is designed to measure the severity of a vulnerability and should not be used alone to assess risk." CVSS v3.1 has also  attracted criticis